antoniodeste

Great end-of-decade album for Uncle Frank. I would skip comparisons and "this is better than that." Opinionated but decent review. Rat Tomago (as already mentioned) is spine-chilling. A sheikh in an ironically ever more dazzling form. Belew imitating Dylan is anthological with the scruffy little harmonica. Anthological for the new generations.

...at this point I’d add.... We will, we will rock you, that little "macho" tune from the queens of Brian May..... just to mess around a bit, hopefully without offending anyone....

bah !

@Jazzboy: I believe I don't understand this "outburst" that seems out of place. It's your prerogative to prefer one thing over another, but it seems excessive to heavily disqualify something just because you don't like it. What’s the point? Do you really think this will convince anyone to listen to jazz? And come on, the image of the disheveled, cursed, no-future rocker doesn't apply to the entire rock category. As for the ability to play, well, as a musician (who has played both jazz and rock), I could say that comparing them would be like saying someone who speaks Japanese speaks better than someone who speaks German. Does that make sense to you?

Yes, I agree; it's a nice album, fresh, original, modern enough to refresh the image of progressive rock as the genre was fading in the early '80s. I don't find it "too electronic" but simply a forerunner of a trend that, as evidenced by current sounds, would spread like wildfire. A decent review, fluid and simple. Well done, JZ.

@Dante: I hope you're doing well. You've caught me off guard (feel free to give a 5 in the class register). I would say I know very little about Nico and even less about Desertshore. However, if you want, I can send you a photo of Nico (Di Palo) while he's singing "quella carezza della sera" in the cellar with Vittorio De Scalzi and his sister who had nothing better to do..... :)

I believe I picked up the album the very same day I saw it on the store shelf, right after its release. I had been waiting for it, and there's no need to explain why. I waited for the "right moment" to be "receptive" just enough, and so I enjoyed it. This happened several times afterward, listen after listen. I can’t say that "The Cat" disappointed me, but I had the same déjà vu feeling as with "Everything Must Go." We know how formally "Perfect" Fagen is, how his arrangements are tantalizingly exemplary, and how he can paint sounds in an enviably harmonious way. What might raise some questions, if anything, is a certain monotony in the choice of rhythmic scans; or in some embarrassingly repeated refrains that are drawn out too long. Up to this point, the doubts. Then comes the splendor; splendor for the clarity and smoothness of the ideas and their formal execution. The pleasure of originality or the unpredictability of the solutions. These wonderfully crystalline sounds, beautifully recorded. The snare drum is dry and pulsating in its (boring?) regularity of 4/4. The bass lines that captivate and enchant. The old master has made another great album. It may not be Nightfly, but it will do......... . Review, as usual, very well written. Socrates is a certainty.

But just think! I saw "Scrooged," which is actually Dickensian in origin, as Hal pointed out, both at the time and later, and I had never noticed it. It must be a very fleeting appearance... Anyway, I wouldn't exactly consider the film to be B-movie material. I still have quite a pleasant memory of it.

So, first of all: @Enea: I know you are a good and just person and also wise, but (feel free to call me silly) here the reasons for a full score just aren’t there, and I’ve already explained why. Moreover, the "meager" 3 for me doesn’t carry "meager" weight but would be equivalent to almost a seven in the first year of high school. As for additional things to complete the picture, I personally feel like adding (though I think I’ve already done so elsewhere) "Soon Over Babaluma" by Can, which I wholeheartedly and convincingly support, especially thanks to the extraordinary B-side. And then there’s the old, now somewhat senile Edgar Froese with the two incredible albums "Aqua" and "Epsilon In Malaysian Pale". No one has mentioned one of the most imaginative and visionary albums by Schulze (besides those rightfully mentioned, although I think "Timewind" is debatable), which is "Picture Music". As for Amon Duul II, to reiterate the praises of the already celebrated "Yeti" and "Phallus Dei," I would insist on "Wolf City." Since I’m at it, I would conclude by emphasizing the importance of Florian Fricke at least with the first two Popol Vuh albums, then "Aguirre," and that wonder of spirituality in "Hosianna Mantra." Since in the meantime I’ve been seized by a wave of goodwill, and given the flow of contributions this page has (rightly) generated, I’m voting for Enea and giving him a nice score that (in the end, indeed) he deserves. Well done, Enella.

Punchline: I suppose for those to whom the group means nothing, they should be called "The Scars Volta"..... :)) Hey! I'm a fan of theirs, clear?! It just came to me like that.....