240. Hunky Dory

Hunky Dory
David Bowie
1971

Tracks
1. Changes
2. Oh! You Pretty Things
3. Eight Line Poem
4. Life on Mars?
5. Kooks 
6. Quicksand 
7. Fill Your Heart 
8. Andy Warhol 
9. Song for Bob Dylan 
10. Queen Bitch
11. The Bewlay Brothers


This album marks the end of 1971.  I told you guys earlier that my father said that this is when good music stopped.  We shall see...


Does anyone not like Bowie?  I became familiar with him when I the did one of his songs in Moulin Rouge!; see if you can hear it...

Most of us are familiar with his hits, but it is impressive to listen to his complete albums.  I do love Bowie, but this album was full of some hits and misses.  The hits, of course, being songs like "Changes" while the misses are songs like "Andy Warhol" when Bowie is trying to be edgy. Can't anyone just have plain old fun anymore without trying to be all deep and pretentious?  Still, a five star album. RATING: 5/5

239. Electric Warrior

Electric Warrior
T-Rex
1971

Tracks
1. Mambo Sun
2. Cosmic Dancer
3. Jeepster
4. Monolith
5. Lean Woman Blues
6. Get It On
7. Planet Queen
8. Girl
9. Motivator
10. Life's A Gas
11. Rip Off


This album does not make any sense and that is what makes it fun!


After all this hippies with anti war messages (I am a pacifist myself but these guys never offer any solutions; the term "armchair analyst" comes to mind), it was nice to get a little nonsense.  Having a musician in this book who doesn't think he knows everything is actually quite the refreshing change.  Lyrics like "i'm like a beggar in the sand with the sky in my hand" are nonsensical but it is okay, because the music is entertaining.  This guy is exactly what the doctor ordered.


RATING: 4/5


Is the song "Get It On" like in a commercial or something?

238. Nilsson Schmilsson

Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson
1971

Tracks
1. Gotta Get Up
2. Driving Along
3. Early In The Morning
4. Moonbeam Song
5. Down
6. Without You
7. Coconut
8. Let The Good Times Roll
9. Jump Into The Fire
10. I'll Never Leave You


This has to be a rather quick post because I am exhausted and I still want to write a movie post.


This album was a total clusterfuck.  Excuse the language, but really, there is no better descriptor.  There was so many genres and so much variety that I felt I was listening to ten different artists.  While some may call this versatile, I found it messy.  Also, "Coconut" was obnoxious.


I have to go dive into bed now with the me gusta face.  Too messy for my taste.


RATING: 2/5

237. John Prine

John Prine
John Prine
1971

Tracks
1. Illegal Smile
2. Spanish Pipedream 
3. Hello in There 
4. Sam Stone 
5. Paradise 
6. Pretty Good 
7. Your Flag Decal Won't Get You into Heaven Anymore 
8. Far from Me 
9. Angel from Montgomery 
10. Quiet Man 
11. Donald and Lydia 
12. Six O'Clock News 
13. Flashback Blues


I inwardly groaned when I read that this guy was supposedly the next Bob Dylan.  Even if I liked Dylan, I think this comparison is pretty unfair to both of them.  Not only are those huge shoes to fill but their styles are relatively different.


This is a surprising album.  Prine sings songs with a kind of country simplicity so you think the songs are going to be on normal, innocent country topics like killing women and bedbugs (I have encountered multiple songs on those topics on this journey).  However, he is actually sending deep, political messages.  By now I am getting a little sing of anti war songs but with a southern twist, it actually sounded original.


Better than I expected and some of the songs are genuinely funny.  Check it out.


RATING: 4/5

236. White Light

White Light
Gene Clark
1971

Tracks
1. The Virgin 
2. With Tomorrow 
3. White Light 
4. Because Of You 
5. One In A Hundred 
6. Spanish Guitar 
7. Where My Love Lies Asleep
8. Tears Of Rage
9. 1975


The Byrds just do not quit, do they?  I have a feeling their members will be creeping up even through the nineties (maybe I should fix that sentence).


