Like so much other music released in 1986, this sounds extremely “modern” or, perhaps more appropriately to us 21st century folks, “contemporary.” It’s aggressively of its era, which is a good thing for some people I suppose, though obviously not for me.
Tag: Funk Rock
Pocket Full of Kryptonite (1991) by Spin Doctors
What a bizarre story. A bit like Ten but with way fewer sales and hits. “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” hit #17 in December of 1992. “Two Princes” hit #7 in April of 1993. (The album came out in August 1991.) When this came out, the world was apparently not yet ready for it. I’m …
Crash (1996) by Dave Matthews Band
When I graduated high school in 2000, I barely knew who the Dave Matthews Band was. Sure, I must have seen their videos on TV, but I don’t know that I could have told you anything about them.
Mama Said (1991) by Lenny Kravitz
I get why people like Lenny Kravitz. I think there was probably a time in my life when I could have quite liked Lenny Kravitz. (And maybe, for a while, I sort of did.) And maybe, had I not become the music history obsessive that I am, I would like him to this day. But …
Rock of Westies (1975) by Elton John
Based upon the title, the cover, and the presence of “Island Girl”, I thought this was going to be John’s Caribbean record. (I thought “westies” meant “West Indies”; I didn’t know it was a spoonerism.) So colour me surprised by (most of) the actual content.
Time’s Up (1990) by Living Colour
I’m a big fan of the debut, but it’s a been a couple years since I listened to it. From memory, this record feels a little more scattershot – perhaps due to ambition – than that one.
Honey (1975) by Ohio Players
Ostensibly this is the Ohio Players best album. I wasn’t aware I knew the band, beyond their name, but it urns out that I know at least one of these songs here (and you likely do too). But, given that it is my first experience of this band, I don’t know that I can comment …
Free Your Mind…and Your Ass Will Follow (1970) by Funkadelic
Over the last 20 years my tolerance of directionless jamming and freakouts has gone from very high to relatively low. (I say relatively because I still have a much higher tolerance than, say, your average pop listener.) And this is my biggest problem with some Funkadelic as, in the early days in particular, they could …
The Game (1980) by Queen
One of the great things about Queen is also a major flaw of the band: they were a songwriting democracy and that led to both a greater diversity of sound and a lack of consistency.
Let’s Take It to the Stage (1975) by Funkadelic
This is one of those Funkadelic albums where the line between them and Parliament is blurred and that’s not something I can I say I love. Because of its title, I thought it was a live record and almost skipped over it.
Funkadelic (1970)
If I had heard this 15 years ago I probably would have absolutely loved it. But my tolerance for directionless music has decreased over the years.
Rufusized (1974) by Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan
I know so little about Rufus or Chaka Khan that I thought, by the attribution, that this was a Rufus album on which she had guested. So I guess that means you should take what I say with a grain of salt.
Midnite Vultures (1999) by Beck
I really like Beck. You might say I love Beck, or at least Beck’s mainstream records from ’90s and early ’00s. (I have slowly become less of a fan, over the years.) And I’d like to think I also really enjoy listening to musicians I enjoy having a great time, though I don’t know if …
Ruby Vroom (1994) by Soul Coughing
Beginning sometime in the mid to late ’80s, there was a curious trend in the UK where a bunch of white guys began to appropriate much of the music of hip hop to make music that was, mostly, decidedly not hip hop. This music has very little rap in it (sometimes absolutely none) and had …
Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989)
I’ll be honest. I have no idea what the state of R&B was in 1989, outside of Michael Jackson and Prince. (And, I guess, Whitney Houston’s early hits.) It’s a genre I never spent much time with once you get past the early ’70s. Well, until very recently, anyway. So I really don’t have the …
Californication (1999) by Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Scar Tissue” was everywhere in the summer of 1999. The radio was always on at my work and so the song was always on. I fell in love with a girl at my work who loved “Scar Tissue.” And so I found myself torn between my love for this girl, who would sing along to …
The Wild, the Innocent and the E Street Shuffle (1973) by Bruce Springsteen
I have never heard a Springsteen record like this one. Maybe that’s because I just haven’t heard that many Springsteen records but I suspect or at least wonder that it’s because, at some point later on, he figured out who he was, and this version wasn’t part of that (or wasn’t normally part of that).
3+3 (1973) by The Isley Brothers
I know the Isley Brothers more by reputation than by their music. I know their most famous song, and I know the most famous song from this record, but that’s about it. (Also, I may have forgotten that “Shout” and “That Lady” were by the same band until I listened to this record.) This record …
Cosmic Slop (1973) by Funkadelic
The first time I heard this one I can’t say it endeared itself to me. Though I don’t know enough about it, it sure struck me as a Parliament record, or closer to one, than I would have preferred. (Again, I don’t really know what I’m talking about.) But with time, I’ve come to hear …
Symphony or Damn (1993) by Terence Trent D’Arby
Somehow I managed to grown up when D’Arby was releasing music and completely avoid him. We listened to an Oldies station primarily, so we didn’t hear him there. And I swear I never saw any of his videos. (If I did, I didn’t see them enough to remember them.) So all I knew was the …
Lovesexy (1988) by Prince
To the extent that I know Prince, I know him as the dynamic performer who effortlessly combines aspects of R&B (funk, soul, etc.) with elements of rock (psychedelia, art rock, hard rock) and pop. Well, he’s dialed down the ambition at this point in his career and I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
Vivid (1988) by Living Colour
This is a pretty great, albeit over-produced, fusion of funk and soul music with mainstream metal, with some extremely political lyrics.
Porno for Pyros (1993)
I don’t love Jane’s Addiction. One reason for that is that I had just heard way too much about how great they were before I ever heard more than a couple of songs. The other reason is Farrell’s voice, I don’t love it.
Betty Davis (1973)
Now this is my kind of funk music.
What Makes a Man Start Fires? (1983) by Minutemen
This is such a unique take on hardcore – if you can even call it hardcore, since it’s hardly loud enough or musically violent enough to qualify. It’s like something else. I see the descriptor “post punk” thrown around, which might fit, though Minutemen sound absolutely nothing like the British post punk bands (or the …
Tanx (1973) by T Rex
There are bands that are good at doing many things and bands that are good at doing one or two things. I think if you only listened to T. Rex and not Tyrannosaurus Rex, you’d probably think that T. Rex was one of these latter bands and Bolan was one of these songwriters – pretty …
Approximately Infinite Universe (1973) by Yoko Ono
My first encounter with Yoko Ono as the dominant performer (as opposed to Lennon) was with her Plastic Ono Band. I guess I wasn’t in the right mood for it, as it felt just way too directionless and faux avant garde to my ears at the time. (Some of the stuff they do on that …
Greetings From LA (1972) by Tim Buckley
Ever since Tim Buckley embraced jazz and abandoned the more staid, more traditional singer songwriter approach of his earliest records, there is always been a bit of soul to his music, but that soul, such as it was, was always filtered through the lens of jazz.
Aja (1977) by Steely Dan
This is my second Steely Dan album and, once again, I find I have the same problem with the band: these guys don’t like the same things I like, beyond stellar musicianship.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience (2000)
This is an exhaustive collection of Experience alternate takes, outtakes, alternate mixes and live performances. For the Hendrix completist, it’s probably more essential than any of the other studio rarities collections that have come out, just because it shows off more facets of his playing and his experimentation – unlike those studio rarities collections which …