My one mistake was that I never let you down
Continuing my trip up #album-of-the-day...
21.02.11 : Light Me Up - The Pretty Reckless (2010)
Never heard of album or artist - and the name suggested to me we were either in for something heavy or a band of fey indie dudes. What I was not expecting was a female vocalist - so that was a pleasant surprise. I wasn't overly enjoying it from the first couple of tracks, but it actually grew on me as the album progressed - it's like a cross between Joan Jett, Courtney Love and Alanis Morrisette (and I hate having to type her name because I ALWAYS have to look up how to spell it). It's pretty cliched bad girl stuff at times, but it just about carries it off and I imagine they're a lot of fun live. I particularly like "Miss Nothing" - that got added to my general playlist (and we all know there's no higher accolade in the history of music).
The channel gave this four ok hands, a couple of positive comments and a note that the lead singer played one of the kids in The Grinch (and she was in Spy Kids 2 as well, which I believe I was forced to endure at some point). Wikipedia has a fair bit on the album, but little of any real consequence. It was reasonably well received critically (I liked the comment that it was "clearly built from the doll parts of grunge goddesses") and did OK commercially, getting to #65 in the US and #6 in the UK, which seems surprisingly high.
"Customers also listened to", to no great surprise, no-one I'd ever heard of. But I found this album to be pleasantly enjoyable - which I totally wasn't expecting at the start.
21.02.12 : Altered Beast - Matthew Sweet (1993)
I have heard of Matthew Sweet and had him bracketed with John Mayer and Dave Matthews as "perfectly fine but mystifyingly popular in the US". And there's nothing here to change my mind on that - the songs are all perfectly acceptable, but the sort of things a million bands churn out and get absolutely nowhere with. I'll not deny there was some toe-tapping involved and there are some nice harmonies, but I just don't see what they have that makes them stand out for people. The inclusion of a clip from Caligula is an "interesting" choice and diverted me to the film's Wikipedia page, which was far more interesting than anything on the album - it originated from a script by Gore Vidal, was filmed as a serious drama but then had hardcore sex scenes added in post production, which sit somewhat strangely with a mainstream cast that includes Helen Mirren and John Gielgud. Going back to the album, I like the cute dinosaurs!
The channel gave this no emojis and no comments, but listed a few more albums called Altered Beast (but disappointingly didn't list any albums by The Altered Beasts). Wikipedia has a few sentences on the album, but little of interest - although I was somewhat surprised to see that Mick Fleetwood plays on the album. The critical notices were mixed (I liked the comment that the album has "inspiring moments; the problem is finding them") although commercial performance was somewhat mediocre - #75 in the US, so maybe I shouldn't mentally bracket him with John and Dave after all.
"Customers also listened to" Guadalcanal Diary and The Judybats - and obviously I've never heard of either of them. And have no intention of finding out more about them - or Matthew Sweet either.
21.02.15 : Medicine At Midnight - Foo Fighters (2021)
Our second visit with the Foos on this list - last time I enjoyed it without thinking it met the heights of their output that I was previously aware of and, given that I wasn't specifically aware of this album, I was pretty much expecting the same. And well, hmmm - it was all a bit dull for me, I'm afraid. It's all well done and I imagine it's fun live but I just didn't engage with it at all - maybe further listens would change this, but it's hard to see what would make that happen.
The channel gave this four thumbs up and a lot of general love for the Foos. Wikipedia tells me that the album was recorded in a old haunted house and apparently several unexplained things were captured on video but the house's owner is trying to sell the house and they'd signed an NDA so they couldn't release it. Yes, of course that's the case. The album was well received both critically and commercially - #1 in the UK but surprisingly only #3 in the US. However, my suspicion is that Dave can release anything and it will be well received - as we're going to find out later on in this list...
"Customers also listened to" Royal Blood and Queens Of The Stone Age - not a million miles away. But this one just didn't do it for me, I'm afraid
And so, in a completely unexpected turn of affairs, the round goes to The Pretty Reckless - I reckon there's even a chance I could listen to it again as well.
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