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The Story of The Who (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: The Story of The Who
  • Group name: The Who
  • Year: 1976
  • Number of discs: two
  • Label: Polydor Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Who owned it: I think I bought this one!
  • Buy it on Amazon: $8.99

The Story of The Who

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

My recollection is that I probably bought this record around 2000, probably at a used record store on East Gude Drive in Rockville, Maryland.

That, however, was exactly what I thought about Hooligans, when I reviewed it last summer.

Did I actually buy two double-album compilations by the Who at the same record store – which I do not believe that I visited more than once – which would hardly make any sense? Or could I have picked up one of these records at a different time and place? I have no idea, but I do think it’s unlikely that either of my parents would have bought either of these compilations.

At any rate, I know most of the songs on it, but I have no clear memory of ever listening to it, and may only have played it once or twice after buying it (and leaving it in my parents’ basement with their record collection, since I never owned a turntable until my parents gave me theirs).

What I expected

This is four sides of the Who, and I expect to love it because the songs are weighted much more heavily towards their better music: sides one and two are pre-Tommy, side three is material from Tommy and side four looks like Who’s Next and Live at Leeds.

What it was actually like

This was a phenomenally great compilation, because the Who were a phenomenally great band, and it would be difficult to make a bad compilation of their work, except by focusing on whatever they were doing in the mid 1970s and later. It was far better than Hooligans.

Live at Leeds, however, remains the greatest Who record, and the greatest live rock record, and one of the greatest records ever made, and anyone who wants to listen to the Who at their best should go straight to it – with the understanding that it unfortunately came before Who’s Next, so necessarily leaves out songs like Baba O’Riley (that would not have sounded good on a live record, anyway). It still includes lots of songs from Tommy, though.

As for this one, though, here is the order of excellence of the four sides: two, one, four, three.

And here is how I ranked each song by excellence, within each side:

Side one

  1. My Generation
  2. Heat Wave
  3. Substitute
  4. Magic Bus (this version did not sound familiar to me, but it was good)
  5. Boris The Spider
  6. I’m A Boy
  7. Run, Run, Run

Side two

  1. Pictures of Lily
  2. Squeeze Box (I have always loved the banjo in this song)
  3. I Can See For Miles
  4. Happy Jack
  5. Bargain
  6. The Seeker

Side three

  1. We’re Not Gonna Take It
  2. I’m Free
  3. Amazing Journey
  4. Pinball Wizard
  5. Do You Think It’s Alright?
  6. The Acid Queen
  7. Fiddle About
  8. Tommy’s Holiday Camp

Side four

  1. Summertime Blues (this was the version from Live at Leeds)
  2. Baba O’Riley
  3. Won’t Get Fooled Again
  4. Behind Blue Eyes
  5. Slip Kid

Grade

5/5: love it

Second Thoughts by McKendree Spring (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Second Thoughts
  • Group name: McKendree Spring
  • Year: 1970
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Decca Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written inside album cover, indicating that my father owned it
  • Buy it on Amazon: $2.16

Second Thoughts by McKendree Spring

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I do not think that I’ve ever heard of McKendree Spring or this record.

What I expected

Folk rock?

What it was actually like

This record had such a fascinating and unusual sound – folk rock, but also country, and a totally cool use of synthesizers, especially for its era.

McKendree Spring’s cover of Fire and Rain was at least as good as James Taylor’s original and I knew right away that this would sound different when I heard it seamlessly blending a country fiddle with rock style guitar, and some kind of synthesizer, without sounding “techno” at all.

Several of the songs sounded less like 1970 and more like ~2010, such as Friends Die Easy, a country rock song that started off with the synthesizer and had a sort of menacing sound with strong guitar, and Because It’s Time, a rock song that was quite lively, with great rhythm guitar.

Another modern sounding song was For What Was Gained, which started weak and had a folk rock sound, but quickly gained steam, and had some pretty good harmonica, before getting slow again at the end with the fiddle.

‘Lani also changed its sound, starting as a kind of Oompa Loompa country song, which is not something that I hear very often, with multiple fiddles, and then turned into a folk song with synthesizer backing. It definitely sounded weird, but was not bad at all[1].

Got No Place To Fall was a country rock song with a pretty strong country sound, that also had a shift in the fiddle and vocal styles, with a great guitar solo that led to a great fiddle solo.

Oh Now My Friend was folk rock, but with a whining electric guitar, and Susie, Susie was folk style, with country fiddle.

Cairo Hotel sounded most unlike the other songs and was the only one that I did not really like. The percussion was doing a lot, but the vocal style was very simple and boring.

