The three hundred and thirtieth track: #330 Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
It feels like Physical Graffiti doesn't properly take off until Kashmir - moving from fine but somewhat interchangeable hard rock songs that I wouldn't give an edge over any other, to a prog rock sound that really grabs you from its first riff. The album has more experiments like that from that point on, but it never quite reaches that same level, feeling a bit less focused and less controlled.I still prefer it over the more generic hard rock sounds, and while that's probably the sound they were more keen on going for, it doesn't pay off for me.
The three hundred and twenty-ninth album: #329 Neu! - Neu! '75
Although referred to as psychedelic and krautrock, this album's electronic sound and sound effects make the first side feel more like some easy listening music, a gentle flow that feels like it shares a lot more with Brian Eno's work in the seventies. It's only with Hero that the rock music kicks in and it loses the background feel for a few tracks, although it takes the time to refer back to it quite well.
The three hundred and twenty-eighth album: #282 The Dictators - Go Girl Crazy!
As a listener in 2021, this album feels quite simple, a protopunk album that works quite well for me, the vocals working fine and underscoring the message. It feels like a development that makes sense, toning down the metal in favour of vocals while still sticking to the louder sound and moving away from the experimentation. At the time, however, it wasn't quite as understood and the consequences of it aren't as clear. Still, it's a musical direction I appreciate and I really feel I just breezed through the album enjoying myself.
The three hundred and twenty-seventh album: #327 Brian Eno - Another Green World
A lot of the time, you don't really realise Another Green World is playing. Yeah, there's music there, but it's ambient and quite gentle, often without any lyrics, mostly setting up moods and sound landscapes. From that, it's very specific in what it does - something I ended up liking quite a bit as it suited my tastes, but it's something where you have to let yourself be taken either to imagine to, or as the background while you're involved in other things. Different from what other albums do, perhaps, but it works as a direction for me.
The one hundred and seventy-fifth TV show: #419 Around the World in 80 Days
As discussed before, I'm a fan of Monty Python, and it's quite clear from everything surrounding it that Michael Palin is an affable guy that, more than the others, I'd want to hang out with. I wouldn't necessarily have seen him as a travel documentary presenter, but it makes sense watching this - he clearly cares about connecting with people, in a way that doesn't feel forced.
And for this first documentary, replicating the journey of the book, that is really useful, as it's clear he spent most of those 80 days stuck on a ship, with a few people around him, which means he has to make the best out of that when the actual travel experiences are more sparse. It's an interesting insight, even if the reason for it - not being allowed to use a plane as that wasn't around in book times, leaving him to rely on irregular, unconnected freight ships to get him across the world - means that more of the show revolves around a "Will he make it" dilemma than I personally would have wanted. There's an extra edge for it, but I'm more looking forward to other documentaries of his where his interaction with everyone is allowed to breath a bit more.
The three hundred and twenty-sixth album: #326 Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel
It's rare for a country album to fully connect with me and Gram Parsons' Grievous Angel doesn't seem to make any attempt to do so. The music is so generically country that I don't find anything I really enjoy in there, while lyrically it doesn't have much more for me. The maudlin parts don't connect and the more upbeat parts are less common and don't have much of an impact. It's exactly what you expect of a country rock album, including the rowdy audience for a track or two, and it's not one that impresses me.
The three hundred and twenty-fifth album: #325 Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom
Rock Bottom is an odd album to place in my mind. Tragic backstory aside, the vibe it's going for is (possibly appropriately) quite morose, a subdued psychedelic sound that has its prog rock roots but avoids all of its excesses, instead staying small and more personal.
With that, it's at times quite impenetrable, creating a soundscape that's hard to get into at the best of times and sometimes quite off putting to the point where I can struggle to really enjoy it. There's a lot of skill here, sure, and some really intriguing music, but it's hard to find my way in.
The three hundred and twenty-fourth album: #324 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Natty Dread
It feels wrong to set an album aside as palatable reggae, but it's the best description I think I have for it. There's not much here that I care much for, but the rehearsed approach works better than the looser feel of others in the genre. I don't have much that stands out or captures me, least of all when it goes hardest on its reggae, but it's not an album that frustrates me. It's at its best when it goes poppy, but it lacks the depth to me to be more than reggae-pop.