I like it actually, and I didn't expect to. But man, did it hurt my ears! I wish I had loudspeakers to play it on instead of my headphones. It also offered a bit too stark a contrast to my unexciting surroundings at the time of listening, namely my study-from-home desk.
As someone who is not very used to metal, it was a bit hard to keep the tracks apart to be honest, although I think that is the case with any unfamiliar genre. On the other hand, I hope fans of the band will forgive me for saying that the lead singer has a beautiful voice.
The most popular track, Run to the Hills, I found a bit boring just. My favourite was probably 22 Acacia Avenue or the title track. I really didn't like Gangland.
This made me feel a little bit bad for dismissing heavy metal for so long.
There's no doubt this music is expertly crafted - and influential. It has that enjoyably boring pace that permeates lo-fi these days. A sticky repetitiveness that I got a bit tired of. Listening to it feels a bit like wading neck-high through a thick, sweet syrup while browsing stalls at a garage sale selling quirky memorabilia and also trying to keep up conversation with a distant relative who you like, but who keeps bringing up the same conversation topics. You're also wearing very cool-looking sunglasses. It didn't really /transport/ me or anything. But it sounds great, it feels warm to the ears. I love the jazz influences. Great and versatile voice. 3.
This one is mixed for me. On the one hand, I love the vocals. On the other hand, they're so constantly harsh that I wished I could just get a little break now and then. Some more contrast in energy, I suppose. Because energy is what it's made of, this album. Its main redeeming quality to me is the wonderful sax. The overall feel is a bit too much like a jingle for a children's show - direct, catchy and distinct, but a bit too much of all those things. I think if the whole album had used some of the moderation in the title track, it would have been stronger overall.
My thought going into this: hm, Elvis is usually an easy listen, I should be able to get through this without too much effort.
My thoughts after listening: what a time machine. Made me feel like I was livin’ the 50s rockabilly life, whatever that was. Great fun and gave me a few smiles, especially the more upbeat numbers which were separated by slow, corny love ballads with flat lyrics.
He does some cool things with his voice, which I really like. And it was so, so much fun to listen to. I couldn’t give it less than 4 stars.
"There’s a song that they sing of their home in the sky / maybe you can believe it if it helps you to sleep / but singing works just fine for me"
Relateable! This album went from a 2.5 to a 3.5 after hearing that line. Then it went to a 3 as it slowly progressed. Then, when it got halfway through ”Suite for 20 G” and we got the boogie-woogie we all deserved, it shot up to a 4.
This album is safe, inoffensive and commercial. Sweet. So sweet that I feel a bit cruel for giving it this low a rating, but it didn't really stick with me in any substantial way.
I procrastinated listening to this because it just sounded so badly produced in my opinion. The vocals are way too far away. The lyrics are oK I guess on some tracks, but they kinda don’t feel genuine when paired with the music sometimes. Like in Moonshine, it’s like this epic movie strings section for a not-so-epic ballad. And the voice was just... I don’t want to be mean but it kinda sounded like a dude imitating 90s Michael Jackson but not quite pulling it off. I dunno. Just didn’t click, at all, for me. The cheesy, overblown instrumentals paired with the minimalist pals-out-for-karaoke singing. Feels like the guy had like 100 big investors throwing money at him and he was like ”what am I gonna do wit dis” and then like he just employs every musician in LA to make a huge production outta some medium songs that totally didn’t need a huge brass 40s Big Band. (”Dreamer”)
”Thoughts of you” could’ve been really good, and it is alright, but look at the lyrics:
All things that live one day must die you know
Even love and the things we hold close
Look at love look at love look at love
they’re too direct. Like I get it, it’s not a pop science book, you don’t have to be so direct about it. It feels like he’s trying to do something poetic and beautiful but the songwriting doesn’t hit you in the emotional soft spot at all, personally at least. And then any impact is totally neutralised by trashy lyrics like:
I'm going home
To where she waits
To share love with me, yeah
I'm the kind of guy
Who loves to mess around
Know a lot of women
which is... alright... but... like come on decide on your tone!!🙄 it’s like something taken from the Alan Parsons Project but lacking the edge.
That being said, I would respect the opinion of people who like this just for its chill roadtrip vibe energy and I could jam to it. I also might be a bit overly critical because I’ve never heard any of the songs before and because he looks so bored and uninspired in the album art...
