Tracks
- It Won't Be Long
- All I've Got to Do
- All My Loving
- Don't Bother Me
- Little Child
- Till There Was You
- Please Mister Postman
- Roll Over Beethoven
- Hold Me Tight
- You Really Got a Hold on Me
- I Wanna Be Your Man
- Devil in Her Heart
- Not a Second Time
- Money (That's What I Want)
With The Beatles is a superb album. It's a rush of energy from the beginning to the end and the intensity just builds upon itself, ending in the cloudburst that is Money (That's What I Want). Not only does the album build in intensity, but most of the songs do to. John Lennon also adds another level of excitement when he is singing.
The album is very consistent even with the variety of genres featured. The rock and roll songs have the typical teenage girl themes that were common to the The Everly Brothers' A Date with the Everly Brothers and common to Elvis' Elvis Is Back! If there's any drawback it's that.
This is certainly an album that must be listened to. In the context of the 1001 albums list, it's a game changer like Miles Davis' Kind of Blues would have been if the Beatles never came on the scene. All of the songs are excellent, which makes it hard for them to stand out from one another, so here are the exceptional songs: It Won't Be Long, All My Loving, Don't Bother Me, Little Child, Please Mister Postman, Roll Over Beethoven, You Really Got a Hold on Me, I Wanna Be Your Man and Money (That's What I Want). As for Money, it's simply an amazing version of the song. In fact, its intensity is more overwhelming than the previous songs combined.
The Beatles are also the first true band on the 1001 Albums list in the sense that no member is featured over the others.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- Introduction And Theme / Night Life
- Lonely Street
- The Wild Side Of Life
- Sittin' And Thinkin'
- The Twenty Fourth Hour
- A Girl In The Night
- Pride
- There's No Fool Like A Young Fool
- If She Could See Me Now
- Bright Lights And Blonde-Haired Women
- Are You Sure
- Let Me Talk To You
Night Life is a fair album. Ray Price has a very good and strong voice and the music is simple, but enjoyable. The fiddle is interesting and the country style of guitar playing is flavorful.
It's an archetypal country album. The lyrics and music evoke loneliness and lost opportunity—and a lot of tears. While the lyrics are compelling and well-written, those themes get tiresome after a while. The music also follows the same beat, so after the first few songs everything starts sounding alike.
At the start of the album there's an introduction by Ray Price thanking his fans for supporting him and the band and other stuff. It's nice that he's appreciative, but it's not something anyone wants to hear over and over again.
The album is worth listening to. Strange as it is, I actually like the album, but I can imagine that it's not everyone's cup of tea. The stand out songs are Introduction And Theme / Night Life (minus Introduction and Theme), Lonely Street, The Wild Side of Life, Sittin' and Thinkin'.
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Tracks
- Desafinado
- Samba Dees Days
- O Pato
- Samba Triste
- Samba de Uma Nota Só
- É Luxo Só
- Baia
Jazz Samba is a soothing album. You can put this album on and sit back and relax. Mainly, it's saxophone on the left channel and guitar on the right channel, with some drums for keeping time. This album has a Latin flavor, but it's not as distinct as Sabu's Palo Congo, Machito's Kenya or Tito Puente's Dance Mania. It's more ethereal than primal.
There's enough variety to make the pieces distinct from each other. It is certainly a good album to put on for background music or for listening before bedtime. Otherwise, it may be hard to actively listen without losing focus.
A good consistent album worth listening to. The stand out pieces are Desafinado, Samba de Uma Nota Só and Baia.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Tracks
- Green Onions
- Rinky Dink
- I Got a Woman
- Mo' Onions
- Twist and Shout
- Behave Yourself
- Stranger on the Shore
- Lonely Avenue
- One Who Really Loves You
- You Can't Sit Down
- A Woman, a Lover, a Friend
- Comin' Home Baby
Green Onions has a nice, crisp sound. Except for Green Onions and Mo' Onions, all the songs are instrumental cover versions. Besides sounding good, it's not very interesting. More interesting is that the organ reminds me of being at the Boston Garden as a kid and watching the Boston Bruins.
It's worth listening to for the sound and if you really enjoy organs. No matter what though, Green Onions is definitely worth listening to, and Behave Yourself and One Who Really Loves You are pretty good, too.
