Some Words from the Bird

 Now, my friends, we are getting into the stuff that I am excited about. I know the radio hits for Cream, but never really listened to their offerings. I understood that they were held in high regard, and were one of the original power trios, and that intrigues me. The group was a super-group, with Clapton as the guitarist, fresh off of his tenure with the Yardbirds, Ginger Baker on the drums, and a bass player and vocalist that Clapton had insisted upon, Jack Bruce. Baker and Bruce had a turbulent past, having played together in previous projects, where they apparently had not seen eye to eye. To the point where weapons were involved. This must have been an interesting project. Tension is important element to music.   The first song on this, their first album released, was "I Feel Free". From the first note, you can feel that there is something new going on, the psychedelic feel is right up at the forefront, the vocals are almost dreamy and the tambourine is hypnotic....

 My apologies, I have not posted in ages. I find myself faced with another Bob Dylan album. A double album at that. 'Blonde on Blonde' is the record, and I have been dreading this post. My feelings about Mr. Dylan remain the same, I like the songs he writes, I just prefer when they are recorded by other artists. However, I am still posting about albums that are fifty years old, and at the rate I am posting, it will be another fifty years until I complete this list, so I have got to put my petty suppositions aside and get down to business. Also, I have confirmed that at least one bona fide breathing human being has read some of this blog, so I now have an obligation to post more often to keep my audience happy. You know who you are.  Scanning the track listing, I see some well known songs, some that I even recall enjoying. As I begin listening, I believe this is going to be a long hour and twelve minutes, but I'm hoping for a moment of clarity; an understanding of what i...

 I am very happy with my decision to listen to the list in a somewhat chronological order, to hear the development of the music as it progressed forward. This era was dynamic; you get a sense of exploration and advancement as bands were searching for new methods and sounds. The Beach Boys, Beatles and others were all borrowing  ideas, sounds and techniques from each other, and the result was some very interesting music. Revolver is found right in the middle of this upward spiral of creativity, that began with Rubber Soul and culminated with the iconic Sgt. Pepper.  This album has all of the hallmarks of the era, diverse instruments, complex arrangements, and new production techniques. I was watching some YouTube videos on this time period, and it was mentioned that this album contains the first use of recording something, and playing it back backwards on the track. Similar to Pet Sounds, there are little sonic treats as you listen. However, on Revolver I find the topi...

This one is perplexing. The album was ranked as the second greatest album of all time. Number 2! I was expecting to be blown away. I had been looking forward to this listen, and since I was only familiar with a couple of the tracks, I figured that it would be filled with new treasures to be discovered. I am once again going to assume that the high ranking is based on the context of the album, as opposed to the content. The level of disappointment I felt on first listen led to a reluctance to familiarize myself with the album. As such it has been months since the last post. Sorry about that! Bob Dylan derailed me a while back as well, but we bounced back from that too.  I love the song "Wouldn't It Be Nice", but I am thrown off by the second track, which continues the trend of using varied sounds and instruments, and inexplicably throws in a beeping horn at the end. It seems to be done just for the effect of creating a new sound, which at the time may have been mind blow...