SALMACIS

The Vote

The unparalleled masterpiece of Funeral Doom. Even Skepticism are diminished by such dark power. The dreamlike Lovecraftian "The Unknow Kadath In The Cold Waste" and, above all, the monumental and epic "Who Rides The Astral Wings" are the diamonds in the rough of a dark jewel of rare intensity. Listening to the entire album, for those who can endure such a challenge, can be akin to a true metaphysical revelation. Hallucinatory and ecstatic.

The first three albums of Gentle Giant are milestones of progressive rock. The subsequent four (ranging from Octopus to Free Hand) leave me more perplexed. But those first three.
1) Gentle Giant is an album of unmatched freshness, full of innovative energy, and it contains what I still consider the most beautiful song by G.G., namely "Nothing at All."
2) "Acquiring the Taste" is the most mature of the three and personally, I consider it the best (see my review on this).
3) "Three Friends," on the other hand, is a very compact and cohesive concept. The masterpieces are "Schooldays" and the final medley, culminating in one of the most epic and majestic mellotron finales I've ever heard. The performance of the new drummer, Malcom Mortimer, is very good—metronomic yet imaginative—who unfortunately would soon die in a car accident.
The review is good but could have been more detailed. Acknowledgment of the excellent work done by the ever-praised wizard of the keys, Minnear, is appropriate.

The best album by the Count, both in terms of lyrics and music. The atmosphere is first dramatic, then magical. All the tracks are extremely well done and PLACED IN A PERFECT SEQUENCE. It should be listened to at night, as one drifts off to sleep, so that the enchanted grace of Tomhet can rock us into diaphanous visions of a world that once was...

I forgot the vote, in this case extremely important.

I’m going against the tide: the review is good and hits the mark when it highlights the extraordinary cohesive strength of the Sound in Animals. With Animals, Pink Floyd reach the classic status of their art, in a balance that enhances the individual contributions, especially Gilmour, without undermining the coherence of the whole. It's also the album that is least cloying and loses less in repeated listening. The lyrics are objectively the best of the post-Barrett era. It’s my favorite album by the Floyd, not only because it's the first rock LP I listened to back in 1977 (when I was 13!). The true gem is Pigs, which feels more modern and futuristic in sound compared to the other, albeit magnificent, retro pieces.

Am I mistaken or is it the organ in "I Got the Blues," a masterpiece, played by the late Billy Preston?!?

The best of the Cranberries, from the lazy melancholy of I Still Do to the dreamy freshness of Sunday, which is also my favorite. The tracks have a wonderful freshness, a gentle lightness that evokes, as Cordell aptly said, green hills of Ireland and pints overflowing with Guinness, "the hidden old pubs in the city, dreams of four young leprechauns."

The most toxic album by the Stones, narcotic and venefic. Wild Horses is a masterwork of poignant decay, just like Sister Morphine, whose lyrics by Marianne Faithfull evoke nights of fierce rotation. Even the inner cover with Jagger yawning in the midst of a downer under the sly eyes of Richards and company touching their noses sends a coded message. More drugs (heroine) than sex.

The real gem is "Everything I Said," a disturbing theme of the incommunicability between lovers, the impossibility of forcing a love that's over; it's worth noting Dolores's vocals, which are truly demanding, even though in the Live performances I've heard, we aren't at this level and there are some missed notes... the harmonic progression in minor is truly spine-chilling...