Journey Complete!
Finisher #563 to complete the list
1088
Albums Rated
3.53
Average Rating
100%
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The Cure
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2020s
Favorite Decade
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106
5-Star Albums
43
1-Star Albums
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You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Infotainment Scan | 5 | 2.72 | +2.28 |
| Apple Venus Volume 1 | 5 | 2.85 | +2.15 |
| Cafe Bleu | 5 | 2.87 | +2.13 |
| This Nation’s Saving Grace | 5 | 2.89 | +2.11 |
| Rattlesnakes | 5 | 2.9 | +2.1 |
| Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite | 5 | 2.91 | +2.09 |
| Paris 1919 | 5 | 2.95 | +2.05 |
| Rings Around The World | 5 | 2.97 | +2.03 |
| Car Wheels On A Gravel Road | 5 | 2.99 | +2.01 |
| Imperial Bedroom | 5 | 3 | +2 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metallica | 1 | 3.79 | -2.79 |
| Superunknown | 1 | 3.66 | -2.66 |
| ...And Justice For All | 1 | 3.43 | -2.43 |
| Hybrid Theory | 1 | 3.38 | -2.38 |
| Smash | 1 | 3.38 | -2.38 |
| The Downward Spiral | 1 | 3.34 | -2.34 |
| Deep Purple In Rock | 1 | 3.33 | -2.33 |
| Ace of Spades | 1 | 3.29 | -2.29 |
| Rust In Peace | 1 | 3.24 | -2.24 |
| The Real Thing | 1 | 3.2 | -2.2 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 7 | 4.71 |
| Led Zeppelin | 5 | 4.8 |
| Bruce Springsteen | 5 | 4.6 |
| Bob Dylan | 7 | 4.29 |
| The Rolling Stones | 6 | 4.33 |
| R.E.M. | 4 | 4.5 |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 3 | 4.67 |
| Van Morrison | 3 | 4.67 |
| The Doors | 3 | 4.67 |
| Dusty Springfield | 2 | 5 |
| Jane's Addiction | 2 | 5 |
| Radiohead | 6 | 4.17 |
| Leonard Cohen | 5 | 4.2 |
| The Who | 5 | 4.2 |
| Stevie Wonder | 4 | 4.25 |
| Elvis Costello & The Attractions | 4 | 4.25 |
| Talking Heads | 4 | 4.25 |
| Steely Dan | 4 | 4.25 |
| Pink Floyd | 4 | 4.25 |
| U2 | 4 | 4.25 |
| Miles Davis | 4 | 4.25 |
| The Cure | 3 | 4.33 |
| Marvin Gaye | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Smiths | 3 | 4.33 |
| My Bloody Valentine | 3 | 4.33 |
| Peter Gabriel | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Fall | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Byrds | 5 | 4 |
| Sonic Youth | 5 | 4 |
| Tom Waits | 5 | 4 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Metallica | 4 | 1.5 |
| Megadeth | 2 | 1 |
| Sepultura | 2 | 1 |
| Mudhoney | 2 | 1 |
| Slipknot | 2 | 1 |
| Deep Purple | 3 | 1.67 |
| The Prodigy | 2 | 1.5 |
| Def Leppard | 2 | 1.5 |
| Motörhead | 2 | 1.5 |
5-Star Albums (106)
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Popular Reviews
Nirvana
3/5
Perfectly fine but massively overrated since day one. I refuse to continue that trend.
19 likes
Linkin Park
1/5
Just when you thought metal could go no lower, along comes to Linkin Park to add the most annoying elements of several other genres (especially emo) to drill deeper still. The combination of sheer awfulness with utter pomposity is potently toxic to the ears of anyone with any taste at all. How it sold 32 copies, let alone 32 million, boggles the mind, but that's popular taste, innit. See The Onion's Winner's History of Rock and Roll for the imbalance.
14 likes
The Birthday Party
1/5
Australia's “most original band”? Maybe. “Least talented” seems a safer bet. Can you tell this book by its cover? You can.
13 likes
Rage Against The Machine
2/5
In its favor are the relatively clean production, the obvious politics, some broad hot licks and a band name/album title that is ultimate in truth in advertising. On the downside is the adolescent rage, the sameyness, and the length – my god, is this too long. Generic, white suburban rage is all fine and perfectly acceptable in its place but really should avoid going on too long – an analogy to outgrowing one’s youthful idealism. This record could’ve conserved energy and increased its impact by being 33-50% briefer. Beyond a few glimmers of impressive playing, it’s not really necessary to hear this before death unless one plans to die very young – and before developing more refined tastes.
9 likes
Coldcut
2/5
Synthetic and silly and tedious and way, way too long. Wow, do all the sound bytes make this sound dated and the utter opposite of timeless. "Party and bullshit" -- very much the emphasis is on the latter. This Fall fan will pretend not to have heard Mark E. Smith. More dumb than dope.
7 likes
1-Star Albums (43)
All Ratings
Nick Drake
4/5
Feeling this is a little too quiet and modest (the original “twee” album maybe?) to be a full five stars but there are a few gems – ”Fly” and “Northern Sky” (the latter truly an all-time gem). I listened to this record so often in early 2000s that I may have worn it out. Also is downgrade due to “it’s been underrated so long that it actually become overrated” syndrome and the suffering at the hands of Wes Anderson. 4.1
The Cure
4/5
Opener sets the tone, with just wicked, haunting guitars and drums so distant in the mix, like they were recorded down the hall in another room. A little less droning, a bit more melodic and touch more energetic than Seventeen Seconds. Still brooding but not as comprehensive a gloomfest. Is this record to emo what Gregorian Chant is to contemporary classical music? 3.65 but a reluctant 4 due to lack of hits and because their best work was still ahead.
Manic Street Preachers
3/5
Perfectly okay, but a bit maximalist and just too big for my tastes. I confess to some bias: my slots for this type of band and from this era have long been filled to capacity (and then some).
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Everything a classic rock album should be – loud and proud, impassioned and (okay, sure) a little bombastic. They steal the blues template blatantly and shamelessly, of course, but somehow they expand, amplify and make the blues their own (e.g., “How Many More Times”) much more effectively than other bands that took the same starting point. Awesome opening moments on both “sides” – the drum-spliced riff on “Good Times, Bad Times” and the organ on “Your Time Is Gonna Come.” Plant is surely the best of this generation of vocalists – selling “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” like an actor dying on stage, with such rollicking drama in the arrangement in the playing. Page is just a genius, unleashing massive, outlandish solos and jagged riffs, and then applying the subtlest of touches (e.g., the slide echos on “Your Time” and the pastoral bits on “Black Mountain Side”). And has there ever been a more authentically druggy song than “D & C”? Bonzo and JPJ lay down an appropriately bottom-heavy beat – like immovably leaden. One of the best debuts in rock and roll history, surely. My 16-year-old self is delighted that this record still sounds as good as it does.
Nirvana
3/5
Perfectly fine but massively overrated since day one. I refuse to continue that trend.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Gritty and funky, sad and even silly at time – a true career renaissance after 29 records and a stage setter for the sprawling and even weirder work to come in the decades that followed. There's a direct link from this record to Rough and Rowdy Ways! I'm a Lanois fan and love the atmospherics, but get the criticism of some of the production choices. Several of these songs that I turn to time and again, but a few mehs make me round down to 4 from 4.5. Maybe a slightly shorter record would have been better.
Nine Inch Nails
1/5
Sure it's demonic but its obnoxiousness is the bigger problem. The odd interesting figure and the mellower sections ("Piggy") and parts of the last song suggest that this project could have been much less of a spectacle, if not fully redeemable.
XTC
4/5
Perhaps the best Beatles record not made by the Beatles, this is maximalist chamber pop that veers into overindulgence now and then. Partridge sings like McCartney and writes songs like Lennon. There’s real joy and some pathos, and the quality is sustained at a high level across the record even it’s occasionally too clever by half. 4.2 for 4.
Fairport Convention
4/5
Sandy Denny's amazing vocals and the band grinds, chugs and sweeps over the folk material, updating it for modern times in ways that feel energizing and innovative on the one hand, and spiritually respectful and true on the other. There are dark and haunting moments, too, that add to the richness.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
A masterpiece on multiple levels – beats and samples, the rhymes and flows, plus world-class production. Plus, a ton of fun to listen to. Humor underrated in every genre of pop music and Tip et al make it look/sound so easy. Loved it 30+ years ago (Christ, can it be that long!?!?!) and it sounds just as good today.
Iron Butterfly
4/5
Some cliches live up to the reputation, don't they, and I suppose IB was one of the reasons the ‘60s were the ‘60s? This could provide the soundtrack to any number of films from that decade. It’s heavy-heavy, with a bit more organ than ideal, and too sprawling, generally. (Infinite Jest might be the In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida of contemporary novels.) But the songs are surprisingly layered and varied. If you’re up for (maybe I mean down for) the heaviness, it’s a solid listen throughout, even intermittently tuneful and sweet. Not terrible for being terribly cliched, in other words. It would be cool to hear some contemporary groups cover these songs, but current acolytes seem thin on the ground. Still, it’s easy to see how they might have become Pink Floyd. “Flowers and beads are one thing" -- truer words have never been spoken. A for effort – meaning 3.6 for 4.
Dire Straits
3/5
This was the record that made DS so popular that no one liked them anymore. Like everything they did, it’s of very high quality, but this one lacks life and edge. Serious points off for becoming ubiquitous (and thus annoying) in my first painful year of college (not entirely Knopfler’s fault it was painful) and generally being too polished, slick and too big a hit. Demerits also for using state-of-the-art (also smug) ‘80s production effects (keys and synths especially, Sting backing vocals). And for parodying MTV while being totally of it … by design and in execution. They wanted it both ways, I suppose, and got it. Trigger warning on the homophobic language, too – oh, that shameful go-go decade. The “Money for Nothing” hook is great, if obvious. “So Far Away” and “Walk of Life” are pretty good, too. “Your Latest Trick” and “One World” are tops to my ears, and the more considered non-hits in the middle and back stand up better than the chart-toppers. It’s interesting to me that the record ends very quietly, in contrast to the very loud opening hook of its most famous song. As a whole, it’s all far below (less artful, less serious, way too obviously reaching for mainstream acceptance) than the previous work – the first record, Love Over Gold and Making Movies especially. I like that it freed Knopfler to do what he wanted but he never got his mojo back (commercially or artistically) and has mostly noodled since. Sorry, book editors, but the production here makes this anything but “timeless” – who can hear this and not think mid- to late ‘80s? You want timeless, try “Water of Love,” “WIld West End,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “Skateaway” or “Telegraph Road.” One must be careful not dismiss things just because they’re popular, but, while this deserves a 4, I’m protesting and penalizing with a 3 because everyone (even the authors) still overrates this at the expense of the earlier, simpler and superior efforts.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
Sharp and edgy as you’d expect, with a little more fluidity in the drama and darkness than on earlier records, plus a new inclination to droning. “Spellbound” sets a decent tone and “Arabian Knights” is strong. The vocals are distinct and memorable, though occasionally, it sounds as if she’s singing from down a long tube. The slashing-echoing guitars are intermittently interesting (e.g., “Into the Light”). Still, overall, this is hardly a masterpiece and fails to fully move. One’s now and then reminded of Adam and the Ants (which may or may not be a good thing). If this was the beginning of Goth, one wonders what the fuss is all about. Perhaps one has to be a sensitive and alienated adolescent to fully get it.A flat 3 (i.e., no bullets).
The War On Drugs
4/5
Big step up from previous records, this is mature and interesting and (befitting the title) a little dream-like. “Under the Pressure” is great here but has been elevated to epic proportions live. “Suffering” is also great. The rest of the record sets a mood, contemplative and near trance-like at times, but driving at others. There’s an expansiveness to the songs and the playing that seems like a perfect balance of the auteur effect and jam band tendencies. Subsequent records are even better – further growth – but this is an easy, straight-up 4.
Violent Femmes
4/5
I was unduly suspicious, though admiring, back in the day. It all felt a little too much, both too obvious and too cheeky. My suspicion came from too many young women (albeit cool ones) liking them, a general preference for more artful Anglo angst (aka, The Smiths) and perhaps a reluctance to embrace such raw emotion (not a trend that’s necessarily gone well since). It’s pretty bright for being so dark and holds up pretty well; a lot of volume gets produced from the small-scale configuration, plus generally crisp playing and a solid differentiation of songs. The records beyond this got pretty shaky pretty quickly. But the 4 is merited.
Lou Reed
3/5
Creative and interesting, arty and glam, but, like everything involving Lou Reed, there’s more than a little pretension involved. Plus, it’s a bit over-indexed on Weimar/Berlin Babylon cabaret songs (as well as being oversexed, generally). The record seems to do what it sets out to do, but it all feels very much like playacting, with LR being coy about how camp he wants to be and placing style over substance (maybe blame Bowie for that). This is maybe the best thing he ever did, but it doesn’t fully preclude my view that he’s a little too famous for being famous and rode the VU’s and Bowie’s coattails. 3.4 for 3.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
Consistently interesting and engaging, thanks to the instrumentation and atmospherics. Very distinctive voice, sort of wearied and soulful at the same time. Strong drumming and cool guitar effects on “Rolling.” I love the tone on “Piano Joint,” “Hard to Say Goodbye” and “Final Days.” A masterpiece of mood and vibe and fully deserving of its many accolades. 4.4 for 4.
Hookworms
3/5
Moderately interesting and energizing, this record reads like an amalgam of the contemporary indie/alt scene – some math rock, chillwave and slowcore elements and the odd shoegazing moment all thrown in the mixer. The synths and keys threaten to overwhelm a few tracks, but combine intriguingly and to strong effect with the core on a few cuts. I’m not sure how this snuck by me in real time, and I plan to listen again, but I don’t imagine I’ll find any great initially unheard depths. 3.4 for 3.
The Velvet Underground
2/5
Most influential band of all time, blah, blah, blah. There’s less to like here than on the other records, as much as one admires the experimental bent and iconoclasm, which doesn’t fully come off anyway. “Sister Ray” is as gritty as art/noise rock got, but just because it was among the first of its type doesn’t make it a masterpiece. Anyone annoyed by Reed’s talky vocal style will be sent over the edge by “Lady Godiva’s Operation.” The muddy, submerged production is a big part of the issue – one wonders what this lot would have achieved with modern technology, including sampling (Cale’s later work suggests what might have been). The record’s commercial performance suggests sometimes bands get what they deserve, while its critical reception shows the power of revisionist history. 2.5 for 2.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Sweet, steamy and groovy – what’s not to like? It’s as if Marv is going for spirituality, too, a Song of Solomon for the sexual revolution. 4.2 for 4
Coldplay
4/5
I'm afraid I have to be true to my early-30s self and honor this record, because I loved it then. It was sad (as I was by temperament) and serious (as I ever hoped to be) and at times beautiful (ditto). It really does hold up pretty well, sounding gorgeous, substantively stylish and professionally made. But, God have they been mostly awful ever since (the Styx of this generation, as J. Hoberman once put it). 3.5 for 4.
Screaming Trees
4/5
Big, blowsy and beautiful, this is state-of-the-art late ‘90s rock from a fully mature band. No real clear hit jumps out but it’s solid from top to bottom, with every track offering something of interest. The mini-solo guitar flourishes in nearly every song are grace notes amid very interesting instrumentation and production choices (strings, bells, synths, acoustic instruments, etc.). The mood and tempo stays in a comfortable middle range with both hard edges and mellower moments to up the drama. This just sounds great, and is well worth knowing (not to mention another listen). 3.7 / 4
2/5
Is fully what it is – which is mainly chaotic and screechy. I guess you had to be there. Might also help to know more about the jams they were aiming to kick out and how/why they were/are different than countless other politically outraged combos yowling their heads off in garages around middle America. Maybe just screechier and more chaotic? The big, slabby, psychedelic guitar riffs are decent; one half-expects them to break into “Wild Thing” at a few moments. Their oft-repeated “thank yous” at the end of every song are interesting; for outraged protesters, they seem awfully grateful and even mannerly toward the audience (not that that’s a bad thing). What this is not is musical or very listenable. Like, literally – it’s nearly impossible to hear what’s being shouted … er, sung. Also seems worth noting that a good bit of what's audible sounds like it might be about love and, you know, girls, not the military industrial complex, the pigs, racism, etc (though of course one can make out a bit of that stuff, too). Lastly, would Sun Ra consider this a tribute? Maybe including one (or more) of his records would help us know. 1.5 for 2 (and only because rounding up makes me feel slightly better about my lack of political commitment and because I’m sure the live shows were fun and as many got laid as achieved consciousness-raising).
Billy Joel
5/5
Really holds up well. The songs are all mini-masterpieces and my amazement at its quality seems as fresh 40+ years on. The songs are interesting and accessible and the playing suggests the band is having fun and there are just enough barbs, bitterness and irony to elevate it above commercial pop. The pure New Yorkiness is great, too – think early years of SNL and Woody Allen and the Big Apple’s bankruptcy. We know “Only the Good Die Young” is a great rock n roll song because Catholic mothers all over the country were warning of its evils in the late ‘70s. Only dud for me is the snoozefest “She’s Only a Woman.” The reprising whistle ending is a nice touch to close out a fun and musically substantive ride. 4.5 for 5.
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
Love the jazziness, the flow, and the sheer all-over-the-place-ness of it. I lack historical perspective on and deep knowledge of the genre, but know full-on artistic commitment when I see (or hear) it and this is definitely that. Plus, lots of fun hooks and echoes – “we gonna be all right” indeed. Engaging and cool and a helluva lot of fun. 4.5 / 5.
Louis Prima
3/5
Fun and one-of-a-kind. I wish it didn't sound so much like a novelty act. "Gigolo" is great, as is "Buona Sera" but I don't dig what he does to "Basin Street Blues" (which sounds just like "Gigolo" btw) and "Sleepytime" (which is meant to be soporific, editors, and certainly not to be hollered). Hard not to admire just how all-in he is here, and sure the band is tight and boisterous, but does it all have to be so jokey and schticky? Again, this is fun, but at best these are a few songs to know, not a record you must hear before dying (especially relative to the many, many other worthier jazz options not pictured here). 3.1 / 3.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
Let’s start saying the obvious: Bruce is an all-time talent/genius whose average work (which this album feels like) is often well above the best output of other artists. And isn’t this a record we already know and is already too well known (and suffers from being so) and therefore needs no more knowing (or listening before death) and indeed might benefit from less knowledge? How would we feel about this record if it hadn’t been such a big hit. Tunnel of Love, for instance, would be more worth knowing (for being less well known and certainly less appreciated).
