#album 70

[anyways-wonderwall]

Album of the Week #70

Beautiful Night

(2021)

by YESUNG

Overall Rating: 6/10

TL;DR: city pop sang by a wet blanket

(idk its not a bad album cover, i feel completely indifferent towards it 5/10)

Overall Thoughts

I am deeply fascinated by what happens to kpop stars after they’re long past their prime. They don’t have the young boyish handsomeness anymore, they can’t do the crazy dances due to their cracking bones, and their fanbase is getting older and older. At the same time though, they do have some sort of fanbase, and you probably forced them into an indentured servitude style 20-year contract so they’re still your problem. What do you do? 

In this category falls my birthday twin Yesung from Super Junior. A group that hit its height in 2008 and had an absurd number of members, SM entertainment still finds work for them in 2023 and the outcomes are mini albums like this one. I mentioned this with the EXO review, but I wonder if they get more input as they get older? Or is all choice an illusion? Do they at least get to choose the genre they get put into? Or is it chosen based on what they think the market will like? 

I don’t know if Yesung himself had a hand in what this album sounds like, but I can tell you that they did not take his voice into account whatsoever when writing these songs. All of these songs are actually really good, a mix of city pop and washed-up Eurovision star that works really well. What doesn’t work well is his voice sounding breathy, being forced into a falsetto and with so much emotion he sounds like he’s gonna cry sometimes. Something I do not want to hear when there is a funky bass and 80s style sax solo in the background. I just need to know whose idea this was. 

It’s almost funny how out of place the vocal style is. “Beautiful Night” is the best track on here and I would be dancing along the whole time if he didn’t sound like his family died in a house fire the night before and he was forced up on stage for karaoke. “Phantom Pain” and “Like Us” are both chill songs that sound a little better because a smile is optional, but hearing animal crossing upbeat instrumentals mixed with a breathy falsetto just makes me uncomfortable. Don’t worry though, there are luckily a few songs on this album where he was allowed to be sad like “Lost Heart” (a confused piece that goes on for FOUR AND A HALF MINUTES), “No More Love,” and “A Letter in The Wind.”  The last two are actually not bad, and while I hate ballads they were a relief because his voice felt at home. You could clearly tell he was more comfortable singing these songs, and the sadness in his voice was for a reason (unlike in “Firework” which would have been a great city pop song if he wasn’t singing it). 

I thought while writing this that maybe the problem is that he has a bad voice. It’s breathy, frustratingly sad, always stuck in a falsetto, and so weak that it could be overpowered by animal crossing sounds. Honestly though, I think these are all traits that would do him well in singing ballads, and the last song on the album shows that “A Letter in The Wind.” Why you are wasting absolutely incredible driving baselines, synth parts, guitar and sax solos, and city pop inspired masterpieces on him is beyond me. 

Next week's review: Psy 9th (2022) by Psy

#album 70 #album of the week #album review #music review #album recommendation #music recommendation #kpop #super junior #yesung

[desertangels70s]

Joni Mitchell photos for "For The Roses" album, 1972.

#70s #1970s #1972 #joni mitchell #<3 #it's the second one for the album but the first one is so cute

[medullam]

Amii Stewart - Knock On Wood, ph. Brian Aris [1979]

#amii stewart #brian aris #disco #album art #photography #beauty #70s #1979

[thegroovyarchives]

1973 Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Advertisement From the December, 1973 issue of CIRCUS Magazine

#Elton John #vintage ad #vintage illustration #vintage album cover #70's music #Circus Magazine #mid-century #70's #1973 #my scans

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Joey Ramone holding Ramone's 1976 debut album.

#ramones #self titled #album #joey ramone #punk rock #classic rock #1976 #70s #70's #usa

[70sgroovy]

buffy sainte-marie on the back cover of her album “sweet america”, 1976🪶

#buffy sainte marie #1976 #70s #70s fashion #70s aesthetic #60s 70s 80s 90s #70s hair #1970s #music #album #vintage #classic rock #singer #70s icon

[babsi-and-stella]

Betty Davis photographed by Gilles Petard, 1975.

#Betty Davis #Gilles Petard #Nasty Gal #funk #singer #songwriter #70s #seventies #vintage #lingerie #fashion #make up #black is beautiful #photoshoot #album cover

[jojo-schmo]

Metadede Week Day 1: "Sworn Partners"

#I just wanted to make another 70s album cover!! #And fill it with detail and just have some fun! #Like for example #Dedede's waning crescent and Meta's waxing crescent on their respective sides #...and highlighting their eyes with each other's crescent symbols teeheehee #thinking in color is usually very hard for me so this was a really fun exercise #the trick to these swirly album covers is to just loosen up and try to take a walk with each line #it's great fun! kinda like zentangle but even less structured #anyway thanks for reading my director's commentary #i love these two so very much :) #king dedede #meta knight #art #metadede #mtddweek2023 #kirby fighters 2

[missw0rld]

Donna Summer by Francesco Scavullo (1977)

#donna summer #francesco scavullo #1977 #my scans #once upon a time #disco #1970s #70s #sunset #art #glam #diva #album art

[hammill-goes-fogwalking]

front & back covers of Black Sabbath's self titled album (1970) and Zior's self titled album (1971)

#genius post #Black Sabbath #Zior band #proto metal #Heavy metal #Metal #Doom metal #Album covers #1970s #70s #obscure music #Album recs

[sircatticus]

this is the album cover of all time, ron & russ u guys were craaaazy for this one

#sparks #russell mael #ron mael #sparks band #kimono my house #album cover redraw #fanart #70s #sparks fanart

[roseisdreaming]

Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks posing in a takeout from the ‘Rumours’ photoshoot.

#stevie nicks #mick fleetwood #lindsay buckingham #christine mcvie #john mcvie #fleetwood mac #classic rock #70s icons #70s rock #rumours #album cover

[frenchnewwaves]

Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison

#jimi hendrix #jim morrison #the doors #60s #60s icons #1960s fashion #1960s vintage #1960s music #1960s style #1960s #1960s aesthetic #music album #musicians #rock n roll #rock music #60s rock #70s rock #classic rock #rock band #band #album cover #album #vintage #vintage photography #vintage magazine #retro #retro photography #retro style #guitarist #frenchnewwaves

[medullam]

Diana Ross - Baby It's Me, ph. Victor Skrebneski [1977]

#diana ross #victor skrebneski #rnb #soul music #album cover #photography #70s #1977

[thegroovyarchives]

1973 Snow-White and Rose-Red Album Illustration: Leo & Diane Dillon (via: archive.org)

#groovy #vintage illustration #vintage album cover #Glynis Johns #Leo & Diane Dillon #fairy tale #vintage design #mid-century #70's #1973

[pseudophan]

anyone remember when like so many phannies suddenly turned on dnp and said they were horrible and greedy for releasing too much merch and phil having a channel membership and no joke literally ALL of these people were kpop stans? that was a bit silly wasn't it

#the way i suddenly hated like 70% of my mutuals was amazing #everyone just suddenly sucked SO BAD #how is dan and phil merch predatory but the eight variations of the same album u just bought is totally acceptable #this isn't an anti kpop post but like can you have a little self awareness like just for a second