Colossal Reviews

Only Unbiased Product Reviews

Colossal Reviews > 3/5 > Page 18

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

By Leave a Comment

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

Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts (Vinyl record album review)

By Leave a Comment

Record basics

  • Album name: Summer Breeze
  • Group name: Seals and Crofts
  • Year: 1972
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Warner Bros. Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written on top left of album, indicating that my father owned it
  • Buy it on Amazon: $11.89

Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

The only time that I’ve ever listened to a Seals and Crofts record was last May, when I reviewed their “greatest hits” compilation, on which I only recognized one song, which is also the title track for this record, Summer Breeze.

What I expected

Soft rock, easy listening.

What it was actually like

I was thinking that I didn’t like the title track Summer Breeze because I could only remember the mind numbing chorus part, but then when it came on, it was ok. I still think it would be better as a punk song, though.

In general, most of the songs on Summer Breeze weren’t bad at all, with the exception of Advance Guards, which sounded like a children’s song.

Seals and Crofts harmonize pretty consistently, but more by singing the exact same note than when Simon and Garfunkel do it at complementary notes. I guess there’s a reason why Simon and Garfunkel are so widely known, while I struggle to name a single Seals and Crofts song besides the one I knew from their “greatest hits” compilation that is also the title track of this record.

Say was a bit more of a harder rock song, and I liked it more than most of the others, and Fiddle in the Sky was a bit more country, and maybe the best on the record.

Mostly, though, these were pretty boring soft rock songs.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me

Bette Midler (Vinyl record album review)

By Leave a Comment

Record basics

  • Album name: Bette Midler
  • Artist name: Bette Midler
  • Year: 1973
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Atlantic Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: my mother
  • Buy it on Amazon: $4.77

Bette Midler (Vinyl record album review)

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I don’t really know much about Bette Midler, except that my father thinks she’s not good, while my mother professes to be a big fan.

What I expected

Maybe show tunes? I’m not really sure, but I Shall Be Released is on this record (I’ve previously reviewed cover versions of that song by Joan Baez and Pearls Before Swine).

What it was actually like

Midler’s version of I Shall Be Released started out pretty lame, but I definitely think it got better as it progressed.

Higher & Higher (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me), her version of the R&B song (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher, had more of a gospel or soul sound, which was an interesting choice.

In the Mood was another cover, that I recognized as a swing song that gets used in movies set in the 1940s, and Midler’s version of it was totally acceptable, but it’s not a song to which I’d ever listen normally.

Breaking Up Somebody’s Home was a pretty good funk song.

I also loved her version of “Da Doo Run Run,” but that may be largely because the original (spelled Da Doo Ron Ron) is absolutely a high point of American musical culture. It certainly crushed the Rolling Stones’ shamefully bad version.

Optimistic Voices and Lullaby of Broadway, two songs from The Wizard of Oz, were a low point on the record.

Overall, this sort of reminded me of the famously and unbearably funny “We’re Sausalito” scene in Lost In Translation, though on further thought, I now have to wonder if that scene actually was a joke about Bette Midler.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me

Between the Buttons by the Rolling Stones (Vinyl record album review)

By Leave a Comment

Record basics

  • Album name: Between the Buttons
  • Group name: the Rolling Stones
  • Year: 1967
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Decca Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: I think my father
  • Buy it on Amazon: $29.99

Between the Buttons by the Rolling Stones

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’m pretty sure that I’ve never heard of Between the Buttons, which is weird, because it seems to have a couple of the best and most recognizable Rolling Stones songs of their entire career.

Here are other Rolling Stones records that I’ve reviewed recently:

What I expected

1960s blues-influenced pop rock.

What it was actually like

One of my big questions when I put this record on was whether it was going to be a case of two world class singles (that both weren’t even on the UK album release) and a bunch of filler crap, or whether Let’s Spend the Night Together and Ruby Tuesday would be representative of the whole record.

Unfortunately, they weren’t, and my hunch was right.

To address those two first, I think Let’s Spend the Night Together is a very good song, but Ruby Tuesday has to be one of my all time favorites. Here is the famous performance on the Ed Sullivan show, when he made them change the lyric to “let’s spend some time together” and they lolled so hard – Ed Sullivan was such a square!

Also, how did Mick Jagger get to be such a bad dancer? Drugs alone couldn’t do that, right?

And let’s not forget that Melanie covered Ruby Tuesday on Candles in the Rain, but it wasn’t spectacular.

Anyway, those were the only strong tracks on Between the Buttons and now I can understand why I hadn’t heard of it.

Connection was a bit anachronistic, sounding much more like early 1960s music, and it was ok. She Smiled Sweetly reminded me of listening to a Velvet Underground demo tape from 1964.

Cool, Calm & Collected definitely stood out as a ragtime song with a kazoo on a Stones record – that decision was a fascinating mix of corny and courageous.

My Obsession sounded like just the outline of a song, as if they were jamming and came up with it, but never actually worked on it. Complicated, on the other hand, was more fully formed and coherent, but still more on the boring side.

Miss Amanda Jones was a blues rock song that had more of an electric sound that most of the others, and I thought it was decent.

Something Happened to Me Yesterday had a strong Oompa Loompa influence, but also it sounded kind of like a joke, and at times like Bob Dylan might have been the joke’s punchline.

The others – Yesterday’s Papers, All Sold Out, Who’s Been Sleeping Here? – were just forgettable.

With the exception of the two hit songs, my impression of Between the Buttons was that it may have been thrown together over a long weekend to have an LP to release in support of their singles.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me

Sailor by The Steve Miller Band (Vinyl record album review)

By Leave a Comment

Record basics

  • Album name: Sailor
  • Group name: The Steve Miller Band
  • Year: 1968
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Capitol Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: probably my father
  • Buy it on Amazon: $31.51

Sailor by The Steve Miller Band

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never listened to this record, and the only other Steve Miller Band record I’ve heard is Greatest Hits 1974-78.

What I expected

Electric blues?

What it was actually like

Sailor got off to a really slow start, and the beginning sounded like a Moody Blues record, or possibly like outtakes from the White Album, so I wasn’t very enthusiastic at first. Quicksilver Girl was also weird.

Things picked up considerably with My Friend, however, which was much more of a rock song, and Living in the U.S.A. was an outstanding R&B (maybe even “maximum R&B”?) song, as was Dime-a-Dance Romance.

Gangster of Love seemed like it was going to be good, despite the mumbly vocals, but then it faded out right when it was getting started!

Overdrive was an amazing Bob Dylan parody.

Lucky Man had some weird sound effects, but was pretty bluesy, and You’re So Fine was truest to the electric blues style.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me