I think it would be interesting to compare why this doesn't work for me, while both "Eye in the Sky" (Alan Parsons Project) and "Rain Dogs" (Tom Waits) DO. The former has a super elaborate epic production style, like Pacific Ocean Blue, but paired with polished and poppy vocals. Rain dogs has lo-fi, minimalist, eccentric production and backing tracks paired with an equally outlandish vocal performance (I'm not saying Wilson sounds like Waits but you get the point - it's kinda gritty). The style of Wilson's album and its blend of high-end music with gritty singing is anticlimactic and sort of underwhelming whether you were hoping for yacht rock or Cemetery Polka. In Wilson's defense, I respect he may have been trying to drive home the message that even a person who has been fully swept up by the Hollywood fame factory, such as himself, can be a normal, disillusioned karaoke-loving fella. In that case I would give it maybe like an extra half star or so.
Good lyrics: ”They couldn't get to heaven in their car”
This album I fully love. It’s not a particular track I like a lot or anything, it’s just the thing as a whole and the feel that permeates it. The cool german progressive cosmic energy. I also have a deep-seated allergy to unnecessary vocals, especially bad vocals over an excellent instrumental. I’m a strong believer that if the vocals don’t add something substantial and central to the experience, you're probably better off without them. /Neu! 75/ mostly had excellent judgement on this front. Overall, every track was unique and brought something new yet there was still a connection between them all.
”Isi” is like a sequel (prequel?) to ”A new career in a new town”. ”Seeland” is equally depressed and hopeful. Leb wohl has an enthralling ticking noise. Hero - annoying punk rock with nice synth arrangement. E-musik: sounds like a bouncing basketball.
Sometimes interesting and unpredictable musically, other times not so much. Sometimes his voice is annoying, other times perfectly expressive. Wasn’t my cup of tea but it wasn’t bad.
Faves (not in order): This is Hell, Clown Strike, Still Too Soon to Know, London’s Brilliant Parade, Just About Glad
Yes, this is marginally better than Germ Free Adolescents. Sadly, that isn't a huge compliment. Heard it described as punkabilly, pretty accurate. Not so much for me. The only uses I could potentially see are:
-I have half an hour to get ready for a fancy dinner after waking up, blast this in the loudspeakers while preparing and stressing out about what to wear.
-Having to wake up the lazy, potentially hung-over participants at a summer camp.
This is the trashiest, worst album I’ve ever heard. Why did I give it the time of day? Why is it anywhere near this list? It sounds like someone got too ambitious with their GameBoy music maker and entered 10 songs into the Eurovision song contest and they all came in the bottom half of the semi-final. Tainted Love came like 4th place somehow.
Thing is, hidden somewhere inside the horrible 80s production is an album using that very cold, ugly production style for a satire. It actually paints a picture of a time and a place and a mood.
Chips on my Shoulder is basically a cover of Popcorn. Entertain Me is a bop, it should've been a bigger hit. Say Hello, Wave Goodbye left me feeling a bit empty but no-where near as cold as Tainted Love.
It felt weird listening to this. Here’s Cash, famous, singing to the inmates about their troubles. Joking about being hanged and murdering your wife and that sort of stuff. The cheers from the crowd. The songs written by inmates. I can barely get bored of the tunes being so similar because this performance isn’t about the music, it’s about the event, and it’s very thought provoking. Cash has a voice like melted dark chocolate in a huge cup and his stage presence makes him one of the only celebrity singers I could imagine a prison audience not being completely disillusioned by. I thought it was a very interesting album, but not exactly "fun" to listen to.
If this were the first rock album I’d ever heard, I’m sure I’d love it. But it isn’t, so it shall be added to the ever-growing pile of OK basic-rock albums I’ve heard and forgotten about. Fav track: About You
This album made me feel like I was strolling down an aisle in Homebase, searching for the most commonplace of plumbing items, only to get distracted by colourful plastic kitchen appliances. It reminded me of the toys you find inside a Kellogg's cereal bag that make you feel simultaneously grateful and offended by their audacity to send you yet another piece of plastic for your lifelong it-could-come-in-handy hoarding pile.
This fun rock opera makes up for all the crap I’ve sat through in this challenge. It has elements of classical music, metal, punk, blues and 60s funky keyboard jazz. Even if it is perhaps slightly pretentious and overambitious, it doesn't get boring for the duration, and what's wrong with being slightly pretentious and overambitious when you're obviously having a great time doing it? I literally burst out laughing at the start of Blues Variation because it was such a completely unexpected gear change. This is exactly the kind of stuff I started the challenge to hear.
Agreeable easy listening, although mostly a bit bland. Close to you is absolutely legendary though.
Somehow it's very 80s, yet still mellow. The first tracks were almost uncomfortable to listen to for this reason. But it's so good! Faves: Marlene On The Wall, Small Blue Thing, Undertow
This was alright despite my only being able to hear it with one ear. Hope to find out what stereo sounds like soon. But the title track was super fun, and the lyrics of the first song were good. History does indeed repeat itself and these yuppies - I think they are plotting something. Donald must be keeping an eye on them? The cover art is iconic. That being said, most of the songs were a bit bland and unmemorable albeit harmless, well, to my right ear at least.
I feel like more of these songs should be classics. They're catchy, well-written and work well at high volume. The production sound is kinda shrill though. Popularity of the songs on Spotify *fades fast* after We Got The Beat, which is a pity because the songs there are also really good! Top 3 for me are Fading Fast, This Town, Skidmarks On My Heart, with close runners-up We Got The Beat and Automatic. The singer sounds like the guy from Japan, but a tad less like she's suffering.
Unsurprisingly I have mixed feelings about this album, as it is anything but homogeneous. Firth Of Fifth is interesting. What are those time signatures? Wikipedia says 13/16, 15/16 and 2/4! Super cool! But the complexity brings with it a certain allovertheplaceness. It's a classical-feeling glam-sounding concept-y album with neat art and an ironic title. At the risk of sounding like every other album reviewer in the world, I must say I keep hearing bits of Pink Floyd here and there. It's almost freakishly similar to ELP's Pictures at an Exhibition in aura.
Things I like: the complexity, the ambition, the wordplay in Aisle of Plenty, I don’t think it takes itself that seriously, some of the instrumentals (especially The Cinema Show), it got me interested enough to read more about it on Wikipedia, you could listen to it many times and still find interesting things you hadn’t noticed because it’s very varying in style, it doesn’t repeat itself, has everything Germ Free Adolescents lacks.
Things I dislike: has a bit too much of everything Germ Free Adolescents lacks, it’s a bit all over the place, the vocals are kind of jarring in my ears and sound a bit like football supporters, feels like they’re doing this just for their own fun as a sport, none of the songs really got to me, slightly show-off-y at times.
Strong 3.44 stars.
Gosh, I've listened to some Japan before but never this album. It's so whiny and I've had enough of this style. Maybe if I'd heard this first I would've liked it, but now I was just skipping songs when I couldn't stand them anymore.
One of few albums I've heard being so weird yet really pulling it off. Industrial, apocalyptic yet soft. 4.5 on first listen.
EXIDUS! Movement of Chariba! BOO!! —or something along those lines... the heavy, hypnotic beat had my otherwise reggae-resistant joints wagging to and fro.
These lyrics: /'Tis he who fight and run away/
Live to fight another day/ ----So much for what doesn't kill you :D
Definitely an album to be listened to in certain calm situations under low pressure. Not while washing the dishes or running. Crocheting is better. Aids in clearing your mind completely, if that's what you're looking to do.
Thanks Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young for reminding me that if I ever want that hideously majestic mullet I've been dreaming of I've got to hold out with the scissors a bit longer. I'm not giving in an inch to fear 'cause I promised myself this year! :/
That was the only standout track for me, other than the obvious hit Our House which is GREAT. Deja Vu and 4+20 were nice chill tunes too. Country Girl was a pleasant Galactic Country® surprise (space western music?) but otherwise the album was sort of unremarkable to me at this time.
Where has this music been all my life? That's right, it's been humbly hiding away from me, as it could've continued to do for as long as it wished. I wouldn't have complained about never knowing this album exists. I even have a hard time finding descriptors for this album. It's unmemorable but inoffensive and didn't hurt my ears. Wild Wood (the title track) is a solid track, though. Shadow of the Sun sounds like it could play at the end of an episode of House M.D. and I wouldn't look it up later.
I expected some pre-packaged 2000’s trash pop. Instead I got a moody, thoughtful singer-songwriter gem that I would never have found without this website. It took forever to figure this out, she sounds like Johnny Cash Does Indie Grunge.
Shatter is amazing. The guitar sounds like The Durutti Column (i.e. haunting, eerie, heartfelt). Divorce song was an enthralling listen, as was Stratford-On-Guy. I did not expect to give this album more than 3 stars, but it is a very strong 4!
The musical equivalent of a TV advert for a happy meal toy. Change is ok. But it would be hypocritical of me to try to list things I like about this album while maintaining the stance that it is *possible* to have a preference for certain kinds of music over others, and that you actually don't *have* to like everything just because someone spent precious time and money making it and possibly poured a bit of their soul into it. I mean, if I can accept the fact that not everyone loves pineapple and banana on pizza, I must be able to accept the fact that I'm not super into this album without feeling like I'm offending people.