There many good-to-very-good songs: “Bobby Jean,” “No Surrender,” “Downbound Train,” “I’m Going Down,” “Darlington County” are a clear notch down from Bruce’s best, though much better than mere filler and – again – much, much better than average outputs from lesser artists. Indeed, some of these songs would be the best work of other artists.
So, this is largely down to how we feel about the “hits” (what charted, got radio play) and “the hit” (title track) in particular. “I’m on Fire” is a very good song, lovely and a touch haunting, but more accessible than mysterious (let’s be honest). Listening from the distance of years now (first time in near forever), I’ve noted the way the guitar sounds like “Every Breath You Take” which makes real sense, right, in the context of the reaching for commercial impact. “Cover Me” is basically replacement-level Boss, pretty good, pretty urgent, but non-transcendent. “Dancing in the Dark” is a good song, quite enjoyable, but in the broadest and most obvious way (the synth is vaguely AMSR, plus Courteney Cox [blah, blah, blah]). “Glory Days” I find obnoxious largely for 3 reasons: 1. the keyboard schmaltz (whatever) and 2. (more importantly) because it could/should have been much better. Imagine it as a dark ballad – solo acoustic, say – the bittersweet sentiments call for such. 3. The “speedball” for “fastball” mistake is borderline unforgivable, even allowing for the possibility that Bruce was attributing to the character in the song (though even he should have known better and I see no evidence of it being a druggie joke [by either Bruce or the song’s narrator]).
Which brings us to the title track: “Born in the USA” is straight-up a great track. But the mass misinterpretation by huge numbers of listeners (many of them credulous, uninformed and uninterested in communities such as this one) begs the question of Bruce’s culpability. Could the anthemic-ness have been toned down to honor the darkness more directly? The song is dark, Bruce’s is ranting cri-de-couer-like, but rock fans (even his) want to, you know, rock, so here we are. It’s the dividing line of taste for entire generations and is so often the case the sheer numbers of my fellow Americans seem to be on a different side than the one on which I’ve landed. Has to be a 4 but a conflicted one, with multiple caveats.
The xx
3/5
Decent but iron-deficient. Minimalist to the point of approaching insubstantiality. Like a one-track tape of a Cure recording session. More dozy than dreamy. The biggest problem is that all the best hooks and grooves are cut off prematurely. There’s a likable modesty that avoids twee-ness (thank God) but never gets beyond or resolves the pleasant state of suspension it reaches on track after track. One wonders, for ex, how the undeniably (and inoffensively) groovy opener would sound like if left to fully expand and turn into, you know, a song. Similarly, “VCR” works as an homage to old tech, but the downside of that authenticity is that it risks sounding like an outdated video game (albeit one played by emo-tending lonelyhearts). Another ex: “Islands” raises the heart rate briefly and then, well, ends. The best hooks on the entire record – as on “Night Time” – need (and deserve) more space and time, too. The overall effect is awfully ‘80s – who else wants Bronson Pinchot or Griffin Dunne to star in a movie to which this is the soundtrack? The record merely interests, never impels. 3.1 (but only for pro-genre bias) / 3.
ABBA
2/5
This is included ironically, right? Or just for time-capsule effect? Because this is about as banal as pop music can be. It ranks with sugar-free gum, shag carpet and curling irons as ‘70s cultural touchstones.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
No album title in this collection more accurately reflects its contents. While Kylie’s presence offers a nice break from the mostly tedious vocals, this is mostly gloomy and turgid (but one should have expected that). 2.5 > 2
Portishead
3/5
Eerie and dreamy and totally cool, but also static, almost posing. It could do with some tunefulness. It’s all moods, with little flow and next to no harmony. Trip-hop is not aging all that well; here, the over-reliance on the same little scratchy sound-effect speaks to a passing (now long past) moment of coolness; these songs are equally transitory, if still cool, which lands them somewhere between triviality and ephemerality. 3
Doves
3/5
There are high degrees of interest and variety throughout (e.g., chiming “Words, the highly distorted “N.Y,” dreamy and thoughtful “Sulphur Man”). Overall, it feels an update – and building on strengths of – classic Mancunian sounds. The sound (vocals in particular) start to wander, concerningly into Coldplay territory late on, without fully blossoming into full self-importance and pomposity. Straight-up likable and engaging and worthy of further listening.
Buck Owens
4/5
So good, so deserving of broader awareness and appreciation and so damn fun. Tight playing and witty lyrics. “Let the Sad Times” and “Wham Bam” are faves. Thanks to Dwight Yoakam for keeping the torch alive.
The Prodigy
1/5
So now that raves are done, shouldn’t we be one with such as this? The songs get to a place but no further, though these sound (very) slightly less dated that others in The P’s dreadful oeuvre. At best, this is a soundtrack for a movie I’m glad not to be watching or a video game I don’t want to play.
k.d. lang
4/5
It’s easy to like an artist that saves the hit to the very end. “Constant Craving” is a great song, and the lead-up is languid, then charming, then stylish, then smooth – every track thoughtfully conceived (merging jazzy torch songs with country textures) and executed with verve and polish, the singing assured and accomplished, the playing distinctive and adroit. Well done, k.d.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Any record that opens with “Sympathy” has a huge headstart, but it builds from there; just the transition to “No Expectations” points to the mostly mellow and sometimes lovely journey ahead. “Parachute Woman,” “Jigsaw Puzzle” and “Factory Girl” are all underappreciated gems. The playing feels loose, almost tossed-off at times, but it’s actually quite crisp and controlled – what the Stones did best, not exactly making it look easy but looking cool and insouciant while doing it well (and sometimes wild). All that plus “Street Fighting Man,” the awesomeness of which is easy to forget somehow and a truly great closer (\"Salt of the Earth\"), a fitting and graceful crescendo. The straightforward approach and seemingly narrower ambition paid out an incredible yield – the best-ever Stones record (no mean feat, that). 4.8 / 5
Grizzly Bear
3/5
Tense and dramatic, with some quite engaging ideas presented, but very little tunefulness or resolution. Too arty by half.
Jurassic 5
4/5
Clear muscular hip-hop. Shout-out to Kevin Loughery’s footwear is a personal highlight.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
As unsubtle as LC’s voice is, the lovely and light-touch accompaniments make the record. Consider the quiet, pointed strings, barely audible aria-like vocals and picked flamenco riffs in the background of “Blue Raincoat.” The piano on “Sing Another Song” is more prominent, but plays the same role, both underpinning and elevating the emotional power, and enriches the quite engaging singalong. The lilting backing vocals on “Joan of Arc” (and another mini-singalong chorus).
The Blue Nile
4/5
Artful and elegant and evocative, has the feel of fully hand-crafted and intensely personal music. The combo of synths and strings is most impressive, really thoughtful textures with the observational lyrics and actorly delivery makes this feel quite a literary record – just a lovely summing up of what it means to be alive. “Automobile Noise” is a particular fave among uniformly strong tracks.
Tito Puente
3/5
I mean, it's fine, but who cares? The brass and percussion are dead tight but I can't speak to why this is innovative or what makes it a must-hear. Appropriate for some settings, I suppose but not that many.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
As good a reggae record as I've ever heard. The Tosh songs are faves among almost uniformly excellent tracks. Nothing not to like here.
The Birthday Party
1/5
Australia's “most original band”? Maybe. “Least talented” seems a safer bet. Can you tell this book by its cover? You can.
Donovan
4/5
Didn't know this record on the whole, only a few of the hits, and so was skeptical of his reputation. Pop music distorts our perspective but going back years/decades later can redeem. It's really very good overall. The distinctive voice and delivery. Authentically psychedelic, with some madrigal vibes here and there, but much less cliched-seeming or caricature-like than many other records of this era sound today. Glad. to discover 50+ years on.
David Bowie
2/5
As with so many things Bowie, it’s overly affected and overdone. Ronson overplays and the shrill edge grates after just a few tracks. Major points off for the seriously misguided “Let’s Spend the Night Together” and the quite turgid “Jean Genie” the appeal of which has never been clear to me.
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
All the songs are great (or nearly so) and everybody who ever set out to do a break-up album (or poem or novel) can only dream of such success. Still it’s maybe not as interesting (for not being as sprawling or messy) as Tusk. I don’t really follow the song sequencing. The opener and closer both feel out of place – not the best way to start or end. Everything in between is aces, as one used to say, if a little too neatly packaged.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
A most pleasant listen if slightly pretentious (just too earnest) at times (see last cut). Some lovely moments – the title cut/opener, and “For Emily” – and pretty authentic as a ‘60s artifact (both a weakness and a strength). One tries not to let anti-Simon feelings that have emerged in the years since (not just cultural appropriation but the sense of entitlement and just being insufferable as a person) cloud one’s objective judgment on this one.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
This is a classic of tone and one can make a case it’s his best written album overall; it is to Born to Run as Nebraska is to Born in the USA.
Japan
4/5
Really good and unexpectedly substantive . The sax steals the show on several cuts and this one’s easily my fave version of “All Tomorrow’s Parties.”
The Byrds
4/5
Winsome, groovy and trippy (maybe to a fault with “Space Odyssey” and the uber-outre “Moog Raga” on the expanded version). Such a great brand that went from strength to strength during these years, despite turmoil. This album holds up excellently well and their influence shines through.
Tortoise
3/5
Not sure what to do with that title. I think I heard this record in late '90s but it didn't stick. Glad to hear again, though probably unlikely to stick, which means I can’t pack it as a desert-island disc.
David Bowie
4/5
Elegant and elegaic. A fitting swansong for a constantly evolving artist.
The Saints
4/5
A clear bridge form punk to post-punk, one hears a lot of what was to come in the 1980s and ‘90s. The sneering vocals sound an awful lot like The Fall. The Smithereens stole “Memories Are Made of This” for “Blood and Roses.” and doesn’t “Orstralia” sound like “Sweet and Tender Hooligan.” 3.5 rounding up for being so influential.
3/5
I hated this much less than I expected to 40 years on for putting up with its popularity live and IRL. The engaging opener sets the tone. Still, it remains way too dancey-cheesy for my tastes. Of this ilk, give me the way cooler and much cheekier Blow Monkeys, more raffish Duran Duran and in all ways superior Style Council.
Queens of the Stone Age
3/5
Just enough indie rock vibe and energy (“Regular John,” “If Only” “You Can’t Quit Me”) to keep this from being another tired and redundant hard-rock/metal-adjacent record (though “Walkin on the Sidewalk” and “The Bronze” get pretty close). Not my thing exactly and won’t listen again (might try Kyuss), but a few appreciable hooks save this from full-on forgettability.
Michael Jackson
3/5
Has not gotten better with age, though perhaps not significantly worse either. MJ really gives himself over to these songs, breathlessly so at times, but there’s far, far too much going on productionwise (heavy synths, overreaching guitar solos, the seven-layer vocals, the odd outer space sound effect). There’s a straining for maximum impact on many songs that don’t offer a ton. The musical equivalent of daytime TV, which was big back in the day, but not really worth watching – neither then nor now.
Deep Purple
2/5
The Platonic Ideal of big doofy rock, early ‘70s edition – with all the self-indulgence and useless, feckless excess you’d expect from a live album. The vocals are overwrought, so many misbegotten arias (though our man Gillian seems distinctly underpowered and non-god-like on beginning of “Highway Star” and “The Mule” and quite shaky “Space Truckin’”). The solos (both keys and guitar) on opener gets us straightaway into Spinal Tap territory, as does the subject matter (boss hot rods and bitchin’ Camaros, one supposes). “Smoke on the Water” gets off to a false start and sounds offbeat, like they couldn’t get the hang of a hook they must have already played thousands of times. Might it be said they explored virtuosity in a hard rock context, thereby staking new ground that jam bands (including mellower, pacifistic sorts given to softer drugs and disinclined to put armadillos in their trousers) would later explore and colonize (often overstaying their welcome)? Sure, but whether that’s a feature or a bug depends on one’s tastes. This is decidedly not to mine, because the longer it goes on, the more tedious it gets, which, one assumes, was not the intent of this allegedly epic effort.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
Very much the kind of thing you’ll like if you like this kind of thing. Excellently well executed with lots of high-level soloing and some huge, way-swinging hooks. Such well-integrated playing – orchestral and strong in the details, too. Highlights for me include “After Supper” and “Lil’ Darlin’.” Shouldn’t the Foo Fighters cover “Flight of the Foo Birds”?
Thin Lizzy
2/5
The name of the record and the cover shot are ridiculous -- could not be more so. It's easy to see why this dinosaur disappeared from the earth not tool long after this.
The La's
5/5
A record in my sweet spot, a high water mark of my college radio prime. I still have the vinyl shared promotionally by the record co. Every cut works well on its terms, and the record is the antithesis of the one-hit-wonder in that sense, but it’s hard to believe they never made another album – sound like the perfect got to be the enemy of the good. The final track still amazes, pulling together the records many to build something new; the whole is very much more the sum of its parts, which might also be said of the record a whole.
Nick Drake
4/5
Low key and lovely, maybe not my favorite Drake, but awfully good. “Saturday Sun” is a career highlight. “Time Has Told Me” and “Cello Song” are also great.
New Order
4/5
As good as this type of dance-plus music can be. It's a little angsty, as if we're dancing to forget and be free of the pain. The bass lines and epic and most of the synth hooks hold up. It gets a bit same-y toward the back.
Kanye West
2/5
A hip-hop album that seems to want to be an industrial or noise rock album. The bombastic rhymes are well matched by the bombastic samples and the “more is more” production choices, sound effects and beats. Its popularity is what it is, one supposes, but this fails to land for me.
T. Rex
4/5
Wild and loose but also beautifully layered. Bolan had a great voice and there's a sense of anything goes to the production – reaching for max impact and the big gesture, even in the acoustic songs. A big, messy, sprawling work of rock and roll art.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Sweet and soulful. Layered and lovely. Joyous and uplifting. “It Ain’t No Use” is great.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
Mostly good unclean fun. The surfer-slacker vibe is not real credible given how much they wanted to be — and succeeded in becoming — big stars. Repetitive AF with nearly every song having the same gronky and crunching guitars and greasy licks.
Kelela
2/5
Generic-sounding. Uses the same shaking effects and jittery beats that one hears everywhere. Vocals are fine, her voice is here and there lovely but nothing to get excited about here, but one allows for the possibility that, not knowing the genre, one may be missing considerable subtlety.
Morrissey
4/5
This isn’t the best he’s done, but I love what he does and this works well throughout.
Iron Maiden
3/5
Way better than other metal on this list, primarily because one can hear the playing, which isn’t to say it’s actually worth one’s time.
Charles Mingus
4/5
Challenging but still pleasurable. Ellingtonian in a good way, though darker and more discordant, and maybe outright sexier, too.
Frankie Goes To Hollywood
3/5
The hype to quality ratio is still too high but there’s much more to this than one remembered. The record is pretty fun and listenable, with some thoughtful songs that cool things out. Still, this is much a better record than one would have suspected. The covers are mostly dumb but the record isn’t nearly as naughty or silly as one might have suspected. The hype was of unsuitable “The-Beatles-Are-Coming!” pitch and the one mega hit plus one big one (“Two Tribes”) seeming like maybe it could last, which of course it didn’t any more than a minute.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
Awfully ‘80s sounding for a hot, 21st century act from NYC. Way more disco-y and synth-y than I recall. The producer’s love for all things Duran isn’t too terribly concealed here. Is the fadeout synth revelry on “Dragon Queen” a sample of Tangerine Dream or just an outright ripoff? The latter, quieter half of the record is much preferred. Feels richer and less frantic/forced. Not terrible, certainly, but not deeply moving or elevating either.
Taylor Swift
4/5
Extremely polished and accomplished and benefitting greatly from expert production (which is a reminder of why at least one and probably multiple records from The National should be in here), this is the work of a maturing artist.
R.E.M.
4/5
R.E.M. at their loosest, most confident and most fun. Great mix of tunes, “A Finest Worksong” is an awesome opener (banged live, too), “Exhuming McCarthy” a boisterous blast and “King of Birds” a beautiful toning down toward the end. I’ve never loved the hits as much as others, though “The One I Love” holds up as a lean, classic. I have a long history with the band so hard to stay objective, but this record still sounds bold and fresh and fun, and continued R.E.M.’s hot streak that lasted well over the decade, a run that holds its own against that of any other band, ever.
Janis Joplin
5/5
Raw and authentic as Janis always was, but more polished and tighter than other of her records (especially those with overly loud Big Brother). Lots of winners here, including "Bobby McGee," a classic among classics, and really no losers on either side. There's also a touch of sweetness to these blues that belies the early death.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
4/5
Just not qualified to judge this but I enjoyed hearing it and I will listen again. I get the links to doo-wop and gospel, though I have no clue how innovative or subtle, etc. this might be. One is glad that world music, a mockable trend, did offer benefits such as introductions to bands such as this.
CHIC
4/5
One can’t hate grooves this fat (pre-Phat) just because they’re disco. Much of this feels more like R&B (the languid pop of “Savoir Faire,” the R&B ballad [not quite slow jam] of “At Last I’m Free”) than the much reviled d-word genre. If you can’t dig this (and these bass lines in particular), your problem is much bigger than disco.
AC/DC
2/5
While the music is pretty dull and doofy, this is lyrical poetry of the highest order, no?
She had the face of an angel
Smiling with sin
A body of Venus with arms
Dealing with danger
Stroking my skin
Let the thunder and lightening start
It wasn't the first
It wasn't the last
It wasn't that she didn't care
She wanted it hard
And wanted it fast
She liked it done medium rare
I mean, these guys must be scholars of the pre-Renaissance Italian troubadours of the 12th-century – the golden age of the sestina (which “Touch Too Much” clearly is, with only the slightest modernizing modifications) – to write such refined verse.
The Charlatans
4/5
This is how English rock singers and indie rock bands were supposed to sound, circa 1992 – just the slightest sneering to the singing and the loosest . So call it state-of-the-art. This band is in one’s sweet spot, both temporally (i.e., era) and stylistically (i.e., a phile of Britpop in all its forms). But the operative question here is how well it holds up, and the answer is, very well.
Prince
4/5
Like so much of mid-’80s pop, the synths date this and it doesn’t hold up quite as well as one would’ve thought. A handful of great songs but a few too many throwaways.
4/5
Cool and moody, tough and tremulous, this is gold-standard indie rock of early 21st century, or any era, really. Awfully Big Apple for a non-New York record. “Good Fortune,” “The Mess We’re In” and “You Said Something” are all major tunes. “Horses in My Dreams” is haunting and austere and “We Float” about as hopeful as the uncompromising PJH does. Sounds both very much of its time and timeless.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
2/5
Meh. Janis would get a lot better and not sure BB&THC were ever any good.
