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Last Rewind Button Review- Please Please Me, The Beatles

14 Dec

Wow! I can’t believe this year of weekly album reviews has finally finished! A year ago, I set a new years resolution to listen to a Rolling Stone Top Rock album each week, watch a Oscar winning picture each week and read a classic book each month. Well, that is a lot of work. A few weeks in, this resolution morphed into The Rewind Button, a blogger project where several bloggers reviewed the same albums each week and shared links to each others reviews. Slowly over the year we dropped off until I think there is only one other blogger bravely trying to finish the challenge.

This was such a great resolution because forcing myself to listen to music I would not have listened to otherwise expanded my musical tastes, introduced me to some of history’s greatest musicians and created a new appreciation for music besides dance-pop. I am so glad I stuck out this project this year and opened my mind to Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Van Morrison,  and Jimi Hendrix.

Our last album to review was Please Please Me by the Beatles, I thought this was fitting since the first one we reviewed was Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

beatles

This was the Beatles debut album, the one that started it all. I found it funny when the first song I Saw Her Standing There started and I thought “Wow! That sure is different than the Sgt. Pepper album.” It’s been fun to watch this groups sound morph through each album. While I didn’t have the time today to dissect the lyrics, I had a pleasant 40 minutes of work and thought about how a year ago I would have turned this album off immediately.

One blogger suggested we should have started from the bottom up of the list which would have been a good idea because this album is so different than their #1 album (Sgt. Pepper). This group really grew as individuals throughout their time and their music reflects that growth. It makes you wonder if they are so popular because each album relates to a different mentality or stage in life.

What Other Bloggers Thought 

Pimplomat

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Rewind Button- The Anthology, Muddy Waters

6 Dec

I have been listening to blues all day! The Anthology album is a compilation album release in 2001 with FIFTY songs!

album-the-anthology-1947-1972 - copia

When the music first started playing, I was tapping my toes enjoying the music. I felt like I was in a dive bar somewhere in the summer with my cold beer sweating as this played on the juke box. But after a half hour, the songs all started to sound the same. And after over two hours of it I had my fill!

I thought maybe this would be a good road trip album but it is still way too much blues for my liking.

What Other Bloggers Thought 

Pimplomat

Rewind Button- Hotel California, The Eagles

29 Nov

I am pretty sure everyone knows the song Hotel California by the Eagles. I am not a music buff and yet that song still made it onto my first MP3 player back in university. Released in 1976, this album was up for a Grammy for Album of the year but lost to Fleetwood Mac Rumours.

This album opens with Hotel California, which as I said I have always been a fan of. When the next song, New Kid in Town came on I thought it sounded like almost every song from the 70s, it didn’t stand out to me.  Life in the Fast Lane is another song I love and listening to it makes me feel like I am in the movie Dazed and Confused. The end of the album is chocked full of ballads, Pretty Maids in a Row, Victim of Love, Try & Love Again, The Last Resort, all of which do not really capture my attention.

All in all, there are a few stand out classics on this album but as a whole I would probably not listen to it again.

What Other Bloggers Thought

Pimplomat

Rewind Button- Tapestry, Carol King

22 Nov

I always Wiki albums before I listen to them to get an idea of what to expect. This album received four Grammy’s including album of the year so I thought I was ready to listen to something real good.

When the first song Earth Move started my first impression was that this album had a real 70s sound, it should it was released in ’71. Earth Move was a catchy song and #1 for 5 weeks. When So Far Away started playing I realized I had heard this song before, same with You’ve Got a Friend. I’m guessing this is another album my mother used to play when I was a kid.

But I found myself tuning out more and more. I am not a huge fan of piano/vocals, I am a beat girl. But I perked right up when I heard Where You Lead the theme song to my often quoted favourite TV show of all time Gilmore Girls! So I Googled it and it turns out Carol King and her daughter sang the theme. It’s amazing how often I weave that show into this project! I think an end of the project recap should count every GG reference I make!

All in all, I can see the merit in this album and why it was so popular but it’s not my taste. I like a good beat, if I’m not bopping my head to the song I’m not digging it.

What Other Bloggers Thought 

Pimplomat

Rewind Button- The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars- David Bowie

15 Nov

Yet another album that immediately reminded me of a Gilmore Girls quote.

Written in the Stars

Luke: Okay. So, U2, right?
Lorelai: Yeah, Bono is a must, and Blondie and, um, ooh – Sparks, especially the new one, plus Bowie.
Luke: Okay, I know he dressed up like a pirate.
Lorelai: Space man.
Luke: Space man I can deal with.

Released in 1972, this album is loosely based on a story of a fictional rock star named Ziggy Stardust that Bowie made up. I find it interesting that this in the Top 40 of Rolling STone’s Top 100 Albums of all time as it peaked at 75 on the U.S. charts in it’s day and 5th on the U.K. charts.

When the album opened with Five Years I liked the lyrics a lot. They fit the frame of mind I’ve been in lately (obsessed with the Walking Dead and wondering what I would do in an apocalypse-like situation). Then Soul Love kicked in with it’s dated, cheesy saxophone and I wondered again how this album made it on the Top 100 albums of all time. During Moonage Daydream I bopped my head along to the beat.  I loved the last line of Lady Stardust. Ha ha! It was a surprise.  As we got deeper into this album though I found his lyrics shallow and repetitive  They didn’t tell much of a story, especially compare to Five Years.

When Suffragette City started I knew I had heard that song before but I couldn’t recall from where. A second listen reminded me that this was the song in Gilmore Girls (ha ha! sad that a lot of my music exposure comes from this one show) when Jess & his Dad silently bop their heads to this song. “Wam Bam thank you ma’am!”

This was yet another album on this list that I think is too dated to stand the test of time.

What Other Bloggers Thought 

Pimplomat

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Rewind Button- Ramones, The Ramones

1 Nov

When I hear the Ramones I think of Bring it On. That’s right, this punk band brings to mind a cheesy 200’s cheerleading movie. Kristen Dunst asks her love interest if The Ramones is his band when he wears it on a t-shirt.

When the album opens with Blitzkreig Bop I felt a little cool because I knew this song at least. Mind you, it’s in a lot of movies so that doesn’t quite count.  But imagine my surprise when the next song Beat on The Brat came up and I knew it too! Even more surprising is I liked them. I find myself bopping my head and tapping my toe at my desk.

All in all I really enjoyed this album and thought it pretty timeless. Any one of those songs could be a hit today.

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MusicQwest

Pimplomat

 

Rewind Button- Let it Bleed, Rolling Stones

25 Oct

Here I am, back on track with my Rewind Button project. I was telling some work colleagues this week how much this project has broadened my appreciation for music. Prior to this, I was all about my 90s Dance Music and that was pretty much it.  This week we had to review Let it Bleed by the The Rolling Stones.

When the album with Gimme Shelter with its politically charged lyrics, I thought “this is gonna be good” because I love this song and didn’t realize it was the Rolling Stones. Love in Vain had a Dylan-esque sound. I was actually surprised at how bluesy/folksy the songs this album were. I was expecting hard rock and roll.  And while I love the beat of You Can’t Always Get What You Want, I have to admit I don’t understand what the lyrics mean.

See What Other Bloggers Thought Here

MusicQwest

Pimplomat

Rewind Button- Catch Up Post!

19 Oct

I was doing so good on staying on schedule until two trips and an illness put me weeks behind on my own project, the Rewind Button. Today is my catch up post. On a side note,  a Fleetwood Mac song came on the radio and before this project I would have changed it but instead I listened and enjoyed the song.

