small times for formidable people

Quadrophenia by The Who (1973)
Funny story.
I was wearing my The Who shirt and one of my professors asked me what my favorite the who album was. I panicked and said "Tommy" and he was like "man, you like tommy better than quadrophenia?" I just said "eh, wasn't a fan" even though I hadn't listened to it yet.
Now that I have, it is easily better than Tommy. Much more consistent. Also, that final song packs so much punch.
I honestly don't really understand the concept though. A guy with 4 personalities? I can never really make out when the personalities change, so it doesn't really emotionally draw me in yet. Maybe more listens will help.
Aside from the scizophrenic concept, there's a story about a guy losing attachment to the world and tries to find solace in his favorite rock stars, but they don't do the trick. This is pretty great for '73, since at the time all of the great cult-status bands from the 60s are losing their fanbase and the hippie era is over. The lead guy of Quadrophenia tries to get attached to a punk-ish band, and it's a nice tie in to the would-be emerging punk genre in the mid to late 70s.
yaddayaddayadda the album continues. There really aren't any bad songs persay on this album. Tommy had some BAD songs.
A lowlight goes to I'm One because of its country feel, especially early on. Later it gets better and it's great.
Other lowlight goes to The Punk and The Godfather for super repetition. I'm sure there's great plot development going on somewhere.
I also dislike the horns on 5:15 choruses. The progression at the end of the song is used in Supertramp's Rudy, which is about a guy on a train as well what a nice musical quotation.
Highlights are kind of weird. Not much really stands out on this album. Unlike tommy where the highlights are HIGH, everything just kind of buzzes at average until Love Reign O'er Me. And The Real Me I suppose. Also the neat progressions on Helpless Dancer.
Doctor Jimmy is where we really get the idea that this thing would work amazing as a stage musical. There's just something about it that screams "community theater", but I also like that scream so there.
The Rock is a great instrumental. Supposedly leadman is swimming to an island to get rained on in the last song ROFL
so yeah, this is probably my favorite The Who album, even though it's pretty average as a whole.

Highlights: Love Reign O'er Me, Doctor Jimmy, The Rock, The Real Me, Helpless Dancer
Lowlights: I'm One, The Punk and The Godfather, 5:15

Quadrophenia was so gay. Just, everything about it screamed "homosexual". "GOTTA FOLLOW THE TRENDS" "I AM NOTHING WITHOUT THESE CLOTHES DOG"
However, 5.15 is brilliant, and Love Reign O'er Me is one of the best songs ever.
Best The Who album is My Generation.

I can't bring myself to listen to Tommy, since it's a double album and fuck that. Plus, I still hate Pinball Wizard because of Rock Band 2.

as I stated, it really does have a stereotypical musical production feel. It and Tommy are both better if you listen to it as a musical whole and focus on the story and the throwbacks to other songs. But if you just kind of are listening without much focus and not really paying attention, it's very mediocre.

The Amazing New Electronic Pop Sound of Jean-Jacques Perrey by Jean-Jacques Perrey (1968)
Have you ever thought "I wonder what analogue gameboy music sounds like"
"I wonder how synthesizers were being used before the 80s"
or
"What was that song in the background of going to the store"
then get this album.
It's one of the most ahead of its time albums I've ever heard, considering synthesizers were next to unheard of.
The mellotron was really first introduced to the public with Days of Future Passed by The Moody Blues in 1967, and then they would get more widespread fame with their use on Strawberry Fields Forever and Here Comes The Sun. But that's just mellotrons. This album showcases the darker side of synth development.
I mean, an album composed of almost entirely synth sounds (with the occasional drums and guitar). That's just bizarre.
Admittedly, a lot of the songs sound the same-ish. They have super basic folk progressions or are based on nursery rhymes. But still
One of the more interesting albums ever released. I love it.

