All my friends are Rubber Tramps

Sorry for the posting absence, I have been without internet for a little while. The water just went off today, hopefully my floor mates will do their toilet flushing with the well water. I just got a haircut and shaved yesterday and feel like a new man. I think the Ghanians appreciate it. I will return with some light hearted drivel on some new experiences in Ghana and whatnot soon. I'm at an internet cafe right now grooving to some slow jams and the occasional Alicia Keys. Also, strangely enough, Ghanians love country music. The girl next to me has been looking up videos with Shania Twain and Brad Paisley for like an hour now. My time is running out and I'm scared to hear the big voice telling me to get off (actually happens...it says ONE MINUTE LEFT in a low scary robot voice) I will continue posting album reviews as well, even though I don't get comments and just assume that no one reads them. I know Africa is more important. There will be a nice long entry to come...that's what she said.

#29. Kind of Blue

My first introduction to Jazz music came while visiting UVM my senior year of high school. I can’t say that it was this album, but perhaps the other one is somewhere on the list. Anyways, the other one got me into Kind of Blue and from then on I was a definite fan of jazz music. Just remember that Jazz was the most popular form of music in America not all that long ago. This album is like the Sgt. Pepper of Jazz. Everyone knows about this album, but the difference is that I think more people like this one and don’t just agree that it is highly influential and great. Miles Davis is my favorite Jazz player, which seems kind of cliché, but in most respects he really was that good, and I also love all the musicians that he took under his wing throughout the years. There are so many funny stories about Miles especially if you check out his autobiography entitled ‘Miles’, absolutely hilarious stuff. This album for some people represents what Jazz sounds like. The opening riff in ‘So What’ is so cool and precise, perfectly setting the mood for the rest of the album. Since this album doesn’t have any lyrics I basically just want to go over a couple of things before wrapping it up. For the most part, this is best digested on one’s own and doesn’t need a lot of explaining. John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderly and Bill Evans play on this. These are some of my favorite Jazz musicians as well and they really play some great stuff throughout. Bill Evans is the perfect player for this album and Cannonball adds some soul to the mix.
‘So What’ is great and deserves all of the praise that it gets. Everyone’s soloing is top notch and that Miles solo is definitely one of his best. ‘Freddie Freeloader’ sounds like an extension to ‘So What’ and really comes alive with Coltrane’s incredible entrance a few minutes in. ‘Blue in Green’ is a nice quiet Miles based piece that kind of floats by and separates the album well. ‘All Blues’ has a great riff and once again good solos from everyone. I have to say that the production on this album is phenomenal. Every time I hear this, I feel like I am actually there. The experience becomes so much more intimate through the use of the full band being recorded at the same time. Finally, ‘Flamenco Sketches’ closes out the album well but I usually kind of space out at this point. Nonetheless, the whole album is solid and every song really deserves to be here for the first time in all of these reviews! I know this one was shorter but it is hard to explain things when it is almost all instrumental. This album is truly a classic and probably where one should start with Jazz and Miles.

Overall Rating: 9/10
Track Based Rating: 5/5
Best Tracks: So What, Freddie Freeloader, All Blues

#30. Odelay

Cracking the top 30 is Odelay. I first picked this one up around Junior year of high school and had been interested in Beck for quite some time. I would drive to baseball practice blasting some of these awesome songs thinking I was hip because how many people really liked Beck in high school?...a few more than I expected. This album is the best introduction to the ‘Beck style’ of his earlier days. The lyrics are a mish mash of concepts put together in a Dylan-like style against a backdrop of really interesting beats and instrumental passages. There are some random parts on here, like how he incorporates acoustic slide guitar and harmonica in places most people never have before as well as abrupt changes throughout. Sometimes this is hard to listen to all the way through but is rewarding when it happens. This is an album where the listener notices something new each time they put it on. Now into the tracks…

