The 1966 debut release of The Monkees is an oddity, not so much because of the quality of its contents, but in its overall creation and “purpose” as an album. It all depends on how you look at it. Is it a “band” effort? Not in the strictest sense of the word, as the assembled…
Red Rose Speedway is an unfortunately weak record, with a strong one-two opening punch but then spinning its wheels for most of the remaining album.
Wings 1971 debut is an EP’s worth of good material at best. A shambling, unfocused album, it still retains a bit of homespun fun, albeit somewhat anemic in content.
Before I begin this album review, let’s get one thing perfectly clear, and dare I say, out of the way immediately. I am a massive Kiss fan, and it’s because of the music. I mean, maybe not at the very beginning. As a very young child of the 70s, I remember seeing one of their…
Help! kicks off a period of unparalleled creativity, innovation, songwriting and musicianship in The Beatles’s history. The dark, folksy yearnings of the previous (and wholly underrated) Beatles For Sale lead to more experimentation with Dylanesque folk, country, and balladeering, while not sacrificing the pure pop craftsmanship that has earmarked much of The Beatles sound up to this point. 1965 was in…
Call it Muswell Hangover… You know, the first time I listened to Everybody’s In Show-Biz, I was right in the middle of my Kinks “discovery phase”, a time during which I made it a habit to dive deep into the, shall we say, “less than classic” albums in the band’s catalog. Upon first listen, in an…
Click here for my review of Preservation: Act I. It goes deeper into the history of the project, its origins, production, release, and reception. You know, the worst thing you can say about Preservation: Act II (PA2 for the rest of this review) is that it really stinks, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.…
By 1973 Ray Davies seemed ready to wash his hands entirely of The Kinks; that is to say, The Kinks of the late 60s through early 70s. Or maybe just popular rock music as a whole. The band’s 1970 album Lola versus Powerman and the Money-Go-Round, Part One was a monster seller for the band and gave them some…
Paul McCartney’s 1970 solo debut album is a homespun, eclectic collection of songs that surprised (and somewhat delighted) many with its low-key charms.
The First Great Kinks Album! OK well obviously that’s entirely up to debate and purely a matter of opinion, but wow if this album doesn’t deliver one fine listening experience. Everything — the songwriting, vocals, musicianship, album production — is elevated to an entirely new level with Face To Face. 1966 was a good year…