83. Love - Da Capo (1967)
Track Listing1. Stephanie Knows Who2. Orange Skies3. Que Vida4. Seven And Seven Is5. Castle6. She Comes In Colours7. RevelationReviewLiteraly a mixed bag, in fact it is a great album if you stop it before song 7. This only gives you about 20 minutes of music however as the last track is 19 minutes long and took up the whole side B of the record. It is also a pile of self indulging wank.This is compensated by the first 6 tracks, which are some good stuff. Fun, energetic and original music here but if you want great Love wait for Forever Changes where they are really on the top of their form. Still, if this is the only Love you can get, get it, just ignore the last track, which is bad. Not as bad as some reviews I've read of this album but still pretty poor, particularly when compared to the rest of Love's output. There is a particular track here entitled Seven And Seven Is which is particularly cool, the guitars on it are just nifty and it's always nice to see Beatles refrences in other songs, Beep Beep, Beep Beep, Yeah shouted over some very heavy guitars is tha bomb. So, definitely check it out but wait for Forever Changes which will be coming up in September. I am going on holiday for August now, so there's a month of hiatus here but be sure to watch this space for my return!You can stream it from Napster or just buy it from Amazon UK
or US.Track Highlights1. Seven And Seven Is2. Stephanie Knows Who3. The Castle 4. Orange SkiesFinal Grade7/10TriviaI am all for wanky rock-operas and am even a Prog fan, but Revelation just doesn't suit their talents.From Wiki:The album's second half is a single track, notable for being among the very first rock songs to take up an entire LP side. (Bob Dylan's "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" from Blonde on Blonde predated it by a few months.) The 19-minute jam, entitled "Revelation" (but originally called "John Lee Hooker") began life as a live showcase for the group, and was the alleged inspiration for The Rolling Stones' similarly lengthy Hooker tribute, "Going Home". (Another song from Da Capo's first side, "She Comes In Colors", is also admitted by Keith Richards as the inspiration for "She's a Rainbow".) The album's critical reputation has suffered as a result of the inclusion of this track, and many blame producer Paul Rothchild for failing to capture the group's live energy and truncating their performance. It is interesting to note, though, that in a contemporary review of the album, legendary critic Robert Christgau praised it faintly for its "excellent guitar and harmonica work and great screaming by a lead singer (I don't know his name; the new style in record jackets is to reveal nothing)"
82. Moby Grape - Moby Grape (1967)
Track Listing1. Hey Grandma2. Mr Blues3. Fall On You4. 8.055. Come In The Morning6. Omaha 7. Naked If I Want To 8. Someday 9. Ain't No Use 10. Sitting By The Window 11. Changes 12. Lazy Me 13. IndifferenceReviewThis is such a critically loved album that I wonder if there is anything wrong with me. In fact I don't think there is anything particularly wrong with this album, or particularly right. I am just not that crazy about it, no tracks seem to stand out that much and for an album which is considered the pinnacle of psychadelia by the AllMusic guide I really don't like it as much as many other psych albums by other bands, like Country Joe and the Fish or The Greatful Dead. That said there is nothing particularly wrong with it. It just sounds a bit pedestrian, it is technically allright and it can be quite funny lyrically, but again it is mostly just allright. It just gives me an overwhelming feeling of blah. It is also one of those practically formulaic 3 minute long tracks pop-album. The longest track here is 4 minutes, and you need some self-indulging 6 minute crap at least in your stoner/acid albums. There are some good songs here, Omaha is particularly infectious with a very original intro, but of course other people were doing much more original intros then, like the Beatles or the Beach Boys. Moby Grape by Moby Grape just doesn't seem to stand out in any particular way. I've read all the critics who seem to love it and say that it still sounds fresh today... I'm sorry but it doesn't. It sounds like late 60's psychadelia, it only sounds modern in the sense that there are loads of retro bands today, but you can still identify it as a bit of the 60's.I don't know, I just don't get it. If you do be sure to drop me a comment. Napster doesn't have it so buy it from Amazon UK or US.
Track Highlights
1. Omaha2. Sitting By the Window3. Indifference4. Naked, If I want ToFinal Grade 6/10TriviaNotice that one of the members is giving the finger on the cover of the album. It was banned in some places because of this.From Wiki:Alas, their label (Columbia) chose to release ten (!) of the thirteen songs as singles ("Fall on You"/"Changes", "Sitting By the Window"/"Indifference", "8:05"/"Mister Blues", "Omaha"/"Someday" and "Hey Grandma"/Come in the Morning") which may have diluted the power of the entire album. By the time of their 1968 followup (Wow) the group had virtually completed their disintegration.Nevertheless, as Gene Sculatti and Davin Seay write in their book San Francisco Nights (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985 and out of print), Moby Grape "remains one of the very few psychedelic masterpieces ever recorded," while the 1983 Rolling Stone Record Guide said their "debut LP is as fresh and exhilarating today as it was when it exploded out of San Francisco during 1967's summer of love." In 2003, the album was ranked number 121 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.WHY?!
