The Official Needles and Grooves 1001 Album Generator Project (aka Preachin’ about the Preachers if today’s selection sucks)

I'm having a bit of a hard time with this. A friend of mine gave me this on CD about twenty years ago and said it was a masterpiece, and I really wanted to "get" it and love it but I just gave up after a few listens. I understand that it's important and tells an interesting story historically, and and get that I should really like it intellectually. But I just can't connect with it. I simply don't hear the greatness others seem to get. I mean, it's not bad, but I just feel indifferent to it. Will give it another listen later this afternoon though.
 
Whiteout75 said:
I'm having a bit of a hard time with this. A friend of mine gave me this on CD about twenty years ago and said it was a masterpiece, and I really wanted to "get" it and love it but I just gave up after a few listens. I understand that it's important and tells an interesting story historically, and and get that I should really like it intellectually. But I just can't connect with it. I simply don't hear the greatness others seem to get. I mean, it's not bad, but I just feel indifferent to it. Will give it another listen later this afternoon though.
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I'm not sure if it's a compliment or an insult to you @Whiteout75 , but this is the second time I find myself in agreement with your album review.
I own this record and have played in on and off for the last 15-20 years.
I always wanted to like this record, I wanted to appreciate its value as an historical milestone for the end of an era, I wanted to enjoy the intricacies of the music and lyrics.
I failed.
I find this boring and unremarkable.
I'm hoping for one day to have a lightbulb moment and finally understand it.
I'm still waiting.....

(should I move these views to the hot take thread?)
 
Lee Newman said:
2/9/23
4b75f62dc127de65f0f08dab5ab1fe0807c07f35

Love - Forever Changes



Allmusic Review:
www.allmusic.com

Forever Changes - Love | Album | AllMusic

Forever Changes by Love released in 1967. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
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I don't think I can eclipse @Lee Newman's review of this, which I completely agree with. It captures the historical moment incredibly well, by combining some of the best musical elements of those years found across so many other records I love while creating something that is entirely it's own. This is another one that I listen to pretty regularly.
5/5
 
Whiteout75 said:
I'm having a bit of a hard time with this. A friend of mine gave me this on CD about twenty years ago and said it was a masterpiece, and I really wanted to "get" it and love it but I just gave up after a few listens. I understand that it's important and tells an interesting story historically, and and get that I should really like it intellectually. But I just can't connect with it. I simply don't hear the greatness others seem to get. I mean, it's not bad, but I just feel indifferent to it. Will give it another listen later this afternoon though.
Click to expand...
This is me and A Love Supreme.
 
Whiteout75 said:
I'm having a bit of a hard time with this. A friend of mine gave me this on CD about twenty years ago and said it was a masterpiece, and I really wanted to "get" it and love it but I just gave up after a few listens. I understand that it's important and tells an interesting story historically, and and get that I should really like it intellectually. But I just can't connect with it. I simply don't hear the greatness others seem to get. I mean, it's not bad, but I just feel indifferent to it. Will give it another listen later this afternoon though.
Click to expand...

panino said:
I'm not sure if it's a compliment or an insult to you @Whiteout75 , but this is the second time I find myself in agreement with your album review.
I own this record and have played in on and off for the last 15-20 years.
I always wanted to like this record, I wanted to appreciate its value as an historical milestone for the end of an era, I wanted to enjoy the intricacies of the music and lyrics.
I failed.
I find this boring and unremarkable.
I'm hoping for one day to have a lightbulb moment and finally understand it.
I'm still waiting.....

(should I move these views to the hot take thread?)
Click to expand...

Lee Newman said:
This is me and A Love Supreme.
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I don’t think anyone should feel one way or another about not liking or getting something, especially when it is something as esoteric as a transcendent musical experience. I actually deep dove this while reading the 33 1/3 about it. I listened to it multiple times a day for about a month. It helped that I actually thought it was beautiful to listen to on first listen. I then lived in it while gaining a sense of context for it. It was actually all quite magical and not really something that anyone could replicate. Like if you tried that yourself, there would be all this expectation thrust on it. I just knew people had said it was great - I didn’t understand it’s “importance.”

I think A Love Supreme is a very well played jazz album… it is not the spiritual experience I expected it to be from folks waxing poetic.

Expectation can definitely hinder something.

Then there is Trout Mask Replica which I’m starting to think is just music snob snipe hunting…
 
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Bohnjaggs said:
You can join the group in the first post and then you'll be able to rate the group album daily on the website and it will automatically show everybody's scores.

As for Leftfield, I had never listened to this but I loved it. It reminds me of the EDM music that would be played/performed in the Sahara tent at Coachella. I ended up "liking" over half of the album on Spotify and am looking forward to listening to it again. 4/5
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Thanks! I got it now. i might just start doing this one vs my own. My own has been throwing me clunkers
 
Hemotep said:
I think it's completely fair for those who think this album is batshit terrible. I somehow completely agree with that take as well as those who love it.
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I’ve been trying to enjoy this album for 20 plus years. Every few years a give it another chance, It just feels like it’s something I should love. Surely, my ears have evolved enough to finally make sense of the cacophony of sounds coming out of my speakers? and yet it still makes no sense at all. One of these days though I will enjoy this Crazy Captain and this Trout Mask of his. It will happen. It must happen.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
I’ve been trying to enjoy this album for 20 plus years. Every few years a give it another chance, It just feels like it’s something I should love. Surely, my ears have evolved enough to finally make sense of the cacophony of sounds coming out of my speakers? and yet it still makes no sense at all. One of these days though I will enjoy this Crazy Captain and this Trout Mask of his. It will happen. It must happen.
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This is me, except more like once a year. Also the third man pressing is the best soundstage I have, IT’S SO DEEP!
 
So I'm a little behind, hoping to catch up over the next few days...

#13 - Fiona Apple - Tidal

If I'm being honest, my first exposure to this album was the Criminal music video when I was a teenager. I didn't hear the full album until I was an adult and I definitely think it would have been lost on me in my younger years. This is a fantastic album and the performances are very strong. Criminal does seem a little out of place compared to the rest of the album, and it's particularly noticeable coming after Shadowboxer, which might be my favorite Fiona track. An album I'm really glad I've gotten into as it is definitely one that rewards repeat listens and is a classic.

Rating - 5.0/5
 
So, I tried to put Forever Changes in i bit of context by playing the first two albums back to back at work today before I relistened to it, and something kinda clicked. I think I've always tried to imagine Forever Changes as a somewhat angry album, which has screwed with my expectations of it. Hearing it in context, it's more of a melancholic rumination of the state of the world, which maybe also explains why it feels a bit detatched. The difference in tone compared to the fuzzy energy of Da Capo is palpable and reveals its intentions. Still don't hear a masterpiece, but there's definitely more to it than I've thought before. "A House is not a Motel" and "Maybe the people..." are two standout tracks that ignited something within me this time. Score 3/5 ( and I might even give it more spins in the future)
 
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