This was produced by the legendary Giorgio Moroder and it influenced (arguably) the greatest single of all time - Joy Division's Love will tear us apart, so what could go wrong? Well its corny and dated as hell, but I'll give it an extra point for being highly influential.
Seeing the names of the all-stars on this album was encouraging, but the songs with vocalists (mainly Jocelyn Brown) are too poppy for my tastes. The few instrumental numbers that lean towards jazz are a significant improvement. Overall, this easy listening latin jazz/pop went down easy, but it left me wanting a bit more substance.
This was better than expected, and Four out of Five is a nice crowd pleaser.
I'm a big fan of King Crimson so this is a nice find. However, early 70's prog was pretty "out there" and this is no exception and it sounds a lot like early Gong. This is a also bit too folky and and not enough King Crimson for my tastes.
This album has gotten a lot of love on various lists but I don't get it. The beats and lyrics are pretty run of the mill to me.
This was aight, I get Pearl Jam vibes from the lead vocalist
I like a good post-punk album, but this was a bit too raw and abrasive for me.
Kumbala was cool, but the rest of the album didn't resonate with me.
I tried to like this but the dream-pop, repetitive drum machine and his high pitched vocals really got under my skin. The only redeeming thing about this album was Blinded by the light.
This album was perfectly named, it was indeed a letdown.
If you're in the mood for some straight-ahead, no nonsence, ol' fashioned punk this is a great record to put on. Unfortunately I wasn't in the mood, but if I was....
This Norwegian rock definitely has a different vibe to it. I thought Christiania was the best song, very reminiscent of the Red Hot Chillis. I probably wouldn't seek it out but its was a novel listen.
This is one of my favourite World music albums, A&M are great and with Manu Chao producing it, this is just lightining in a bottle. I've been listening to this regularly since 2005 and I never seem to tire of it. Most of the album is killer with no filler.
When listening to the first song I thought, wow I really like those Curtis Mayfield vibes! But upon closer inspection, I discovered that it really was Curtis Mayfield! Kudos to DiSalvio for assembling such a notable bunch of legends for this album, but its almost too much of a good thing as it clocks in at over an hour and there's quite a bit of filler. But the good moments do shine.
Not my jam
This album gets rave reviews from everyone so over the years I think I must have tried to listen to it at least a dozen times. I love lo-fi indie music, heck its one of my favourite genres, but for some reason I just can't get into this album, in particular I really find the lead vocalist's voice to be annoying AF. I'll file this under "What am I missing?"
If there's a list of the best post-rock bands there are two Canadian bands that have to be included: Godspeed and Do Make Say Think, from Montreal and Toronto respectively. I do love DMST the most but GYBE have their charms. This debut by GYBE is dark and foreboding and I do think their subsequent Lift your skinny fists was better, but this was pretty rad back in the day.
Well that was a fun listen. Accessible and entertaining.
I see that this guy is on the same Ashmatic Kittly label as Sufjan Stevens, and he definitely sounds like Sufjan lite. I Could Be Wrong is nice, but the samey sameness of every song on this album and his oh so delicate voice gets a bit tedious after awhile.
This album will be good for a dinner party where you want something in the background with not much happening. Unfortunately, it’s a little bit to poppy and bland for me.
the first song was pretty good, but then it seemed to continue on for the rest of the album. Very samey samey samey samey
Manson has a cool voice but beyond that this album isn't very exciting.
I'm glad someone suggested this as Dub is sinfully under-represented in the book. This dates from the mid-70s so the effects are somewhat crude but still very effective today. King Tubby basically invented this genre, putting echoes and reverb into the forefront for a psychedelic effect that would probably best be listened to in a hazy room full of ganga smoke. I also love the drum flourish that introduces almost all of the songs. The highlight for me is King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown which has spectacular reverb action for the drums, melodica and vocals and a remix of Baby I love you so.
of course everyone thinks that Ophelia is good, but the rest was pretty meh TBH
Comparisons with their fellow Krautrock peers are inevitable and I must say I much prefer the more melodic Kraftwerk or the spacey/prog sound of Tangerine Dream. I think these guys really start cooking when they're joined by Eno, but alas Eno is nowhere to be found on this album.
