61
reviews written
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November 2026
This album is meant for late nights where you can move your ass freely. The mix of live drums and guitar with sexy synth and electronics is perfect for anyone looking for electronic music that incorporates live instrumentation should give this a listen. Fans of Deee-Lite, this is for you. The soft vocals from Shanny Wise is so soft you expect them to get lost in the mix but instead they are right out front winking at you like a single from across the room.
Being produced by A.G. Cook I honestly expected it to be more electronic and possibly dancy but alas that moment never came showing Cook's ability to NOT produce hyperpop, for better or for worse (I would've loved to hear that version of the mix too). Shoe gaze can often drift into more grunge sounds and songs like My Star do just that. At least one song (Dare Me) features the classic shoe gaze guitar effect which feels like home. Trillions is a playful pop jaunt questioning the existence of the ultra wealthy. I approve of this message.
This is the happiest jazz album ever. To think that Count Basie had been putting out music for over two decades at this point is a testament off the bat. Count Basie himself plays piano, and he is never over bearing or trying to steal the limelight. Every song has some extraordinary element. Usually the horns, or more specifically the saxophone but also the drums. The drummer can really keep the beat alive while adding in all these fantastic flourishing fills. If someone asked me for some real upbeat jazz, this would be it. It’s too danceable and exciting for a cocktail hour. If I went to see this album performed live and was asked to sit I’d start a riot. Bottom Line: This lives up to its name and is atomic. Everyone should hear this one at least once.
This reminds me of the Count Basie jazz album if it was being directed by Christopher Nolan. It keeps bending in weird ways that you’re not expecting and is an album that requires multiple listens for you to really be able to get into it. This ain’t your grandma’s jazz. These are not standards and you will not be able to dance to them easily. It reminds me of Fantomas or something if they were a jazz group. It sounds hard to play, which makes sense as Thelonious Monk was quoted as saying “I wasn’t trying to create something that was hard to play.” That quote didn’t happen after someone asked “How come it’s so simple? Bottom Line: Having never actually listened to Thelonious Monk, I recommend it if you are in that boat.
Miles Davis played with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie before he put his own group together with other “side” players. This record is great. The horn lines are at times insane in speed and pizazz. On other tracks though they lead us through a calm exploration of jazz. Is this where cool was born? Maybe. From the albums I’ve listened to so far on the 1,001 albums I listen to before you die lost this is one that is much ‘cooler’ than most (looking at you In The Wee Small Hours by Frank Sinatra). This belongs on a playlist with Ellington at Newport and the Atomic Mr. Basie. Bottom Line: The title is intimidating, and sets a high bar. I don’t think any real fan of music would skip checking out where the cool was born…
- a hemorrhage in the brain becomes a contusion for allGlaz Almaz3.0 out of 5 stars ·
I was in this band so this is my honest review of my own record: This Baltimore based drum and guitar/vox duo attempted to bring their raucous and noisy live sound to a studio without giving up the integrity of the live music with expansive overdubs resulting in a purposefully slightly out of tune noise punk record with ecstatic rhythm aplenty.
This is the debut album by the legend Little Richard and to think that he was dropping songs like Tutti Frutti in 1955 seems pretty radical if you think about it. Rock and roll simply wasn’t a thing, and it certainly wasn’t mainstream. Then this guy comes along and his hair is coifed so freaking nice, and his little mustache leaves something to be explained but he is singing about women, so no one is really putting two and two together. And the songs are familiar yet new and exciting with an outlandish voice in front of it all. Some of these songs sound like some really standard blues or rhythm and blues tracks. Others are out of this world with energy always exemplified by Richard’s unforgettable yelp’s of excitement. Bottom Line: Is this a must listen? Probably not, but Little Richard is nuts and as his debut he set a standard that others would simply never reach.
The rhythms on this album are outstanding. Sometimes outstandingly simple and simply layered, other times intricately woven and asking the listener to journey through a percussive dance of metallic and wooden tones, the constant upbeat of the album makes it hard to be in a bad mood. I have zero idea what is being said on albums like this, sadly. But it honestly doesn’t matter. It’s all about the rhythm! I think if you took a woman dancing to a place playing music like this you would be guaranteed a second date. Bottom Line: I think everyone should hear at least one song so they know exactly what kind of music Tito Puente made (he is a cultural icon) but listening to the whole thing isn’t required. Unless you want to dance and shake your hips all night long!
Billian Holiday may have once had an amazing and beautiful voice but on this album, meant to be a come back for the singer, she sounds like an old woman who has a vry limited range. Turns out using heroin is bad for your singing capabilities and her scratchy voice heard hear tells many sad tales that a former junkie could relate to. With a complete lack of rhythm section I’m immediatly turned off and her voice doesn’t do much to keep my attention. I can’t imagine this album registering with much of anyone if it weren’t for her name. Bottom line: skip it
I’m just not a fan of this style. It’s folk, basically. He’s singing while strumming an acoustic guitar. And it’s not particularly compelling, well sung, interestingly arranged, etc. Maybe in 1958 this was amazing but in 2019 I have “liked” random guitar players on YouTube who will never “make it” who are seven times as talented as this. Bottom Line: I couldn’t find this particular album by Jack Elliott, to be honest. Instead I listened to a dozen other songs by him and I think I got the idea. tl;dr skip it.
I bet Sarah Vaughan would be a lot of fun to hang out with. This recording is a compilation from tracks recordinded during a week long set at Mister Kelly’s, a hotspot in Chicago. Tracks included her scatting and even stopping singing early and then ad-libbing a bit with some quick witted commentary. It’s a jazz band with a thicc singer (at least she sounds it) with a lot of “ba ba ba doo ba baa’s.” Bottom Line: If I wanted to showcase Jazz with someone scatting over it, this would be it.
Her voice is great but what really makes the album special are the songs. These are all songs from Broadway musicals (I assume) and have lots of fun lyrics with very descriptive and interesting word play. She is backed by what sounds like a jazz band orchestra. It’s some great background music but if you really listen to the lyrics it becomes even more enjoyable. Bottom Line: There are a lot of songs here and I don’t know if anyone needs them all, but a handful are fantastic!
This album is great. It starts off with a bang and doesn’t let up for much of it. The instrumentation is really great, Ray can obviously play and his voice is emotional, fun and raw. I guess by this album he had dabbled and succeded in several different genres but he mostly sticks to what was probably the most raucous version of rock at the time here. Bottom Line: I ended up really liking several songs from this album and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of throwing it back.
You know what is great about jazz recordings like this? They are really, achingly live. Even if the recording was done in a studio, even if multiple takes were done, the recording feels like a live band sitting in a room with you taking you on a jazz journey. Each instrument here, from Davis’ trumpet to the piano, give space to each other at appropriate times and beyond. There were times I forgot a drummer was even there until I heard the soft sound of brushed on a snare. The bass goes from staircase walks carrying the band in search of ever higher keys to subtle hints of randomness that are mellow in their quiet. Davis and his horn drive the melancholly tone as well as lift the group to higher spirits. The songs are long, some crossing the ten minute mark. Some stuff felt like it would have been even better with a singer. Bottom Line: It’s honestly OK. I’m just not the biggest fan of jazz, I guess.
These are “cowboy” songs (a mix of traditional Americana songs and song written by Robbins himself) that my Dad would probably love. I admire the fact that Robbins wrote a few of the songs truly taking on the cowboy gunslinger persona but it’s still a little weird as he had previous albums that were not this style at all. The title of the album is awesome and deserves a cooler cover than a cheesy photo of Marty. The style is cowboy country western, featuring a strumming classical guitar, snare/hi hat combo and bass. Each song tells a story but for me they all kind of ran together. Bottom Line: I asked my partner what she thought of this one and she said “I didn’t like it.”
This feels like a happy Sunday morning with tea or coffee and toast on a balcony or porch with birds chirping in the background. This feels like the inspiration for the music for Up. The album is easy to listen to and fun, upbeat. The brush drums and uplifting piano remind me of light moods, happiness in simplicity (although the music is anything but). Bottom Line: A fun jazz album for Sunday mornings in the Spring.
