Wow, amazing! As I make my way through these 1,001 albums, I think I will look back at Jarett’s Koln Concert as the one that finally got me to appreciate this genre. I mean I didn’t need a class in music theory or have to read a critic’s detailed explanation on why I should enjoy this. I was just blown away by the music which transported me to a place where I could see this artist on stage painting brilliant scenes with his music. Really this performance has rewired my neurons to fire differently now. Bonus note how I appreciated the record producer’s decision to leave in the applause so the listener will know that the audience knew they were witnessing a magical special moment. Bravo!

George Michael’s hits were an ever present constant in the 80’s and 90’s, but other than Faith, which sold 25 million copies, I hadn’t thought about his work in terms of albums. One day last year I heard his duet with Elton John for the bazillionth time and started to think about Michael’s talent. So I sat there and listened to Faith again and then to his entire solo discography and was blown away by his musical range and depth of feeling. A truly great artist and this album is worth absorbing every track.

I remember Ladysmith Black Mambazo from Paul Simon’s music and read that he produced this album. The harmonies are amazing and so chill, which is the point of this style of music. Wawusho Kubani sounds like the call and response of gospel mixed in with Stomp. How Long reminded me of Barbershop Quartet and Rain, Rain was like 50’s Early rock. Overall, I wish I understood more of the lyrics, but I really appreciated the talent of the singers.

One of my bandmates pointed out that Van Halen was more successful with Sammy Hagar than with DLR. Does it really matter? The albums with DLR soar. Does anyone doubt the huge impact the VH brothers have had? While Eddie’s otherworldly skills could have overshadowed everything and everyone else, Alex’s licks, especially on Hot for Teacher, kept pace. On this album it always feels to me that they are competing and racing each other, as if to say Oh, yeah? Top this!

While I’ve never been a fan of Death Metal I have to say I was impressed with the range displayed on this album, no doubt influenced by the many guest musicians who contributed. The Brazilian rhythms really added a unique context. Roots exceeded my expectations.

Such an eclectic mix of punk and psychedelic tracks.

What can anyone say about Led Zep that hasn’t already been said? Thanks Ayron for trying! But seriously, an amazing debut that set the bar high, and then they kept topping it. I never get tired of listening to or playing Led Zep.

Punk beats and a warble! I can feel the angst!

This album grew on me. I suppose people think of There She Goes but I found myself re-listening to a number of tracks, especially all the F’s: Freedom Song, feelin’, and Failure. Makes me want to learn more about this group.

George Michael’s hits were an ever present constant in the 80’s and 90’s, but other than Faith, which sold 25 million copies, I hadn’t thought about his work in terms of albums. One day last year I heard his duet with Elton John for the bazillionth time and started to think about Michael’s talent. So I sat there and listened to Faith again and then to his entire solo discography and was blown away by his musical range and depth of feeling. A truly great artist and this album is worth absorbing every track.

Joplin is the standout on this album with an emotionally soaring voice on hit tracks Piece of My Heart and Summertime. I was blown away by the vocal performance on Turtle Blues. Some of the jam tracks don’t measure up to her vocals. This was her last album with this band before going solo and her dominance shows. Her voice is so unique that she is in the pantheon of great singers like Aretha, Etta James, Whitney, etc but we’ll always wonder what she could have accomplished had she not died so young.

One of my bandmates pointed out that Van Halen was more successful with Sammy Hagar than with DLR. Does it really matter? The albums with DLR soar. Does anyone doubt the huge impact the VH brothers have had? While Eddie’s otherworldly skills could have overshadowed everything and everyone else, Alex’s licks, especially on Hot for Teacher, kept pace. On this album it always feels to me that they are competing and racing each other, as if to say Oh, yeah? Top this!

Tough to rate, I rarely listen to Jazz. As a drummer I’ve enjoyed playing Jazz charts because it can be so complex and challenging, but I’ve just never felt it. Whenever a movie tries to inspire love of Jazz (Soul, La-la-land) I’m like the character who says, huh? So did I enjoy listening to this album? Not really.

Reminds me of the music played in lobbies of chic hotels trying to be cool. Maybe because this club music IS cool?Good dance beats that get in your head and stay there.

Listened to this album a couple of times. Enjoyed some of the tracks including A Design for Life and title track Everything Must Go. The group sounds good and there are some interesting lyrics, but the tunes just didn’t stick with me.

Didn’t know anything about Congolese music before listening. Can’t understand the language. Yet, I found the music’s joyous, uplifting rhythms and soothing vocals enjoyable!

Bowie is one of those rare artists who’s body of work is brilliant. This album has some standouts tracks with Bowie effortlessly transitioning between styles of music from funk to ballads. Golden Years is probably the best known track from this album. But the rest deserve a listen, especially the emotion of Word on a Wing and Wild is the Wind to hear the way he plays with dynamics and tension.

Wow, amazing! As I make my way through these 1,001 albums, I think I will look back at Jarett’s Koln Concert as the one that finally got me to appreciate this genre. I mean I didn’t need a class in music theory or have to read a critic’s detailed explanation on why I should enjoy this. I was just blown away by the music which transported me to a place where I could see this artist on stage painting brilliant scenes with his music. Really this performance has rewired my neurons to fire differently now. Bonus note how I appreciated the record producer’s decision to leave in the applause so the listener will know that the audience knew they were witnessing a magical special moment. Bravo!

Radio stations overplayed Fast Car to the point I not only got tired of it but the words became a blur. Listening to this album now made me really appreciate Chapman as a storyteller. Talkin Bout a Revolution, Across the Lines and Why are so relevant today. Behind the Wall’s vocal is haunting. As for Fast Car? I listened to it 3 times before writing this review and will be listening to it again and again. Powerful debut album.

Can’t dismiss The Undertones as just another punk rock group. I gave it a good listen and heard influences from the styles of the 50’s through the 70’s and yet their sound is original. I especially liked the guitar on Teenage Kicks. They push so hard on Jump Boys that the drummer can’t keep up with the fills! Solid album.

Just don’t get the appeal.

PFunk, Yeah!

I remember Ladysmith Black Mambazo from Paul Simon’s music and read that he produced this album. The harmonies are amazing and so chill, which is the point of this style of music. Wawusho Kubani sounds like the call and response of gospel mixed in with Stomp. How Long reminded me of Barbershop Quartet and Rain, Rain was like 50’s Early rock. Overall, I wish I understood more of the lyrics, but I really appreciated the talent of the singers.

How do you rate an album that feels like an experiment gone bad, yet goes on to create and/or drive a genre by how it influences other artists? Ultimately I have to go with my own ears and emotions—how do I feel about the music? Would I listen again? I really struggled with this review; the best I can give it is a 2.

Led Zep II was released at the end of the same year as Led Zep I, continuing the brilliance of their explosive debut. Amazing guitar work and drumming drives the heavy metal blues feel. Amazing talent!

While I’ve never been a fan of Death Metal I have to say I was impressed with the range displayed on this album, no doubt influenced by the many guest musicians who contributed. The Brazilian rhythms really added a unique context. Roots exceeded my expectations.

This experimental and debut album has been cited for its influence on other artists. As I listen to it, I just hear attempts to mimic and build upon others from Dylan to the Byrds or the Beatles. The original parts with odd layerings are what minimize the result to me. Each track feels like it starts with a really good beat, sound or theme and then it goes either off the rails or on and on so repetitively.

Didn’t know this band, but really enjoyed this album.

Amazing debut album! Can’t just credit the amazing guitar work, it’s also the memorable musical themes, lyrics, rhythms and multi layers that make this so outstanding. Also got to credit Mitch Mitchell’s phenomenal drumming! I can just set this album on repeat and listen again and again and again.

Avant garde meets classical and intersects with folk music artists? Or is this all experimental? Found myself intrigued by what they were doing on these tracks. Worth a listen or two.

A beautiful voice for a beautiful debut album. Very emotional tone and creative tracks.

Raw energy bundled inside poor quality recording. Sound like the Beatles in Hamburg which creates some interesting What If? scenarios to think about. Don’t forget that the Beatles’ earliest recordings also had lots of covers with a few originals.

Still grows on me even after 20 years since its release with the intersection of grunge alternative and heavy metal. Just solid Rock vocals, beats, energy.

Still an amazing and influential work. Joe Morello is brilliant on Take 5.

Couple of really good songs on this album. Like the lyrics. Reminiscent of Dylan in a way.

Saw the Eagles on tour at Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands NJ summer of 1980. My first stadium concert. Sold out. The opening acts were Little River Band and Heart. Hotel California had been released more than 3 years before and The Long Run was out in 1979, yet this was still a Hotel California tour. I remember the cover art on the stage background and the roar of the crowd when Joe Walsh started playing those famous opening notes. Crazy to thing they had already released a greatest hits album before HC was released. Yet when Walsh joined the band it took them to a new plateau without losing their roots, unlike some groups that shifted so much with a new member (ex. the Doobies). This album offers so much beyond the title track—Life in the Fast Lane’s driving beat, the emotion of Wasted Time, New Kid in Town, Victim of Love. Just an amazing album from an amazing band.

When I think about the career of Sir Paul I can’t help but wonder how can an artist go back to the well of creativity over and over again and keep producing amazing hit music? Yes, there are some less than stellar tracks on this album, but songs like Band on the Run, Jet, and Let Me Roll It still tower over most other artist’s best efforts.

Simply one of the most perfect albums ever produced. What more can be said about the amazing (but troubled) partnership between Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman? I’ve seen Meat Loaf live a couple of times and his performance was the best show I’ve ever seen! There are very few performers like Meat Loaf who always leave it all on the stage every time. He was one of a kind and will be sorely missed. RIP!

It is fun to listen to the beginning of that Talking Heads sound and hear David Byrne cultivate his unique style. While Psycho Killer stands out above the rest of the tracks, overall it is a very good debut album.

Hard driving rock R&B, with a Texas twang. Third album from ZZ Top continued to show growth and skill from this talented trio. While La Grange is the track that broke through to radio play for its creative sound, others are just as good and worth a repeat listen.

First time listening to this album, and enjoyed some of the tracks. Only recognized a couple of their songs from another album, and wasn’t aware of how much they had produced. So this felt fresh even though they had been around for some time. Can definitely feel the influence of other bands, like The Kinks, Squeeze.

Sometimes I struggle with how to review an album not in my favorite genre, especially this kind of electronica/dance pop because I usually find it very repetitive to the point of boredom. But there's something about this artist and this album that really felt different. I think Chris/Rahim's voice is mesmerizing (Make Some Sense)--even if I didn't understand the French lyrics (Machin-chose). When they were in English, their lyrics were intriguing (Girlfriend, Comme-si). While some of the beats in the tracks were repetitive, others were fun throwback sounds (Follarse, Goya!) or were very creative and really leaned into the dance mode with a rocking hip-hop groove (Damn). Worth a repeat listen or two!

As a drummer, appreciate the complexity of the rhythms, but for just listening to music, not my thing.

As we all know, John, Paul, George, and Ringo all had successful solo careers after the breakup of the Beatles, but clearly George had some serious pent up creative energy going into this album. From the variation of track types, to the expressiveness, he just shined. The guitar playing is inspired, and his voice goes from mellow to bluesy, to full-on rock mode and back again. I wasn't looking forward to re-listening to My Sweet Lord, which had been so overplayed on radio, but I really appreciated the guitar solos and the layering of sounds that came through on the 2020 mix. Harrison's collaborations on this album are inspired, and they made me think about how one musician influences another, who then influences another, or how one style impacts another, and it all flows like rain drops into a stream that becomes a river, flowing to a sea of sound. There are tracks on this album that could have been made by McCartney & Wings (I'd Have You Anytime), or the Beach Boys (What is Life) or an early Billy Joel (Ballad of Sir Frank) or Willie Nelson (Behind that Locked Door), or Chicago (Let It Down), or Barenaked Ladies (Run of the Mill), or a future version of George himself with the Traveling Wilbury's (Apple Scruffs). There are so many beautiful tunes here that just embody George's sound, especially the title track, All Things Must Pass. This album is definitely worthy of its place on Best Of lists.

ZZ Top caught lightning in a bottle with Eliminator--multiple top 40 hits, 10 million copies sold in the US, and MTV awards. But it wasn't easy getting there, as it was a breakthrough more than a decade in the making--this was ZZ Top's 8th album in 12 years. They had some prior success with albums and tours and top songs "Just Got Paid," "La Grange" and "Tush," but it was Eliminator and MTV videos that put ZZ Top in front of a broader audience. They experimented with their sound style compared to prior albums, but being together for so long made their sound tight. Eliminator rocks! Full, heavy driving bass & drums, blues-influenced tracks, fun lyrics, grizzled-voice harmonies, and great solos, this album has it all! I never get tired of listening to these tracks. Definitely in my road-trip rotation!

Deee-Lite is all about the groove, the rhythm, the beat that gets stuck in your head and makes you move. Love the complex beats, the driving bass riffs and fun sound effects. The opening to Groove Is in the Heart says it all: We're going to dance, and have some fun!

This album feels like a time capsule of an era. But does this offer hints of things to come, or is this just copying what others were doing at this point in the 60's? Either way, it's an interesting blend of sounds. The only problem is that damn electric jug on almost every track. Was someone in the recording session saying, "More jug!" like an early version of Don't Fear the Reaper? Ugh!

I read in wiki how this concert revived Duke Ellington's career, having a huge impact in the later stage of his life. But how does one connect to an album of a performance from nearly 75 years ago? I think of Big Band music as belonging to my parents' generation--born in the 30's, growing up in the 40's. Yet this sound influenced so many future genres, I can't help but appreciate the talent and skill. My first drum teacher was a Big Band drummer and I was awed by Louie Bellson when I saw him play when I was in high school. Many of my favorite rock drummers learned to play jazz swing style and adapted those skills to rock n roll. Listening to this orchestra, with some of the best talent, you can't help but feel the sound, visualize the moment. Ellington's signature Take the A Train is polished from 20 years of performance experience. I love the swish of the hi-hat in Blues to Be There, the upbeat solos in Newport Up, the bending of notes and moodiness of the saxes in Sophisticated Lady, I Got It Bad and Jeep's Blues. The energy and creativeness of Diminuendo in Blue caps it all off. I listened to both versions of this album, the first which was modified with recordings in studio, and the newer one that was a cleaned up version of the live tapes. I suggest both are worth a listen to get why a 75-year old concert still has impact.

