Jamwise #22

Alive - KISS

A live album! Man it feels like I’m back in my high school days thinking Dave Matthews live albums were the only albums worth my time (don’t worry, that phase only lasted like 6 months, tops, mostly because of a girl I had a crush on who took me to a DMB concert and might or might not have introduced me to the associated recreational substances commonly found there). 

Although the subject matter of KISS songs isn’t the most intellectually stimulating, this is undeniable rock n’ roll fun. I’m not sure I could name more than one KISS song, even though it seems in my mind like I’ve listened to them a lot. Maybe it’s some kind of weird rock ‘n roll Mandela effect - we’ve seen KISS in the media so many times, we think we know their songs, even though all their songs basically sound alike to me.

Jams:

• “Rock And Roll All Nite”

To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar

It’s largely a smoothly performed stream of consciousness. I can see this as a snapshot into the artists brain, complete with almost ambient backing music and scattered topics bouncing from social commentary to the joys of physical love to raw anger to swagger and back again like a pinball. 

Jams:

• “Alright”

• “Hood Politics”

A Seat At The Table - Solange

I had literally no idea Beyoncé had a sister, which should tell you something about how deeply my head’s been buried when it comes to contemporary popular music. Ah well, learning about all the music I’ve been ignoring is basically why we’re here. 

This album is much calmer than I expected. It’s pretty laid back R&B, with the focus more on the music than the singer, and I appreciated that - especially with the inevitable comparisons to Beyoncé that would hint at a more voice-worshipping style of songwriting. None of that here, though; if we have to do a Beyoncé comparison, I’d call this Speakeasy Beyoncé. Or coffee house Bey, maybe, but one that serves great cocktails too. 

Jams

• “Rise”

• “Cranes In The Sky”

Eli and the Thirteenth Confession - Laura Nyro

Laura Nyro was a singer-songwriter in the late 60’s and early 70’s, and I’ve never heard her name or music before. I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that I haven’t heard of yet another artist from 6 decades ago, but it always comes as a surprise when someone of this caliber and history takes me by surprise. But that happens with recent artists too. So should I have heard of more recent artists or older artists? Which one should have found their way into my head, and which should I be more embarrassed not to know?

I guess it doesn’t matter since I don’t feel embarrassment, so let’s carry on. 

This album wasn’t a huge attention-grabber for me. It was obviously good songwriting, but I think it’s suffered in my perception purely based on what else I’ve been listening to recently, and maybe I’m just spoiled by all the other great singer-songwriter albums I’ve been spinning. Laura Nyro has a fantastic singing voice, and writes some super cool and soulful songs, but I didn’t take any home with me, so to speak. I had no specific issues with the album either. I have no doubt this would have been much more impactful on me if I’d heard it in the 60’s rather than now, but I can’t do much about that. Will definitely listen again after my listening palate is cleansed.

Can’t Buy A Thrill - Steely Dan

For some reason I remember vividly a car ride where my dad was blasting Steely Dan and my mom yelled at him for it because she didn’t like it - I never really understood why. Now I think it was purely a volume issue, but my little kid mind thought it was because Steely Dan was just no good. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Is it a bit yacht rocky? Perhaps. But it’s also great classic rock that today makes for a pretty chill listen whether you’re yacht inclined or not. I didn’t really have any gripes except my personal distaste for piano synth solos, but this is nowhere near The Doors level so it’s cool with me. 

Jams

• “Do It Again”

• “Dirty Work”

• “Reelin’ In The Years”