Buddy Holly, leader of the Crickets, is one of the most influential musicians of early rock and roll. He inspired some of my favorites like Lennon and Elton John. While the music is quite dated, the most interesting part of these recordings is hearing other musicians in them. Some of my all time favorites borrowed from Buddy Holly and that's why it's worth listening to.I'm Looking For Someone To Love
My favorite track on the album. It has all the classic 50's rock and roll song attributes: multiple guitar solos, catchy melody, and breakdowns in the rhythm sections.
Rock Me My Baby
The one thing I'm really surprised by throughout the album is the use of harmonies. There's a lot of "Temptation-esque" harmonies and they're just everywhere. Buddy Holly was clearly inspired by those before him and I hear more harmonies throughout this album then I ever remember hearing on an old rock and roll album.
That'll Be The Day
Before listening to this album this was the only track I had ever heard of the Crickets. The breaks on the chorus of the song are used to great effect. The three songs I have listed I enjoyed a lot, however the rest of the album can wear you down a bit. It's full of the same chord structures, time signatures, and tempos. In fact, let's do this...
(You Must Drink When...)
1. Any time 'blue' is rhymed with 'you'.
2. You hear a guitar solo.
3. Any time there's three or more songs with the same time signature and same tempo
Good luck making it through song 3.
All in all, it's an interesting album from a historical perspective, or to put it more literally - it's interesting once. While there are a few songs on the album that are worth listening to multiple times, the others feel like you just heard them. Because I've heard so many musicians that are influenced by Buddy Holly, in a way I've been listening to similar music to his all my life. His historical significance is huge, however, it just doesn't hold up.
This album was chosen from the book '1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die' 8/1001
Tomorrow's album: Maroon 5's It Won't Be Soon Before Long.
No comments:
Post a Comment