Friday, 19 April 2013
I'm sorry
I'm not feeling like a blog post today, I'll get back to the review tomorrow, after my Taekwondo grading.
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Complete Clapton review (part 2, of many)
Ok, this is part 2 of my song by song review, for the 'Complete Clapton' review. We will begin now, with probably my least favourite song on the album
'Presence of the Lord'- well, as I just said, this is one of my least favourite tracks on both discs. There's nothing to do with the song, or the lyrics, it's just because I don't like it, it's a pretty good song, but not one that I'd actively want to listen to. It's got a lot of musical content to it and the lyrics are good, but that's really about it, for the song, the only really good bit is the solos section, the instrumentation changes for the better, and a screaming solo is introduced.. At a hefty 4:49, it's not the shortest of bad tracks, either.
'After Midnight'- it's funky, with a pretty good groove, and lyrical content. there's a lot going on, with multiple guitars, a bass, lead vocals and group backing vocals, and drums, so the mix is a bit packed, but with the way that it's all been sorted recorded, it works and you can near enough hear every instrument in the song, the only disappointing thing is that there's no solo, only a few lead licks, here and there. Sitting at 3:09, it's a comfortable length
'Let it Rain'- This one's also a really good song, it's not really what I'd listen to, but a very good song, none the less. There's not as much going on instrumentation wise, but there's still a lot happening musically, making the track sound pretty huge and wide. There are a few repeated melodic patterns, in the song, which is good, and makes it enjoyable to listen to. The guitar solo is very reminiscent of the November Rain solo, where there are lyrics under it, for the most part, although Eric is given the time and space to let another amazing solo go with just the rhythm section playing. With a length of 5:07 it's not the longest on the album, but it's close to it.
'Bell Bottom Blues'- This one is a very good song, it's got slow verses and big, pumped up chorus'. It's got a lot of blues and gospel elements with a large variety of instrumentation. The solo in this one, is very reminiscent of a lot of Clapton style solos, slow and simple, but really effective under the song's musical content. Not a lot to say on this one, but it's a really impressive song, with a lot to go for it. There's a second solo, playing a call and response with one of the latter verses. The song length is a reasonable 5:02.
'Layla'- This is by far one of my all time favourite songs on this album, both discs, it's such a good, recognizable track, a lot of guitar parts, with a constant drum pattern. The vocals are rasp and good, it's not as good as some of his live versions (check out the Crossroads 2004 version of it, immence) but still a very good recording, the solo is incredible, and such a good solo, very reminiscent of Eric's Cream solos, very melodic, very powerful, and it leads into the Coda, which is in a different key (for those musicians regular song=D Coda=C) it's a piano led piece of music with rhythmic solos played over it, one on top of the other, a picked solo by Eric and a slide solo played by the great Duane Allman.
That's it, I'll see you tomorrow for tracks 11-15
'Presence of the Lord'- well, as I just said, this is one of my least favourite tracks on both discs. There's nothing to do with the song, or the lyrics, it's just because I don't like it, it's a pretty good song, but not one that I'd actively want to listen to. It's got a lot of musical content to it and the lyrics are good, but that's really about it, for the song, the only really good bit is the solos section, the instrumentation changes for the better, and a screaming solo is introduced.. At a hefty 4:49, it's not the shortest of bad tracks, either.
'After Midnight'- it's funky, with a pretty good groove, and lyrical content. there's a lot going on, with multiple guitars, a bass, lead vocals and group backing vocals, and drums, so the mix is a bit packed, but with the way that it's all been sorted recorded, it works and you can near enough hear every instrument in the song, the only disappointing thing is that there's no solo, only a few lead licks, here and there. Sitting at 3:09, it's a comfortable length
'Let it Rain'- This one's also a really good song, it's not really what I'd listen to, but a very good song, none the less. There's not as much going on instrumentation wise, but there's still a lot happening musically, making the track sound pretty huge and wide. There are a few repeated melodic patterns, in the song, which is good, and makes it enjoyable to listen to. The guitar solo is very reminiscent of the November Rain solo, where there are lyrics under it, for the most part, although Eric is given the time and space to let another amazing solo go with just the rhythm section playing. With a length of 5:07 it's not the longest on the album, but it's close to it.
'Bell Bottom Blues'- This one is a very good song, it's got slow verses and big, pumped up chorus'. It's got a lot of blues and gospel elements with a large variety of instrumentation. The solo in this one, is very reminiscent of a lot of Clapton style solos, slow and simple, but really effective under the song's musical content. Not a lot to say on this one, but it's a really impressive song, with a lot to go for it. There's a second solo, playing a call and response with one of the latter verses. The song length is a reasonable 5:02.
'Layla'- This is by far one of my all time favourite songs on this album, both discs, it's such a good, recognizable track, a lot of guitar parts, with a constant drum pattern. The vocals are rasp and good, it's not as good as some of his live versions (check out the Crossroads 2004 version of it, immence) but still a very good recording, the solo is incredible, and such a good solo, very reminiscent of Eric's Cream solos, very melodic, very powerful, and it leads into the Coda, which is in a different key (for those musicians regular song=D Coda=C) it's a piano led piece of music with rhythmic solos played over it, one on top of the other, a picked solo by Eric and a slide solo played by the great Duane Allman.
That's it, I'll see you tomorrow for tracks 11-15
Wednesday, 17 April 2013
CD song by song review. 'Complete Clapton' By Eric Clapton (disc 1 Part 1 (part 2 comes tomorrow))
This will be a pretty long post, as it's a huge album, which is why I'm splitting it into 8 pieces, disc one will be today, tomorrow Friday, Saturday and disc 2 will be from Sunday through to Wednesday. I will be going song by song, per disc, giving my opinions and my views on this songs on this huge collection of Eric Clapton songs, spanning his career, from Cream, to his solo projects, which he is still doing today.
Funnily enough, I'm listening to this album, as I write this review, not wasting anymore time, lets begin with.
'I Feel Free'- it's the opener of the album, and from my experience, generally album openers are really good (Rock and Roll Train, Chinese democracy, Ghost, Stiff Upper Lip) so I was let down when this one was worse than most of what I've heard on the album. It's one of the shortest song on the album, sitting in at a pleasant 2:55 seconds, so you don't have to sit through much of it, before you get to a much better track. It's a little everywhere, there's not much of a structure, and there's a lot of wide panning, with guitars and vocals flying in from each side. This brings us swiftly on to our next track
'Sunshine Of Your Love' This is a great Cream song, Cream was one of Eric's bands that he was in, the other being the Yard birds Cream is composed of Eric Clapton on guitar and backing vocals, Jack Bruce on bass and lead vocals, and Ginger Baker on drums. Sunshine of Your Love is a really good track, it's got a lot happening, for only being a 3 piece band. It flows really well, and the vocals are really done, following on from each other, as a call and response in some sections. It's a simple structure of Intro, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Solo, Verse, Chorus/outro although each section is surprisingly shorter than what I would have expected, with the song sitting at around the 4:00 minute mark, 4:12 to be exact. The solos is out of this world, it's so good, Eric really let himself go with with one, it starts off simple and slow, using a lot of bent notes, although speeds up and gets more complex near the end.
'White Room' Another good Cream song, this time with Eric Clapton on lead vocals. It's pretty good, following on with the streak of successful songs that was started by Sunshine. It starts off a little like 'I Feel Free' in that it's a little free form, although as it all kicks in there is a sense of structure, which is good. Each instrument sits nicely and sounds fantastic, there's a lot more going on with this one, as far as I can hear that there's a horn and brass section, but I might be mistaken, there wasn't a main solo in the middle of the song, although there was one after the horn section, which indeed, closes off the track, all in all, it's a pretty good song and a good length of 4:59.