★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Tracks
- Bye Bye Love
- You Don't Know Me
- Half as Much
- I Love You So Much It Hurts
- Just a Little Lovin' (Will Go a Long Way)
- Born to Lose
- Worried Mind
- It Makes No Difference Now
- You Win Again
- Careless Love
- I Can't Stop Loving You
- Hey, Good Lookin'
Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music is a pleasant album. Ray Charles covers a dozen country and western songs—a bold and risky move for a soul musician! He could have alienated his fans and not won over any country and western listeners. But, Ray Charles is a charismatic guy and it always comes out in his music. So, of course his experiment worked!
He certainly gives a few of the songs a rhythm and blues twist, but with the others, he stays true to their origin as country and western songs. The more lively songs such as Bye Bye Love and Hey Good Lookin' are great. The slower songs are well done, but some of them are a drag on the album.
It's definitely an album worth listening to. The songs that really stand out are Bye Bye Love, You Don't Know Me, Just a Little Lovin' (Will Go a Long Way), It Makes No Difference Now, You Win Again, I Can't Stop Loving You and Hey, Good Lookin'.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Tracks
- Gloria's Step (take 2)
- My Man's Gone Now
- Solar
- Alice in Wonderland (take 2)
- All of You (take 2)
- Jade Visions (take 2)
Sunday at the Village Vanguard is a beautiful album. It has a really nice sound to it. Each instrument sounds like its Platonic form, and that's because these guys appear to know their instruments intimately.
The drums are really quiet; I don't think I heard the bass drum once! So, the interplay between the bass and piano becomes the main feature. In fact, through my headphones, the bass is being played through the left channel and the piano through the right.
This jazz album has very little structure within each piece than the jazz albums previously discussed. So, while it sounds beautiful, it may seem confusing or perplexing. However, maybe beauty has structure and that's the structure being heard.
Perhaps the only trouble with the album is that the pieces sound alike. I believe it takes real skill to differentiate the pieces enough to know which one you are listening to without looking at the playlist.
No matter what, it's worth listening to. It's instantly enjoyable and just grows on you the more times you listen to it. All of the pieces are truly outstanding, but the ones I enjoyed a lot were Gloria's Step (take 2) and Solar.
★★★★★★★★★☆
Tracks
- I Got My Brand On You
- (I'm Your) Hoochie Coochie Man
- Baby, Please Don't Go
- Soon Forgotten
- Tiger In Your Tank
- I Feel So Good
- Got My Mojo Working
- Got My Mojo Working, Pt. 2
- Goodbye Newport Blues
At Newport 1960 is an outstanding and instantly likeable album. Listening to it more than once just makes it all the more enjoyable.
There is a lot of interaction between the musicians. The drums and bass work together to establish the groove. That allows the guitar, harmonica and singers to create a tension, through fills, call and response and changing chords, that builds within the song until it erupts into a frenzied climax. This is what makes this album so fun and exciting to listen to.
The first eight songs are so good and really worth listening to, but none of them stand out from the others. The last song, Goodbye Newport Blues, however does stand out as being the only slow blues song on the album.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- Back at the Chicken Shack
- When I Grow Too Old to Dream
- Minor Chant
- Messy Bessie
Back at the Chicken Shack is a decent album. The music is certainly pleasing enough. Jimmy Smith plays an electric organ. It has a novel sound, but the novelty wears off quick enough and, I think, it just becomes a distraction.
All the pieces are worth listening to, but there's not much difference between them, so there aren't any that stand out from the rest.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
Tracks
- Made to Love
- That's Just Too Much
- Stick With Me Baby
- Baby What You Want Me to Do
- Sigh, Cry, Almost Die
- Always It's You
- Love Hurts
- Lucille
- So How Come (No One Loves Me)
- Donna, Donna
- A Change of Heart
- Cathy's Clown
A Date with the Everly Brothers is a very good album. I didn't expect to like this album. In fact, from the album cover and title, I figured it would be a sappy, love song-heavy album by two effeminate singers. This album certainly is filled with sappy love songs, and their brand of rock and roll certainly doesn't have an edge to it, except for Lucille, but the album is also enchanting, beautiful and fun. It's just not the kind of rock and roll played by the likes of Elvis, Little Richard or Buddy Holly.
The Everly Brothers have wonderful voices and I do enjoy close harmony singing, but they lack an emotional connection to the lyrics or perhaps the lyrics are too trite to make a connection with. However, Elvis was able to accomplish it with similar songs on Elvis Is Back!.
Nevertheless, the album is very solid and consistent. The song that stand out are: Made to Love, That's Just Too Much, Always It's You, Love Hurts, Lucille, Donna, Donna, A Change of Heart and Cathy's Clown.
★★★★★★★★★☆
Tracks
- The Retreat Song
- Suliram
- The Click Song
- Umhome
- Olilili
- Lakutshn, Ilanga
- Mbube
- The Naughty Little Flea
- Where Does It Lead
- Nomeva
- House of the Rising Sun
- Saduva
- One More Dance
- Iya Guduza
Miriam Makeba is a pleasant album. Miriam Makeba has a beautiful, disarming and happy-sounding voice. Yet, her voice is very powerful. The songs are simple and mainly consist of Ms. Makeba singing with either a supporting chorus, a guitar, or drums or a combination thereof. That there is so little musical accompaniment demonstrates her talents, but also demonstrates how powerful an instrument the voice really is.
This album really grew on me the more I listened to it. I was ready to dismiss it at first, but now I really enjoy it. The first half is much stronger than the second half. I think it loses its focus with songs like The Naughty Little Flea, One More Dance and even with House of the Rising Sun. They aren't terrible, just distracting.
The songs that stand out are: The Retreat Song, Suliram, The Click Song, Umhome, Olilili, Lakutshn, Ilanga, Mbube and Iya Guduza.
★★★★★★★★★☆
Tracks
- Make Me Know It
- Fever
- The Girl of My Best Friend
- I Will Be Home Again
- Dirty, Dirty Feeling
- Thrill of Your Love
- Soldier Boy
- Such A Night
- It Feels So Right
- Girl Next Door Went a'Walking
- Like A Baby
- Reconsider Baby
Elvis Is Back! is a solid album.The album starts off well, but trips up a bit. It gets its legs with the last half of songs. And the final song ends the album with a bang.
This album features a lot of different kinds of music, from rock and roll to country to blues to doo wop, but they all work well together. There's also an intensity on this album that was lacking on his debut album. Elvis put more effort and emotion into his singing, so the songs are more authentic and convincing.
Many of the songs are sappy love songs and would be easily dismissed if they didn't have the support of good song writing and Elvis' vocal efforts. The outstanding ones are: Make Me Know It, Fever (which may be one of the best songs ever), Dirty, Dirty Feeling, Such a Night, It Feels So Right, Like a Baby and Reconsider Baby.
★★★★★★★★★☆
Tracks
- Silver Dagger
- East Virginia
- Fare Thee Well (10,000 Miles)
- House of the Rising Sun
- All My Trials
- Wildwood Flower
- Donna Donna
- John Riley
- Rake and Rambling Boy
- Little Moses
- Mary Hamilton
- Henry Martin
- El Preso Número Nueve
Joan Baez is a simple album. With such little variation, the songs could have all ended up sounding the same, but Joan Baez is able to make them all quiet distinct from one another. She has a beautiful voice that is both powerful and delicate.
Her guitar playing does well to support her voice and never does it get in the way of her voice. When most of the songs are about people, the voice is and should be the most important instrument.
This album is worth listening to, carefully. The more attention paid to it, the richer the reward is. East Virginia, House of the Rising Sun, All My Trials, Donna Donna, John Riley, Little Moses, Mary Hamilton, Henry Martin and El Preso Número Nueve are the most rewarding songs.
★★★★★★★★★☆
Tracks
- Blue Rondo à la Turk
- Strange Meadow Lark
- Take Five
- Three to Get Ready
- Kathy's Waltz
- Everybody's Jumpin'
- Pick Up Sticks
Time Out is a fair album. There are exciting passages within some pieces, but they are merely fleeting moments on, what is for the most part, a very uninspiring album. The pieces are slow, and, while that's not a problem in itself, it becomes one when the pieces seem to lack focus.
Blue Rondo à la Turk and Take Five are pretty good.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆☆
Tracks
- Big Iron
- Cool Water
- Billy The Kid
- A Hundred And Sixty Acres
- They're Hanging Me Tonight
- The Strawberry Roan
- El Paso
- In The Valley
- The Master's Call
- Running Gun
- The Little Green Valley
- Utah Carol
Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs is a solid album. I fell in love with this album the very first time I heard it and haven't given up the love affair. Each song evokes brilliantly clear images of the Old West. Marty Robbins has the most perfect voice for this kind of music; he sounds just like the rough and rugged characters he sings about.
