John Coltrane - Blue Train (58)

Ended up getting really busy, so I never got the chance to do the review. But it gave me more time to sit with this one. So I came in this album expecting greatness, just due to how acclaim and prestigious this album is. Not to say this album isn't great, because it's really good, but it didn't meet my expectations I had prior going into it. So during the duration of my listening experience, in the back of my head it was always this feeling of "what am I not getting". Idk maybe this is just another case of my disconnect with jazz due to lack of music theory knowledge or sum.

But anyways the album is great. The opening track, Blue Train really sets the tone for what you're about to get into. The star of this album is ofc Coltrane and his saxophone, all the solos and improv, to the point it almost felt like all the other instruments were background. Something I really appreciate from this album is the uniqueness and distinctness, which is probably due to all the pieces being written by Coltrane himself, expect Old Fashioned, which is surprisingly my favorite off the album. The album really does keep you engaged with all the melodic but also energetic pieces, and all the catching solos.

Favorite Tracks: I'm Old Fashioned, Moment's Notice
Least Favorite: Locomotion

Gloria Lynne - Miss Gloria Lynne (58)

So I was also listening to the next album, while I was also listening to Blue Train. Gloria Lynne is more lowkey in recognition compared to some of the other artists I done so far. Honestly, really only know of her due to liking a beat that sampled one of her songs, and I said why not and added to her to the list. Wasn't expecting too much from this album, but was thoroughly surprised how much I enjoyed this one.

A nice blend of soul, gospel, jazz and blues all in one. Love the use of organs throughout the album and her vocals are always on point.Said it before itt but I'll say it again, don't think I heard one bad rendition of April in Paris yet . The album is also not that long, only around 36 minutes concise which makes it a pretty easy listen. Not a perfect project by any means, but definitely a solid record.

Favorite Tracks: April in Paris, Without a Song
Least Favorite: All Day Long

Not really a fan of big band stuff but this album kinda nice

Count Basie - The Atomic Mr. Basie (58)

So while I'm not the biggest fan of big band jazz from my experience, I gotta give this album it's credit. it really did surprise me. At times there's a nice blend of the more melodic cool jazz (another style of jazz I'm not the biggest fan of) with the more loud and bombastic playing I would expect from a big band. Another reason why this album surprised me is the amount of solos and improvisation in here. There's a nice balance of these two in here, even though I preferred the more energetic tracks. Maybe I just had a false perception of what big band is, but I never really thought there was much room for solos and improv compared to that of combos or smaller bands, but there was quite a bit here. Kinda reminds me of Ellington at newport in that regard but not quite the same.

But with that being said, this album does kinda drag for a bit imo, maybe a little too long. There's some tracks that are pretty dull to me and don't do anything for me and just succumb to some of the characteristics I dislike about big band jazz. The highs on this album are pretty high tho, like The Kid From Red Bank had me like this first listen . Despite some of the flaws, this is still a decent listen

Favorite Tracks: The Kid From Red Bank, Whirly Bird
Least Favorite: Lil Darlin

Night in Tunisia is actually insane

The solos on here are just crazy

Lee Morgan - The Cooker (58)

Yeah to start it off, this is probably one of the best jazz albums I heard so far and Night In Tunisia is one of the best jazz tracks I heard so far as well. Just an overall great project. The best aspect of the album was of course all of the crazy improvs and solos. Lee's trumpet playing was just insane all throughout the project. Like you never really knew where he was gonna take it when he got into that zone. An overall stellar performance by him filled with passion and energy. And what adds to this his trumpet playing is of course the chemistry he had with all the other bands, especially the sax player, there was nice back and forth going on b/n the two.

The album never really lets up till like Lover man, the first 3 tracks were just a crazy run. I look into it, turns out Lee was only 19 when he made this album, which is just crazy to me.

Favorite Tracks: A Night in Tunisia, Heavy Dipper
Least Favorite: New-Ma

Elizabeth Cotten - Folksongs and Instrumentals with Guitar (58)

When first hearing this album, didn't really know what to expect. I heard that she self taught herself very young, but never really got the chance to record any music till her old age. The album is pretty strange, in the sense that it's extremely rough but also extremely intimate at the same time, apparently the album was recorded as her grandchildren watched her played.