‘Devil’s Haircut’ features a really loud guitar line that is backed by some weird tinkling noises that somehow works. I won’t really talk about the lyrics, mainly because I’m lazy and there is really no point in deciphering them (this isn’t saying they are bad by any means…they are really cool just like the lyrics from Loser). I like the funky groove in ‘Hot Wax’ and the genius ending part with the wizard of rhythm thing. The previous part of the song drops out and turns into a spacy trip/hop type of beat. ‘Lord Only Knows’ is a countryish/hip hop kind of rocker that seems to be Beck’s trademark innovation. ‘New Pollution’ is great with an intro that reminds me of some sort of department store/elevator music. It soon kicks into gear with a great beat and cool sax interludes. ‘Derelict’ is one of my least favorite songs but I think that is because I still haven’t really gotten it yet after repeated listens. There is a cool eastern vibe to it however and sometimes I wonder if it is a sort of homage to George Harrison songs. ‘Novacane’ is another loud one that incorporates extremely fuzzy bass and vocals through some sort of device. I like how the grooving intro gives way to the rest of the song. ‘Jack Ass’ is a lighter song than the rest and really breaks the album up well. ‘Where It’s At’ is really cool with a great keyboard part and that funny robot “two turntables and a microphone” part after the chorus. I think ‘Minus’ is trying to be like a Nirvana song and I don’t really like how it sounds against the rest of the album. ‘Sissyneck’ is another good countryish rocker as well is ‘Readymade’. ‘High Five (Rock the Catskills)’ is a good example of the geek/hipster persona Beck displayed in his early days. ‘Ramshackle’ is really just more of the same and leads into the ‘hidden’ last track of ‘Diskobox’ which is one of the better ones on the album and closes it out well.

Obviously I didn’t go into great detail on each song but I think that besides once again being lazy in trying to describe every different part of each song, it is more fun for the listener to hear for themselves. This is definitely the best Beck album, mostly because it is his definitive one. I think some of his newer works have been great too but this one seemed to take so much more thought and planning. How he decides where to place certain instruments is beyond me. There are so many parts that you realize could easily have been forgotten by a lesser artist but were precisely placed by the man himself. This collage of sounds is really something to behold. Please give it a listen soon.

Overall Rating: 8/10
Track Based Rating: 11/14
Best Tracks: Devil’s Haircut, Hotwax, The New Pollution, Novacane, Jack-Ass, Where it’s at, Sissyneck, High 5 (Rock the Catskills), Diskobox

P.S. The lyrics are great by the way…

#31. Abbey Road

There are so many things that can be said about the Beatles, I figure I wouldn’t say too much and just get right to the review. One thing however is that this is such a good final album from such an influential group mostly because the second half has a perfect sequence of songs that feels like the end of something great. Don’t get me wrong, I like the first bunch of songs, but that medley of tracks towards the end is just genius.

Perhaps there are more Beatles albums to come on this list…anyways the reason why this one isn’t my favorite is because it doesn’t have the feel of a group effort like some of their other works, which by the way, it definitely wasn’t. I think almost every song was written solely by John, Paul, George or Ringo. Ringo is still the weakest link in the band in terms of songwriting, but I think his drumming style fits in really well with the band’s sound. The album starts with ‘Come Together’ which is a classic with a bunch of weird John lyrics that were definitely influenced by Bob Dylan in some way or another. I like how the guitar comes in loudest during the chorus; it gives it that extra punch needed. Continuing on we come to ‘Something’ which is probably George’s best song as a Beatle in my opinion. The lyrics are great and the guitar riff is memorable. Paul finally comes in with the hilarious ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’. Just listen to the lyrics and try to not laugh hysterically when the hammer creeps up from behind the judge’s head towards the end. ‘Oh Darling’ is another Paul track that has some good vocals. I think Paul really became the strongest force in the band towards the end because he was still able to write catchy songs and dabble in the experimental (Helter Skeleter, Rocky Raccoon). Ringo’s ‘Octopus’s Garden’ is alright but impressive for Ringo standards (I prefer Don’t Pass Me By from the White Album). ‘I Want You’ is such a long song for Beatles standards and suffers from that in my opinion. There are some cool changes and such but the droning part at the end gets kind of old after a while. The good thing however is that ‘Here Comes the Sun’ is next and is the perfect track to follow ‘I Want You’. Once again George writes a winner. ‘Because’ is one of those dreamy John songs that leads really well into ‘You Never Give me Your Money’. ‘Sun King’ isn’t really great but starts the great string of tracks to finish the album. I thoroughly enjoy all of the short tracks ‘Mean Mr. Mustard’, ‘Polythene Pam’, ‘She Came in Through the Bathroom Window’ etc. Personally I think that besides ‘Come Together’, ‘Polythene Pam’ and “Mean Mr. Mustard’ are John’s best contributions to the album. ‘Golden Slumbers’ is next and then the uplifting ‘Carry That Weight’ which leads into the great closer ‘The End’. There is a cool drum solo, guitar solo and poignant exit lyrics from Paul. Of course there is ‘Her Majesty’ after ‘The End’ but it doesn’t really count because it is so short. It is almost like Paul was trying to get the last say even though he already did. When I listen to this album I always think about how sad it must have been for fans of that time to know that this was it. I really appreciate the Beatles not just because they are the most popular band of all time and have almost no bad songs but because they constantly were progressing their sound from Rubber Soul onward. All of the best bands develop over the years, something a band like Nickleback chooses not to do in order to sell more records. There will be more on the Beatles later in the countdown so I won’t say much more. The Walrus was Paul.

