Having said that, the more stripped down production also allows the lyrics and sorrowful delivery of Waiting Around to Die, the first song he ever wrote, to finally hit the listener with their whole stark, bleak devastating effect. Here, unlike on Our Mother the Mountain, the heavy themes always present in his music are a lot more balanced by lighter, brighter and tasteful arrangements (particularly adore the gentle use of the harmonica in every single song). I have talked at lenght about Townes Van Zandt’s self titled on here but I never really get tired of saying how much I love it so here we go: the second album he recorded in 1969 and they are both unbelievable. You can tell Keith had a new bff when even a Robert Johnson song sounds more country than blues for some reason! So many underrated gems on here, like the title track, You Got the Silver and Country Honk. I basically only knew Gimme Shelter and You Can’t Always Get What You Want going into it and even though they’re the opener and closer they really don’t prepare you for what the album is going to sound like. Let It Bleed, on the other hand, was a recent revelation for me. The cherry on top is of course the Abbey Road medley, undoubtey Paul’s melodic magnus opus (and that is saying something) and just one of the greatest pieces of music you can hope to hear. Plus the production is *so* immaculate it gives it such a cohesive sound and feeling despite the songwriting being as varied as it gets. Track by track it’s just their strongest in my mind, no faults at all. The album that truly made me fall in love with The Beatles and, slowly but surely, with Paul McCartney. What can I say about Abbey Road? I love every minute of it. Plus I’ve recently found out he wrote Cinnamon Girl, Down By The River, and Cowgirl in the Sand ON THE SAME DAY. As an album, it’s probably the one I have more affection for as it was the perfect soundtrack for so many roadtrips growing up. Then we have a sophomore solo release by the hero of the moment, Neil what-an-absolute-legend Young (yes that’s actually his middle name), staying particularly true to his name here. I can’t get over the fact that the first line on his first song, “Time has told me, you’re a rare, rare find/A troubled cure for a trouble mind”, seems to perfectly define all his music. Five Leaves Left is yet another incredible debut album by yet another artist who deserved to get so much more recognition *while* he was still alive. First let me just say: what a great year for album covers as well! These are all almost as gorgeous as the albums themselves.
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