Judas Priest
2/5
Metal is dumb.
George Michael
3/5
There's no doubting that GM has a great voice and the sales figures are impressive but also tired by now, well past its sell-by date and pretty forgettable overall. “Kissing a Fool” is an all-time personal fave (how much more frequently one wishes these pop stars would go classic and/or cover traditional standards as it hihghlights [maybe flatters] their talent). "Hand to Mouth" is good, too, but much of the rest suffers from overpackaging and overexposure (which do go together, don't they?). Bright shining pop music so polished and sheeny that it's no wonder he wore shades. For all the shiny surface, the substance (if there was any) has long since died off.
Madonna
3/5
Way overdone from top to bottom, with too much of everyhing (including her star power and ambitions). Simple pop songs, infectious dancey hooks are made to bear too much weight (primarily of Madonna’s artistic and cultural ambitions) – one hears a star wanting to be even bigger and brighter and the songs aren’t the right platform, lacking much more than glittery surfaces and studio tricks. The songs aren’t necessarily bad – ”Til Death Do Us Part” and “Promise to Try” have their appeal, but even “Cherish,” the best of the lot, ultimately fails to move one beyond the sense of “oh, that’s sorta pleasant.” The whole thing nets out as just okay, which hardly seems worth all the effort and expense. One gets the feeling all of the songs would’ve been improved by abridgement. It’s a truth not commonly enough acknowledged that pop songs such as these falter once they get past the 3-minute mark. … their sell-by date is three minutes. The claim that this is best pop record since Revolver is ridiculous.
Adele
2/5
Another mega-pop artist one struggles to get and/or is not much moved by.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
Bleak and grim and utterly beautiful. It’s amazing that an artist would go this direction at such a point in his career and fully explore one dimension of his talent and creativity. “Atlantic City” and “Open All Night” are great, but “Mansion on the Hill” and “Highway Patrolman” are sublime. The last section lags a bit, which is the only thing keeping this as sub-5. And I’ve always wondered: who dances to “The Night of the Johnstown Flood”? 4.5
The Who
4/5
Raw and rocking. Moon's bashing is a highlight. One prefers their studio work, which favored their artfulness and melodies (and made Daltrey sound better) over the pimal energy on display here, which is considerable. This isn't to be underestimated and shows off their extensive range and how they predicted both mod and punk. Somehow, tis' easy to overlook how great they once were; perhaps they didn't fly quite as high as the Stones (though one could make the case) but then they've not quite as fully embarrased themselves (though getting quite close) with umpteen farewell tours.
Patti Smith
2/5
Huge overrated and not nearly as powerful, poetic, passionate as it desperately wants to be. It works in moments, but not in any sustained way and it just sounds raw and exhibitionistic and overly emoted now. Who cares enough about "Gloria" to search for the irony or the deconstruction? Same as the imagistic dream of "Horses" morphing into "Land of a Thousand Dances." Its reputation seems vastly overblown all these years on.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
Meh to middling. One likes the attempt to pare back a bit, to aim for intimacy and quietude, rather than oversinging as Frank was way too wont to do, but it just fails to move. One wishes editors found other jazz or samba records or others by Jobim rather than this obvious-seeming choice.
Todd Rundgren
3/5
Overstuffed with too many ideas and just too much going on. Awfully fun, but ultimately the center does not hold.
Minor Threat
2/5
What a waste of time and anger. There seems a distant chance Ian Mc has a sense of humor about this ... but it's distant. One pities all the people who had these t-shirts, as if the in-joke was worth knowing.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
The sweet slow numbers are better than the debauched rockers. Bonus points for the iconic (for once that overused word is accurate) cover imagery.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Haunting and haunted. Hard to imagine a more intense process of turning grief into art.
PJ Harvey
3/5
Rawer and angrier than debut, but neither as affecting or effective overall. Undeniable intensity and points for originality on Dylan cover and artiness on "Man-Size Sextet" but otherwise more rancorous than memorable.
Bad Brains
2/5
More monotonous than hard-core. Maybe because of all we've heard in the years since, this sounds like your basic funky metal (and not all that heavy either). And, hey editors, where exactly is the reggae?
AC/DC
2/5
Back in Black AC/DC 2.5 2 So much of this is hard to credit and/or take seriously, even if they had a notably tight and crisp sound for a hard rock band of this era. One confesses to have once liked this (as an adolescent, of course, but even then knew enough to keep it to myself and view this as a guilty pleasure). “You Shook Me” is all-time pure rock song. The rest is pretty flat and meh – some of it would be offensive if it weren’t so moronic (e.g., “Givin’ the Dog a Bone,” “Let Put My Love Into You”) “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution” is a clear case of protesting too much. In the canons curated by teenage boys, this would rate much higher of course.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Original and excellent throughout. "Party Girl" and "Accidents Wil Happen" are career highlights but every track has considerable merit.
Van Morrison
5/5
Music at its most mystical.
Buffalo Springfield
4/5
If the reputation is that the band barely talked to each other – that it was a bunch of solo songs and performances – then I suggest more bands take that approach. Some very good songs here ”– “Expecting to Fly” and “Broken Arrow” and “Everydays” and “Hung Upside Down." It wasn't hard to see how these guys would go on to do such great work.
The White Stripes
4/5
Rockin and cool, some epic reach that still feels rootsy in grasp.
The Teardrop Explodes
4/5
Awfully good to be so little known. Cope deserved more, though the tunes are quirky and they get a little synthy at times (curse of the '80s). Still, one hears easily how they were admired and imitated -- classic intense New Wave, with some dark humor thrown in.
Electric Light Orchestra
4/5
A delightful crowd pleaser for all ages, this record threads the needle between the excesses of both glam and prog, primarily by focusing on great hooks, tunefulness and fun. Indeed, one traces a likable lack of embarrassment about making music to be enjoyed. Jeff Lynne does it all – compose, orchestrate, sing and entertain. A few top-class songs ("Turn to Stone" and "Sweet Talkin' Woman" and "Mr Blue Sky" [basically light opera]) plus lots more fun ("Birmingham Blues") and a few credibly poignant moments ("Steppin' Out" and "Big Wheels"). One believes ELO is unnderrated given that they are accessible and (at least somewhat) derivative of the Beatles and didn't act like tortured artists. But one counts 8-10 first-rate and near-canonical songs in their library that hold up well 40 years on, which can only be rated a triumph (even after discounting for the work on Xanadu and with the Traveling Wilburys). 4.3/4
The Black Keys
4/5
Great raw and psych-y blues, vintage-sounding but layered and enriched to modern standards. Last few cuts are excellent and deliver more via less banging than earlier cuts.
Sarah Vaughan
4/5
Every jazz record in this collection seems to scream for more jazz records in this collection. Maybe Sassy oversings (or overemotes) onm a few songs but my is the voice a powerful thing of beauty.
Fats Domino
3/5
Fun to hear and hard not to like, but sorta basic and casual-seeming.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4/5
Just classic and vintage. The playing is so good and the odd time signatures (which have been overemphasized) simply don't get in the way of anyone's pleasure.
Bob Dylan
5/5
Utterly unparalleled in quality, coherence, depth and range of emotion, plus epic singalongs, (personal) protest anthems twinkling tunes and tender – even heart-breaking – ballads. Not only are there no filler cuts, there’s nary a wasted note and Dylan’s voice has never been stronger nor clearer, and never more assured in delivery. One of the best records of all-time …. Easily top 5.
GZA
3/5
Eerie and likably weird. One likes the understatement and minimalistic, almost downbeat feel of this.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
What vibes and what solos. Still packs a punch. Only knock is that "Watchtower" feels a bit out of place here, as great as it is.
Cheap Trick
3/5
Like bubble gum, the flavor wears out soon and one is left feeling a bit sticky. Still, what we sensed on first listens in 6th and 7th grade – the newness and power and freshness; the screaming shininess – is not entirely lost on us even now, all these productive and cynical years later.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
Isleys are seriously under-appreciated, both as hitmakers and players. There's some great playing here and rich interpretations on the covers.
Love
3/5
It grooves and it swings and the first few cuts have a slightly exotic feel, but then vibes its way into a sorta generic ‘60s energy. Glad to know it (if only for the epic “Revelation”) but one won’t be playing it at one's funeral.
Morrissey
4/5
Mature and balanced, a very good record and by aiming for more understatement than in previous efforts, Morissey wins bigger. The controlled melancholy works beautifully. This is how pop stars can/should age gracefully.
Don McLean
4/5
So much more than the title track and "Vincent." Didn't know what to make of the record in high school and college; now it makes much more sense as substantive (and earnest) easy listening. One gets why DM's half-conceived as a one-hit wonder and got imprisoned by title cut, which can be hard to take seriously, but still entertains and reads like just about the best of heartfelt creative-writing-seminar, collage-y cultural history cum criticism (Dylan without the obscurity, say).
Weather Report
4/5
Tuneful and melodic from the first to the last not, with great hooks and several absolute classics of the genre (starting with "Birdland"). Has aged extremely well (one woudln't have guessed), but masterful playing is timeless, innit? An outright pleasure to hear (on one's deathbed or any time) to be reacquainted with.
The Notorious B.I.G.
3/5
Ready to Die The Notorious B.I.G. 3.7 4 Not entirely one's joint, but one likes the mix of East Coast attitude with West Coast vibes and the uniqueness of the voice, as well as the leanness and tightness of the overall mid-tempo mood. One can speak to the authenticity or the credibility of the tales of hustling and sexcapades.
Ramones
3/5
Sign me up for no guitar solos and a simple approach that actually proved quite influential. Still, the record sounds utterly simplistic and almost like a novelty act. Might they be the exact midpoint between The Monkees and Sonic Youth?
Bad Company
2/5
Sure, it's direct and clean, but also sounds a bit light and tinny, doesn't it? Maybe even tame. Rodgers' voice frays noticeably on "Rock Steady," undercutting the promise of the title. Takeaway: people in the '70s would buy anything sold to them, musically. This feels like testament to the dodgy taste of mid-'70s rock and roll simpletons, of which there were clearly many. "Don't Let Me Down" is homogeniety itself -- beat and rhythms, solo and vocals (but no doubt would sound great if one were waving a lighter about in one of that benighted era's acoustically unsound arenas) and not even close to John Lennon's tune (of which this seems a half-cover). "Movin On" is okay but far from compensates from many other faults (the unconvincing faux drama of the title cut –– "ooh, we're shaking in our boots, you're so bad!" –– and the silly paean to "Seagull").
Röyksopp
3/5
A few engaging and immersive tracks but just too synthetic and disco-y to attain anything like timelessness. Editor review seems appropriately unsure on the same point, which makes this record, as enjoyable as it is, an obvious candidate for being dropped.
The Byrds
4/5
It all sounds so familiar – the chiming and jangly guitars, the countrified frills, the dreamy lyrics, the tension between mellowness and a druggy sort of edginess – that it’s hard to remember how new it must have sounded in the mid-60s. It sounds so much less dated than much else from this era. One likes their take on “Rider,” an often dull and flavorless ‘60s chestnut.
The Smiths
5/5
A masterpiece – maybe THE – masterpiece of indie rock. Certainly the Smiths best record, which is no small feat.
Madness
3/5
Somehow not as good or fresh or original-seeming as it once was, without being in any way bad.
Neu!
4/5
Cool and pleasant. Alternatively meditative and (lightly) energizing. Best songs: “ISI,” “Seeland” “Leb Wohl” and “E-Musik." More satisfying than Kraftwerk, but not without clunkers, such as "Hero," the grating vocals of which breaks the proto spa-chill effect.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Roils and moils. Some great licks and cuts on first half, second half darker and more exploratory. One likes both halves, while recognizing the merits of the target criticisms (i.e., too-cool-for-school, prententious-in-its-artiness/avant-garding).
Sigur Rós
4/5
Ranging from dark and soaring epics to the sweet and tuneful tite cut and it’s all about ambiences and textures throughout. Seemed one-of-a-kind when it came out and fascinated everyone, putting Cool Icelandia back on the map. The scale and dreaminess hold up pretty well.
Jorge Ben Jor
4/5
Timelessly excellent funk and samba. All 70s music should have been this rich and compelling. Sounds contemporary still.
Brian Eno
3/5
Ahead of its time re collaging and world music? Sure. Interesting? Not so much. This suffers from the science experiement effect and a massive lack of lyricism and musicality.
Linkin Park
1/5
Just when you thought metal could go no lower, along comes to Linkin Park to add the most annoying elements of several other genres (especially emo) to drill deeper still. The combination of sheer awfulness with utter pomposity is potently toxic to the ears of anyone with any taste at all. How it sold 32 copies, let alone 32 million, boggles the mind, but that's popular taste, innit. See The Onion's Winner's History of Rock and Roll for the imbalance.
Joni Mitchell
3/5
A bit too raw and confessional. One much prefers Summer Lawns, which is of more interest musically and less painfully vulnerable.
Paul Simon
4/5
Hard to say where homage and admiration bleed into appropriation but one's always had a soft spot for this record, despite being Simon-bearish generally (for reasons of being overrated and difficult to work with). "Diamonds" is one of the best tracks of the decade, transcending the shiny-tinkling '80s production vibes. Quite a few other very solid tracks make for a thoughtful and mature record overall.
John Coltrane
4/5
A religious experience for jazz fans, but for others probably not so much. It's elevating and otherwordly, but other more accessible Coltrane albums (My Favorite Things, Giant Steps [not Boo Radleys for Chrssakes!], Blue Trane, Soultrane, Ballads) are just as worthy of inclusion, through for different reasons.
Gary Numan
2/5
Cold and charmless, sterile rather than sophistcated, records like this gave New Wave a bad name.
The Replacements
4/5
So many other 'Mats records could/should be in this list but this is completely worthy candidate. A sometimes great, sometimes indifferent band that is perhaps the essential '80s indie rock band – “Unsatisfied” and, “I Will Dare” “Androgynous,” “Seen Your Video” “Sixteen Blue” and “Answering Machine” all very strong, too.
Jethro Tull
3/5
Original and different. More folk than prog, and slightly underrated (though for a reason). Anderson is a good singer and is easily a top 5 all-time rock and roll flutist.
Ice Cube
4/5
Pretty cool it was chart-topper. No doubt the controversy helped sales and Cube was afraid to dial up the posturing, though whether or not it was authentic or legit one isn’t qualified to judge. Worse was made of all the riotous energy of post-riot, post-Rodney King, LA than this record. “Good Day” and “Check Yo Self” are the highlights.
Talking Heads
4/5
A very cool mid-80s sound coming in a few years early. Intersesting and edgy, without feeling quite like a major hallmark. Still bonus points based on all the goodness to come, best signalled by the steel drums rather subtly slotted into the opener.
Thelonious Monk
4/5
Truly one of a kind, Monk's compositions are both off-kilter and highly enjoyable. The top-notch players around him make this record, which is only one of several of his that could/should have been included.
Sheryl Crow
3/5
Decent, middle of the road tunes, well executed, but lacking in much that’s exquisite or particularly memorable. The whole thing is fine, just fine.
Yes
4/5
Probably as good as prog rock can be, with lots of rich textures and interesting vibes, and Anderson's memorable vocals, But then there is just enough of the worst of progr, too – frequent and jarring shifts in mood and tempo. Roundabout” a great opener followed by the absurd (not in a good way) “Cans and Brahms." Similarly, "Heart of the Sunrise" is compromised by arty effects and excess sophistication. "Long Distance Runaround" is among the best Yes ever did. One is surprised – and not a little embarrassed – to have any affection for this band. Really, one should loathe them, but there are hooks and melodies enough to overlook the prog guilt-by-association effect.
The Kinks
4/5
Catchy and memorable, this is an inspired piece of pop music combined with insightful social observation.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
Not bad and certainly bouncy, but It’s possible the artists are having more fun than most listeners will. Does it sound dated? Indeed it does.
Femi Kuti
4/5
One is not fully educated on Afrobeat but straight-up musically, what's not to like? Driving beats, sweet rhythms and grooves, pure energy and passion – and such large portions. If you don't like a solo, just wait a beat and more are on the way. One is glad to have heard, plans to hear more.
Radiohead
5/5
So many strong songs how how Radiohead was the best rock band before coming the best band, period. Three classics – "High and Dry," "Fake Plastic Trees" and "Black Star" – plus several other plus-plus tunes. There's a case to be made that this is their best album, but the case is obviously complicated by how many other great ones there are. Only legit beef is that first side is better than last.
Tim Buckley
3/5
Oversexed lyrically and overwrought vocally, if musically interesting in a basic, groovy kinda way. We’ve surely reached peak TB, and one thinks the cult can only – definitely should – get smaller.
3/5
It’s a little punky, a bit grindy and sort of rock revivalist, but for all those reasons, it’s lost a little bite and energy.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
If you know, you know.
Sabu
3/5
One gets a pre-James Brown vibe. One gets the feeling that this is pure music, deeply primal and truly rhythmic. One admires more than loves it.
Björk
4/5
Pretty cool, with likable vibes and some lovely moments that float free of pop music strictures, but a bit on the synthetic and over-determined side. Quite a few good songs but goes on a bit too long. The voice is distinct and she's got talent and ideas to burn, but one can't help thinking that the critical reputation is a touch higher than merited by the actual output. It's interesting, yes, but feels inorganically so, as if that was the only objective (there are worse sins). Bjork's got just maybe a bit more than her due down the years.
Jean-Michel Jarre
2/5
The future certainly doesn't sound like it used to sound. It's worked out to be more interesting than JMJ seemed to think it would be.
Queen
2/5
The essence of excess. Things weren't going to go any better later.
Dr. John
4/5
Some seriously atmospheric voodoo jive here, plenty dark and vaguely haunting. The call-response and groovy, hushed drumming on “Walk on Gilded Splinters” is the highlight. Vintage and authentic.
Adele
3/5
Big – maybe a bit too big at time, in the trying-too-hard sense – but the voice is a powerhouse and there's an early feel after just a few cuts of an unimpeachable (playing solid, production top-notch), instant classic. But listening onward, the vocals are overcooked, the drama forced. This is music for the masses, particularly that huge segment that cries at mediocre, made-for-TV* dramas.
*Now made-for-streaming platforms
Pulp
4/5
So sharp, so good. "Common People" and "Disco 2000" and "Something Changed" are droll and excellent in their own way. "Pencil Skirt" and "Underwear" are also delightful. One misses the golden age of such listenable fin de siecle snark.
Primal Scream
4/5
Feels a little tired but then ends quite pleasantly hazy. A spiffed and modernized Stones sound, a kinder-gentler Oasis. All-around groovy and the mellower the better. The band seems to have been quite opportunistic in blending clubby-ravey tropes with an indie rock heart. Doesn’t seem like it should work as well as it does. Last few cuts best.
