The Official Needles and Grooves 1001 Album Generator Project

Really like this one. Obviously side A is loaded with classic singles and so it’s a great listen. I don’t think it’s quite as strong an album as a good few others he did. It’s probably 6th or 7th in my van the man list. Unlike @TenderLovingKiller® im always grabbing Astral Weeks first and if don’t want to go on “a trip” il probably grabbing Tupelo Honey, St. Dominic’s Preview, His Band And The Street Choir and Into The Music ahead of it too. None of that is criticism, he just has such a strong catelogue. Also Tupelo Honey is the under the radar stone cold classic album in his discography, if you haven’t heard it you really should.

3.5/5 rounded up.
 
Lee Newman said:
7/10/23
View attachment 177394

Fats Domino - This is Fats Domino



Album does not appear to be in Apple or Spotify. There is no allmusic review.
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I'm trying to come up with something more positive than 'some of the songs are good, and he wrote them way back then'.

But that's it.

Listening now, this is an incredibly pedestrian meander through some old rock 'n' roll songs that is as dated as you would expect.

2 / 5 stars.
 
jt4527 said:
I'm trying to come up with something more positive than 'some of the songs are good, and he wrote them way back then'.

But that's it.

Listening now, this is an incredibly pedestrian meander through some old rock 'n' roll songs that is as dated as you would expect.

2 / 5 stars.
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This is completely fair. I kind of wonder if there is a better record to represent him and this one was picked because of Blueberry Hill?
 
I’ve never thought about ranking Van Morrison. Most of the run from Astral to Fleece is basically perfect (Hard Nose being the good not Great album in the run). I’d say I reach for this one more often and that’s certainly true, even last fm agrees with me. It’s a warm blanket of an album. 5 stars.
 
jamieanderson1968 said:
Van is still an asshat but I still really like Moondance. The funny thing is that the title track is the weakest song the album. I put it behind Astral Weeks but a good solid 4/5 for me.
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He’s always been a grumpy old misanthrope. Which made his 26 years married to a Dublin socialite playing the man about town really fucking weird!
 
Yer Ol' Uncle D said:
"One Hundred Years From Now" may very well be the defining moment in Cosmic American Music. Absolutely sublime...

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I only know one song by The Byrds, and it isn't even by them, and it isn't on this record.

I see there are several other Bob Dylan songs on this record, though.

Is this just a covers album?

The version I found only has 11 songs on it, and no, I will not be looking for the longer version. 20 more minutes of this?!

2 / 5 stars.
 
It’s funny cause yesterday we were talking about gatekeeping in Nashville and how that basically lead to Americana as shorthand for Country music that doesn’t get airplay on the radio. How important forward thinking artists like Margo Price and Jason Isbell are basically exiled from the Country charts because they are too liberal.

The Byrds debuted this new sound (spearheaded very much by Gram Parsons) at the Grand Ole Opry and neither Country or Rock wanted anything to do with it.

The Rolling Stone review is conflicted saying it’s too pretty to be country and too country to be rock. The charts weren’t kind to the album either. No one knew what to make of it.

It would build over the years and become considered a masterpiece. It was the opening salvo of Parson’s Cosmic American music. It was a sign of things to come and the last great Byrds album. They had come a long way from the Dylan disciples bringing his message to the masses. In a way it marked the end of the folk revival.

The Parsons songs are the highlights. A bright shining star that flamed out all too soon. He would take Hillman and start the Flying Burrito Brothers. This left McGuinn to carry the band (an all new band) forward.

The Grateful Dead would see some success with a more Country Rock sound in the seventies. Lynard Skynard would distill the sound into Southern Rock and really make some waves with it. Artists like Uncle Tupelo would expound on the idea many years later. And then there are all them “Americana” folks from earlier (Isbell and Carlile and company) who can find a niche outside of Nashville because of a failed album by the Folk Rock titans.

5 stars
 
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Lee Newman said:
It’s funny cause yesterday we were talking about gatekeeping in Nashville and how that basically lead to Americana as shorthand for Country music that doesn’t get airplay on the radio. How important forward thinking artists like Margo Price and Jason Isbell are basically exiled from the Country charts because they are too liberal.

