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Songs of Love and Hate by Leonard Cohen (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Songs of Love and Hate
  • Artist name: Leonard Cohen
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: I thought this would have been my mother’s, but my father was into Leonard Cohen too, so it could have belonged to either of them
  • Buy it on Amazon: $43.99

Songs of Love and Hate by Leonard Cohen

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve only listened to one Leonard Cohen record before this, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967) in July, and I liked it!

What I expected

More mumbly, morose folk rock.

What it was actually like

This record was pretty boring, and I mostly didn’t like it.

The two songs I liked the best were the first tracks on each side, Avalanche on side one and Love Calls You by Your Name on side two. They both used a classical style guitar, and I especially liked how the former started the record with a dark tone and how the guitar built tension throughout the song.

Diamonds in the Mine was the weirdest son on the record, with a sort of reggae type beat, and terrible vocals that were half yelling, half growling.

Dress Rehearsal Rag was also an un-favorite since it sounded rather atonal, with vocals that were kind of proto-punk or proto-rap.

Joan of Arc made me think of The Smiths’ Bigmouth Strikes Again, but it didn’t sound like that at all.

Grade

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

Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin’ In by Loggins and Messina (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin’ In
  • Group name: Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written inside album sleeve, indicating that my father owned it
  • Buy it on Amazon: $27.99

Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin' In

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’m not familiar with this record, but I’ve previously reviewed two by Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina:

What I expected

Folk rock, country rock.

What it was actually like

Several songs on this record were also on On Stage, such as the famous Danny’s Song. The version on Sittin’ In was the version that I remembered, folk style with two guitars and vocals, and later with piano and violin.

Vahevala was nowhere near as dumb on this record as it was before; it helped that it was far shorter. The steel drums were way too much, though, and not even good.

Listen to a Country Song was one that I liked a lot from On Stage, and it was great here as well, especially its fiddle solo.

Of Trilogy‘s three parts, the first (Lovin’ Me) and third (Peace of Mind) were pretty boring filler material, with the latter including a pretty lame attempt at soul. I liked the second (To Make a Woman Feel Wanted) better, though. It was blues and country with honky tonk piano, but unfortunately they still couldn’t lose the damn saxophone.

Speaking of unnecessary saxophone, Back to Georgia started out as a country rock song with piano that was not good, but then started to get much better – until the saxophone made its appearance, and in this case it was actually worse, because the track had two different saxophones and my living room has surround sound, so they were coming at me from both directions!

And Nobody But You, a rock song with harmonized country-sounding vocals, some piano and a good tempo, was also diminished by the saxophone.

What was it with these guys and the saxophone? When reviewing their (later) record Loggins and Messina, I wrote:

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.

And I wish someone had given them that message 50 years ago.

Anyway, Rock ‘n’ Roll Mood was not very rock ‘n’ roll to me. House at Pooh Corner was an acoustic folk-style song about Winnie the Pooh. Same Old Wine was very slow, blues style but rather boring, though the harmonica was fine – and at eight minutes and 17 seconds, twice as long as it needed to be.

Grade

3/5: interesting, but not for me

1+1 by Grin, featuring Nils Lofgren (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: 1+1
  • Group name: Grin
  • Artist name: Nils Lofgren
  • Year: 1972
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: CBS Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: it’s unclear which of my parents owned this one
  • Buy it on Amazon: $7.99

1+1 by Grin, featuring Nils Lofgren

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve heard of Nils Lofgren, but don’t know anything about him. I am not familiar with “Grin,” which appears to have been his band.

What I expected

Maybe folk rock.

What it was actually like

Normal records have side 1 and side 2, or A side and B side, but 1+1 by Grin, featuring Nils Lofgren, had “Rockin’ Side” and “Dreamy Side.”

I opted for “Rockin’ Side” first, and it was definitely rock. There were even guitar parts that reminded me of Pete Townshend, like on Please Don’t Hide, and if I squinted, I could almost imagine it as a Who song – with the exception of the vocals. Nils Lofgren is no Roger Daltry.

