274. King Crimson | Larks' Tongues in Aspic (1973)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

Tracks

1. Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part One)
2. Book of Saturday
3. Exiles
4. Easy Money
5. The Talking Drum
6. Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part Two)

---

Larks' Tongues in Aspic is a violent album. The music is progressive rock. King Crimson, or rather, Robert Fripp likes to push the dynamic range within a song to the limit. And he likes to go from one extreme to another in a minimal about of time. It's as if he's trying to re-create the Big Bang in song. There's nothing more shocking then that burst of music nearly four minutes into the first song. I'm not sure what other bands make so much use of dynamic range.

This use of dynamic range also helps to make the band's extended instrumental jams, which occur on each song, more interesting. That there are moments of peaceful calm and frenzied chaos, makes the album seem sinister, aggressive, unpredictable and dangerous.

I think this album is absolutely stunning. King Crimson gets progressive rock right, just not all at once. The two key elements of prog rock to me are: a thematically unified album and extended instrumentals that are not overindulgent. The first two incarnations of King Crimson, from 1969 to 1972, succeed at the former. The third incarnation, which starts with this album, succeeds at the latter. Larks' Tongues is one of my personal favorites, so of course I think it's worth listening to. I also think it belongs in a serious record collection, especially one that is open to prog rock. I also believe this album deserves to be on the 1001 Albums list since it's one of the finest examples of prog rock.

All the songs are excellent. The stand outs are: Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part One), Book of Saturday, Exiles, Easy Money, The Talking Drum and Larks' Tongues in Aspic (Part Two).

★★★★★★★★★★

220. Can | Tago Mago (1971)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

Tracks

1. Paperhouse
2. Mushroom
3. Oh Yeah
4. Halleluhwah
5. Aumgn
6. Peking O.
7. Bring Me Coffee or Tea

---

Tago Mago is an unconventional album. The music is krautrock. There is no relation to rock in any of the songs besides the use of bass, guitar, drums and synthesizers. It's really quite an original style. It might be most closely related to jazz because it seems improvisational than anything.

The first few songs each start off resembling prog rock songs, but they eventually lose form and become very noisy and chaotic. Aumgn and Peking O. are exercises in noise and madness. What makes the music even more chaotic is the singing. The lyrics are nonsense sung in a non-sensical language. Eventually, the singing devolves into shouts and screams and other primal noises.

This is a fascinating, but trying album. The more structured songs are enjoyable to listen to, but the songs that are mainly noise can be hard to get through because they are very long. It does take a few listenings and patience to get used to this album. There is no doubt that this album should be listened to and it should definitely be on the 1001 Albums list. Like prog rock,  Krautrock is not a popular style, so it's hard to say this album belongs in all serious collections, but I do highly recommend it, just to freak people out or to annoy the neighbors.

All the songs are good. The stand outs are: Paperhouse, Mushroom, Oh Yeah, Halleluhwah and Bring Me Coffee or Tea.

★★★★★★★★★☆

153. The Velvet Underground | The Velvet Underground (1969)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

Tracks

1. Candy Says
2. What Goes On
3. Some Kinda Love
4. Pale Blue Eyes
5. Jesus
6. Beginning to See the Light
7. I'm Set Free
8. That's the Story of My Life
9. The Murder Mystery
10. After Hours

---

The Velvet Underground is a focused album. Well, it's certainly focused when compared to White Light/White Heat. The songs are also a lot more mellow, relaxed and melodic. Or at least the melody is more apparent.

This album starts out really strong, keeps improving and then falls short on the last two songs. I wouldn't be surprised if there are people who enjoy those two songs, but the Murder Mystery sounds like Frank Zappa doing a rendition of the Monkees' annoying Zilch. After Hours just seems out of place with the rest of the album.

Despite the last two songs, this is the best Velvet Underground album, but that may only be because Nico was on the first album. I'm somewhat unsure why this album is on the 1001 Albums list, but I have a nagging suspicion that this album actually is ahead of its time—that it doesn't sound much like a late '60s recording and that that's not just a fluke. So either Lou Reed is helping to set the tone for the '70s or is simply ahead of his time. No matter, this album worth listening to.

Actually, if The Crickets played no frills, straightforward rock and roll in the '50s, then this album is a modern updated version for the '70s of no frills, straightforward rock and roll.

The stand out songs are Candy Says, What Goes On, Some Kinda Love, Pale Blue Eyes, Jesus, Beginning to See the Light, I'm Set Free and That's the Story of My Life.

