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

Lee Newman said:
2/16/2023
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Michael Jackson - Thriller



Allmusic Review
www.allmusic.com

Thriller - Michael Jackson | Album | AllMusic

Thriller by Michael Jackson released in 1982. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
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I'm pretty sure this was the first LP I ever owned that wasn't specifically a Children's album. I'm not 100% certain of this because I was so young, but it's the one that most registers as being the case so I roll with it. Much as others have mentioned here, in many cases I've been finding it harder to separate the art from the artist as I get older - this, of course, is also riddled with contradiction and inconsistencies but in MJ's case, he's been pretty much a non-entity to my sought out listening realm for many years now. As @Lee Newman said, I'm not gonna change the channel/station, or tell somebody to turn it off when his music comes on but I don't go out of my way to seek it out at all. As such, I can recognize this album for all the impact it had in terms of sales, reach, music, etc. but it just doesn't hold the same energy for me as it would have 25 years, or so, ago. I never liked the song with "McCartney" but otherwise, I definitely jammed hard to this front-to-back as a youngin'. Same rating as Lee for me - would've been a 5 back then, but now it's a (reluctant) 4*
 
Lee Newman said:
2/17/23
View attachment 167323
Jeru the Damaga - The Sun Rises in the East.



Allmusic Review
www.allmusic.com

The Sun Rises in the East - Jeru the Damaja | ... | AllMusic

The Sun Rises in the East by Jeru the Damaja released in 1994. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
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This album still rips. That giant homophobic f-bomb in "Come Clean" makes me wince something fierce though. "Product of its time," etc. But it's still very jarring. One of my all-time favourite beats though, and that Onyx sample just makes me wanna wild out every time. The folks that know, know. Otherwise, this still feels like a sorely underrated hip-hop classic. 5/5
 
I don't know, I'm just not feeling Jeru. His flow is okay. Most of his lyrics are battle rap braggadocious nonsense. The beats are great and he finds ways to sort of dip and weave through them. I'd be all for an instrumental version. Rap more than any other music genre for me is about the lyrics and I just don't really care about what Jeru is saying. He's not as inventive as he would seem lyrically. I'm giving it three stars.
 
...Are there any hip hop albums from this era/on this list that don't have a song/verse/etc on them about how women are "bitches"? I'm very tired of it. :rolleyes:

The rest of this album was...fine. I will get off my soapbox now, lol.
 
WhiteDahlias said:
..Are there any hip hop albums from this era/on this list that don't have a song/verse/etc on them about how women are "bitches"? I'm very tired of it
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There will be a few. Depending on what Beastie Boys, De La Soul and ATCQ albums makes the list. Also I am pretty sure someone already had Arrested Development and I and there is fairly little to no misogyny on that one.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
There will be a few. Depending on what Beastie Boys, De La Soul and ATCQ albums makes the list. Also I am pretty sure someone already had Arrested Development and I and there is fairly little to no misogyny on that one.
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Yeah, I was probably exaggerating a bit, haha. I try to go into these albums and see if I can enjoy them even if they are outside of my comfort zone but stuff like that just immediately kills it for me. I'm looking forward to listening to some of these ones that are maybe not so much like that.
 
I have a pretty casual relationship with jazz, and I'm not really that well oriented in the genre. But this is why I think this whole exercise is so fun, to discover new and old stuff. I mean, I had heard of Dave Brubeck before and I immediately recognised it when I listened to it (especially the song "Take 5"). And I like jazz! It just isn't something I regularly seek out and play on regular basis.
"Nice" is a word that pops up when I listen to this, although I understand that this was pretty groundbreaking when it came out. But today, this is music that typically plays in the background at some garden party while everyone is politely enjoying each others company, isn't it? I enjoyed it, but not something I will put on on a regular basis. Score: a solid 4/5 for me (although I know it deserves a 5 for its sheer influence alone).
 
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Whiteout75 said:
I have a pretty casual relationship with jazz, and I'm not really that well oriented in the genre. But this is why I think this whole exercise is so fun, to discover new and old stuff. I mean, I had heard of Dave Brubeck before and I immediately recognised it when I listened to it (especially the song "Take 5"). And I like jazz! It just isn't something I regularly seek out and play on regular basis.
"Nice" is a word that pops up when I listen to this, although I understand that this was pretty groundbreaking when it came out. But today, this is music that typically plays in the background at some garden party while everyone is politely enjoying each others company, isn't it? I enjoyed it, but not something I will put on on a regular basis. Score: a solid 4/5 for me (although I know it deserves a 5 for it's sheer influence alone).
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I appreciate your review of this because it isn't that far off from mine. I've expanded to more jazz in the last year, and have a history with a few musicians (Sun Ra, and several jazz guitarists) I've listened to a lot from. I picked up a copy of this a few months ago and it sounds great. I'm listening to the 50th anniversary legacy edition on Apple music this morning so that I add something new to the experience. Several live tracks are added to that and I much prefer them to the album to be honest. But I tend to always prefer live recordings to studio ones, so no big surprise there. I'd have done a 4 on the studio album, but the live tracks bump this up to a 5 for me and I'd heartily recommended them to others while you're doing this album today.
 
The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out
Very much a gateway album for me. It's instantly accessible, even with the strange time signatures used throughout, it just sounds cool.

There's not been many hit songs in 5/4, but Time Out is more than just Take 5, I probably prefer Blue Rondo à La Turk, but there's not a dud on the album.

If you're not sure about Jazz, give this a listen and then go Hard Bop and Free Jazz, just like me!

5 / 5 stars.
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I think the fact that it is often a gateway album is important here. This is a landmark album, it could easily soundtrack a garden party but that's about where we have come. There is a reason that this and Kind of Blue and A Love Supreme etc are recommended to people. They are giants of the artform. Its not one I reach for all the time but it is a great albums and I'm never like well this ducks when I put it on...
 
Lee Newman said:
I think the fact that it is often a gateway album is important here. This is a landmark album, it could easily soundtrack a garden party but that's about where we have come. There is a reason that this and Kind of Blue and A Love Supreme etc are recommended to people. They are giants of the artform. Its not one I reach for all the time but it is a great albums and I'm never like well this ducks when I put it on...
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Your opinion certainly isn’t quackers…
 
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