The Beatles – Revolver
(Vinyl) ****+
The Beatles’ Revolver,
featuring the smash hits Yellow Submarine and Eleanor Rigby, is
likely their most experimental album.
Swinging from romantic ballad with Good day Sunshine, to
psychedelic rock with the instrumentally diverse Tomorrow Never Knows,
to excellent classic Beatles hits like Tax Man, Revolver exhibits
nearly every facet of the Beatles’ style and is a remarkably entertaining
listen as a result.
The Kinks - Arthur or The Decline and Fall of The
The Kinks’ Arthur or The Decline and Fall of The British Empire, released in
1970, marks a turning point in the career of this largely underrated and
remarkably creative band. In this album,
being written originally as a soundtrack for a movie in which an aging British
couple’s children are moving to Australia, Ray Davis’ subtle genius proves
itself yet again through the impacting socially progressive lyrics of such
tracks as Yes Sir No Sir and Shangri-La, and such masterfully written
and played tracks as Arthur and Mr. Churchill Says. The Decline and Fall of The
British Empire veers somewhat away from the ‘Beatles style’ that early
Kinks albums are known for and begins to establish for them a new, more unique
sound; that one which would become a very influential staple of late 70's rock
& roll radio. Though not
contributing anything as dynamic as Destroyer or You Really Got Me
to the Kinks’ name, this album’s songs are gems of remarkably solid quality and
uniqueness each, shimmering as brilliantly together as individually.
[Peter’s note – Destroyer isn’t
a good song]
The Rolling Stones –
Emotional Rescue **
Released in 1980, Emotional
Rescue is The Rolling Stones’ brave attempt at influencing the sound of a
new decade. An attempt
that failed terribly. One funk
track, Dance, transcends the rest of the album, putting to shame that
piece which the album is titled after, Emotional Rescue (despite the
fact that it was a hit in its day and is included in the 40 Licks). However, even wallowing in the shadow of Dance,
Emotional Rescue gives more to the album than most of its other tracks
put together. Like too many Rolling
Stones albums, this one leaves the listener throughly
dissatisfied and offers few tracks of any noteworthy quality.
Toto – Super Hits *-
This is an album which has
tracks that are listed in degenerating order; beginning with Toto’s most
popular single, Hold the Line, a high quality piece, each track after is
a little bit worse than the one before it until you reach the incredibly boring
and musically unimaginative I’ll be Over you. All in all, this 'Best of' album speaks sadly of
this bands career.