Blue Me - Leslie West

Advantages: A good hard rock album
Disadvantages: A bit heavy for most people, I fear

...was the producer of that short-lived but incredible British act. Though a four piece, whilst of course Cream were a trio, Mountain's fourth member Steve Knight adds keyboards which insert a bit of colour into their otherwise sludgy, bass-distorted sound. Leslie West will never win any Best Vocalist awards but his belting singing fits in well with the pounding beats. Whilst not as noise-orientated as the world's officially loudest band, contemporaries Blue Cheer, there is a lot of crushing guitar going on here. Opening number Mississippi Queen ("do you know what I mean") shows the way for the record overall with its pounding four chord riff over some rather corny lyrics. Amongst the bombast you can pick out some nice melody lines, Theme From An Imaginary Western has some nice organ and a fine solo outro. Silver Paper, with its grinding... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: The best version yet
Disadvantages: None

...This album was the first release by Pink Floyd where they had both written and toured the material before going into the studio; the original title for the album was "Eclipse". The album sleeve states that the recording process started in June 72 and finished in January 73 at the Abbey Road Studios, it didn't take six months to record. The reality was 38 days of recording was squeezed in around tours of Britain, Japan, and North America as well as a soundtrack for the Barbet Schroeder film "La Vallée (Obscured by Clouds) and work on a French ballet with input from the film director Roman Polanski and the late Rudolph Nureyev. This album began life in a West Hampstead rehearsal studio in the November of 1971, the band had come back from America and where sick of playing touring. The keyboard player Rick Wright was ever more worried... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Slow, bluesy, whisky-induced songs for the under-classes
Disadvantages: Won't put a smile on your face

...; in fact the songs are very sparse musically. The entire album was recorded on 2-track tape which was pretty prehistoric even for those days. Track Listing - 1. Somewhere (from 'West Side Story') 2. Red Shoes by the Drugstore 3. Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis 4. Romeo is Bleeding 5. $29.00 6. Wrong Side of the Road 7. Whistlin' Past the Graveyard 8. Kentucky Avenue 9. A Sweet Little Bullet from a Pretty Blue Gun 10. Blue Valentines His voice used to be quite gentle and he sung the ol' barroom ballad with subtle ease. Now, following years of alcohol abuse of way too many cigarettes, his vocal sound has taken a dirtier, gravelly edge. 'Blue Valentine' falls just between the two periods with his voice, whilst being gritty, can still hold a tune (just). 'Somewhere', the track from 'West Side Story' is quite... Read review

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