Posted in Album Reviews

Bob Dylan – Blonde on Blonde (1966)

Posted on by Michael

By the time he was 25 years old, the former Robert Zimmerman had already released at least 2 classic albums and several more stellar ones.  A few weeks after his birthday in 1966, he released yet another classic with the double album Blonde on Blonde. The famous album cover shows a slightly out of focus Bob Dylan wearing a checkered brown scarf. The 14 tracks contain several of his most loved songs plus a slew of stellar album tracks to boot.

The album starts with the ruckus marching band sound of single “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” with its hollering and laughing where “everyone must get stoned”. “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again” has the really nice organ sound of Al Kooper and the chorus that gets punctuated by the smart drumming of Kenneth Buttrey. The upbeat “Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine” is powered by the military drumming of Buttrey and further organ theatrics on a track about an end of a relationship and wondering who comes out better for it. “Absolutely Sweet Marie” sees Dylan pen the oft quoted line – “to live outside the law, you must be honest” while “I Want You” takes things a bit slower with a direct chorus on a song that hit the top 20 in the US.

Dylan takes pop music to its zenith several times on Blonde on Blonde.  The seven minutes of “Visions of Johanna’ are stunning with the bass groove of Joe South and Dylan complaining that “it’s so hard to get on/And these visions of Johanna kept me up past dawn”.  The piano and organ work to a dazzling effect on “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)” where Dylan tells a lover, “I didn’t know that you were sayin’ goodbye for good”.

A couple comes together from different worlds on “Just Like a Woman” that delivers the devasting line, “she aches just like a woman/but she breaks like a little girl”.  “4th Time Around” brings Dylan to The Beatles by way of “Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)” that borrows liberally from that song’s tune. On the original album, the eleven-minute country harmonica of “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” about his first wife takes up all of side 4.  Another stunning track on an album full of them, it’s a heartbreaking song about the woman who would give Dylan four children. 

The towering achievements of Bob Dylan albums from the sixties cannot be understated with Blonde on Blonde arguably being the most impressive.  It expertly mixes folk, rock, pop, and poetry on an album head and shoulders above his peers. The album would go top ten in the US and hit #3 in the UK.  It’s a record that has been passed down from generation to generation and is one that even non-Dylan fans would find much to like.

10/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Van Halen – Van Halen II (1979)

Posted on by Michael

The appropriately titled Van Halen II was the band’s second album released just over a year after their classic debut.  Several of the songs had been kicking around from their demo days including the hard rocking “Somebody Get Me a Doctor”. David Lee Roth sounds a bit like Ozzy when he sings, “I watch my television/almost lost my mind” on “Light Up the Sky” and guitartist Eddie Van Halen continues to impress on the acoustic instrumental “Spanish Fly”.

Moody opener is a cover of “You’re No Good” that sounds like a dark alley suddenly coming alive with a guitar warm up then the drums/bass appear. Where the album really shines is on tracks that allow Diamond Dave a little bit more room to breathe.  “Dance the Night Away” immediately sounds brighter than other tracks and the pre-chorus of “ooh baby baby” sets up the infectious chorus, Michael Anthony’s bass line and background singing is a driving force behind the scenes.

With much riffing on “D.O.A”, yet it still allows Roth to take the song to the next level.  His vocal wordplay on “Beautiful Girls” with its “She was a seaside sittin’/just a smokin’ and a drinkin’ on ringside” is really impressive. Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony hold down a solid rhythm section throughout with the latter’s background vocals being a highlight on several tracks. It’s when the four are able to really let their personalities shine that Van Halen II really kicks up the heat.

7.5/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Tears For Fears – The Tipping Point (2022)

Posted on by Michael

Reading websites that focus on reissues, Tears For Fears’ The Seeds of Love was something of a holy grail of albums waiting for the deluxe treatment.  It finally came out in 2020 and with a Greatest Hits album from 2017, the duo were back in the public eye. While their 2004 reunification barely caused a ripple, The Tipping Point seems to have struck a chord with old and new fans alike.

Appearing on several TV shows and in videos, Smith looks healthy and tanned, Orzabal wise with a longer hair and a greying beard.  The sound has a mature feel with light electronics sprinkled throughout. The duo ease the listener into the album with the acoustic guitar of “No Small Thing”. First single and title track, adds those electronics to the mix with a cascading guitar on a song about Orzabal’s wife who had recently passed away.  “So who’s that ghost knockin’ at my door?/you know that I can’t love you more”.  His relationship with his wife is touched on again later on “Please Be Happy” where Orzabal sings the heartbreaking line, “I still believe this love can grow”.

For “Long, Long, Long Time”, Smith takes over the vocals with help from Carina Round on the chorus that provides a nice change of sound.  The feminist theme of “Break the Man” is obscured for the casual listener by a poptastic chorus. “Master Plan” takes on a more expansive sound on the late album highlight. With plenty of great tracks to choose from, Orzabal and Smith have made a classy album nearly 40 years on from their debut.

8/10