Highlights: The Little Ships, Brazillian Flower, Gypsy in Rio
Lowlights:

I can't remember if i reviewed this or not
but i own this album and revisited it heavily over the summer so HERE GOES

After Bathing At Baxter's by Jefferson Airplane (1968)
The follow up to the widely successful Surrealistic Pillow, the album which probably changed the course of the musical world.
They decided that they were unhappy with being pop hitmakers, so they tried to be EXPERIMENTAL (kind of)
There are a few good pop-ish songs that should probably be more famous than they are. Watch Her Ride and The Ballad of You Me & Pooneil comes to mind.
but there are some songs here that are the weirdest musical acid trips ever. Spare Chaynge is certainly that. It is a Bass Guitar and Drum noise-making session that doesn't have any sign of melody or rhythm until about 7 minutes in. and then it gets GOOD. takes a while to get there, but it's kind of worth it.
I always seem to favor the Grace Slick tunes, and there are two of her songs here. One is based on the book Ulysses by James Joyce, and it's rather symphonic and simple. Very un-jefferson airplane like, but there are really good elements in it.
The other is one of my favorites on the album, and I don't know why. Two Heads has the strangest lyrics and the very jarring guitar and drum work is very bizarre. Wish I knew why I love it, but I do.
I should address the first two songs I mentioned now, because they groove so hard. there's another song, written by the guitarist that grooves just as hard but it's less acceptable I would say. Ballad of You Me & Pooneil starts with the lyrics that Sir Arnold sings in that one video you all adore that I can't bother to find and link.
following the first song is this AMAZING sound collage. Never been a fan of them, but this one is just mmmmmmmmmmm
Watch Her Ride uses only minor 7th chords except for the bridge which is just one major chord over and over. best song.
Last Walls of the Castle has the best intro to a solo ever. yeah.
There are so many highlights on this album, but let's move on to the stragglers:
The real 60s pop guy of the band had one song on the album, and it's hardly noticeable because it's too normal. It's kind of bluesy and on second thought it's alright and not worth lowlight.
There's one other song like that which could be okay, but it comes right after normal-tune and it's just too much deviation from not-normal.
Final tune is pretty mediocre. Nothing special, kind of a lacklustre ending really. But I guess it has significance since it's about the Be-In that united the hippies, so there's that. a time piece.
oh wow, i almost managed to do the whole review without looking, but I managed to completely forget a song that comes after the other normal tunes. it is so normal it HURTS. i mean, the fact that I forgot it says something in and of itself.
My fave jefferson airplane album there I said it.

Highlights: The Ballad of You Me & Pooneil, A Small Package of Value Will Come To You Shortly, The Last Wall of the Castle, Watch Her Ride, Two Heads
Lowlights: Martha, Wild Tyme

Cross by Justice (2007)
ELECTONIC DANCE MUSIC
no seriously this album is French House.
house music was made by homosexuals in chicago back in the late 70s and early 80s. it was the natural next step in the progression of disco music.
The key thing about house music that I love is the warm sound of 60s and 70s funk drum samples from fuzzy vinyl. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
however, this album is much more processed than the old House music. But the samples are still just as pertinent and GREAT.
Album starts with my favorite track, Genesis. There's something so great about it.
the worst track on the album by FAR is Tthhee Ppaarrttyy. I mean, just look at that title. LOOK AT IT. It's a bad looped thing with a bad woman singing about getting drunk over top. why
directly following it is an example of how to include vocals over a house track. Well done.
also among the highlights are D.A.N.C.E. and Stress. Stress uses DISSONANCE in a weird but fun way. and then Waters of Nazareth is also great.
final tune is the most lacklustre ending to an album ever. It's a waste of space. The very definition of filler.
there are a bunch of other songs that are pretty great but they all kind of blend together.
Get this album if dancing is your life and you're always looking for more ways to express sir life.
i know, me liking electronic music

Highlights: Genesis, D.A.N.C.E., Stress, Waters of Nazareth, DVNO, Newjack
Lowlights: Tthhee Ppaarrttyy, One Minute to Midnight

For some reason, I love Tthhee Ppaarrttyy
I have no idea why
help

you are beyond help

it's been fun friend

Song of Innocence by David Axelrod (1968)
who remembers when i reviewed Mass in F Minor by The Electric Prunes? that album came out in early early 1968.
david axelrod composed that entire album. it was essentially an axelrod album where some members of the electric prunes sang and played guitar.
The main difference between this album and Mass in F Minor is the drums. Also, this album is instrumental. and much jazzier
the drumming used on this album is so funky and hip-hop like. Here's an example, at least two different rappers have rapped overtop of the song Holy Thursday from this album. Uneditted. No other samples, just the song being rapped over. This album is so ahead of its time it blows my mind.
That, mixed in with the swooping strings, simple-but-constantly-building song structures, and the baroque instrumentations really makes a GREAT soundscape.
I love this album more than Mass in F Minor, and I LOVED Mass in F Minor.
My only qualm with this album is that they do this really creepy high pitched dissonance with the strings at the start of like 4 different songs.
It'd be fine if they did it only to start the album (like they do), but the repetition is just too much for me.
In all honesty, most of the songs kind of blend together. They're mostly just like two or three chords and simple melody lines that are passed around to different instruments. It's great.
I'll skip Highlights and Lowlights today, but I will say Holy Thursday is my favorite song, mostly because of the vibraphone. Well done, sir axelrod.

Egg by Egg (1970)
egg egg egg egg egg egg egg egg egg egg
continuing with more canterbury scene goodness, but this band is probably the most "normal" of the canterbury bands
it is very keyboard heavy, even compared to other acts of the scene. Very arthur brown like, but with less highs and screaming about hell and burning
Very classically inspired, they use a lot of various musical quotations to classical songs i cba to find the titles to
If you want the best Arthur Brown clone song, go for the song with most obnoxious title on this planet: "The Song of McGillicudie the Pusillanimous (or don't worry James, your socks are hanging in the coal cellar with Thomas)". But seriously, it's my favorite song on the album.
just prior to this song is They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano..., another gem. It sounds just like the title, a solo sad piano tune, and then weird electronic organ stuff starts happening out of nowhere.
prior to THAT song is Fugue in D Minor which is one of the most chill songs on the album.
I'm guessing most people would say their favorite song on the album is the 20 minute closer. It starts good, but it just kind of drags on endlessly and blends in with the rest of the album. Should have been divided up, in my opinion.
There are two songs on the album which are the ABSOLUTE definition of filler. 20 seconds of weird noise. why
otherwise, I love this album quite a bit. A good deviation from the general style of Canterbury Scene progressive rock. A good mixture of ELP-type prog and Soft Machine-type prog.
Also, the best vocalist of the canterbury scene. Well done.

Highlights: The Song of McGillicudie the Pusillanimous (or don't worry James, your socks are hanging in the coal cellar with Thomas), They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano..., Fugue in D Minor, I Will Be Absorbed
Lowlights: Bulb, Boilk

Over-easy or sunny-side up

Concerto Grosso Per I by New Trolls (1971)
have you ever thought to yourself
"man, I would love an album that mixes symphonic progressive rock with an actual symphony that has what sounds like Ian Anderson on flute and Sir Hendrix himself on guitar that is nothing but amazing and harpsichord-driven grooves and melodies"
then get this album, right now.
actually, it doesn't really sound like hendrix, but there's just something about the guitar tone and playing style that screams 60s hard psych shred
considered the first Italian Progressive album by some, it's one of the best albums from the scene. also of all time
seriously 5/5 there is nothing bad on this album. It's primarily instrumental, but there are some nice vocals scattered throughout, like the second song and variously through the final song which is 20 minutes long. Also the vocals are sung in English despite them being italian.
I cannot say anything but great things about this album.
Especially the solos on Shadows. it's incredible
[/hype]

Highlights: Shadows, Adagio (Shadows)
Lowlights:

In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel (1998)
oh dear
Well, I revisited this album last night for the first time in a year and a half.
First listen was underwhelming as fuck. Nothing stood out (aside from I LOVetc.)
However, at that time I hadn't listened to any psychedelic music and was in a jazz and folk music kick.
This listen was MUCH better. I had a fun listenalong with sir Orange and it was great.
Every song had its own unique quirks that I could easily pick apart. It's nice when you can read back through the tracklisting and remember exactly what you liked and disliked and remember themes of the songs on first (second) listen.
My clear highlights were Holland, 1945 and Untitled. Nothing even came close to these two tracks. Besides maybe the first song or the title track. or Ghost.
Clear lowlights were Two Headed Boy and The Fool. Seriously, fuck the fool.
Two headed boy was just too edgy for me and the acoustic punk element was pretty lame and it dragged on forever.
I was pleasantly surprised that Oh Comely didn't make me want to kill myself. 8 minutes of vocal based repetition? I held my composure and it actually went by much quicker than I thought. It felt shorter than Two Headed Boy, in comparison.
So yeah, this revisit worked well. Tune in next time where I actually commit suicide while revisiting Corporate America.

Highlights: Untitled, Holland, 1945, Ghost, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, The King of Carrot Flowers pt. 1
Lowlights: The Fool, Two Headed Boy

Two-Headed Boy is amazing though
Both parts

2nd part was one of the least memorable songs on the album, but it was certainly better than the first.

first

For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night by Caravan (1973)
One of what I would consider the big three in canterbury scene music. Here's a run down of them:
Gong are the jazzy and quirky hippies who have a lot of fun
Soft Machine are the try hards (not necessarily a bad thing)
and Caravan are the consistently good rockers, never really pushing many boundaries.
so there we have it. One could argue Hatfield and the North is a fourth, but I wouldn't quite today.
Caravan started in the late 60s, along with soft machine, but, as with most canterbury bands, their best stuff peaked in the early 70s.
I've listened to three of their albums, and this one is far and away my favorite. There are no bad songs on it.
Think DSotM/Meddle-era Pink Floyd, but with slightly funkier riffs and slightly worse singing, also WAY more synthesizers. There are catchy and poppy melodies on ever song. Also, there's a full orchestra that plays on a few songs here.
Hard to pick a bad song, but my two favorites are both on side 2. The first highlight, "The Dog, The Dog, He's at it again" has one of the catchiest melodies on the album, and it randomly goes into this funky solo section with rhythmic handclapping. handclapping
My favorite song on the album is definitely the final song with its tons of parts. It's the one that heavily uses the orchestra. No singing on this tune, but the progression near the middle is sublime. Like, the absolute best.
if I had to pick a lowlight, it would have to be Headloss, as it's so not-prog and really stands out for its normal rock feel.
This album is very accessible, and would work well as an entry point to less-well known prog groups from the era. I think a lot of people that might read this would enjoy it.

Highlights: The Dog, The Dog, He's At It Again, L' Auberge du Sanglier / A Hunting We Shall Go / Pengola / Backwards / A Hunting We Shall Go (reprise)
Lowlights: Headloss

am i included in "a lot of people"

sure

have a sample:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCo8c53fo_A&feature=related