Overall Rating: 9/10
Track Based Rating: 14/17
Best Tracks: Come Together, Something, Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, Oh Darling, Here Comes the Sun, You Never Give me your Money, Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam, She Came in Through the Bathroom Window, The End

Hanging around at ISH

So, not too much has happened in the last few weeks. I was sick last week with some kind of food poisoning that had me in the hospital for a few days. The good news is that my stomach bug seems to be gone once and for all but now my hand is sore from the IV they had me hooked up to. I guess not everything is going to work out. Lately I have found that keeping busy by reading or watching episodes of the West Wing have been a good way to pass the time during the extremely long and sometimes dull days. As an overall experience I can't rate parts of Ghana based on how incredible it was based on the natural beauty, because sometimes it's not that pretty to look at, but I rate my experience based on how well I have adapted to the culture. I think the most important aspect of the trip to take home is how life changing some of the experiences with people here can be. This is a very close knit group of people that really invite you into their country, and do everything they can to make your stay enjoyable. I have never met better strangers in my life. Last night I was watching a Chelsea v.s Liverpool match with a bunch of Ghanaians in the TV room upstairs and I couldn't help but feel a very strong sense of community and brotherly love. Everyone was packed in this tiny room and yelling at the top of their lungs throughout the course of the game. I sat back, enjoyed the game and smiled because I realized that I was accepted. It was then that a overwhelming sense of "This is Africa" came over me and I realized that even with all the hardships everyone goes through, it is not that bad after all. I don't recommend taking the academics seriously here because they are not very challenging or stimulating in any way, but like I said, it is about much more than that. Although my experience might be different than others studying abroad, I just want to say that I have come to realize that it is what being in Africa is all about...leaving behind all the comforts of home (except maybe internet) and sucking it up. It is either you adapt or go home, because there is nothing else to lean to in tough times, you have to depend on the Ghanaians around you for support. I have about a little over a month left in Ghana, and I hope I can enjoy it in good health. Best wishes to all back home...drop me a line if you feel inspired to do so.

-Ryan

#32. Under the Table and Dreaming

For all the Dave Matthews Band haters out there, please give it a rest. I understand that they have dropped off in quality over the years but there is nothing better by them than their first three albums and maybe Busted Stuff. People love to hate on Dave Matthews because he is an easy target. He is a very popular front man for a band that tours every year and brings in thousands of fans. His voice can be an acquired taste sometimes but overall I think he is a very good singer and acoustic guitar player. This is one of the tightest and most professional bands out there today and I find the criticism contrived. For some reason it is okay to like other jam bands but this one doesn’t get the approval, beats the heck out of me. Sadly, LeRoi Moore passed away last year and the band has to continue without him, surely he will be missed. I decided to include Under the Table and Dreaming on my list because it really is one of my favorite albums and has been for quite awhile. I guess I have moved on to other types of music since I was really into this, but it has so many good songs on it that I can’t really ignore. The songs off this one were a big part of my early childhood. I faintly remember hearing ‘Satellite’ after a New England Revolution game when I was about 7 or 8 years old and felt some sort of affinity towards it. I also remember hearing ‘What Would You Say’ and ‘Ants Marching’ constantly on 96.5 TIC when my parents used to listen to that station, and how could I forget that my first real concert experience was with the Dave Matthews Band? I even remember a trip to Virginia that included DMB listening throughout. For the love of Pete, please stop dissing DMB just because a lot of people like them. The lyrics haven’t been great as of late but the interplay between the band has always been incredible.

So the album starts off with ‘Best of What’s Around’ which I really dig. I like how most of the band comes in on vocals near the end and it continues until the fade out. ‘What Would You Say’ is a folksy/roots song that is still really popular to this day. The guitar riff is pretty great and the chorus is very memorable. Don’t forget to catch the ridiculous harmonica solo in the middle by John Popper of Blues Traveler fame. ‘Satellite’ chills things out with another good guitar riff and good chorus. I like how the violin accompanies the guitar in the intro, it sounds very nice. The whole line about the Satellite as a peeping tom is kind of an interesting take on such an object. ‘Rhyme and Reason’ is pretty popular among fans but it’s not my favorite. I don’t really like the way Dave sings on this song, but the lyrics are pretty good and more personal than some of the other songs. ‘Typical Situation’ is a really good quieter song that has an amazingly uplifting chorus and good lyrics. It sets the tone well for the next song ‘Dancing Nancies’. There is something about the lyrical content of this song that is really kind of cool and reflective, it covers one of those thoughts that we all have well. I like how the verse drops out and the chorus comes in with all the instruments playing together. This is a great song to see live and sometimes Dave changes the lyrics up which gets everyone excited. I think it is one of the best full band songs on this album, and is followed by the best song on the album ‘Ants Marching’. The chord progression is great around the chorus and it takes a turn finding some emotional resonance when Dave sings about all the ants marching etc. I really like the intro sax and violin part that plays off of the two chords that Dave plays. I can’t say enough about how good a drummer Carter Beauford is by the way, he is not recognized by as many people as he should be as one of the top drummers in rock music today. ‘Lover Lay Down’ is a quiet love song that is one of Dave’s better ones. He usually hams it up a little too much but this one is gentle and sweet. ‘Jimi Thing’ is another monster live track that usually gets extended to like 15 minutes. Here it is only 6 but has a great feel and good changes. ‘Warehouse’ is also good with a haunting guitar riff that plays throughout. It randomly changes moods during the chorus but works well in the context. ‘Pay for What You Get’ is a good “closer”, it has the vibe of a Paul Simon song, and I’m sure that’s what Dave was going for. ‘#34’ is a hidden instrumental track that closes out the album on a good note. This is easily DMB’s most consistently good album sporting some of the best songs they have ever written. I think it really sums up what they are better than any of their other albums. (Note that Stefan Lessard (not sure if that is how you spell it) was only 17 years old when he joined the band. He is a great bassist especially considering he has to follow Carter the whole time). I wish the band continued progressing on this style and didn’t stray into the pop area on Everyday and Stand Up. This will always be their best and I hope some of the haters out there can see where I am coming from.

Overall Rating: 7/10
Track Based Rating: 9/12
Best Tracks: What Would You Say, Satellite, Dancing Nancies, Ants Marching, Jimi Thing, Warehouse

P.S. I think the sequencing of this album is really good because all of the hits are scattered throughout unlike the Joshua Tree.