All the songs are thematically and stylistically linked, but they are unique enough to complement each other. The strongest songs are Big Iron, Cool Water, They're Hanging Me Tonight, El Paso, The Master's Call and Utah Carol.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- So What
- Freddie Freeloader
- Blue in Green
- All Blues
- Flamenco Sketches
Kind of Blue is a brilliant album. It's a very different style of jazz from the previous jazz featured. It's laid back. It has a clear sound and it's simple to follow. Listening, it's almost as if anybody could play this music, but the musicians on this album are not mere mortals.
Each piece on this album is worth listening to over and over and again and again. All Blues is my favorite piece though.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- Let the Good Times Roll
- It Had to Be You
- Alexander's Ragtime Band
- Two Years of Torture
- When Your Lover Has Gone
- 'Deed I Do
- Just for a Thrill
- You Won't Let Me Go
- Tell Me You'll Wait for Me
- Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'
- Am I Blue
- Come Rain or Come Shine
The Genius of Ray Charles is a superb album. Half the songs are vibrant and lively pieces, while the other half are soulful ballads. And while the music is great, they wouldn't be as outstanding without a singer like Ray Charles. He is so charismatic that he easily convinces you that the emotion and feeling in his singing is sincere.
While the first group of songs on the album are undoubtedly excellent and are more exciting, lively and easier to connect with at first blush, it's the ballads on the last half of the album that will leave a more lasting impact.
This is another album that I will never tire of hearing. All the songs are excellent, but the absolute stand outs are: Let the Good Times Roll, Alexander's Ragtime Band, When Your Lover Has Gone, You Won't Let Me Go, Tell Me You'll Wait for Me, Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin', Am I Blue and Come Rain or Come Shine.
★★★★★★★★★★
Tracks
- Sam and Delilah
- But Not for Me
- My One and Only
- Let's Call the Whole Thing Off
- (I've Got) Beginner's Luck
- Oh, Lady be Good!
- Nice Work If You Can Get It
- Things Are Looking Up
- Just Another Rhumba
- How Long Has This Been Going On?
- 'S Wonderful
- The Man I Love
- That Certain Feeling
- By Strauss
- Someone to Watch Over Me
- The Real American Folk Song (Is a Rag)
- Who Cares?
- Looking For a Boy
- They All Laughed
- My Cousin in Milwaukee
- Somebody from Somewhere
- A Foggy Day
- Clap Yo' Hands
- For You, For Me, For Evermore
- Stiff Upper Lip
- Boy Wanted
- Strike Up the Band
- Soon
- I've Got a Crush on You
- Bidin' My Time
- Aren't You Kind Of Glad We Did?
- Of Thee I Sing
- 'The Half of it, Dearie' Blues
- I Was Doing All Right
- He Loves and She Loves
- Love is Sweeping the Country
- Treat Me Rough
- Our Love is Here to Stay
- Slap That Bass
- Isn't It a Pity?
- Shall We Dance?
- Love Walked In
- You've Got What Gets Me
- They Can't Take That Away from Me
- Embraceable You
- I Can't Be Bothered Now
- Boy! What Love Has Done To Me!
- Fascinating Rhythm
- Funny Face
- Lorelei
- Oh, So Nice!
- Let's Kiss and Make Up
- I Got Rhythm
At around three hours in length, Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Song Book is an epic work. The music is wonderful and Ella Fitzgerald has a beautiful, crystal-clear voice. In fact, her voice is nearly perfect, but I didn't sense any emotion or feeling coming through in her singing. Or perhaps, the songs weren't that inspiring lyrically. Either way, none of the songs really made a lasting impression on me.
Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Gershwin Song Book is certainly worth listening to. However, listening to the whole album in one go is truly a feat of endurance, so, to get a better appreciation of the album, it's probably best to listen to it in small doses.
Some of the more notable songs on the album are: Sam and Delilah, My One and Only, Just Another Rhumba, 'S Wonderful, By Strauss, Someone to Watch Over Me, They All Laughed, My Cousin in Milwaukee, Stiff Upper Lip, Boy Wanted, Bidin' My Time, 'The Half of it, Dearie' Blues, He Loves and She Loves, Treat Me Rough, Our Love is Here to Stay, Slap That Bass, I Can't Be Bothered Now, Fascinating Rhythm and I Got Rhythm.
★★★★★★★★★☆☆