I have to go to dinner soon so this will have to be a nice and short review.  This is a shame, though, since this guy deserves a lot of praise.  This album is sweet and catchy...and shit I have to go.  Listen to it!


RATING: 5/5


What do you mean "edit it again later"?  That is not an option just because!  So there!

235. Teenage Head

Teenage Head
Flamin' Groovies
1971

Tracks
1. High Flyin' Baby
2. City Lights
3. Have You Seen My Baby
4. Yesterday's Numbers
5. Teenage Head
6. 32 20
7. Evil Hearted Ada
8. Doctor Boogie
9. Whiskey Woman


Really, The Flamin' Groovies?  The only thing flaming is the name of your band (A-O!).  But seriously folks...


This is another interesting little gem that I would have never discovered if it wasn't for the list.  Apparently they broke up shortly after this because they weren't cut out for the US music scene.  I got excited reading about this album, though, because it is described as a throwback to the Beatles.  Yay!


I loved it.  If I had to date it just by listening to it, my guess would have been mid sixties.  I know it doesn't seem like a big deal that it sounds around six years older than it is, but I personally don't really like the direction that music is heading in during the 70s.  Ahead of us, we got disco and funk on the horizon.  Yuck.  My dad has a theory that they stopped making good music after 1971 and I am finding myself agreeing with him...


This album has often been compared to Sticky Fingers but I just do not see the similarities: this is so much better!


RATING: 5/5

234. A Nod Is As Good As A Wink...To A Blind Horse

A Nod Is As Good As A Wink...To A Blind Horse
The Faces
1971

Tracks
1. Miss Judy's Farm
2. You're So Rude 
3. Love Lived Here 
4. Last Orders Please 
5. Stay With Me 
6. Debris 
7. Memphis 
8. Too Bad
9. That's All You Need 


I delayed writing this review for a little while because really, I had no idea what to write.  This is one of those albums that has zero personality.  In my life, I have met several people who fall under this category and let me tell you, they are exhausting.  They aren't mean, rude, or offensive in any way but they have absolutely nothing of interest to say for themselves.  Sometimes, I prefer talking to people who I hate just because at least they excite some emotion in me.


Is this what everyone considers the beginning of Rod Stewart's descent into embarrassment? The album is just plain generic and boring but certainly not embarrassing.  The book seemed rather apologetic of putting this album in so maybe no one likes or dislikes this album.  It is just...there.

RATING: 3/5

233. Live!

Live! 
Fela Ransome-Kuti and The Africa '70 with Ginger Baker (way too long)
1971

Tracks
1. Let's Start 
2. Black Man's Cry
3. Ye Ye De Smell
4. Egbe Mi O (Carry Me I Want To Die)


First of all, I FINISHED ULYSSES!!!  That was easily the toughest book I have ever read and it was on my to do before I am thirty bucket list (maybe someday I will start a blog on that; you have been warned).  I am really proud of myself.  I absolutely hated it, but I am still counting it as a positive experience.


Sorry, my bookishness is showing.  Actually, it kind of relates to the music blog since the reason I have been listening to so many albums lately is that I have been sitting alone reading (high school all over again).  Anyway, this album was playing during the last chapter so it was kind of my victory music.  It really made me want to dance like they do in West Side Story during the "America" number.  It had some good beats but I can't see ever listening to it again (this seems to be my mantra).  Why am I using so many parentheses?


RATING: 3/5

232. Pearl

Pearl
Janis Joplin
1971

Tracks
1. Move Over
2. Cry Baby
3. Woman Left Lonely
4. Half Moon
5. Buried Alive In The Blues
6. My Baby
7. Me And Bobby McGee
8. Mercedes Benz
9. Trust Me
10. Get It While You Can


I don't know why I am doing so many of these lately; I just always seem to have an album on.  I am not going to question it though, because like I mentioned at album #200, I sometimes feel like quitting this blog.  1971 is just my year.


