Crazy's 2021 purchases:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

i normally dont start posting my annual purchases until December but i thought i would start a bit earlier this year.
not because i have purchased a truckload of new releases (because i havent), i just thought that it gets a bit rushed and strained trying to cram life, work, Xmas and listening to albums a bit stressful sometimes...

i will post and rate the 18 albums released in 2021 including any re-issued box sets i purchased also...

first post coming shortly....

albums ranked in score order:

--  CSNY  -  deja vu (50th anniversary box set)   3.0  (re-issues dont count because theyre generally bonifide classics with history!)
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1:  THE KILLERS  -  pressure machine  2.7

2:  OLIVIA RODRIGO  -   sour   2.7

3:  MARINA  -  ancient dreams in a modern land   2.6

4:  TONES & I  -  welcome to the madhouse   2.6

5:  STURGILL SIMPSON  -  the ballad of Dood & Juanita  2.5

6:  GERRY RAFFERTY  -   rest in blue  2.3

7:  CROWDED HOUSE  -  dreamers are waiting   2.3

8:  PAUL WELLER  -  fat pop (volume 1)   2.3

9:  KINGS OF LEON  -  when you see yourself   2.3

10:  ABBA   -   voyage   2.3

11:  SIA  -  music   2.3

12:  TONY BENNETT & LADY GAGA  -  love for sale   2.3

13:  LORD HURON   -   long lost  2.2

14:  MY MORNING JACKET   -   my morning jacket   2.1

15:  PAUL STANLEY'S SOUL STATION  -  now & then  2.0

16:  BILLIE EILISH  -  happier than ever  1.9

17:  IMAGINE DRAGONS  -  mercury: act I   1.7

18:  PAUL McCARTNEY & VARIOUS ARTISTS   -  McCartney III - imagined   1.4

[CRAZY-HORSE]

first up:




CROSBY,STILLS,NASH & YOUNG "deja vu: 50th anniversary" 

50th anniversary release of one of the most iconic alnums of the rock era...
set contains 4cds and a 180g pressing of the album on vinyl...
release was delayed by twelve months due to Covid...
first cd contains the remastered version of the original album.
second disc contains 18 demo's including those of previously unreleased tracks.
third disc contains a further eleven outtakes of the album,
forth disc contains alternate versions of album tracks.
the quality of the demos,alternate and unreleased tracks are just as good as the finished product IMO.
in other words these could have been released as four seperate releases back in the day.
excellent packaging, a benchmark for delxe box sets IMO.
set scores a perfect 3.0 from me and is a masterpiece of a masterpiece!
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

of the non album tracks these two are my favourites:

the full 10 minute version of this Crosby classic:

---

and finally:

Graham Nash's full band version outtake of this which is the box set highlight for me:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

TONES & I  "welcome to the madhouse" cd.

Aussie pop singer.
her debut album and highly anticipated after the international success of the annoying "dance monkey" single...
no Dance Monkey on here just a collection of highly personal songs dealing with depression, anxiety, abuse, loss, grief and bullying.
ive played this album more than every other new release i have purchased so far this year, loving the vast majority of it.
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

best track:  westside lobby
worst track:  just a mess

tracks:

1.  welcome to the madhouse ***
2.  lonely ***
3.  wont sleep **
4.  westside lobby ***
5.  fly away **
6.  sad songs **
7.  just a mess **
8.  childs play ***
9.  not going home **
10. dark waters ***
11. cloudy day ***
12. you dont know my name ***
13. fall apart ***
14. bars (rip t) **

3s -  8
2s -  6
1s -  0

rating:  2.6

favourite  (lyrics in video)

[CRAZY-HORSE]

PAUL WELLER  "fat pop (volume 1)".

his sixteenth solo album.
another late career return to form of sorts for me...
none of the experimental crap on here, just all things i want and expect from him...
psychedelic rock on one track, some funk, pop, music hall, blue-eyed soul, r+b, a paino ballad and a jazz/pop thingy...
nice to see eldest daughter Leah duet on on "shades of blue" and a guest appearance from Mr. Andy Fairweather Lowe on another track...
all up, another pleasant surprise from PW this time round.
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1.  cosmic fringes  ***
2.  true  *
3.  fat pop  **
4.  shades of blue  ***
5.  glad times  **
6.  cobwebs/connections  ***
7.  testify  **
8.  that pleasure  **
9.  failed  ***
10. moving canvas  **
11. in better times  **
12. she glides the stream  **

3s -  4
2s -  7
1s -  1

rating:  2.3

favourite:






Can you see the good things in your life
See what's really happening and why
Hear that distant bell so clear and bright
Heralding a new day
Somewhere, all connected
In your mind

Can you jump for joy and clap in time
Not a trace of goodness you could find
Is there not a moment you could cite
That takes you through the back roads
Down by the river
Somewhere in the cobwebs
Of your mind

So don't go
And get by
'Cause that's not life
It's just getting through the day

So I say
Change today
Save yourself
And save all those around you too

And all the pictures you'vе been shown
Were made from papеr, not from stone
But only you can now decide
How old and new worlds will collide

[CRAZY-HORSE]

PAUL STANLEY'S SOUL STATION  "now and then".

his first solo set in fifteen years, and first since KISS' last a decade ago...
this time he is tapping in to the R+B music that turned him on to music when he was young...
half covers and half original material here...
love the authentic "soul" sounds here as Stanley pay his repsects to the genre without trying to reinvent it...
songs suit his aging weakened vocals, or alternatively, he sings probably the best he could after years of being the frontman of a hard rock rocking band...
nothing exceptional on here, just a pleasant album of Motown/Stax R+B covers and originals that he manouvres easily through...
that said, if i have one negative to say about the album i think it is probably four tracks too long because at the tenth track mark i was starting to get restless because it all sort of sounds the samey-same.
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1.  could it be im falling in love **
2.  I do **
3.  I, oh I  **
4.  ooh baby, baby **
5.  o-o-h child **
6.  save me **
7.  just my imagination **
8.  whenever youre ready  **
9.  tracks of my tears  **
10. lets stay together **
11. la-la means i love you **
12. lorelei **
13. you are everything **
14. baby i need your loving  **

3s - 0
2s - 14
1s - 0

rating:  2.0

the lead off single:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

BILLIE EILISH  "happier than ever".

her second,
not as up-beat and poppy as her debut.
music is muted, sparse and solomn.
a more serious affair than the debut (if that is possible??!)...
album received mixed reviews, 
my problem with it is that it is probably too long becuase of its inconsistancies.
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1.  getting older  *
2.  i didnt change my number  ***
3.  billie bossa nova  ***
4.  my future  **
5.  oxytocin  **
6.  GOLDWING  *
7.  lost cause  *
8.  halleys comet  **
9.  not my responsibility  ***
10. overheated  *
11. everybody dies  ***
12. your power  *
13. NDA  *
14. therefore i am  ***
15. happier than ever  **
16. male fantasy  **

3s  -  5
2s  -  5
1s  -  6

rating:  1.9

favourite:

[CRAZY-HORSE]

CROWDED HOUSE  "dreamers are waiting"

their seventh...
has a similar sound to their previous two and Finn's latter solo albums...
light pop, with hints of jazz on a couple of tracks...
album scraped through as average when i first heard it but as is typical of Neil Finn the albums are growers with increased exposure and this is no exception...
it is certainly no 'classic' but it is a respectable album for an artist this late in his/her/their career...
favourite track wasnt a single but is about former band Split Enz allbeit cryptic...
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1.  good times bad  **
2.  playing with fire **
3.  to the island  ***
4.  sweet tooth  ***
5.  whatever you want ***
6.  show me the way  **
7.  goodnight everyone  **
8.  too good for this world  **
9.  start of something  ***
10. real life woman  **
11. love isnt hard at all  **
12. deeper down  **

3s  -  4
2s  -  8
1s  -  0

rating:  2.3

favourite (lyrics in video)

[CRAZY-HORSE]

and the runner up for crappiest cover of 2021 goes to....

SIA  "music"

Aussie musician's nineth studio album,
well actually, its the soundtrack to an indi movie she wrote and directed....
well crafted pop songs here that are all quite commercial sounding by her sometimes 'out there' standards...
songs stand up outside of the movie because they were written with the album in mind and not the movie...
really wish she would work with P!nk as theur style and vocals would blend well together IMO...
another good solid album from Ms Furler...
(bugger me, i just looked on Wiki and it appears she co-wrote track 8 with P!nk)

I LIKE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1.  together  **
2.  hey boy  ***
3.  saved my life  **
4.  floating through space  ** 
5.  eye to eye  **   
6.  music  ***    
7.  1+1   ***  
8.  courage to change  **          
9.  play dumb   **                          
10. beautiful things can happen  **            
11. lie to me  **               
12. oblivion  **               
13. miracle   **               
14. hey boy (featuring Burna Boy)  ***

3s  -  4
2s  -  10
1s  -  0

rating  2.3






[Verse 1]
Hey boy
Whatcha got for me, whatcha got in store?
Hey boy
Damn you're so sexy, got me wanting more (Yeah)

[Pre-Chorus]
Not going to be single, not tonight
Am I going to be single all my life?
I want you to stop and come on by
'Cause you know what us single women like (Oh)

[Chorus]
Hey boy, won't you come, come around town?
Hey, hey boy (Oh)
Hey boy, better run, better run now
I say "Hey boy" (Oh)
When you pull up, pull up, pull up
In your hoopty ride boy, ok boy (Oh)
Hey boy, better run, better run now
I say "Hey boy" (Hey boy)

[Verse 2]
Hey boy, when I get with you
My heart is satisfied (Yeah)
Oh yeah boy, when I get with you
All I need is one night (Yeah)

[CRAZY-HORSE]

and the award for crappiest album cover of 2021 goes to......

OLIVIA RODRIGO  "sour"

from California, debut album...
"Disney Channel starlet" from all accounts, just turned 18.
songs on the album are far better than the cover art indicates (or for that matter, the fact she was a Disney star!)...
sort of a modern 'jagged little pill' for me as she lays all her insecurities over failed relationships and being 'used' on the table...
a bit of pop-rock, mostly pop but mainly well crafted pop ballads with a couple of folkie type tunes that wouldnt be out of place on Taylor's "folklore" or "evermore" albums...
she has a really good voice in the same ilk as P!nk and if given the chance could mature into a really good rock/pop artist IMO.
album opens up using a sample of Elvis Costello's "pump it up", so assuming shes a fan its easy to see where her youthful angst originates from...
only eleven tracks on here but its over in under 35 minutes, just like an album should be, nothing too long or overblown, just straightforward pop...
I LOVE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1:  brutal  ***
2:  traitor  ***
3:  drivers license  ***
4:  1 step forward, 3 steps back  ***          
5:  deja vu  **
6:  good 4 you  **
7:  enough for you  ***
8:  happier  ***
9:  jealousy, jealousy  ***
10: favourite crime  ** 
11: hope ur ok  ***

3s  -  7
2s  -  4
1s  -  0

rating:  2.7

favourite wasnt even a single!:  (lyrics in the video) - seems a common relationship issue for women ie: walking on eggshells

[CRAZY-HORSE]

KINGS OF LEON "when you see yourself"

their eighth and also my eighth...
i love this band, from their almost hard sounding rock of the first couple thru the alt rock of the remainder..
this album, like the last  one is more about jangly guitar sounds and keyboards for the most part...
still melodic and for the majority of the time atmospheric...
another very good album from one of the consistent bands currently in rock
and another borderline like/love album from them
I LIKE THIS ALBUM

tracks:

1:  when you see yourslef, are you far away **
2:  the bandit  ***
3:  100,000 people  **
4:  stormy weather  **
5:  a wave  **
6:  golden restless age  ***
7:  time in disguise  **
8:  supermarket  **
9:  claire and eddie  **
10: echoing  ***
11: fairytale  **

3s  -  3
2s  -  8
1s  -  0

rating:  2.3

favourite:






I've been roamin' around, always lookin' down at all I see
Painted faces fill the places I can't reach
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you and all you know and how you speak
Countless lovers under cover of the street
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody.


Someone like you

Off in the night, while you live it up I'm off to sleep
Wagin' wars to shape the poet and the beat
I hope it's gonna make you notice
I hope it's gonna make you notice.

Someone like me
Someone like me
Someone like me
Somebody.

I'm ready now
I'm ready now
I'm ready now
I'm ready now