Very good early 90s that is able to sound like any era. Favorite songs were Drive, Nightswimming, Find the River, NOLA Instrumental No. 1. Least favorite, probably Marty? Still really enjoyed the whole way through.
It's a very different sound and style than current Belle and Sebastian, that's for sure. I would equate it to a less ambitious Abbey Road, maybe? I know it's a bit cliche to compare a band to the Beatles, but that was my thought while listening to it. I appreciated how things got a little shaken up into electronica halfway through the album, but I enjoyed the A-side more than the B. Favorite song is The State I'm In, least favorite is I Could Be Dreaming.
Great coordination between members, very tight performances. Found the muted horns to be kinda grating by the end. Only slightly related, I have difficulty discerning great jazz from merely good jazz. I know what I like and don't like, and I'd say I only slightly liked this. Fav/least fav is a bit unnecessary for this album.
50 minutes of spacey jam, and plenty of space for contemplation. Absolutely wonderful, if not a little unmemorable.
Great introductory album to Talking Heads for someone that hasn't heard much of their material beyond singles. Highlights Byrne's weirdness without being overbearing. Didn't pay enough attention to track names to give fave/least fave
Incredible album. It makes me wonder how I never heard much of the Rolling Stones before this. Loved the storytelling on Dear Doctor. Favorite song is Jigsaw Puzzle, no least favorite?
Stone on the Water is great, mostly instrumental. Say it Again also good. This Song got annoying with the reverb, but it was short so it was fine.
As an indie hipster, this is the kind of album I wish I could say I had found. Truly incredible.
Electricity was slow to start, but cool with harmonized vocals, and pumped up with phat bass line. This is an interesting album - I've never heard something so completely derived from sampling. I think I prefer the dance/club songs more than the singles. Favorite songs, Electricity and Live at Dominoes. Least favorite, 3/4 Time. Also if I were to listen to the album again I might skip over Frontier Psychiatrist.
Couldn't finish the album. I would describe it as amateurish and undeveloped. It is garage band grunge rock that may have inspired others, but I feel like I have heard exactly this from freshmen in high school bands. Both not my cup of tea, and not the pinnacle of achievement.
Sorry don't wanna write anything rn
Slow and chill, this is an album that can turn people off with it's pacing and use of echo, sometimes feeling like you're in a chamber all by yourself with nothing to do. Fortunately, I like this kind of music, and tend to seek out calming stuff. Favorite songs are Desire Lines, He Would Have Laughed, and Coronado. Least Favorite is Earthquake.
Very dark and noisy. Not sure if the timeline is correct to guess that Cave was influenced by Tom Waits, but that was what I was hearing. I have difficulty hearing the blues roots here, except on a rare few songs. Favorite song was She's Hit, least favorite is Kewpie Doll.
Laughing has great opening bass line, but gets rather repetitive with lyrics near the end. Sitting Still probably the weakest from the album. Early REM is decent and clearly shows its roots for what it will be, but I do think this is weaker than some of their albums to come.
What would now be considered classic rock n roll, this helped define dads of the generation, allowing parents to be mad at kids for yet another thing. Van Halen is a genre-setting band, and no one can deny the amount of radio play they got and still continue to get. Eddie has some great shreds from this album, but its hard to appreciate all of this when it constantly reminds you of riding back home from a camp outing in the back of the truck with your dad mad at you because you didnt tie the knots right.
Favorite song, Hot for Teacher. Least favorite, hearing Hot for Teacher get played in ads for Snickers bars.
Absolutely stellar, what a boppin album. Besides Girlfriend, you got ya head bumping along with every track, and it's all memorable as hell. What more to say? This is THE way to breakout into stardom (as a solo act, I guess).
I was really hoping to enjoy this, but it ended up feeling more like nothing than I expected. It's intentionally obtuse and repetitive in a way that doesn't bode well for anyone that isn't looking for exactly that. Walk Across the Rooftops is probably the best song off the album, but apparently Tinseltown in the Rain is their most popular song? Kinda weird if you ask me.
An absolute banger, Zappa has an album of pure gold with wild sections of oddball stuff that always works. These are some real Hot Rats.
What begins dark and mournful, ends dark and... not as mournful? Without knowing the artist, if you would have told me this was by the same guy that sang Born in the USA, I would have called you a dang dirty liar (you rascal, you). But this is raw, hardly-accompanied BOSS, and even if it ain't about his life, who's to say its not? And even though I'm not from a blue-collar mining town like the subject of most of the songs, I may as well be now. Shit's a real deep bummer, man.
Avant garde and avant odd, Scott 4 is like one of those twisty metal statues you'd find in a statue gallery - kinda quirky and imposing from far away, but a lot more detailed up close. That is to say, I don't know how to review music, and this is all coming out of my ass. Definitely deserves a second listen, especially when I'm not playing GTA.
In retrospect, a lot of this is kinda boring.
The beginning of punk starts here, and I really don't have much to say about it. Is it because I'm so far away from being punk that I just don't get it? The lyrics are pointless, the anger isn't felt, and nothing is catchy enough to stay in my head. I dunno, I was hoping to like it, and got disappointed.
As I listened, I kept wondering if this album and band were pro-Alabama, or not. Maybe it strikes the balance of criticism with love? Hard to tell, although I did like a few of the stories, and disliked the repetitive mention of Lynyrd Skynyrd. This was country rock that I could listen to again.
C'mon, it's Blondie! This is the kind of power pop with emotion, and a very distinct voice that I feel deserves it's place on so many record shelves to this day. Favorite song, Heart of Glass.
Why are they so horny?
Slick, funky grooves from a group I've never heard of before. Definitely saving this album for later...
I ain't never heard a song from this album before, and boy was I a fool for that. I thought that much of Elvis' discography was like "Hound Dog" - early rock n roll. But clearly Elvis was much more diverse, branching into blues and Western like I never imagined. This album has songs that I feel are the natural evolution of the narrators from Robbins' "Gunfighter Ballads", and I love it for that. I think it will be my next on my record hunt...
Accidentally listened to the version of the album with the Jamaican mixes and the Original mixes. I can say the originals are better, and that it gets better on the second listen when you can sing along with Bob and the Wailers. Stir It Up is so damn catchy, and I don't even care that reggae is the same percussion for each song.
All I knew from this before was While my Guitar Gently Weeps and the Revolutions. I still think "Weeps" is my favorite song from the album (for nostalgia reasons), but I really understand now this album has received universal praise since it's release (and also why parents thought rock was devil music). This album is disjointed in all the right ways, basically inviting you to want to learn more about the Beatles and their story. All four of the members have songwriting credits appear somewhere on the album, and it's apparent especially when Paul and John weren't writing together.
Fookin hell, I didn't think I would actually be able to write more than Alex on any particular entry here. Looks like I'm the winner this time, hehehe...
This is the peak of the 90s rap group. Beats are fresh, samples are dope, and lyrics spit hot from the titular five members, each getting an appearance on each track. For a guy that says he prefers 90s rap more than today, I'm surprised I could never name drop this group and this album. But now I can... ;)
Kinda off-kilter? Not quite ethereal, but not quite percussive and steady either. Later songs were better than the start, that's for sure.
Fuck yeah, this was cool! Genuinely funny parts, like the yo momma track, or the remix track (definitely wasn't paying attention to song names on this one). Glad I was already in the mood for this after listening to Jurassic 5 tho.
Little to say here, probably cause I listened to this hot off the heels of Pharcyde and it was just not as interesting.
This is the punk I was expecting, since the early 70s stuff was way too obtuse and angry for me! Or maybe this is early 70s, and I just like the Pixies a lot more? It's calmer, at least.
Better than Van Halen's 1984, with fewer singles, but ultimately just didn't hold my attention as I was listening. I don't think I'll find much occasion to come back to Van Halen in general since I don't have the nostalgia for it.
See, this is one of those influencer albums that you can have an opinion on, but that opinion will almost certainly be wrong to everyone else. I thought I would like this well enough, and I guess I did, but each song was so similar to the others that I couldn't tell you if one was good in comparison. The only standout was their version of In The Pines, which just made me want to learn more about the song, and the Louvin's version isn't even the best I've heard.
Ultimately, this style has been replicated better by newer artists, and I think that is a good thing. Also too much Jesus.
Smoke on the Water is the noticable single here, but definitely the least complex. However, whole album didn't grab me that much? I dunno...
This was way more nuanced than I was anticipating, and while I didn't keep track of individual songs, I loved it as a collection. Absolutely going back in for a relisten.
Hmm, Aqualung. Sort of an anthology about an individual, Aqualung, even though he isn't mentioned more than 1 or 2 times past the title track. I have this album on vinyl purely for the single, but I guess there's a little more for me there too.
Very good stuff! Gonna be giving it a second pass, and probably picking a couple tracks out to put into regular listening rotation. What can I say, I like what I like.