Joan sounds like what I imagine the ‘siren song’ may have sounded like. She has this hauntingly beautiful voice but it ended up getting on my nerves. The album is just her and a guitar. I’m sure the lyrics get really deep and meaningful, in fact I don’t remember the last time I heard the word ‘liberty’ so much in a song that wasn’t explicitly some star spangled circle jerk. But still, it got old. It’s not my style. Bottom Line: Joan sounds like the lady playing guitar at the coffee shop that you politly tip a dollar and hope that she is going to stop soon.
My first live Reptar show was at an event for a sadly no longer existent Atlanta monthly known as Creative Loafing. The event was celebrating the best of Atlanta which included time of amazing food and performances by four Atlanta acts including Reptar of course and, the reason I was drawn to the event, Man Or Astroman? I can’t say what this song is about exactly. It’s titled Amanda and starts out almost like it’s the singer wondering if his lover back home still loves him but after the first verse… I don’t know. You tell me. It’s filled with classic Reptar, fun xylophone sounds, wobbly vocals, and reverb/delay. It’s great fun and worth a listen
I was super hesitant to listen to this album, like putting off work. Halfway through the first song I regretted it (just like putting off work!). The band is solid, the recording is great and the songs are all over the place from the radical beat poetry drums in Fever (yes, that Fever) to the more traditional country western vibes of I Will Be Home Again. You will find yourself tapping your toe and humming along to the harmonies. The bottom line: My partner said “this is the best of these old albums you have listened to! No wonder people liked Elvis so much back in the day.”
The song I want playing while I'm robbing banks.
This album is basically African wedding songs with a few ‘standards’ thrown in (House of the Rising Sun, interestingly enough, for example). From what I can tell the big draw here is the fact that Miriam’s voice is beautiful and she uses the tongue clicking noises found in some African languages, which is honestly pretty unique and startling upon first hearing it (I was wondering if it were in fact a drum of some sort, but nope, it’s her!). One song does have the ‘weema way’ refrain that as later used on “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. I have to assume that group heard the vocal rhythm here first and then replicated it for their own song to much acclaim. Bottom Line: It’s not all that interesting if an album to me. It really is traditional wedding songs, I just don’t see myself driving down the road to that.
I thought it was going to be a hardcore punk record. I was disappointed from the jump but listened through. It's kind of a jumbly mess of a record with songs going from tabla to pan flute to silly distorted guitar without the tongue in cheek panache needed to pull it off. I'm sure fans of the genre will love it for its diversity in sound but I don't think I'm going to give it another listen.
These guys are singing the sweetest, or saddest depending on the song, most G rated songs about love and loss. Maybe I missed some underlying nefariousness but to me it just sounded like the goody goody boys were here to sing me back in time. Bottom Line: I bet a date with both of these guys would still be dull.
First of all, OHHHHHH, Jimmy’s Chicken Shack was named after this record… That was a revelation. Man, I love learning new things!!! This is not an album I would likely put on for fun but it is really good. First, it’s some upbeat jazz with a horn, and most important Jimmy’s Hammon Organ. This was the first use of the organ sound for something RAD. You can hear Booker T’s head filling with ideas while listening to this album. The organ is fun and warm and Jimmy Smith gave it new life in modern music on this record. Bottom Line: I mean he is the incredible Jimmy Smith, do you really want to miss out? It’s not amazing, but worth hearing a song or two.
1,000,000 (lyrics here) is the second song on the album The Slip and is about suicide and feeling a million miles away from actual emotion and feeling. The song starts with rocking live drums and a fuzzed out guitar. Trent’s vocals come in with one line quick takes that are on a delay as additional keyboard noises, a distorted bass and a a noisey feedbackesque distorted second guitar begin to build up. The chorus “I jump from every rooftop” reminds me of when I played Tony Hawk and everything I saw in real life looked like a line I wanted to do a combo on. Of course, seeing yourself jumping from every rooftop is a bit more dark. The song wraps up with a classic NIN trope, repeated lyrics. “I don’t feel anything at all.” I have a long sleeve zip up with the art for this song on it that I love to wear!