★★★★★★★★★☆

112. Os Mutantes | Os Mutantes (1968)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

Tracks

1. Panis et circenses
2. A minha menina
3. O relógio
4. Adeus, Maria Fulô
5. Baby
6. Senhor F
7. Bat macumba
8. Le premier bonheur du jour
9. Trem fantasma
10. Tempo no tempo (Once was a time I thought)
11. Ave, Gengis Khan

---

Os Mutantes is a fun album. The lyrics are in Portuguese so it's not clear what's going on, but I've read elsewhere that the lyrics are pretty nonsensical anyway. The songs are tropicália with a slight nod toward psychedelic rock. Actually, there seem to be a lot of different styles represented which I'm mostly unfamiliar with.

When I first listened to this album, it seemed amateurish and gimmicky. However, the most recent listening has convinced me that it's quite good. The music is catchy, creative and never taken seriously.

I think this album is definitely worth listening to. Give it a chance and you'll be grateful you did. It would certainly be a curious addition to any collection. All the songs are very good, but the stand outs are: Panis et circenses, A minha menina, Adeus, Maria Fulô, Bat macumba, Le premier bonheur du jour and Ave, Gengis Khan.

★★★★★★★★☆☆

104. The Velvet Underground | White Light/White Heat (1967)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

Tracks

1. White Light/White Heat
2. The Gift
3. Lady Godiva's Operation
4. Here She Comes Now
5. I Heard Her Call My Name
6. Sister Ray

---

White Light/White Heat is a noisy album. There's a certain amount of normalcy in most of the songs, but at some point the songs veer off in a surreal direction. Either the music turns into fuzzy, screeching feedback or the lyrics become nightmarish.

This makes even the most psychedelic album seem like a collection of children's songs. This is like being trapped forever in a trip gone wrong. It's understandable that this album wasn't successful. I don't think it ever could. It's only possible for this album to be accepted after incremental imitations of are made of it.

I like this album a lot. Would I have liked this album in 1967? I can't imagine I would have. The first half of the album would have been tolerable, but the second half would had been unlistenable. It seems to have taken nearly ten years for this kind of music to be accepted and even then punk is a watered down form.

All the songs except for The Gift are worth listening to. The Gift was good the first time, but once I knew how it ends it became tiresome to listen to. Sister Ray is a masterpiece, but it's not "user-friendly".

★★★★★★★★★☆

91. The Velvet Underground | The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

1. Sunday Morning
2. I'm Waiting for the Man
3. Femme Fatale
4. Venus in Furs
5. Run Run Run
6. All Tomorrow's Parties
7. Heroin
8. There She Goes Again
9. I'll Be Your Mirror
10. The Black Angel's Death Song
11. European Son

---

The Velvet Underground and Nico is a stark album. The songs evoke a dark exoticism. The music is either rumbling and manic or slow and droning. The guitar sound is reminiscent of an exposed nerve—raw, metallic, bright and painful.

The world that this album inhabits is not a nice, beautiful kind world. It's ugly, dark, twisted, lonely and painful. But, for all its brutality, it's honest.

It's a brilliant album, but it's so bleak that it'll bum you out if it's all you listen to. I don't think there have been any albums that have had such authentic songs and lyrics.  Most songs on other albums are sappy love songs, idealistic or fantastical so that they really don't infer the real world. The Who and Jack Elliott come close, but even Bob Dylan isn't able to capture reality so vividly.

The songs  establish a coherent mood that lasts the whole album. The real stand out songs are Sunday Morning, Venus in Furs, Run Run Run, All Tomorrow's Parties, Heroin, There She Goes Again and European Son.

★★★★★★★★★☆

69. The Mothers of Invention | Freak Out! (1966)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

Tracks

1. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
2. I Ain't Got No Heart
3. Who Are the Brain Police?
4. Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder
5. Motherly Love
6. How Could I Be Such a Fool?
7. Wowie Zowie
8. You Didn't Try to Call Me
9. Any Way the Wind Blows
10. I'm Not Satisfied
11. You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here
12. Trouble Every Day
13. Help, I'm a Rock
14. The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet (Unfinished Ballet in Two Tableaux)

---

Freak Out! is an ambitious album. The songs are heavy, high-energy and epic. The lyrics are sarcastic, mocking, flippant, silly and brutally honest. There's some extended lead guitar playing which has only made brief appearances so far on the 1001 Albums list.

This is a serious album that doesn't take itself seriously at all. That it's extremely cerebral and attacks American popular culture so viciously, I can't imagine anybody thinking this album would sell.

It's also sonically rich album. There is so much depth to each song. There's always something new I hear each time I listen to it.

I like this album a lot, but since it takes a lot of effort to listen to it, it's not ideal for casual listening. This is clearly a good example of something that is so avant-garde that it has little impact.

Hungry Freaks, Daddy, Motherly Love and Trouble Every Day are the clear stand outs, but the album is full of great songs. I'm still not sure about The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet (Unfinished Ballet in Two Tableaux). It's interesting, but with diminishing returns.

---

★★★★★★★★★ ☆