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Grand Don't Come For Free by The Streets
Grand Don't Come For Free by The Streets
2004 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"My old man got me into The Streets. I was quite young when they first came out and I remember him having them on in the car constantly. Original Pirate Material was a complete game-changer for me, I can recite that whole album word for word. ‘Blinded by the Lights’ was on the second album, A Grand Don't Come for Free, and I could probably recite that whole album as well, I think it’s one of the greatest concept albums ever written. “With ‘Blinded by the Lights’ I just love the tune, it really catches a theme and I can really relate to how he’s feeling in it. It’s that feeling of being pilled-up in a club, of losing control and not really knowing what’s going on, it’s a big tune. “I really like the storytelling element of it and that was an inspiration to me. Storytelling in a song is a complete art and I definitely don’t feel like I’ve managed to do it as good as this does, I don’t know if anyone ever will."

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Alan Widler recommended Aladdin Sane by David Bowie in Music (curated)

 
Aladdin Sane by David Bowie
Aladdin Sane by David Bowie
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"If I had to think of a Bowie album, then this would be the one that pinpointed when I was at my most susceptible. I would have been 14 or 15, and I just remember carrying it into school and feeling very proud to have that vinyl under my arm, and feeling very different to the other kids. The first actual album I bought was The Man Who Sold The World, which I still have a real soft spot for, but I wouldn't say it's as developed as those later albums. Everybody talks about Bowie's golden period as the early 70s, and you tend to forget about everything beyond Scary Monsters, and that's the way I feel too – I think he was by far at his most creative period at that time. It's difficult to pick one album from that period; you could have any of them from Hunky Dory to Scary Monsters. But for me, this is the record that left the biggest mark combined with my age."

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J Cole recommended Tha Carter by Lil Wayne in Music (curated)

 
Tha Carter by Lil Wayne
Tha Carter by Lil Wayne
2004 | Rhythm And Blues
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Being from the South and being from that whole No Limit/Cash Money movement you’re a Wayne fan. You give him his props just for being associated with the Hot Boyz. It was at a period when I had just gotten to college. ""I had a suitemate that ended up being one of my good friends in life, and he was putting me onto these Lil Wayne Squad Up mixtapes. I started really noticing his lyrical ability. I noticed that something had changed between his younger Hot Boyz days and then. ""After that, we got out and went home for the summer. He was like, ‘Did you hear this Lil Wayne Tha Carter?’ and he sent me his album. I’ll never forget hearing that intro thinking, ‘This shit is crazy.’ That album and his first Dedication mixtape was what got me sold on him to the point where I was going out and praising Lil Wayne, like, ‘This nigga is the best.’ This album represents that time when he started to hit that monster level."

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Marc Riley recommended Marquee Moon by Television in Music (curated)

 
Marquee Moon by Television
Marquee Moon by Television
1977 | Rock
9.0 (4 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"I often say there's a fight going on for best debut album ever, it might be The Velvet Underground & Nico or it might be Marquee Moon… there's a constant scuffle going on. Marquee Moon is a masterpiece. To come out with that album at that time with punk kicking off… It was cerebral and virtuoso, largely everything that punk wasn't. I remember I went to see them doing the tour when it came to the Free Trade Hall, and they were just another one of those bands who were fully formed when punk happened. If you hear 'Little Johnny Jewel' – there's nothing like that song that comes from anywhere else. I went to see them when they opened for Patti Smith at the Academy and I spent most of the night just watching Lloyd's guitar work. He is one of the greatest guitarists ever; and he's a guitar teacher now in New York. It's just a remarkable album, filmic. This came out when I was 16 and I was a roadie for The Fall in 1977."

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Anthology of American Folk Music by Various Artists
Anthology of American Folk Music by Various Artists
1952 | Folk
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Rolling Stone's 278th greatest album of all time
I had hoped this album would be a 1-disc compilation of the likes of Bob Dylan and maybe some of the San Francisco bands. Sadly, it turned out to be a 6-disc set of a diverse range of musical styles prevalent throughout young America in the late 1920s and early 30s.
Some of this was good, the more typical blues songs much like Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters. There were a number of Cajun songs which were listenable. There were also a number of fairly poor early gospel songs which were really hard to suffer through.
This is an important album historically, showing some of the earliest musical recordings, and chronicling the range of musical style, that could almost be mapped across the USA.
Interestingly, "King Kong Kitchie-Kitchie-Ki-Me-Oh" is a variation of the old Scottish song "Frog Went A-Courting", written about various French suitors to Scots nobles. I found it interesting that this song must have travelled across the Atlantic and been adapted to suit the tastes there.
  
Everyday Life by Coldplay
Everyday Life by Coldplay
2019 | Pop
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Violin (5 more)
Adventurist metaphors
Spiritual
Equality
Reality
Vocals
Lacking depth (0 more)
Adventurous album taking on the uplifting but also brutality of reality and it's every day themes.
A new (different) album from Coldplay, which is definitely revealing their experimentation. The band take on heavy themes of love, war, racism, faith, gun control, friendship, climate change, police brutality and other every day themes in life. It is a double album consisting of 'Sunrise' and 'Sunset', which reveals the difference between the every day highs and lows of the above mentioned themes.

The opening of 'Sunrise' is set beautifully with string arrangements, with the lead violinist doing an excellent job of playing uplifting but also emotional tones to set the mood for the themes. Good versus bad, happy versus sad.

Coldplay never venture far from meeting with Eastern and Western sounds to encourage the acceptance of different religions and ethnicities.

'Sunset' is accompanied with loungey rhythm and blues tones which compliment the themes and meaningful lyrics.

However I can't help but note that I feel some depth is missing to convey their messages.
  
    Welsh-Connection by Man

    Welsh-Connection by Man

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    Album

    Esoteric Recordings are pleased to announce the release of Man s classic 1976 album Welsh Connection...