Usually when listening to folk, I either expect amazing vocals or amazing writing or both, just because the nature of how minimal the instrumentation is. I didn't really get either from this. Her vocals are super rough and weathered from age ofc, so that aspect was missing. The writing was pretty decent tbh, but nothing crazy imo. The album is also most composed of just barebone instrumentals, and sometimes the melodies for some songs seem like they're the same. At first the album can seem very dull and boring but idk there's something appealing about how raw and in your face this album is.

Favorite Tracks: Freight Train, Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie
Least Favorite: Here Old Rattler Here

Frank Sinatra - Sings for Only the Lonely (58)

Going into this album, I saw a lot of praise for this project when looking into it, with some saying it was his best album. I considered In The Wee Small Hours his best that I listened to so far. But this album really delivered on almost all fronts

Vocally Sinatra might be the best I heard from him on here (also might be the fact that this was recorded in stereo). The instrumentation is pretty amazing and matches Sinatra and the songs perfectly. It really gives this cinematic, melancholic and brooding vibe. The song selection for the most part was pretty good, minus a few songs I could of done without but nevertheless still pretty good. This album is really reminiscent to In The Wee Small Hours, which is why I probably like it so much. Sinatra when he's in his simping and crooning bag is undefeated. I already knew what was up starting from the intro track when he hits those high notes with the glimmering pianos and lush strings playing along.

It did take me a few listens to catch on to the music and become adjusted, but once I did it was a wrap. This album is a perfect listen in the night time and the only way I played it tbh. There was many great moments on here, but by the far the standout was the last track, One For My Baby. This song paints a picture of someone after a breakup lonely with only bartender to accompany him as he drowns in his sorrows, and this feeling is only amplified with the combo of strings and pianos

Favorite Tracks: One For My Baby, Only For The Lonely
Least Favorite: Blues In The Night

As long as I have you

Elvis Presley - King Creole (58)

So this is probably my least favorite Elvis album. Not to say it was bad, but it was pretty bland and uninteresting at points. There's nothing really offensively bad about this album, it's pretty consistent in the quality it maintains for the whole duration, but there's some flaws. The song selection could of been better, the instrumentation was pretty dull, lack of catchy songs and was just a lack of overall energy in this one. Even, the standouts from this were good, but still missing an element to it. Crawfish did catch me tho, almost thought I was listening to a funk track for a second lol.

Favorite Tracks: As Long as I Have You, Crawfish
Least Favorite: Hard Headed Woman

Buddy Holly is from my hometown, but I never listened to too much. Just generally aware of some of the bigger songs.

his vocals are kinda insane in crawfish

Buddy Holly - Buddy Holly (58)

Didn't know what to expect with this album but was pleasantly surprised The album is a pretty fun and just an overall solid project. The melodies were catching, his vocals were pretty great especially with all the inflections, cadences, and harmonizing. The instrumentals were more so less sort of unique from other 50 rock albums I heard so far. Comparing this with his efforts with The Crickets, I prefer this a lotttt more, wasn't too big on that album. Tracks like Listen To Me, Everyday, Peggy Sue and Words of Love are the ones that really caught my attention and separated themselves from the rest. Really love his vocals on both Listen To Me and Words of Love especially. As for Everyday and Peggy Sue, they were just in general really fun tracks with a unique feel to them. Everyday also sounds extremely familiar for some reason

Unfortunately the album does really fall off for me in like the second half. Even with the dip of quality, the first half was really engaging that it doesn't hurt it too much. But yeah the album would be better with the removals of some tracks

Favorite Tracks: Peggy Sue, Words of Love, Everyday
Least Favorite: Little Baby

Now officially in 59

One of the best first listens I had for an album from this series

Tell me you'll wait for me is beautiful

Damn op going in

I got some recs for you

open.spotify.com/playlist/0knMIZzhM1jx4XfiAPBzfJ

Appreciate it can use this for the singles from albums not on my list

Exactly been doing a somewhat similar project in here;

ktt2.com/best-songs-of-every-year-taking-votes-for-56-80474

not a huge fan of this particular ray charles sound ngl but hes still a goat.

The s/t, Yes Indeed, What'd I Say, and The Genius Sings the Blues compilations that gathered a bunch of the best stuff >>

That thread inspired this thread

Actually don't have any of these on my list other than self titled might need to check

salute