The first 2 singles were good pop metal but they quickly became a cartoon parody of themselves. Jon Bon Jovi solo stuff was less formulaic. I got backstage with JBJ in the 90's at a Radio 1 roadshow ("it's not what you know it's who you know" - 2 of my future bosses are also in the video) and video'd from the side:

 

 

 

One of the reasons Bon Jovi exploded in popularity? Jon Bon Jovi was hot and women of a certain age loved him (and still do). Not quite so popular with men....

 

I expected to like the Bon Jovi album, but god that was not pleasant, even for a stadium rock/light metal fan, none of that aside from the biggest singles sounds good at all. Bit of a weak section, the last few, the Nas album aside.

I'm glad I'm not alone then! (Nice one @ that video)

 

-x-

 

 

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland

 

Rock of a bit more credible kind now. Electric Ladyland was the third studio album released by the Jimi Hendrix Experience and sadly, the last released in Hendrix's lifetime before the band dissolved, another member of the 27 Club. The album was recorded somewhat haphazardly and took months to record with Hendrix's famously perfectionist ways making sessions last a long time and inviting many other fellow friends into the recording studio to pitch in proved frustrating to his manager and band members, the former of which had quit by the time the album was finished. The album did manage to get finished though even if Hendrix still wasn't quite happy with it, and while it confounded critics, it was successful and it has been reappraised over the time as a classic. It contains one of Hendrix's best known songs, a cover of Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower.

 

Knowing the context behind the recording gives you some insight into how the album sounds, it undeniably sounds pretty messy and structureless and at almost an hour and twenty minutes long, it requires some devotion to stick to, that said, it's impressive. I hadn't heard an awful lot from Jimi Hendrix (I honestly never knew he was in a band, those poor two other members, did they ever think this would be a team effort? :')), but I knew he was a master of guitar and this album is definitely a showcase for that. The many layers and playing about with the guitar dominates this album and while it may be something of an acquired taste overall, I really was captivated by the dense and surreal atmosphere he managed to create here. Lyrics are largely secondary here, you can here some of the slightly poetic and literary imagery he was going for in the brief lyrical excerpts, but it's mainly about that lead guitar. Two of the these songs go on for almost fifteen minutes and while yes, I'm sure they could've been cut, they are some of the best examples to see his unrestricted and multi-layered style take place, there's also a prominent use of organs throughout which add an otherworldly feel. 1983 (A Merman I Should Turn to Be) is one of these which takes vaguely apocalyptic, metaphorical fish-like lyrics, backwards recordings, various ambient and odd instrumental sounds and sudden changes in shift to create a truly dreamy and psychedelic experience and show through instrumental, the more introspective poet. Voodoo Chile is similar, making a prominent use of an organ throughout, this should not be confused with Voodoo Child (Slight Return), which is almost a third the length and is less meandering and more guitar heavy. Apparently he never quite came up with a name for the latter and so they remain as different tracks on the album, it's confusing but the latter has got some truly iconic solos on it, and many of the shorter, less experimental moments are good examples of conventional blues rock, like Crosstown Traffic & Long Hot Summer Night, All Along the Watchtower additionally is deservedly a classic and a great example of a classic reinterpretation.

 

It's not perfect, it's overly long and goes straight out over-indulgent in places that you really do feel for the people that had to work on it, but thankfully the faults are outweighed by the sheer, unfiltered talent on scale here. You wonder with how relatively young rock was at the time, what he could've gone on to do with the genre, but this is a great legacy to leave behind that many other artists have drawn on. It's not the easiest record to listen to, perhaps more one to appreciate than truly love, but as a final work, it's a great exploration of a imaginative and ambitious talent gone too soon.

 

8.0

Some of us who were around in the 1980s still thought Bon Jovi were the epitome of generic tripe :P

 

 

Must admit I've never listened to one of their studio albums, only the singles and Greatest Hits sets.

