Listening to the classic records now it's the season, so some notes. This is the time of year I stop looking for new things and go to what's core.
Ac/Dc's
Powerage is a complete bastard of an album. A total showcase of the best of the band's abilities. Bon Scott is on point and delivers his most killer lyrics, he was a good lyricist unlike Brian Johnson and the Youngs. "Down Payment Blues" is his highlight and the way he sings to simple themes was like no other. "Gimme A Bullet" is killer and has excellent lyrics that match the music and "Gone Shootin" is straight up the best Ac/Dc song. It has vibe like nothing else and the riff is great, Bon is great and the solo is on point. "Up To My Neck In You" is the only kind of fillerish song on the record.
Powerage is Ac/Dc at their best with the most inspired songs of their discography.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASL3Sx1Vv1Y KISS Alive! always holds up, it's what KISS is all about. The simple but driving riffs, Peter Criss' swing, and the charisma and ballsack on the table delivery of Paul Stanley who was a great singer and commanding frontman in his prime. Ace Frehley lacked variety in his leads, but his solos where so damn good and memorable on the first 6 albums. His solo spot on
Alive II is iconic for myself.
Hotter Than Hell is KISS' best album no doubt. It's a true Rock 'N Roll album. Honestly the only real full on RnR in KISS' studio discography, just a ripping, fantastic, record start to finish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTn62pUrg7s Dokken's
Tooth And Nail is a fairly decent effort, the main issue with the band is the weakness of the rhythm section. On
Back For The Attack there are virtually no basslines and the drums are weak. The bass is so low and lacks boom. Don Dokken was a great singer with a very smooth voice, he could handle a lot of songs fairly well.
Under Lock And Key is a pretty good album, their best I think. You got some great tunes like "The Hunter", "Will The Sun Rise" and even the ballad "Slipping Away". George Lynch is an insane shredder, he had some juicy and really mind bending solos. "In My Dreams" has some crazy patterns and he goes insane to the point of going a little too far on
Back For The Attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exI1ZRE0Pvo Dokken has always been a good band that's held up in the hair metal era for me, but they have also always lacked the extra punch in the rhythm section. George Lynch is a great guitarist but the band needed another guitarist to balance him. There are corny lyrics of course and Don Dokken gets campy in his delivery, "LIIIGHTNNNINGG!!!!!" but it's all fun. "Dream Warriors" is an eternal anthem for Halloween, never get sick of it. "Into The Fire" is always awesome and "Kiss Of Death" as well.
Under Lock And Key is the stand out of their discography.
Tooth And Nail is a little rough with some filler and
Back For The Attack lacks in certain regards and George Lynch goes a little too hard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAi2R9NxMnU Iron Maiden's first two albums are always awesome. They command punk energy with 70's metal riffs, they are full of life and passion. The self titled is fantastic with some lighter moments and sheer brilliance at times. Clive Burr was a badass drummer, with a real neat groove. Nicko McBrain worked for the band's tighter gallop approach, but Clive was a much more interesting and versatile drummer with his own touch. I still think Nicko is pretty good and he played quite well on
Seventh Son which is just an awesome album.
Somewhere In Time has an excellent side 1 with all killer tracks. But side 2 drags with very boring songs that do the same thing over and over again. You get sick of all the guitar harmonies, especially how uninspired they become later album.
Seventh Son is a much better album. Iron Maiden lack heavily in variety, but they do deliver when needed and I love 'em.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyEZ5_dGxSg Bruce Springsteen's
Darkness On The Edge Of Town is always a masterpiece. "The Promised Land" is a deeply meaningful song for me with some of Bruce's most just ripping lyrics. It just gets to me, the lyrics and tune. That and "Badlands" are the ones that really reach out to me, "Racing In The Street" as well has lyrics that are just man oh man. My love for Bruce is well known and my love for this album is as well.
The River is always excellent, a great double with good pacing. "Drive All Night" is visceral and Bruce's improv at the end takes the song into overdrive. "Ramrod" stands out for how slow moving and fun it is.
Tunnel Of Love has some of Bruce's best takes on love. "All That Heaven Will Allow" speaks to me on such a deep level, it's my values and feelings in a songs, and "Valentine's Day" is a great finale. "One Step Up" is killer. But the album does have some big time misses like "Spare Parts" and "Cautious Man", so it isn't perfect.
For me the Top 5 Most important and meaningful Bruce songs to my life are, "Thunder Road", "Backstreets", "The Promised Land", "All That Heaven Will Allow" and "Waiting On A Sunny Day".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_Cf6pgwm0I Utada Hikaru's
First Love is always great. It's a set of strong tunes with a filler song or two. There is a certain sweetness to her voice and the music feels nice. "First Love" is a great ballad for that dramatic phrase "you where always gonna be the one", Utada just delivering killer English phrases. "Time Will Tell" is nice and I love the finale "Give Me A Reason". Not to mention the most underrated song "B&C".
Distance is not as good, it's top loaded with all the good songs right off the bat then it declines in quality. "Distance" is of course my favorite J-Pop song of all time! and there are other nice songs, but
Distance isn't as good overall as
First Love.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqNwAgApzrc 
Topic: What are you listening to (Read 777345 times)