Elvis Presley
4/5
One hears plenty of the "old weird America" – consider the haunting sweetness of "I'm Counting on You" and the straight-up eerienees of "Blue Moon." The simplicity – even purity – of the playing is very attractive and one wonders if contemporary acts wouldn't benefit from adopting such a direct approach. Sure, it can seem corny, but it feels almost punk consideiring the schmaltzy, sequined endpoint to come. In other words, one gets why Elivs was Elvis. Points off for "Tutti Frutti."
Mj Cole
2/5
Utterly antiseptic and more synthetic than sincere.. Will age about as well as cubic zirconia, though one suspects some stylish people in stylish capitals found this a stylish auditory accessory for at least a season. (Note: from the review linked on the official site: “Many will argue that 2-Step/UK Garage is a shallow, one-dimensional genre that will fade like overchewed gum. However, albums like “Sincere” go to prove that UK Garage is more than a fad.” Editors seemed to go with “fad” [one thinks “shallow and one-dimensional” to be more on point descriptively] as it’s been pulled from the official list and is now “ex.”)
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
Fine – perfectly fine – for what it is, but also basic and slight and just endlessly straightforward. Notes all fall into place, not one of them is risky. Plus, a "Good Golly Miss Molly" cover? I mean, why? It's okay not to be psychedelic or hippies (which they don't actually sound that different from); it's good to be competent and crisp, sure, but isn't it reasonable to expect some imagination, for Chrissakes.
Brian Eno
3/5
Like a lot of his records, it starts out playful and upbeat, and then drifts into contemplativeness and melancholy, with a few tracks seeming to aim for outright inertia or dead air. The latter half is more effective. "Here He Comes" is one's fave and decent enough but as a whole this falls short, largely because it seems a tale of two sides, neither of which excel. The new-wave/indie rock feel, however Talking Heads-esque, is unconvincing (no singer Eno) and there was much better ambient to come. Thus, the effect is more experimental than effective. Still, it's Eno so 3 stars minimum.
Fishbone
3/5
One remembers wanting to be as funky as "Ma and Pa" and "Bonin' in the Boneyard" and "Ghetto Soundwave." Alas, one was not, not really, in one's heart of heart. The horns are a major plus here. While the overly thumpifying bass and fly, bouncy ska-punk mash-ups worked only briefly, and only on a few cuts and gave rise to much that was meh and much that was outright annoying. If there was room for only one superstar band from this genre and time, one wishes it were Fishbone and not the RHCPs who became increasingly insufferable over the years and ultimately, absolutely execrable.
The Doors
5/5
A minor miracle of pop music, absolutely cool and substantive and rich. There are a few all-time cuts and not a single dog. "Light My Fire" is a top-10 essential rock-and-roll song, transcending time and genre, a perfect balance of hook and ambition and seriousness. It truly makes one listen. Amazingly, this has not been made worse by its popularity or hipster affectations or the presence of the utterly insufferable Manzarek or the fact that one over-loved it as a kid (by which one means took it too seriously). It's not even diminished by the fact that "20th-Century Fox" reminds one of one's ex-wife. The playing is great throughout. A true landmark and milestone which feels almost forgotten today.
King Crimson
4/5
Yes, it’s not a bunch of three-minute pop songs, but no it’s not classical music either (nor a classical rock fusion). In fact, it’s really not that weird or challenging at all. Which might be another way of saying times have caught up to King Crimson. “21st-century Schizoid Man” is accessible, not that arty and pretty dumb overall. “I Talk to the Wind” and “Epitaph” are a lot more interesting, but not so way out there besides their length. “Moonchild” seems more indulgent than innovative. Title cut is pretty pretentious but still worth hearing; the reaching for heaviness feels earnest, in other words. Just not that different for such a cult-y and allegedly obscure classic. The cover art feels like heavy metal, or maybe prog rock’s breakthrough gestures have just become the norm. Still, extra points for originality (even when it wasn't in the band's best interest) and influence (not all of which was propitious).
David Holmes
2/5
One is post-structuralist (perhaps even anti-structuralist) in other art forms, but in music generally and electronica in particular one finds formlessness much more bug than feature. Even allowing for objective to create an authentic soundscape, the spoken-word segments are more annoying than enlightening. The vibes are okay but, like many mediocre offerings in this segment, it all feels pointless, all premise and no resolution, as if something missing, which it is, of course, because this is a soundtrack. In fact, what this most sounds like is a resume for someone seeking production or soundtrack work, which it seems to have worked out to be.
Guided By Voices
4/5
Such lovely, lively lo-fi. GBV keeps excellent company, too; that the streamers go from last cut of the record to an excellent cut from Yo La Tengo (a most egregious exclusion from this esteemed index) tells you what you need to know. Their brand new record (fall 2022) suggests how close RP has stayed to the vision, though perhaps not always to the optimal effect.
Depeche Mode
3/5
Hooky but trite and overrated. “Enjoy the Silence” and “Policy of Truth” are not bad, but there's a silliness factor that one struggles to look past – just hard to take them seriously, despite (or because of) their becoming unaccountably huge. "Personal Jesus" is as annoying as an earworm can be.
Milton Nascimento
4/5
A delight from top to bottom.
Lenny Kravitz
3/5
Decent and authentic-seeming, though perhaps too overt in its desire to be a rock record and also a bit all over the place. One much prefers “Are You Gonna Go My Way.”
Fela Kuti
4/5
Such richness of soul, groove and funkiness that so much of contemporary pop music is put to shame. And yes I suppose I mean "Western" or non-African anyway. This would be a genre worth learning more about.
Van Halen
4/5
Better than one remembers. The synths on "Jump" and "I'll Wait," which felt selly-outy then are nice leavening to the drive of the usual VH attack, while "Panama" and "Hot for Teacher" prevent it from becoming too full-on a kinder, gentler Van Halen. One finds this more than marginally less clownish than their other records. Mabye not fully mature but at least maturing. Given one's past loathing of this band (and their fans) one is surprised how much one enjoyed.
Sugar
4/5
Such richness of soul, groove and funkiness that so much of contemporary pop music is put to shame.
Justice
2/5
Works well enough in the gym and, one supposes, at the club, though you'd really have to ask the kids. Besides the pure energy aspect, this, like most dance music, gets repetitive to the point of tedium awfully quickly and, thus, falls well short of one's minimal requirements for worthwhile listening. Perhaps there's craft one might notice if one knew more about the subtleties of the genre, but any sense of artistic merit is nowhere to be found and further study seems a non-productive exercise given that one's time is finite and one is, as the book title reminds us, going to die some day, which will certainly come to pass before one hears this record again (at least intentionally).
The Who
4/5
Rock operas and other mega-ambitious pop music projects often fail for reasons having to do with basic incoherence but Townsend knew what he was doing and built this to work narratively and musically. The silliness and creativity of The Who Sell Out is put to better and more focused effect. It's sort of mid-tempo throughout (as if to keep things under control) and some songs are too quickly done, but generally everything works on its own terms, which aren't necessarily transcendent, though there are moments – "Christmas" is the highlight, but "Overture" and "It's a Boy" and "Acid Queen" and "Tommy Can You Hear Me?" are all strong and almost moving. One admires the concept and, for the most part, the execution. It is quite strong which is impressive enough, considering just how much worse it could’ve – and probably should’ve – been.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
A direct, gritty and highly mature record, B&C has held up extremely well, perhaps because it seems less overtly angry (more resigned) and the sarcasm more understated than the previous records. Still there's plenty of vinegar, this being EC. The no-produciont-is-the-best-production vibe is great, especially for this era and gives a very warm sound. On the downside it's also slightly less fun and tuneful. Best cuts are "Home is Where ...," the vintage "Hope You're Happy Now," "Blue Chair" and the rousing closer "Next Time Round." And one's always had a soft spot for the powerfully unenjoyable "I Want You." The depth and substance are powerful throughout and sustain interest across a full listen. A strong outing from top to bottom, with remarkable consistency across every cut, and quite underrated in the end, it must be said.
Pentangle
4/5
One likes a madrigal, especially when they're dressed up with sitars and glockenspiels.
Iggy Pop
2/5
Yet another Bowie record. The style suits Pop, Lou-Reed-esque inclinations, and one can hear lots of the goth and industrial to come, but these aren't necessarily benefits, and one wonders why this record is even attributed to Pop. And certainly this doesn't sound like a record to quit drugs by. "Nightclubbing" is a plus track and this version of "China Girl" was certainly to be excelled. But beyond a few other interesting textures, there's not that much here. Which leads one to believe this seems like a plot to get yet another Bowie record in this list when there are already far too many.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
Wonderful record all the way around – unhurried, mellow, contemplative – exactly like a great road trip (surely just a coincidence). The guitar playing is excellent – who knew Joni had such axe chops but Jaco's name should be on the masthead, too. Speaking personally, this feels like peak Joni: "We got high on travel / And we got drunk on alcohol / And on love, the strongest poison and medicine of all." First two cuts are most engaging and the last a beautiful closer.
Rage Against The Machine
2/5
In its favor are the relatively clean production, the obvious politics, some broad hot licks and a band name/album title that is ultimate in truth in advertising. On the downside is the adolescent rage, the sameyness, and the length – my god, is this too long. Generic, white suburban rage is all fine and perfectly acceptable in its place but really should avoid going on too long – an analogy to outgrowing one’s youthful idealism. This record could’ve conserved energy and increased its impact by being 33-50% briefer. Beyond a few glimmers of impressive playing, it’s not really necessary to hear this before death unless one plans to die very young – and before developing more refined tastes.
The National
5/5
A record of the highest quality, with not a bad or uninteresting song in the bunch. This is an easy inclusion in the list and it makes no sense that it's been dropped. The National merits at least three other records; they were the best rock band in the world for a good long run of years, offering a higher-class product -- smarter, more stylish, and thoughtful and interesting -- as people of taste know. Editors reveal themselves to fall quite short of that standard by overlooking the National.
Wire
4/5
Not one's thing to be honest, but this is a far sight better than quite a few other punk records here, thanks to the cool attitiude, hookiness and brevity of most of these cuts. One thinks it's okay to prefer REM's version of "Strange." That cut triggers the best run of the album – "Fragile" and "Mannequin" are especially good.
Lucinda Williams
5/5
Just oozes authenticity. This is perhaps a bit less raggedly confessional or emotionally raw as some of her other records, which might cost a bit of power, but it also avoids the risk of sloppy sentimentality (which has been a bit of a occupational hazard for Lu) and gives a sense of control and mastery of every song. This is musicmaking at a very high level, well conceived, extremely well executed, and not overdone or showy. Every song works, and the first five are uniformly strong. The songwriting is terrific, the playing expertly professional. She's a true artist it's hard to believe there's only one of her records on this esteemed list.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
4/5
Every time one listens to TJ&MC, one wonders why one doesn't do so more often. The balance of sweetness and sonic fuzz makes for a deceptive softness – yes, dark and soft and sweet is quite an apt description of this record. There's a likably consistent mood and tone across the whole thing that easily transcends any sense of sameness.
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
It's hard to believe how many hits this record spawned given her grating voice and the ultra-cheesy '80s synths. Good for her personal triumphs and all that, but this is more a souvenir of a time, here and there pleasant to hear (the melodies on "Time After Time" and "All Through the Night" and the ska-y guitars on "Witness") but not anything like timeless musical.
Public Enemy
4/5
Old-school in the best way. There's a directness and seriousness that sets PE apart ... the black CNN indeed – see "NY Post" and "Arizona" which are the top cuts within a very cohesive and fully engaging whole.
The Streets
4/5
Relentlessly clever and wholly original. Simple, to the point of basic beats and effects and very talky rapping seem like they should not work but somehow they do – largely because they suit the mock-heroic, quotidian epic of the rhymes (has a rap record ever so glamorized or got more from watching [or repairing a] television?). There's a humor and even a sweetness that not many other rappers could deliver.
The Icarus Line
1/5
Just awful.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Perhaps the best hard rock record ever made, with so many hooks, so many great melodies and powerful moments.
Steely Dan
4/5
A delightful listen. The substance, craft and attention to detail make it hard to believe that it's a debut.
The Temptations
4/5
So much richness of soul in this, which can feel like a lost chapter of the '60s. The production feels a bit rough and muddy, it's music to take seriously, even as one is enjoying it pretty deeply.
Elis Regina
4/5
Delightful listening. Though one can't speak to this record's place in any historical context relative to Brazilian music, it is undoubtedly fun and lovely and relaxing and caipirinha-friendly.
Marty Robbins
4/5
If one could only hear on a dusty Western road with hours to go on a long drive. A classic of Americana, with professional playing, crisp production and pretty great storytelling, Hemingwaysesque at times. A lot of hearbreak, blood and death for such straightforward singing.
Gillian Welch
4/5
Pure and haunting and true, no matter if musical hipsters are making the music. Sometimes the homage is better than the original.
Radiohead
4/5
It asks a bit of the listener, doesn't it? Certainly, it's not their best record, but deeply interesting throughout, if lacking in the killer or truly first-rank track. Opening of record sets the tone, for a band clearly in transition and very much in the mood to experiment.
Lorde
2/5
One must not be in the target demographic. It's all very, well, melodramatic, though one can't say he wasn't warned. Only by grading on the curve would this rise to the level of mediocrity.
The Avalanches
3/5
Likable and fun and different. Baroquely layered and danceable (if one's into that sort of thing).
The Rolling Stones
4/5
Classic and full-on Stonesy - it's the non-hits that drive the quality, really – though it's not their absolute peak. One feels the need to shower after hearing "Can You Hear Me Knockin'".
Blue Cheer
2/5
Direct and templated bluesy psychedelic rock from the '60s of which there is much too much on this list. Nothing distinguished here – not the vocals and the jamming is replacement level for the era. Maybe was influential the, but today is merely not bad and sorta boring.
Steely Dan
5/5
Stunning and exquisite. Not just the production and playing (obvs), but also the sense of languor and the extremely underrated lyrics (which people seem to both overthink and underaopreciate). The hits are top-notch – "Peg" is an all-time top-five groove, inclusive of any and all pop music genres and "Deacon Blues" is a Cheever story that just happened to get near the top of the charts. The opener, title cut and "Home at Last" are all extraordinary. Sure, it's dad rock and yacht rock -- for dads and yacht owners who possess taste and intelligence and a mature musical palate. People who don't find this interesting simply cannot themselves possibly be interesting. They certainly lack taste and probably fear jazz. One recalls loving it upon a first full listen as a teenager and the record only gets better with each passing decade; in other words, the more music one hears, the better Aja gets, a sure sign of quality.
Sam Cooke
4/5
It's often called "sweet" soul music for a reason, as this recording makes abundantly clear. What SC says from the stage is not to be fully trusted as the tempo differences between the fast ones and the slow ones are simply not that great. He's fully committed, but smoother and more genteel than say James Brown. There's an innocence and ebullience that's easy to like and infectious (cue the crowd noise); this is the stuff of which Saturday nights were made for a generation of Americans that largely got us started on this musical journey.
TLC
4/5
Thought this would just be early '90s silliness but the vibe is very chill and cool, indeed. The "Girlfriend" Prince cover is a winner and "Waterfalls" barely cracks the top 5 on this record. Has held up well, for the most part, though a few jokes try to hard and don't land, for which an R&B record nearly three decades old can be forgiven.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Classic from the first note, with epoch-defining opening and closing cuts, and multiple other gems along the way. Leaving aside notions of cultural appropriation, this is Stones at their most credibly bluesy; they believe in what they're doing and doing it with great effectiveness and, in some places, legit pathos. Excellent throughout.
Hole
3/5
Credibly rough and tough, but feels filled with directionless, no-longer-applicable rage and not much hookiness (not to mention tunefulness or melody or virtuosity) to keep us interested. One posits that "Rock Star" would've been a better song had she leaned into the "Olympia-uh-uh-uh" motif rather than regurgitating another screamalong of which the album already has a preponderance. The next record was better. More fodder for the theory that that history will not be kind to the '90s as a musical decade.
Prince
4/5
There's an ebullience and willingess to throw everything behind the idea of funking freely that's a mark of genius. And plenty of quality matieral here – title cut, of course, but also “Dorothy Parker” and “Starfish and Coffee” and “If I Was Your Girlfriend” (which shows how less is more in terms of layering instruments and sounds) “Never Take the Place of You” (with pure ‘80s synth feel) and “Adore.” But there's also general sense of excess and indulgence that suggest the vision might've been better served with a bit of trimming and some general restraint (not the Purple One's groove, one knows). There are blind spots, too, an overrliance on those whooping little screams, for instance, on maximalist arrangements and on drum machines that have not helped up too durably and threaten the sub-top-shelf tunes, of which there's a surfeit here. The planned triple album would not have much helped. Put another way: there's a lot to like here mainly because there's a lot.
James Taylor
3/5
Fine and sweet and on doubting the lullaby appeals of title cut and "F&R" but oh so soft, like to the point of deteriorating. Bing Crosby would have been a more convincing bluesman. "Suite for 20 G" feels similarly out of place, with the add-on horns and electricity. Fine balladeer though he was, JT definiitively did not rock and could not wail and sounded silly trying to.
The Lemonheads
3/5
Generally likable but not very memorable, and nothing like life-changing. Fun but normie, and a bit tiresome, too, as it's not nearly as clever as it thinks it is. In the end, not much better than just okay.
Alice Cooper
2/5
Not terrible but not as shocking or operatic as it clearly aimed to be. Triple points off for inspiring the likes of Reznor, Manson, etc. Today sounds like generic, replacement-level '70s arena rock, and pretty meh besides, which must seem the ultimate in faint condemnation to the involved perpetrators here. Maybe the guillotines and electric chairs and other stage theatrics were necessary to achieve full impact but then that completely undercuts the case for the lasting importance of the music. One doesn't think that nobody caring anymore can be put down to everyone's just being jaded nowadays. The editors' comparisons to Waters and Townsend are as perhaps the most ludicrous aspect of this listening experience, and certainly as shocking (and stupid) as Cooper having himself drawn and quartered onstage.
Steve Winwood
4/5
This is better than it seems it should be. First two cuts are both top-class, and hold up well. "Second-Hand Woman" is an embarrassment really, as much for the troglodytic content as for the hideously '80s hook and the thin disco beat. "Slowdown Sundown" and "Spanish Dancer" right the ship, but only briefly, until the Jan-Hammerian "Night Train," another time-traveler that feels ready to explode when contacting 21st-century air. Considering how one's never liked Winwood's way-back-in-the-throat voice, one's surprised to find this of substantial quality ... the pluses meaningfully outweigh the Ultimate '80s embarrassments.
