Ethel Cain – Preacher’s Daughter: My first reaction was that this could be about the women in Grateful Dead songs. No, Jack Straw didn’t ride a Harley and rob ATMs, but roll it back 100 years and the women he and Shannon shared could be here.
Mac DeMarco – Salad Days: This reminds me of Weezer, Beck, and John Lennon, all of whom I dislike. A lot. But something about DeMarco’s guitar playing got me through the album and made me sad when it ended. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay it is that Salad Days sounds like being high.
Van Morrison – Moondance: The backing vocals, the horns, the melodies… none of them are an improvement over the jazz-inspired madness of Astral Weeks, but I’ll keep an open mind as I spend more time with the record.
Gracie Abrams – Good Riddance | The Secret of Us (Deluxe): I listened to the deluxe version of Abrams’ newest studio record this week for the first time. After being completely enraptured by Good Riddance for a few months, I heard “I Told You Things” and am almost equally as enthralled.
Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti: I was a huge Zeppelin fan in my teens but money was tight and I was at the mercy of what I owned or could tape from my friends. None of the guys I hung out with had Physical Graffiti so I never heard much more than “Kashmir.” It holds together so much better than most indulgent double albums from rock gods at the top of their game. I wish Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk was this good.
Grateful Dead – 10/19/72 (St. Louis, MO): This doesn’t grab me like the show from the night before. Set one is decent but doesn’t move me. There are some lovely moments in the second set, though, especially “The Other One” and “He’s Gone.”
Old friends who made it into rotation this week: HAAi: Baby We’re Ascending
I listened to Physical Graffiti for the first time in a while a few weeks back. It never made my list of the great double albums, but it was closer this time than it has been before.
I was surprised to see that Allmusic gave it 5 stars because the impression I absorbed over the years was that it’s decent but not essential. Listening to it now with a beginner’s mind, I think it’s a reminder that subpar Zeppelin is still better than what most artists will ever do. This record is definitely indulgent, but they indulge in all the things that made them a great band, just on one album.