'Crossroads' The famous Robert Johnson track, redone with Cream, made more modern and with electric instruments, and in more of a rock context, rather than a blues piece. It's reminiscent of the Robert Johnson version although with the typical Cream accents, as you're used to hearing from the last two tracks. It's not exactly like Robert's version, although I'm not most familiar with it, I believe the lyrics are the same, although the instrumentation and what each instrument is doing, is a lot different, more what Cream are used to playing, and what they were certainly known for playing. The solo in this one, is again, incredible, really good, really well played, and as good as the Sunshine solo, so it's all good from me, very good song, worth finding on YouTube or I-tunes, and picking it up sitting at a respectable 4:08 seconds long, it's not that bad either.
'Badge'- This song, is the shortest on the album, sitting at 2:43, and in my opinion it's pretty good, it's got a good groove on it, one that'll get your foot tapping in time with it, it does sound like there is 4 instruments playing, guitar, drums and bass, and vocals, so, unlike White Room, although it's good as a song on it's own, really good, a lot slower than what Cream were typically known for, and what you should be used to hearing so far on the album, there's a small solo, under some lyrics, which again, is very well done on Clapton's behalf.
So, that was the first 5 tracks of this killer 38 song album, spanning Eric's career, we'll look through disc 1 part 2 tomorrow, and then so on, until the album is done. I'm impressed with these tracks, although I would've liked it if they kept these songs until the later part of the album, and put some of the tracks that were worse, nearer the front, instead of wasting their 'trump' songs, so to say.
Funnily enough, I'm listening to this album, as I write this review, not wasting anymore time, lets begin with.
'I Feel Free'- it's the opener of the album, and from my experience, generally album openers are really good (Rock and Roll Train, Chinese democracy, Ghost, Stiff Upper Lip) so I was let down when this one was worse than most of what I've heard on the album. It's one of the shortest song on the album, sitting in at a pleasant 2:55 seconds, so you don't have to sit through much of it, before you get to a much better track. It's a little everywhere, there's not much of a structure, and there's a lot of wide panning, with guitars and vocals flying in from each side. This brings us swiftly on to our next track
'Sunshine Of Your Love' This is a great Cream song, Cream was one of Eric's bands that he was in, the other being the Yard birds Cream is composed of Eric Clapton on guitar and backing vocals, Jack Bruce on bass and lead vocals, and Ginger Baker on drums. Sunshine of Your Love is a really good track, it's got a lot happening, for only being a 3 piece band. It flows really well, and the vocals are really done, following on from each other, as a call and response in some sections. It's a simple structure of Intro, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Solo, Verse, Chorus/outro although each section is surprisingly shorter than what I would have expected, with the song sitting at around the 4:00 minute mark, 4:12 to be exact. The solos is out of this world, it's so good, Eric really let himself go with with one, it starts off simple and slow, using a lot of bent notes, although speeds up and gets more complex near the end.
'White Room' Another good Cream song, this time with Eric Clapton on lead vocals. It's pretty good, following on with the streak of successful songs that was started by Sunshine. It starts off a little like 'I Feel Free' in that it's a little free form, although as it all kicks in there is a sense of structure, which is good. Each instrument sits nicely and sounds fantastic, there's a lot more going on with this one, as far as I can hear that there's a horn and brass section, but I might be mistaken, there wasn't a main solo in the middle of the song, although there was one after the horn section, which indeed, closes off the track, all in all, it's a pretty good song and a good length of 4:59.
'Crossroads' The famous Robert Johnson track, redone with Cream, made more modern and with electric instruments, and in more of a rock context, rather than a blues piece. It's reminiscent of the Robert Johnson version although with the typical Cream accents, as you're used to hearing from the last two tracks. It's not exactly like Robert's version, although I'm not most familiar with it, I believe the lyrics are the same, although the instrumentation and what each instrument is doing, is a lot different, more what Cream are used to playing, and what they were certainly known for playing. The solo in this one, is again, incredible, really good, really well played, and as good as the Sunshine solo, so it's all good from me, very good song, worth finding on YouTube or I-tunes, and picking it up sitting at a respectable 4:08 seconds long, it's not that bad either.
