Solid alt-rock album, I'll have to relisten to it and see if there were any duds or ones that I missed
BEST TRACKS: Song 2, M.O.R., You're so Great
WORST TRACKS: Theme from Retro
A really good funk/soul album with more mellow tracks than expected. Stevie Wonder has the vocals to carry the more subdued tracks, and the funkier tracks sport wonderfully jazzy instrumentation.
BEST TRACKS: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life, Maybe Your Baby, Tuesday Heartbreak, Superstition, Blame It On The Sun
WORST TRACKS: N/A
Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots is a great collection of atmospheric psychedelia, eclectic orchestration, and surreal lyrics. I love the space theme mixed with existential songwriting.
BEST TRACKS: Fight Test, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1 & 2, Do You Realize??
WORST TRACKS: In the Morning of the Magicians
The vocals can either be unique and eccentric or off-putting and annoying. While I like the sound of the guitars and synths, the songs themselves often go on for too long to keep my interest, even with the unique rhythmic switches that the band implements. Overall, the record feels like one that's more significant for its impact on the New Wave scene over its own quality.
BEST TRACKS: Lava, Hero Worship, 6060-842
WORST TRACKS: Rock Lobster, There's a Moon in the Sky (Called the Moon), Downtown
Billie Joe Armstrong's romantic lyricism, Mike Dirnt's infectious bass lines, and Tre Cool's eccentric drumming combine to amplify the catchy, distortion-heavy pop-punk to greatness. A solid record that helped establish the sound of popular rock for years to come.
BEST TRACKS: Longview, Welcome to Paradise, Basket Case, She, When I Come Around
WORST TRACKS: Emenius Sleepus
I think I would like this album more if I was more familiar with reggae, but I appreciate the skillful instrumentation, even if the grooves can feel repetitive. I also admire the poignant lyricism.
BEST TRACKS: Marcus Garvey, Slavery Days, The Invasion, Give Me, Tradition
WORST TRACKS: N/A
A beautifully passionate indie rock album, with gorgeous instrumentation and captivating lyrics. I love the guitar tones, driving basslines, and how Michael Kiwanuka manages to breathe life into topics with like perseverance, love, and social injustice.
BEST TRACKS: You Ain't The Problem, Rolling, Hero, Hard To Say Goodbye
WORST TRACKS: N/A
An easily digestible mix of alt-country and Americana that does a good job of showcasing the blend's most charming qualities. The folk-tinged song structures and solid vocal performances also help broaden the sound's appeal. While not every track stands out in a unique way, Mermaid Avenue is a great record, even for non-country fans like myself.
BEST TRACKS: California Stars, Hoodoo Voodoo, I Guess I Planted
WORST TRACKS: Walt Whitman's Niece
I'm not sure if it's Newman's voice or the loungey, easy-going vibe throughout the record, but Sail Away was not an experience I could get into. My appreciation for some of the instrumentation and lyrical themes helped elevate it, but it still failed to stick with me in an endearing way.
The reverb-heavy power-pop invokes a sense of scope with each track, making it a captivating listen. I love the guitar and synth work.
BEST TRACKS: Shout, Everybody Wants To Rule The World, Mothers Talk, Broken
WORST TRACKS: I Believe
The short length of each tracks either serves the songs to be concise and memorable, or they fail to grab interest. A decent, if forgettable, jazz record.'
BEST TRACKS: Blueberry Hill, Blue Monday
WORST TRACKS: La La, You Done Me Wrong
I adore the sonic palette of this record, with its spanky basslines and homegrown, rough-around-the-edges feel. The production and vocals blend to create the epitome of angst and the teenage underground scene of the time.