Grade

4/5: would listen again

References

References
↑1 Also, “Lani” is not pronounced like “rainy.” It is supposed to rhyme with “Bonnie.”

The Long Run by the Eagles (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: The Long Run
  • Group name: the Eagles
  • Year: 1979
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Asylum Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Distinguishing characteristics:
    • Scratched into side one of LP: “FROM THE POLACK WHO SAILED NORTH” O-ISMI-3 5E 508 B 1SP
    • Scratched into side two of LP: “NEVER LET YOUR MONSTER LAY DOWN” 5E 508 A 15 SP 0-1 SM 1-2
  • Buy it on Amazon: $21.98

The Long Run by the Eagles

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’m not familiar with this record, but it’s the fifth Eagles record that I’ll have reviewed. The previous four were:

What I expected

I guess the Eagles started more as a country rock group and became more of a hard rock group during the 1970s, so maybe this will be a hard rock record.

What it was actually like

This record was pretty bad, with lots of filler crap.

I recognized one song on it, Heartache Tonight, which kind of reminded me of a Queen-style stadium rock song.

Teenage Jail was metal.

The title track The Long Run title track was a blues rock song that was not awful, but could have benefited a lot by being faster. In fact, several of these songs were too slow, such as King of Hollywood and the mopey-sounding I Can’t Tell You Why.

In the City was used in The Warriors[1], which was a great movie, but the song was too slow, especially for hard rock, which begs to be played fast. Those Shoes was more slow hard rock, with some techno shit thrown in.

The Disco Strangler, on the other hand, was also hard rock and had a fine tempo, but the song was anti-melodic trash.

The Sad Café was an easy listening song with a terrible saxophone solo.

There was actually one very good song on the record, The Greeks Don’t Want No Freaks. It was in an R&B style and I thought it had a great tempo and rhythm, and was the only song that sounded fun at all.

Grade

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

References

References
↑1 Read the Anabasis and thank me later.

52nd Street by Billy Joel (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: 52nd Street
  • Artist name: Billy Joel
  • Year: 1978
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Distinguishing characteristics:
    • Scratched into side one of LP: AL 35609 – 1D
    • Scratched into side two of LP: BL 35609 – 1A
  • Buy it on Amazon: $59.99

52nd Street by Billy Joel

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve never heard this record before, though I would not be surprised to recognize some of its songs.

I previously reviewed Billy Joel’s extremely unusual 1983 record An Innocent Man, and thought it was pretty good.

What I expected

In photographs on the front of the album, back of the album and liner, Joel is holding a trumpet, so based on that and some other credited musicians (saxophone), I’ll guess soft rock and jazz.

What it was actually like

This was pretty bad. It was not as jazzy as I expected, though there was a significant jazz sound, especially on the second side. The trumpet solo on Zanzibar would have been great on an actual jazz record, and the saxophone in Stiletto was terrible.

I did recognize Big Shot, from its horrible chorus, and also My Life, a weird techno-piano hybrid.

Other dislikes included Rosalinda’s Eyes, the worst song on the record – really more elevator music than a song, and with some flute that made it even more awful, as well as Half a Mile Away, which sounded at the beginning like it would be a disco song, but mercifully was not.

Grade

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

Fame: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Fame: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture
  • Artist name: Various, including Michael Gore, Irene Cara, Paul McCrane, Linda Clifford, Laura Dean
  • Year: 1980
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: RSO Records
  • Collection: Selman
  • Distinguishing characteristics:
    • Scratched into side one of LP: RX-1-3080-AS-PW3
    • Scratched into side two of LP: RX-13080-BS-PW2
  • Buy it on Amazon: $4.89

Fame: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I have heard of the movie Fame, but I’ve never seen it, and do not think that I have heard any of the songs from its soundtrack.

What I expected

Maybe show tunes?

What it was actually like

I did actually recognize the chorus to the title track Fame (“I’m gonna live forever…”), a very straightforward and simple techno song.

That was the only song that I would describe just as techno, but the two disco songs, Hot Lunch Jam and Red Light, also had a techno sound to them. I guess by the very late 1970s and early 1980s, techno and disco might not have been all that distinct from each other.

Several others sounded like show tunes to me: Out Here on My Own, which was piano focused and jazzy; Never Alone, which had a gospel style choir; and I Sing the Body Electric.

Is It Okay If I Call You Mine? was in a folk style, and incredibly boring. Ralph and Monty (Dressing Room Piano) was a piano instrumental, but very short.

Dogs in the Yard was easy listening, the most bland thing that could possibly be called a song.

Someone should make a parody of this movie, call it Shame, and just not change any of the music.

Grade

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