wow, it's been a while
have a LONG review

Lonerism by Tame Impala (2012)
boy oh boy
So, after the breakout success of Mr. Parker in late 2010, he finally returns with an album with more "emotion" and "personal thoughts" supposedly
but before we start there, let's start with the first thing everybody thinks about tame impala:
"wow is that lennon on vocals? what, are they trying to stay in the dark ages?"
You are lying to yourself if you don't hear Lennon's voice in Parker's vocals. It's impossible to ignore. However, just because his voice emulates a famous anti-religious and peace-loving brit, doesn't mean that he is rooted entirely in the past. For that we turn to the clear stars of this album: the synths and the production
Starting with synths, the layers and layers of keyboards is incredible on nearly every song, much more than the first album. The first album is rooted in catchy melodies, this one is much more vocals focused (that is, until he stops singing and then the jams are incredible. Like, ten times better than the first)
Then there's the production value. You cannot listen to this album and think it was released before 1980. 1990 even. It has the clearest production i think i've ever heard, (admittedly, I don't listen to very much modern music for comparison, but nothing has come close). If you want to hear a relatively modern album that sounds like it's straight out of the 60s, listen to Olivia Tremor Control.
Now onto the heart of the stuff: the songs.
they're pretty good and stuff and like none of them are bad persay only two songs stick out as lowlights and that's the first and last song even though the first song is pretty memorable in the sense that it's cool but it dabbles on too long and stuff same with the last song it's so vocal centered and there's no instrumentation and stuff and like how lame man
best songs are Apocalypse Dreams, Music To Walk Home By, and Keep On Lying. Keep on Lying has the best solo section on a Tame Impala song yet and they utilized it
apocalypse dreams is the first "long" song on the album and it has some neat bassy/fuzzy guitar work
Music To Walk Home By is so happy and fun and it also has a long solo section fuk ye
despite having a lacklustre intro and a very weird, unsettling chord progression, the best atmosphere of sound is found on the outro Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Can Control (what a title)
Most reviews and opinions I've heard from this give Mind Mischief and Elephant high rankings among the songs, but compared to the rest of the album they do nothing to shine. Mind Mischief is one short riff over and over again that gets old rather quickly. Elephant is definitely on the better half of the album, but it's a Wolfmother-clone.
One last song to mention is Endors Toi, which is pretty cool and has a great legato synth intro. It's the most Innerspeaker-sounding song on the album, and for that we give it a highlight.
so that's all there is to say. While Innerspeaker was an instant favorite and slowly got old, Lonerism did the exact opposite. Takes some growing.

Highlights: Apocalypse Dreams, Music To Walk Home By, Keep On Lying, Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Can Control, Endors Toi
Lowlights: Be Above It, Sun's Coming Up

I completely agree with you about the worst tracks bookending the album.
One of the worst moves possible.

HALLA

so um, i haven't done anything since november, so I guess I'll do one on an artist I assraped a few months ago

Happy Sad by Tim Buckley (1969)
woah
so, in review, Tim Buckley was a folky artist from the mid 60s who suddenly did a set of like four very acid-y and chaotic acoustic based albums.
Of the four, Lorca is usually considered the best and is beloved by some avant garde fans (most notably Piero Scaruffi). I have a general dislike for it.
I reviewed Starsailor a few odd months ago, and it contains one of my favorite songs of all time, Jungle Fire.
But, of the three, Happy Sad is the most consistent and certainly my favorite. However, I haven't listened to Blue Afternoon and wikipedia tells me it is similar to Happy Sad.
I'll give out a quick warning, all of the songs set very good atmospheres and just stay on it for like 6 minutes. I could easily see people complaining about the songs being too long, but I find them great.
Between the instrumentation and neat chordings, it's quite clear this album is rooted in jazz. Xylophone, an upright bass, and a very clean electric guitar over top of jangly acoustic chords.
If there was one thing that sets this tim buckley apart from other tim buckleys in the world, it's the voice. It's not nearly as hectic and all over the place as on Starsailor or Lorca, and therefore much more accessible. It's much more manageable, but you can tell which direction he's heading in later albums.
The first two songs sound relatively similar. I prefer the first to the second however.
Third song, which has an unreasonably long title, is much more ballad-like in nature, utilizing pretty neat classical-sounding chord progressions and incorporating ocean sounds in the background.
Fourth song, Dream Letter, uses this really interesting droning bass sound, using a bow on the upright I think. It sounds really cool, and it's certainly the saddest song up to this point. The instruments are all kind of playing what they like without any organization. This song is the epitome of the instrumentation of the album, and I really like it.
The original, fresh, and uniquely titled Gypsy Woman is the first song to utilize percussion of any kind with some neat bongos. It's the longest on the album, reaching to a cool 12 minutes. My favorite on the album, probably because Buckley goes rather wild on his vocals for the first time on the album in this song.
Shortest song ends the song, rather uneventful. The lyrics might be good, can't really tell.
But yeah, i love this album. Very refreshing album no matter what mood I'm in.

