Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 83 - Bardo Pond - On The Ellipse

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Schüttelbirne
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 18. Bee Gees - Main Course

Post by Schüttelbirne »

18. Bee Gees - Main Course: 5/10
Highlight: "Country Lanes"
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 18. Bee Gees - Main Course

Post by DaveC »

18. Bee Gees - Main Course: 7/10

Favourite track: Fanny (Be Tender With My Love)
Least favourite track: Edge of the Universe

The tricky bit was deciding how large the deduction had to be for the last 4 tracks.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 18. Bee Gees - Main Course

Post by spiritualized »

18. Bee Gees - Main Course: 4/10

I was going to be much more severe with this album initially. But after a couple of listens, there are some good moments in it.
I abhorr the Bee Gees and their disco pop, falsetto, very nasal voice and didn't see beyon Saturday Night Fever as a result.

Yet, Wind of Change and All This Making Love, both upbeat, pianon driven songs are lifting the quality. I will not vouch however for the hits, which don't grab me at all - The Bee Gees also try to emulate Elton John on occasions (Songbird) and that's not a good thing. I'm also fully with Rob when shooting down Country Lanes - I mean, if a sheep wanted to sing it, it'd do better. Terrible thing.
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Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by spiritualized »

This time, it's a first entry for SL3, one of the four Tyrannosaurus Rex albums, much folkier than the electric 70s album.
Not T. Rex, Tyrannosaurus Rex. The story goes that Tony Visconti, producing the album T.Rex in 1970 was fed up with writing the whole name on the tapes. Bolan was initially furious, but the name stuck and he later claimed it was his idea...

Image


19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn (1969)
Nominated by SL3 (#267)
Genre : Psychedelic Folk (#73 in the RYM Pop Rock chart)
Descriptors : fantasy, surreal, psychedelic, spring, playful, soft, melodic, passionate, bittersweet, lush, male vocals
Length : 16 tracks, 38:43 mins

AM ranking : #unranked
Artist Ranking : #151
RYM ranking : #356 for 1969, #7852 overall (1082 ratings @ 3.63 / 5.0)
Metascore : N/A
18.8k unique listeners and 319.7k scrobbles on last.fm

Choice cuts : She Was Born To Be My Unicorn / Cat Black (The Wizard's Hat) / Chariots of Silk



(Sidenote : the Spotify link has 15 extra songs and outtakes). The original album stopped at "Romany Soup"

Biography from Allmusic

Before T. Rex assaulted the world with their glam rock party in the early '70s, there was the folk duo Tyrannosaurus Rex. Although both bands were fronted by flamboyant singer/guitarist/songwriter Marc Bolan, the earlier outfit was the polar opposite of the style of music that would later become synonymous with Bolan. Tyrannosaurus Rex originally formed in September of 1967 as a duo after Bolan split from his previous band, John's Children. Joining Bolan in the band was percussionist/bongo player Steve Peregrin Took, a gentleman that Bolan named after a character in The Lord of the Rings novel series. Bolan was so infatuated with Rings that most of the subject matter in Tyrannosaurus Rex songs came directly from the books as well.

RYM review
Castrovalva - Jan 24 2021

On this album, Bolan figures out that while it's nice to make music for nobody other than himself, John Peel, and a handful of stinky hippies on acid at UFO, pop domination was going to require a broader range of colours and shades. So, with Tony Visconti, a new Tyrannousaurus Rex sound is invented - one which is still, at it's core, Bolan bleating hippie poetry over guitars and bongos, but now the sound is augmented with pianos, strings, and a range of different production dynamics which pull the thing back from being a third album of droning acoustic folk. This is a REALLY great record, and is many people's favourite Tyrannousaurus Rex album, mine included. I like a lot of their subsequent album, but I think that 'Unicorn' is their most accomplished statement. They still don't sound like T.Rex to any measurable degree, but you can hear Bolan's pop instincts kicking into gear on songs like 'Cat Black'. I could do without the Peel-read poetry at the end, but the rest of the album is really solid. This reissue includes 'King Of The Rumbling Spires', which when paired with 'Ride A White Swan' signals the coming demise of Tyrannosaurus Rex, and the rise of T.Rex.
If you like this, also listen to :
Tea and Symphony - An Asylum for the Musically Insane (1969)
Savanna - Collected Madness (1973)
Roger Rodier - Upon Velveatur (1972)


A reminder of the current standings (remember, you can vote or change your vote anytime)


1. Toy Love - Toy Love EP : 7.480 (10 votes) [Brad]
2. Pretty Things - Parachute : 7.110 (10) [Zombeels]
3. Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun : 7.018 (9) [CupOfDreams]
4. Mavis Staples - If All I Was Was Black : 6.920 (10) [antonius]
5. James - Laid : 6.842 (12) [Zombeels]
6. Hood - Cold House : 6.830 (12) [CupOfDreams]
7. Graham Coxon - Love Travels at Illegal Speeds : 6.700 (11) [Toni]
8. Four Tet - FabricLive.59 : 6.670 (10) [Krurze]
9. Krzysztof Penderecki - St. Luke Passion: 6.511[/color] (9)[sonofsamiam]
10. The Elgins - Darling Baby : 6.500 (9) [mileswide]
11. KRS-One - KRS-One : 6.400 (12) [schaefer.tk]
12. Bee Gees - Main Course : 6.359 (11) [bonnielaurel]
13. Soul Asylum - Made To Be Broken : 6.225 (12) [Brad]
14. Cybotron - Enter : 6.145 (11) [Moonbeam]
15. Rush - Fly By Night : 5.971 (12) [Brad]
16. Defunkt - Defunkt : 5.576 (9) [antonius]
17. MUNA - About U : 5.345 (11) [votingbloc]
18. Schoolhouse Rock! - Science Rock : 3.922 (9) [prosecutorgodot]
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by SL3 »

Thanks spiritualized!

Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

I love this album, there's something magical about it. Granted it takes a bit of getting used to, but this is one that really rewards repeat plays. It is more than just of interest in a "before they were famous" way too because the band had a big cult following back then so the early albums stand on their own merit.

The Allmusic quote above states that most of the subject matter came directly from LOTR, but as I understand it there was much more to it than that. The Mark Paytress biography of Marc Bolan quotes him as saying this about the lyrics: "There are so few books like 'The Lord of the Rings' and the 'Narnia' books that once you've read them, you want more, and there just aren't any around. So I just write my own things."

Fave tracks:
- Cat Black (The Wizard's Hat)
- She Was Born To Be My Unicorn
- Iscariot
Plus "King of the Rumbling Spires" is fantastic, included in the Spotify extra tracks as a non album single.

Bonus - brilliant synthpop version of King of the Rumbling Spires by the Fast Set which was on the Some Bizzare Album compilation from 1981 (#50 on my all time list) & is what led me to Unicorn:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l4mOyaxw8xY
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by Listyguy »

Unicorn - 7/10

The best tracks on the album are gems. "Like a White Star, Tangled and Far, Tulip That's What You Are" is phenomenal, among others. But, there's also some real head-scratchers on the album too. "Romany Soup" probably gets most of the hate because of the terrible spoken word portion, but even the musical segment isn't doing it for me. I do think the good outweighs the bad here, but the bad is probably more memorable.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by spiritualized »

SL3 wrote: Mon Mar 08, 2021 9:03 pm Thanks spiritualized!

Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

I love this album, there's something magical about it. Granted it takes a bit of getting used to, but this is one that really rewards repeat plays. It is more than just of interest in a "before they were famous" way too because the band had a big cult following back then so the early albums stand on their own merit.

The Allmusic quote above states that most of the subject matter came directly from LOTR, but as I understand it there was much more to it than that. The Mark Paytress biography of Marc Bolan quotes him as saying this about the lyrics: "There are so few books like 'The Lord of the Rings' and the 'Narnia' books that once you've read them, you want more, and there just aren't any around. So I just write my own things."

Fave tracks:
- Cat Black (The Wizard's Hat)
- She Was Born To Be My Unicorn
- Iscariot
Plus "King of the Rumbling Spires" is fantastic, included in the Spotify extra tracks as a non album single.

Bonus - brilliant synthpop version of King of the Rumbling Spires by the Fast Set which was on the Some Bizzare Album compilation from 1981 (#50 on my all time list) & is what led me to Unicorn:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=l4mOyaxw8xY
Thank you for this SL3 ! Always good to have the nominator personal viewpoint.
This is a rating game, what would you give Unicorn out of 10 ?
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by SL3 »

spiritualized wrote: Tue Mar 09, 2021 4:39 pm This is a rating game, what would you give Unicorn out of 10 ?
Wasn't sure if rating my own pick was on! I give this one a 9 (loses a point for that spoken word section).
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by Rob »

Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn: 5

This is a tough one. It most certainly has its own identity, seemingly trying to go for a fairy-tale folk esthetic as produced by fairies. It is unashamed in being precious and a little weird and I appreciate it for it. At the same time this album annoys me rather frequently. The cutesy vocal style Bolan uses on tracks like 'The Seal of Seasons' for example are grating to me. Sometimes it's eccentricities do hit a sweet spot, especially on 'Like a White Star, Tangled and Far, Tulip That's What You Are', but more frequently then not I can leave it rather than take it.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by Schüttelbirne »

19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn: 4/10
Highlights: "Like a White Star, Tangled and Far, Tulip That's What You Are", "The Sea Beasts"
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by mileswide »

Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn 5.2 (my #38 for 1969)

My highlights: Evenings of Damask; Like a White Star, Tangled and Far, Tulip That's What You Are

EDIT: Changed the comma between the titles to a semicolon to avoid punctuation overkill.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by FrankLotion »

Anyone in the U.S. able to find Unicorn on Spotify? I couldn’t find it but if all else fails I saw it was on YouTube.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by Brad »

FrankLotion wrote: Thu Mar 11, 2021 9:18 pm Anyone in the U.S. able to find Unicorn on Spotify? I couldn’t find it but if all else fails I saw it was on YouTube.
Not available - gonna have to go the youtube route!
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by Honorio »

19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn (1969) 6/10
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by DaveC »

19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn (1969): 5/10

Favourite track: Cat Black (The Wizard's Hat)
Least favourite track: Romany Soup
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by Brad »

19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn (1969): 5.75

Thanks!
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn

Post by spiritualized »

19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn (1969): 8

I'm surprised at the moderate disdain for this album - I've just listened to it once (no time otherwise, but I will get to it a second time and may change my rating), but was actually quite pleased by the very melodious folk of pre-T.Rex Bolan.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 20. The Band - Stage Fright

Post by spiritualized »

Another first entry, this time for Henry, who voted for a classic, bubbling Band album, but he was the only one !

Image



20. The Band - Stage Fright (1970)
Nominated by Henry (#372)
Genre : Roots Rock, Folk Rock (#31 in the RYM Roots Rock chart)
Descriptors : passionate, male vocals
Length : 10 tracks, 35:22 mins

AM ranking : #bubbling
Artist Ranking : #63
RYM ranking : #199 for 1970, #5870 overall (1736 ratings @ 3.68 / 5.0)
Metascore : N/A
38.5k unique listeners and 340.5k scrobbles on last.fm

Choice cuts : The Shape I'm In / Stage Fright / Time To Kill



(Sidenote : the Spotify link has 4 extra songs and outtakes). The original album stopped at "The Rumor"

Biography from Allmusic

For roughly half-a-decade, from 1968 through 1975, the Band were one of the most popular and influential rock groups in the world, their music embraced by critics (and, to a somewhat lesser degree, the public) as seriously as the music of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Their albums were analyzed and reviewed as intensely as any records by their onetime employer and sometime mentor Bob Dylan. Although the Band retired from touring after The Last Waltz and disbanded several years later, their legacy thrived for decades, perpetuated by the bandmates' respective solo careers as well as the enduring strength of their catalog.

RYM review
schicken46 - Aug 06 2015

The Band's third album is considerably more accessible...no, that's not the right word. More "contemporary"? With Dylan and their first two records, they helped invent Roots Rock (albeit a less "rock" version of what CCR was pioneering at the same time). But here everything sounds more contemporary. The keyboards are even more obviously of their time. There is a decided funk influence to a number of the tracks. And the hooks feel more poppy.
But to balance out this seeming bid for greater commercial success (and who knows whether or not that was deliberate) is a penetrating set of lyrics documenting fear, depression, regret, love and a host of other complicated emotions. If Robertson wrote all the lyrics (and I don't know that he did), this feels like his confessional record as a songwriter. Sure, there are still biblical-sounding parables, but there are way more lyrics that seem to be about him personally (or, perhaps, about what he thought Richard Manuel or some other member of the band was going through). And these lyrics are as rich and as the lyrics to their songs on the first two records. And this balances out the otherwise obvious bid for greater commercial success.
A near classic.
If you like this, also listen to :
Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bob Dylan (1965)
Dioptria - Pau Riba acompanyat per OM (1970)
Tumbleweed Connection - Elton John(1970)


A reminder of the current standings (remember, you can vote or change your vote anytime)


1. Toy Love - Toy Love EP : 7.480 (10 votes) [Brad]
2. Pretty Things - Parachute : 7.110 (10) [Zombeels]
3. Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun : 7.018 (9) [CupOfDreams]
4. Mavis Staples - If All I Was Was Black : 6.920 (10) [antonius]
5. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn : 6.869 (8) [SL3]
6. James - Laid : 6.842 (12) [Zombeels]
7. Hood - Cold House : 6.830 (12) [CupOfDreams]
8. Graham Coxon - Love Travels at Illegal Speeds : 6.700 (11) [Toni]
9. Four Tet - FabricLive.59 : 6.670 (10) [Krurze]
10. Krzysztof Penderecki - St. Luke Passion: 6.511 (9) [sonofsamiam]
11. The Elgins - Darling Baby : 6.500 (9) [mileswide]
12. KRS-One - KRS-One : 6.400 (12) [schaefer.tk]
13. Bee Gees - Main Course : 6.359 (11) [bonnielaurel]
14. Soul Asylum - Made To Be Broken : 6.225 (12) [Brad]
15. Cybotron - Enter : 6.145 (11) [Moonbeam]
16. Rush - Fly By Night : 5.971 (12) [Brad]
17. Defunkt - Defunkt : 5.576 (9) [antonius]
18. MUNA - About U : 5.345 (11) [votingbloc]
19. Schoolhouse Rock! - Science Rock : 3.922 (9) [prosecutorgodot]
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 20. The Band - Stage Fright

Post by Schüttelbirne »

20. The Band - Stage Fright: 5/10
Highlights: "Strawberry Wine", "All La Glory", "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show"
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 20. The Band - Stage Fright

Post by Henry »

20. The Band - Stage Fright: 7.7/10

Highlights: "Stage Fight" (518th favorite of all time), The Shape I'm In (535th favorite of all time), Time to Kill (5103), W. S. Walcott Medicine Show (in my top 11,000), (Daniel and the Sacred Harp (in my top 11,000), and Strawberry Wine (in my top 11,000).

The album gets a boost from me because Todd Rundgren and Glyn John helped engineer and mix the recordings for the album.

Glyn also recorded and mixed Who's Next which is my 2nd favorite album of all time.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 20. The Band - Stage Fright

Post by Listyguy »

Stage Fright - 7/10

The Band's first two albums are still massively beloved today, so it's easy to see why the follow-up to those two has been somewhat forgotten. And yeah, I certainly prefer the Band's self-titled album to this one, but there's some good music on this album as well. "The Shape I'm In" is a personal favorite (which I heard originally on The Last Waltz, but it also sounds great here).
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 20. The Band - Stage Fright

Post by FrankLotion »

19. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn - 8/10

As usual it took me a while to get used to Bolan's voice but on the whole I enjoyed this quite a bit. It most reminds me of Animal Collective's early freak-folk albums (Here Comes The Indian, Sung Tongs, etc.) so hearing something like this made 30 years prior was pretty fascinating.

I thought that side A was generally better than the latter half, though I found the closer Romany Soup was delightfully odd even though it went on a bit long. Also, the YouTube version of this album included the three non-album singles T. Rex released that same year and those were all excellent, I wish they included them in the official tracklist.

Favorite Tracks: Chariots, The Throat of Winter, Stones of Avalon, Like a White Star..., Iscariot, Romany Soup
Last edited by FrankLotion on Thu Mar 18, 2021 12:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 20. The Band - Stage Fright

Post by FrankLotion »

20. The Band - Stage Fright - 7/10

I kept going back and forth on this one, it's The Band so every track is pretty solid but I don't know if I enjoy any of the tracks here as much as anything from their first two records. This is the first time I've listened to Stage Fright so it may just take a little longer for me to settle in the groove of it, especially since it took me a few years to appreciate The Band in the first place.

I will say that even though this doesn't have the thematic cohesiveness of their self-titled I think I like the lyrics on here even more, they seem a lot more sad this time around and more weary. Also I do like how prominent Robertson's guitar is but there's also some new surprises like that accordion (or at least that's what I think it is) on All La Glory.

Favorite Tracks: The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show, The Shape I'm In, Stage Fright, The Rumor, All La Glory
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 20. The Band - Stage Fright

Post by Honorio »

20. The Band - Stage Fright (1970) 7/10
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 20. The Band - Stage Fright

Post by Brad »

20. The Band - Stage Fright: 6.5
I love The Band as an entity - great musicians with wildly varied personalities uniting with the common purpose of creating great rock music. Unfortunately, I don't always love their studio albums, preferring the Greatest Hits and live packages (esp. The Last Waltz), where what I consider filler is torn away. Here, I find myself eagerly anticipating "The Shape I'm In" or the title track, and ultimately being left slightly underwhelmed with most of the rest.

Thanks!
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 20. The Band - Stage Fright

Post by mileswide »

The Band - Stage Fright 7.4 (my #20 for 1970)
My highlights: Stage Fright, The Shape I'm in, The Rumor, Sleeping

This month's highlights ranked:
Stage Fright
The Shape I'm in
Jive Talkin'
The Rumor
Nights on Broadway
Evening of Damask
Sleeping
Like a White Star, Tangled and Far, Tulip That's What You Are
All I got inside is vacancy!
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 20. The Band - Stage Fright

Post by DaveC »

20. The Band - Stage Fright (1970): 6/10

Favourite track: The Rumour
Least favourite track: Strawberry Wine
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 20. The Band - Stage Fright

Post by Rob »

The Band - Stage Fright: 7

Just a solid album of a group that have done better. This one lacks a bit of the liveliness and rawness of their first two albums, but the tunes are still memorable. Maybe if it sounded a little less polished it would have been a third masterpiece in a row.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 20. The Band - Stage Fright

Post by spiritualized »

The Band - Stage Fright: 6

It's rather OK, but there is very little that lifts me up in The Band's music. I never "got" the fantastic acclaim for them, although being the backing band of Bob must have had a little to do with it.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by spiritualized »

Another favourite from Bonnielaurel, and a ranked album @ 2364 on the AMF Albums List, and yet just one voter !

Image

21. Jill Scott - Who is Jill Scott ? Words and Sounds Vol. 1(2000)
Nominated by bonnielaurel (#655)
Genre : Neo-Soul, Contemporary R&B (#18 in the RYM Neo-Soul chart)
Descriptors : female vocals, passionate, lush, conscious, soft, sexual, melodic, sensual, love, bittersweet, sentimental, soothing, poetic, rhythmic, mellow, longing, romantic, urban
Length : 18 tracks, 70:50 mins

AM ranking : #2364
Artist Ranking : #1911
RYM ranking : #145 for 2000, #6119 overall (1736 ratings @ 3.68 / 5.0)
Metascore : N/A
208.8k unique listeners and 814.5k scrobbles on last.fm

Choice cuts : A Long Walk / Gettin' in the Way / The Way


Biography from Allmusic

A poetic R&B powerhouse who handles slower, sensual material and bright anthems of pride and self-empowerment with equal aptitude, Jill Scott introduced herself at the beginning of the millennium with the Top 20 and multi-platinum Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds, Vol. 1 (2000). This debut also resulted in four Grammy nominations, including one for Best New Artist, an indication of the promise the singer has fulfilled and overshot throughout her career. After a pair of Top Ten, gold-selling sequels in the Words and Sounds series, Beautifully Human (2004) and The Real Thing (2007), and a Grammy win for the latter album's "Cross My Mind," Scott topped the Billboard 200 with her fourth and fifth LPs, The Light of the Sun (2011) and Woman (2015). Her substantial collaborative work is highlighted by three more Grammy-winning recordings: the Roots' "You Got Me," which she co-wrote, in addition to George Benson and Al Jarreau's version of "God Bless the Child," and Lupe Fiasco's "Daydreamin,'" both of which feature her vocals. Her extensive synchronous work as an actor includes multiple Tyler Perry projects, main roles in series such as The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and Black Panther, and an NAACP Image Award-winning role in Sins of the Mother.

RYM review
Wilky61 - Jul 12 2017

I don't rate many albums 5/5, but this is absolutely one of my favorite albums of all-time in any genre, and very possibly my #1 most frequently played album since I discovered this 2+ years ago (while going through a break-up, hah).

Anyway, can you guys think of an album where you are immediately able to recollect the exact time & place when you heard it for the first time? That's this album for me. From the opening 30 seconds of the first track ("Do You Remember"), it was already evident to me that I was going to fall in love with this album. And so I did.

The A-side to this album (Do You Remember / Gettin' in the Way / A Long Walk / He Loves Me / It's Love / The Way) is utterly immaculate. It's hard for me even to pick out a favorite track. Literally all six of these tracks are my favorite(s) on this album. The jazzy production meshes perfectly with Jill Scott's soulful vocals; just look at "Gettin' in the Way" for example. The subtle use of the horns is a fantastic addition to this track's sound pallet. And then again on "It's Love," which opens with a flirty jazz-based beat that slow-burns for several minutes before she finally reveals her pipes at the chorus ("Do you want it on your collard greens!?").

"A Long Walk" is probably the most famous single from this album, owing its catchiness to its lyrical wordplay and the soulful inflection that Jill adds to the track (especially at the climax). "He Loves Me" is also a contender for the album's best track. There are a lot of classic aspects to this track - the piano beat, the way the first verse is sparsely populated with her pausing midway thru the lines/words, and of course the "OoOOooh"s that Big K.R.I.T. just sampled on his newest album last week. Then "The Way" actually offers a bit more of a funky beat/bassline, and again she adds several pauses within her verses in order to weave in and out of the beat. The crafting of these tracks (this album) was masterful.

The back half of this album loses a bit of steam perhaps, but there are still several minor highlights including "Love Rain" and probably most notably "One is the Magic #" which features prominent Spanish-style trumpeting. It's also worth noting that Jill co-wrote every song on this album, and she also wrote the timeless Roots + Erykah Badu collaboration "You Got Me" (on the Roots' Things Fall Apart album) which is alluded to here on the interlude track #12.

This is one of the top five neo-soul albums from the turn of the millennium. See also Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite, Erykah Badu's Baduizm, Lauryn Hill's Miseducation, and D'Angelo's Voodoo for the others.
If you like this, also listen to :
House of Music - Tony Toni Toné (1996)
One Touch - Sugababes (2000)
A Day in the Life - Eric Benét(1999)


A reminder of the current standings (remember, you can vote or change your vote anytime)


1. Toy Love - Toy Love EP : 7.480 (10 votes) [Brad]
2. Pretty Things - Parachute : 7.110 (10) [Zombeels]
3. Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun : 7.018 (9) [CupOfDreams]
4. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn : 7.000 (9) [SL3]
5. Mavis Staples - If All I Was Was Black : 6.920 (10) [antonius]
6. James - Laid : 6.842 (12) [Zombeels]
7. Hood - Cold House : 6.830 (12) [CupOfDreams]
8. Graham Coxon - Love Travels at Illegal Speeds : 6.700 (11) [Toni]
9. Four Tet - FabricLive.59 : 6.670 (10) [Krurze]
10. The Band - Stage Fright 6.660 (10) [Henry]
11. Krzysztof Penderecki - St. Luke Passion: 6.511 (9) [sonofsamiam]
12. The Elgins - Darling Baby : 6.500 (9) [mileswide]
13. KRS-One - KRS-One : 6.400 (12) [schaefer.tk]
14. Bee Gees - Main Course : 6.359 (11) [bonnielaurel]
15. Soul Asylum - Made To Be Broken : 6.225 (12) [Brad]
16. Cybotron - Enter : 6.145 (11) [Moonbeam]
17. Rush - Fly By Night : 5.971 (12) [Brad]
18. Defunkt - Defunkt : 5.576 (9) [antonius]
19. MUNA - About U : 5.345 (11) [votingbloc]
20. Schoolhouse Rock! - Science Rock : 3.922 (9) [prosecutorgodot]
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by Listyguy »

Who is Jill Scott ? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 - 6/10

The album works sometimes, but it doesn't have enough good music to justify its length. The contemporary R&B sound (which as is typical meets hip-hop before we're though) isn't massively appealing to me either, though I do like enough of the songs here.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by bootsy »

Who is Jill Scott ? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 is a great album and it works ALL the time.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by spiritualized »

bootsy wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 2:46 am Who is Jill Scott ? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 is a great album and it works ALL the time.
Hey bootsy, glad to see you comment in this thread! Feel free to add a grade to lift up this album in the ranks !
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by Brad »

21. Jill Scott - Who is Jill Scott ? Words and Sounds Vol. 1(2000): 4.5
Obviously, there are those who enjoy this album quite a bit - I understand that. Unfortunately, I don't get the same thrill.

Thanks!
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by bonnielaurel »

Comment on my nomination: Who Is Jill Scott?

At the turn of the century there was a wave of new soul singers. Jill Scott was among the better ones. Later she would reach a different audience by acting in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

My review on RYM:
"She was one of the exponents of nu soul, with an intimate jazzy style, close harmony, brass, strings and deep bass riffs. The album title makes clear that the lyrics are inspired by her personal life experiences. In Gettin' in the Way she's threatening a romantic rival. A Long Walk is about the first date with her future husband. Honey Molasses has the stickiness its title suggests. Her vocal style is subdued and close to natural speech. She combines the power of classic soul with a modern sound."
De gustibus et coloribus non est disputandum.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by bootsy »

spiritualized wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 7:52 am
bootsy wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 2:46 am Who is Jill Scott ? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 is a great album and it works ALL the time.
Hey bootsy, glad to see you comment in this thread! Feel free to add a grade to lift up this album in the ranks !
My score is 9/10. This is a great album that I never get tired of listening. The sequencing and production are also top notch.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by mileswide »

Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott? (Words and Sounds Volume 1) 8.1 (my #9 of 2000)

I was umming and aahing over including this in my own AT list- but for a few more immediate tracks, it would have made it. An hour or so in Jill's company flies by though, she's a witty, wise conversationalist with the tunes to match.

My highlights: Exclusively, Love Rain, Watching ME, It's Love, A Long Walk

This month's highlights ranked:
Exclusively
Stage Fright
The Shape I'm in
Love Rain
Watching ME
Jive Talkin'
The Rumor
It's Love
A Long Walk
Nights on Broadway
Evening of Damask
Sleeping
Like a White Star, Tangled and Far, Tulip That's What You Are
All I got inside is vacancy!
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by DaveC »

21. Jill Scott - Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 (2000): 4/10

Favourite track: The Way
Least favourite track: Honey Molasses

Nu soul is one of my least favourite genres.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by Schüttelbirne »

21. Jill Scott | Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1: 5/10
Highlights: "A Long Walk", "It's Love"
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by FrankLotion »

21. Jill Scott - Who is Jill Scott? - 9/10

I think this is the first time I've actually listened to this whole album in its entirety but I used to have a lot of these songs in my iTunes way back so it's great to hear it all in context.

The singles are all still great but the whole tracklist is smooth, it's a pretty long album but it seemed to fly by for me. The production really is great and definitely helps gives each track some punch, but I have to say there is a great pop sensibility here in general with Jill Scott's sticky hooks and a mix that really gives her voice a nice clarity over the loud beats.

Speaking of which, while the groovy bass-heavy beats aren't as textured or as interesting as anything off Voodoo or Mama's Gun, they're a lot faster than those records and makes it a lot easier to dance and groove along with them (as I did numerous times listening to this).

Also, that guitar sample on "One is the Magic #" really dates it to that era of R&B/Hip-Hop which I can't help but feel a little nostalgic for...

Favorite Tracks: Do You Remember, Gettin' in the Way, A Long Walk, He Loves Me (Lyzel in E Flat), It's Love, The Way, Love Rain, Slowly Surely, One is the Magic #, Watching Me
Last edited by FrankLotion on Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by Honorio »

21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott ? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 (2000) 8/10
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by Rob »

Jill Scott - Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1: 4
DaveC wrote: Fri Mar 26, 2021 8:02 pm Nu soul is one of my least favourite genres.
I have to say the same. With perhaps the exception of Erykah Badu (whose strange voice pulls me in) this genre really never grabs me and I tend to find this music actually chore to get through. Who Is Jill Scott? reminds me very much of those later Solange albums too and suffers from the same problems. It is perhaps because I'm not attracted to beats and the bass on first place, but somehow it feels like this music just has no forward movement or momentum. It just seems to linger without a pulse. This makes not just the album feel long, but the songs too. A four minute track like The Way, which I found particularly interminable, I experience as 20 minutes.

Perhaps a case can be made for Jill Scott as a poet, but I find her vocals not engaging enough to reel me in on that point. It didn't help matters that some early tracks put me off on the lyrical front because both Exclusively and Gettin' in the Way are both immature stories where Jill Scott tells another woman she is better than her. That kind of stuff puts me off too. This is one classic that is not for me.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by spiritualized »

Jill Scott - Who is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1: 5/10

Yup, Nu Soul is not my favorite genre either. There are some special records out there, Lauryn Hill's debut springs to mind. However Jill Scott's debut doesn't match the sassyness of the Fugees' lead singer. It's pretty good when there is some ooomph in her songs ("It's Love" - "Love Rain") but mainly, the record drags for far too long and wallows in mellow R&B tracks in the first part. Fortunately, it picks up towards the end. Some interludes are unnecessary and verging on the obnoxious ("The Roots")
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by spiritualized »

bonnielaurel wrote: Wed Mar 24, 2021 6:03 pm Comment on my nomination: Who Is Jill Scott?

At the turn of the century there was a wave of new soul singers. Jill Scott was among the better ones. Later she would reach a different audience by acting in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.

My review on RYM:
"She was one of the exponents of nu soul, with an intimate jazzy style, close harmony, brass, strings and deep bass riffs. The album title makes clear that the lyrics are inspired by her personal life experiences. In Gettin' in the Way she's threatening a romantic rival. A Long Walk is about the first date with her future husband. Honey Molasses has the stickiness its title suggests. Her vocal style is subdued and close to natural speech. She combines the power of classic soul with a modern sound."
Hi bonnielaurel, you haven't rated it on this game, so I'll take your RYM rating of 8/10, if that's OK ?
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 22. Jay-Z - American Gangster

Post by spiritualized »

And a first for FrankLotion who regularly shares his views on this game (thank you for keeping it interesting !). This time, a highly acclaimed artist with a bubbler

Image


22. Jay-Z - American Gangster (2007)
Nominated by FrankLotion (#873)
Genre : East Coast Hip Hop, Pop Rap, Gangsta Rap (#322 in the RYM Neo-Soul chart)
Descriptors : male vocals, urban, sampling, drugs, crime, boastful, concept album, violence
Length : 15 tracks, 58:48 mins

AM ranking : bubbling under
Artist Ranking : #36
RYM ranking : #530 for 2007, unranked overall (2833 ratings @ 3.43 / 5.0)
Metascore : 83
180.4k unique listeners and 3.1m scrobbles on last.fm

Choice cuts : Roc Boys (And The Winner Is...) / Pray / Ignorant Shit


Biography from Allmusic

From the projects to the throne, New York rapper, producer, and entrepreneur Jay-Z embodied the quintessential rags-to-riches dream, becoming one of the most successful MCs of his generation while creating an empire that made him one of the richest artists of the era. After debuting in the late '90s with Reasonable Doubt and In My Lifetime, Vol 1, he began a chart run that notched over a dozen number one albums spread over two decades, including the multi-platinum, Grammy-winning Vol. 2...Hard Knock Life (1999), the Blueprint series ('01, '02, '09), and The Black Album (2003). In addition to his solo work, Jay-Z also found mainstream crossover success with pop, R&B, and rock artists, notably collaborating with protege Rihanna on their Grammy-winning "Umbrella" (2008); alternative metal outfit Linkin Park on 2004's genre mash-up Collision Course; Alicia Keys on New York City's unofficial anthem, the chart-topping "Empire State of Mind" (2011); frequent foil Kanye West on Watch the Throne (2012); and wife Beyoncé on numerous hit singles, international tours, and the joint album Everything Is Love (2018). In addition to rapping, Jay-Z has also served as a label head (Roc-A-Fella/Roc Nation/Def Jam), team owner (NBA's Brooklyn Nets), real-estate mogul, and fashion designer.

