The Official Needles and Grooves 1001 Album Generator Project

Lee Newman said:
2/22/23

ab67616d0000b27376cfaa3efa229171a9df860c

Ray Price - Night Life



Allmusic Review:
www.allmusic.com

Night Life - Ray Price | Album | AllMusic

Night Life by Ray Price released in 1963. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
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Listened to it twice today. Closer listens were better rewarded. The music was good, the lyrics were better, but I just can't get past being bored by these kind of vocal stylings. On a few tracks he stretches it out and you can tell he's got a lot of vocal talent, but he croons too much for my tastes. I was most reminded of some early Johnny Cash that sounded similar. I feel like if I was playing Fallout New Vegas with this on I'd enjoy it more. Repeated listened might elevate it for me as there is something in here I like, just don't like how much I had to dig to find it. 3/5
 
the top 5 albums in this group that I've probably listened to the most in order:
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Cocteau Twins - Heaven Or Las Vegas
A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory
Jeru The Damaja - The Sun Rises in the East
The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out

The album that I discovered from this list that I'll listen to more
Nick Drake - Pink Moon
Love - Forever Changes
 
Lee Newman said:
2/22/23

ab67616d0000b27376cfaa3efa229171a9df860c

Ray Price - Night Life



Allmusic Review:
www.allmusic.com

Night Life - Ray Price | Album | AllMusic

Night Life by Ray Price released in 1963. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
Click to expand...


This was especially nice to play loud in the truck today! Not the era I particularly find myself seeking out very often, but one that I appreciate more and more over the past few years. I absolutely loved this through and through, and its influence and importance cannot be overstated (but I also can't really add much that hasn't already been said!) 5/5
 
Speed round, I swear I will eventually catch up...

21. Jeru the Damaga - The Sun Rises In The East

I am of the opinion that rap is perhaps the hardest genre of music to adequately judge once it has aged and once the music no longer is "current." Sure, there are undeniable classics of every era that stand above. This is not it. This sounds horribly dated, particularly when compared to the classics that are contemporaries. Jeru is a talented rapper for sure, but the production is so-so and the lyrical content is dated and contains slurs that just don't fly in 2023. I get why this is on the list and I didn't necessarily dislike anything here, but on the other hand, I didn't really want to hit repeat on any of the tracks either. An album I doubt I return to.

Rating - 2.0/5

22. The Dave Brubeck Quartet - Time Out

The 2nd Jazz album I ever listened to in full (Kind of Blue was first), this is an undeniable classic and while it has become considered more traditional, Side A of this record is untouchable in its quality. After having listened to a lot of jazz since I first heard it, Side B is a bit more pedestrian and didn't hold my attention the same way as the first 3 tracks. As to import and influence, this gets a 5, but for this exercise of my enjoyment and listenability, I'm docking the score slightly for Side B. But 4.5 is still damn good.

Rating - 4.5/5

23. The Cocteau Twins - Heaven or Las Vegas

A group that I knew more on reputation and influence than their actual music, this was my first listen to an album of theirs and I have to say I enjoyed it. Just an all around nice listen and clearly so much of modern Indie music plays off this blueprint. A solid 4.0 for me, and one I look forward to revisiting (and I could see the score going higher upon repeat listens).

Rating - 4.0/5
 
Rid of Me might just be my favorite PJ Harvey. Its tough because I love all her albums. Stories might be her best, but it just isn't as PJ Harvey to me. I like the more raw sounding music of Rid of Me. I like that its dark, and disturbing, and I feel like she wants to kill me when I'm listening to it. It's definitely one to listen to in the right environment, and the right headspace. Before I splurged on a copy of Let It Be...Naked...this was the most I had spent on a single vinyl record at one point.
 
Lee Newman said:
2/23/23
View attachment 167853
PJ Harvey - Rid of Me



Allmusic review
www.allmusic.com

Rid of Me - PJ Harvey | Album | AllMusic

Rid of Me by PJ Harvey released in 1993. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
Click to expand...

Same cousin that introduced me to Portishead introduced me to this album when I was probably 13 or 14. It's not the first album I usually reach for when I listen to PJ these days, but I do actually think there's a strong case that it's her most influential. This is the forerunner to so many great albums like Lingua Ignota's killer run. The energy is undeniable, and even though the quiet/loud Albini production can be unnerving, I think it lends itself to the raw power behind songs that demand your attention and emotional reaction. It's a pure fire album from start to finish for me. 5/5
 
This album has a raw power that is impossible to deny, and I remember being almost literally scared when I first heard it. I discovered her and this album when she opened for U2 at their ZooTV stadium-bonanza, and the sheer fact that she and her band managed to make an impact at all on that stage is pretty remarkable. I bought the cd the very next day, and I have been a fan ever since. I actually rate To Bring You My Love as her strongest album. Stories and Is this Desire are also masterful. But this is ground zero for me when it comes to PJ Harvey.

Still, Albinis production hasn't aged all that well, and the raw (almost nosebleed-inducing) sound was just perfect for an 18-year old punk in 1993, but is a bit tough to process these days.

Score: 4,5/5


EDIT: I googled around a bit and found that somebody had uploaded her entire set at Roskilde Festival 1995 to Youtube. I was there, and it was explosive! One of the best concerts I've seen.
 
Last edited:
Lee Newman said:
2/23/23
View attachment 167853
PJ Harvey - Rid of Me



Allmusic review
www.allmusic.com

Rid of Me - PJ Harvey | Album | AllMusic

Rid of Me by PJ Harvey released in 1993. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
www.allmusic.com www.allmusic.com
Click to expand...

I go into this not really knowing what to expect. I have heard PJ Harvey songs before, but never really on purpose and never a whole album worth of them.

The screaming is not doing it for me, the singing is much better.

"Albini sent Cobain a copy of the PJ Harvey album Rid of Me (1993) to give him an idea of the acoustics at the studio where they would record."

I thought this sounded like Nirvana, but actually, Nirvana sound like this!!

Just a lot of angsty yelling at the moment, with all the subtlety of a brick to the face. This is the first time I've sat down to listen to PJ Harvey properly, and I'm close to standing up and doing something else.

I mean, what the fuck is this supposed to be? (Man-Size Sextet??)

This Dylan cover is probably going to be the best song on the album.

This is better, got more drive and is at a much better pace. Fast and frenetic suits quite well.

I'm guessing she was part of the whole grunge thing that was going on back then? I can imagine she was going up against stuff like Hole and The Breeders, L7 maybe, shit like that? The English Courtney?! I don't know, I was probably still listening to Oasis at this point in my life!

I just don't think this album is for me, it's too loud, it's too noisy, and I am exhausted listening to it. Now a lot of that is no doubt Steve Albini's fault and not PJ Harvey's, but it's her record at the end of the day and I don't like it.

2 / 5 stars.
Click to expand...
 
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