Janis Joplin reminds me strongly of Adele, although I think Adele is a bit better (please don't kill me).  This album was released after Janis kicked the bucket which forever immortalizes her as a legend since she didn't have a chance to do any wrong.


You know how some people believe that you can feel when you are going to die before it happens?  Well, they might want to use this album as evidence for that theory.  There is so much pain packed into this album that it feels very foreboding.  There are certain songs that seem more upbeat but overall there is a feeling of ickiness as Cher would say.


Poignant and sad but beautiful in its way.


RATING: 3/5

231. Maggot Brain

Maggot Brain
Funkadelic
1971

Tracks
1. Maggot Brain
2. Can You Get to That
3. Hit It and Quit It
4. You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks
5. Super Stupid
6. Back in Our Minds
7. Wars of Armageddon


I tried not to judge this album too harshly before listening to it.  I mean, if you are not supposed to judge a book from its cover I figure the same thing applies to albums.  I also tried to not think too hard about the name of the album and how disgusting it truly is.  I really did not succeed in either area.

However, I read so much about how absolutely amazing the title track was that I was indeed intrigued.  Apparently George Clinton (who sounds like an absolute lunatic) told the guitarist to play like his mother just died and then as if you found out she was alive.


First off, I have to say I found this album jarring.  There were such sweet songwriters and singers before this on the list that I was lulled into an innocent serenity.  And then we just had to get funky.  Damn kids with their noise.


Anyway, I am not a huge guitar solo fan.  I have a guitar that I think my sister gave me when she got sick of it.  I never got rid of it because I figured if I started to play it I would look like this:

No luck so far.  The point is I was not able to appreciate the first track like everyone seems to think you should.  This whole album was way too funky for my taste.  Simply not my genre of choice.

RATING: 2/5

230. Blue

Blue
Joni Mitchell
1971

Tracks
1. All I Want 
2. My Old Man 
3. Little Green 
4. Carey
5. Blue
6. California 
7. This Flight Tonight 
8. River 
9. Case Of You 
10. Last Time I Saw Richard


Wow, that was absolutely beautiful and this is coming from a girl who is a pissy mood right now (I blame the book Ulysses that I can't stop bitching about and Leonard Cohen).  Can I just say that female musicians in this era absolutely rock?  We got Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and Dolly Parton.  Take that society!


Joni Mitchell's voice is one that can't really be described; you really just have to listen to it.  It is sort of a cross between Joan Baez and someone that can actually hit high notes (sorry Joan).  Needless to say, it is haunting and pretty.  The songs are just as beautiful.  If I had known the song "California" when I went to France, I would have known exactly how to put what I was feeling into words.  Definitely one of the best albums of all time (I also feel this way about Tapestry, American Pie, Who's Next, Rubber Soul, and Chelsea Girl just so you can get a feel for my taste).

RATING: 5/5

229. Songs of Love and Hate

Songs of Love and Hate
Leonard Cohen
1971

Tracks
1. Avalanche
2. Last Year's Man
3. Dress Rehearsal Rag
4. Diamonds In The Mine
5. Love Calls You By Your Name
6. Famous Blue Raincoat
7. Sing Another Song Boys
8. Joan Of Arc


Last time I listened to a Leonard Cohen album, it was right after I found out my grandpa died.  Add that to the fact that Leonard Cohen makes Billie Holiday look like The Mamas And The Papas, and you have an extremely depressing experience.  This album is unique in that Cohen is also very angry in addition to being sad.


What can I say?  This is an emotion-packed album for sure.  If you are looking for some sort of catharsis, you will find it here.  However, this album is certainly not enjoyable.  You will feel kind of crappy afterwards, like after eating a whole carton of Fudge Tracks ice cream.  The ice cream is great but consuming it for forty minutes is not a good idea.