Wilco
4/5
The first major advancement of one of the pre-eminent (but most sneakily) innovative bands around. Things would get even better but the excellence on display here is unquestionable.
Korn
1/5
Tedious and awful. Ice Cube mixes things up a bit but this is nu metal at its most noxious.
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
A fun and funky blend of styles.
David Gray
2/5
One-hit wonder for a reason and he should be grateful about that. Manifests every cliche of singer-songwriters and not in a good way.
The Kinks
4/5
Too clever to sell, wasn't it? But still a delight to hear and engage with. There's maybe a cottagecore or cozy mystery effect here that belies the more modest (if more biting) ambitions relative to their peers in this era. The Kinks are among one's personal national musical monuments / treasures. "Waterloo Sunset" is priceless.
Nightmares On Wax
4/5
As good as chill can be and ever got.
Fugees
3/5
Sharp and lean but seems maybe slightly too impressed with itself. One finds their street claims about pistol-whipping, etc. to be non-credible, really, and the Chinese restaurant skit isn't exactly the height of with social consciousness now is it? There are sweet moments – "Killing Me Softly," "No Woman, No Cry" and "Fu-gee-La" but overall it's never quite one's bag, but one doesn't begrudge the massive commercial success; far less records have sold more.
Belle & Sebastian
5/5
Utterly charming and winsome, and novelistically rich in emotional and intellectual content. It's easy to mock this band as the height of Millennial tweeness or cottagecore, but one finds it hard not to like and admire the work, given its orginality and the band's ability to do so well what they so clearly set out to do.
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
Has any record more frequently featured the expression "Do it" more often or had a singer use it more with more conviction, despite the repetition? Likely not though the necessary research to confirm won't be done for reasons of time consumption. Echo are a better band than one remembers, and there are many winning moments on this and a credible arty vibe and solid vocals and guitar work throughout. Not exactly a high-water mark of or post-punk or early alt or New Wave or whatever it's supposed to be called by this time. One doesn't think it sounds as dark today as it likely did then (and not early Cure dark anyway, which was a lot dronier); no these cats were hookier and quirkier, too, which adds up to lighter. Maybe doesn't quite deserve a 4 (and they don't really deserve three records in this list though one's enjoyed listening to the others [as one does in navigating the esteemed compendium] but it gets one anyway because of it's of one's vintage (slightly ahead, actually).
Beatles
5/5
Strong contender for best album of all time. It is endlessly engaging, interesting and entertaining – and wildly so on all fronts. The full-on experimentation, the boldness and willingness to try on a lark, the offbeat McCartney and Lennon never better, each contributing both masterpieces and several priceless (and underrated) gems. George and Ringo at their best, too. If a mishmash, then a marvelous one. More like a transcendent embarrassment of riches.
Ryan Adams
4/5
What a talent. “Come Pick Me Up” and “To Be Young" are utter classics. My objectivity is tainted by a recent solo show one attended where he was utterly tedious and requested bars closed so he had dead quiet. One supports his sobriety and considers oneself a major fan but that's too much to ask. The world's top string quartets don't do that.
Neil Young
4/5
Dark, brooding and, at times, haunted. One loves the weighty-seeming introspection, like a cold grey day on the beach. There's a resigned acceptance to the tone that sounds like it was freeing in some songs and quite edgy on others. This sense of culmination, and of the need to move on, paid off very nicely for the listener. 4
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
One recalls feeling frustrated with E&tB in ral time that they only rarely went all in and many songs sounded half-baked or only half-committed to. Today, that seems very much a design feature, rather than an executional shortcoming. This record shows a band stretching its wings a bit and taking its time – either because they had the confidence to do so or because it was who they were, fundamentally, as a band. The use of strings in particular and the layered instrumentation are a plus. The "hits" hold up well, as does the record as a whole. The lesser known cuts offer value, too (see the twinned guitar solos on the mid-tempo "My Kingdom," a real highlight of the record and which really shoulda been longer). The closer is lovely and languid. It must be recognized that they've held up better than many of their peers, though this could be generational bias talking.
B.B. King
4/5
Master player at the top of his craft and delivers a great show, too.
4/5
Bowie at his best. The showmanship and storytelling silliness is de-emphasized, with a more sincere-seeming and serious-sounding commitment to actual, you know, musicmaking. The playing and tone are great throughout and there are no major lulls or tracks that are outright/obvious fillers.
Drive Like Jehu
1/5
How can a "fringe-rock artifact" be one of only a finite number of records one must hear? This is tedious noise.
Billie Holiday
4/5
Truly one of a kind, an unmistakable voice with a distinct style. One has always preferred her with smaller ensembles, but one should take the Lady in any way one can.
Laibach
3/5
About as intriguing musically today as late '80s Balkan politics are relevant today. Different, yes, and perhaps worth an occasional consideration in a historical sense. But suitable for this esteemed list? No. This is a musical oddity, a satirical (perhaps bitting – it's hard for one to say when one doesn't speak the languages here) commentary on a political moment in time. It's also just straight-up odd, especialy the vocals and the rather haphazard contrasting of styles, metal chugging with minimalist keyboards and the stagey and bizarre-o vocals.
Little Simz
4/5
One digs an MC with style and originality. Three or four good to great tracks. The more melodic flows are best –- see "Selfish," see "Flowers."
Tim Buckley
3/5
This grows on one's slightly with more lisetning, but can't help resist thinking of how many similar acts were better/preferable – Nick Drake, obvs, but also Fairport, and, more recently, Belle & Sebastian or Richard Hawley. And TB isn't even in the same conversation as Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Even allowing for the "cult favorite" grading curve, one thinks TB is a bit overrated (largely due to the attractions of the tortured artistt/sensitive poet factor). Oddly formal vocal style, as if overtrained as a youth. And some of the songs reach excessively for a troubadour-madrigal vibe that sounds a bit silly today, however timely/on-point it might have seemed in the '60s. For instance, the title cut wants to be cinematic and comes across as an overdone show tune. The inclusion of both strings and winds and the song-cycle structure surely show the nefarious influence of prog rock on the folkies. "Pleasant Street" is easily the best song, followed by "Morning Glory."
Fiona Apple
3/5
The anger, which is the heart of the matter, feels considerably less than authentic, more privileged and performative, and nothing like righteous. Does that make her a Karen? One's always struggled to like Fiona Apple for her showiness and her silly expressions of aggression. She's just updated a 30-year-old record with some new sounds and song structures and settings – some pretty inventive – but considerable sameyness (especially of tone).
Dusty Springfield
5/5
Sultry and soulful and just a touch raw, to keep it real, and the real deal this very much is: “My Coloring Book,” “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” and “Twenty-Four Hours to Tulsa" and “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” are all excellent.
Pixies
4/5
Still can't tell if it's the punkiest sort of pop or poppiest sort of punk. Either way it works and it's not hard to remember how (or why) this was all the cool kids' favorite band back in the day.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
Sleek, shiny and super catchy. Precision engineered, indie rock of the early aughts. Still sounds fresh but almost cliched at time, given how redolent it is of its time. "Take Me Out" is world-class hooky and "Come on Home" makes a nice (not-quite) bookend.
Scott Walker
2/5
Unbearably cheesy, timelessly cheesy.
Traffic
4/5
Terrific and understated. Groovy and thoughtful and has proven quite durable in that it still sounds great.
The Louvin Brothers
4/5
From High Lonesome to High Dysfunction to High Crimes and Misdemenanors. Friends and Enemies in Low Places all across Weird Old America, including all the best trailer parks, and different, non-best housing tracts. One could listen to this all day.
Jane's Addiction
5/5
The dynamic is less loud-quiet than fierce-tender and it helps to have a world-class frontman who goes all in on effort and who seems to have born with a pure rocker’s attitude (e.g., not faking/posing at all). “Mountain Song,” “Summertime Rolls,” “Standing In the Shower” and the theme song are all classic, and the balance all add value in their unique ways. One always liked the hot-burning energy and the fact they haven’t sullied their legacy with endless reunion and multiple final-final-farewell tours. Still smokin’ hot after all these years.
Moby Grape
3/5
One can kinda see how this was slated to be a big hit, but that's largely a function of it being pretty middle of the road, even a bit dull. The playing is pretty sharp throughout. One doesn't hear the "genius" the editors hear, but rather above average psychedelia that's nice to know that's at no risk of being worn out from overplaying. Demerits for dumb band name.
Pink Floyd
3/5
Only significant for what they would do later. This is too much of its time to have much appeal today, though. "Interstellar Overdrive" might be historically interesting but it's not a cut many, or any, PF fans think of first (or even tenth or 20th) when they consider what to play. Meddle, Animals and The Final Cut would have been far better choices on the merits.
De La Soul
4/5
A long-time fave, with so many highlights and memorable cuts, but an excess of filler (the spoken word bits do wear a bit). Maybe not aging quite as well as one expected.
Parliament
5/5
Out there, just way out there. Otherworldly funky and soulful and still unprecedented and unrivaled in so many ways, not least in the sheer joyousness that is clearly involved in the making of this record.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Vintage quality through and through.
Small Faces
3/5
Likably slapdash and rootsy-groovy, and sorta proto-Kinks. Album gets sillier and less interesting as it goes along, feels like an overreaching, like they wanted to get into something like high concept, when the playing is quite sufficient on its own. Spoken word stuff is total waste of time and disrupts the flow.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Extraordinary chill for such harsh subject matter. Great all the way around, maybe Marv's best, which is saying a lot.
Def Leppard
1/5
Straight-up awful, even accounting for the irresistible "Photograph." Records like give rock a bad name. Embarrassing.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
3/5
It does offer some gritty and occasionally funky appeal if one can drop one's grudges against its considerable difficulties. One thinks of Beat happenings, and free jazz, and performance art, as much as pop or rock music. More than anything, it's indulgent, and its innovations and influence seems perhaps diluted as the influencees seem to have exceeded him in many ways. Worth knowing if its merits don't go down very easily.
Beach House
3/5
Nothing wrong or offensive with this, but doesn't exactly jump through the speakers or headphones. It is a tick too sleepy even by the standards of dream pop, of which one much prefers the lilting, rather than the droning, variet, as manifested here. In fact, this drones to the point of being inert. One would like to compare this effort to their other records, but save for the odd outlier, they are quite difficult to tell part. Something like eight times now have they been have been on the same drone-rinse-repeat cycle. If Beach House are this generation's Cocteau Twins or My Bloody Valentine, one feels mainly pity for this generation.
Blur
3/5
Just not all that. Neither as clever-good as Pulp nor as epic-good as Oasis. And don't even go \"modern-day Kinks,\" as that's just an insult to the Davies (and an illustration of dodgy taste, generally). There are moments of undeniable quality here but not so many as to justify Blur being so impressed with themselves.
Michael Jackson
5/5
One is so easily transported back to the shag-carpeted basement rec rooms and bedrooms of one's youth, isn't one? The musicmaking craft here is of the highest order and a few of the songs are nearly unparalleled in being just so goddamn fun to hear. Such grooves as these make it hard to imagine a better or purer pop record ever being made.
Simple Minds
4/5
Holds up well, especially the relatively complex rhythms and the understated guitar work, which one sometimes must strain to hear over the synths, which never reach "ultimate '80s" degrees off cheesiness but are maybe more prominent than might be considered absolutely ideal. Kerr is a strong vocalist, believable, concerned sounding, a less showy Bono. One wishes there was an auto production filter to hear what this record, made with the studio tech available today or in the aughts, might have sounded. One suspects they were great live and wishes one had seen them so. And hey editors, they ruled more in the early and mid-80s, not late.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
One would have had to have never lived in the South and been reared far from it to call this the first "truly meaningful Southern rock" statement. Maybe look at an album released three years earlier called Idlewild South. Perhaps the editors mean that LS is more obviously Southern that the ABB, who go plenty deep with the blues and were actually bi-racial in their lineup. That said, this album is something special; one can hear the tightness of the band, all those hours in dive bars and juke joints – there's real polish and accomplishment. "Tuesday's Gone" is near symphonic in its power and every cut offers heft and substance. "Freebird" is so good to have stood up to all the abuse and overplaying. One has always loathed this band's politics and avoid its fans, though the talent is clear and undeniable.
Ghostface Killah
3/5
Relatively interesting, with a few first-rate cuts, but not massively engaging or super intriguing.
Badly Drawn Boy
4/5
Still excellent, but perhaps seems a little overlong today and a tad rando in the number of musical shifts. It does not quite grab one as forcefully as it seemed to do back in the day. Still so much to like with a half-dozen gems, easily. And some forgettable DIY (and emo) probably saw this as a jumping-off point, one doesn't think he can be held responsible for that. After all, this is much more sophisticated.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
4/5
Much edgier and shadowier than it seems on first listen. Yes, the classics are the ones to know – "Oh, Boy!" and "Not Fade Away" and That'll Be the Day" and " There's just the slightest link to Greil Marcus' "old weird America" in the edgy darkness of "It's Too Late." The authentic yearning of "Send Me Some Lovin" is trembly and a mite creepy. If "Last Night" or "An Empty Cup" weren't in David Lynch's Blue Velvet, they very well could have been. It's worth remembering that this must have terrified parents and moralists in the same way punk did. And strip out the barbershopy-quartet backing vocals and we're in proto-indie territory, the earliest known fossil of jangle. The simplicity of approach and directness yields real power. One is saddened to think of all the lost excellence and growth that was sure to come.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
4/5
As much as one liked this band in the real-time day, it was only sporadically, a song here, a video there, and some promotional vinyl from college radio, still in one’s possession. And one took J&MC only semi-seriously, as if they’d seem only reverb deep on closer examination; one means – just how edgy could they be, if one liked them, one’s taste often being impugned as “normie” (before that term was a commonplace) by one’s college radio colleagues? All that shows the callow critical tendencies of one’s youth, though the title of the recurs might be seen as a bit of a troll (long before such was named), and perhaps the name of the band seemed a touch too provocative by design. What one hears more clearly now is that the depth is in the hollowness. This record, though not quite as rich as Darklands, holds up well. One limitation is that “Just Like Honey” is the only truly first-rate song here (though perhaps one of the top 20 or 30 of the decade). The innovation lasts thru the influence, one supposes. And, speaking of decades, it says something about the feast of 80s alt-indie-post-punk (whatever) that a band this good and this original remains obscure compared to relative bland-o mediocrities of the ‘90s (lookin at you Blur and Oasis and Nirvana).
The Beach Boys
3/5
To say this is better than Pet Sounds is just silly. This is a transitional record, with a pretty weak first side. Side 2 gets better but the best of the Beach Boys was still to come, obviously.
Rahul Dev Burman
4/5
A delight with a mix of styles and lots of pleasing melodies and hooks and riffs, though, even as an Indophile, one's not totally clear as to just what to make of it. One's glad to have heard. Definitely worthy.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Art rock at the highest and most smoldering level.
MGMT
4/5
Starts off with a bang and a massively appealing look, with likable attitude to boot. Fresh and energetic and just massively youthful, but the hooks are undeniably appealing, but with some classic-y druggy overtones, that one finds comfortably familiar. Ends strong, too, though in a quieter mood which promised more excellence to come, which never did, quite.
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
Not nearly as terrible or pretentious as one might've expected, given just how wretched and awful the later work would become. The big singles hold up – they're solid and masterpieces of their moment and showcase Grace Slick's vocal strengths. The quieter cuts – "My Best Friend," "Comin' Back to Me," "Embryonic Journey" – are surprisingly effective and the overall quality is pretty high throughout. In general, they don't try too hard or oversell the material, which mostly comes off (the quite tepid blues "In the Morning" being a rather glaring exception and a few of the latter cuts sounding an awful lot like filler). Though their putrid and embarrassing future work as Starship (including "We Built This City," a strong contender for worst all-time song ever), as well as their self-importance, can't be overlooked, this record, with its classic '60s sound, holds up much better than many of their contemporaries' efforts.
Fugazi
3/5
Sure it's uncompromising, but also insistently ugly and non-melodic. It's as if Fugazi doesn't want many people to like or enjoy their outputs, in which case they've succeeded gloriously, despite a few well-wrought riffs and moods. What might have been with some variance in the textures and some competent vocals. One understands they were great live; one knows intuitively that it would have been difficult to tell the songs apart or withstand the assault for very long.
Scott Walker
2/5
Just can't get into this; one feels the ship has sailed on M. Walker, he's got a variety show voice and a delivery/intonation far too dramatic (not to mention the penchant for syrupy strings and overly sentimental arrangements) for the age of irony. If Scott 1-3 didn't work (and they didn't), one wonders how he ever got to 4. Maybe anybody not named Led Zeppelin should be less presumptuous in naming their records.
Deerhunter
4/5
Quality if a touch uneven. The dreaminess nicely complemented by upbeat brightness that feels a bit like waking up on the right side of the bed.
Laura Nyro
3/5
There are a lot of likable moments here – in “Timer,” “Eli’s Coming,” “Stoned Soul Picnic” among other cuts – but the tempo shifts are too jarring and too many. Net effect is sub-compelling.
Gil Scott-Heron
4/5
An utterly forgotten classic. This should be much easier to find today, at which time it seems more relevant than ever.
Norah Jones
4/5
The charges of it being middle of the road and too Starbucks-y are all fair and understandable. But those are too easy criticisms: there is craft and nuance and subtlety here in the music making. Indeed, the playing is polished and understated (if unobtrusive) and lovely. The songs are fine, though the Hank Williams cover could be said to be ill-chosen or not memorably interpreted or both. The vocals are not overdone and are more consistently more mellifluous and appropriate than not. And certainly it’s a pleasure to listen to. Perhaps not multiple Grammies worth, perhaps not meriting 27 million in sales, but a pleasure nonetheless. All one has to do is simply listen to what’s here, not what’s not here or obsess about where one might hear it or who else might like it. Perhaps the reason it’s not exactly challenging is that it didn’t set out to be. It’s near perfect for what it aims to be (which is not challenging or jazz for that matter).
Donald Fagen
4/5
Suave and sophisticated, though just slightly sub-timeless given the particularity (not to say peculiarity) of the keys. It's music for the middle aged, particularly those that like their martinis extra dry.
Eurythmics
3/5
AL has a first-rate voice and there are a few quality pop songs (starting with "Sweet Dreams"), but all the ultimate '80s synth vibes and feels ulimately undo the record. It is what it is, which is very much ensconced in its era.
SAULT
4/5
Groovy and relevant and interesting. Perhaps a bit talkier than it needs to be.