The Byrds debuted this new sound (spearheaded very much by Gram Parsons) at the Grand Ole Opry and neither Country or Rock wanted anything to do with it.

The Rolling Stone review is conflicted saying it’s too pretty to be country and too country to be rock. The charts weren’t kind to the album either. No one knew what to make of it.

It would build over the years and become considered a masterpiece. It was the opening salvo of Parson’s Cosmic American music. It was a sign of things to come and the last great Byrds album. They had come a long way from the Dylan disciples bringing his message to the masses. In a way it marked the end of the folk revival.

The Parsons songs are the highlights. A bright shining star that flamed out all too soon. He would take Hillman and start the Flying Burrito Brothers. This left McGuinn to carry the band (an all new band) forward.

The Grateful Dead would see some success with a more Country Rock sound in the seventies. Lynard Skynard would distill the sound into Southern Rock and really make some waves with it. Artists like Uncle Tupelo would expound on the idea many years later. And then there are all them “Americana” folks from earlier (Isbell and Carlile and company) who can find a niche outside of Nashville because of a failed album by the Folk Rock titans.

5 stars
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Great write up and I agree completely. I would like to add Bob Dylan also moved from leader to follower by moving towards a more Country sound with Nashville Skyline.

Also, The Nitty Gritty Band’s Will The Circle Be Unbroken is an important link between California up and coming Country Rock scene that the Byrds launched and Country Music’s Nashville roots.
 
Lee Newman said:
7/12/23

View attachment 177526
The Byrds - Sweethesrt of the Rodeo



www.allmusic.com

The Byrds - Sweetheart of the Rodeo Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic

Discover Sweetheart of the Rodeo by The Byrds released in 1968. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
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I have to be brutally honest (Even though it seems like a lot of you really like this one). This album did absolutely nothing for me. I don't know very much about The Byrds besides David Crosby was in them so I don't know if this is their typical sound. Nothing super memorable. I'll give it a 2/5.
 
dbarila said:
I have to be brutally honest (Even though it seems like a lot of you really like this one). This album did absolutely nothing for me. I don't know very much about The Byrds besides David Crosby was in them so I don't know if this is their typical sound. Nothing super memorable. I'll give it a 2/5.
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Their typical sound is their first three albums which are folk rock with a slight turn to psychedelia. Notorious was like psychedelic chamber folk rock and then they made this weird country album. Honestly, this is a record that doesn’t make sense for a bit and if you aren’t invested in country/americana, not sure you would spend the time with it (nor would I expect you should)
 
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Lee Newman said:
Their typical sound is their first three albums which are folk rock with a slight turn to psychedelia. Notorious was like psychedelic chamber folk rock and then they made this weird country album. Honestly, this is a record that doesn’t make sense for a big and if you aren’t invested in country/americana, not sure you would spend the time with it (nor would I expect your should)
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Yeah. I know "Turn Turn Turn" so I was expecting that kind of folky psychedelic sound. Not a straight up country album.
 
dbarila said:
I have to be brutally honest (Even though it seems like a lot of you really like this one). This album did absolutely nothing for me. I don't know very much about The Byrds besides David Crosby was in them so I don't know if this is their typical sound. Nothing super memorable. I'll give it a 2/5.
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This album was quite a deviation for them. Gram Parson joined the band, took control, made this record and left to form the Flying Burrito Brothers. Its more of a Gram Parson record than a Byrds record. Prior to this the Byrds we’re doing a California pop version of Bob Dylan, lots of harmonies and echoey guitars.



Following Sweatheart they would step back into a more poppy sounds but the country influence would still stick around thanks to Gene Clark though those albums aren’t as well regarded as their Mid-60s records.
 
I have a strange relationship with The Byrds. I have spent a lot of time over the last 40 years listening to jangle pop and indie bands that are so indebted to The Byrds, but they just never clicked with me. I can listen to a record and be fine with it but I don't go out of my way to listen to them. They always seem to be lesser than the sum of their parts. 2.5/5 stars
 
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