White Lies was also a pretty good rock song, with sort of bluesy style vocals and a more choral style chorus.

Other parts of “Rockin’ Side” sounded almost proto-metal, like Slippery Fingers, that was very repetitively rhythmic, but with a great guitar solo. Unfortunately, the chorus was awful:

Slippery fingers
Slippery fingers
Slippery fingers
Slippery fingers
Slippery fingers
Slippin’ all over you

End Unkind seemed to start out metal, but then it got more country, which was pretty unexpected and interesting. I also liked its guitar solo, and its fast tempo, and complexity.

“Dreamy Side” was mostly not quite as dreamy as the name would have suggested.

I guess there was a little bit of dreaminess on Just a Poem because of its instrumentation, but I thought that the piano and violin really didn’t work together, and that it was the most boring song.

Soft Fun also had a slightly dreamy quality. It started with a baby singing, then progressed to harpsichord. Its piano sounded like an Elton John song, which is not a positive for me, and the violin and flute detracted a lot. It also ended with a sappy violin part that sounded like a 1950s Hollywood movie soundtrack.

Sometimes was more of a folk rock song, with drums. Lost a Number was not folky, and sounded more to me like rock from about ten years earlier, plus banjo and harmonica. Hi, Hello Home also a little banjo and some country sound, and was too fast to be dreamy.

Grade

4/5: would listen again

Innervisions by Stevie Wonder (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Innervisions
  • Artist name: Stevie Wonder
  • Year: 1973
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Tamla Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: both of my parents thought that the other had owned this
  • Buy it on Amazon: $36.55

Innervisions by Stevie Wonder

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I don’t know a whole lot about Stevie Wonder, except that he’s blind. Also, my parents said that this record was extremely popular and that everyone had it, and they referred to him as “Little Stevie Wonder” when I said that I would be listening to it.

What I expected

Soul.

What it was actually like

I thought that I would like this record a lot, but actually I hated it! There was a strong funk sound to much of it, but so much of funk is wonderfully melodic and harmonic, while so many of these songs, like the first two, Too High and Visions, were almost atonally unpleasant.

Living for the City was more of a rhythmic soul song, but with a thumping techno sound (without getting too Oompa Loompa). Golden Lady was also soul, but incredibly boring.

He’s Misstra Know-It-All was also pretty boring, with sort of a soft piano lounge sound, and without the vocals I might have mistaken it for elevator music.

All in Love Is Fair was a terrible piano jazz love song.

Don’t You Worry ’bout a Thing was kind of similar, except with a Caribbean sound. Without that island vibe, this song was more like what I expected the whole record to be.

It turned out that I recognized Higher Ground, a pretty famous funk-sounding song that I thought was good. I never realized that it was a Stevie Wonder song, but now that I know, it’s my favorite Stevie Wonder song by far.

Grade

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

Prairie In The Sky by Mary McCaslin (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Prairie In The Sky
  • Artist name: Mary McCaslin
  • Year: 1975
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Philo Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: my parents may have bought this together
  • Buy it on Amazon: $11.45

Prairie In The Sky by Mary McCaslin

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I listened to Old Friends by Mary McCaslin a couple of weeks ago, and thought it was great, but that’s the only time I’ve ever heard of her.

What I expected

Country and folk.

What it was actually like

The album self-described as “western,” and that was quite right: it was country, but less country and more western. As before, I thought McCaslin’s voice was good and the songs were also very consistently good, with maybe one exception.

Ballad Of Weaverville was more folk than country, with more of a falk style guitar, and It’s My Time was more folk rock.

Prairie In The Sky had sort of a plodding, thumping rhythm and was probably the song I liked the least – but wasn’t really bad.

Ghost Riders In The Sky was the only cover that I recognized. I’ve probably heard ten different versions of this song, and with some changes to the lyrics, they’re all basically the same song, and this was no exception. It was strong, but lacked some of the eerie sound of some other versions that make them corny but entertaining.

Grade

5/5: love it