 

Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run

 

Bruce Springsteen AKA The Boss' third album, Born to Run is largely seen as the one that broke him into the mainstream and is widely regarded as one of his best albums. The album took fourteen months to record with six months alone spent on the title track. He attempted to draw from the Phil Spector Wall of Sound approach to make the album more accessible and to reach a wider audience than he had previously. The album was for sure a big success and while it wasn't quite his most commercially successful, it did break him through to a number of international markets and formed the big star that he remains to be to this day.

 

My parents are massive fans of Bruce Springsteen so I have heard plenty of his discography before, I like a fair few of his songs and love how socially conscious and epic his compositions are, I've just always found him a bit 'dad rock'. However, I did really enjoy this album, in both a sonic and lyrical sense. The latter is definitely very noticeable though as these songs really are quite excellent stories that are either extremely engaging and tragic to listen to or some smartly induced social commentary. The album noticeably takes a 'four corners' approach to the structure with each four song side starting with triumphant, anthemic and uplifting odes to running for your life (Thunder Road and the title track, Born to Run) and the fourth being more tragic epics centred around loss and betrayal. Kinda sad, but you can't accuse of him not covering all parts of working class life at that time. The two starters are probably what the album is best known for, and both are great songs, the title track especially is iconic for a good reason, the anthemic lyrics, marvellous sounding guitars and constant fast-paced rhythm is timeless. It's definitely the later tracks where you get the best feel for his storytelling though - Backstreets from the first side is a tale of forbidden love that may or may not be non-straight (the protagonist and the love interest with the gender-neutral name, Terry, keeps you guessing) but opens with a beautifully tragic piano that highlights the tragic feel of the song, I do wish he wouldn't bellow the chorus quite so loud as it's a little offputting but you can still appreciate the lyrics. For my money, the last two tracks are the big highlights - Meeting Across the River, which is a film noir-esque, gritty track that documents a petty crime which really makes you feel the full tension of the lyrics with limited instrumental except distant horns and a light piano. Jungleland, at a packed nine minutes, is a mini, gradually building symphonic rock opera telling the dramatic and doomed story of the gang member 'Magic Rat', it's a sad but powerful story of the failure of the runaway American Dream and combines many themes of the album. Shoutout ofc. to the late, great Clarence Clemons, who on this song in particular gives an absolutely epic sax solo that fully captures the intensity of the surroundings.

 

If side one were as good as side two, this would probably be a much higher score, but I do find the best of his poetic writing and soundscape comes at the end, but it's not any songs are really bad, they all have a distinctive, striking sound and while some are a bit filler-y than others, it's a nice compact listen. The Wall of Sound always sounds really good and it's no exception here. I'm not always hugely into Springsteen's sound, but in this case, it's a great accessible look at both his best socially conscious songwriting and the beautiful symphonic soundscape that him and the E-Street band can create and is a deserved classic.

 

8.5

Jungleland is an absolute masterpiece :wub:

I've also got Hendrix' Hits on vinyl, All Along The watchtower is a masterpiece, but nothing he did other than that enthralled me in the same way give or take Hey Joe, and heaven knows I've tried and tried. I like Hendrix & the guys, but never been a fan as such.

 

Born To Run the single I loved from the moment I heard it, still one of the most exciting statements of arrival in pop music - and also his masterpiece. Bruce, though, has an entire career of great material. I also find his albums a bit heavy in one go, but track by track there's nothing to complain at. This album I own, though it's not one I've played much. Nothing bad about it, just doesn't make we want to replay it often.

Roger Scott of the original Capital Radio is largely responsible for my love of Springsteen. He was playing Born To Run on his drivetime show (as it wasn't called at the time) at a time when most stations ignored it.

Roger Scott of the original Capital Radio is largely responsible for my love of Springsteen. He was playing Born To Run on his drivetime show (as it wasn't called at the time) at a time when most stations ignored it.

 

It was played on Radio 1 at the time, Johnnie Walker I think, just before he got so sick of the UK chart music scene he buggered off to the USA - he was an island of quality in a sea of playlisted teenpop, he'd play album tracks, and unusual Record Of The Week choices that got no plays from anyone else. That, Gambo's US chart show and Rosko's Roundtable were my main source of non-top-40 in '75, though I also caught the Kasey Kasem's rundown on American Forces Network when I lived close enough to US bases to catch the airwaves...

