Spring in Fialta
A malign star kept him
Been trying/re-trying some things from the greatest 70s albums thread that I'm either unfamiliar with, skeptical of (but not totally dismissive of), or forgot about.
Conquering Lion by Yabby You - 2.5 (Good)
Blow by Blow by Jeff Beck - 2.5 (Good)
Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome by Parliament - 2.0 (Positive)
Wired by Jeff Beck - 2.0 (Positive)
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Mekanik Destruktiw Kommandoh by Magma - 1.5 (Neutral)
Stretchin Out by Bootsy's Rubber Band - 1.5 (Neutral)
Phases and Stages by Willie Nelson - 1.5 (Neutral)
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Pieces of a Man by Gil Scott Heron - 1.0 (Negative)
Rumours by Fleetwood Mac - 1.0 (Negative)
Imagine by John Lennon - 1.0 (Negative)
Notes:
* King Tubby is awesome and Conquering Lion intrigues me a lot. Going to keep listening to that one and hopefully it rises.
* Jeff Beck is really talented and his albums are solid/impressive, not that the creativity involved blows my mind or anything.
* Funk is enjoyable and often impressive but tends to all blend together a bit for me.
* Fleetwood Mac (and that type of appeal in general) doesn't really do anything for me.
* The Revolution Will Not be Televised is such a cool thing, but I tend to immediately dislike anything R&B, so that was a bummer.
* I love John Lennon to death, but Imagine has always felt like a really overrated album to me. Only about half the tracks avoid feeling like throwaways, and even the memorable tracks sound pretty cheesy, obnoxious, and overbearing to me. I also despise Phil Spector's production in most of what he has direct influence on, and this is no exception.
That's too bad about Rumours. I don't think it's transcendent or has the highest of peaks but I think it's a good example of a well-produced, slick commercial record. I think that if commercial music had more albums of the sort mainstream music culture would be in a far better health.
Also Imagine - along with Psycho Killer by Talking Heads - are my two most intensely hated songs of all-time in contrast to their popular and critical acclaim. I could stab someone in the eye with an ice pick when I hear them.