What Are You Listening To?

[CRAZY-HORSE]

DAVID BOWIE  "★" aka  "blackstar"  cd, 2016

a revisit
his 26th and final studio album, i own them all
"experimental jazz" and "jazz rock" is what the experts call it
it could go here or alternative i guess...
still a very good swansong
little did we know upon hearing it the first time he was basically writing his own 'death suite' until two days later....
in terms of what it achieves and its effects it is a masterpiece.
almost a top 5 album of his career for me which means...
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

[CRAZY-HORSE]

JOE JACKSON  "collected"  cd 2010

never posted this one before
a 3cd set of 55 career spanning tracks
as much as i like Joe Jackson's studio albums this was a bit of a letdown for me
i get this was an overview of his career but it seemed too much of nothing overall
i mean the songs were pleasant enough i guess 150 minutes of Joe was too much in one listen
had it have been condensed a bit and maybe covered his classic years or even just his singles im sure i would have liked it more
I DO NOT LIKE THIS ALBUM

lets go for this one on this occasion:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

CROWDED HOUSE  "gravity stairs"  cd/vinyl 2024

a revisit
their eighth and most recent release of which i own all eight
to say this was underwhelming or somewhat simplistic is a bit unfair
that said it really isnt a Crowded House album IMO, more of a Finn Family album for me
reminds me of a song, 
someones knockin' at the door, somebody's ringing the bell (repeat)
Uncle Neil, wifey Sharon, sons Elroy and Liam, brother Tim, open the door and let 'em in...
after all that, yes on the surface it sounds mediocre by Finn's standards but as you delve a little deeper the quality of songwriting is evident in the musicianship and lyrics, that said
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

loved this one on this occasion and nice to know it was released as a single.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

WINGS  "london town"  cd/vinyl  1978

a revisit
their sixth studio album, McCartneys 8th post Beatle release
i call this "soft rock" because thats where it fits best
a couple of geuine rockers on here, some soft rock, pop, folk and the obvious love songs
most well known track from this one is the huge  single "with a little luck" which was a US #1 hit
one of my favourite albums of his career and contains my favourite Macca non-single LP track
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

fav is this one that does not really sound like him,
c'mon i dare you to listen to it tell me it sounds like the Paul McCartney you know

[CRAZY-HORSE]

LINDA RONSTADT  "winter light"  cd,  1993

a revisit
her twenty-first studio album of twenty-nine
apart from one song (title track) this is a covers album
and some mighty fine covers too
still has a beautiful voice as always
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

[CRAZY-HORSE]

SHAKIN' STEVENS  "re set"  vinyl 2023


another birthday gift from Lynne
Welsh singer,
hugely popular in Europe in the 1980s
had more top-10 hits in that decade in the UK than any other male singer
his 20th studio album, third since this century
a more subdued, reflective album than previous rockabilly/pop albums
comes from a long line of miners and these are the stories of his family, historical and present
some uptempo tracks making it soft rock and some more slower/folkier type tunes making it more easy listening
my favourites are the slower tunes but overall it is still pretty good
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

favourite track is about a family member who died in a mining disaster, really heartfelt track from Shaky.

---

love this one too:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

LEO SAYER  "the gold collection"  cd  2018

"soft rock" is where most of this material lies
a 3 cd, 54 track collection of all his hits and lesser known deep cuts
curated by The Man himself as a career spanning testament
a near perfect compilation of the best of Leo Sayer IMO
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

one of the lesser known songs:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

JIM CROCE  "photographs & memories: his greatest hits"  vinyl  1974

from Lynne's vinyl collection
soft rock?, folk?, who knows??
a nice collection of songs/singles
scores 2.1 from me which means
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

favourite has always been this one:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

PAUL McCARTNEY  "mccartney"  cd/vinyl  1970

a revisit
his first post-beatles album
the experts call it "the first lo-fi album"
acoustic, folky, rock, non descript tunes in places too
Macca plays all instruments and vocals plus production duties
a very sparse simplistice album without the lush production of Beatles recordings
ive got to say i really enjoyed this one more than normal (not that i didnt like it previously)
but it was a refreshingly clean, crisp, clutter free album to listen to
i think this one would now rate a solid 2.4 on this occasion which means
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

lets go for this blues rocker instead of the obvious ones:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

GEORGE HARRISON  "gone troppo"  vinyl  1982

a revisit
his tenth solo album of twelve, i own them all
his least successful album commercially but its not as bad as it may seem
he refused to bow to record label demands to promote it or make videos for the singles,
had something to do with the label interfering in the recording/release of his previous album from memory
its a light breezy happy summery sounding album that is uplifting and positive musically and lyrically
George was always best when he had no dark clouds hanging round him and by freeing himself from label demands he had no pressure on himself with this one.
look, its not his best album by any means but its certainly not his worst either
it is often overlooked in terms of his solo career but i score it around 2.1 which means
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

fav was originally demo'd in 1968,