What Are You Listening To?

[Music Head]

from the cd room



contains material through his first 7 albums
over the years this has become JT's best selling album
reaching diamond status (10X platinum)
great tunes for the most part
I hated Shower The People and I didn't need the live Steamroller or the How Sweet It Is remake

fav from Gorilla

[video=youtube;VQnHAb_6sOs]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQnHAb_6sOs[/video]

[Music Head]

from the cd room



24 years between greatest hits albums
don't care for the covers
Handy Man is the worst and his last top 10 hit

from JT

[video=youtube;xIWSXGaJQ-A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIWSXGaJQ-A[/video]

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ive got this one on in the car at the moment...
I think he is a much better artist live than in the studio...
I wont post it, because its hard to evaluate live albums (well, it is for me anyway)

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ABBA "the visitors" cd, 1981

career stats:
studio albums......8
singles..............73

this album.............#1 UK...#22 AU...#19 NZ...#29 US
singles:
"one of us"...........................#3 UK...#43 NZ
"when all is said and done".....#27 US...#81 AU
"head over heels"..................#25 UK
"the visitors".........................#63 US

ABBA's eighth and final studio album....
to me they weren't any good until voulez-vous, (sixth album)....
they peaked with super trouper the following year or me also....
they weren't kiddy-pop on these last three albums...
lots of relationship songs, makes sense when the marriages fractured and infidelities exposed
within the band...
its a shame that it takes personal problems to create fantastic albums...
I always thought that "brothers in arms" was the first album to be released on cd, but that is not correct,
this ABBA album was recorded digtally in 1981 and was the first album to be released in the new cd format
in 1982...
all up a pretty classy album (cd version contains four bonus tracks that are pretty good, but they weren't on the
original album so I wont post them)

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: head over heels
best track: when all is said and done

[video=youtube;tUh4u-lYEhM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUh4u-lYEhM[/video]

tracks:

1...the visitors **
2...head over heels **
3...when all is said and done ***
4...soldiers **
5...I let the music speak ***
6...one of us ***
7...two for the price of one **
8...slipping through my fingers **
9...like an angel passing through my room **

3s=3
2s=6
1s=0

rating: 2.3

[CRAZY-HORSE]

AMY WINEHOUSE "frank" cd, 2003

career stats:
studio albums.............2
singles......................11

this album..............#3 UK...#23 AU...#22 NZ...#33 US
singles:
"stronger than me".....#71 UK
"take the box"...........#57 UK
"in my bed"...............#60 UK
"fxxxk me pumps"......#65 UK

had I got this one prior to "back to black" I would probably not given her a second look in!
piss poor album IMO, lacks the oomph and punch of the second album,
very little in terms of melody and rhythm IMO...
and I dislike all for singles released off it...
if only she had gone to rehab instead of saying no, no, no she might still be alive
and we'd have seen whether she'd have been a superstar or faded into oblivion,
for some reason I think she would have faded away because she was no match for Adele!
oh yeah almost forgot, the cd contains three hidden tracks at the end o the disc, im not posting
them because, well, I cant be bothered!

I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: cherry
best track: I heard love is blind

[video=youtube;HHUBkPb0ytQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHUBkPb0ytQ[/video]

tracks:

1...intro *
2...stronger than me *
3...you sent me flying **
4...cherry *
5...fxxxk me pumps *
6...I heard love is blind **
7...no greater love **
8...in my bed *
9...take the box *
10.october song **
11.what is it about men **

3s=0
2s=5
1s=6

rating: 1.5

[CRAZY-HORSE]

LISA MARIE PRESLEY "to whom it may concern" cd, 2003

career stats:
studio albums...........3
singles.....................6

this album..........#8 US...#52 UK
singles:
"lights out".........#29 AU...#16 UK...#28 NZ
"sinking in".........no chart action

ok, I know....!
you guys know im a huge fan of Elvis Presley so I had to get this when it was released because, well,
its Presley's daughter....
a soft rock feel happening on this one....
vocal quality is similar to Alannah Miles in places and a touch of Melissa Etheridge in others...
Lisa writes all her own songs( or co-writes them) on this one....
the big problem I have with it is the use of the old F-Bomb, and its not once or twice, its in a lot
of the songs on numerous occasions (im surprised this wasn't issued with a 'parental warning' sticker
back in the day!
Presley can sing but I just don't like the songs...
a disappointing effort IMO, but she was never going to live up to the hype of Elvis (like Julian with John, but I like Jules)

I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: S.O.B
best track: lights out

[video=youtube;3rsxwzDWIk4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rsxwzDWIk4[/video]

tracks:

1...S.O.B *
2...the road between *
3...lights out **
4...better beware *
5...nobody noticed it *
6...sinking in **
7...important *
8...so lovely *
9...indifferent *
10.gone *
11.to whom it may concern *

3s=0
2s=2
1s=9

rating: 1.2

[CRAZY-HORSE]

DAN FOGELBERG "home free" cd, 1972

career stats:
studio albums.......16
singles.................19

this album..............#210 US
singles:
"to the morning"........no chart action
"anyway I love you"...no chart action

I did try to post this one yesterday but I deleted it while ''copying' it prior to
posting it incase it didn't post and I pressed "paste" instead, wiping the post clean

Dan's debut set, and one of just five I own by him...
they call this one "folk rock", that's probably right IMO...
some uptempo songs, some distinctly folky, others country tinged...
some of it sounds like it wold fit on the first two Neil Young albums, and
i'd call them "folk rock", so its settled....this is folk rock!
album has, over the decades, reached platinum status in the US,
but obviously reaching only 210 on the charts back in the day it didn't sell!
best track on here for me is the beautifully haunting ballad "wysteria"...

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: to the morning
best track: wysteria

[video=youtube;rr8AYC0wJvE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rr8AYC0wJvE[/video]

tracks:

1...to the morning *
2...stars **
3...more than ever **
4...be on your way **
5...hickory grove **
6...long way home **
7...looking for a lady ***
8...anyway I love you **
9...wysteria ***
10.the river **

3s=3
2s=7
1s=1

rating: 2.1

[CRAZY-HORSE]

ELVIS PRESLEY WITH THE ROYAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA "if I can dream" cd, 2015

album stats...........#21 US...#24 CAN...#1 UK...#1 AU...#3 NZ

no I did not buy this one, I wouldn't,
im an Elvis purist, this is a money grabber IMO.
it was an Xmas gift!
a collection of Presley songs stripped back to the bare essentials
ie: his vocals, and one or two prominent instruments from the original master tapes
and overdubbed with the lush orchestrations of the RPO...
this one is not about whether I like it or not, because personally, no one should be allowed
to do this sort of thing...
its about whether the orchestrations compliment the original song....
some work exceptionally well, others so-so, and a few are WTF moments!
my avourite Elvis song of all time (if I can dream) should have worked like this IMO,
but it fails miserably as does another one I thought would sound okay in "love me tender",
then theres Presely songs I don't like, like S&G's "bridge over troubled water" and "an old
"B-side" "theres always me" both of which I dislike and they work well with the orchestrations...
the album has sold over one million copies (physical copies) in the UK and is still in the album charts...
it is his biggest selling album in the UK and also in Australia and New Zealand...
I get where Priscilla is coming from...to open up the music of Elvis to yet another generation
of music lovers, but it still feels like a money grab to me...
that said though, the album in its own right is fairly respectful to the Presley image.
I am not posting links to these tracks on here because I don't want to promote it any further

I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM
(but im scoring the tracks on if the RPO works well with the songs)

tracks:

1...burning love *
2...its now or never **
3...love me tender *
4...fever *
5...bridge over troubled water ***
6...and the grass wont pay no mind **
7...you've lost that lovin' feelin' **
8...theres always me ***
9...cant help falling in love ***
10.in the ghetto ***
11.how great thou art *
12.steamroller blues *
13.an American trilogy ***
14.i I can dream *

3s=5
2s=3
1s=6

rating as to whether it works or not: 1.8

so, it works on some levels but not on others from a technical point of view...
lots of people love the album that I know but they were only casual Presley fans anyway...
to me, no serious Presley fan would like these takes on his songs, but at least its
done respectfully to the image and memory of Elvis Presley.
BTW,
i'll probably never play this cd ever again.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

THE EAGLES "long road out of eden" cd, 2007

career stats:
studio albums...........7
singles....................29

this album..............#1 in US, AU, UK, NZ, CAN and a zillion other countries!
singles:
"no more cloudy days".......no chart action!
"how long".......................#101 US...#76 CAN...#110 UK
"busy being fabulous".......no chart action!

album number seven for Frey and co....
I don't even know if im a convert to these guys yet...
own "the long run" on vinyl and posted their debut a while ago which I liked a lot...
recently purchased a boxset of their first six albums, and not really sure how the rest will go....
anyway,
double disc here, twenty tracks in all....
took seven years to record and finalise for release....
some lovely ballads on here, a few cool sounding country flavoured tracks,
soft rock and a couple im sure CSN&Y would be pleased to have on their books!
personally, I think two discs was too long, all the best tracks are on disc one,
the second disc just seems like filler to me...a single disc would have been superb...
overall though....

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: I dreamed there was no war
best track: how long

[video=youtube;LmW5McLF-Uk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmW5McLF-Uk[/video]

tracks:

disc I:
1...no more walks in the woods **
2...how long ***
3...busy being fabulous ***
4...what did I do with my heart **
5...guilty of the crime **
6...I don't want to hear anymore **
7...waiting in the weeds **
8...no more cloudy days *
9...easy company **
10.do something *
11.you are not alone **

3s=2
2s=7
1s=2

rating: 2.1

disc II:

1...long road out of eden *
2...I dreamed there was no war *
3...somebody **
4...frail grasp on the big picture **
5...last good time in town *
6...I love to watch a woman dance *
7...business as usual *
8...center of the universe **
9...its your world now **

3s=0
2s=4
1s=5

rating: 1.4

ovrall rating:

3s=2
2s=11
1s=7

rating: 1.7

[CRAZY-HORSE]

JOHN LENNON & YOKO ONO "double fantasy - stripped down" cd, 1980.

solo career stats:
studio albums.......11
singles.................21

this album..................#1 UK...#1 AU...#1 CAN...#1 NZ...#1 US (and just about everywhere else!)
singles:
"(just like) starting over"................#1 UK....#1 AU...#1 CAN...#1 NZ....#1 US
"woman"......................................#1 UK....#4 AU...#3 CAN...#1 NZ....#2 US
"watching the wheels"..................#30 UK..#45 AU.#12 CAN..#15 NZ..#10 US

first up, lets get this straight...
this album is a double set containing the original "double fantasy" album and the 'stripped down'
version of the album ie: basically its a demo/acoustic version....
I don't do demo tracks or alternate versions as a rule so here is the original "double fantasy" one...
released just three or four weeks prior to his senseless murder in December 1980...
album and lead off single were already on the way down the charts in most countries, then 'bang bang!"
he dies and the album and single rocket up to number one on just about every chart in the world...
its Lennon's comeback album after a five year hiatus being a "house husband/stay at home dad"....
the problem I have with this album is that "it" (yoko) sings half the tracks (if you call it singing?!)...
so IMO its only half an album...
rumour has it that when McCartney heard John was making a comeback that he was crapping himself
that John would take the limelight off him and that John may be more popular that Paul (that is in several books
ive read about Macca over the years (and with his cocky 'look at me', 'im the greatest', 'I was the Beatles" attitude)
it wouldn't surprise me if those rumours were correct.
back to the album...
or the most part Johns songs on here are excellent IMO, none of the bullcrap political crap he got mixed up with
in the early 1970s, instead we get real love songs, as in his undying love for Yoko and son Sean....
as I said, its only half an album and at least with the evolution of the cd format all I have to do is press 'next'
to skip over the Yoko tracks, but in the old days it was a case of lifting the needle and putting it down in the correct
position so as to avoid her songs and hopefully not scratch the vinyl

I bought the single "starting over" the week it was released and the album on vinyl the following week when it was
released...it was the first thing by Lennon I purchased, hearing "starting over" still puts a lump in my throat and brings
a tear to my eye everytime I hear it...such a waste of a great talent who had years of music to offer the world in the future!

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

worst track: pick any one of seven of them(its your choice)
best track: (just like) starting over

[video=youtube;iAJ2AoEwDvY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAJ2AoEwDvY[/video]

tracks:

1...(just like) starting over ***
2...kiss kiss kiss *
3...clean up time **
4...give me something *
5...im losing you **
6...im moving on *
7...beautiful boy(darling sean) ***
8...watching the wheels ***
9...yes, im your angel *
10.woman ***
11.beautiful boys *
12.dear yoko ***
13.every man has a woman who loves him *
14.hard times are over *

3s=5
2s=2
1s=7 (im sure you can guess who's songs got a perfect score)!

rating: 1.8

rating for Yoko's songs: 1.0

rating for Johns songs: 2.7