Progenitor to the kind of stuff I find myself defaulting to, like Spoon. Heavy on the social commentary, and medium on the everything else. I'll probably dig through it again later, although I already know which way this band leans.
I was working while listening to this, and unlike Black Saint, I wasn't distracted by any obnoxious muted horns, so I'd say I liked this very much. I also love using commas, apparently. 5 stars babeeeeee
Them Bones is the only song I know and want to continue knowing from this album. How come there are like 20 tracks here??? I had to tap out with 3 left.
Man I finally understand why Duane doesn't like Run DMC, they're fucking boring and cheesy as hell. They're BBoys with the same schtick for each song, and so damn little to like. Despite what they rap about, I still feel like they're gonna hit me with an after-school special.
Switch this review around with Bad Brains, I got a bad brain. I guess since I can't remember much of this, that makes it mediocre? Bad Brains, 2. Contino Sessions, 5.
Honestly, this warrants another listen as well. Beck is typically pretty nuanced, and maybe I just have to be in the right emotional state to have it hit real good. I wasn't this time, but I think I'd like to be.
Was... Was the point of these songs to be some before "science" and more rock-based, then some after, and more synth-based? Or is the album name irrelevant?
I fucking love this album. Only listened through it entirely about 3 times, but I've heard Everybody about a thousand times. So glad that the whole thing is just as great.
Old school funk from the old school Temptations. Lyrics in this sometimes seem to harken back to slavery, or at least that was what I was feeling. No doubt they were politically charged people in their day.
I didn't recognize a single riff from any song in this album, so that means I probably hadn't heard any of these before. Classic rock like this is enjoyable to listen to, but it's not a cornerstone of who I am. So whether I hear a great album or a mediocre album, they both kind of hit me as "ok". I appreciate this though, and especially in comparison to Hawkwind, I appreciate the length.
So everyone always says, "yeah, I wish I was high as a kite while listening to this", but I feel like that detracts from the media you are enjoying. If something (music/movie/food/etc) is good, you shouldn't have to be in an altered state to find it enjoyable, or even incredible. And that's where I find myself disagreeing with myself as I listened to Space Ritual. This album is so damn long that you absolutely need some kind of substance that speeds up time in order to find it thoroughly enjoyable. Each song? Cool. The whole thing? A crawl to the end. Only HyperLSD will work here.
Why did I think Fats was only jazz and not bebop?
Do ya like jazz? Do ya like other people knowing you like jazz? Then play Time Out at your nearest social gathering and tell everyone that you enjoy odd time signatures and polyrhythms while you tap your feet to one of the most played jazz tunes ever. You're not normal, you're weird in all the right ways!
Lol all joking aside, I fucking love this album, and why shouldn't I? Just like with the Beatles, the reason so many people like the music is because it is genuinely incredible, and Dave Brubeck does it here too. One gripe though - whenever I play this album, I always get a twinge of "maybe I should be playing some jazz by a black artist instead" simply because I've found myself listening to a lot of jazz by white guys. But that doesn't detract from the songs. Unsquare Dance is my favorite here.
This is well-made, classic 80s sadness that I also don't want to hear again anytime soon. Joy Division is the kind of band that I don't listen to often, and I can't say quite why. 3/5 because it's not really a 4.
After Rikki Don't Lose That Number, the first song that I recognized and was singing along with was Only A Fool Would Say That, which is actually because Spotify kept autoplaying other Dan songs from better albums. Frankly, Pretzel Logic made me a bit disappointed, and Fagen's voice was kinda weird on some of the songs. I did like and will be replaying some tracks, like With a Gun and Any Major Dude, but others I'll take a full pass on. Because of that, it's only a 3/5 from me.
If I had a physical copy of this, I would give disc 1 to Alex, and only keep disc 2. Miss me with Bob by himself with his guitar and harmonica, and give me his band please. That's not to say the first half doesn't have value, as Dylan is incredible at setting a mood, drawing emotion from his audience, and telling a story through a song. It's just too bad that I hate him as a vocalist, with the characteristic affectations and vocal swings absolutely driving me mad. By the time the band comes in though, either I was getting used to it, or his ability as a songwriter was coming through more clearly, as I was genuinely enjoying it. Either way, I don't think I'm gonna be a Bobbo fan anytime soon.
Title track is pretty cool as it morphs over time. Middle third (?) is favorite section, but I like the vocal parts of the first section (bahn bahn bahn, ist das Autobahn). Side B is less impressive to me. Ordinarily I enjoy ambient electronic, but this was more just beeps and boops than it was coherent songs. Overall, cool stuff.
