The three hundred and thirty-seventh album: #337 Dion - Born To Be With You
It feels like it has been a while since we heard Phil Spector in action, but he's back with today's album - although not all tracks were produced by him and it's clear when he hasn't, as those tracks lack the effects and large production that he's so known for. The album brings a lot of big pop songs, using some new arrangements for songs and some originals, none of which I've entirely found memorable. It's decent to listen to, but I didn't really find anything in here that had staying power.
The three hundred and thirty-sixth album: #336 Emmylou Harris - Pieces of the Sky
Pieces of the Sky feels like it's fast moving compared to the lengthy tracks most rock albums have. The ten tracks are fairly straight forward country tracks, using a variety of covers as well as original songs, and go from sensitive ballads to the standard upbeat country songs, and it sounds like really good country music. It's a genre where I do prefer female vocalists, as the gruff sound doesn't help for me, but at the same time Pieces of the Sky doesn't really have any tracks that connect with me or give me more than what the superficial sound of the music gives me.
The three hundred and thirty-fifth album: #335 Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run
It's hard to resist the urge to dismiss this as the rock of a previous generation - it does what it sets out to do, but it doesn't exactly give me more than my dad's rock. I'm sure that it's down to everything that came later, but with hard rock and punk coming in, this album feels smaller and simpler. It sets out the core of its rock sound, doesn't vary, and it's a good base to listen to. I can't get excited about any of it, but it sends out what it wants to do well enough.
The one hundred and seventy-sixth TV show: #371 The Golden Girls
While I enjoyed the Golden Girls when it was on when I was younger, there are plenty of shows that I enjoyed back then that haven't lasted. But while there are times where the show feels that way, for the most part the stories of older women living together works well. While at times approaching their topics with more maturity, there are as many storylines that are similar enough to ones found in sitcoms about people in their twenties. It's heartwarming and hilarious, with someo of the meandering stories working especially well. The charisma of the three leads do a lot of the work too, both in how they play off each other and how they each get the best out of their lines. It works and it's clear they all work to make it work that way, staying likeable throughout. We went from just starting it to being addicted and with how far we've come in three weeks, I wonder how long it'll take us to finish the series.
The three hundred and thirty-fourth album: #334 Burning Spear - Marcus Garvey
For what is certainly my most high stakes birthday in years (I'll explain... some day, maybe), it's odd to move to a reggae album - something that doesn't fit my mood right now and feels odd in general. It's fine, as a decent reggae album to listen to that feels like the genre is evolving in a way that works for me.
The three hundred and thirty-third album: #333 David Bowie - Young Americans
In the next turn for Bowie, the rockstar looks more towards soul, with an R&B inspired album - Fascination, for example, feels like a straight up funk song. It's quite a different approach for him, but the fusion creates some quite nice songs on its own. It just feels like the album lacks a bit of staying power, it doesn't feel like as many of the songs have lasted as we have with other Bowie tracks, at least in my mind, and I'm not sure I'm going to remember many after today.
The three hundred and thirty-second album: #332 Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic
Toys in the Attic does what it sets out to do - giving you a hard rock album that hits, with some great known songs and some slightly subdued, more blues-y songs. It sounds good, it doesn't overstay its welcome and I enjoyed it for what it was, good hard rock music without any excesses, with the obvious highlight of Walk This Way, which still holds up so well.
The three hundred and thirty-first album: #331 Keith Jarrett - The Koln Concert
Showing how small the boundaries can be, this jazz album, a recording of a concert, feels like it could have ended up on the classical list as well. It might be a bit more upbeat and faster than what you'd expect from it, but as a solo piano piece it builds on that same work. It's not, of course, an album that I find myself actively listening to, but there's a bit of spirit in the track that makes it work really well for being this type of piece.