straf's (Totally awesomer than G's) Review Thread

[straf]

Nov 20, 2010 13:46:06 GMT -5 Sway said:

reviews plz

Getting to it, mang. I have to think of stuff to say, lest it be like Soft Parade, which was like... two sentences.

[straf]

Nov 21, 2010 16:17:38 GMT -5 @richarddjames said:

www.mediafire.com/?mby0lyjm1n1
get this under queue, high priority

I have that already, along with Chosen Lords. Those'll be down the line. I was planning on doing Berlin, Transformer, or Unknown Pleasures next.

[straf]

Note: I'm doing what Qaz does and reserving a few posts.

Tomorrow - Tomorrow

Released in 1968
Track Listing
My White Bicycle
Colonel Brown
Real Life Permanent Dream
Shy Boy
Revolution
The Incredible Journey of Timothy Chase
Auntie Mary's Dress Shop
Strawberry Fields Forever
Three Jolly Little Dwarfs
Now Your Time Has Come
Claramount Lake
Hallucinations

Tomorrow was one of the pioneers of psychedelia over in Britain(along with Pink Floyd and the Soft Machine), kicking off what is now known as the "Canterbury Scene". Of course, the Canterbury Scene has come to be more associated with the progressive rock movement, but it's interesting to hear what kicked that off too. If you guys have ever heard Piper at the Gates of Dawn and Revolver, then you should know what to expect from this album, seeing a sit sounds like an interesting mix of both albums. "So straf," you may say, "If it's a mix between those two awesome albums, it must really be good, right?" Well, you could say that I guess, but this album is very fucked up -- even more so that the Floyd and the Beatles. "So straf," you may say again, "Does this mean that it's... bad?" No. Of course not. I'm just saying that it's far from normal and you won't enjoy it if you're a rationality whore or a lyrics hooker.

That sad thing about this album is that it never received much success. No one bought it back then, mainly because it was released right after the whole "psychedelic craze" had ended(not their faults, actually), but really, this album would be hard to market even to the psychedelic crowds. Yeah. It's that weird. Luckily for Tomorrow, though, there was one semi-popular single from this ("My White Bicycle") which you can find on that great Nuggets II package(Nazareth also did a cover of that song, which got like... a million times more coverage than the original). The thing about "My White Bicycle" though is that it's only a fraction of the insanity on this album, and it isn't even a very good representation of it. In fact, I think that it's the weakest track on this album, so take that as you will.

I hate to say it, but the only way that you can understand how jacked up this album is is to listen to it yourselves. Talk about whiskey and mystics and mushrooms, man. I won't stop here, though. Instead, I'd like to point out some of the highlights. One of the more interesting songs on this album is the sorta stripped-down version of "Strawberry Fields Forever". It's not as polished or dressed up as the Beatles' version, but it's just as weird(if not weirder!). "Now The Time Has Come" is a really rockin' tune. Quite unlike anything else on the album. It's almost garage rock, really. The other songs are just too weird to describe, so you're on your own on that. But if you're interested, you can get this album here.

Shy Boy, Now Your Time Has Come, Real Life Permanent Dream, Three Jolly Little Dwarfs

B+ (Not quite a 9, but not quite an 8. Or anything in between.)

[straf]

Queen - Queen II

Released in 1974
Track Listing
--White--
Procession
Father to Son
White Queen (As It Began)
Some Day One Day
The Loser in the End
--Black--
Ogre Battle
The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke
Nevermore
The March of the Black Queen
Funny How Love Is
Seven Seas of Rhye

If you've ever wondered about the appeal of Queen, you should probably look here. Not that I'm about to idolize the sound of Queen or this album, but this is definitely what gave Queen that appeal way-back-when, whether you like it or not. If you've ever ever heard "Bohemian Rhapsody", you probably duly noted its unique structure -- what with the opera and all. Queen II is just "Bo Rhap" in album form. "But what do you mean, straf"? What I mean is: just like "Bho Rhap", Queen II uses every idea, quirk, and cliche that ol' Brian and Freddie ever used under the Queen moniker. It's a big smorgasbord of fairy-tale songs, pounding metal-esque arrangements, quirky chorus vocals, horrid lyrics, and absolutely gorgeous singing on the part of Freddie Mercury. It should go without saying that this is definitely not for everybody. It's so wild and out-there that you'd be brave just to go past "The Loser In The End"(which is a very blatant Led Zep rip-off, might I add. >____>).

But of course, you probably wondering what to expect(if you haven't heard this already). You're probably thinking, "It can't be that wild can it?" or "Meh. He says that these albums aren't for everybody all of the time. What does he know?" or just "". Well look at the cover. What you see is what you should expect: Some weird fantasy gig. Now turn on the very first track(yes, before you read this). What do you hear? What does it make you imagine? Some strange ceremony of old, no? (Or a wedding. Your choice, mate. >.>) Keep going on to "Father To Son" with the weird pulsing whatevers and the choral chantings. Still fantastic, huh? This is like the Genesis album of hard rock and the Black Sabbath of prog. It's effing crazy, man. And of course, that's only the first part of the album(White). Black takes it in a whole different musical direction. The fairy theme stays, but the instrumentation takes a more... medieval/vaudeville/operatic/sing-a-long tone.

Do you remember how in my Queen review I called Queen II the possible bombastic peak of Queen's work? Listen to any(yes, ANY) song on this album and tell me I'm wrong. (No. Really. I dare you. You can't do it.) Everything on this is pompous and over-produced, which is usually the obvious downfall of any album. Queen, however, makes this work. How? Well, Freddie's putting all of his homo heart-'n-soul into this, as if he actually believes in -- and is singing for -- his little mystical gay friends that he creates, for all those titans and troubadours, for all the angelic and apocalyptic deities that come from his fantasy land of "Rhye". Perhaps it's something about his Zoroastrian beliefs that made him do so, but for whatever reason, it brings some amount of intimacy into these songs about make-believe creatures, if you can believe that.

I think that it would be wise to note that each part of this album culminates at its respective "Queen". That's a pity since "White Queen" isn't a very good song to climax at. The rest of the album makes up for all that, however, even going through the trouble of bringing back Queen's formula, implementing several different "movements" throughout each song. I suppose that each song could be in itself counted as a "movement" since a lot of the songs segue. So it's all one fairy-tale, really. Take it as you will.

Interesting cuts include: Procession/Father To Son, Ogre Battle, The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke/Nevermore. There's more, of course.

B
Download

[Zilla2112]

SCHWEET

[straf]

Queen II = Done.

[Zilla2112]

Feb 2, 1974 7:09:23 GMT -5 straf said:

Queen II = Epic.

Yep.

[Sway]

REVIEWS PLEASE

[Zilla2112]

Dec 5, 2010 11:00:18 GMT -5 Sway said:

REVIEWS PLEASE

[straf]

@_@

[straf]

There, enjoy your Tomorrow.

[Zilla2112]

YAYZ

[straf]

The Residents - The Third Reich 'N Roll

Released in 1976
Track Listing
Swastikas on Parade
Hitler Was a Vegetarian

I know what you're thinking: "Holy bejeeeeezus! Only two songs? Really?!" No. It's actually not just two songs. It may be only broken up into two tracks, but there's at least thirty songs on here. That being said, this is an album that you will NOT get unless you do your homework. To understand what this is all about, you'll have to be familiar with the big singles of the 60's, all those rock 'n roll and acid rock and psychedelic hits. Why? Because the Residents tear the shit out of them and brutally thrash through their more weak moments, as if to underline their beliefs that pop music sucks. Now, the sad thing about Third Reich is that you either like it or you don't, no middle ground. It's not music, it's a joke. In fact, you probably won't listen to this more than once if you even get through it the first time. That being said, you can't say much about this, so... proceed with caution.

Interesting cuts include: Uh... Right, well... ;>___>

Download

π/Cheesus

[Zilla2112]

Anal Cunt's "Hitler Was a Sensitive Man" is better.

[Suicide Club]

Erm..
Sigh.. //