BEST TRACKS: Blister In The Sun, Kiss Off, Add It Up
WORST TRACKS: Confessions, Promise
The Stooges' self-titled debut feels like a promising, yet underwhelming, first effort. While the grimy, distortion-heavy sound is neat and the rest of the instrumentation is solid, some of the guitar work leaves a bit to be desired. Songs like "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and "No Fun" would probably be (ironically) more fun to listen to if they weren't so repetitive. "We Will Fall" seems to be a collective head-scratcher to most, but I didn't mind it during my listens. Although it does have some sense of motion that carries it through it's 10-minute length, I have to ask why the hell would you make the long, droning psychedelic piece the third track after "1969" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog"? A lot of the vocal melodies leave a bit to be desired, like on tracks such as "Ann" and "Not Right", even if the former picks up towards the breakdown. Even with its shortcomings, "The Stooges" is still a solid record, elevated by the attitude behind the performances and its ahead-of-its-time sonic palette.
BEST TRACKS: 1969, I Wanna Be Your Dog, Ann
WORST TRACKS: No Fun, Little Doll
Todd Rundgren's "Something/Anything?" is a personality-driven pop-rock mixed bag. The record sports a lot of eclectic instrumentation, like the juxtaposition of the gospel vocals and swaggering guitar lines on "Black Maria". The high-energy tracks like Wolfman Jack and Song of the Viking are also a blast, sporting Rundgren's quirky vocals and cute melodies. These qualities aren't present on every track, such as slogging ballads like "I Went to the Mirror" and "Torch Song", and some songs go on for too long for their best attributes to save them (see "The Night the Carousel Burned Down"). There's still great power-ballads and stripped-back cuts like "Dust in the Wind" and "One More Day", along with soul and jazz fusion on "Hello It's Me" and "Slut". While the duds make the 90-minute runtime feel bloated, the sonic range and charm that the record offers largely makes up for it.
BEST TRACKS: Wolfman Jack, It Takes Two to Tango (This Is for the Girls), Little Red Lights, Dust in the Wind, Slut
WORST TRACKS: The Night the Carousel Burned Down, I Went to the Mirror, Torch Song, Some Folks Is Even Whiter Than Me
This is really bad. The decent instrumental performances are bogged down by head-scratching hip-hop influences and obnoxious vocals. I can't really see why/how this could take precedent over...any better metal album?
The intro "Let's Start" has a really cool riff playing call-and-response with the horns, along with enjoyable solos and Fela Kuti interjects energy with his eccentric vocals. I really like Ginger Baker's eclectic drums and the organ solo on "Black Man's Cry". The shuffling poly-rhythm on "Ye Ye De Smell" gives the track a unique energy. "Egbe Mi O" carries a more subdued vibe than the other tracks, with the same Afrobeat qualities creating a captivating listen. I'm especially fond of the crowd-vocal-led outro. This album is a great listen, and I'm grateful for it being my introduction to the legend Fela Kuti.
1999 - super catchy and fun, with enveloping synths and wicked guitar lines. the odd vocals near the end give off a Ween sensibility, which makes sense when you consider how much the band was inspired by Prince
Little Red Corvette - the chorus makes up immensely for the subpar verses, with powerful background vocals and a glimmering synth-funk instrumental.
Delirious - a bit less grandiose than the last two tracks, with interesting synth sounds that elevate a cute song about the excitement of love
Let's Pretend We're Married - Prince's performance does a lot for this track, paired with the dark and bass-heavy instrumentation that still carries the shimmering quality of the other tracks. The length of the songs doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would, as the band does a good job of keeping the motifs engaging.
D.M.S.R. - punchy and funky, very carefree
Automatic - i like the driving call-and-response with the guitar and synths, and i live for the one accented bass note that comes around every phrase. it does feel repetitive in the first third, and most of the tracks so far fall into the trap of greatly benefiting from a tonal and/or sonic switch-up.
Something in the Water (Does Not Compute) - frantic drums and off-putting synth lines that grow into a psychedelic heartbreak ballad. I don't care for Prince's spoken passages on this track, and the odd sensibility of the song as a whole isn't my favorite.
