Best of 2021
Recent Ratings
Recent Reviews
Queen were surprisingly heavy in the early '70s, and a lot of that comes through here. Taylor's drumming is a bit more Baker/Mitchell-esque here (he would develop a tighter feel in the later '70s), May was clearly actively pushing himself and the band sound great for it. Mercury's vocals have been clearly autotuned at times, which is a shame as it would be an otherwise great snapshot of the early days.
I initially quite liked the relaxed instrumentation, it sounds quite natural and free. BUT with the clear references to 'Boogie Wonderland' and any Beatles song with a Mellotron, the whole album just ends up sounding like a mish-mash of forced references to better songs. The singer has a pleasant enough voice, but poor diction means you can't decipher what she's singing about much of the time.
This is one of the best folk albums of the 60s folk revival. Davy Graham's playing on it influenced many folk guitarists and Shirley Collins' uniquely clear voice is fantastic. Not a perfect score, as not all of the tunes are engaging, but that's expected with a lot of trad. folk tunes.
Aside from "Sweet Lady", this is a perfect album. So much variation, yet it feels like such a cohesive work.
Extremely derivative 70s rock sound, the lyrics are bland, even if the musicianship is decent.
About
2021 goal: Listen to an average of one album a day. Mainly looking at that 1001 albums list and any new stuff that looks like it might be decent.
90-100: My favourite albums of all-time, or indisputably outstanding.
85-89: Incredible, and ones that I will keep coming back to.
80-84: Very good, and will go out of my way to listen to again.
75-79: Enjoyed/respected and will probably eventually listen to again.
70-74: Pretty good with no massive criticisms, just didn't quite do it enough for me
90-100: My favourite albums of all-time, or indisputably outstanding.
85-89: Incredible, and ones that I will keep coming back to.
80-84: Very good, and will go out of my way to listen to again.
75-79: Enjoyed/respected and will probably eventually listen to again.
70-74: Pretty good with no massive criticisms, just didn't quite do it enough for me
Around the Web
Rating Distribution
100
8
90-99
39
80-89
145
70-79
147
60-69
86
50-59
55
40-49
18
30-39
6
20-29
3
10-19
1
0-9
Become a Donor
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Advertisement
Advertisement