C.A.T: The White Album

The Beatles – The Beatles (1968)

For this week I thought I’d dust another album from 1968 and it’s none other than The Beatles eponymous 9th album “The Beatles” more popularly dubbed “The White Album.” At over 90 minutes, this double album would not only be The Beatles longest album, but also their best selling, going platinum an impressive 19-times. Though noted as a stressful time for The Beatles here they still manage to put together a great album. With lush ballads, hard rockers and the occasional silly song about pigs, Wild Honey Pie and whatever the hell “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” is supposed to mean. There’s a lot of diversity on this album and it’s quite an influential piece of work.

It’s hard to pick any specific notable tracks, as most Beatles albums are filled with nothing but that. We get The Beatles doing their best Chuck Berry/Beach Boys imitation, some bittersweet ballads such as “Happiness is a Warm Gun” or the always popular “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Let us not forget the many fine solo acoustic pieces such as; “Blackbird”, “I Will”, “Mother Nature’s Son” or Lennon’s eerily beautiful “Julia.” There’s a lot of experimentation going on in this album that for the most part works quite well. The only exception in my opinion would be the bizarre avant-garde “Revolution 9” which is hardly even a song. I guess John and Yoko Ono thought it was art but as I’ve heard, “McCartney hated it and George Martin hated it even more.” I can see why, and too me this somewhat weighs down the album, and makes it difficult to judge as a whole.

As well in all of this, I can’t help but feel that “The White Album” wasn’t nearly as polished or as tight as other Beatle albums. It definitely has it’s own kind of charm, but I feel like if it had been tightened up a bit it could of been even better. I’ll bet the sessions had to of been somewhat overwhelming or stressful due to the amount of material or ideas on this album. As we’ve heard “The White Album” was somewhat of a less collaborative effort between the individual members, (with a handful of songs recorded separately from the others) not to mention that Ringo walked out on some sessions being replaced by Paul. (Filling in on drum duties for “Back in the U.S.S.R” and “Dear Prudence”) But then again this does let us see different sides of each member.

Judging “The White Album” is tough for me, I suppose I consider it a near masterpiece, which don’t get me wrong is still great praise. In my experience most double albums have been somewhat tiring due to their length, pacing, or lack of quality songs. Occasionally I’ll listen to a double album and think “Did they need to record this song? Could the album benefit from a few tracks being cut?” But I think for the most part “The White Album” doesn’t really wear off it’s welcome (Maybe it does on “Revolution 9” but aside from that.) Nonetheless we still got another truly original and creative work from the greatest band of all time.

C.A.T: Moby Grape

Moby Grape – Moby Grape (1967)

Though they might not have the same name recognition as some of the other groups to come out of the late 60’s San Francisco scene such as The Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane, Moby Grape’s debut album is probably better than any album either of those groups ever produced. It’s just too bad that the rest of their short-lived career paled in comparison due to tension between band members and bad management.

The album mixes a variety of genres including country, blues, garage rock, and psychedelia. This eclectic sound is probably due to the fact that all five of Moby Grape’s members contributed songs to the album. The album gets off to a rockin’ start with “Hey Grandma”, and never really lets go. There’s a great energy that comes out of the musical interplay between guitarists Jerry Miller, Peter Lewis and Skip Spence on songs like “Omaha”, “Fall on You”, and “Changes”. There’s even a lot going on instrumentally on the slower songs like “8:05” or “Sitting by the Window”, and really every song is consistently solid. The whole band sounds very tight throughout the whole album not to mention the solid harmonies and great songwriting, and not a second is wasted considering the albums brief running time of 32 minutes.

Favorite Tracks: Fall on You, Come in the Morning, Omaha

C.A.T: Parachutes

Coldplay – Parachutes (2000)

I thought for this week’s CAT we’d take a look at something a bit more recent. Everyone knows Coldplay’s “A Rush of Blood to the Head” and the hit “X & Y,” but significantly less people have heard the band’s debut release, “Parachutes.” While “A Rush of Blood to the Head” is perhaps Coldplay’s magnum opus, I’ve found that “Parachutes” is the one that I have listened to the most. It is very laid back and easy to listen to; a lot simpler than the rest of their library. The album is often likened to the sound of Radiohead during the “Bends-OK Computer” era, Wikipedia even says that a part of the album’s success is Radiohead fans not liking “Kid A.” The first track, “Don’t Panic,” remains one of my favorite songs ever. After that, the album gets a progressively quieter, until we get to the eponymous song and things pick up a little for the last few tracks. But quiet is not a bad thing at all, from the hit single “Yellow” to the controversial “Spies,” every single song on this album is great.

Some people say that “Parachutes” is just too mellow for their tastes. Hell, some people say that about “A Rush of Blood to the Head.” Chris Martin doesn’t even seem to really like it. Which may be the case for you. But if you’ve enjoyed multiples listens to their other work, or even “The Bends,” you really should check it out. Maybe you’ll be one of the lucky ones who understand exactly what makes “Parachutes” so beautiful.

Favorite Tracks: “Don’t Panic,” “Sparks,” “Everything’s Not Lost”

Classic Album Tuesday: Traffic

Traffic – Traffic (1968)
Welcome to a new segment known as “Classic Album Tuesdays” or “CAT” Where we’ll look back at various albums we’ve enjoyed over the years and what not. For this week I thought I’d reminisce about one of my favorite albums currently enjoying it’s 40th anniversary, this being Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Traffic’s 1968 self-titled album Traffic. Though it’s certainly not one of the most memorable albums of it’s time, and probably something you wouldn’t expect to see in this kind of segment, It’s one of my favorite albums of the sixties.

Coming off of their psychedelic debut album that was Mr. Fantasy released in 1967. The then 4 piece Traffic (Led by 20 year old multi-istrumentalist Steve Winwood) decided to take a more blues/rock oriented approach to their sophomore album. With Producer Jimmy Miller (Other albums including Beggars Banquet and Blind Faith) Steve Winwood (Vocals/Organ/Guitar/Bass), Jim Capaldi (Vocals/Drums), Dave Mason (Vocals/Guitar/Bass/Harmonica) and Chris Wood (Saxophone/Flute) headed into Island Studios to work on what would be their most cohesive work in their entire 8 run.

An album blending many genres, from Blues, to Jazz, to Folk Traffic is filled to the brim with inventive and creative arrangements not to mention some very tight musicianship. With song-writing duties being split between Winwood/Capaldi and Dave Mason, we get many different kinds of songs that somehow manage to gel together. From the British Blues Rock of “Pearly Queen” to the Jazzy beat of “Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring” and who could forget Dave Mason’s “Feelin’ Alright” (Which would of course later be made famous by Joe Cocker) Traffic is a feel good album, especially well suited for cruising’ down the highway on a warm summer’s day. It was one of the first albums I got after getting my first iPod and it’s really stuck with me.

Favorite Tracks: “Pearly Queen”, “Feelin’ Alright”, “Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring”