George you've done it again. I took your recommendation about hearing this album since you said it is only a slight step down from Think!, and I've been addicted to this album! I think I almost love it as much as Think!, and I'm surprised how much of a knockout the album is with fewer notorious classics of his. Stuff like "The Bells", "Love Don't Love Nobody", "Tell Me What You're Gonna Do" absolutely should be as well known in his canon as "I Don't Mind" and "Lost Someone" if not more so! And I can't get the sound of "Brainwashed" out of my ears when hearing "Tell Me What You're Gonna Do", it is pretty cool how similar those riffs really are (and good taste because that is one hell of a brass riff!). Really really love this album, and I almost love it as much as Think! (only thing that makes Think! better, I think, is the presence of the three big classics, which are bigger peaks than the two slightly lesser classics here). Thanks again for the recommendation George!
The Kinks / JB connection here is fun - can’t wait to listen for it now. As to the Who, I’ve always thought that JB already is maximum R&B, so the Who’s slant was redundant (if not still fun in context), which you detail well here. Last, a fun Beatles connection I just discovered: in working up playlists of my favorite covers of the last 5 of the fab 4’s albums, I discovered JB’s cover of “Something,” and read that it was apparently George’s favorite version. The inventive
All these extra connections are important because they really show how great melodies rarely appear out of the blue - in reality, it's nearly always a process of slow gradual evolution which we are rarely aware of, because usually we are only familiar with the final stage.
George you've done it again. I took your recommendation about hearing this album since you said it is only a slight step down from Think!, and I've been addicted to this album! I think I almost love it as much as Think!, and I'm surprised how much of a knockout the album is with fewer notorious classics of his. Stuff like "The Bells", "Love Don't Love Nobody", "Tell Me What You're Gonna Do" absolutely should be as well known in his canon as "I Don't Mind" and "Lost Someone" if not more so! And I can't get the sound of "Brainwashed" out of my ears when hearing "Tell Me What You're Gonna Do", it is pretty cool how similar those riffs really are (and good taste because that is one hell of a brass riff!). Really really love this album, and I almost love it as much as Think! (only thing that makes Think! better, I think, is the presence of the three big classics, which are bigger peaks than the two slightly lesser classics here). Thanks again for the recommendation George!
At last, after 5 months of waiting (since your Hollies review), George gives a glowing review to an album that it seems like he loves! Great review
Well, 1961-1962 is hardly the greatest period in American pop music, so it's certainly a bit of a slog. But who's gonna persevere about it if not me?
That’s why you’re the best rock n roll reviewer in the world! Keep it up!
The Kinks / JB connection here is fun - can’t wait to listen for it now. As to the Who, I’ve always thought that JB already is maximum R&B, so the Who’s slant was redundant (if not still fun in context), which you detail well here. Last, a fun Beatles connection I just discovered: in working up playlists of my favorite covers of the last 5 of the fab 4’s albums, I discovered JB’s cover of “Something,” and read that it was apparently George’s favorite version. The inventive
…ness of the interpretation gave me yet another level of appreciation for the man’s genius.
All these extra connections are important because they really show how great melodies rarely appear out of the blue - in reality, it's nearly always a process of slow gradual evolution which we are rarely aware of, because usually we are only familiar with the final stage.
Yes, particularly in music I think, inventiveness is doing something new with the old.