RATING: 3/5

228. Pictures At An Exhibition

Pictures At An Exhibition
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
1971

Tracks
1. Promenade
2. Gnome
3. Promenade
4. Sage
5. Old Castle
6. Blues Variation
7. Promenade
8. Hut of Baba Yaga
9. Curse of Baba Yaga
10. Hut of Baba Yaga
11. Great Gates of Kiev
12. Nut Rocker


If you have read my blog before, you will see that I sometimes complain about pretentious music.  Well, I apologize because that was nothing compared to this.  This is a rock cover of a classical piece of music done by Modest Mussorgsky in 1874.  Mind=blown.


I know so little about classical music it is embarrassing.  I went to a symphony once and fell asleep.  I can name about five composers. I also hated the movie Amadeus. I know so little, in fact, that I considered doing the 1001 Classical Recordings project but figured that would end in me swan diving out of my window.


Anyway, this is probably the most intellectual album I have ever listened to.  Naturally, it went over my head.  I feel like Woody Allen in Small Time Crooks.  I don't even feel like I can criticize it too much.  It would be like me trashing sports.  I know that just because I don't like it, doesn't mean other people won't fall in love with it.  Just not my cup of tea.

RATING: 1/5

227. Every Picture Tells A Story

Every Picture Tells A Story
Rod Stewart
1971

Tracks
1. Every Picture Tells A Story 
2. Seems Like A Long Time 
3. That's All Right 
4. Tomorrow Is A Long Time
5. Maggie May 
6. Mandolin Wind 
7. (I Know) I'm Losing You
8. (Find A) Reason To Believe


I have become frightened from reading so many reviews of Rod Stewart.  Apparently, he went insanely downhill after the seventies; it seems to be a descent that is lamented by almost everyone.  I have never heard his later work but seriously, how bad can it be?  


Anyway, I love Rod Stewart's voice.  It is so unique and gravelly.  Still, there are some songs that he should not attempt, "Amazing Grace" being one of them.  Most of the time, though, he sounds amazing.  


This album is really great and beautiful.  The song "Maggie May" is so romantic and lovely.  I would love to date a singer/songwriter.  Particularly this one:

But I digress.  Great album; sweet and pretty.

RATING: 5/5

226. Histoire de Melody Nelson

Histoire de Melody Nelson
Serge Gainsbourg
1971

Tracks
1. Melody
2. Ballade De Melody Nelson
3. Valse De Melody
4. Ah Melody
5. L'Hotel Particulier
6. En Melody
7. Cargo Culte


I have listened to some weird albums in my time but this has got to be one of the strangest.  The whole experience was odd because I was trying to decipher Ulysses while trying to translate the French.  Result?  Brain explosion.


Anyway, I don't think we have had French music since Jacques Brel so I was excited to hear something different.  This is a concept album.  From what I could gather, some guy is in love with a young girl named Melody and it doesn't work out.  Interspersed between the album was some girl saying "Melody!" over and over again and something really obnoxious laughter.


This album was unusual for a number of reasons. For one thing, it is a little under a half hour long.  For another, the singer tries to do this really sexy voice thing throughout which is not wholly successful. 


The whole album is in rapid French which if you can't understand, there is really no point in listening to it since it is more of a story than music.

RATING: 2/5

225. Led Zeppelin IV

Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin
1971

Tracks
1. Black dog
2. Rock 'n' Roll
3. Battle of Evermore
4. Stairway to Heaven
5. Misty Mountain Hop
6. Four Sticks 
7. Going to California
8. When the Levee Breaks 


Sigh.  Hello again, Led Zeppelin.  These guys remind me of Paul Newman.  I think Paul Newman movies are generally rather dull.  Still, I have seen a ridiculous amount of his films.  I am doing the same thing with Led Zeppelin and their albums.  Damn list.


Anyway, this album is available to listen to on YouTube.  There are a surprising amount of fights and swearing on that page.  Everyone needs to chill out about this album.  I expect the reason this album is so popular is because of the track "Stairway to Heaven" which is easily their most famous song.  The reason I am so shocked that this is considered the best is because it is so mellow.  Led Zeppelin is known for rocking the house while this album is actually kind of folksy.