Who’s Next, The Who

I actually listened to this one twice. I listened to it once but because I was so busy at work I didn’t really take the time to absorb it so I figured I would listen a second time. But it sounded about the same the second time around too.  I think it’s the synthesizer in the background but all these songs sounded alike to me and so dated.

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Pimplomat

Led Zeppelin I- Led Zeppelin

I have heard of Led Zeppelin of course but never really heard any of their music. A quick Google search taught me that they have four self titled albums and five more after those. For this list, their debut album was listed.

When the first song Good Times Bad Times started my first thought was “This is the kind of music I expected to be on this list.” This list is the Greatest Rock Albums of all time but many of the ones I have reviewed are more pop or folk than rock. But Led Zeppelin did not disappoint and rock was played.

I only wish I wasn’t in a rush to listen to two more albums because I would have liked to listen to this one again. Loved it!

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MusicQwest

Pimplomat

Blue, Joni Mitchell

I have been looking forward to this album. One of my favourite movies Love Actually has a character who talks about Joni Mitchell and I have always been curious about her music but never enough to take the time to listen- until now.

The album opened with All I Want and I thought “Uh-Oh. I hope they all don’t sound like this.” I didn’t like it, I found it a little annoying and her voice all over the place.  During the album, I couldn’t listen to the lyrics because I hate her high pitched sing songy voice that goes up and down and up and down. Her high pitched voice throughout the album was like nails on a chalk board to me.  And the piano in River sounded like Jingle Bells.

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MusicQwest

Pimplomat

Bringing it All Back Home- Bob Dylan

All right! More Dylan! As you know, one of the many things this project has done for me is give me a true appreciation for Bob Dylan and his poetry and twangy singing.

Usually during this project, especially with Dylan, I pay close attention to the lyrics. Because I was in a bit of a rush to catch up I had to listen as best as I could while working away.

Maggie’s Farm had me tapping my toes and bopping my head.  The rest of the songs had the typical Dylan sound and I enjoyed it as background music to my busy day.

See What Other Bloggers Thought Here

MusicQwest

Pimplomat

So there! Phew! I am caught up and hopefully I will not fall this behind again. Really, there are only eight albums left and I have reviewed the top 40 Greatest Albums of all time.

Rewind Button- King of the Delta Blue Singers, Robert Johnson

20 Sep

My first reaction when I saw the artist this week? “Noooo! Not again!” I am not a fan of Blues and I didn’t care for the last Robert Johnson album we reviewed either.

My thoughts? Well, the first song was so horrible and sounded like it was played by someone who didn’t know what they were doing. If I had been at a show and this was the first song in the set I would have left thinking the whole thing would be this bad.  I powered through the whole album without a single song standing out. How could a song stand out when they all sound exactly the same? I didn’t even read the lyrics which I have been trying to do with this project because I just didn’t care.

What Other Bloggers Thought Coming Soon

Rewind Button- The Joshua Tree, U2

19 Sep

The first thing that comes to mind is a Gilmore Girls quote. Lorelai says “We have teased you way worse than this before. Remember when you were 10 and thought you discovered U2?”

I remember when I first discovered U2- It was the episode of friends where Ross and Rachel broke up- the first time. As they sadly looked out at the rain With or Without You played. That song stuck with me because I thought it was so beautiful. It wasn’t until a few years later when you could download music that I typed in the name and found out it was by a band called U2 whom I knew was a popular band but never heard their music.

This album was inspired by the band’s American tour experiences, literature, and politics. U2 chose America as a theme for the record. It received critical acclaim and won Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1988.  In 2007, U2 released a remastered edition of the record to commemorate its 20th anniversary.

So what did I think? I was loving the first half of the album with the popular hits that everyone has heard many times such as I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For and Where the Streets Have No Name. However as we went into the second half I started to get a little bored because each song had the same kind of sound and it was getting difficult to distinguish one song from the other. If this project has taught me nothing it was that I love variety on an album.

It is still a solid album that I give a solid B+ to.

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Be a River with Me

MusicQwest

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