Graham Nash - Songs For Beginners - Review

Graham Nash - Songs For Beginners - 1971

Songs: Military Madness, Better Days, Wounded Bird, I used to be a King, Be Yourself, Simple Man, Man in the Mirror, There’s only one, Sleep Song, Chicago, We can change the world.

Type of Music: Early Seventies Folk/Country/Pop

Comments:

Next to ambitious Stephen Stills and druggie David Crosby, the famous trio was completed by Mr. nice guy Graham Nash. And funny enough you can recognise that clearly on all three debut solo-albums. Stills I (One) is rocking and rough, David’s " If Only I Could Remember My Name" is almost self-explanatory when you consider the title and Songs for Beginners is a nice pop/country Album that won’t offend anybody’s ears.  

But those three albums do have something in common. They are pretty good!!

Graham got a lot of help from his friends here. You will enjoy Dave Mason’s guitar on the strong Anti-War Song Military Madness and the backing vocals from a.o. David Crosby and Rita Coolidge are pleasantly present. All up-tempo songs are good. Most people will recognise the aforementioned Military Madness and the other protest song Chicago. And in "I Used To Be a King", Graham reminds us in a friendly way that he did play an important part in not only the Hollies (Yes, he is King Midas in Reverse) but also in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young where he was responsible for tunes like Marrakesh Express, Teach your Children and Our House.

The more intimate songs vary in quality though. Better Days, There’s Only One and Sleep Song don’t do much for me. But Wounded Bird and Man in the Mirror are better and Simple Man is my favourite song on the Album.  

All in all a good though short debut album that clocks in at around 30 minutes.

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record: Anyone who likes the sound of Crosby, Stills & Nash in songs like Teach your Children or Our House should buy this one. 

Neil Young - Neil Young - Review

Neil Young - Neil Young - 1969

Songs: The Emperor of Wyoming, The Loner, If I could have her tonight, 

I´ve been waiting for you, The Old Laughing Lady, String Quartet from Whiskey Boot Hill, Here we are in the Years, What did you do to my life, 

I´ve loved her so long, The last trip to Tulsa.  

Type of Music: Late Sixties Folk/Country Rock

Comments:

Somewhat incoherent debut effort from Singer Songwriter Neil Young , more or less in line with his earlier work with Buffalo Springfield. It´s a bit of everything on this album. You will find Country, Folk, Country Rock and sometimes even a dash of Psychedelic influences. And the almost Gospel-Like female background vocals on some of the songs show that Neil is not afraid to be called eclectic. After more than 40 years of Neil´s career we all know that to be true!!   

This album is not really bad but certainly not essential. It did gave us one early Neil Young Semi-Classic with The Loner. Special attention as well for The Old Laughing Lady.

Rating: ******(6 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record: Only for Hard Core Neil Young Fans       

Glenlivet 12 Years Review

Country: Scotland

Brand: The Glenlivet

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Region: Speyside

Age: 12 Years

Alcohol: 40%

Colour: Pale Straw

Nose: Pleasant. Heather and Floral Tones, Malt, Lots of Fruit like Banana, Pineapple, Apple and Lemon. Apple-Juice as well. Sweet Grains, Honey and a bit of Oak. Very light Alcohol and Spices (Clove).

Taste: Delivery is sweet but with an unexpected bite on the palate. First strong impression is of Aniseed. Slightly bitter Marzipan. Toffee, Brown Sugar. Where are all those lovely floral and fruity tones that the nose promised? Certainly a disappointment after the pleasant nose.

Finish: Not much going on here. There’s that bite again. A hint of apple returning after a while. Bit of Malt and lightly salted Almonds. Disappointing.

With a couple of drops of water there’s some more fruit on the nose and a hint of milk chocolate. On the palate the Marzipan gets more weight. The bitterness remains though. But you can experiment with a few drops.

Rating: 81,5

Nose: 22 – Taste: 20 – Finish: 19 – Overall: 20,5

General Remarks:  George Smith built The Glenlivet Distillery in 1824. It moved to the current location, Minmore House near Ballindalloch in 1858 and produces around 6 million litres of Alcohol yearly. Current Owners are Chivas (Pernod Ricard). Glenlivet is the best selling Single Malt in the USA and the second best on a global scale. Most of the production is sold as Single Malt with the remainder going to the Chivas Regal – and Royal Salute Blends. Most distilleries closed various times during their history, especially during the Depression and in wartime. But Glenlivet only closed during World War II. Without any doubt, the Glenlivet has contributed a lot to the current popularity of Single Malt whiskies.

Drinking Experience Straight: Good

Conclusion: This Single Malt has a promising start with the fresh fruity nose and the early Aniseed and Marzipan on the palate. But then everything turns slightly bitter and sugary. And there’s that sudden bite. The apples at the very end can’t save the finish as well. It’s not very expensive at around USD 40, - Still, I believe The Glenlivet 12 Years to be a missed opportunity. This could have been a great Single Malt but in the end it’s not.

Jan van den Ende                                                               February 14, 2012

Beatles - A Hard Day' s Night - Review

Beatles - A Hard Day's Night - 1963

Songs: A Hard Day’s Night, I Should Have Known Better, If I Fell, I’m Happy Just To Dance With You, And I Love Her, Tell Me Why, Can’t Buy Me Love, Anytime At All, I’ll Cry Instead, Things We Said Today, When I Get Home, You Can’t Do That, I’ll Be Back. 

 

Type of Music: Early Sixties Pop Music.

Comments:

The Third Beatles Album and what a vast improvement over the first two!! The first seven songs are from the film but the rest isn’t just filler either. No Way!! And, also for the first time, all songs are written by John & Paul. The result is a Feel Good Album packed with excellent compositions and filled with memorable hooks. It’s difficult to point out highlights because A Hard Day’s Night, I Should Have Known Better, Can’t Buy Me Love, Anytime At All and the beautiful ballads If I Fell, And I Love Her, Things We Said Today and I’ll Be Back are all genuine Beatles Classics, at least in my book. Of course not all of the remaining songs are in that same league but they still aren’t bad!! A less brilliant Beatles song is still much better than most pop music around.     

Rating: ******** (8 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record: An Excellent place to start your Beatles collection. Every Beatles Fan and every one else who enjoys good pop music should own this one. 

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours - Review

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours - 1977

Songs:  Second Hand News, Dreams, Never Going Back Again, Don´t Stop, Go Your Own Way, Songbird, The Chain, You Make Loving Fun, I Don´t Want to Know, Oh Daddy, Gold Dust Woman.

Type of Music: First Class Mid-Seventies Pop-Rock.

Comments: 

The Best Pop-Rock Album of All Times? Maybe. One of the best? For Sure!!

Amidst broken up relationships (Stevie and Lindsey), separations (Christine and John), tank loads of whisky and brandy (All) and truck loads of cocaine (Almost All if not All), the members of the Mac succeeded in writing and arranging a bunch of true pop-rock Classics.

The songs are almost evenly divided between Christine, Lindsey and Stevie. Most of these songs tell us most openly about the band´s problems at the time and have received constant airplay since 1977 but the majority of them still sound fresh today. And that tells you something about the quality of the Songs. The only song that I´ve heard enough by now is Bill Clinton´s favourite background music during his energetic meetings with Monica Lewinsky. I´m referring to Don´t Stop of course.

But I still love Go Your Own Way, You Made Loving Fun (Christine´s finest song so far) and Stevie´s Dreams. And let´s not forget the beautiful ballad Songbird that was the regular finale of all Live concerts until Christine left the band.

Really, there are no weak songs on Rumours. But two songs stand out for me and are two of my all time favourite Rock Songs. The first is Stevie´s mystical story of the Gold Dust Woman. And even better is the song that still opens each and every Mack Live Concert. And that´s The Chain, a song with at least three different hooks.

This Song rightly represents the story of the band. Despite all the problems, the Mac still exists, and, more importantly, still produces great music.

Rating: ********* (9 out of 10)

Black = Good Songs

Green = Great Songs

Red = Could Be Better

Who should buy this Record:  What???? You don´t own it yet???