Probably the best album they have though it seems like my reasons are different than everyone else's.

RATING: 3/5

224. Tarkus

Tarkus
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer
1971

Tracks
1. Tarkus
2. Jeremy Bender
3. Bitches Crystal
4. Only Way (Hymn)
5. Infinite Space (Conclusion)
6. Time And A Place
7. Are You Ready Eddy


Gees, what is with all this progressive rock?  It is dreadfully pretentious and this is coming from a girl who likes American Beauty.


What is there to even say about this album?  There are very long instrumental tracks ("Tarkus" is around twenty minutes long) and I sometimes felt like I was listening to a video game menu screen.

I frankly did not get it.  There are some albums that I know are trying to send a message or try new things that I just don't like.  This album, however, I don't even understand the appeal of.  I would ask someone to explain it to me but who exactly is
A. Reading this blog
or
B. Listening to this album?


RATING: 2/5

223. American Pie

American Pie
Don McLean
1971

Tracks
1. American Pie 
2. Till Tomorrow 
3. Vincent (Starry Starry Night) 
4. Crossroads 
5. Winterwood 
6. Empty Chairs 
7. Everybody Loves Me Baby 
8. Sister Fatima 
9. Grave
10.Babylon


First of all, I just found out my dad sometimes reads this blog. Sorry Daddy, about the whole "on my ass" thing...hehe...didn't mean it!


Anyway, I absolutely adore this album; it definitely is in the running for my favorite albums of all time.  Everyone is familiar with the song "American Pie" even Stewie:

There is a reason that this song is so well known, of course.  It is an amazing tribute to the great musicians of the past; I almost feel like it should be this blog's theme song. Actually, this whole album is a tribute.  You can guess who the song "Vincent" was meant for.  There is a great line in that song that goes something like "the world was never meant for someone as beautiful as you."


This is a truly amazing album and you owe it to yourself to listen to it.  I wish Don McLean would write a song for me.  And Elton John.


RATING: 5/5

222. Coat of Many Colors

Coat of Many Colors
Dolly Parton
1971

Tracks
1. Coat of Many Colors 
2. Traveling Man 
3. My Blue Tears 
4. If I Lose My Mind 
5. Mystery of the Mystery 
6. She Never Met a Man (She Didn't Like)
7. Early Morning Breeze 
8. Way I See You
9. Here I Am 
10. Better Place to Live


Before this album, my experience with Dolly Parton was limited to:

This, naturally, was pretty frightening.  I also knew that she was the writer of the song "I Will Always Love You" which is commonly credited to Whitney Houston.

Okay, this is the first country album we have had in awhile, which is not unexpected since we are in the era of rock.  Naturally, it is a bit hokey.  The song "Better Place to Live" talks about loving every one and the song "Coat of Many Colors" is about how being poor was something that brought the family together.  Still, you can't deny she has a fantastic, unique voice.

There is something distinctly likable about this album even though I am not a country fan.  Still, not essential listening.

RATING: 3/5

221. Madman Across The Water

Madman Across The Water
Elton John
1971

Tracks
1. Tiny Dancer
2. Levon 
3. Razor Face 
4. Madman Across The Water 
5. Indian Sunset 
6. Holiday Inn 
7. Rotten Peaches 
8. All The Nasties
9. Goodbye


I think the reason I have been listening to so many albums lately is solely so I could get to this one faster.  I think "Your Song" is the greatest love ballad of all time (does anyone not like that song?) and "Tiny Dancer" is actually a song I could dance to and believe me, that is a limited repertoire.

Also, ever heard him sing his version of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight?".  Pure beauty:

So I already knew he was a terrific songwriter and had a very poetic way of putting things.  From listening to this album, I learned that it is not just his hits that are fantastic.  The whole album is very Elton John-y which is a delight and very sweet.  Can't really describe it so just check it out.

RATING: 5/5


I am not the only one that is obsessed: