50 Years, 50 Albums (1984): Private Dancer by Tina Turner


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. 

1984

Top Grossing Albums of 1984:

  1. Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen
  2. Purple Rain – Prince and the Revolution
  3. Like A Virgin – Madonna
  4. Reckless – Bryan Adams
  5. 1984 – Van Halen

Grammy Award for Album of the Year of 1984:

Other Albums I’ve Reviewed from 1984:


Album: Private Dancer
Artist: Tina Turner
Release Date: May 29, 1984
Label: Capitol
Favorite Tracks:

  • I Might Have Been Queen
  • What’s Love Got to Do with It
  • Show Some Respect
  • Better Be Good to Me
  • Let’s Stay Together
  • Steel Claw
  • Private Dancer

Thoughts:

Tina Turner died last week so I thought it would be a good time to revisit her seminal 1984 album Private Dancer.  Tina’s personal story of escaping the abuse of her husband (and boss) Ike Turner and emerging as a successful solo artist is something that can’t be separated from the greatness of this album.  If you weren’t around in 1984 it’s hard to explain just how huge this album was and Tina’s quick rise to superstardom.  A woman in her 40s suddenly becoming a rock star was something that just didn’t (and doesn’t) happen.

The first single off this album, a cover of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together,” was my introduction to Tina Turner (and I didn’t know who Al Green was until years later).  It’s still one of my favorite of Tina’s songs and a terrific interpretation that I’d argue is better than the original.  “What’s Love Got to Do with It” was Tina’s first and only Number One song and really one of the most perfect pop songs ever. I’ve always thought of the title track (written by Mark Knopfler and originally recorded but not released by Dire Straits) as a sympathetic story song from the point of view of a woman who works as an exotic dancer, but metaphorically it also works as a story of Tina’s experience with Ike and for the mistreatment that many women suffer in show business.  My other favorite song on this album is “Better Be Good to Me” especially the soulful call-and-response she sings with the music towards the end.

This album sounds very 80s with keyboard synths and a soft rock vibe.  A lot of artists from the 60s, Tina’s contemporaries, were trying to fit in to the New Wave/synthpop sound in the 80s and flopped.  But Tina makes it work, most likely because her voice is so expressive and she never lets it get overwhelmed by the instrumentation.  I’m glad I revisted this album because in my mind I know that Tina Turner was a great musical artist, but listening to it makes me realize she was even better than I remembered.  She will be missed but I’m glad her voice will live on.

Rating: ****1/2


Song of the Week: “Star” by CERES


CERES – “Star”

This song sounds to me like something Beyoncé might perform but accompanied by ukulele.  CERES is a 17-year-old singer and ukulele player from Southern California. You can read more about her in this profile for the KCRW Young Creators Project.

Songs of the Week for 2023

January

February

March

April

May

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

50 Years, 50 Albums (1977): I Remember Yesterday by Donna Summer


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. 

1977

Top Grossing Albums of 1977:

  1. Bat Out of Hell – Meat Loaf
  2. Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track– The Bee Gees
  3. Rumours – Fleetwood Mac
  4. The Stranger – Billy Joel
  5. Out of the Blue – Electric Light Orchestra

Grammy Award for Album of the Year of 1977:

  • Rumours – Fleetwood Mac
  • Aja– Steely Dan
  • Hotel California – Eagles
  • JT – James Taylor
  • Star Wars (soundtrack) – John Williams conducting the London Symphony Orchestra

Other Albums I’ve Reviewed from of 1977:


Album: I Remember Yesterday
Artist: Donna Summer
Release Date: May 13, 1977
Label: Casablanca
Favorite Tracks:

  • I Remember Yesterday
  • Love’s Unkind
  • Take Me
  • I Feel Love

Thoughts:

Boston’s own Donna Summer was on top of the world in 1977 as the reigning Queen of Disco.  Working with producer Giorgio Moroder, Summer created this concept album which filtered several decades of popular music filtered through disco.  The final track “I Feel Love” is most famous for representing the future through its Moog synthesizer sound.  And the future is in this song which can be heard in New Wave, house music, and today’s EDM.  Unfortunately, the rest of the album doesn’t equal the strength of this one song. Songs include the swing-inspired title track (which is fun, but doesn’t deserve a reprise) and the 60s girl group sound of “Love’s Unkind.”  The third track “Back in Love Again” is a pastiche of The Supremes, I guess? And that’s pretty much it for the concept.  The album is pretty short and the rest of it is straight-up disco with “Take Me” being the only other notable cut.

Rating: ***

Song of the Week: “What You Did” by Hannah Jadagu


Hannah Jadagu – “What You Did”

The hard rocking “What You Did” is the first song off of Hannah Jadagu’s debut album Aperture, released today. The 20-year-old Jadagu is currently a student at NYU and originates from Texas.

 

Songs of the Week for 2023

January

February

March

April

May

DEEP DIVE – Album Review: Dirty Mind 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 Dirty Mind from 1980.

Album: Dirty Mind
Artist: Prince
Release Date: October 8, 1980
Label: Warner Bros.
Favorite Tracks:

  • Dirty Mind
  • When You Were Mine
  • Uptown
  • Head
  • Partyup

Thoughts:

We are now entering an imperial phase for Prince beginning a string of album masterpieces that extends at least to 1987’s Sign O’ the Times. Prince is also venturing beyond being a one-man band with the wonderfully named Doctor Fink playing keyboards on a couple of tracks and Lisa Coleman dueting with Prince on “Head.”  I think this is also Prince’s first collaboration with Morris Day who gets a co-writing credit on “Partyup.”

This is album is perfectly named as Prince exudes a raw exoticism and downright raunchiness that must have been shocking in 1980 and still stands out in Prince’s catalog.  Topics covered in these songs include threesomes, cunnilingus, and incest!  That being said, there’s also a political consciousness emerging in songs such as “Uptown” and “Partyup.”  Musically, Prince deftly blends the funk sounds pioneered by PFunk, disco, punk, and New Wave.  It really feels like the template for 80s rock is being laid out here!

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

50 Years, 50 Albums (2015): I Love You, Honeybear


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. 

2015

Top Grossing Albums of  2015:

  1. 1989 – Taylor Swift
  2. X – Ed Sheeran
  3. In the Lonely Hour – Sam Smith
  4. If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late – Drake
  5. Title – Meghan Trainor

Grammy Award for Album of the Year of 2015:

Other Albums I’ve Reviewed from 2015:


Album: I Love You, Honeybear
Artist: Father John Misty
Release Date: February 9, 2015
Label:  Bella Union | Sub Pop
Favorite Tracks:

  • I Love You, Honeybear
  • Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins)
  • Bored in the USA

Thoughts: Father John Misty is a name I’m been familiar with for several years, memorable because of it’s oddity and association with photos of a young, bearded man. But had I ever listened to his music?  No.  This is the second album Josh Tillman released under the pseudonym/character Father John Misty after leaving the band Fleet Foxes.  The album draws inspiration from Hillman’s recent marriage and works as a satire of the raw vulnerability of white male singer/songwriters that goes so hard it becomes the real thing.  Influences and similarities in the Misty sound can be made with 60s baroque pop, early 70s Elton John, Harry Nilsson, and Randy Newman, as well as with contemporaries like John Grant and Lana Del Ray. On first listen, it’s not music I dislike but I also feel it would be hard to love.  That being said, I also sense that this is the type of album that would reward multiple listens.
Rating: ***

 

Song of the Week: “Roll the Credits” by Danielle Ponder


Danielle Ponder – “Roll the Credits”

A powerful voice is the first thing that will catch you from this song by Danielle Ponder, a former public defender turned R&B musician from Rochester, NY.  Ponder’s song “Be Gentle” previously appeared in the Monthly Mixtape for March 2021.

 

Songs of the Week for 2023

January

February

March

April

May

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

50 Years, 50 Albums (2011): Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes


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. 

2011

Top Grossing Albums of 2011:

  1. 21 – Adele
  2. Speak Now – Taylor Swift
  3. Born This Way – Lady Gaga
  4. My Kind of Party – Jason Aldean
  5. The Gift – Susan Boyle

Grammy Award for Album of the Year of 2011:

  • 21 – Adele
  • Wasting Light – Foo Fighters
  • Born This Way – Lady Gaga
  • Doo-Wops & Hooligans – Bruno Mars
  • Loud – Rihanna

Other Albums I’ve Reviewed from 2011:


Album: Helplessness Blues
Artist: Fleet Foxes
Release Date: May 3, 2011
Label: Sub Pop | Bella Union
Favorite Tracks:

  • Montezuma
  • Battery Kinzie
  • The Plains/ Bitter Dancer
  • Helplessness Blues
  • Lorelai
  • The Shrine/An Argument
  • Grown Ocean

Thoughts:

I was surprised that I’d never reviewed this album.  After listening to it, I’ve determined it’s something of a masterpiece. The title track has always been emblematic for me of the national mood of the Great Recession, a time that feels like yesterday and ages ago simultaneously.  Through 21st century indie rock sensibilities, Fleet Foxes channel the harmonies of classic folk rock acts like Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds, and early Crosby, Stills, & Nash.  A bigger influence is the English folk revival, a scene I’m not as familiar with myself.  Band leader Robin Pecknold credits Roy Harper as an inspiration.  Despite all these modern day homages the songs also feel like they contain an ancient mysticism.  The melodies are beautiful with lyrics full of heartbreak and longing.

Rating: ****1/2

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