Highlights: Gypsy Woman, Strange Feelin'
Lowlights: Buzzin' Fly, Sing a Song for You

So when mr. Green reminded me that revisiting vinyl guy still exists, I decided to see what bad opinions he had today
and look what I found, a 2/4 for Blood Sweat & Tears' self titled, one of my favorite albums of all time
so it's time for an accurate review of this album, since I don't think I've reviewed it yet.

Blood Sweat & Tears by Blood Sweat & Tears (either 1968 or 1969, different sites give different dates)
This is Blood Sweat & Tears' second album technically.
Al Kooper wrote like all the songs on their first album and gave them a clear jazz sound. He left and they needed a new singer, so they hired some canadian guy named David Clayton-Thomas. He gives the group a significantly more pop feel, but jazz still abounds sporadically through the tunes.
This band and Chicago (transit authority) go hand in hand. Chicago is more rock than jazz, this is more jazz than rock, but they're both relatively similar.
The album starts out with a rather light interpretation of the piano piece Gymnopédie No. 1. Then come HORNS and suddenly we're onto the second song.
More & More is a rather quick little number, and you get a good feel for what the band is trying to do on the whole album with this song. There's a good 3 minute section in the middle that dances around between time signatures, various jazz styles, and then ends on a brass quartet sound before moving back to the main song. Variations on a Theme is the whole theme of this album. The creativity is the key point to this album.
Third song is called Sometimes in Winter, which is a slower, more melancholy song sung by I think the harmonica player or something. Revisiting Vinyl guy says this is the low point of the album, but I HIGHLY disagree. one of my favorites.
More & More is about the rockiest song, and I think it might be the only song with a guitar on it. Not to mention a guitar solo.
And When I Die is I think a laura nyro cover about some anti-religious stuff or maybe pro-religious I really can't tell. There's various hoe-down sections and short little snippets of a nice big band solo section. Pretty good.
Now, this song is where I largely disagree with revisiting vinyl guy. His complaint is that God Bless The Child doesn't stay true enough to the original and throws in various jazz solo sections, as we've come to expect based on all of the previous songs. I have very big problems with bands who cover songs and try to be as much like the original as possible. If there's no variation, no making it your own, then there is absolutely zero point to covering in my eyes. Given that half of the songs on this album are covers, that might be another reason this is one of my favorite albums. Also, this song is my fave on the album.
Spinning Wheel was the first song I heard by this band, and upon listening to the rest of the album, I realize it's pretty just okay. the solo section is real nice.
My least favorite on the album is You've Made Me So Very Happy. some good organ, good vocals, but it's rather boring and repetitive, which is strange for this band who likes to change things up at the drop of a hat.
Last two songs go together and blend into each other, so there's that. Blues Pt. II is just a long (primarily) instrumental jam with various sections, including a jazzy cover of Sunshine Of Your Love near the end. Then there's some vocal banter in which he references other songs from the album and just kind of emotional screeching, and then it fades out into the first song again. A complete bookend. Then there's the super cliche high heeled walking person and the slam of a door to end the album.
Take it as you will.

Highlights: God Bless The Child, Smiling Phases, Sometimes in Winter, More & More
Lowlights: Variations on a Theme (First Movement), You've Made Me So Very Happy

I think I might review the cowboy bebop soundtrack tomorrow. I'm feeling review-y

here we goooooooooooooooo

Cowboy Bebop by The Seatbelts (1998)
3 2 1 let's jam
so here we have the first of like 6 soundtracks to the anime Cowboy Bebop. Definitely the most well known of the OSTs.
Here is my view of this album:
If you have any inkling of an interest in jazz, this is essential. There are so many variety of styles and genres of jazz embedded in these soundtracks that it's easy to pinpoint exactly what you like and don't like, and then move on accordingly.
Highlights include the opening to the show, which is such a powerhouse of a song. the sax solos man
The song Rush is certainly my favorite on the whole thing, and incorporates a very james bond-like atmosphere. On a later album, they include a very traditional jazz cover of this same song.
Last super great song on here is called Piano Black, and I love it only because I have no idea how they make half the sounds for the percussion.
There are some pretty neat slide guitar songs with neat harmonica soloin' which i would recommend.
Also of note is the song The Egg And I, which had its drums sampled on the 'Ey Tony by Bran & Friends.
There's only one song I can't stand on here called Space Lion. It's some ethnic/world music thing with really annoying chanting over a very sad ballad. plus it's 7 minutes long.
another low light is the only song with vocals, called Rain. It's alright, but there's a version on a later album with a female vocalist doing the same thing which is infinitely better.
A must have for weeaboos and non-weeaboos alike.

Highlights: Tank!, Rush, Piano Black, Bad Dog No Biscuit, Spokey Dokey, Too Good Too Bad
Lowlights: Space Lion, Rain, Cosmos

Since there hasn't been a Green review in a while, why not let Yellow take over for the first time in a while.
(side note, I haven't been referred to as yellow in such a long time)

Ege Bamyasi by Can (1972)
hooray
thanks to green's Tago Mago review a few months back which reminded me Can still exist, I jumped into them headfirst and have been assraping them a bit hard lately.
There is a relatively bitter debate as to which Can album is best. Man is it hard to choose between Ege Bamyasi [funkiest] and Future Days [best production value from that time i've heard].
If Tago Mago didn't have the song Aumgn, it would be right in the running. But alas.
Ege Bamyasi is probably the most accessible of Can's albums. There aren't any side long songs and there's a pretty easy going groove through each tune.
one common complaint against the band is their vocalist, Damo. He is a japanese-german man who has the weirdest accent on earth. He's not necessarily a good singer, but it works for the music I guess.
Here are my favorites on the album:
Pinch starts off the thing, very funky, next to no song development through the whole 9 minutes, just groovy drumming and sexy guitar playing.
Vitamin C has one of the better diminished chord uses I can think of, plus the lyrics are quite funny to me.
The song that ends the album is my second favorite probably (Spoon), it has these really great synth pulses on every beat that really add a lot.
I'm So Green is one of the few songs on the album that has an actual chord progression rather than being single or two chord songs, probably the easiest to listen to on the album as well.
The longest song, Soup, starts really chaotically and is their most avant-garde work here. It kind of stands out for it, it seems better suited to Tago Mago, but I like it regardless.
The only song on the album I kind of dislike is Sing Swan Song. When I heard it was sampled in a Kanye West song, his version made it even worse for me because now I can't not hear "DRUNKEN HOT GIRLS" everytime I listen to it. Damn you kanye.

Highlights: Pinch, Spoon, Vitamin C, I'm So Green
Lowlights: Sing Swan Song

so yeah there's that. Maybe I'll review some more German stuff later since that's kind of what I'm into lately
if there are any requests I will gladly oblige

German Review No. 2

Ash Ra Tempel by Ash Ra Tempel (1971)
woooooooooooah
Ash Ra Tempel are kind of the ideal in the space-y kraut groups, encompassing a lot of what defined the sound of other groups like them. The entry level band, if you will.
I do know that many people consider their second work, Schwingungen, better than their self titled debut, but I disagree.
let's look these guys up on wikipedia because I know very little about them
oh wow, the keyboardist is Schulze. He's well known in the movement for his ambient synth use. That is definitely a factor in this band's music.
eh whatever here we go
there are two songs on this album
the first one is GREAT. 10/10 perfect best song ever written etc etc
entirely instrumental, starts with this bizarre ambient synth vibe before tribal/rock drumming come in, turning it into the jam of a lifetime. In essence, it's a 20 minute guitar solo but it's so much more than that. I can certainly see this song (and band, really) being boring to people not used to their play style, and I probably would have hated them (or at least disliked them) about 2 years ago, maybe even one year ago.
Second song has its upbeat moments, but for the most part it's similar to he beginning of the first. The two songs are in direct contrast, and I prefer the raw 20 minute jam session over 16 minutes of ambience broken up by shredding in the last 5 minutes.
I can see this not being everyone's cup of tea, but I enjoy it quite well.

Highlights: Amboss
Lowlights: Traummaschine