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Post by raliverpool on Jul 4, 2021 13:59:04 GMT 1
Badfinger - Head First (1975* / 2010)
Released on 14 November 2000, but recorded 26 years earlier in December 1974–January 1975, at the Beatles' Apple Studios in London, although it was not released at the time. Originally intended to be Badfinger's eighth album (and third album under its six-album contract with Warner Bros. Records) (WB), the recordings were shelved when legal difficulties erupted between the band and WB that year, and the version that was finally released (as Badfinger's tenth studio album) was a rough mix of the album made in 1975 by Phil McDonald, one of the recording engineers at Apple Studios.
After the recording of Badfinger's previous album, Wish You Were Here, founding member Pete Ham decided to quit Badfinger. To replace him, the band added keyboardist/guitarist Bob Jackson and undertook a last tour with Ham still in the band. During the tour, Badfinger was told by its management to go back in the studio to record another new album. As a result, long-time member Joey Molland quit the group before the tour ended, and Ham then decided to stay. Because Badfinger's producer Chris Thomas opposed the decision to record a new album so soon after the last one, feeling that the band had had too little time to recover, Badfinger's management replaced him as producer with Kenny Kerner and Richie Wise, who had just become successful by producing KISS.
The remaining members of Badfinger recorded Head First in just two weeks. The difficult circumstances that surrounded Badfinger at this time contribute to the album's tone and provide the theme for two of its songs. In particular, an investigation by WB's publishing division discovered that approximately $100,000 was missing from a Badfinger escrow account. Inquiries made by WB as to the whereabouts of the money were reportedly met with silence by Badfinger's manager, American Stan Polley. Suspicions were aroused, and, fed up with what it claimed was a lack of cooperation, WB launched a "breach of contract" suit against Polley and Badfinger virtually simultaneously with the Head First recording sessions, which also sought to attach the royalties due from Wish You Were Here. Consequently, WB suspended sales of Wish You Were Here.
Although the master tapes of Head First were delivered to and accepted by WB's recording division in Los Angeles, WB's publishing arm there refused to accept them because of the lawsuit. With a lack of publishing protection, the record division shelved the tapes and the album was not released.
Unaware of the lawsuit at the time, the group had nevertheless argued amongst themselves regarding Polley's honesty and his handling of their money, factors which had contributed to Molland's departure. These sentiments came to the surface in the lyrics for two Head First tracks, "Rock & Roll Contract" and "Hey, Mr. Manager", which are indictments by bassist Tom Evans of Polley.
Badfinger became aware of the lawsuit in early 1975, simultaneous to a discontinuation of the group's salary checks from Polley. As financial turmoil mounted for the band members and its future became more uncertain, group leader Pete Ham committed suicide by hanging only four months after the album was completed. Because of continuing financial difficulties related to Polley, which led Apple Records to also suspend the group's royalty payments and pull the group's albums from distribution, Evans then took his own life in 1983 also by hanging.
It appeared for many years that Head First would never be released, as the litigation between WB and Stan Polley remained unresolved, the master tapes had been misplaced, and the audio quality of known copies was so poor as to be unusable. However, four remixed and remastered songs from the master tapes for Head First — "Lay Me Down", "Passed Fast", "Keep Believing", and "Moonshine" — turned up on the original Rhino Records CD Best of Badfinger Vol. 2 (featuring Badfinger songs recorded for WB and Elektra after the band's departure from Apple Records), which was released in 1990. These songs were eventually removed from the CD after the unresolved litigation was brought to Rhino's attention. The current status of the original master tapes is unclear.
Head First was finally released on CD in 2000 on Snapper Records, using the rough mix of the recordings that was prepared by Phil McDonald at the end of the recording sessions in 1975, which was rediscovered in the late 1990s. This was the last Badfinger studio album to include Pete Ham and Mike Gibbins, and the only one to feature Bob Jackson.
(1975* Original Tracklisting)
"Lay Me Down" 9.0 "Turn Around" 7.5 "Keep Believing" 7.5 "Rockin' Machine" 4.0 "Passed Fast" 8.5 "Saville Row" 7.0 "Moonshine" 8.0 "Rock and Roll Contract" 9.0 "Back Again" 6.0 "Hey, Mr. Manager" 8.5
Score: 75.0/10 = 7.50
Keyboardist Bob Jackson brought a more progressive rock sound to replace Joey Molland's US rock sound; but listening to this album you can hear the bile flowing from bassist Tom Evans towards their manager; and poor Pete Ham was broken (during this sessions he was self harming, and had a temper, never seen before by his bandmates)....
Believing his finances had been wiped out, Ham hanged himself in his garage three days before his 28th birthday. He left a note telling his pregnant girlfriend (with their daughter) and her son that he loved them. It read, "I will not be allowed to love and trust everybody. This is better. Pete. PS Stan Polley is a soulless b*st*rd. I will take him with me."
He had possibly been also haunted by the fact he turned down an opportunity of leaving his band to join Paul McCartney's Wings as lead guitarist (& to no doubt contribute the odd album track) after Paul was putting together an extended line up post Band On The Run to record a new album & tour. (Over 30 years later Ham's then pregnant girlfriend revealed that the former Beatle had made sure the family were OK financially after his death, until all their financial difficulties tied up in litigation had been resolved in 1985).
