The Beatles-Abbey Road (1969): The swan song of The Beatles. This was the last album they recorded together and they went out in style. Every member of the band contributed a song, John Lennon writing "Come Together," "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and "Because," Paul McCartney writing "Oh! Darling" and parts of the medley, George Harrison writing "Something" and "Here Comes The Sun" and Ringo Starr contributing "Octopus's Garden." John and George deliver an amazing crescendo of guitar of "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" and the dueling solos of Paul, George and John of "The End" are fantastic. It is a bittersweet affair, knowing that this was their end, but they knew how to sign off with style.
Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve-Through the Fire (1984): This is the lone album by a supergroup Sammy Hagar formed with Neal Schon of Journey fame. The combination of Hagar's party-hard vocals and Schon's hard rock guitar and virtuoso ability makes every track an enjoyable listen. It's clear the musicians are having fun performing the tracks and deliver solid 80s rock and roll with this album. I've only found this album through Spotify, but I would strongly recommend it for fans of Hagar's solo career, Van Halen and Journey.
Whitesnake-The Purple Album (2015): Dedicated to the late Jon Lord, this album is David Coverdale's homage to his roots in Deep Purple mark III and mark IV. Joel Hoekstra and Reb Beach deliver amazing guitar homages to Ritchie Blackmore, "Stormbringer," "Lady Double Dealer," and "The Gypsy" being among the highlights. The rendition of "Soldier of Fortune" tugs at my heartstrings and they capture the mood of "You Keep On Moving." "Burn" and "Mistreated" are also highlights and the band flows together as though they wrote the music themselves.
Miley Cyrus-Younger Now (2017): The first album Miley released since coming out as pansexual and gender fluid, Younger Now was a step back from her typical "nail you to the wall" pop (not that that isn't fun from time to time, mind you) and more resembles an early rock album or John Lennon's material from Double Fantasy. When I first heard "Malibu," I was stunned, since her last release was the drug-fueled Dead Petz album where all talent seemed to be muted in a fog of acid and weed. Malibu was a step away and brought guitar back into her instrumentation. "Love Someone" reminds me of the sound of "With The Beatles," and "Week Without You" reminds me of "(Just Like) Starting Over." Dolly Parton arrives for the uplifting "Rainbowland" and Miley reveals a dilemma pansexual people face with "She's Not Him," falling in love with someone while being more dedicated to someone else, further complicated by the fact that these two people are opposite genders. A solid pop album with good messages.
No comments:
Post a Comment