There is a lot more to like about Sometime in New York City than I expected. With titles like "Woman Is the N----- of the World" I expected these songs to be embarrassingly bad, and there's clearly reasons why many of these don't get a lot of radio play. But quite a few of them are solid rockers. "Woman Is..." is meant to offend, but then asks you to think about why that offends you and, while I don't agree with the proposition that women have it worse than blacks, it was worth considering. "New York City" is very good -- very Chuck Berry -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlwuwEx2zLA... - and "Attica State" sounds pretty good.
Yoko Ono's presence on the album is as obnoxious as ever, with her screechy banshee wail ruining "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "The Luck of the Irish," and "Angela." But then Yoko sings "Sisters, O Sisters" solo and it actually sounds decent. Is she *intentionally* screechy and obnoxious? That's just doubly frustrating. Triply frustrating because the album ends with "We're All Water," more banshee-wail garbage, but clocking in at seven minutes??
Many of the songs sound better without paying attention to the words. I suspect Yoko forced this topical-ness on John; he certainly doesn't seem to have any deep thoughts on "John Sinclair," filling space with repetition, while "Attica State" sounds more like something to dance to than protest to.
So much of Red Rose Speedway is so utterly forgettable that I had no impression of the songs even after having just listened to them. The big song on the album is, of course, "My Love," and it's a beautiful song, a sort of sequel to "Maybe I'm Amazed" and of course about Linda. But if you're a Paul fan, you already knew "My Love" was great. So I'm going to recommend you give a fresh listen to the second best song, "Country Dreamer" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj0tMnYMzY4... - a charming little sing-along (third place would be "Little Lamb Dragonfly," one of those songs that just missed greatness that was maybe one more rewrite away).
Living in the Material World is a mostly disappointing album. George seems to be working through some stuff in his songs and doesn't seem to be having much fun with it -- then has a little *too* much fun at the end with the giggly "Miss O'Dell." Along the way we get "Give Me Love," which is great, and "Be Here Now," which is very good, but I'm going to highlight the song that has just the right amount of fun -- despite being the blues. "Deep Blue" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R63-DEden4M... - is old-fashioned nostalgia, evoking both "Deep Blue Sea" (spoilers: he records that later too!) and "Old Brown Shoe" (for anyone who thinks he's strayed too far from his Beatles material).
I'm seeing a trend here of the boys knowing they've got one good hit on their hands and filling an album in around it. It seems to work for them, sometimes. Mind Games, of course, leads with "Mind Games," which is a great song. Things run a bit downhill after that -- though it picks up with a solid three-in-a-row of "Intuition," "Out the Blue," and "Only People." I'm going to share "Intuition" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KI0nVS2BtU... -- Because I don't remember ever hearing this one before.
Starting 2021 with _Ringo_ was a delightful start. Although Sentimental Journey had been a commercial success for Ringo, this album is his first truly great album. But, since he tells us himself rather cheekily, he *is* the greatest! Paul and George would later do retrospective songs about their own histories, but Ringo beat them to it with "I'm the Greatest." This album has "Photograph" on it and, as I was saying last night, that song alone would have made this a good album, but we also get "Oh My My," "It Don't Come Easy" (perhaps Ringo's second best song ever, but -- oops, this one's only on the extended re-release!), and the increasingly creepy but still fun "You're Sixteen." And those are just the best known songs! "Sunshine Life for Me" is a delightful return to country music, and perhaps my favorite Ringo country song so far. For a man known as a drummer "Six O'Clock" is surprisingly dependent on the piano, but just shows how Ringo has grown as an artist. "You and Me" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gw2_li3i4U... -- feels whimsically meta, particularly for a studio album, as it ends like a live performance where the other performers are thanked. I would normally mention "Step Lightly" as a solid song; it's eclipsed by the far stronger songs on this album, though still better than the two weakest songs, "Have You Seen My Baby" and "Devil Woman."
I had to skip listening to music for awhile when Megan slept in today, as there was no way I was listening to Band on the Run and not singing along!
Of all the solo albums, this is the one I needed to review the least. This was one of the first solo albums I picked up when I started taking an interest in the Beatles' solo careers back in the '90s (on cassette, of course!). And, while half the album is just kind of 'meh'...
It leads in strong with "Band on the Run," then gets even stronger with "Jet." I can't hear "Jet" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyRDkSVGZ_4... -- without wanting to listen again and sing along even louder! Then it intentionally slows down, starts side 2 with the excellent "Let Me Roll It," but then builds up again with "Picasso's Last Words" and "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five." Like RAM, the last two songs begin to fracture, with echoes of "Jet" leaking into "Picasso's Last Words," and then "Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five" ending inside "Band on the Run," as if the entire album was meant to be played on an endless loop. And so it should!
Walls and Bridges was another pleasant treat. Obviously I knew "Whatever Gets You Through the Night," "#9 Dream," and even "Old Dirt Road," being the best-remembered songs from this album with the most radio play -- and I love all three of those. But I liked "Steel and Glass" way more than I thought I would when it started; it seems to be an attempt at something epic and operatic. And "Nobody Loves You" -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLKY2o8XQGM... -- it's like I have a new personal theme song now! Sure, half the album were missteps, but the snippet of "Ya Ya" at the end is a sign of great things to come...
Goodnight Vienna wins, hands down, for best solo Beatles album cover ever.
Oh, should I talk more about it? Okay. This is a great follow-up to Ringo. "Goodnight Vienna" and "Oo-Wee" are fun songs, "Husbands and Wives" is meaningful, "Only You" and "Easy for Me" are beautiful covers, and then there's the "No No Song"...
I first heard the "No No Song" a few years ago on the radio and was shocked that this was a real thing. It has the same cheeky, good humored biographical quality of "The Greatest," but concentrates on Ringo's problems with addictions in a way that is candid, humble, and hilarious all at once. Bravo!
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