#33. The Joshua Tree

Since the early 90’s, U2 has proclaimed themselves the best rock band in the world which is going a little too far. There has also been a decline in quality of their albums since Achtung Baby. I think they have found a formula that is safe that have continued to use since All That You Can’t Leave Behind, all of that being said, they were an incredible band from the early 80’s until the advent of the Clinton administration. They were highly political with War, found a new sound on The Unforgettable Fire and finally hit their peak with The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. I still think that The Joshua Tree is their best album because unlike most of their others, it holds up throughout the 11 tracks. I’ve read a lot of reviews about this album before and they are all mostly positive. I think that the ambition of this album is incredible and usually delivers on all levels. Somewhere between 1983 and 1987 U2 came to America and fell in love with the majesty of the countryside and our rich history. The Unforgettable Fire was highly focused on America and The Joshua Tree is a step towards issues on a larger scale, like War, Poverty, Religion and Love. How much more epic can the first track ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ be? The atmospheric soundscapes and the echoing guitar that slowly fades in, and then when the bass and drums thunder in, it is really one of the best album openers for sure. It sets the tone for the rest of the album and proves that this was a giant leap forward for a bunch of scrappy dudes from Ireland. I feel like this album was a legendary release along the lines of Sgt. Pepper. It introduced a whole new type of sound for popular rock, and we all know how terrible most mainstream rock was in the 80’s. This was one of those albums that I was introduced to when I was very young because I had heard a lot of the songs before on the radio and remember watching the video for ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ on Vh1 and being really interested in the band. I guess the epic sound, production and vision of this album says a lot about how I view the passing of time in this world, so it was really easy for me to like. If you let yourself get invested in this, there really is no reason to dislike it unless you hate Bono now. But before you start hating on U2, you have to at least give this album a chance, they made this and then they became the ‘biggest band in the world’, so decide if you hate U2 based on their music or because of Bono. Please give the music a chance.

This album was played a few times while driving through the deserts of America on my family’s cross country road trip in 2006 and it almost always fit the occasion. The very general themes expressed on this album are performed in a very inspirational/moving manner, which is always helped by the accompanying Edge guitar sound. If you really think about it, the guitar sound that the Edge uses is mimicked by a lot of bands nowadays. Coldplay for one uses it a lot, as did Radiohead in the mid 90’s. It is almost like the go-to sound for an emotional rock song these days. ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ is great as I said before but is then followed by ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ which is probably my favorite song here. There is something so grand that happens within this song that I can’t really explain, but the music goes perfectly with the lyrics and makes me think of someone running through the lush Irish countryside in search of a greater meaning of life. I still think this or ‘Tonight, Tonight’ by the Smashing Pumpkins would have been a great high school graduation song instead of the cliché ‘Here’s to the Night’. Well I guess that U2 might be a cliché band sometimes, but nonetheless the song has more heart and honesty than anything Eve 6 has ever done. Don’t get me wrong, who doesn’t like ‘Inside Out’ or whatever that song was from the 90’s, but anyways, back to the review.

Even more exciting is how ‘With or Without You’ follows the two previous songs. This one is another epic song that is helped by an exceptional Bono vocal performance and great Edge guitar as well as some nicely placed drum parts and simple but affecting bassline. I’m sure all of you have heard this song soooo many times but it somehow doesn’t really get old for me. After frontloading the album with the most popular songs, I always get worried that the album is going to taper off into obscurity, but U2 does something smart and places ‘Bullet the Blue Sky’ next, which is the loudest song on this album. It is the most straightforward rock song here but has a good, dark atmosphere surrounding it, helped by Edge once again. I think I will stop mentioning the incredibly cool Edge guitar lines and let you listen to them for yourself. The spoken word part by Bono at the end is a little much, but I can deal with it. ‘Running to Stand Still’ is apparently about drug use and incorporates an acoustic slide guitar which sounds great. A lot of the album follows this song’s mood from here on out. ‘Red Hill Mining Town’ is another good song that continues the consistency of the album. ‘In God’s Country’ is one of the really good later tracks that boasts a good chorus and driving rhythm. ‘Trip Through Your Wires’ is probably my least favorite song here because it really isn’t as inspired as some of the other tracks. ‘One Tree Hill’ is pretty awesome and has nothing to do with the TV show. ‘Exit’ is a dark atmospheric track that leads to the concluding ‘Mothers of the Disappeared’. I have never heard U2 as dark sounding as they are on ‘Exit’. It is actually a really cool track that has some loud guitar and drums. ‘Mothers of the Disappeared’ is a great album closer with a nice melody and quiet keyboard. The best part of this album in some ways is how it mostly manages to avoid sounding too 80’s. I’m pretty sure 1987 was the peak of the overly reverberated drum sound that I hate.

So this is pretty much the template for what U2 albums sound like now and I hope you can appreciate it as much as I do.

Overall Rating: 8/10
Track Based Rating: 9/11
Best Tracks: Where the Streets Have No Name, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, With Or Without You, In God’s Country, One Tree Hill

P.S. This might have been an even better album if they had spaced out the first three tracks throughout.