Free - revisit
Lady Cab Driver - yeah it's good, instrumental break has a lot of good shredding and walls of synths
International Lover - a passionate closer
Take a Bow - sounds like an intro track
Starlight - sounds like a really good actual first track; the production makes the introductory bass riff and sprawling synth lines hit like a ton of bricks. Matt Bellamy's emotion-heavy performance drives the lyrics of frayed-relationship issues home.
Supermassive Black Hole - i like how the dark synths juxtapose with the cocky whining guitars and vocal performances. there's a lot of different sounds and ideas being toyed with that come together really well.
Map of the Problematique - sports a catchy repetitive motif that's built upon with unique synths, guitar tones, and layering vocal lines. it feels more vibey than the other tracks without the engaging rhythmic and melodic switch-ups.
Soldier's Poem - a stripped-back acoustic piece that isn't long enough to leave much of an impact, but the Beach Boys-esque harmonies are interesting
Invincible - the track only gets interesting during the bridge, with warbling sound effects, wailing guitar lines, and that really cool bass line at the beginning of it; the rest of the song is an unimpressive slow burn.
Assassin - the repetition-heavy nature of the song structures throughout the album start to lose their luster, even though this song still works. the opening lines don't grab as well as earlier tracks like "Starlight" but there's still enough aggression and space-rock inspired sounds to give the song the drive it needs.
Exo-Politics - the track is punchy from the opening drum pattern, topped with haunting theremins and fuzzy, distorted guitars.
City of Delusion - constantly morphing into different sonic palettes, with Spanish guitars and trumpets sprinkled into an epic piece.
Hoodoo - I haven't been clicking with the more ballad-ish tracks so far, but this one works better than the previous. The crescendo near the middle of the track paired with meaningful lyrics creates a decent deep cut for the record.
Knights of Cydonia - Goddamn, this one's good. It's such an epic way to finish the track list with so many interesting qualities, like the piercing acapella section and its overall sense of scope.
Overall, I enjoyed this record a lot more than I thought I would. Most of the deep cuts don't hit as hard as the singles, but the space-rock/prog-rock/alternative-dance sounds sound great with the powerfully unique vocals and staggering musicianship.
BEST TRACKS: Starlight, Supermassive Black Hole, City of Delusion, Knights of Cydonia
WORST TRACKS: Invincible
The Velvet Underground's self-titled work is an enchanting folk-rock staple. The record begins with "Candy Says", a very delicate introduction to the record that sets a really cozy vibe. I love the moving guitar lines and subtly present bass work present on songs like "Some Kinda Love", and the personality-driven vocals from Lou Reed deliver on "Pale Blue Eyes" with its Bob Dylan-esque heartbreak song structure and "Jesus" as he harmonizes with bassist Doug Yule. The folk tracks "That's The Story Of My Life" and "After Hours" are two of my favorites, with both being very short and sweet pieces that showcase the best of The VU's songwriting abilities. The band also shows their capability in providing rocking bangers like "Beginning To See The Light" and "I'm Set Free", with the latter carrying an interesting sense of dynamics as it continually builds and retreats. The only underwhelming experience comes in "What Goes On", with energized riffs that get drowned out halfway through by organs and an enveloping fuzzy guitar solo that didn't work for me. The track starts with a lot of intrigue and ends by repeating that same motif for too long without evolving on it much, with the middle portion feeling somewhat out-of-place. This doesn't do much to bring the rest of the record down, especially with songs like the penultimate "The Murder Mystery", which is sprawling and confusing in the best ways. It features odd sounds effects and an intriguing drum pattern that pairs well with the ramblings and guitars during the verses, while the back-and-forth choruses between Reed and drummer Maureen Tucker give a break from the break-neck pace with slick guitar and organ lines. The song is overwhelming and captivating in its creativity, proving to be a stand-out in the tracklist. The sentimental, engaging, and bold efforts that The Velvet Underground make on this record pay off in an amazing display of songwriting and personality.
BEST TRACKS: Candy Says, Pale Blue Eyes, The Murder Mystery, After Hours
WORST TRACKS: What Goes On