Aerosmith
2/5
Comparisons to Led Zeppelin are ludicrous, as if those lads would ever think – much less stoop – to rip off Bon Jovi (see backing vocals on "Love In an Elevator" and super cheesy drums on "Monkey Back" and cheesy synths on "Jamie," which sounds like they couldn't quite let go of the '80s). "Dulcimer Stomp" and "Don't Get Mad" have more wrong with them than can be fruitfully described here. This is more like the Stones in their worst late career, utterly forgettable phases. It's all there, the mediocre playing, the silly posturing, the pathetic reaching for relevance. And for good measure every song is too long, too. They were basically a hair metal band at this point, and not a particularly good one.
Morrissey
4/5
Shows just how much M was capable of sans-Smiths, which was quite a bit, obvs. There was reason to be skeptical but classics such as "Everyday Is Like Sunday" and "Suedehead" and the nearly-as-great "Bengali" put such concerns to rest.
1/5
Sophomoric and utterly putrid.
The Stooges
2/5
Iggy's cool and crazy wild and everything, but one has always considered this band of screamers and bangers to be hugely overrated, given one's preference for musicians who prioritize talent over just screaming and banging.
2Pac
5/5
Just great, flows easy and sweet (“Dear Mama,” “Old School”) and melancholic enough (“It Ain’t Easy,” “Young N’z”) to add resonant depth and poignance. One must look up samples. Distinct vocal tone and excellent use of backing vocals. Oh, does the g-funk work wonders.
Ray Price
4/5
Deftly blends darkness with some countrypolitan-ish sheen and upbeat bounce in the playing. "Honky Tonk Angel" is aces. Title cut is classic, though with many other excellent versions.
Gram Parsons
4/5
GP is a better record, straight-up, though this is awfully good and highly polished perhaps excessively so. “Brass Buttons” and “Hickory Wind” are best cuts. There's just the slightest feel of this being a lark that keeps it from top rank of records.
Frank Zappa
4/5
Yes, it's groovy and one admires the unique vision and commitment to same. And yes in a more just world Zappa would've realized richer commercial rewards, but it's not hard to understand why he wasn't. This is sprawling and fun and certainly interesting (perhaps that's the dominant trait) but it's also sort of indulgent and abstract. And while vaguely jazzy (mostly in its free-forming), it's not jazz actually, so those of us who prefer jazz would not be fully compelled. "Gumbo Variations" is best of a pretty strong lot overall.
The Who
4/5
Interesting and groovy-sounding, particularly in the context of a band forming itself, moving from pretty raw proto-punk to a more ambitous, tuneful and conceptually rich approach. The satire probably seemed funnier all those years ago but some fun and memorable cuts, starting with “Our Love Was” and “Rael” and “I Can’t Reach You." There are sign of rock-operatic ambitions to come. One would like to have seen how the record would've played on its own terms and shorn of the mostly silly (and largely irrelevant) set-up and "concept."
Orbital
3/5
Fine as far as it goes, which is to seem more like programming than music. There are some interesting and tuneful bits, such as (not very cleverly titled) "Science Friction" and "Attached." But really sterile and synthetic sounding and the satire seems to have seeped out in the nearly three decades since release.
Jane's Addiction
5/5
Exquisitely edgy. Classic not just because of the kicky, kinetic tunes (starting with the nonpareil "Been Caught Stealin'") but because of the smolderly burners that come mostly later in the record ("Three Days," "Then She Did," "Of Course," "Classic Girl" but also "Obvious"). An – perhaps the – essential 90s record.
Boards of Canada
4/5
Yes, clinical, but just funky enough, too. Absolutely overdetermined, and too rigidly designed, but with a touch of humor, one feels. And it's not at all clubby, at least, or danceable but cerebral, which one prefers, and just the slightest bit cheeky, too. But let's be clear: Broken Social Scene is much the better band of this milieu, this vintage.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Solid, vintage stuff from a band that positioned itself as the coolest on the planet for more than a few years. This isn't as good as Daydream Nation but not far off either. "Sugar Kane" is one's favorite cut, because it adds some Mascisesque licks to their signature industrial-slow burn-smolder affect.
Beastie Boys
3/5
Epic and inventive in its way.
Tears For Fears
4/5
Extremely strong. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a strong contender for the '80s best song and the rest of the record – including the overplayed "Head Over Heels" and "Shout" retain heft and substance and authentic emotional content today.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
2/5
Just kinda dull and middle of the road.
Shuggie Otis
4/5
Sounds an awful lot like an album by a dude name Shuggie should sound. Mellow groovy, with tinker-y electronic textures and a way laid-back vibe. "Rainy Day" and "Pling" are '70s at its seriously chillest.
Chicago
4/5
Big and bold charts for the horns and a few first rate cuts -- "Does Anybody Know What Time It Is" and "Beginnings" and "Questions 67 and 68." "I'm a Man" is hardest-rockin of the harder-rockin cuts, of which several have unnecessarily big guitar solos. This record is also astonishing in light of how seriously awful they got later on ... in the Cetera era.
Primal Scream
4/5
Strong though occasionally overreaching in the direction of abstraction and obscurity. "Stuka" doesn't work nearly as well as "Trainspotting," say. "Star" is easily the best cut. The rave-y neo-hippie vibe has aged reasonably well.
The Stooges
2/5
Just the sort of raw noise that has long given rock and roll a bad name.
Elliott Smith
4/5
Delicate and authentic and powerful due its vulnerability (which would become clearer later). One might have to be younger and more close to the desperate hope inherent to being young and artistic to get the full impact.
Faith No More
1/5
Waste of time.
Bauhaus
3/5
One almost has to be a child of the '80s for this to have much resonance, by which one means an actual child in the '80s (like via time travel). Otherwise, this just sounds like a relic rooted in time, antique music, if occasionally engaging in shadowy sort of way.
Jeff Buckley
4/5
Found it overhyped and overdone at the time, and one's opinion hasn't much changed since. And though it's clearly aiming for timelesness (with Cohen and Benjamin Britten covers), this thing wreaks of '90s self-seriousness (see last few cuts and cover photo, too). One's pretty convinced that this would never had the liftoff or the legacy without his dad and untimely death. Just sayin'. Yes, it's sad he couldn't figure out who he wanted to be, artistically, Big Hair Vocalist or Opera Singer are among the personae he tries on here, and not always convincingly.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
4/5
Yes, Clapton blazes, but the tight and high-impact song structures generate much of the power. Only false note is "What I'd Say" because, you know, Ray Charles.
Barry Adamson
3/5
Pretty interesting, but goes on too long. And just because Nick Cave is on it doesn't automatically make it cool.
10cc
3/5
So one knows the few scattered hits that reached the US and also the "thinking-man's-band" reputation but struggles to square the circle with careful listening all these years on. Sounds cool and enjoyable enough but one wonders why so many '70s bands seemed to want to be more like Stephen Sondheim than the Beatles or, better yet, Elvis. As for the music, it's a dog's breakfast in a blender: bit of glam and art music here and theatre-like harmonies and even touches of prog (especially evident in the overcooking of everything); fan-practitioners – especially when they are multi-talented, multi-instrumentalists) can be forgiven for trying to take it all one. Yet, what the editors call “breathless invention” reads like diletantte-ism or me-too-ism or kitchen-sink-ism .... just-too-much maximalism (an occupational in early '70s music industry). Record gets steadily better -- "Somewhere In Hollywood" and "Sacro-Illiac" and "Oh Effendi" are easily the best cuts [3 of last 4 [for those of you scoring at home]). Also seems this lot were quite convinced of their own cleverness (a harbinger of Blur, in a way). One gets the feeling that their handful of hits only convinced them further, plus their sense of being wildly under-appreciated. Obviously talented and an acquired taste, sure, but one wonders if the acquisition is worth the effort (see also, Midnight Runners, Dexy's [whose reputational arc seems similar to 10cc]). One wants a better answer to the "who cares?" question than one feels on first full listen. One will keep trying but fears diminishing returns.
Tangerine Dream
3/5
Dreamy, floating and not unpleasant but never really moves beyond the science-experiment level impacts, however groundbreaking tech-wise it might have been. Seems worth pondering how their inclusion on the Risky Business soundtrack would play with this opinionated crowd of highly refined tastemakers.
The White Stripes
3/5
Well, it's certainly loud, isn't it? And one senses that that's more or less the point, the noise and the attitude of a supreme and rootsy sort of coolness of affect. Musically, this is just no great shakes. Found it tedious and same-y and very unworthy of all the hype at the time of its release and find it the same today. Just not at all one's thing. Is it any wonder they were largely a passing sort of phenom? This might've been the precise moment when this DIY sort of rock jumped the shark.
Joan Baez
4/5
Gorgeous and good for you, too. Has anyone ever had a purer voice? A great set of songs, too.
Belle & Sebastian
4/5
One likes this less than If You're Felling Sinister and The Boy with the Arab Strap, but still enjoys it for the craft, the intelligent/literate songwriting and general vibe. The second half of the record is much the stronger. "We Rule the School" is lovely, the best of this lot. "Wandering Days" and "I Don't Love Anyone" and "Mary Jo" are also strong. "The State I'm In" is essential B&S and "Electronic Renaissance" an engaging diversion.
The Clash
3/5
This inclusion feels more like a "best first record" or "rookie of the year" or "new younger poets" or a retroactive lifetime achievement award, because this, while biting and high-energy and tightly played, is a bit monolithic and not throat-grabbingly cool at first listen, though it improves as it goes along and last several cuts, including "Cheat," "Police & Thieves" and "Garageland" confirm it's much more than punk and points the way forward to better records. One would like to weigh the relative merits with the poppier "Combat Rock" of one's youth.
The Killers
3/5
There's always room in one's musical diet for records like this ... edgy, stylish, glittery and not afraid a pop hook or silly lyric in the service of cool. "Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll," indeed!
Tina Turner
3/5
The several decent-to-very-good cuts (titler, "What's Love," "Better Be Good" and title cut) and feel-good vibes about TT career renaissance can't make up for the prevalence of Ultimate '80s effects, which effectively rescind any claims to greatness. "Can't Stand the Rain" and "1984" and "Ball of Confusion" (which maybe be "Deluxe Edition" add-ons) are cringeworthy with the cheesy synths and drum machine abuse and even borderline unlistenable (on one's deathbed or in any other setting). Sounds like too many producers in the mix.
The Beach Boys
5/5
Pure class throughout, with a dozen top-shelf tracks of rich creativity and a few that are angelically ethereal. The editors seem lost on this band: there's no way that Beach Boys Today is a better record than this ... which is just pop music of a different order than 99.9% of all that's ever been recorded/released.
Fela Kuti
4/5
What to say about this? Dynamic, groovy, impassioned, sprawling ... all adds up to Afrobeat excellence (plus so much more).
Kanye West
4/5
Terrific beats and strong samples make for a rich, layered and highly tuneful sounds. The soul and gospel effects are particularly welcome and balance out the excessive length and endless braggadocio. Opener is great, maybe the best cut, “Slow Jamz” is outstanding (lines like “I’m gonna play this Vandross/You gonna take your pants off" are the sorts for which we listen to hip-hop”) “Through the Wire” is great too. This is a concept album that doesn't need the concept. The jokes about degrees are more silly than not and there are far too many of them. Still, pretty great.
Gene Clark
4/5
Sounds like how conversations with old friends feel. Deserves to be much better known.
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
Very cool and addictive. "All My Friends" is a great track, at once driving and introspective.
Johnny Cash
3/5
Quite the comedian, isn't he? One would've preferred another song or two than all the pandering banter. "Boy Named Sue" is the highlight, the opener "Wanted Man" and "Peace in the Valley" also good. Folsom Prison is better, and not just because it was the first.
Love
4/5
Will the real Love please stand up? This could not be more different than Da Capo, which is worthwhile in very different ways. This sounds like – and the chart history would seem to confirm – like a failed experiment, a band searching for an identity. The horns, strings and other flourishes provide several affecting (though perhaps excessively Donovan-esque) moments. Personally, one likes the softer playing, it never quite achieves maximum impact. That Arthur Lee got a second life is satisfying (he deserved more recognition), but it’s possible this the recovery of Love’s reputation is a case of protesting too much against the initial obscurity. They are both underrated and destined to remain at best a cult following (and one doesn't exactly have to have the most refined ears in the world to be in the cult, either).
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
A full tick below mbv and perhaps a few below Loveless (few records aren't), but it's still very good and interesting, if quite ragged and uneven – a band developing in real time and with more than few rough edges, it seems fair to say. "All I Need" and "Several Girls Galore" and most resonantly point to the future. "Nothing Much to Lose" suggests how they could have been a pretty decent conventional indie rock band. Best song "I Can See" was saved for last.
Minutemen
3/5
Hot and riffy (but also super scrappy and excessively talky), this feels like punk made slightly more intelligible. One saw their final show (Charlotte, 12/13/85) so should probably round up but not sure all the jokes land today and one's simply not all the way there with this anymore. Not even sure one would rate it over fIREHOSE's best.
White Denim
4/5
A rich and spicy blend, with some notes of prog and considerable jam band feels.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
This swings and stings, and jukes quite a bit, too. There's a likable crispness and near professionalism to what they're doing here that elevates proceedings and points the way to greater achievements on the horizon (including those that would work out to be much artier but also more ragged and considerably less professional). "Stupid Girl" is silly and bubblegum-y, the dog of a pretty strong bunch. The blues are just valid enough, "Doncha Bother Me" the most so, though the juke-y "High and Dry" points to their future success with variations on basic country blues. "Lady Jane" is generally a successful experiment, but it's likely best that they didn't too much of this because braggart-swaggery Mick (see "Under My Thumb") is more convincing. "I Am Waiting" and "Out of Time" are also represenative of Stones' mid-tempo strength. Differences in UK and US versions aside (US being slightly preferred in that "Paint It Black" is a superior song to the crisp but somewhat obvious "Mother's Little Helper"), this is, net-net, awfully good though slightly sub-masterpiece.
Guns N' Roses
4/5
Yes, it's classic, but the best song is the one their surprisingly die-hard fans hate the most (with possible exception of "Patience"). What does that tell us? One thinks they should also be held to account for making so many people hate rock music and charge many fans and critics with being rockist.
Gang Of Four
4/5
Tough and knotty and also seething and sizzling. Playing is tight and arrangements are lean, which one mostly digs, and most licks blaze with a purity, with relentless energey from the backbeat and the sound is pristinely clear. See vamping riffs of "Not Great Men" for highlight. Unrelentingly edgy but also well crafted – see "I Found That Essence." Does adding funk to punk make it post-punk? Certainly it's artier and more politically engaged (apparently) than most of those other genres, but it's more spiky than groovy. Downside is that it can feel a bit one-note, for all its future influence, and there's a pretty severe lack of flow.
Black Flag
1/5
A huge success if they wanted to create the most idiotic and ugliest music possible. One wonders how many of the people who wear the t-shirts (with the admittedly cool logo) actually have heard the record.
ABBA
2/5
Strange and silly, not unlike the decade in which it was produced.
The Zombies
4/5
What a pleasant surprise, fresh and bright and charming. "Changes" and "I Want Her She Wants Me" are just lovely – Bach-y and Beach Boys-esque. But the whole disc is classy and lush chamber pop. And it's a clear indictment of the music business that artists such as the Z's here only feel free to do their best work having decided to quit the industry. The hit may be the weakest, least interesting (if only because the most familiar) song of the bunch.
Talvin Singh
3/5
Sounds like a soundtrack for fin de siecle globalism , perhaps because that's exactly what it is.
Iron Maiden
2/5
The least shitty heavy metal band is still pretty shitty.
The Yardbirds
4/5
It's all about the hot licks that connect blues and psychedelia, but the rumblin'-stumblin' drummin' is good, too, and some bass lines sound like world domination. One gets why YB's were generally considered the next big thing, even if it never quite fully worked out for them, a function of exaggerated expectations perhaps.
Megadeth
1/5
Just relentless in its humorlessness and one-notedness and utter failure to appeal to anyone other than those predisposed to like this sort of thing.
Arrested Development
4/5
Hugely impressive and massively enjoyable. Feels like this has been unfairly and unnecessarily forgotten. Groovy and approachable beats, plus positive vibes in the vocals, plus unconventional instrumentation (there should be more harmonica in hip-hop [and possibly cowbell, too]).
4/5
Excellent overall and extremely well made. It feels very much in earnest and is completely accessible, if not their edgiest, angriest or even most authentic work. Indeed, this is state of art, late '80s with decent range from "One Tree Hill" and "Tripped" to "Bullet the Blue Sky" and the quietly powerful "Running to Stand Still." A mature and confident band operating near the peak of its powers, which are not to everyone's taste, one understands (especially as Bono has grown well-nigh insufferable down the years). Last few cuts represent a weak ending, or at least a significant drop from the extraordinarily strong first 8 of 10 cuts. But one can't quibble about the big hits being overrated (primarily because they're no longer so overexposed) or too obvious. One's even sensitive to Greil Marcus argument that U2 is just kind of boring. But what he misses is the compelling and earwormishly hookiness of Edge's approach and power of Bono's voice (overpowered by excessive commitment though it sometimes is). Even if not quite as good War, Boy and Unforgettable Fire (one's personal faves), this is awfully strong overall.
4/5
Pure prog genius. Tuneful, with decent balance of pleasing musicality and otherworldly intellectual ambition.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
So many great songs – classics, one almost forgets how great "Fire" and "Manic Depression" were/are – but it's "Third Stone from the Sun" that makes the record first-rate, and an all-time debut. One slightly prefers the rough-edged and looser Axis Bold as Love.
Derek & The Dominos
4/5
Vocals are iffy, production/sound is muddied, even muffled, and there are rough edges aplenty. And this might not even be a top 10 version of "Little Wing." But there's a great deal of soul in "Bell Bottom Blues" and "Why Does Love Have to Be So Sad?" The blues are credible, too, even accounting for Clapton's overrated, allegedly divine reputation w/r/t same. Appropriation or no, one almost empathizes with his sense of being haunted by unrequited love in "If You've Never Loved a Woman." And "Layla" -- what's to say? Yes, one of the all-time riffs, but it's the closing section that makes it, a bittersweet, highly layered (and Duane Allman-assisted) lament of the end of an era or the aforementioned unrequited love. Powerful stuff indeed. Slowhand never did better work.
a-ha
2/5
"Take On Me” is perhaps second only to "Never Gonna Give You Up" on the Mt. Olympus of earwormy annoyance and ubiquity. Sure the video is visually interesting but the music ... not so much. For all its pretension to stylishness and (opera-level) sophistication, so much of this barely rises to level of synthy '80s sugar high, and now these keys sound decidedly analog, the music tech equivalent of a green screen. "Love Is Reason" and "I Dream Myself Alive" might be interesting songs in another band's hand. Title cut and "Living a Boy's Adventure Tale" are best of tepid and mostly forgettable lot.
Santana
3/5
The slower and more thoughtful cuts avoid the excess of cowbell and are thus much the stronger, especially “Incident” with its excellent piano flourishes and “samba pa ti.” Mostly forgettable vocals are the other major demerit that keeps this out of the top rank.
Blur
4/5
This band is so much more annoying that it needs to be. So often the attitude gets in the way of good hooks, and cool tunes. One's given to wonder just how much better Blur might have been had the played it just a bit straighter. The cleverer the tune, the less the impact. "Badhead" and "To the End" and "Clover Over Dover" each suggest how they might have made songs that people just liked (rarther than wondering if or how they liked it). Just too much posturing and taking the piss. Pulp were better and certainly the Kinks, too. And one doesn't even much like Oasis but still prefer to this lot.
Joy Division
4/5
Dark and droney and much more powerful on headphones.
Jamiroquai
4/5
It swings and grooves sufficiently to make politics seem non-preachy.
Massive Attack
3/5
Tired and tepid and even tame-sounding today. "Be Thankful" is best song.
Otis Redding
3/5
His voice is grittier and more guttural than other soul singers of his generation, and the authenticity/sincerity is off the charts. One likes many of his versions of these songs better than the original (or better known) versions, but a few are hard to appreciate because they sound like further exploitation of already polluted songs; if only OR's "Satisfaction" sold more than Mick and Keef's. "You Don't Miss Your Water" is a fine closer.
Method Man
4/5
Murky and shuffling and ominous, with some eerie tunefulness here and there, too. One largely digs.
Missy Elliott
4/5
Fly because it flows. "Izzy Izzy Aah" iz aaahwfully good. The "Can't Stand the Rain" and "Pass the Dutchie" riffs also much fun.
Songhoy Blues
4/5
One never knows quite how to feel about music from other cultures, but there's an awful lot to like here. Vocals that engage and haunt, by seeming deep, authentic and committed. The gritty Malian blues seem rooted in another era. One could hear quite a good bit of this.
David Bowie
3/5
Fine even enjoyable but one awaits the reaching of the peak Bowie destination -- just way too much of it on this list. The artwork underscores the self-involvement /self-obsession and navel gazing, the reaching for relevance. So much of this is simply unconvincing for being outright synthetic and performative.
Stereolab
4/5
Hypnotic and happy-making. Elegant and understated. Dreamy and delightful.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
Nobody did loud-quiet-loud better than Billy C. Perhaps SPs weren't the most versatile, quiet-loud-quiet being their only other gear and relying on the contrast on either within or between nearly every song. (To wit, "Quiet" could just as easily and accurately have been called "Loud"). But they get away with it because of the melodies. One generally prefers the tunes in the sweeter and dreamier ("Luna" and "Mayonnaise" and "Spaceboy" being the best of this lot), rather than the outright rageful ones (which feel forced). And give to Billy C: he possesses one of the most distinctive voices, love it or hate it, in recent decades.
Tracy Chapman
3/5
Was a phenomenon, wasn't it, her sudden rise. Was it about the public's hunger for authenticity or need for quiet, simple and relatable tunes? Today, this feels a bit pallid, a touch tepid. The distance between the grimness of the material and the neutral (almost numb) delivery is quite striking. No doubting that "Fast Car" is a great song. And shame it feels so relevant today.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
Awful, actually. One's had meringues, pop rocks, that were more substantive.
Kraftwerk
3/5
If one can get beyond the cliched-sounding “Robots” -- which feels like a joke, thanks to SNL's famous Sprockets skit -- there are intriguing moments here, both on their own terms and relative to the poisoned chalice of the dreaded influence. “Neon Lights” is lovely. But here again the datedeness of the synths undercuts the impact (is that a Casio? an Atari?). One's time commitment to minimalism would be more rewardingly spent with Steve Reich or Terry Riley. If it's pop music, just how avant garde or aesthetically enriching can it be?
JAY Z
4/5
Maybe a touch samey, maybe a touch too long, and maybe SC isn't the world's best on the mic (in terms of rhymes or flows [and maybe even he sounds outright awkward at times], but the confident bluster mostly works and a few of the songs – "Hola Holavita" and "Heart of the City" in particular – are wondrously addictive.
Nina Simone
4/5
Compelling and affecting – it's alternately classy and raw. The accompaniments and arrangements are great, too. She's a voice like no other and one understands those that might find it an acquired taste, especially given her occasional flirtation with overwhelming the songs.
Genesis
4/5
Musically, this is so good and interesting, with dramatic shifts and rich intricacies, that it doesn't much matter whether or not one has any idea about what's going on with the story. That's the essential prog quandary, isn't it? This might be the best output ever of that lame, lamented genre.
The Damned
4/5
"Polish with spit" indeed. This is fun for adding some color and texture to the punk template. "Can't Be Happy" and "Plan 9 Channel 7" are the highlights. Maybe overrates its own cleverness/eccentricity by a nidge, but the likably tossed-off feel makes it a winner.
Jimmy Smith
4/5
The material isn't exactly other-worldly challenging, but the groove is easy, flowing. Turrentine steals the show at times, because JS plays the Hammond B3 solos a bit on the chill side. "Incredible" is an overstatement, sure, but this is well worth knowing.
The Clash
5/5
So many great songs and done so loosely-roughly. One can make a case that it's the filigree and embroidery on "Lover's Rock" (of which there are many such moments) that makes this a classic. Such coolness throughout, from it's brightest-lightest moments to its darkest-edgiest bits. It all works – and works exceedingly well, if in often unexpected ways.
Grateful Dead
3/5
Sure, it's an early and important artifact, but it's not early as interesting, rich or enjoyable as the later records, including the live ones. Perhaps the editors didn't want to go down the rabbit hole of Dick's Picks, from the vaults, etc. but this is not even in the top 5 of live records that got broad release. One gets it, but this is a lazy choice given that it's almost primitive compared to all that was to come. Consider how later versions of "Space" and "Epilogue" are vastly better (plus weirder) than the "Feedback" here. And later bangers are much more richly textured and tuneful (and less bangy-clangy) than "Love Light."
Alice In Chains
2/5
One assumes the title was not meant to imply “dull as …” though it’s fitting in just that way. Noisy Pretension would also have been a truth-in-advertising sort of title. This reads more metal – with all the jeg-jeg-jeg foundations – than grunge, in which the melodious quotients tend to be higher. Vocal style might be best described as half-Axl, half-Vedder, and feels precisely that dated now. Tired and too long and takes itself too seriously, which is what so much of '90s metal.
R.E.M.
5/5
Oh, the earth tones of a late-period masterpiece. Oh the refinement and depth and maturity and bittersweetness that yet retains its hope, hard-won though it feels. "Sidewinder" and "Man on the Moon" are as good as anything REM ever did (which is saying a lot) and all the other cuts work exceedingly well on their own terms. One entered adulthood, seemingly in exactly simultaneity with this fine record, which one pairs mentally with New Adventures in Hi-Fi (with the nonpareil "Electrolyte"). It still sounds great when one's long since past middle age. What a band this was.
The Beau Brummels
2/5
What's the point? This is lame and dated and best forgotten and one suspect the BBs themselves might agree.
Bee Gees
3/5
Grandeur? Meaningfulness? More like overdone and embarrassing. They sound like they could have made a credible folk rock band or, who knows, maybe even a disco band in the future. There’s talent here, especially with the vocals (though the over-reliance on the vibrato is tiresome). This seemed to be a band just waiting for the right trend or musical fad.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
It's outstanding overall, very high quality in pretty great quantify, even if one finds the loudest, ragin-est cuts a bit tiresome and feels a bit yo-yoed between those and the rather excellent sweeter and more melodious cuts. On certain days, under specific conditions, this is nearly a 5.
UB40
4/5
Solid and substantive with decent amount of swing besides. There's some rock-steady in the ska-ness here. "I Think It"s Going to Rain" is best cut, but "Tyler" and "King" and "Strange Fruit' also strong. All the moods and vibes and resonances are right on.
Kacey Musgraves
5/5
Utterly charming. And a total Trojan Horse in that the lightness of effect and whimsical affect of many songs belie real yearning and pathos. KM is begging you to underrate her. Title cut is wondrous. "Slow Burn" and "Lonely Weekend" are also each top-shelf in slightly different registers. "Space, Cowoby" is the best punctuated song title ever (a treat for the grammarian-bookworm cohort) and lovely besides. The fun songs do their jobs, too. This record renewed one's faith in the ability of commercial music – and pop-country music – to produce beauty.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
The pastoral side is a wonder, "That's the Way" and "Tangerine" a one-two punch of excellence. Multiple other solid cuts make this a treat, a hidden gem, underappreciated, etc. etc. Its ease and mellowness marks it as outlier in the I-IV set and though it lacks the raw and overwhelming power of the other records, it's every bit their equals.
Paul McCartney
4/5
Mostly light and fun and tuneful. Charmingly rough around the edges and tossed-off, with some winningly greasy/honky bits (e.g., "Momma Miss America") -- one has never dug the sickly-sweet and perfectionist Paul. The more polished "Maybe I'm Amazed" has never sounded better, shining through like a sunburst at the end.
Tom Tom Club
4/5
Hypnotic beats whose frequent samplings make perfect sense. "Genius of Love" is the hookiest of all, with Lorelei" a bit of a revelation here, largely for having been forgotten. Better than one remembers; it's likably light-hearted and what once took as silly feels a touch more substantive now.
Serge Gainsbourg
4/5
Utterly louche-tastic – "gloriously seedy" is dead on. Could not groove more swingingly, putting one in mind of a French Rat Pack, but with more continental flair, plus some dark shadows to boot.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
One of the best records of the early aughts holds up extremely well. It's deep and sweet and affecting, with a sense of both swing and humor, a fairly rare combination one finds. "Flight Test" and "Ego Tripping" are all-time tunes, and the title cut a full notch below, though still very strong, within a fully unified set that works excellently well together.
The Doors
5/5
Just excellent and vibey and never has a record been more true to its title. An exercise in artful languor.
Elbow
3/5
Interesting musically, but overwrought emotionally. Vocals in particular seem overdetermined, a bit precious too here, borderline pretentious there.
The Stooges
3/5
There's raw power in the simplicity, but there's an overall effect of simplistic-ness. It's not hard to believe they wrote the songs in two days. One suspects Cale saved them from themselves, and perhaps even made the record. Iggy sounds like he's channeling Jagger and Reed, and Mark Smith of the Fall, doubtlessly imitating Iggy Pop sound more like Iggy Pop than Iggy did – or rather, how Iggy should have sounded. Stooges would be downhill from here.
Big Star
4/5
Tuneful and ragged, sweet and bitter, they were REM before REM were REM, and the influence on indie rock could not be clearer or more pronounced. This reads as hollow as it is haunting.
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Lean and crisp and full-on legit. First few cuts make this a classic in the genre.
Funkadelic
5/5
Sprawling, bizarre-o and a total mess. Also, completely delightful and a total ton of fun. Also also, a masterpiece on its own terms, as all masterpieces must be.
Talk Talk
4/5
Have listened this nearly 10 times since showing up in this feed and kept getting surprised about how good this was/is – it's refined, especially the pacing and thoughtfulness, and stylish sophistication, if not quite as great as their brethren in stylishness, most prominently The Style Council. The Van-esque vocals overall – and especially on "April 5" a near-cover of "St. Dominic's Preview" – are a strength. So too the ambitious, but not hubristic studio layerings, which avoid Ultimate '80s excess, even as they lean into borderline excessive fun and catchiness (see last cut "Time It's Time"). Even the most '80s cuts ("Living in Another World" and "Give It Up") suggest the driving, machine-y drum beats weren't wholly without merit, plus invoking aurally the haircuts and energy of the era. There are, net-net, harmonicas, and big banks of strings, and kids' choruses (which were still new about then, the time of the release) but thankfully not all at once or again and again and deployed with aplomb, certainly by the standards of the era. Totally missed the quality and sophistication of this record in the real time of the '80s and must say it holds up extremely well, even accounting for the natural tendency to round up for those bands offering a "newness" effect, even for records approaching late middle age. These guys mighta got lost, but one knows how good they were just from the Spotify algo, which serves up choice Kate Bush in the wake.
X-Ray Spex
4/5
One digs the edginess, which feels authentic, if effortful. "Live Off of You" and "Warrior of Woolworths" are quality cuts, the latter's riffs and hooks make it sound like a different band almost, with some hooks that look glamly back to the '70s. The horns make the record. One finds the vocals a bit annoying after a time, but the level of creativity and commitment are legit, solid+.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
Easily their best record as it's their most earnest, and least self-important. Every cut has something to offer and the overall feel is very well balanced and integrated. "Pale Blue Eyes" is an all-timer. "Some Kinda Love" and "After Hours" are only slightly less cool, though much lesser known.
The Police
4/5
Cool and kinetic, with a handful of top-shelf cuts ("Message" and "Walking on the Moon") and more intricate guitar work, plus strong bass work throughout. Not hard to see how they got so big so fast.
Cream
3/5
Yes, powerful and they were obviously the most advanced/skilled purveyors of British power blues, and one could listen to Ginger Baker all day, but there's a dullness here, likely a result of it being a bit too one-note and too overdetermined (primarily as a showcase for Claptonian riffing).
Willie Nelson
4/5
Strong from simplicity and so easy – even delightful – to listen to, mainly for Willie making it so.
LL Cool J
3/5
Accessibility is the record's greatest strength, and also its greatest weakness. Lots of solid beats and unimpeachable samples, but also some borderline embarrassing flows (see the cereal song and "Mr. Goodbar"). One guesses that even Cool James would be a little ashamed of those now.
John Martyn
4/5
Arty and intriguing, but perhaps a little aimless. Strange and groovy and trippy, almost entirely in a good way. Quite a few tunes I’d like in the right mix, with segues and contrasts that flatter, because they hold up well, but the playing excels the vocals by a considerable – and quite noticeable – distance.
Sinead O'Connor
4/5
Compelling and powerful. What a talent, that burned brightly, and brightest here.
Stan Getz
4/5
Utterly delightful.
The Adverts
3/5
Okay, vintage post-punk and one sees how it points forward, but ultimately of pretty limited merit. Feels lik one of the editor's pet projects.
The White Stripes
3/5
Overdone, particularly in the loud-quiet-loud sense. Those tensions put one on edge while listening and so even the cool bits ("The Nurse," say, with the interesting marimba bits) become disconcerting to listen to. The virtue of simplicity is the power it can create, somewhat counterintuitively, but this lot way overplays its hand (see "My Doorbell" also with marimbas), leading to a too-close similarity across songs (see "Doorbell" to "Forever for Her"). One just doesn't see (or hear) this anywhere near as cool as Jack and Meg seem to want one to. This just isn't as surprising or strong as the earlier records.
Radiohead
3/5
Just masterful, with several songs that rank among their best – “Weird Fishes” and “All I Need” and “Reckoner." Alternately intense and lovely, but also edgy and disorienting.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Of very high quality, yes, and surpassingly original, but it does sound a touch dated, as tech-led music often does. What sets this apart is the use of tech with real rhythmic creativity (as on "Not One of Us"). "Games without Frontiers" is easily the best cut, but "Through the Wire," "Biko" and "No Self Control" are all good. Though accurate to say so, it's too easy to group PG with Eno, Bowie, etc. One gets the feeling that he's so cool that he would care not a whit about neither those not-inaccurate-but-way-too-easy comparisons nor the blatant ripping off by the Police and others '80s bands.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
4/5
"Suite Judy Blue Eyes" is a signature moment in rock and roll history. The harmonies are world-historic, of course. The rest of the record is extremely strong, too – with "Guinnevere," and "Helplessly Hoping" and "Wooden Ships" among the highlights – brilliant here, biting there. Things would get briefly better before getting much, much worse. There's always a melancholy in listening to CSN, as well as any of these cats solo, as if it it might've been more, or sweeter or smoother for them, both musically and personally – not that they could have made less a hash of it, one supposes. The production also seems like ti shoulda been cleaner or more pristine here. The highest. possible 4, however.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
Playful and poignant, but not as good, overall, as Butterfly. One finds the narratives blurbs a little overdone, but quite likes most of the beats and flows. A skilled and distinctive MC.
The Specials
3/5
Fun and still fresh-sounding, but not as good as the second record, and perhaps a bit one-note and unnecessarily lengthy. "You're Wondering Now" and "Message to Rudy" are tops.
808 State
3/5
Obviously, this was a major early entry into a genre and one likes this more than much of the progeny it spawned (looking at you Depeche Mode). There's some color here and, again, this would work well for some gym days. But, let's be honest, it's very much on the soulless side (especially the computerized vocal boxing), maybe made the dance music world safe for soullessness. "Pacific" is easily the best cut.
Bruce Springsteen
5/5
What else can be said? Classic, substantive, artistic, the level of skill, dedication and teamwork is. Scorcesian – both as an artistic peer and thematic compadre. Cinematic lyrically. Only criticism is that maybe it’s too much … borderline baroque (esp “Backstreets” and Jungleland”) but they are conceived as mini-symphonies, mini-operas, etc and work as such. That they don’t get a note wrong – like not a single one – is hopefully impressive. Because there are a lot of notes. And editors: comparing the Boss to god-awful Bon Jovi is not only laughable (e.g., saying that some songs here are as singalongable as BJ’s obvious BS), but also chronologically backward. Even comparing BJ to the Boss would be so obvious as to be critical malpractice, perhaps the most questionable analogy in the whole book.
Television
5/5
A record one sort of knew automatically that one was supposed to like when one first heard in college radio days and which is still a great listen. So innovative and interesting and influential, a record that not only set the stage for indie rock/new wave/post-punk, but made all those genres possible. As one reviewer put it, it’s your favorite band’s favorite record. It's the Strokes before the Strokes, like a couple of decades pre-Strokes, and the influence couldn’t be clearer. One hears a more thoughtful, leaner VU, too. Even a casual listen clarifies just what a plundered treasure chest this is: among the direct quotes (or plagiarizers); the solo on Wilco’s “Impossible Germany;” “Elevation” provides loot for The Cardigans’ “Lovefool,” opening figure and Greg Kihn’s most famous hool. And, one wonders, if “Friction” inspired the title of Spoon’s “Gimme Fiction” album. Seems plausible. That range suggests a Rosetta Stone of sorts. Title cut is fantastic, too. Not too much to say that Television midwifed indie/alt rock with this record and practically brought the ‘80s into being. Patti Smith’s records are utterly forgettable compared to this masterpiece.
Ravi Shankar
4/5
Being an Indophile, one can listen to this all day. However, there are far better Shankar albums than this Bernstein-esque "guide."
