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Taught by Experts by Peter Allen (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Taught by Experts
  • Artist name: Peter Allen
  • Year: 1975
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: A & M Records
  • Collection: Selman
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Taught by Experts by Peter Allen

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never heard of Peter Allen and don’t know anything about him.

What I expected

This is tricky because there’s not a lot on the album cover to give me hints, but I’ll guess jazz.

What it was actually like

This was a pretty classic 1970s singer-songwriter record, representing everything I dislike about (some, not all) 70s music. Interestingly, I Go To Rio also managed to anticipate everything I dislike about 80s music as well.

Peter Allen strikes me as like a less talented Elton John.

Grade

1/5: horrible enough that I couldn’t make it through

Christopher Cross by Christopher Cross (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Christopher Cross
  • Artist name: Christopher Cross
  • Year: 1979
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Warner Brothers Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Buy it:

Christopher Cross by Christopher Cross

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I have heard of Christopher Cross before. He’s definitely not Kris Kross and I’m about 70% certain that he’s also not Kris Kristofferson. But I don’t think I know anything else about him.

What I expected

Judging by the album art, I’m guessing elevator music.

What it was actually like

Elevator music wasn’t that far off, but I think elevator music generally doesn’t have vocals. This music is more like what I would expect to hear while waiting to be seen by the dentist (everyone knows that dentists are sadists).

I did hear some vague hints of Jimmy Buffett in it. Also a lot of saxophone. I’m not anti-saxophone by any means, but this record might have ruined that entire instrument for me.

I Really Don’t Know Anymore and Never Be The Same had some guitar solos that came off as an extremely sanitized, safe version of what I might hear in a metal song.

Other words that I might use to describe this record are “yacht rock” and “adult contemporary.” I’ve never really pondered either of those categories before, but I think this is what they mean: more Muzak than music, and far worse than silence.

Grade

1/5: horrible enough that I couldn’t make it through

Greatest Hits by Seals & Crofts (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Greatest Hits
  • Group name: Seals & Crofts
  • Year: 1975
  • Number of discs: one discs / two sides
  • Collection: Selman

Greatest Hits by Seals & Crofts

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard of Seals & Crofts, either individually or as a group, before now.

What I expected

Folk rock.

What it was actually like

It was soft rock and, to my surprise, I actually did know it – well, I knew one song, Summer Breeze, which I was sure had been used in countless movies and maybe television commercials, and may or may not have been a mainstay on classic rock radio, back when I used to listen to the radio in the XX century.

So that song was fine, but given that this was billed as a “Greatest Hits” record, I don’t exactly see how Seals & Crofts are not just a one-hit wonder that put their only hit on a record with a bunch of other recordings that are totally serviceable but don’t stand out in any way.

Grade

3/5

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