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On The Threshold of a Dream by The Moody Blues (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: On The Threshold of a Dream
  • Group name: The Moody Blues
  • Year: 1969
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Deram records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written inside album sleeve, indicating that my father owned this record
  • Buy it:

On the Threshold of a Dream by The Moody Blues

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I listened to a Moody Blues compilation a few weeks ago, and thought it was all right, but not really impressive or memorable.

What I expected

Progressive rock with Space Oddity vibes.

What it was actually like

This record had some of the same stuff that I disliked from the previous one. In particular, In the Beginning and The Dream were really annoying and I don’t get the point of them at all.

On the other hand, I thought the quality of the actual songs was quite strong. Lovely to See You and Never Comes the Day were both great, and Lazy Day was also pretty good.

Grade

4/5: would listen again

Who’s Next by The Who (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Who’s Next
  • Group name: The Who
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Decca Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written on top left of album, indicating that my father owned it
  • Buy it:

Who's next by The Who

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve been a fan of the Who since college, and this is one of the few records from my parents’ collection to which I listened more than once in the basement of their house around that time.

What I expected

A couple of iconic songs, a couple of pretty good songs, and some filler.

What it was actually like

The opening of “Who’s Next” is a classic moment of classic rock, permanently seared into the memory of generations of young men – and probably some women, too, though I haven’t known many female fans of the Who. It was in that moment that the group who invented the highly idiosyncratic “Maximum R&B” in the early 1960s, and then helped to invent hard rock and the antecedents to heavy metal in the late 1960s, proceeded to give the world the precursor of techno music in the early 1970s. And if only the rest of techno music had sounded anything like Baba O’Riley, popular music in 2022 might be a lot better than it actually is. Alas.

I’ve always wondered whether I like Won’t Get Fooled Again or Baba O’Riley better, and I like them both a great deal; the other hit on this record is Behind Blue Eyes, and I used to be a big fan of it too, but I’ve never been able to hear it the same way after seeing Pete Townshend claim in an interview in the early 2000s that its lyrics were a reference to fascism.

Bargain, Going Mobile and Getting in Tune are all also quite good songs, and on a weaker record, they might have been a lot more prominent.

The filler: Love Ain’t For Keeping, My Wife, Song is Over.

Grade

5/5: love it

Eat A Peach by The Allman Brothers (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Eat A Peach
  • Group name: The Allman Brothers
  • Year: 1972
  • Number of discs: two
  • Label: Warner Bros. Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written on top left of album, indicating that my father owned this record
  • Buy it:

Eat A Peach by The Allman Brothers

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve been listening to the Allman Brothers for decades, but don’t know that I’ve ever listened to this double record.

What I expected

I reviewed a different Allman Brothers collection a few weeks ago, so what I expected was similar to that.

What it was actually like

Similar! Of course, as this is not a compilation, I couldn’t expect it to include every hit and classic song that they recorded, so some favorites like Ramblin’ Man and Jessica weren’t there – but Melissa and Blue Sky were.

I was a little concerned that the comically long Mountain Jam, split over sides 2 and 4, was going to put me to sleep, as I generally don’t love jam bands and tend to prefer that rock music be delivered as actual songs, but I ended up thinking that Mountain Jam was excellent, and wished that it had been the front and back sides of a single record, to make it easier to listen to the whole thing.

Grade

5/5: love it

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

Peter, Paul and Mary In Concert (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Peter, Paul and Mary In Concert
  • Group name: Peter, Paul and Mary
  • Year: 1964
  • Number of discs: two
  • Label: Warner Bros. Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “Brenner” written on record, indicating that my mother owned it
  • Buy it:

Peter, Paul and Mary In Concert (Vinyl record album review)

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

Peter, Paul and Mary were and remain a favorite of my mother’s (and she asked me to find a copy of Le Déserteur when I mentioned that I was listening to this record), so I know their work, but haven’t ever listened to this live record specifically.

What I expected

1960s folk.

What it was actually like

1960s folk, with some ups and downs.

The last time I listened to a Peter, Paul and Mary record I was delighted to hear 500 Miles, and I had the exact same reaction this time. I also loved Oh, Rock My Soul, One Kind Favor and (maybe my favorite) the final song on the fourth side, If I Had a Hammer.

On the other hand, they do a lot of children’s songs, and I’m not a child so I’m much less into those. This two-record album would have been far better if they had thought to group all of those – Car-Car, Puff, the Magic Dragon and It’s Raining – on one of the four sides. Additionally, listening to Paultalk was a complete waste of my time, so I wish that track had been grouped with the children’s music.

Grade

4/5: would listen again