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Album Review #24: Slorest Climbs Foggy Mountain

Flatt and Scruggs- Foggy Mountain Banjo (1961)

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Ahh, bluegrass. A real joy to listen to. I know it’s not for everyone, but it has a special place in my heart. My grandpa used to play the banjo, and I inherited it from him back in 2011. This album was my grandma’s, and it eventually found its way to me.

Flatt and Scruggs were an instrumental part of the bluegrass revival in popular culture. They were one of the main bands to take a somewhat fringe genre into the mainstream in the mid twentieth century. Earl Scruggs in particular is probably the most famous banjo player, and revolutionized the instrument with his unique “Scruggs-style” three finger picking. The New York Times about sums it up with a quote on the back of the jacket: “Earl Scruggs bears about the same relationship to the five-string banjo that Paganini does to the violin.”

Slorest’s Rating: ★★★★★ If you’re going to have a bluegrass album in your collection, make it this one. There’s something so joyous and lively about bluegrass music that you can’t help but be put in a good mood! Earl Scruggs especially gives life to the album, of course. Listen to those fingers fly! My favorite song on the album is Cripple Creek, a standard of the banjo repertoire.

#flatt and scruggs #bluegrass #five stars #album review #vinyl

slorestgreen

Album Review #23: Three Tigers in a Spotlight

Emerson Lake & Palmer In Concert (1979) by Emerson Lake & Palmer

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We return once again to one of my favorite bands in middle and high school, Emerson Lake & Palmer. ELP was perfect for me because it married synth-heavy prog rock with classical music, perfect for a little nerdling like me. This is actually one of the more recent ELP album I’ve picked up, and I’m fairly close to having every one of their albums on vinyl. So you could say I’m a fan.

ELP In Concert is a fairly standard live album, with the songs coming mostly from their then-newly-released Works albums. ELP were masterful showmen, and I think of any band that I listen to they would be at least in the top 5 bands I would like to see live. Their music is much higher energy live, and the band’s virtuosity is on full display. Keith Emerson in particular shines when on stage. He sounds just like he does in the studio because he’s just that good. The second half of the album is mostly taken up by Emerson’s piano concerto, which also demonstrates his composing prowess as well.

Slorest’s Rating: ★★★★☆ Usually I prefer studio albums to live ones, but I really enjoy this album a lot. It’s like a condensed version of the Works albums, with a lot more energy and the same amount of musical talent on display. Where some ELP albums can sound bloated, this album is lean, succinct, and fun.

machine-messiah

Whoops! Accidentally posted to the wrong blog!

#Emerson Lake and Palmer #elp #prog rock #classical #three stars #album review #vinyl

Album Review #22: From the Sun to the World

Electric Light Orchestra II by Electric Light Orchestra

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It’s ELO.... 2!!!

The self-titled 1973 release from everyone’s favorite British pop-rock hit factory is known simply ELO 2 in the UK and has different album art. I have the American release, and it’s seen better days. Oh well, the disc is in good shape and that’s all that really matters.

This is long before the days of everybody’s favorite classic ELO hits, and firmly in the era when the band was more... adventurous. They hadn’t found their footing as a band yet, and were testing out a few different things on this album. And those outfits. Whoof. I would say that this album is the most unlike their other music. Jeff Lynne had just taken over as ELO’s solitary writer after Roy Wood left shortly before this album’s creation, and as such this is the first album that allowed him to pursue only his creative endeavors. Most of these songs are fairly long and contemplative for ELO standards, with the exception of the Chuck Berry cover Roll Over Beethoven. Jeff Lynne was also the producer for this album, and that is a huge plus. ELO’s first album No Answer sounded very rough, which was by Roy Wood’s design. Lynne would go on to produce and write all of ELO’s future albums, so what you’re hearing is the evolution of one man’s brainchild over his whole career. Here in the very early stages, the ideas are less polished and the general effect of the album is much less approachable than their later works. There are some really gorgeous moments in this album, like From the Sun to the World and Mama, but these moments are often buried three or four minutes deep into the song.

Slorest’s Rating: ★★☆☆☆ It’s not bad, just not great. Plus, knowing what’s coming down the road for this band makes their earlier stuff that much less appealing for the average listener. If I were rating this album based on my own personal tastes, I would probably give it three or even four stars, because I really do like this album a lot. Lots of fun Moog moments and some other proggy shenanigans. But the fact is that this is probably the first or second weakest ELO album in their discography.

#electric light orchestra #elo #classic rock #prog rock #album review #two stars #vinyl

Album Review #21: Czech it Out

Antonín Dvořák- The New World- Ninth Symphony (1977)

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Another fine addition to my classical collection. This is just one disc from a 22-disc classical compilation, but I only have this one. Also, the promised biography booklet about Dvořák’s life was not included. Lame! Probably got lost somewhere along this album’s chain of owners.