With the band shutdown, they sold off their London residence, mini studio, and gear to Malcolm McLaren, who had a younger band influenced by the New York Dolls ready to move in....
Badfinger went on to reform in 1978 and record two more albums with Joey Molland (now the only surviving member) & Tom Evans present, but lacking Pete Ham, their success was moderate at best. Drummer Mike Gibbins had returned to Swansea where he played & toured backing Bonnie Tyler. "It's A Heartache" was written about the whole Badfinger situation/tragedy. It's title was his stock answer to questions about the band.
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Post by raliverpool on Jul 17, 2021 14:16:40 GMT 1
Badly Drawn Boy - The Hour Of Bewilderbeast (2000)
The debut studio album by British musician Badly Drawn Boy, released on 26 June 2000. Damon Gough, who performs as Badly Drawn Boy, wrote, produced, and played several instruments on the album's eighteen tracks, several of which also feature accompaniment by members of the British indie rock bands Alfie and Doves. The Hour of Bewilderbeast was released to great critical acclaim and went on to win the 2000 Mercury Prize.
On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album holds a score of 78 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews." Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork wrote that the varied instrumentation "[attaches] insect wings to the lovely songs" and concluded that with The Hour of Bewilderbeast, "Badly Drawn Boy proves what shallow saps American liberal arts majors can be behind a guitar." AllMusic's John Bush stated that Gough had written and produced "over a dozen excellent songs of baroque folk-pop for his album debut, and the many gems can't help but shine through all the self-indulgence", highlighting Gough's use of humour in his lyrics.
The Shining 9.0 Everybody's Stalking 8.5 Bewilder Fall In A River 7.0 Camping Next To Water 9.0 Stone On The Water 8.5 Another Pearl 8.5 Body Rap Once Around The Block 9.0 This Song 6.5 Bewilderbeast 9.0 Magic In The Air 8.5 Cause A Rockslide 6.5 p*ssing In The Wind 9.0 Blistered Heart 7.0 Disillusion 10.0 Say It Again 7.5 Epitaph 8.5
Score: 132.0/16 = 8.25
This is definitely one of those album which works better as a whole, over the sum of its parts. As its endearing slightly ramshackle, & bubonic Beta Band meets Elliott Smith/Nick Drake is a winning concept.
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Post by raliverpool on Jul 17, 2021 14:39:38 GMT 1
Bangles - Doll Revolution (2003)
The fourth studio album by the Californian pop rock band female quartet. It was released in March 2003 in Europe and Japan, and in September of that year in the United States. It is the first album by the group since their 1998 reunion.
The Bangles reunited in 1999, releasing the song "Get the Girl" on the Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack and spent the next four years touring to finance the record.
Including 15 songs all produced by Brad Wood, it is the group's lengthiest album. All tracks were co-composed by members of the band, with the exception of "Tear Off Your Own Head" which was written by Elvis Costello and had previously appeared on his 2002 album When I Was Cruel. Some songs had been already released in the 1990s by band members on other bands they worked with after the band split: "Mixed Messages" and "The Rain Song", written by Vicki Peterson, had been released in the Continental Drifters albums, while "Ask Me No Questions" was released by Debbi Peterson with her band Kindred Spirit. "Nickel Romeo" and "Between The Two", while never released, had been debuted by Michael Steele with her band Crash Wisdom in live shows in 1994.
The album spawned three singles. The lead single, "Something That You Said", reached No. 38 in the UK, and was a minor hit elsewhere in Europe. "Tear Off Your Own Head (It's a Doll Revolution)" and "I Will Take Care of You" were next released as singles, the latter reaching No. 79 in the UK. All three songs had lead vocals by Susanna Hoffs. The album charted at UK #62, but failed to reach the US Top 200.
Tear Off Your Own Head (It's A Doll Revolution) 9.5 Stealing Rosemary 8.0 Something That You Said 10.0 Ask Me No Questions 9.5 The Rain Song 7.5 Nickel Romeo 6.0 Ride The Ride 6.5 I Will Take Care Of You 5.5
Here Right Now 7.0 Single By Choice 8.0 Lost At Sea 6.5 Song For A Good Son 7.0 Mixed Messages 8.0 Between The Two 6.0 Grateful 7.5
Score: 113.0/15 = 7.53
I should add this is one of those albums I picked up cheap in a HMV (or Virgin) sale. (I'd previously picked up their 1990 Greatest Hits; & 1995 The Definitive Collection. As I had heard the delightfully Crowded House like "Something That She Said" and the title track. After a promising start the album descends into workmanlike melodic pop in the vein of The Mamas & The Papas; Crowded House; mellow Bon Jovi; & (uninspired) Aimee Mann. It is not bad if you ignore "I Will Take Care Of You" sounds like Bon Jovi trying to come up with an "Eternal Flame" by any means but is a bit dull.
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Post by raliverpool on Jul 17, 2021 14:55:12 GMT 1
Bats For Lashes - Fur & Gold (2006)
The debut studio album by English singer Natasha Khan, which she co-produced with David Kosten. It was released on 11 September 2006 by The Echo Label. It was met with critical acclaim and received a nomination for the 2007 Mercury Prize. In 2007, the album was re-released through Parlophone. Fur and Gold spawned the singles "The Wizard", "Trophy", "Prescilla", and "What's a Girl to Do?".
