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Light Shine by Jesse Colin Young (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Light Shine
  • Artist name: Jesse Colin Young
  • Year: 1974
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Warner Bros. Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Buy it on Amazon: $2.99

Light Shine by Jesse Colin Young

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I have never heard of this.

What I expected

Folk rock.

What it was actually like

This was not a good record. Most of it was soft rock, and there was a lot of flute and saxophone.

Certain parts of the title track Light Shine sounded like they could be a Kenny G. cover.

Barbardos was goofily done in a sort of calypso style.

Motorcycle Blues definitely needed to lose the saxophone, but if it had, then it could have been a decent blues song.

The Cuckoo was kind of an attempt at soul, but by the mid 1970s, the soul sound was already pretty bad and not worth emulating.

Grade

2/5

Gorilla by James Taylor (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Gorilla
  • Artist name: James Taylor
  • Year: 1975
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Warner Bros.
  • Collection: Selman
  • Distinguishing characteristics:
    • Sticker on front: PROMOTIONAL COPY / NOT FOR SALE
    • Written on sticker: Selman
    • Printed on both sides of LP: PROMOTION NOT FOR SALE
    • Written on side 1 of LP: Selman
  • Buy it on Amazon: $26.01

Gorilla by James Taylor

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I listened to Sweet Baby James by James Taylor last month and was not that impressed, but I’ve never heard of this record before, and the only song I know by name is Marvin Gaye’s How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You).

What I expected

More 1970s singer-songwriter easy listening.

What it was actually like

This was an extremely bland record, with hardly any personality. It mostly wasn’t bad, but there was one offensively bad song: You Make It Easy, which was made far worse by its saxophone.

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) was pretty faithful to Marvin Gaye’s version, but why not just listen to that one, which has a remarkably fun sound for a love song?

Angry Blues was part funk and part country, which might have been interesting if it had been explored some more.

I started to write that Mexico sounded like a Jimmy Buffett song, but then checked, and it actually was covered by Jimmy Buffett!

Grade

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

Wings at the Speed of Sound by Wings (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Wings at the Speed of Sound
  • Group name: Wings
  • Year: 1976
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Capitol Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Distinguishing characteristics: hole punched through top right corner
  • Buy it on Amazon: $29.99

Wings at the Speed of Sound

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I listened to a Wings record, Band on the Run, back in May, and was not impressed. I’ve never heard Wings at the Speed of Sound before.

What I expected

More forgettable Faul McCartney post-Beatles songs.

What it was actually like

Like the other Wings record, this one was pretty bad.

Let ‘Em In had a disco sound, which I found extremely jarring, and also the chorus sounded a little like a fife and drums marching band. Silly Love Songs was also disco. I get that it was 1976, but come on.

Wino Junko was all right, and I liked its electric guitar.

Cook of the House was a very poorly executed rockabilly song that could have been great, if they had been serious about doing it in a rockabilly style.

Grade

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

Snowflakes Are Dancing by Tomita (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Snowflakes Are Dancing
  • Artist name: Tomita
  • Year: 1974
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: RCA Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Buy it on Amazon: $8.99

Snowflakes Are Dancing by Tomita

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I have no familiarity with this.

What I expected

The album cover describes this as:

THE NEWEST SOUND OF DEBUSSY

and:

Virtuoso electronic performances of Debussy’s beautiful tone paintings by TOMITA

So if I understand correctly, a Japanese fellow named Tomita recorded some of Debussy’s works as techno music with a synthesizer.

What it was actually like

I thought there was a chance that this might be good, but it was sort of space agey sound effects crap, weird for the sake of being weird.

Arabesque No. 1 was the worst track, with sound effects that sounded like the adults speaking in a Charlie Brown cartoon.

Golliwog’s Cakewalk was also particularly cartoonish.

Why not just listen to Debussy?

Grade

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

Greatest Hits by Blood, Sweat & Tears (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Greatest Hits
  • Group name: Blood, Sweat & Tears
  • Year: 1972
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Buy it on Amazon: $23.42

Greatest Hits by Blood, Sweat & Tears

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I listened to Blood, Sweat & Tears (their 1968 debut record) a while ago and hated it.

What I expected

The other Blood, Sweat & Tears record was “brash,” so I assume this one will be similar, but I hope I’ll like it better.

What it was actually like

I strongly disliked this, but it was not as bad as their earlier record. The most “brash” songs were Go Down Gamblin’, Lisa, Listen To Me, Lucretia Mac Evil, Spinning Wheel (which I still recognized) and God Bless the Child – the latter with a Latin dance sound.

I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know had great guitar, but was still boring, and the saxophone killed it for me.

Hi-De-Ho was offensively bad and Sometimes In Winter was also terrible – with flute!

You’ve Made Me So Very Happy was a Temptations cover, and I’m not a fan of the original, but it was better than this version. Neither was terrible, though.

I Can’t Quit Her also wasn’t bad, and sounded a bit like a late era Beatles knockoff.

And When I Die was one of several from this compilation that was on their first record, but I hadn’t realized until now that it was a Laura Nyro song from The First Songs. Her version was way superior, and this was too Oompa-Loompa for my taste, but I did think the harmonica was good.

Grade

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