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Summertime Dream by Gordon Lightfoot (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

Summertime Dream by Gordon Lightfoot

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve heard of Gordon Lightfoot and know his signature song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

What I expected

Folk rock.

What it was actually like

It was folky with more of a country sound than rock.

I’ve never really understood The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It’s always seemed hyper-serious – and dozens of people dying in a shipwreck is a serious subject – but isn’t it way too self-important not to be a joke? Or is it offensive even to suggest that it’s a joke? Anyway, it’s really not such a bad song at all, but some quality about it makes me unable to shake the idea that it’s a Weird Al Yankovic style parody of over-the-top 1970s singer-songwriter self-importance.

All the songs on this record besides The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald were boring and forgettable.

Grade

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

One of These Nights by The Eagles (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: One of These Nights
  • Group name: The Eagles
  • Year: 1975
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Asylum Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Buy it:

One of These Nights by the Eagles

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’m familiar with the Eagles, but not with this record or any of the songs on it.

What I expected

1970s stadium rock.

What it was actually like

I actually did know the title track One of These Nights, a pretty bad disco-inspired rock song. Other songs on the first side were a little better, with parts channeling Crosby, Stills and Nash.

Lyin’ Eyes was also a familiar-sounding country song, the best song on the record by far. The worst by far was I Wish You Peace: slow, boring and whiny.

Grade

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

Chicago IX by Chicago (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Chicago IX
  • Group name: Chicago
  • Year: 1975
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: CBS
  • Collection: Selman
  • Distinguishing characteristics:
    • Clipped corner (top right)
    • Sticker on front: “Demonstration / Not For Sale” (with track list and “Suggested Cuts,” including “Intro Time” and “Length Of Cut” for each track)
    • Stamp on back: “DEMONSTRATION / NOT FOR SALE”
  • Buy it:

Chicago IX by Chicago

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve heard of Chicago, but don’t know anything about them and don’t think I know any of their music.

Also, this album is just labeled “Chicago,” so I thought it might have been a self-titled debut record, but it was not, and in fact, this group had something like 15+ records that are all called “Chicago,” making it extremely difficult to figure out which one this was. What an obnoxious thing to do.

What I expected

Maybe soft rock?

What it was actually like

I did recognize one song on this record, Saturday In The Park. I didn’t hate it, but I also wouldn’t make any effort to listen to it again, either.

25 Or 6 To 4 had a pretty good blues rock / hard rock vibe with a strong guitar riff, though I wasn’t sure how the brass section fit into it. Make Me Smile was also ok.

Everything else on the record was pure filler, which was pretty distressing as this was meant to be a sort of greatest hits collection.

Grade

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

Loggins and Messina by Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Loggins and Messina
  • Group name: Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina
  • Year: 1972
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: CBS
  • Collection: Selman
  • Distinguishing characteristics:
    • “PC 31748” sticker on front
    • “DEMONSTRATION / Not For Sale” stamped on back
  • Buy it:

Loggins and Messina by Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve heard of both Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina, but I don’t know much about either or both of them.

What I expected

I think Kenny Loggins is a country musician, but in all fairness, I might have conflated him with Kenny Rogers.

What it was actually like

Lady Of My Heart must have been one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard, and I couldn’t make any sense of how or why it got included on this record. It was sort of an approximation of jazzy lounge music, but just really bad, with even bad vocals. I think it must have been a joke or a dare.

Till the Ends Meet was also pretty boring. Holiday Hotel was lively and I enjoyed it, and Just Before the News was bluegrass-inspired and pretty good. Your Mama Don’t Dance was a decent bluesy rock song.

Angry Eyes had a saxophone, and I want to stress that rock musicians really need to avoid using saxophone in their music. If you’re Charlie Parker, I want to hear your saxophone part, but in rock I just don’t think there’s a lot of use for it. The same song also had a flute part and I’m maybe slightly more forgiving of flute being used in rock music, if only because it’s so uncommon, but there’s a simple standard that I would apply: are you Jethro Tull? Are you better than Jethro Tull, or engaged in a serious attempt to do something that Jethro Tull hasn’t done or can’t do? If you answer no to all of those questions, then you probably should leave the flute out of your rock song. Anyway, the vocals at the end of this song sounded like they were trying to channel Crosby, Stills and Nash (and maybe Young), and they weren’t half bad at it, so that was nice.

Grade

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

The History Of An Artist by Oscar Peterson (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: The History Of An Artist
  • Artist name: Oscar Peterson
  • Year: 1974
  • Number of discs: two
  • Label: Pablo Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Buy it:

The History Of An Artist by Oscar Peterson

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never heard of Oscar Peterson at all.

What I expected

A lot of the song titles have references to the blues, so I’ll guess this is a blues album.

What it was actually like

This was not a blues album. It was a jazz album, and it was the kind of jazz that is not so arhythmic as to be intolerable, but was definitely not melodic, danceable and enjoyable. I would not recommend it.

Grade

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