Definitely better than other American post punk bands like Green Day, the highlight of course is Buddy Holly
This is a fun, vibrant offering. It may be a bit too commercial sounding for me but one can't deny these guys are tight and skilled musicians with a knack for writing happy, brassy, funky tunes.
The Chromatics have done some great covers over the years, I'm on fire, Into the black and this album features an absolutely gorgeous version of Running up the hill. This album had a nice transition from Side 1 to an atmospheric Side 2. Great recommendation and a great find!
This some pretty obscure funk and I notice that most songs only have a few thousand listens on Spotify. Its fun stuff albeit a bit dated and comparisons with Earth Wind and Fire that I just got yesterday are inevitable, unfortunately its hard to compare to EWF.
I have mixed feelings about this album, I'm a huge Zappa fan, but this isn't one of my favourites. During this mid-70s period his humour became too sophomoric for me with songs about pee, masturbation and other bodily functions. The only redeeming song for me here is Uncle Reemus which echoes the classic Zappa virtuoustic sound. But seeing as he released over 60 albums over 30 years and this list only includes 1 or 2 albums is just plain sinful. So I'm bumping this up a bit to address this travesty.
I think Donald Glover is one of the most incredible talents around. I just love his TV shows, Atlanta and Mr & Mrs Smith, and his music is pretty fly as well. I’m not a huge fan of rap but I can appreciate the excellent production and performance here
Considering that I don't like folk I was pleasantly surprised, I didn't love it, but pleasantly surprised.
The description said Swedish Folk so I wasn't expecting much, but this was much better than expected. Nice driving rhythms and strong vocals. Thank you to the person that suggested this one!
Thanks to whoever submitted this offering as I would never have listened to it otherwise. I'm not a big fan of this brand of hyper-pop but I must respect their originality, especially in some of the more experimental tracks.
I was surprised that this post-punk record came out in 2019, it sounds more like something you would hear in the 80s or 90s. It doesn't really do much for me though
I really appreciate how these User Albums expose us to a really diverse range of music that I would never otherwise listen to, sometimes they click but sometimes they don't. Unfortunately this one fell with a thud.
Dixieland swing isn't my jam, I'd much rather listen to Be Bop and Hard Bop, but Louis Armstrong's influence on jazz and hell, all modern genres of music is undeniable.
Very interesting blend of Belgian/French dance/ world music. I must admit that prefer the other great Belgian group Balthazar though.
Interesting Indie concept album and if I had time to listen to the lyrics/story I may have gotten more out of it, but as someone else said, they are too one dimensional in their sound
Fans of Porcupine Tree will definitely like this as its basically an extension of that sound. First Regret sounds remarkably like Rush, but the remainder is the driving prog/rock sound that PC is famous for.
Bon Iver is definitely an acquired taste, and apparently it is something I haven't acquired.
This is a very low key entry and its understandable why its under the radar of most listeners. A lovely blend of modern classical, ambient and electronic music. I listened to it 3 times and it got better every time. This one is a grower folks.
DNTEL meets Ben Gibbard and good times ensue. This is a very nice album with some lovely electro-pop songs.
I really loved Illinoise, Seven Swans and Michigan back in the day but somehow I've gotten really tired of his waif-like whisper vocals. Despite all the rave reviews, I think that this album was just ok.
Donald Glover is a formidable talent, his TV shows Atlanta and Mr & Mrs Smith are simply brilliant. Also the single Redbone is arguably one of the songs of the decade. Unfortunately apart from Redbone there wasn't much on this album to excite me, hence it only gets a middling 3 stars from me.