It was played on Radio 1 at the time, Johnnie Walker I think, just before he got so sick of the UK chart music scene he buggered off to the USA - he was an island of quality in a sea of playlisted teenpop, he'd play album tracks, and unusual Record Of The Week choices that got no plays from anyone else.

 

 

The Bay City Rollers were really the final straw for Walker as he presented the lunch-time show so had to play them in the Tuesday chart countdown. He hated them with a passion. :D

I can't believe Born to Run charted at 93 in the UK :o Has to be one of the most famous songs to miss the top 75!

 

-x-

 

 

Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water

 

More 70s! Bridge Over Troubled Water was the fifth and final studio album for Simon & Garfunkel, who at the time were becoming rather troubled as a duo and were wearing out from the many years of success. Art Garfunkel's role in the film Catch-22 (at the expense of his bandmate), made him not present for the majority of the songs on the album, and it influenced some of the song writing from Paul Simon's perspective. The album was seen as much more diverse than their last efforts, incorporating R'n'B, world music and gospel onto their signature folk sound. The album was very well acclaimed and sold very well, but it wasn't enough to keep the duo from splitting up and going onto separate career paths, though they reunite numerous times over the years for special tours. Nonetheless, this still remains their final studio album.

 

I knew of a few Simon & Garfunkel songs through either memes or Heart FM, and they're the ones you'd probably expect to know, The Sound of Silence and the title track here. Like the last album, you may not have heard the whole album, but you'd have definitely heard the title track. It has been a bit rinsed from overplay and covered a few too many times, but it remains a great song, the anthemic build, gospel backing and Garfunkel's vocals remain really affecting and it's a great way to start the album off. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was a bit more diverse than I thought. Straight after Bridge..., we go to If I Could/ El Condor Pasa which makes use of new age-esque world music and Andean folk instruments, it's really quite haunting and beautiful, as is So Long Frank Lloyd Wright which makes use of Brazilian bossa nova and with it's very muted folk style that gradually unfolds to reveal a lot more instrumental layers, the production on this album is generally pretty great. A couple of others I did recognise, Cecilia through the Vamps version which I totes remember and its irritatingly catchy chorus and Keep the Customer Satisfied sounds quite familiar, it's lyrics are pretty good at disguising their contempt for the process of fame. Indeed, the context does make this album quite interesting as you can see how final it all sounds (even if it may not have been intended) and some of the lyrics point to that, like The Only Living Boy in New York written by Simon at a lonely time when Garfunkel was off starring in his film role (and Why Don't You Write Me being similar). I actually don't think I've heard The Boxer before even if it is seen as one of their greatest, it's a great song anyway with a great story and more gradually unfolding instrumentals.

 

Unfortunately, it did kind of lose me after a very impressive first half, the last few songs are just quite inessential and just feels kinda samey and standard folk after the impressive diversity in the first half (though it did tell me where the title for the film, Baby Driver came from which I never knew so kudos), and Garfunkel's absence is felt a bit and I honestly much prefer his vocals to Simon's (I guess that's quite an unpopular opinion given the latter was so much more successful, but I've not heard anything from him as good as Bright Eyes, fite me x). But overall, it's a much better album than I thought it'd be. Apart from the last two live tracks which feel very inessential, there's very little filler and an impressive array of worldly sounds they captured. They may have had a relatively short career, but they certainly brought their best out for the swan song.

 

8.0

I can't believe Born to Run charted at 93 in the UK :o Has to be one of the most famous songs to miss the top 75!

 

-x-

A re-release made the top 20 in 1987.

BOTW is still a fantastic album. It got played a lot in my house as I was growing up so I am very familiar with it. I'm amazed you'd not heard The Boxer before :o

A re-release made the top 20 in 1987.

