50 Years, 50 Albums (1982): Big Science by Laurie Anderson


50 Years, 50 Albums

I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to listen to and review one album from each year of my life, 1973 to 2022.  The only qualification is that it has to be an album I’ve not reviewed previously. 

1982

Top Grossing Albums of 1982:

  1. Asia – Asia
  2. Beauty and the Beat – The Go-Go’s
  3. 4 – Foreigner
  4. American Fool – John Cougar
  5. Freeze-Frame – J. Geils Band

Grammy Award for Album of the Year of 1982:

  • Toto IV – Toto
  • American Fool – John Cougar
  • The Nightly – Donald Fagen
  • The Nylon Curtain – Billy Joel
  • Tug of War – Paul McCartney

Other Albums I’ve Reviewed from 1982:


Album: Big Science
Artist: Laurie Anderson
Release Date: April 19, 1982
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

  • Big Science
  • Born, Never Asked
  • O, Superman
  • Example #22

Thoughts:

Big Science is the debut album for performance artist Laurie Anderson featuring some of the musical portions of her 8-hour performance United States Live.  Anderson was the epitome of weird in the 1980s, but her use of sampling, voice modification, and electronic instrumentation made her ahead of the time.  The lyrics may seem inscrutable at times but they’re often politically pointed and flavored with a lot of humor.

Rating: ****

 


DEEP DIVE – Album Review: 1999 by Prince and the Revolution (1982)


I am doing a deep dive into the work of the musical artist Prince.  Each week until December I will post my thoughts on albums released by Prince (and his bands and side projects) focusing on one year of his career. 

This week I’m reviewing 1999 from 1982.

Album: 1999
Artist: Prince and the Revolution
Release Date: October 27, 1982
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

  • 1999
  • Little Red Corvette
  • Delirious
  • Let’s Pretend We’re Married
  • D.S.M.R.
  • Free
  • All The Critics Love U In New York
  • International Lover

Thoughts:

Prince has a band.  The Revolution are acknowledged in small print and in reverse on the album cover, a small step to recognize the contributions of fellow artists by a man who preferred to work alone in the studio.  This is also Prince’s first masterpiece.  “1999”/”Little Red Corvette”/”Delirious” must rank among the best opening trio of songs of all time.  I’m also quite fond of “D.S.M.R.” and “All the Critics Love U In New York.”

Musically this album moves among every genre that was popular in 1982 and Prince excel at all of them – Rock, funk, New Wave, synthpop, R&B, and dance.  The Minneapolis Sound is fully codified as a genre of its own.  Prince’s lyrics continue to have a raw eroticism while also engaging with religious faith, two things that Prince would find both conflict and unity throughout his career. From the title song onward, Prince also expresses his philosophy of partying even on the verge of annihilation.

Rating: *****

 

For You 1978 ***
Prince 1979 ***1/2
Dirty Mind 1980 ****
Controversy 1981 ****
1999 1982 Prince and the Revolution *****
Purple Rain 1984 Prince and the Revolution
Around the World in a Day 1985 Prince and the Revolution
Parade 1986 Prince and the Revolution
Sign O’ the Times 1987
8 1987 Madhouse
16 1987 Madhouse
Lovesexy 1988
Batman 1989
Graffiti  Bridge 1990
Diamonds and Pearls 1991 Prince and the New Power Generation
Love Symbol 1992 Prince and the New Power Generation
Goldnigga 1993 The New Power Generation
Come 1994
The Black Symbol 1994
The Gold Experience 1995
Exodus 1995 The New Power Generation
Chaos and Disorder 1996
Emancipation 1996
Kamasutra 1997 The NPG Orchestra
Crystal Ball 1998
The Truth 1998
Newpower Soul 1998 The New Power Generation
The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale 1999
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic 1999
The Rainbow Children 2001
One Nite Alone… 2002
One Nite Alone… Live! 2002
Xpectation 2003
N-E-W-S 2003
Musicology 2004
The Chocolate Invasion 2004
The Slaughterhouse 2004
C-Note 2004
3121 2006
Planet Earth 2007
Indigo Nights 2008
Lotusflow3r/MPLSound 2009
20Ten 2010
Plectrumelectrum 2014 with 3rdeyegirl
Art Official Age 2014 with 3rdeyegirl
HITnRun Phase One 2015
HITnRun Phase Two 2015

DEEP DIVE – Album Review: Controversy by Prince


I am doing a deep dive into the work of the musical artist Prince.  Each week until December I will post my thoughts on albums released by Prince (and his bands and side projects) focusing on one year of his career. 

This week I’m reviewing Controversy from 1981.

Album: Controversy
Artist: Prince
Release Date: October 14, 1981
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

  • Controversy
  • Sexuality
  • Ronnie, Talk To Russia
  • Let’s Work
  • Jack U Off

Thoughts:

The title of this album is dead-on since Prince’s music and public persona attracted a lot of controversy.  On the title track Prince questions why he is the subject of so much controversy, recites the Lord’s Prayer, and chants “People call me rude / I wish we all were nude / I wish there was no black and white / I wish there were no rules.” This album exudes the raw sexuality we’ve come to expect from Prince but also addresses political and social issues.

Rolling Stone music critic Stephen Holden wrote “Prince’s first three records were so erotically self-absorbed that they suggested the reveries of a licentious young libertine. On Controversy, that libertine proclaims unfettered sexuality as the fundamental condition of a new, more loving society than the bellicose, overtechnologized America of Ronald Reagan.” This is particularly true  on “Ronnie, Talk to Russia,” a song where Prince expresses his fear of nuclear annihilation, anticipating “1999.”

The album is a time capsule of the 1981 zeitgeist including references to the assassination of John Lennon, the shooting of Ronald Reagan, the murder of Black children in Atlanta, and the Abscam scandal.  The tenuous nature of being a Black artist who challenges the status quo underlies the album and foresaw the racist, sexist, and homophobic abuse Prince and his band received from Rolling Stones fans when opening a concert in Los Angeles just before this album was released.

Musically, Prince continues to expand on the funk sounds of P-Funk with New Wave and pop sensibilities.  “Ronnie, Talk to Russia” channels early rock and roll under layers of sound effects and synth sounds, while “Jack U Off” updates rockabilly.  Prince once again recorded the album almost entirely on his own, with contributions from Lisa Coleman, Dr. Fink, Bobby Z, and Morris Day.

Rating: ****

 

For You 1978 ***
Prince 1979 ***1/2
Dirty Mind 1980 ****
Controversy 1981 ****
1999 1982 Prince and the Revolution
Purple Rain 1984 Prince and the Revolution
Around the World in a Day 1985 Prince and the Revolution
Parade 1986 Prince and the Revolution
Sign O’ the Times 1987
8 1987 Madhouse
16 1987 Madhouse
Lovesexy 1988
Batman 1989
Graffiti  Bridge 1990
Diamonds and Pearls 1991 Prince and the New Power Generation
Love Symbol 1992 Prince and the New Power Generation
Goldnigga 1993 The New Power Generation
Come 1994
The Black Symbol 1994
The Gold Experience 1995
Exodus 1995 The New Power Generation
Chaos and Disorder 1996
Emancipation 1996
Kamasutra 1997 The NPG Orchestra
Crystal Ball 1998
The Truth 1998
Newpower Soul 1998 The New Power Generation
The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale 1999
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic 1999
The Rainbow Children 2001
One Nite Alone… 2002
One Nite Alone… Live! 2002
Xpectation 2003
N-E-W-S 2003
Musicology 2004
The Chocolate Invasion 2004
The Slaughterhouse 2004
C-Note 2004
3121 2006
Planet Earth 2007
Indigo Nights 2008
Lotusflow3r/MPLSound 2009
20Ten 2010
Plectrumelectrum 2014 with 3rdeyegirl
Art Official Age 2014 with 3rdeyegirl
HITnRun Phase One 2015
HITnRun Phase Two 2015

DEEP DIVE – Album Review: Prince by Prince (1979)


I am doing a deep dive into the work of the musical artist Prince.  Each week until December I will post my thoughts on albums released by Prince (and his bands and side projects) focusing on one year of his career. 

This week I’m reviewing his eponymous album from 1979

Album: Prince
Artist: Prince
Release Date: October 19, 1979
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

  • I Wanna Be Your Lover
  • Sexy Dancer
  • I Feel For You
  • It’s Gonna Be Lonely

Thoughts:

Although this album was a swiftly-recorded follow-up to his debut, Prince is clearly evolving as an artist and more diverse in his style. Several of the tracks contain a New Wave feel to the funk and soul, and “Bambi” features a hard rock guitar.  This album includes Prince’s first big hit “I Wanna Be Your Lover” as well as “I Feel For You,” which would be reinvented by Chaka Khan in her classic cover, but the Prince original is strong in its own way.  There are a couple of ballads on this album that don’t work for me, but otherwise there’s no sign of a sophomore slump.

Rating: ***1/2

For You 1978 ***
Prince 1979 ***1/2
Dirty Mind 1980
Controversy 1981
1999 1982 Prince and the Revolution
Purple Rain 1984 Prince and the Revolution
Around the World in a Day 1985 Prince and the Revolution
Parade 1986 Prince and the Revolution
Sign O’ the Times 1987
8 1987 Madhouse
16 1987 Madhouse
Lovesexy 1988
Batman 1989
Graffiti  Bridge 1990
Diamonds and Pearls 1991 Prince and the New Power Generation
Love Symbol 1992 Prince and the New Power Generation
Goldnigga 1993 The New Power Generation
Come 1994
The Black Symbol 1994
The Gold Experience 1995
Exodus 1995 The New Power Generation
Chaos and Disorder 1996
Emancipation 1996
Kamasutra 1997 The NPG Orchestra
Crystal Ball 1998
The Truth 1998
Newpower Soul 1998 The New Power Generation
The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale 1999
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic 1999
The Rainbow Children 2001
One Nite Alone… 2002
One Nite Alone… Live! 2002
Xpectation 2003
N-E-W-S 2003
Musicology 2004
The Chocolate Invasion 2004
The Slaughterhouse 2004
C-Note 2004
3121 2006
Planet Earth 2007
Indigo Nights 2008
Lotusflow3r/MPLSound 2009
20Ten 2010
Plectrumelectrum 2014 with 3rdeyegirl
Art Official Age 2014 with 3rdeyegirl
HITnRun Phase One 2015
HITnRun Phase Two 2015

DEEP DIVE – Album Review: For You by Prince (1978)


I am doing a deep dive into the work of the musical artist Prince.  Each week until December I will post my thoughts on albums released by Prince (and his bands and side projects) focusing on one year of his career. 

This week I’m reviewing his 1978 debut album. 

 

Album: For You
Artist: Prince
Release Date: April 7, 1978
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

  • Soft and Wet
  • I’m Yours

Thoughts: This album is so thoroughly of the 70s but also clearly the work of Prince.  It only shows shades of Prince’s future genius, but for a 19-year-old playing all the instruments and producing in his first studio for the first time, it doesn’t have many flaws beyond a lack of adventure.
Rating: ***

For You 1978 ***
Prince 1979
Dirty Mind 1980
Controversy 1981
1999 1982 Prince and the Revolution
Purple Rain 1984 Prince and the Revolution
Around the World in a Day 1985 Prince and the Revolution
Parade 1986 Prince and the Revolution
Sign O’ the Times 1987
8 1987 Madhouse
16 1987 Madhouse
Lovesexy 1988
Batman 1989
Graffiti  Bridge 1990
Diamonds and Pearls 1991 Prince and the New Power Generation
Love Symbol 1992 Prince and the New Power Generation
Goldnigga 1993 The New Power Generation
Come 1994
The Black Symbol 1994
The Gold Experience 1995
Exodus 1995 The New Power Generation
Chaos and Disorder 1996
Emancipation 1996
Kamasutra 1997 The NPG Orchestra
Crystal Ball 1998
The Truth 1998
Newpower Soul 1998 The New Power Generation
The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale 1999
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic 1999
The Rainbow Children 2001
One Nite Alone… 2002
One Nite Alone… Live! 2002
Xpectation 2003
N-E-W-S 2003
Musicology 2004
The Chocolate Invasion 2004
The Slaughterhouse 2004
C-Note 2004
3121 2006
Planet Earth 2007
Indigo Nights 2008
Lotusflow3r/MPLSound 2009
20Ten 2010
Plectrumelectrum 2014 with 3rdeyegirl
Art Official Age 2014 with 3rdeyegirl
HITnRun Phase One 2015
HITnRun Phase Two 2015

50 Years, 50 Albums (2012): The Truth About Love by P!nk


I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to listen to and review one album from each year of my life, 1973 to 2022.  The only qualification is that it has to be an album I’ve not reviewed previously. 

2012

Top Grossing Albums of 2012:

  1. 21 – Adele
  2. Red – Taylor Swift
  3. Up All Night – One Direction
  4. Babel – Mumford & Sons
  5. Take Me Home – One Direction

Grammy Award for Album of the Year of 2012:

  • Babel – Mumford & Sons
  • Blunderbuss – Jack White
  • Channel Orange – Frank Ocean
  • El Camino – The Black Keys
  • Some Nights – Fun

Other Albums I’ve Reviewed from 2012:

 

Album: The Truth About Love
Artist: P!nk
Release Date: September 14, 2012
Label: RCA
Favorite Tracks:

  • Are We All We Are
  • Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
  • Try
  • Just Give Me a Reason (featuring Nate Ruess)
  • True Love (featuring Lily Allen)
  • Is This Think On?

Thoughts:  I’ve always had a soft spot for Pink even though I haven’t listened to a lot of her work.  So I figured I’d address that by reviewing her first Number One album.  Turns out, I’ve listened to a whole lot more Pink than I realized.  I recognized the first five songs immediately and they’re all bangers.  Pink does a great job at rocking out and has a strong and tender voice for the ballads.  I like that lyrically the songs are very candid but also address political issues.  The downside is that album runs a bit long (although I ended up listening to an extended release) and some of the songs run too long too.  The banging choruses lose some of their effect when they’re repeated too many times.  Still, an excellent album overall.
Rating: ***1/2

Albums of the Month for April 2023: boygenius, The New Pornographers, Nia Archives, and 100 gecs


Album: The Record
Artist: boygenius
Release Date: March 31, 2023
Label: Interscope
Favorite Tracks:

  • Without You Without Them
  • $20
  • Emily I’m Sorry
  • Not Strong Enough
  • Satanist

Thoughts:  Supergroups can be hit or miss.  Sometimes it’s obvious that one star is dominant and the others are just the backing band.  Sometimes it sounds like a compilation rather than a coherent group statement.  Sometimes they just suck despite the talent involved.  I’m happy to report that The Record, the first full-length release (after their 2018 debut EP)of Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus’ supergroup boygenius  is the rare treat of a super album.  The three artists sound like they’ve been harmonizing for years and lift up one another’s song writing and performances. Their harmonies remind me of case/lang/veirs while their ability to rock out brings to mind Ex Hex (just to bring to mind two other successful supergroups of recent vintage).  I expect this album will be near or at the top of my favorite albums list at the end of 2023.
Rating: ****1/2


Album: Continue As Guest
Artist: The New Pornographers
Release Date: March 31, 2023
Label: Merge
Favorite Tracks:

  • Really Really Light
  • Pontius Pilate’s Home Movies
  • Cat and Mouse with the Light

Thoughts: Speaking of supergroups featuring Neko Case, The New Pornographers return with their ninth studio album.  This album feels frontloaded, kicking off with three great tracks and then gets kind of meh.  This is the third album without Dan Bejar and while Case’s vocals are prominent, she gets no songwriting credits.  So ultimately this feels like an A.C. Newman album with guests.  The conditions under which it was recorded during pandemic isolation with the various members of the group submitting their parts from different studios heightens this feeling that they’re not really a band anymore.  It’s too bad because The New Pornographers made some great music, but perhaps the collaboration has run its course.
Rating: **1/2


Album: Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall
Artist: Nia Archives
Release Date: March 10, 2023
Label: Hijinxx
Favorite Tracks:

  • Baianá
  • Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall

Thoughts: In my efforts to review any artists with “archives” in their name, I’ve come across English producer, DJ, and songwriter Nia Archives.  Her sound combines drum & bass dance music with jazz-inspired vocals.  The effect works best on the first and last tracks of this six-song EP.
Rating: ***


Album: 10,000 gecs
Artist: 100 gecs
Release Date: March 17, 2023
Label: Dog Show | Atlantic
Favorite Tracks:

  • Dumbest Girl Alive
  • 757
  • Hollywood Baby
  • Frog on the Floor
  • The Most Wanted Person in the United States

Thoughts: 100 gecs are the duo of Dylan Brady and Laura Les from St. Louis.  Their sound is a strange mix of noise rock, Kraftwerk, and 2008-era pop music when everyone sang through autotune.  Oh, and some tracks have dub and ska beats as well. They apparently created their own genre called hyperpop.  If this sounds irritating to you, then you’re not going to like this album.  But I found it wonderfully inventive and fun, and often just plain funny.  It feels like the sound of a generation born digital in a mad world.
Rating: ****


2023 Album Reviews

February

March

April

50 Years, 50 Albums (2019): Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande


I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to listen to and review one album from each year of my life, 1973 to 2022.  The only qualification is that it has to be an album I’ve not reviewed previously. 

2019

Top Grossing Albums of 2019:

  1. Lover – Taylor Swift
  2. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Billie Eilish
  3. Happiness Begins  – Jonas Brothers
  4. Fine Line – Harry Styles
  5. A Star is Born: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack – Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper

Grammy Award for Album of the Year of 2019:

Other Albums I’ve Reviewed from 2019:


Album: thank u, next
Artist: Ariana Grande
Release Date: February 8, 2019
Label: Republic
Favorite Tracks:

  • NASA
  • make up
  • 7 rings
  • thank u, next

Thoughts:

When I get to more recent years in the 50 Years project when I was actively reviewing albums at the time, I find myself pushed more outside my typical musical tastes.  Ariana Grande always struck me as a kindhearted and levelheaded person for a pop star, and this album is well-regarded.  I like Grande’s voice, and while the trap elements don’t interest me, they’re fortunately moderated by synthpop, dance, and even reggae influences.  Definitely not an album for me, but you know, it’s still pretty good.

Rating: ***

 

50 Years, 50 Albums: Grievous Angel by Gram Parsons


I will turn 50 in November of this year, so my project for 2023 will be to listen to and review one album from each year of my life, 1973 to 2022.  The only qualification is that it has to be an album I’ve not reviewed previously. 

1974

Top Grossing Albums of 1974:

  1.  Wings  –  Band on the Run
  2.  Elton John – Elton John’s Greatest Hits
  3.  Eric Clapton – 461 Ocean Boulevard
  4. Elton John – Caribou
  5. Joni Mitchell – Court and Spark

Grammy Award for Album of the Year of 1974:

Other Albums I’ve Reviewed from 1974:


Album: Grievous Angel
Artist: Gram Parsons
Release Date: January 1974
Label: Reprise
Favorite Tracks:

  • Hearts On Fire
  • $1000 Wedding
  • Medley Live from Northern Quebec: Cash on the Barrelhead/Hickory Wind
  • In My Hour of Darkness

Thoughts: I know a lot about Gram Parsons by reputation but have never listened to his solo releases so I thought this a good opportunity to address this.  A few thoughts on listening to Grievous Angel: 1. to my ears, this sounds more straight up country than country rock (or “Cosmic American Music” as Parsons called it). 2. the participation of Emmylou Harris as Parson’s duet partner is more significant than I realized.  In fact, she was supposed to be credited on the album cover, but Parsons’ widow removed her name and photo. Harris, of course, went on to a legendary career of her own.  3.  The album is overshadowed by the fact that Parsons’ was suffering from severe opioid and alcohol addiction during its production and died before it was release.  It’s hard to listen to this album and wonder “what if” Parsons had been able to survive his addictions.

Rating: ***1/2

Albums of the Month for 2023: Yo La Tengo, Algiers, and Little Fuss


Album: This Stupid World
Artist: Yo La Tengo
Release Date: February 10, 2023
Label: Matador
Favorite Tracks:

  • Sinatra Drive Breakdown
  • Fallout
  • Brain Capers
  • This Stupid World
  • Miles Away

Thoughts: Yo La Tengo’s 17th studio album is a return to form of sorts.  This is good because it’s reminiscent of the band’s late 90s peak when they turned out some of the greatest albums of all time.  But I can’t help feeling bad that a band as endlessly reinventive as Yo La Tengo is revisiting their sonic past.  That said, I’m glad they have abandoned the torpor of their releases from the past decade.  The songs are introspective and reflect on mortality and a feeling of apathy, but do so with raging guitars rather than lethargy.  The 7-and-a-half minute opening track, “Sinatra Drive Breakdown,” is a particularly good example of this.
Rating: ***1/2


Album: Shook
Artist: Algiers 
Release Date: February 24, 2023
Label: Matador
Favorite Tracks:

  • Everybody Shatter
  • Irreversible Damage
  • A Good Man
  • Something Wrong

Thoughts: Algiers, Yo La Tengo’s labelmates on Matador Records, return with their fourth studio album. The Algiers sound is hard to describe as it is built on traditional African-American genres such as soul, hip hop R&B, blues, and funk but with atonality, aggressive percussion, found footage, and folk culture. It’s been described as dystopian soul.  On Shook, Algiers bring in a number of guests including Big Rube, Mark Stewart, Zack De La Rocha, billy woods and Backxwash.  At times, the album feels overwhelmed by guest appearances to the point that it takes it away from this feeling like an Algiers album. That being said, with Algiers’ message of anti-racism and anti-colonialism central to their work, it makes sense for them to bring some allies into the fight. The Underside of Power was one of the great albums of recent years so I guess this feels a little underwhelming, but it’s still quite good.
Rating: ***


Album: Girls at Parties
Artist: Little Fuss
Release Date: January 19, 2023
Label: Self-produced
Favorite Tracks:

  • A Modern Olympia
  • Karma’s Team
  • Girls at Parties
  • Please Don’t Make Me Cry

Thoughts: Little Fuss is a quartet from Boston called the “buzziest band” at Berklee College of Music by WBUR.  A consciously feminist band, Little Fuss’ first full-length album is a concept album of sorts. “Basically it’s an album about a bunch of different girls at a party, or the same girl at a bunch of different parties, depending on which way you want to look at it,” says lead vocalist Olive Martinez.  The result is extremely hooky pop with a sometimes ethereal feel.
Rating: ****

 

2023 Album Reviews

February

March

  • Yo La Tengo – This Stupid World
  • Algiers – Shook
  • Little Fuss – Girls at Parties