Journalist Garry Mulholland wrote that singer Natasha "Khan and producer David Kosten reinvent Siouxsie/Bush/Björk mystical sex, musical travelogue and poetic dreamstate for the contemporary singer-songwriter milieu"
It's Metacritic aggregate rating was 81.
Horse And I 8.0 Trophy 8.5 Tahiti 7.5 What's A Girl To Do? 10.0 Sad Eyes 8.5 The Wizard 7.5 Prescilla 9.0 Bat's Mouth 8.5 Seal Jubilee 7.0 Sarah 6.0 I Saw A Light 6.5
Score: 87.0/11 = 7.91
An acquired taste, this is a very strong surreal bit of alternative female singer/songwriting (setting herself up as the UK's answer to Joan As Police Woman), which only fades on the last three tracks.
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Post by raliverpool on Jul 17, 2021 15:20:34 GMT 1
Bats For Lashes - Two Suns (2009)
the second studio album by the daughter immigrant Pakistani father, professional squash player Rehmat Khan (part of the squash playing family). It was released on 3 April 2009 by The Echo Label and Parlophone. The album was again produced by Khan herself and David Kosten. In preparation for the album, Khan journeyed to Joshua Tree Desert in California to gain inspiration, before returning to New York and London to write and record the finished material for release.
A concept album, Two Suns focuses on Khan's desert-born alter ego Pearl, whose personality she adopted while staying in New York to gain a better understanding of the character. She revealed to the BBC's Newsbeat, "I really just did it as an experiment of dressing up myself with quite garish extreme feminine make-up. I wanted to photograph myself in that situation and just see what it made me feel." Khan believed that living in Brooklyn when bands such as TV on the Radio, MGMT, and Gang Gang Dance were emerging on the music scene had an influence on the album's musical style. In an interview with MTV, she said, "I experienced that whole thing coming out, in terms of beats and like going out dancing and checking out all this new music, it was really inspiring." During the album's production, she also collaborated with Brooklyn band Yeasayer for the bass and beat programming.
The Metacritic 77 aggregate rated album debuted at number five on the UK Albums Chart, and has been certified gold by the BPI for sales of 100,000 copies. The first single from the album, "Daniel", became Khan's first hit, peaking at number thirty-six on the UK Singles Chart; it later won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song and was nominated for the MTV Video Music Award for Breakthrough Video of the Year. The following singles were "Pearl's Dream" and a double A-side of "Sleep Alone" and "Moon and Moon", the latter of which was featured in a high-profile advertising campaign for children's charity Barnardo's in late 2009.
Glass 8.0 Sleep Alone 8.0 Moon And Moon 8.5 Daniel 10.0 Peace Of Mind 5.0 Siren Song 8.5 Pearl's Dream 8.0 Good Love 6.0 Two Planets 6.5 Travelling Woman 7.5 The Big Sleep 7.5
Score: 83.0/11 = 7.55
Less ethereal, but more bolder, confident & commercial sounding than its predecessor, this album certainly showed her debut was not a one off; albeit it is a more patchy affair. However; "Daniel" gave her her signature song, that even Will Young's more accessible & inferior cover version still sounded pretty good.
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Post by raliverpool on Jul 17, 2021 15:44:02 GMT 1
Bats For Lashes - The Haunted Man (2012)
The third studio album by English singer and songwriter Natasha Khan was released on 12 October 2012 by Parlophone. The album was preceded by the lead single "Laura", which was released on 24 July 2012.
Khan stated in July 2012 that, after she returned home in March 2010 from touring in support of Two Suns (2009), she tried to rehabilitate herself to rebuild a sense of who she was without the music. In May 2010, Khan stated that although she had enough songs to put out as an album, she wanted to take more time working on new material, as she had been on tour for a long time, and found it boring to write songs about being on tour. She experienced a "profound writer's block", which led her to call Thom Yorke, lead singer of Radiohead, to ask, "What do you do when you feel like you're going to die because you can't write anything?" He advised her to draw, and subsequently Khan took life-drawing classes and a children's illustration course. Combined with intensive dance classes to boost her confidence, Khan began to feel inspiration enough to begin writing again, penning the album's opening song, "Lilies", which she said was inspired by a scene in the 1970 film Ryan's Daughter.
The UK #6 album scored a Metacritic aggregate rating of 78. The Guardian critic Alexis Petridis wrote that The Haunted Man "sounds like a bold, confident album that strips away a lot of the sonic embellishments from Khan's sound", adding that " erhaps it's the sound of someone who's worked out that less can sometimes be more, that not trying too hard isn't the same as not trying."
Lilies 9.0 All Your Gold 8.5 Horses Of The Sun 7.0 Oh Yeah 7.5 Laura 10.0 Winter Fields 7.5 The Haunted Man 7.5 Marilyn 6.5 A Wall 7.0 Rest Your Head 6.5 Deep Sea Diver 7.0
Score: 84.0/11 = 7.64
A much more stripped back affair than her previous album. The result being when the tracks hit the mark they did not pull their punches (I.E More Patti Smith than Kate Bush). Musically, this album had less of a baroque indie rock & more of a skittish electronica sound to it.
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Post by raliverpool on Jul 17, 2021 16:03:30 GMT 1
Bats For Lashes - The Bride (2016)
The fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Natasha Khan. The album was produced by Khan, with co-production from Ben Christophers, Simone Felice, David Baron, Dan Carey, Jacknife Lee and Matt "Aqualung" Hales. The Bride was preceded by the digital promotional single "I Do", followed by the singles "In God's House", "Sunday Love", "Joe's Dream", and the double A-side release of "If I Knew" and "In Your Bed".
According to The Bride's press release, the work is a concept album that follows the story of a woman, whose fiancé dies in a car crash on the way to their wedding. The album follows her as she decides to go on the honeymoon alone and her emotions as she deals with the tragedy. Khan commented that "the trauma and the grief from the death of Joe, the groom, ... [is] ... more of a metaphor and it allows me to explore the concept of love in general, which requires a death of sorts."
The UK #9 album scored a Metacritic aggregate rating of 78.
I Do 8.0 Joe's Dream 9.0 In God's House 9.0 Honeymooning Alone 7.0 Sunday Love 9.5 Never Forgive The Angels 6.5 Close Encounters 7.5 Widow's Peak 5.0 Land's End 8.5 If I Knew 8.5 I Will Love Again 8.0 In Your Bed 9.5
Clouds 6.5
Score: 102.5/13 = 7.88
Forget the scores, this is my favourite album by her to date. I love the album concept,but not as much as the fact this album works so well being played from start to finish, with its shimmering guitars and swathes of haunting ethereal synths throughout. Sure, the album lacks a killer standout track; but it works so well as a whole concept it does not need it (artistically).
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Post by raliverpool on Jul 17, 2021 16:19:50 GMT 1
Bats For Lashes - Lost Girls (2019)
Lost Girls is the fifth studio album by English singer-songwriter Natasha Khan. It was released on 6 September 2019 through AWAL. It is Khan's first album since 2016's The Bride. The lead single "Kids in the Dark" was released on 10 June 2019.
Khan has cited 1980s music and cinema as an inspiration for the record, citing artists such as Bananarama, Cyndi Lauper and The Blue Nile as well as film composer John Williams in an interview with The Line of Best Fit.
For this UK #13 synth pop album she worked with MNEK; Jennifer Decilveo; & Charles Scott IV. It's aggregate Metacritic rating score was 76.
Kids In The Dark 8.5 The Hunger 8.5 Feel For You 8.0 Desert Man 8.5 Jasmine 9.0 Vampires 7.5 So Good 7.0 Safe Tonight 6.5 Peach Sky 6.0 Mountains 7.0
Score: 76.5/10 = 7.65
In stark contrast to her 4th album, this sounds fine when it is playing; but I feel it lacks depth & sincerity as if she was wearing an early-mid 1980s jacket as an accessory, rather than as a genuine passion. As far as 1980s throwback albums go, I've certainly heard much better, and I've certainly heard worse.
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 13, 2021 15:01:58 GMT 1
Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (1966)
The 11th studio album by the American rock band the Beach Boys, released May 16, 1966 on Capitol Records. It was initially met with a lukewarm critical and commercial response in the USA, peaking at #10. In the UK, the album was lauded by critics and reached UK #2 on the Top 40 Albums Chart, remaining in the top ten for six months. Promoted there as "the most progressive pop album ever", Pet Sounds garnered recognition for its ambitious production, sophisticated music, and emotional lyric content. It is considered to be among the most influential albums in music history.
The album was produced, arranged, and almost entirely composed by Brian Wilson with guest lyricist Tony Asher. It was recorded largely between January and April 1966, a year after Wilson quit touring with his bandmates. His goal was to create "the greatest rock album ever made"—a cohesive work with no filler tracks.
It has topped several critics' and musicians' polls for the best album of all time, including those published by NME, Mojo, Uncut, and The Times. In 2004, it was preserved in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.
Wouldn't It Be Nice 10.0 You Still Believe In Me 7.5 That's Not Me 8.0 Don't Talk (Put Your Head On My Shoulder) 7.0 I'm Waiting For The Day 6.0 Let's Go Away For Awhile 7.5 Sloop John B 3.5 God Only Knows 10.0 I Know There's An Answer 8.5 Here Today 5.5 I Just Wasn't Made For These Times 6.5 Pet Sounds 5.0 Caroline, No 9.0
Score: 94.0/13 = 7.23
For many this is a "GOAT" album contender (pun intended). But this is one of those occasions with a classic album that I fail to see what 90%+ of other people see is so great about it. Maybe it does not help that I don't like Mike Love's vocals; & find Brian Wilson's vocals irritating. Plus I hate "Sloop John B". Since getting Spotify in the camp that 1971's Surf's Up is their finest effort. Not least as Carl Wilson dominates it.
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 13, 2021 15:20:57 GMT 1
Beach House - Teen Dream (2010)
The third studio album by the Baltimore, Maryland dream pop duo.The band consists of French-born Victoria Legrand, who's the niece of Michel Legrand and Christiane Legrand, and Baltimore native Alex Scally. It is the band's debut album with the record label Sub Pop, and their third with European label Bella Union who released it on January 27, 2010. The album was produced by the band and Chris Coady.
The album received universal acclaim from music critics, who hailed it as one of the best albums of 2010. NME included it in their 2013 edition of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The album was also included in the 2014 edition of the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In October 2019, Pitchfork ranked it in the 21st position among the best albums of the 2010s. It's Metacritic aggregate rating is 82.
Zebra 9.5 Silver Soul 7.5 Norway 8.0 Walk In The Park 8.5 Used To Be 8.5 Lover Of Mine 9.0 Better Times 6.5 10 Mile Stereo 7.5 Real Love 7.0 Take Care 9.5
Score: 81.5/10 = 8.15
Another act (think Fleet Foxes meets Cocteau Twins meets Air) whom I got to know about via BBC Radio 6Music championing them. This is one of those hypnotic albums which is great to play from start to finish, as it has a great sound & ambience to it. I never bought any of their subsequent albums. But "Bloom"; "Depression Cherry" & "7" are definitely worth listening to on Spotify.
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 13, 2021 15:54:48 GMT 1
Beatles - Please Please Me (1963)
The debut studio album by the Liverpool pop-rock band who changed the world & the music landscape. Produced by George Martin, it was released on EMI's Parlophone label on 22 March 1963 in the United Kingdom, following the success of the band's first two singles "Love Me Do", which reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart, and "Please Please Me" which reached number 1 on the NME and Melody Maker charts. The album went on to spend 30 weeks on top the UK album charts.
Aside from their already released singles, the Beatles recorded the majority of Please Please Me in one long 13 hours recording session at EMI Studios on 11 February 1963. On 20 February, Martin added overdubs to "Misery" and "Baby It's You". Of the album's 14 songs, eight were written by Lennon–McCartney (originally credited "McCartney–Lennon"). Rolling Stone magazine later cited these original compositions as early evidence of the Beatles' "[invention of] the idea of the self-contained rock band, writing their own hits and playing their own instruments"
I Saw Her Standing There 10.0 Misery 7.5 Anna (Go To Him) 9.0 Chains 6.5 Boys 7.5 Ask Me Why 7.0 Please Please Me 10.0 Love Me Do 10.0 P.S. I Love You 8.0 Baby It's You 8.5 Do You Want To Know A Secret 9.5 A Taste Of Honey 7.0 There's A Place 7.5 Twist And Shout 10.0
Score: 118.0/14 = 8.43
Sure, this album is sounding increasing dated as the years roll by. The quality, energy, enthusiasm, & the IT factor is clear from the get go as to what John, Paul, George & Ringo had. There are some relative filler among the stand out killer tracks, but it is still a great album.
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 13, 2021 16:11:24 GMT 1
Beatles - With The Beatles (1963)
Their second studio album was released on 22 November 1963 on Parlophone, exactly eight months after the band's debut Please Please Me. Produced by George Martin, the album features eight original compositions (seven by Lennon–McCartney and "Don't Bother Me", George Harrison's first recorded solo composition and his first released on a Beatles album) and six covers (mostly of rock and roll and Motown R&B hits). The cover photograph was taken by the fashion photographer Robert Freeman and has since been mimicked by several music groups over the years.
The album was recorded over seven sessions across three months, from 18 July to 23 October. None of its 14 tracks were issued as singles in the UK. In between sessions, as Beatlemania took off across the UK, the group were busy with radio, TV, and live performances.
The LP had advance orders of a half million and sold another half million by September 1965, making it the second album to sell a million copies in the United Kingdom, after the soundtrack to the 1958 film South Pacific. With the Beatles remained at the top of the charts for 21 weeks, displacing Please Please Me, so that the Beatles occupied the top spot for 51 consecutive weeks.
It Won't Be Long 9.5 All I've Got To Do 9.0 All My Loving 10.0 Don't Bother Me 8.5 Little Child 6.0 Till There Was You 8.5 Please Mister Postman 7.5 Roll Over Beethoven 8.0 Hold Me Tight 7.0 You Really Gotta Hold On Me 9.0 I Wanna Be Your Man 6.5 Devil In Her Heart 7.0 Not A Second Time 7.0 Money 8.5
Score: 112.0/14 = 8.00
With this album, the Beatles were clearly more comfortable in the studio than on their debut in the same way their producer was getting to know more about the quartet of personalities to bring out the best of them. This album may have less peaks than the debut, but it is a far less patchy listen.
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 13, 2021 16:30:50 GMT 1
Beatles - A Hard Day's Night (1964)
The Fabs third studio album was released on 10 July 1964 by Parlophone, with side one containing songs from the soundtrack to their film of the same name. In contrast to the Beatles' first two albums, all 13 tracks on A Hard Day's Night were written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, showcasing the development of their songwriting partnership.
The album includes the song "A Hard Day's Night", with its distinctive opening chord, and "Can't Buy Me Love", both transatlantic number-one singles for the band. Several of the songs feature George Harrison playing a Rickenbacker 12-string electric guitar, a sound that was influential on the Byrds and other groups in the folk rock movement.
Lennon is the primary author of nine of the thirteen tracks on the album, as well as being the lead singer on these same nine tracks (although Paul McCartney sings lead on the title track's middle-eight). Lennon and McCartney co-wrote "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You", sung by Harrison, while McCartney wrote "And I Love Her", "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Things We Said Today". It is one of three Beatles albums, along with Let It Be and Magical Mystery Tour, in which Starr does not sing lead vocal on any songs.
The album spent 21 weeks at #1 in the UK album chart.
A Hard Day's Night 10.0 I Should Have Known Better 9.5 If I Fell 10.0 I'm Happy Just To Dance With You 8.5 And I Love Her 10.0 Tell Me Why 7.5 Can't Buy Me Love 10.0 Any Time At All 8.0 I'll Cry Instead 6.5 Things We Said Today 9.5 When I Get Home 6.5 You Can't Do That 8.5 I'll Be Back 9.0
Score: 113.5/13 = 8.73
A credible argument could be made to say this is the first British classic rock pop album. The standard of self contained songwriting & performances on this are very impressive. It is most definitely the strongest album by the Merseybeat era Fab Four.
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 13, 2021 16:45:54 GMT 1
Beatles - Beatles For Sale (1964)
The fourth studio album by the Beatles was released on 4 December 1964 in the United Kingdom on EMI's Parlophone label. The album marked a departure from the upbeat tone that had characterised the Beatles' previous work, partly due to the band's exhaustion after a series of tours that had established them as a worldwide phenomenon in 1964.
The sessions for Beatles for Sale also produced a non-album single, "I Feel Fine" backed by "She's a Woman". During the sessions, the band ventured into studio experimentation, such as employing a fade-in and incorporating guitar feedback, and supplemented the basic recordings with percussion instruments such as timpani, African hand drums and chocalho. The album reflects the twin influences of country music and Bob Dylan, whom the Beatles met in New York in August 1964. Partly as a result of the group's hectic schedule, only eight of the tracks are original compositions, with cover versions of songs by artists such as Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Little Richard being used to complete the album. The original songs introduced darker musical moods and more introspective lyrics, with John Lennon adopting an autobiographical perspective in "I'm a Loser" and "No Reply".
The album spent 11 weeks at #1 in the UK, and featured the USA #1 single "Eight Days A Week"; & the Australian #1 single "Rock & Roll Music".
No Reply 9.0 I'm A Loser 8.5 Baby's In Black 8.0 Rock And Roll Music 8.5 I'll Follow The Sun 9.5 Mr. Moonlight 5.0 Kansas City 8.0 Eight Days A Week 10.0 Words Of Love 6.0 Honey Don't 6.5 Every Little Thing 7.0 I Don't Want To Spoil The Party 7.5 What You're Doing 6.5 Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby 7.5
Score: 107.5/14 = 7.68
The Beatles really did sound jaded on this album, with the songwriting drop off similarly apparent. A serious contender for the weakest studio album by the band which defined the 1960s.
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 13, 2021 20:42:12 GMT 1
Beatles - Help! (1965)
The 5th studio album by the Liverpool pop rock band was also the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles "Help!" and "Ticket to Ride", appeared in the film and took up the first side of the vinyl album. The second side included "Yesterday", the most-covered song ever written. The album was met with favourable critical reviews and topped the Australian, German, UK (for 9 weeks) and US charts.
During the recording sessions for the album, the Beatles continued to explore the studio's multitracking capabilities to layer their sound. "Yesterday" features a string quartet, the band's first use of Baroque sensibilities, and "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" includes a flute section.
The album includes Paul McCartney's "Yesterday", arranged for guitar and string quartet and recorded without the other group members. John Lennon's "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" indicates the influence of Bob Dylan and includes flutes.
"Ticket to Ride", released as a single in April 1965, was felt by Lennon to be "heavy" in its sound compared to the group's previous output and daring in its reference to a boy and girl living together. McCartney called the arrangement "quite radical". During the recording sessions for the album, the band used the studio's multitracking capabilities to layer their sound. In this, author Mark Prendergast highlights George Harrison's use of a volume pedal and incorporation of "more intricate chordal devices to enrich his guitar sound". As a songwriter, Harrison contributed "I Need You" and "You Like Me Too Much". These were his first compositions to be included on a Beatles album since "Don't Bother Me" on 1963's With the Beatles.
Help! 10.0 The Night Before 9.0 You've Got To Hide Your Love Away 9.5 I Need You 7.5 Another Girl 7.5 You're Going To Lose That Girl 8.5 Ticket To Ride 10.0 Act Naturally 6.5 It's Only Love 8.0 You Like Me Too Much 7.0 Tell Me What You See 6.0 I've Just Seen A Face 8.0 Yesterday 10.0 Dizzy Miss Lizzy 8.0
Score: 115.5/14 = 8.25
With hindsight this is their transitional album between the Mop Top Merseybeat pop-rock combo screamed at by adolescent females; and something more earnest & profound, but less instant that we would see with their next album & beyond.
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 13, 2021 21:01:44 GMT 1
Beatles - Rubber Soul (1965)
The sixth studio album by the English rock band was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom, on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out" taken from the same four week sessions at Abbey Road, London over a four-week period beginning in October 1965.
For the first time in their career, the band were able to record an album free of concert, radio or film commitments. Often referred to as a folk rock album, Rubber Soul incorporates a mix of pop, soul and folk musical styles. The title derives from the colloquialism "plastic soul" and was the Beatles' way of acknowledging their lack of authenticity compared to the African-American soul artists they admired. After A Hard Day's Night in 1964, it was the second Beatles LP to contain only original material.
The songs demonstrate the Beatles' increasing maturity as lyricists, and in their incorporation of brighter guitar tones and new instrumentation such as sitar, harmonium and fuzz bass, the group striving for more expressive sounds and arrangements for their music. The project marked a progression in the band's treatment of the album format as an artistic platform, an approach they continued to develop with future releases...
The album topped all major international charts including 8 weeks at #1 in the UK.
Drive My Car 9.5 Norwegian Wood 10.0 You Won't See Me 9.0 Nowhere Man 10.0 Think For Yourself 7.5 The Word 8.0 Michelle 10.0 What Goes On 7.0 Girl 9.0 I'm Looking Through You 8.5 In My Life 10.0 Wait 7.0 If I Needed Someone 7.5 Run For Your Life 8.5
Score: 121.5/14 = 8.68
As far as music critics are concerned this album is still a Top 50 GOAT contender. Sonically, it sounds very impressive, a whole world away from what they were producing just 24 months earlier. Personally, I don't think this is as good an album as A Hard Day's Night, as I don't think the songs are quite as strong. However, it is regarded as the first of their hugely influential, groundbreaking albums.
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vastar iner
Member
I am the poster on your wall
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Post by vastar iner on Sept 13, 2021 21:14:02 GMT 1
That's the thing about Rubber Soul - they're moving away from the two minute pop song. They've written the earworms so now they're growing up their audience.
A Hard Day's Night stands up today as a film very well. Ringo is sort of the soul in it but John's the standout player because of his total ease at controlling any situation. But it was not the sort of Cliff/DC5 cash-in of doing as little as possible. There was a lot of work on getting an authentic voice, the writers had listened to Liverpool slang, and even the filming of the songs used innovative techniques rather than just plonking a camera to record a concert - we're getting weird shots and swoops and pans and angles.
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 14, 2021 9:14:49 GMT 1
Beatles - Revolver (1966)
The seventh studio album by the English rock band was released on 5 August 1966, accompanied by the double A-side single "Eleanor Rigby" / "Yellow Submarine". The album was the Beatles' final recording project before their retirement as live performers and marked the group's most overt use of studio technology to date, building on the advances of their late 1965 release Rubber Soul. It has since become regarded as one of the greatest and most innovative albums in the history of popular music, with recognition centred on its range of musical styles, diverse sounds, and lyrical content.
The Beatles recorded Revolver after taking a three-month break 6 April – 21 June 1966, and during a period when London was feted as the era's cultural capital. Regarded by some commentators as the start of the group's psychedelic period, the songs reflect their interest in the drug LSD, Eastern philosophy and the avant-garde while addressing themes such as death and transcendence from material concerns. With no plans to reproduce their new material in concert, the band made liberal use of automatic double tracking, varispeed, reversed tapes, close audio miking, and instruments outside of their standard live set-up. Among its tracks are "Tomorrow Never Knows", incorporating heavy Indian drone and a collage of tape loops; "Eleanor Rigby", a song about loneliness featuring a string octet as its only musical backing; and "Love You To", a foray into Hindustani classical music. The sessions also produced a non-album single, "Paperback Writer" backed with "Rain".
The album cover, designed by Klaus Voormann, combined Aubrey Beardsley-inspired line drawing with photo collage and won the 1967 Grammy Award for Best Album Cover, Graphic Arts.
The release there coincided with the Beatles' final concert tour and the controversy surrounding John Lennon's remark that the band had become "more popular than Jesus". The album topped the Record Retailer chart in the UK for seven weeks and the US Billboard Top LPs list for six weeks. Critical reaction was highly favourable in the UK but less so in the US amid the press's unease at the band's outspokenness on contemporary issues.
Post BritPop, Revolver has surpassed Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in many critics' estimation as the Beatles' best album (Spoiler: I don't think either are!) topping a number of different UK based polls. Whilst it ranked third in the 2003 and 2012 editions of Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" (dropping to 11th in the 2020 poll).
Taxman 9.5 Eleanor Rigby 10.0 I'm Only Sleeping 9.5 Love You To 6.0 Here, There And Everywhere 10.0 Yellow Submarine 5.5 She Said She Said 9.0 Good Day Sunshine 9.5 And Your Bird Can Sing 10.0 For No One 10.0 Dr. Robert 9.0 I Want To Tell You 7.0 Got To Get You Into My Life 9.5 Tomorrow Never Knows 10.0
Score: 124.5/14 = 8.89
The thing with this album is I think there are three relative clunkers on it, which for me stop it being a GOAT album contender. Yellow Submarine is a sing-a-long children song which is nearly as annoying as "Sloop John B"; and lacks the charm of "Puff The Magic Dragon", let alone the greatest bonkers children song ever "We All Stand Together". Plus the two not properly fledged George songs which come across as dirges relative to the stellar material elsewhere on this album. But just think how great this album could have been had those two George tracks been replaced by Paul's "Paperback Writer"; & John's "Rain" which were taken earlier as a stand alone single...
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 14, 2021 9:29:45 GMT 1
Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
The eighth studio album by the English rock band released on 26 May 1967 topped the charts everywhere including 27 weeks at #1 in the UK; & 15 weeks at the summit in the USA.
It was lauded by critics for its innovations in songwriting, production and graphic design, for bridging a cultural divide between popular music and high art, and for reflecting the interests of contemporary youth and the counterculture. Its release was a defining moment in 1960s pop culture, heralding the Summer of Love, while the album's reception achieved full cultural legitimisation for pop music and recognition for the medium as a genuine art form.
At the end of August 1966, the Beatles permanently retired from touring and pursued individual interests for the next three months. During a return flight to London in November, Paul McCartney had an idea for a song involving an Edwardian military band that formed the impetus of the Sgt. Pepper concept. Sessions began on 24 November at EMI Studios with compositions inspired by the Beatles' youth, but after pressure from EMI, the songs "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Penny Lane" were released as a double A-side single in February 1967 and left off the LP.
The album was loosely conceptualised as a performance by the fictional Sgt. Pepper band, an idea that was conceived after recording the title track. A key work of British psychedelia, it incorporates a range of stylistic influences, including vaudeville, circus, music hall, avant-garde, and Western and Indian classical music. The band continued the technological experimentation marked by their previous album, Revolver, this time without an absolute deadline for completion. With producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick, the group coloured much of the recordings with sound effects and tape manipulation, as exemplified on "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" and "A Day in the Life". Recording was completed on 21 April. The cover, which depicts the Beatles posing in front of a tableau of celebrities and historical figures, was designed by the pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth.
It was the first rock album to win the Album Of The Year Grammy; and had sold over 32 million copies as of the end of 2011.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 10.0With A Little Help From My Friends 10.0Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds 10.0Getting Better 9.0Fixing A Hole 8.5She's Leaving Home 10.0
Being For The Benefit Of Mr. Kite! 9.0Within You Without You 8.0When I'm Sixty-Four 9.0Lovely Rita 9.5Good Morning Good Morning 8.0Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) 8.5A Day In The Life 10.0
Score: 119.5/13 = 9.19
Unlike Revolver, this is a complete album I can happily listen to from start to finish, even if its peaks are not as frequent. It has been fascinating growing up firstly as a youngster/teenager with it being regarded as the pinnacle of popular music; and then in the past quarter of a century being trendy to bash as its detractors typically bemoan McCartney's dominant role, the reliance on studio innovation, and the unconvincing concept, in comparison to their previous album. Like their previous album, how incredible would this album have been had John's "Strawberry Fields Forever" & Paul's "Penny Lane" not been culled off as an earlier stand alone single.
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Post by raliverpool on Sept 14, 2021 10:08:20 GMT 1
Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (1967)
When recording their new songs, the Beatles continued the studio experimentation that had typified Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and the psychedelic sound they had pursued since Revolver (1966). The project was initiated by Paul McCartney in April 1967, but after the band recorded the song "Magical Mystery Tour", it lay dormant until the death of their manager, Brian Epstein, in late August. Recording then took place alongside filming and editing, and as the Beatles furthered their public association with Transcendental Meditation under teacher Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
The sessions have been characterised by some biographers as aimless and unfocused, with the band members overly indulging in sound experimentation and exerting greater control over production. McCartney contributed three of the soundtrack songs, including the widely covered "The Fool on the Hill", while John Lennon and George Harrison contributed "I Am the Walrus" and "Blue Jay Way", respectively. The sessions also produced "Hello, Goodbye", issued as a single accompanying the soundtrack record, and items of incidental music for the film, including "Flying". Further to the Beatles' desire to experiment with record formats and packaging.
When standardising the Beatles' releases for the worldwide compact disc release in 1987, EMI issued Magical Mystery Tour as a full-length album in true stereo. It was the only example of an American reconfigured release (which spent 5 weeks at #1) being favoured over the EMI (extended 6 track EP (the first six track on the CD/Side 1 of the Vinyl) version. The inclusion of the 1967 singles on CD with this album meant that the Magical Mystery Tour CD would be of comparable length to the band's CDs of its original albums, and that the additional five tracks originally featured on the American LP would not need to be included on Past Masters, a two-volume compilation designed to accompany the initial CD album releases and provide all non-album tracks (mostly singles) on CD format.
Magical Mystery Tour 9.5 The Fool On The Hill 10.0 Flying 7.5 Blue Jay Way 7.0 Your Mother Should Know 9.0 I Am The Walrus 10.0 Hello Goodbye 10.0 Strawberry Fields Forever 10.0 Penny Lane 10.0 Baby You're A Rich Man 8.0 All You Need Is Love 10.0
Score: 101.0/11 = 9.18
This is one of those occasions where the track by track ratings inflate an album's status above its true place. Probably, as I knew/know that it rounds up the maxi-EP from the dodgy film; plus the non album 1967 psychedelic singles A & B-sides. But from a CD collection perspective the way The Beatles handled their 1987 roll out was perfect. Had it been more haphazard, with more missing & repetition I may well have not ended up buying them all.
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