RYM review
ClockWork 1 - Oct 5 2014

A solid album that sort of functions as a concept record. Production-wise this is airy, lush, and instantly appealing. The voices of Marvin Gaye ("American Dreamin'") and Bilal ("Fallin'") drift in and out like poltergeists from a past life, supplanting Jay's best lyricism at album length on songs like, the desperate analysis of his situation, on "Pray", the realization of his downfall on "Fallin'", and the brilliant double entendre - coincidentally the best song here - "I Know", which are only paralleled by The Black Album and rivaled by The Blueprint and Reasonable Doubt.

His most instantly satisfying record, his most easily-digestible yet rewarding album. It doesn't make a lot of sense - he retreads old territory (drug dealing, rise/fall tales), raps with flows he's foreign to (to great success), and raps over the strangest production he'd encountered at that point. It's ironic.

So, while this hardly makes sense, is a bit of a wash, conceptually, seeing Jay break narrative how he feels, it's a an extremely successful album and a really exceptional comeback album. On all levels, American Gangster is his most underrated album, and on some levels, my personal favorite.
If you like this, also listen to :
Mic Club: The Curriculum - Canibus (2002)
Sit Down, Man Das Racist (2010)
Mechanical Royalty Babbletron (2003)


A reminder of the current standings (remember, you can vote or change your vote anytime)


1. Toy Love - Toy Love EP : 7.480 (10 votes) [Brad]
2. Pretty Things - Parachute : 7.110 (10) [Zombeels]
3. Chelsea Wolfe - Hiss Spun : 7.018 (9) [CupOfDreams]
4. Tyrannosaurus Rex - Unicorn : 7.000 (9) [SL3]
5. Mavis Staples - If All I Was Was Black : 6.920 (10) [antonius]
6. James - Laid : 6.842 (12) [Zombeels]
7. Hood - Cold House : 6.830 (12) [CupOfDreams]
8. Graham Coxon - Love Travels at Illegal Speeds : 6.700 (11) [Toni]
9. Four Tet - FabricLive.59 : 6.670 (10) [Krurze]
10. The Band - Stage Fright 6.660 (10) [Henry]
11. Krzysztof Penderecki - St. Luke Passion: 6.511 (9) [sonofsamiam]
12. The Elgins - Darling Baby : 6.500 (9) [mileswide]
13. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott? 6.418 (11) [bonnielaurel]
14. KRS-One - KRS-One : 6.400 (12) [schaefer.tk]
15. Bee Gees - Main Course : 6.359 (11) [bonnielaurel]
16. Soul Asylum - Made To Be Broken : 6.225 (12) [Brad]
17. Cybotron - Enter : 6.145 (11) [Moonbeam]
18. Rush - Fly By Night : 5.971 (12) [Brad]
19. Defunkt - Defunkt : 5.576 (9) [antonius]
20. MUNA - About U : 5.345 (11) [votingbloc]
21. Schoolhouse Rock! - Science Rock : 3.922 (9) [prosecutorgodot]
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 22. Jay-Z - American Gangster

Post by Schüttelbirne »

22. Jay-Z | American Gangster: 4/10

Never been particularly fond of Jay-Z; his entire rapping style seems rather bland to me and this is not an exception. Some of the samples and beats are good, but certainly not good enough to motivate me to listen to this again.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 22. Jay-Z - American Gangster

Post by Listyguy »

American Gangster - 5/10

Not my favorite output from Jay-Z, but he did come back with a vengeance a few years after this release. I like some of the material on the album, but none of it is as good as Jay-Z's best songs to make up for the overall number of tracks here that I didn't care much for.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 22. Jay-Z - American Gangster

Post by bootsy »

American Gangster - 7/10
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 21. Jill Scott - Who Is Jill Scott?

Post by bonnielaurel »

spiritualized wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 6:11 am Hi bonnielaurel, you haven't rated it on this game, so I'll take your RYM rating of 8/10, if that's OK ?
Yes, that's okay.
De gustibus et coloribus non est disputandum.
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Re: Biggest Fan - The Album Edition - 22. Jay-Z - American Gangster

Post by mileswide »

JAY-Z - American Gangster 7.2 (my #20 for 2007)
My highlights: Pray, American Gangster, No Hook, Fallin'
All I got inside is vacancy!
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