 

it was a live version but the original almost charted in the download era, I think, but was kept out the chart by the invasion of Sheeran or some other mass chart invasion. I remember being very pissed off about it - it may have even been number 76, frustratingly close.

BOTW is one of the greatest albums of all-time, I still adore it. The one track that should have been left off is the live cover version, so out of place and unnecessary. Garfunkel's solo career never hit the heights of the multi-talented Paul Simon - I saw them both in the noughties, Simon in a perfect, polished, big band setting, and Garfunkel in a small, budget setting with his voice not what it used to be, but both had great solo material alongside the S&G classics. I Only Have Eyes For You, 99 Miles From LA, I Shall Sing and especially Travelin Boy (his unknown solo masterpiece).

BOTW is one of the greatest albums of all-time, I still adore it. The one track that should have been left off is the live cover version, so out of place and unnecessary

 

 

Agreed. It sticks out like a sore thumb. Great album though with The Boxer being the best track. Have the CD and still play it occasionally.

I definitely knew of The Boxer but it's weird, I don't recall ever hearing it in full :thinking: at least I have now~

 

-x-

 

 

Muse - Black Holes and Revelations

 

Ah, something a bit more modern now. Released in 2006, this was Muse's fourth album and their most commercially successful upon release, taking them from niche underground favourites to huge mainstream rock stars. Like their last album, there is political and dystopian undertones with many lyrics covering political corruption, alien invasions and New World Order conspiracies, but it certainly sounded a lot BIGGER than their last two albums and what turned into the rock stars and unstoppable live performers they still are today. It managed some of their biggest hits in their career and even a Mercury Prize nomination.

 

The last album on the list that I already owned and have listened to, if you know my thoughts on Muse, you'll probably know how this review is gonna go. I think on balance, this is actually my favourite album from them, while you could certainly argue it was the moment they sold out or became a parody of themselves, you could equally argue it was the step up they needed to take their epic, apocalyptic visions to stages around the world and become household names, and frankly while it is less raw than the likes of Origin of Symmetry and Showbiz, it still sounds very epic and keeps with their science fiction/horror themes. The singles on here are some of my favourites, Starlight is beautiful with it's wonderful piano, Supermassive Black Hole with it's raunchy distortion, Maps of the Problematique with its 80s-esque production and PARTICULARLY Knights of Cydonia, a six minute, guitar-heavy, space-western-esque epic that never fails to make me headbang and was the song that they concluded their concert with when I saw them live, and it was utterly amazing. With Muse, you really have to see them live to get the best out of these songs, they are great on record but sound even better in a live arena. Elsewhere on the album, there is just the right amount of insanity, imagination and doomsday calls so that you could easily use this album as a trademark to their sound. They go truly mad with styles and themes, particularly the apocalyptic orchestral strings of City of Delusion and the world music influences and classical piano of Hoodoo. There is also more subtle moments that show the moments of introspection that go on to form these extreme visions, Soldier's Poem is particularly poignant.

 

Is it over the top and not as deep as it seems? Of course it is, but Muse aren't about being deep, they are compared many times to Queen and Radiohead sometimes in a bad way, but frankly I don't think that's a bad thing as it captures all of the over the top bombast and anthemic sound of the former as well as the experimental, adventure and highly imaginative style of the latter to make something truly epic and foreboding, that also such fun. They've gone a bit off the scale with their last releases, but this album is a good reminder of when they had it just right. It's over the top and pretty silly all things considered but huge on scale, adventure and imagination, and that's what I love about Muse and I always will.

 

9.5

Black Holes & Revelations is my favourite Muse album, fantastic all of the way through from the emotional Soldier's Poem to those brilliant riff-heavy Knights Of Cydonia and Map Of The Problematique. Probably well into my favourite ever albums.

Muse were at their best for me from the third album, Absolution, through to the sixth, The 2nd Law. I think Black Holes and Revelations would be my favourite as well.

Black Holes and Revelations is my favourite Muse album, although Absolution runs it close. Map of the Problematique is my favourite song of theirs so that helps :wub: