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Blue by Joni Mitchell (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Blue
  • Artist name: Joni Mitchell
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Reprise Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: my mother
  • Buy it on Amazon: $79.98

Blue by Joni Mitchell

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never listened to Joni Mitchell’s Blue, which is definitely not to be confused with Kind of Blue, but I understand that it was an important record in its day.

I have listened to Clouds (1969) in July, and Miles of Aisles (1974) in June, and rated both 3/5 stars.

What I expected

Folk, singer-songwriter.

What it was actually like

Joni Mitchell is a great singer with a wonderful voice, and every time I listen to one of her records, I think that I’m going to be super impressed and really enjoy it, but I also forget every time that she doesn’t actually write or sing any good songs, and mostly her music exists to show the world how pretty her voice is.

The worst songs on this record were the ones that were heaviest on piano.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me

Randy Burns and the Sky Dog Band (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Randy Burns and the Sky Dog Band
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Mercury
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: probably my father
  • Buy it on Amazon: $18.00

Randy Burns and the Sky Dog Band

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never heard of Randy Burns or the Sky Dog Band. As a matter of fact, I’m not even sure from the album whether “and the Sky Dog Band” is the second part of the group’s name or the name of the record.

What I expected

Rock.

What it was actually like

and the Sky Dog Band‘s songs could pretty easily be divided into two categories: one was country, country rock and rock; the other was folk, folk rock and 1970s singer-songwriter. Alternatively: one was good; and the other was not so good.

In the first category, I’d put August Woman, a rock song with maybe a bit of a country sound to it, mostly in the vocal style, that was very rhythmic and sounded awesome; Livin’ In The Country, which was much more of a country rock song, both in vocals and guitar; and Blue Line, a lively electric country rock song, more country really than rock, which I loved.

All the other songs were kind of whiny and boring folky or folk rock songs that were very 70s, with the exception of The Streets Of Montreal, which sounded like a children’s song.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me

Madman Across the Water by Elton John (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Madman Across the Water
  • Artist name: Elton John
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: MCA Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Buy it on Amazon: $24.98

Madman Across the Water by Elton John

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’m not an Elton John fan, but I’ve previously listened to:

What I expected

I guess more easy listening / soft rock / singer songwriter type vocals with piano.

What it was actually like

No part of Madman Across the Water was any good.

I guess that Tiny Dancer is probably Elton John’s most famous song, and while I don’t think it’s an enjoyable song by any standard, one thing I do appreciate is how weird it is, both musically and lyrically. For someone like Elton John, who makes bland and forgettable music to be played on commercial radio stations like “Mix 107.3,” which is where I must have heard Tiny Dancer while being driven around in my parents’ and friends’ parents’ cars as a child, weirder is better.

I recognized Levon as well, probably also from that period of my life when I was old enough to be sentient but not really yet old enough to have defined musical tastes of my own, and definitely nowhere near old enough to be allowed control over the music selections in the car.

I didn’t listen exceedingly closely to much of the rest of the record, though I did note that All The Nasties had a pretty annoying choral vocal backing group, and that Razor Face had more of a rock sound, though the keyboard was a distraction.

Grade

2/5: bad, but I was able to listen to the whole thing

Bonnie Raitt (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Bonnie Raitt
  • Artist name: Bonnie Raitt
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Collection: Selman
  • Buy it on Amazon: $100.00

Bonnie Raitt (LP)

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I don’t know a lot about Bonnie Raitt, but I did listen to Takin My Time a few months ago, and thought it was all right.

What I expected

Blues and country rock.

What it was actually like

This was Bonnie Raitt’s debut LP and consisted largely of covers.

I was definitely impressed from the first track, Stephen Stills’ Bluebird, that it would be bluesy and I would enjoy it, but didn’t realize quite how much until I got to a point in the Sippie Wallace song Mighty Tight Woman when I was just remarking to myself how great Raitt’s version was, how fresh and clear her voice sounded – and then the wah-wah effect kicked in.

I didn’t really care for Thank You, which I thought it was too slow, or Any Day Woman, which maybe wanted to be much more of a country song than it actually was. I also didn’t like her version of Buddy Johnson’s Since I Fell For You, which was both slow and very jazzy and out of place on this blues record.

Probably the high point of the record were the first two tracks on the second side, Big Road (Tommy Johnson) and Walking Blues (Robert Johnson), both solid Delta blues songs that Raitt interpreted beautifully.

Grade

4/5: would listen again

11-17-70 by Elton John (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: 11-17-70
  • Artist name: Elton John
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: MCA Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Distinguishing characteristics:
    • Sticker with “J-8-4” and “1971(2)”
    • Sticker with something crossed out
    • Sticker with “J” (presumably for filing under John, Elton)
  • Buy it on Amazon: $8.99

11-17-70 by Elton John

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’m not familiar with this live record or the songs on it, with the exception of the Rolling Stones’ Honky Tonk Women.

What I expected

Bad Elton John music.

What it was actually like

I really am not an Elton John fan, as I may have mentioned when I reviewed Caribou, but I actually have to give him a lot of credit for doing a good job on 11-17-70.

I didn’t really care for much of it and won’t listen again, but the parts of it that had a more rock sound, such as the fast bits of Burn Down the Mission (and working the Beatles’ Get Back into it, medley style), were quite decent.

Take Me to the Pilot was also good in that way, and the best song on the record was his version of Honky Tonk Women, which I thought could easily hold its own against how the Stones did it.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me