Bat Out of Hell...sort of

Like a bat out of hell, I'm back at it. (Or simply I'm just typing on my laptop like a kid out of the burbs.)

356 through 340...life has been better but life has been worse. (It's a rainy gloomy day as I write this and it might effect my reviews. But sorry Dire Straits, you weren't getting through anyway.)

356 - 12 Songs, Randy Newman: I'm surprised myself, I now like two Randy Newman albums. My impression of him before I started this list was made by those deriding/mocking him. I had only ever heard The Monk theme song and that one song about friends or something he did for the soundtrack to Toy Story. Not bad songs but nothing I would press play on. 12 Songs was bluesy, breezy, cover girl album. The title really is perfect, it's just 12 songs. But it's a great collection of 12 songs. An odd Ray Charles flavor comes through in Randy Newman and I like it. I recommend Rosemary and Uncle Bob's Midnight Blues.

355- Having a Rave Up With The Yardbirds, The Yardbirds: For being such a Zeppelin fan I am surprised that I have never listened to the Yardbirds before. This last little stretch gave me two albums to listen to. Not a bad little piece this album is. Try on She's So Respectable
or Here 'Tis and see how they fit. Party rock anthems of their day.

354 - 52nd Street, Billy Joel: Standard Billy Joel. With Big Shot, My Life, and Zanzibar at its core it's hard to go wrong. If you like Billy Joel on any level then you'll love this album. I found it for a dollar at the DI on vinyl and I feel that is the only way I'd own this album but I'm glad I do.

353 - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Kanye West: The title says it all. It's Kanye West at his most self-absorbed and sexually obsessive. His samples are fresh and the beats are real. I don't feel a need to push Mr. West on anyone. If you like him you don't mind that he's the biggest douche in the biz, and if you hate him it's because he's the biggest the douche in the biz, it's not because his music isn't at the top of it's genre. If you like hip-hop then you got to give this album a chance.

352 - Brothers in Arms, Dire Straits: Moving on.

351 - Rust Never Sleeps, Neil Young and Crazy Horse: Neil Young has always felt like an artist who writes albums to be able to perform them; he's meant to be heard creating the music instead of just listening to it. It makes me sad that I have never seen him live myself but this album will have to do in the meantime. Powderfinger for sure stands out.

350 - Roger the Engineer, The Yardbirds: See above. As for the two Yardbird albums I have listened to on this list I prefer this one. I prefer more of the Brit pop side of the Yardbirds instead of their psychedelic tendencies but this album gives plenty of the former for me. If I was still in a band these days I would love to cover Lost Woman.

349 - The Black Album, Jay-Z: It's Jay-Z at the top. Encore, Change Clothes, Dirt of Your Shoulders, 99 Problems, Justify My Thug, and Lucifer. Probably his best most cohesive album.

348 - Muddy Waters Live at Newport 1960, Muddy Waters: Blues music, similar to Neil Young, is meant to heard live. It lives in the open air and thrives on the spontaneity, not tracked and layered but produced in the moment. This album has all that. Mojo Working and Hoochie Coochie Man.

347 - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, Pink Floyd: Gross! The title is the only good thing about this album. Seriously ruined my day when I had to listen to this one. If you like psychedelic rock (I don't) you may like this album as it's oozing with it. It's Pink Floyd's roots but I am so glad it stayed at their roots.

346 - 3 Feet High and Rising, De La Soul: As much as I hate psychedelic rock I love the "native tongues" era of rap. This album couldn't have been made a few years after it was as it relies HEAVILY on the sampling but their is an art to sampling like this. The album is upbeat, quirky, with plenty of jazz and funk in the mix. Try out The Magic Number and Eye Know.

345 - Stop Making Sense, Talking Heads: This album is a live Talking Heads album and though I've talked a lot about live music during this post this album doesn't really apply in the same way. It's...alright. It was a fine listen at the time but I'll probably not being going back for seconds.

344 - Berlin, Lou Reed: A dark grouchy album, which is not what I expected from Lou Reed; where's Charley's Girl? But I kind of liked it. It has a real Bowie feel to it but not in a pandering kind of way, more like a brotherly kind of way. I am going to give this one a few more spins before I pass final judgement.

343 - Bat Out of Hell, Meat Loaf: Haha! This was a fun listen. (Because of his acting career I have a soft spot in my heart for Meat Loaf.) I was happy I listened to this but definitely won't be going back for seconds. The whole album is grandiose and each song felt like it was trying to win you in the fight of good and evil with its message and power-house vocals. Most interesting thing about this album is that some of the songs were originally meant for a Peter Pan musical which didn't happen. huh.

342 - Violator, Depeche Mode: One of my favorite Depeche Mode albums. Everybody knows Personal Jesus but I suggest World In My Eyes, Enjoy the Silence, or Policy of Truth. I often wonder if I would like Depeche Mode if two of my older brothers didn't love them so much but what is music without nostalgia? It's like Bill & Ted's without Keanu. They were made for each other.

341 - Play, Moby: Do I need to review this album? There's like 35 singles released from this album and Moby made googa money from it but on the whole the album doesn't attract me. It might be good for a road trip mix or maybe vacuuming to but I won't ever pick it apart and try to understand it like I do with the albums I love most.

340 - Damaged, Black Flag: If I was like 15 in 1981 I would have worn this record out. But I was like -1 so I feel as though I missed the boat. I don't understand it and I have little patience for a band who has trouble playing in time.