Category: Album Reviews

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Buffalo Springfield – Buffalo Springfield Again (1967)

Posted on by Michael

One year after releasing their debut album, Buffalo Springfield released Buffalo Springfield Again in October 1967. The group was a songwriting embarrassment of riches with Neil Young, Stephen Stills, and Richie Furay all contributing songs. Furay’s credits include the folk rock sounds, and possible dig at Young, on “A Child’s Claim to Fame” and later, the horn driven soul of “Good Time Boy”, sung by drummer Dewey Martin.

Stills highlights include the great guitar riffing and harmonies with Furay on “Bluebird”. “Rock & Roll Woman” features expert bass playing by Bruce Palmer and the buzzing guitar of “Hung Upside Down”. Two Young songs bookend the sophomore album.  “Mr. Soul” is a gritty rock song with the wordplay of Bob Dylan but set to a harder beat.  “Broken Arrow” is like a Californian version of Sgt Pepper on an atmospheric track with dreamy lyrics that collide with sound collages and closes with what sounds like a heartbeat.

In between is the excellent “Expecting to Fly” that adds strings to the background with Young singing, “I tried so hard to stand/As I stumbled and fell to the ground… Babe, now you know I tried”.  This album by an astonishing group of musicians stands tall among the very best albums released in 1967.

9/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Franz Ferdinand – The Human Fear (2025)

Posted on by Michael

Franz Ferdinand returned early in 2025 with their first release in seven years.  A different entity than the one that was putting out anthems in the early aughts, the band is now down to two original members – singer/guitarist Alex Kapranos and bassist Bob Hardy.  New additions include guitarist Dino Bardot and drummer Audrey Tait.

Unlike the band of old, synths and keyboard from Julian Corrie dominate several songs including the catchy “The Doctor” and “Tell Me I should Stay” that starts with a gorgeous somber piano but then turns into one of the album’s most musically varied song. Writing about his Greek heritage, Kapranos sings in that language for several lines on “Black Eyelashes” and intriguingly, the song has a Greek lute that adds a middle Eastern flair. 

First track and single, “Audacious” is infectious bit of indie rock and “Hooked” does double duty as a song about Kapranos’ young son while also being a call to the dancefloor. In 2025, Franz Ferdinand is a different beast but with a few more hits than misses, The Human Fear is a decent bit of slick guitar rock for fans of the Scottish band.

7/10

Posted in Album Reviews

The Doors – Morrison Hotel (1970)

Posted on by Michael

Upon release in 1970, Morrison Hotel from The Doors was hailed as a return to form after two middling albums.  The album is split with the Hard Rock Café first side and Morrison Hotel second side. “Roadhouse Blues” kicks off the album with a stellar guitar riff from Robby Krieger.  Barroom blues played to excellence, over a rolling piano Jim Morrison belts out “I woke up this morning and I got myself a beer” before imploring the audience to “let it roll, baby, roll”.

“Waiting For The Sun” is a more atmospheric track that is zen like in the beginning but as it goes on, the Morrison mantra of the word “waiting” becomes harsher, more demanding. Closing out the first side, “Ship Of Fools” sounds lighthearted before Morrison sings the first line, “the human race was dyin’ out”. Side two gets is off to the races with “Land Ho!”, driven along by the drumming of John Densmore and organ of Ray Manzarek. “Queen Of The Highway” is notable for sounding like a track that could have been released in the 90s by a hip indie rock band with an organ.

One of the finest tracks on the album was never released as a single and seldom appears on compilation albums.  Co-written between Morrison and Krieger, “Peace Frog” is instantly recognizable with it’s wah wah guitar.  The funk boogie swing sounds like the ultimate party song until you tune into the lyrics with Morrison singing of blood in the streets of Chicago and New Haven.  The track then segues into the crooning love song of “Blue Sunday”.  Often played together, this passage is a highlight of their catalogue. The critics and fans 50+ years ago were correct, Morrison Hotel is an excellent return to form for The Doors.

9/10

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Michael Kiwanuka – Small Changes (2024)

Posted on by Michael

In late 2024, Michael Kiwanuka released his fourth album and third produced by Danger Mouse and Inflo. The soulful release received widespread acclaim from critics.  Legendary producer Jimmy Jam appears on three tracks, adding organ on the jazz inflected “Rebel Soul” and “Lowdown (Part I)” where Kiwanuka sings that “I’ve been wrong half the time/gotta wonder how I survived”. Later on, “Follow Your Dreams” has the inspirational message to “Follow your dreams/fear no danger”.

At 11 songs, there are not any that particularly stand out as it all smoothly runs together.  The musicianship on the tracks are simple but extraordinary at the same time. Kiwanuka’s bass playing is really impressive, especially on first track “Floating Parade” that takes the soul to the sun dappled beach.  It’s a lovely album where Kiwanuka lyrically tackles personal topics with his warm voice and terrific production.

8/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Joni Mitchell – Song To A Seagull (1968)

Posted on by Michael

By the time Joni Mitchell’s debut album came out in March of 1968, her songs had already been recorded by the likes of Judy Collins, Dave Van Ronk, and Fairport Convention. Produced by David Crosby, Song To A Seagull is mostly Joni with just her acoustic guitar. The albums starts with a highlight in “I Had a King” that looks back at the breakdown of her marriage to Chuck Mitchell, “I can’t go back there anymore/You know my keys won’t fit the door”.

The album is broken up into two sides, the first being “I Came to the City” and the second side being, “Out of the City and Down to the Seaside”.  On the first side, “Michael From the Mountains” can barely contain Mitchell hitting the high notes and “Night In The City” has swooping vocals in the chorus with the added bass playing of Stephen Stills to help uplift the tune.

The second side is mostly made up of pleasant folk songs with the ambitious lyrics of “The Dawntreader” being a standout and later concludes with the heavier “Cactus Tree” that sees the guitar get strummed a little bit harder.  Noted as not being the best recorded album, Mitchell would later take over the producer chair as her songs and career start to take off.

7/10