Olivier Messiaen - "Quartet for the End of Time" (1941)

Rating: 9

Note: The above album cover is not actually the performance I own of this piece.

Although my working knowledge of classical music is scant and pathetic, I do know enough that I had at least been meaning to listen to my Quartet for the End of Time LP for several years now. In terms of backstory, it's hard to beat, since much of it was composed by Olivier Messiaen while he was a prisoner of war during World War II. Even better yet (from my perspective), the themes deal with no less than the Apocalypse and the music is a paean to angels coming down from Heaven. I may not be religious myself, but I do have a fondness for music inspired by religion, assuming it is infused with a proper awe and majesty (which classical music usually is).

Still, I had listened to part of the record once, but as background music, and expected something more immediately majestic and stirring, where it in fact does awhile to get going. But with a full listen, I really found myself drawn in by the power of the piece. In particular, I was struck by the fifth movement, (which closes the first side on my record) a slow, seven-minute cello solo backed by piano, and if at first it seemed somewhat sparse, the richness of the theme slowly gives way to a state of bliss. And to have it followed up by a wild dissonant piece hearkening the six trumpets of the Apocalypse is something that I just don't ever find in my usual sphere of pop and rock music.

It will definitely take me more listens to appreciate everything that Messiaen is doing here, especially due to my lack of experience with modern classical. But although I'm afraid to stake out a final position yet (above rating is a guess), I have a strong feeling that this shit is really good. Like, fucking great. So needless to say, keeper!

The Choice Four - "The Finger Pointers" (1974)

This is apparently one of the more obscure records that I own, with only 3 ratings on rateyourmusic.com and only a tracklisting on allmusic.com. The Choice Four were a short-lived soul/funk quartet who failed to find any great commercial success with this record and thus faded into obscurity. Although this is hardly a bad record, with good singing and tasteful production, I can see why it didn't make any impact as well. Simply put, the songs are generic and largely lacking in hooks. So although I don't have any ill will towards this album, I also don't see myself wanting to listen to it again in the future. And that means blue bin.

Kenny Loggins - "High Adventure" (1982)

This is one of two Kenny Loggins albums that I own (the other being Nightwatch), and my general reaction to each was about the same. Loggins has a powerful, if histrionic tenor voice and aims for a middle of the road rock sound. His lyrics are shallow, motivational tripe and his songs are simplistic with overwrought guitar solos. Still, on his best singles ("Danger Zone"), he does manage to achieve a certain cheesy appeal. On both albums, I enjoyed three or four songs, but ultimately had to conclude that the bad outweighed the good.

For what it's worth, this is probably the slightly better of the two records with at least four songs, that although dumb, are still enjoyably hooky (for the sake of posterity, these are the leading two tracks on each side in this case). On Nightwatch, Loggins tried his hand at a longer, prog-influenced song, which failed miserably, and on this album, he keeps everything short and sweet. Unfortunately, he ends each side of the album with a string-backed ballad and although the consistent level of cheese is somewhat tolerable when Loggins is rocking, it is unbearable when he tries his hand at ballads. So in the end, this is a blue bin record, and I have to say that Loggins is one of those artists for whom a greatest hits compilation would be more than sufficient.

Judy Collins - "Living" (1971)

Sometimes it's just hard to get excited about yet another 70s singer-songwriter whose music is perfectly adequate but at the same time not exciting or rousing in any way. So I'll keep this one brief. Judy Collins' Living is actually a live recording of her performing 10 songs, mostly covers by songwriters like Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell. My girlfriend hated her vocal style but after listening to enough Joni Mitchell and Rickie Lee Jones records, I have at least gotten acclimated to that sort of thing. What I can't get acclimated to is the fact that most of the arrangements here are very quiet, forcing the listener to rely solely on Collins' singing as the means of enjoyment. Well, I find her singing okay but not great, and most of the songs are slow and not particularly memorable. I wouldn't say there is anything bad here, so it probably could be recommended at some level. Collins definitely has some artsy leanings and a number of the songs she covers are definitely good songs (examples: Cohen's "Joan of Arc," Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning" and Dylan's "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"). But for me, the original versions are better, and I don't see myself wanting to return to this record again. 

Kansas - "Point of Know Return" (1977)

Now I like "Carry On My Wayward Son" as much as the next guy, but it doesn't change the fact that Kansas sucks. I went into this album with expectations based on George Starostin's reviews of the group, and these expectations were almost perfectly met. Kansas's schtick is basically a weird hybrid of bluesy bar-rock (i.e., the more generic rock songs on classic rock radio) and elements stolen from superior British prog-rock bands (Yes, Genesis, ELP). Most of the time, this is a bad, bad combination, culminating in the awful 7-minute "Closet Chronicles" that closes the first side with banal vocals and several minutes of frenetic organ soloing. I don't even like ELP's keyboard wanking, so why would I like this?

Still, Point of Know Return is not a totally horrible album. The title track is one that I have heard many times before on the radio without actually realizing who it was. It's still dorky, but actually not a bad synthesis of straight-ahead classic rock and prog, since it keeps things relatively simple and only uses the keyboards as accompaniment. So I guess it is possible for their sound to work, but every time they range out and get more progressive, the results are almost invariably bad, since the longer songs lack any real complexity.

Oh yeah, this album does have classic rock staple "Dust in the Wind" on it. "Dust in the Wind," being an acoustic ballad with strings, isn't representative of the sound of the rest of the album whatsoever. But it does still manage to epitomize Kansas. For about 90 seconds, I am able to find the song enjoyable, as the vocal melody moves me despite myself. But then the generic string parts come in, the vocals become more plaintive, and the result is that they way oversell it, thinking that the song is as good as "Yesterday" when it's really just a pleasant acoustic melody with generic soul-searching lyrics. My point is that their songwriting isn't inherently terrible, but it isn't great either, and when they consistently try to make more out of their songs than what they are, the results to me are worse than if they opted for a more simplified approach. So in the end, this is definitely a blue bin album.

Jimmy Buffett - "Son of a Son of a Sailor" (1978)

Before listening to this record, I had a fairly negative perception of Jimmy Buffett, but in truth, I hadn't actually heard much of his music. After listening to this record, some of my hostility towards Buffett dissipated, for although I still don't really have any personal connection to his odes to the Caribbean and drinking margaritas on the beach, his persona is clearly intended to be at least somewhat tongue-in-cheek. So as ridiculous as a song called "Cheeseburger in Paradise" may be, it is at least leavened with a dose of humor, which I can always appreciate.

All that said, this album will not remain in my collection, for although the title track is a somewhat catchy folk ditty and it may be that "Cheeseburger in Paradise" is secretly brilliant, the rest failed to impress on a basic songwriting level, unlike the undeniable hooks of say, "Margaritaville". This record is not really touted as one of Buffett's best and since I am no Parrothead to begin with, I feel no regret in tossing this one into the blue bin, blue being the color that fits a son of a son of a sailor best.