MORTY! Why are you doing this? You had a bright future in interdimensional exploration! You could say this is experimental, or you could say it is unappealing to the (human) ear. It has the same sort of self-indulgence as prog rock but without the fun.
Opening track sounds like a teacher singing nursery rhymes to the class because his boss INSISTED upon it, and he simply couldn’t afford to lose his job because he needs his health insurance and rent prices are rising, with some neat 90s beats to go with it. I like the instrumental actually.
I kinda like how in Spark it changes tone several times. But it’s not exactly easy listening bossa nova for cruise ships.
Spiderbite is another nursery rhyme, but with less impressive 90s beats. What is going on with the weird drum drops or whatever it is? I don’t know who would listen to this voluntarily.
The Observer and The Gash are the only song I Liked™ off this album.
Suddenly could’ve been great with a different singer, different melody and other lyrics.
Brappappapp finds its bearings in the lofi 90s again, and I could possibly listen to it again. Over the loudspeakers in an off-brand pharmacy.
The shining is boring. Everybody’s Stalking is a BOP!!11!””
Stone on the water is nice, but I mean come on, it’s literally just 2 chords for half the song. Is this part of a dare to see how long people will listen? Didn’t like Another Pearl or Body Rap... but Cause a Rockslide was worthy of a better rating than this album as a whole.
Pissing in the wind is such a mood. Just give me something/I’ll take nothing😳
Overall, I think it will improve on a second listen. I applaud it for having really good bits and a high ambition, while not shying away from doing some less poppy, weirder stuff.
Imagine being young in the 60s/70s and discovering prog rock as it emerges. I think I would be a prog nerd then. But I can imagine I would also get pretty exhausted sometimes, because these guys (it always seems to be guys in this time period, Renaissance being an exception) are always trying to scare me with their intricate solos, quick chord changes and thick vocal harmonies. After listening to, like, a couple of prog rock albums, my theory is that a lot of it tries to throw all its darts haphazardly at once and in doing so, fails to hit the nail on its head. So now when I listen to prog stuff, I try to judge it not on how supernaturally virtuosic they all are and how mind-bendingly out of this world the arrangements are, but on whether it does that thing music is supposed to do, and has done since its inception in prehistoric times: communicate something meaningful to me, as a listener.
This album is honestly a mix of shallow feeling storms and beautiful calm, shimmering lakes. So it lands in the middle. Also, is it just me, or does it sometimes sound like Freddie Mercury?
great, I’ve now listened to Who songs other than My Generation and Baba O’Riley, and can with confidence say that I still only know those two songs.
FINALLY SOMETHING THAT ISN'T ROCK! but damn it's long.
I finally finished it. This felt like such a chore but since I had already listened to like 1/3 of it I felt I had to complete it. Tbh I skimmed parts of it--- because there are some great bits (inventive, use interesting sounds, jazzy bits, neat loops), and some very boring bits (very repetitive, uninventive loops, boring sounds, bland lyrics, just way too LONG).
Boring bit examples: A life in the day of Benjamin Andre, most of the interludes, Tomb of the Boom.
Good (entertaining/interesting) bit examples: She's alive, My favorite things, Take off your Cool, Unhappy.
If it had been maybe 45 minutes, with just the best tracks and none of the completely unmemorable tracks, then it could've been really good. But as it is, it's 2 hours and 15 long minutes of intriguing ideas interspersed with unnecessary filler.
I think that more has been said about this album than ever needs to be said about any album, probably, so just take my five stars.
At this point the GNR logo looks about as corporate to me as Oral-B and Dove. But it doesn't sound like I would expect an album from either of those companies to sound. No, this brand campaigns for grumpy teenagers' rights, and distributes tinnitus to all those who need it. Despite this being very loud and fork-scratching music, the thing I like about this album is the rythmic sluggishness within the pure energy, which is on almost every track.
Listening to this album was about as interesting as reading the back of a paint can in French. The only things that made it worth listening to at all were the last 2 songs.
The pan suave of rapping boy bands. The restaurant at the end of the universe of my taste in music. Never in a million years did I think I would take to something like this, but I really did. Some of the songs are sick. Some of them are not though. I wish I could give it 4 stars just for the ones that make me feel like I'm in the same league as Blue Da Ba Dee and for the smooth transitions, but it's really drawn down at points. 3.3 stars.
Oh, what a SOLID album! And what solid SHOES!
It goes dangerously close to last-brain-cell level easy listening, but it doesn't cross the line... I think. (also confused by why several songs are also on his 71 album??)