So boring. Added 1 star for anyone who wants to tango.

As I listened to the first track, Charlie Big Potato, I thought what kind of music is this? It starts techno, then its heavy metal, new wave, some reggae, maybe No Doubt meets Evanesence (which came along later)? It's like they tried to cram everything they could into one track. Then, after listening to the rest of the album, I realized this hodgepodge of a song reflected the whole album--made by a talented group of musicians making bold sounds and a bold statement that they won't be defined by a genre, that they can and will do what they want, and we, the listeners, get to enjoy the ride. On the second track they smack us with On My Hotel TV, lyrics filled with rage and a driving energy sound, then surprise on the next track We Don't Need Who You Think We Are, which begins like a ballad and then resumes the energy drive with more rage and anger. Suddenly they switch to Tracy's Flaws (with hints of Janis Joplin emotion). Liked that? great, now we switch gears again with The Skank Heads, a head-on power rock that would appeal to RHCP fans. Liked that power drive? Then there's Lately, which could be a Top 40 Kelly Clarkson hit; Secretly, a power ballad to rival any 80's & 90's hair band; followed by Good Things Don't Always Come to You, and later You'll Follow Me Down, and I'm Not Afraid--emotional tracks that display the range of the lead singer. Then back to the driving heavy metal energy with And This Is Nothing That I Thought I Had. The album ends with a bonus title track which again drives home the power of this group. I'd never heard of Skunk Anansie before, and now I can't stop listening to them. That's the best part of this 1001 album roulette.

I tried to find something positive in here, but it's a struggle. It's just so repetitive. I guess that's the point of this style, but I was just bored with it. Maybe a couple of tracks would be great for anyone look for meditation music?

The harmonies are so ingrained in the sound of CSN&Y that it could be taken for granted, but this isn't what one would consider "normal" for a vocal group to make it seem so natural. Listen to the a cappella harmonies at the 2:00 minute mark on the first track, Carry On-- just so much fun. But the music is more than the singing. On the same track, the guitar solos are like a call-and-response with the vocals, while the percussion and bass drive the tempo. The lyrics, providing a blend of rock and folk sensibilities, motivated a generation of singer/songwriter groups that followed. I love listening to Our House paint a picture again and again, while Teach Your Children still holds for the social commentary, as we still wait for parents of one generation to learn from their children of the next! All the hits from this album have received plenty of air play for more than 50 years, so it it was good to listen to the whole album to experience the other tracks. I don't think it's a perfect album as some tracks are weaker than others. Maybe being on the border between Boomer and Gen X, I can appreciate this music, but still be honest about its shortcomings. As visions of Mind the Gap (a generational trivia game) flash through my brain, I have to give this album a 4 instead of the 5 I was leaning towards.

Not much to say on this one. Pleasant to listen to, but didn't keep me engaged.

This album is filled with longer play tracks that sound like a jazz improv group merged with a folk rock band. The jamming sounds good, especially the first three songs--Glad, Freedom Rider and Empty Pages--which have all been in FM radio rotation for decades or more recently satellite Ch. 26 Classic Vinyl. All together a solid album from Traffic.

Trying to figure out if I should describe this album as eclectic, diverse, or just a jumbled mess? Having read some backstory about Gabriel's break from Genesis and his subsequent hiatus, I get the impetus he may have felt to try new things upon returning to the recording studio. Just not sure if it lands for me. Solsbury Hill is a beautiful hit with prog-rock roots (7/4 time-signature, anyone?). Modern Love feels like a more mainstream chart. Slowburn and Here Comes the Blood are anthemic, dramatic and fitting for this time period, but just not memorable. (Given the context of its time, 1977 also saw the release of Meatloaf/Steinman's Bat Out of Hell, and two years after Queen's Night at the Opera.) But Moribund and Dolce Vita feel too over the top, and I can't begin to explain/understand the thinking behind Excuse Me. Basically, did I enjoy listening to this album? Only halfway.

Just a solid rock album, artistically light years away from where they started. Compare Pretty on the Inside, Teenage Whore, and Babydoll from the first album to Reasons to be Beautiful and Boys on the Radio on this one. That being said, Celebrity Skin merges the raw feel with strong musical talent and thoughtful lyrics. Elevates the whole album.