The New World, written in 1893, is the title of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s ninth symphony and is by far the composer’s most popular work. Dvořák was inspired by numerous muscal styles while living in the United States, most notably Native American and African-American melodies and musical styles. This symphony was hugely popular at the time of its writing, and received a standing ovation at its premiere at Carnegie Hall in New York City. It quickly spread back to Europe, and has been a mainstay of symphony orchestras ever since. Astronaut Neil Armstrong even brought a cassette of it to the moon on the Apollo 11 mission!

Slorest’s Rating: ★★★★★ This piece is a real triumph of classical music. It perfectly embodies the ideals of the Late Romantic period: emotional intensity, quotable melodies, and a lush orchestration. My favorite moment is of course the second largo movement. That is a truly beautiful piece of writing! The whole symphony is excellent, though, and you should definitely try to get your hands on a recording for your collection if you have even a passing interest in classical music.

#dvorak #antonin dvorak #classical #album review #5 stars #vinyl

Album Review #20 Another Trip to Chi-Town

Chicago III (1970) by Chicago

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I’ve had this album for a looong time. Initially, I wasn’t super impressed, but I’m now giving it a second listen. I got this back in high school when I was first starting to collect records. I bought it because it was cheap (50 cents!) and it was a band I had heard of before.

Chicago III is, you guessed it, Chicago’s third album, but the first that uses the Roman numerals to number their releases, a tradition that the band has used up through Chicago XXXVI in 2014. According to Wikipedia, this album was the third double LP in two years, which is no small feat! The band had spent most of 1970 on the road touring, and were physically and mentally exhausted, but they apparently had enough material for a new album along the way. This album is a departure from their previous two albums, both in style and content. Chicago began to experiment with different genres, keeping their core of jazz inspired rock with a strong horn line, but branching into styles such as blues, soul, country, and psychedelic rock. The theme of this album is also darker than the band’s two previous entries. As referenced by the album art and included poster, this album deals with themes of patriotism and war mainly. The text on the poster lists the number of American casualties in all of its wars, including the then-ongoing Vietnam war, which was a major point of contention in various counterculture circles.

Slorest’s Rating: ★★★☆☆ Music-wise, this is definitely a departure from Chicago’s classic sound in a few places. I think i was too harsh on it on my first listen, and judged it based more on the fact that I didn’t recognize any of the songs on this album by name. There’s a lot of “jam session” style songs, which aren’t really my favorite, but there’s definitely a lot of interesting material explored in this album. A fine addition to a jazz or classic rock fan’s collection.

#chicago #jazz #classic rock #album review #three stars #vinyl

70sscifiart

George Barr

Album Review #19: We’re Back, Baby!

Briefcase Full of Blues (1978) by The Blues Brothers

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Well, after nearly 2 years of no reviews, I figured I’d give it another try! My Overwatch blog has exploded in popularity, and this blog sadly fell sort of by the wayside. Partly because there are 19 followers here (as opposed to 11,582 on the other one lol) but collecting records and listening to music is a real passion project of mine, and I’d rather do this for me than for fame. SO ANYWAYS on to the review!

This album was originally my dad’s, and he also had the CD of this so I heard it a ton during my childhood. Once I started collecting vinyl in earnest, he gave me his old albums because he hadn’t had a way to play them since before I was born! I can recall all of the songs on Briefcase Full of Blues clearly since they’ve been seared into my brain since childhood, but it’s always nice taking a trip down memory lane with this album.

Briefcase Full of Blues is The Blues Brothers’ debut album from 1978. The Saturday Night Live actors John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd formed a parody blues duo, donning the names of ‘Joliet’ Jake and Elwood Blues. The sketches were very popular and the duo quickly began doing actual concerts and recording albums. The rest of the band were mostly made up of pre-established blues stars, coming from bands such as Booker T. and the MGs (of Green Onions fame) Howlin’ Wolf, and the SNL live band.

As far of the music goes, it’s really quite good. It would be easy to have a parody blues band sound like a parody, but the musicianship of this group is rock solid. Of course the choice of songs is sometimes silly (see Rubber Biscuit) but it’s clear the band is having a lot of fun.

Slorest’s Rating: ★★★☆☆ Just a reminder, the way I do ratings is how likely an album is to be a valuable addition to anybody’s collection. This album has a lot of sentimental value to me, and I appreciate the musicianship on display, but I wouldn’t say it’s a must have. Obviously, if you’re a blues fan then the rating would be higher. I think my favorite songs on this album is Soul Man. Anyways, I’m glad to be back and I hope I can keep this up! See you next Sunday!

#the blues brothers #blues #album review #vinyl #three stars

We’re Back!

Ok everybody, I’m actually gonna review albums again starting today! Look out for it at 6pm Central Time!

#slorest speaks

She’s got good taste!

#vinyl #slorest speaks

Mystery Grab Bag Funtimes

Hey yall, I’m back from hiatus for at least a little to check in! I’ve been steadily filling out my record collection, and I’d like to start reviewing albums again! I was at the record store the other day and I picked up a 5 for $5 bag of mystery vinyl and it’s been a journey so far. My first two were gospel vocal quartets, and then I pulled

THIS

from the bag. So I’m 0 for 3. I’m listening to this while typing and I crave death. I will update with more mystery goodies as I pull them out! I’m keeping the last two a surprise.