'Badge'- This song, is the shortest on the album, sitting at 2:43, and in my opinion it's pretty good, it's got a good groove on it, one that'll get your foot tapping in time with it, it does sound like there is 4 instruments playing, guitar, drums and bass, and vocals, so, unlike White Room, although it's good as a song on it's own, really good, a lot slower than what Cream were typically known for, and what you should be used to hearing so far on the album, there's a small solo, under some lyrics, which again, is very well done on Clapton's behalf.
So, that was the first 5 tracks of this killer 38 song album, spanning Eric's career, we'll look through disc 1 part 2 tomorrow, and then so on, until the album is done. I'm impressed with these tracks, although I would've liked it if they kept these songs until the later part of the album, and put some of the tracks that were worse, nearer the front, instead of wasting their 'trump' songs, so to say.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
Apology and update.
Well, this wasn't daily.
I'm sorry, I thought I would be able to do a daily blog, but I wasn't able to, I'm not going to fill this post with apologies and excuses, because quite frankly, I don't have them.
I'm going to try and get a daily blog going on, starting from tomorrow, although I don't really know what I can really talk about, everyday, considering I am a 16 year old school student who is currently studying for his As exams, so, it'll probably be a little of everything, music reviews, game reviews, whatever.
They won't be current games, or current CD's they'll just be things that I have, that I enjoy and things that I can talk about.
I hope you'll be back tomorrow, and I hope I'll be back tomorrow, as well, I'll possibly have a couple of CD reviews, or whatever, I might do. We'll see.
I'm sorry, I thought I would be able to do a daily blog, but I wasn't able to, I'm not going to fill this post with apologies and excuses, because quite frankly, I don't have them.
I'm going to try and get a daily blog going on, starting from tomorrow, although I don't really know what I can really talk about, everyday, considering I am a 16 year old school student who is currently studying for his As exams, so, it'll probably be a little of everything, music reviews, game reviews, whatever.
They won't be current games, or current CD's they'll just be things that I have, that I enjoy and things that I can talk about.
I hope you'll be back tomorrow, and I hope I'll be back tomorrow, as well, I'll possibly have a couple of CD reviews, or whatever, I might do. We'll see.
Tuesday, 5 March 2013
A first post: one of many
So, I've started up another blog, I had one previously, but it failed. And I also have my Tumblr, which is going to be a little more private, and I can focus on this one.
Same deal as before, as I write a story, it will be posted about here, and there will be a link to the Figment page for it.
But a little more on me. I am a 16 year old from England, born and raised in London, England, however I'm now living in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England
I'm obsessed with music, and my CD collection is my biggest collection, I've ever held, and is still growing, whenever I get enough spare cash for a CD or two, I also read a lot, and have a largish collection of books, although not as plentisome as my CD collection.
I'm also a wannabe writer, and musician, although I'm focusing more on the writing as that's something that I can see as a job of mine.
I love playing video games, and watching films, although I recently brought a collection of films, and I'm still yet to watch all of them.
Last but not least, I'm bisexual.
I hope ya'll keep coming back, as I'm probably going to be posting daily, they might not all be as long as this one was, but they might be.
Same deal as before, as I write a story, it will be posted about here, and there will be a link to the Figment page for it.
But a little more on me. I am a 16 year old from England, born and raised in London, England, however I'm now living in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England
I'm obsessed with music, and my CD collection is my biggest collection, I've ever held, and is still growing, whenever I get enough spare cash for a CD or two, I also read a lot, and have a largish collection of books, although not as plentisome as my CD collection.
I'm also a wannabe writer, and musician, although I'm focusing more on the writing as that's something that I can see as a job of mine.
I love playing video games, and watching films, although I recently brought a collection of films, and I'm still yet to watch all of them.
Last but not least, I'm bisexual.
I hope ya'll keep coming back, as I'm probably going to be posting daily, they might not all be as long as this one was, but they might be.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)