Rock & Pop > Singer/Songwriter Rock & Pop > 1970 to 1979

Old Owl Eyes Is Back

Advantages: Some Essential Reed Songs
Disadvantages: A lot of filler

This was Lou Reed's second solo album, post Velvet Underground, produced under the aegis of his mentor and RCA label mate of the time David Bowie. The album is heavily influenced by "Ziggy" era Bowie, which ironic considering that Bowie was heavily influenced by the work of Reed with the Velvet Underground. Reed influencing Bowie influencing Reed. The album is none the worse for Ziggy's influence. The cover is interesting featuring a scary stark ...
...and models representing Reed's male / female personae on the back. There are some fine songs here, opening with the excellent "Vicious" which could have graced a VU album, this is floowed by "Andy's Chest" about Mr Warhol. Next up we have "Perfect Day" which was also the "B" side of the stand out song here "Walk On The Wildside" with that loping distictive Herbie Flowers bass riff (for which he was reputedly paid a tenner session players fee). The ...

mikeydred 17.03.2001 · Read full review
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Review of Transformer [Remastered] - Lou Reed

American try.

Advantages: Vincent & American Pie.
Disadvantages: Lots of naff tracks.

American Pie - Don McClean This album was originally released in 1971, this is the 1988 CD version, or at least the CD of the 1988 version (says 1988 on CD sleeve, though I do not remember CD's in 1988! Or maybe I just did not have any then, lol). According to various sources this album is amongst the 'best ever' American albums, really? McClean was/is primarily a folk singer and this album, by all accounts was a 'one off', he certainly has little ...
...tracks. ~~The Tracks~~ 1. American Pie The title and opening track. Though this needs little explaining, as there surely cannot be many people that have never heard this, I will give you my interpretation. Released at the height of the psychedelic time in America, summer of love, tune in, drop out etc. this feels almost like a mourning of the innocence of America, it certainly remains, for me a ballad like list of all the is 'good' about America. ...

paulhanton 05.10.2008 · Read full review
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Review of American Pie (Greatest Hits) - Don McLean

Bob Garrett And Dylan The Kid

Advantages: Some Nice Tracks, Providing Yet Another Side To The Musical Ability Of Bob Dylan
Disadvantages: Not Quite A Complete Representation Of The Recordings

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is the soundtrack to the film of the same name, consisting of track s written and recorded by Bob Dylan. It followed on from New Morning, with many calling it an amateurish release, not pertaining to the heights of his previous earlier works, but for me this is far from the truth. As with many soundtrack albums it is made up of mainly instrumental material, with a few tracks that can be considered to be songs. It is ...
...it provides three versions of in effect the same song, Billy 1, Billy 4 and Billy 7, done in opposing styles. But there has also been much praise for Knockin' on Heaven's Door, which in truth is best heard live. This should not really be considered as a fully fledged studio album, but more as another insight into the mind of the great man, as he attempts to prove himself as an instrumentalist, which on a couple of numbers he does. In truth you could ...

Robin_Hod12 03.03.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid (Original Soundtrack) - Bob Dylan

Its A Wonderful Night For A Moondance

Advantages: Great Singing
Disadvantages: Rubbish cover

This is a unmistakenbly legend of an album and it goes without saying by a legendery figurehead of music. The obvious song which first snaches your eyes is the remarkable "Moondance". It needs no influences and it needs no introdction. This is Van Morrisson at his very best. The album itself if you are deprived enough not to have listened to it consists of 10 astounding songs. Light, soulful and lively it begins with a great song in "And It Stoned ...
...and again in "Moondance" he has furthered this point. It is soft rock, folk, pop, soul and jazz all bundelled into one brilliant unmissable album. I can't imagine it costs particulary much and it should be available at any music shop(at least any with much sense)! A must. Just ignore the cover. ...

andrew156 19.02.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Moondance - Van Morrison

Planet Waves - a charming album

Advantages: Has some classics, is charming and an essential part of a proper Dylan collection
Disadvantages: Not all of it is his best work

Planet Waves is an album that is not necessarily typical of Bob Dylan, but what is? It is, however, a strong album by a great artist, with some classic Dylan songs on it. The first highlight of the album is the opening track 'On a Night Like This', where Dylan displays some of his most expressive and poetic lyrics to a upbeat band driven by drums and his ever present harmonica. The song rather different for a Dylan as its quite self explanatory and ...
...and romantic charm to it, and the fact that Dylan finds himself in a comfortable vocal range leads to an impressive and passionate performance. The highlight of the album falls somewhere between on of the two versions of the classic Dylan song 'Forever Young'. Here we witness some of Dylan's most poignant lyrics, where he engages a common Dylan theme, in age. Both of the two versions are impressive, however the first is a slower more dramatic piece, ...

atyrrell17 02.07.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Planet Waves - Bob Dylan