Killing Joke
3/5
A bit punky, a bit metal-y, a bit dance-y and industrial-y, too, with some vaguely new wavey vibes as well. Certainly not great, but well above terrible. The closing cut, the nearly danceable "Change," is best one. None of this deep, dark scary stuff seems very much so in the decades hence.
The Smiths
4/5
Serious, tough and a tinge sad, this is a very good record, that gets better as it goes along and achieves near-excellence, particularly over the last few cuts. Adding "How Soon Is Now" to the US release makes it an outright classic. "Barbarism Begins at Home" and "Well I Wonder" are outstanding, and closing/title cut dial up the emotional intensity another several notches. There's a consistency and understated sort of determination across the cuts that make the whole even more than the sum of its parts.
50 Cent
4/5
Big and baroque, almost rococo, and certainly garish throughout. But there are quality cuts and hooks throughout. It's not hard to see why this moved so many units (to put it in terms Fitty would likely understand).
Black Sabbath
3/5
Editors are right that this is "basic" and "bludgeoning" and upfront about its inclusion being based primarily on its influence. Really, it's not worth it. Yes, it's ominous but not really too darkly evil or devilish – for what has the devil to do, ultimately, with Britishized Delta blues? Mostly seems put-on and silly today, though perhaps one is being a bit smug here.
Teenage Fanclub
4/5
This is good, and perhaps one didn't appreciate its quality and (relative) diversity in '91. Best song is last song (if not a "tearjerker" [per editors] exactly). "Star Sign" best of the hits; one always found "The Concept" a touch annoying, and three decades hasn't changed that first impression. Songs from NB is, from top to bottom, a stronger record, largely because it's a more soulful, record.
PJ Harvey
3/5
Spiky, yes, and energetic, yes, and certainly edgy, too. Let England Shake is a vastly better record; this is above average (and not by a ton), with three plus-plus songs, “Happy and Bleeding” and “Sheela-Na-Gig” and “Dress." Editors of 1,001 overrate PJH; 0.4% is too great a proportion.
Solomon Burke
4/5
What a voice and how well used. Could do a little country (a poor man's "Cold Cold Heart,", a little calypso, too, name-dropping Ray Charles (if one's not mistaken) and ballads and lovers' plaints all over the place, and all of it with soul, so much soul.
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Classic, vintage, and still sounds great. Less is more, and the tasteful and timely jazz flourishes really make the record. "Butter," "Verses" and "Vibes" are the best cuts. This is just a tick down from a full-on masterpiece, by which one means, a 5.
Saint Etienne
4/5
Charming and winsome, fun and vibe-y, the world could do with more records in this vein. Neil cover is tops, "People Get Real" also lovely, and "Nothing Can Stop Us" awfully engaging. with plenty of other interesting bits.
Hugh Masekela
4/5
Substantive and enjoyable and excellent overall. The lovely "Minawa", the ebullient "Maseru," the groovily contemplative"Maesha" and the easy swinging "Nomali" are the highlights of a very strong and cohesive set.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
Karen O doesn't sing, she yelps and shouts and screams, sometimes with good effect, but mostly in a non-meaningful and showy fashion. Did one mention fashion? One doesn't require that musicians and recording artists to be in any way fashionable; the editors overemphasis of KO's style suggests misplaced priorites – who cares about her haircuts or which designers' clothes she wears. Later records got better, but this isn't really too far above average. There are a handful of solid or better cuts – "Y Control," "Maps," "Modern Romance" – but most of the rest is filler, your basic loud, bangy, yelpy, showoffy, posturing and overly performative filler that, though it undeniably represented a state-of-the-art hipsterism at the turn of the millennia, remains filler all the same.
The Fall
5/5
Uncompromisingly original and interesting hooks galore, plus hordes of melodic moments that contrast with the spikiness and dark hues. One has always loved the quirky vocal style – repetitive and talky as it surely is – and the unforgettable voice. Plus, the hard, dark, and insistently edgy sound that still leaves room for hints of sweetness and melody. "Barmy" offers an unforgettable hook, and some likable chaos besides. "Spoilt Victorian Child" swings grittilly and intensely and (just a touch) ominously and offers even a hint of sweetness. "LA" is hella cool. So are "My New House" and "Paintwork." One likes their willingness to stick to their angles and ride these oddball hooks and often askew sounds and structures; that's what it means to be uncompromising, one assumes. The whole thing gets better as it goes along. That The Fall seems to have set up so many other interesting artists – Sonic Youth, Jonathan Richman, Yo La Tengo – secures their legacy. "Petty Thief" and "Cruiser's Creek" have much to recommend them, too, demonstrating how this just keeps getting better.
David Bowie
4/5
Better than average Bowie, based mainly on the overall musicality but also for the (relative) restraint he shows in not overdoing things, as he usually does. Several plus songs, too, starting with "Changes" and thru "Life on Mars" and quite a few excellent, even earwormy hooks.
Turbonegro
2/5
Only slightly better than metal, slightly.
Motörhead
1/5
Dreadfully stupid, but it's metal, right, so that's probably seen as a selling point by people who rate this any higher than the bare minimum.
Ministry
1/5
Turgid, tedious and terrible.
Queen
3/5
Way too much. The worst of this is awful and outweighs the best of this, which is considerable (including "Best Friend" and "'39" and "Bohemian Rhapsody"). Just more trouble than its tunefulness is ultimately worth.
The Style Council
5/5
Excellent, uplifting and elegant. The piano solo version of "Ever Changing Moods" is lovely and this might be one's favorite all-time pop song. The jazz playing is well beyond competent – it swings, in fact – and they don't try and do too much with it. "Cafe Blue" and "Paris Match" are heartbreaking, swooningly so. A classic of sophistication and, as with nearly every Weller program, this looks forward even as it appreciates the best of what's past.
Raekwon
3/5
Some interesting textures but way too much talking.
U2
5/5
Still holds its power. Three all-time, first rank cuts – "Bloody Sunday," "New Years' Day," "Two Hearts" – in three distinct registers (rousing martial anthem; contemplative mid-paced rocker; ebullient pop love song), plus the psalmically prayerful (maybe one means prayerfully psalmic) spiritual "40," which is one of a kind, and sacralized one's attachment to this record and this band at the time and remains quite capable of moving. Anyone who saw them close a concert with this in the '80s, sending the audience out into the night singing in unison will know its power. All the other cuts are distinct and additive, most notably "Drowning Man," and "Surrender." A potential knock it that it's a record best heard in cold, grey seasons. One is tempted to ask when U2 got cynical toward us? Or is that one got cynical toward U2 first. One is content to be secret and exult with this today, recalling the purest affinities of one's musical youth. One never gets one's earliest loves, no, not when they were this passionate and authentic and near magically come to life.
Keith Jarrett
5/5
Just gorgeous, in addition to being just a massively, monolithic and sui generis performance – it's hard to imagine a more impressive achievement. It swings, it rollicks. It ponders, wonders and wanders. One feels quite grateful the show wasn't cancelled, and would be interested in an oral history (including audience impressions) of this grand evening and wholly memorable affair.
Astor Piazzolla
4/5
So worth knowing, and there should be more room for the likes of tango (not to mention string quartets) in this esteemed list There is real artistry here and GB's vibing keep some litheness here, in a genre that can tend to the overly rigid and occasionally turgid. One can't speak so the virtuosity exactly here, having limited genre knowledge to be honest, but certainly one knows what one likes – and finds this most likable indeed One remembers fondly one's nuevo tango's phase and feels inspired to return to it (and not just for sentimental reasons) after giving this a few listens.
David Bowie
4/5
This doesn't sound like a soundtrack to someone's life falling part, though one's not sure whether that's a feature or a bug. An authentic, vulnerable and personal cry for help may have had more emotional impact than posturing as a character/mock personae (which is barely visible anyway). But then Bowie's always prioritized posturing over anything like authenticity, which, given his advanced skill in the former, made sense for his brand. Every song has its merits and demerits (often being overlong). It's fine overall but one simply can't fathom how editors found nine Bowie albums worth including; this is not one whit better or worse than three or four others on this list – that is to says, it's precisiely as mediocre, with a decent amount of decent material decently executed, but not exactly awe-inspiring or personally transforming or ground-breakingly innovative in any other way save for presentation. Again, as good as it is actually, one feels like it should've been better.
The Bees
4/5
Totally dug, perhaps because one listened during a lazy afternoon, during which one was (unfortunately) not stoned, lest one would have liked even more. One plans to listen again sometime, when lazy, stoned or, ideally, both.
Magazine
4/5
Listening to this, one can surmise that the '80s started in 1978. Lots of good fun – chiming guitars on "Definitive Gaze;" mood + tone on "Motorcade" and "Light Pours Out of Me;" chorus (plus song title) on "Great Beautician in the Sky" – plus a clear sense of originality, having a plan and executing it pretty damn effectively. One hears so much of so much good that was just about to come. The closer is arty (the sax pretty effective – more '80s New Wave foreshadowing) but clunky, the risk of overreaching, one fears.
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
Not bad, but overcooked generally and never quite fully engages; \"My Mistakes\" is the most effective cut; \"The Meeting Place\" the most charming; \"Time Has Come Again\" the most effective; these are also the lushest cuts, which may or may not be a coincidence.
The Vines
3/5
No real surprise this got exed in later editions as it's pretty dated, and standard issue "arent-we-just-the-coolest" edgy guitar rock from the early 2000s. Ballads work well, but everything else is forgettable, heard elsewhere, pretty templated, etc.
The Psychedelic Furs
4/5
Butler is seriously underrated as a vocalist and frontman – he's got the essential indie rock voice. But the playing and instrumentation (especially some ace sax touches) and arrangements are all strong. "P in P" very much merited a movie named after it – what a hook, what a mix of the salty (Butler's sneering vocal) and sweet (the melody). "No Tears" and "She Is Mine" are also plus-plus tunes. A seriously underrated band, the Furs. Forever Now would also be worthy of inclusion on this list.
The Undertones
4/5
Driving and lively, fun and edgy. One likes how they expanded the punk palette a touch (with some twinkly keys [as on "Here Comes the Summer] and backing vocals [as on "Jump Boys {which sure sounds like it should be called "Drunk Boys"}] while keeping legit teeth and thrash on the guitars and appropriately sneery vocals. The content is dead on track, too – mostly girls and lots of emotions.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
3/5
Not a foot put wrong here – not musically (many interesting beats) or morally (these cats are on the right side for sure) – but maybe too earnest and pedantic (and overreliant on newsy audio cuts). One enjoys and it still has some punch, but feels too close to PE in tone and Gil Scott Heron (like direct impression too close). Franti's best work lay ahead.
MC Solaar
4/5
Easily the best French hip-hop record on this list. And largely a pleasure to listen to, especially the jazzier cuts.
Todd Rundgren
4/5
Much more something than nothing, but maybe a bit too much of both everything and anything (e.g., studio chatter) to give the highest rating (largely because this probably didn’t have to be a double album). Still, there are 4-5 excellent songs and an equal number of very good ones. Overall, the feel is baroque, with a near overwhelming wave of melodies and hooks and ideas, and near endless filigree, and it's not unpleasant on balance, just exhausting after a time, with a certain sameyness too, given that there is so much of everything on every cut. Clearly less woulda been more, but one senses that TR wouldn't liklely have know where to draw the line. Perhaps it's equally a highly personalized and eccentric masterpiece, and an extended hang with a cool and somewhat goofy (and certainly self-involved) kid who has all the latest toys and isn’t afraid to use them (or show off how much he can do with them).
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
The best S&G because it's the best balanced between tunefulness and depth. Any records with both "America" and "Mrs. Robinson" will be a strong one, of course.
Death In Vegas
4/5
Dark and driving. Seemingly rockier and denser than Massive Attack but not all that different or better. And certainly nowhere near the art rock of MBV, say. “Neptune City” elevates and confirms this is music well suited to the gym and perhaps deep thinking work, less so a lovely summer day. “Flying” might be the best cut, the edgy banjo breakdown feeling Steve Reich-ish. And it goes on too long, starting to sound like soundtrack filler after a time.
New York Dolls
4/5
Dark and driving. Seemingly rockier and denser than Massive Attack but not all that different or better. And certainly nowhere near the art rock of MBV, say. “Neptune City” elevates and confirms this is music well suited to the gym and perhaps deep thinking work, less so a lovely summer day. “Flying” might be the best cut, the edgy banjo breakdown feeling Steve Reich-ish. And it goes on too long, starting to sound like soundtrack filler after a time.
The Youngbloods
4/5
Exceedingly, and unexpectedly, strong, to such an extent that their big hit seems lame, like a different – and much lamer – band. "Sir Francis Drake" and "Quicksand" and "Sunlight" are terrific and the subtle "Ride the Wind" is a treasure and a great closer. The overall effect speaks to the full range of '60s options – from jug band vibes to jazz explorations to bubble gummy hooks to folkie think pieces.
Richard Thompson
4/5
Despite the relatively weak vocals, the record succeeds (and then some) based on the strength of the material, subtle playing and a certain authentic soulfulness. One prefers Fairport Convention overall and this can feel a little "austerity Britain" at times, despite landing an emotional and aesthetic punch.
Buena Vista Social Club
4/5
Who cares about the backstory and/or accusations of cultural appropriation when the music is this resonant and organic and pleasurable. It was very much the thing that year or two and everyone seemed to listen to it all the time. One is tempted to add "authentic" but of course one isn't qualified to judge its alignment to the tradition, other than on the basis that it speaks to one's soul which is authenticity enough for any art form.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
Straightforwardly decent but decidedly sub-transcendent. A very strange cover – what a sour smile from what looks to be a reluctant subject – and a strange choice to put the best and hookiest cut ("American Girl") at the end of the record.
The Cramps
2/5
Groovily atmospheric at times, with the retro-vintage feel and surf and rockabilly vibes of a cool-kid sort of projects. But both the jokes and sounds get samey after a time. They are still touring which may be as embarrassing for them as their fans.
The Slits
4/5
Largely fun, mostly light, and a fairly original melange of punk, reggae and other sub-genres that were merging anyway. Slits contributed, yes, but not in any world-historical sense. "Grapevine" is quite good, if outright gimmicky. One is generally suspicious of acts praised for their fashion (or anti-fashion) sense) but in this case one feels it's appropriate to round up for the album cover.
Beastie Boys
3/5
One wonders what the kids today make of this? Would they like it? Get the jokes? The contemporary fan base likely overlaps with that of Beavis and Butthead, JackAss and other such crown jewels of our cultural inheritance. Sure, it's fun and entertaining, but also embarrassing – and very well should be, hugely so in fact, for those who listened unironically then or does so now (those numbers are probably much higher than the Beasties would like to know). For all the fun (Zeppelin and CCR hooks, Abe Vigoda name drops), the whole thing is so massively derivative, almost every beat, to more than justify the accusations of cultural appropriation. Somehow, they were just clever enough to make it different enough to appeal to knuckleheads who didn't know much (maybe any) better. Still, the quick wittedness and entitled 'tude don't quite make up for the fact that they received far more critical acclaim and commercial success than they deserved.
Billy Bragg
5/5
Extraordinary in multiple ways. The fit between songwriter and players/collaborators is near perfect, the attitude of the homage is respectful but authentically loose, with more than a little fun, plus tones of soul, exquisite melancholia, and powerful emotion. And for fans of Bragg, Wilco and 10kM's – what could be better? One can scarcely recall a record that felt as much like a museum piece, but was at once so entirely enjoyable (not to mention deeply and personally meaningful back in the day). Haven't listened for years, but it still feels spot-on, rich and lovely and deep.
Soundgarden
1/5
Ponderous and way too long, this is a creaking dinosaur of a record. it was never going to age well and has not, indubitably.
Faust
4/5
Awesomely weird and wackily wonderful. Alternately mesmerizingly groovy and distractingly discordant, the whole thing works well and is well worth knowing.
Björk
4/5
Dreamy and dramatic and mostly wonderful. “Hidden Place” and “Cocoon” and “It’s Not Up to You” and “Pagan Poetry” are all excellent. And the overall feel is one of elevation. Hard to argue with the quality of something so excellent.
The Everly Brothers
4/5
Much cooler – that is to say much less square than one expected.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
Enjoyable but only in the broadest and most obvious kinda way.
The Shamen
2/5
Some pleasing moments, but more forgettable than danceable.
Tom Waits
4/5
His best record after Rain Dogs, this feels like a template for it, with all the weird, one-eyed and fraying loveliness. "Town with No Cheer" and "Johnsburg, Illinois" and "In the Neighborhood" and "Rainbirds" are all very strong. Title cut is great, "Frank's Wild Years" is priceless (the small throat-clearings just spot on) and the rougher (if not quite raunchy) tunes also make a big impression.
Bee Gees
2/5
One gets the feeling that the Bros G would have done anything to be stars (and likely did). But really the disco records are the legacy and should be here instead of either (or both) of this one and the spectacularly ill-conceived and overwrought Odessa. One gets the editors trying to open people's eyes to what came before they became the biggest group in the world. And the voices are heavenly, but the ambition is way too much and the end result no better than slightly-above average, amounting to oversweet, sentimental and way too showy – and thus unserious – '60s pop. The vibe is near-Countrypolitan here, faux-Liberace there. The strings and vibrato deliver such an impressive amount of sheer mawkisnhess that it's a wonder the studio didn't collapse. Air Supply feels pretty punk in comparison. And re the warbling on "Lion In Winter" – just WTF? Were they trying to be Dylan or Captain Beefheart or something? Not at all a good look for these cats.
Sisters Of Mercy
3/5
Goth plays poppier today than it did in its heyday, even sort of innocent."Dominion" and "Lucretia" and "Flood II" and "Driven Like Snow" have few affectingly moody moments, but too often the synths and drum beats produce the opposite of deep or sinister – sounding tinny, canned, feckless. The backing vocals and chorale moments liven things up here and there, with a church-y feel but it all sounds like playacting. "This Corrosion" is "Louie, Louie" for the black lipstick set. "1959" is obviously a rip-off of Spinal Tap's "Lick My Love Pump," with piano by what sounds like a first-year student just done learning "Chopsticks." Edwards Scissorhands would be the Sisters' brother, no? The Cure would work out to be 5x the band. Rounding up only because of fond memories of a particular Goth lovely who was fond of this band.
Suede
4/5
Very good and quite cool tunes that helped break Britpop. Not necessarily world-changing but still sounds good and quite sharp. Maybe just a touch samey, but the effect is energizing throghout and a high level of quality maintained. Rounding up slightly because the angst seems authentic. Plus, the lads seemed likable (more so than Gallaghers at least, low bar though that is) and because this is in one's sweet spot. Also, Suede rates higher than Blur, which allowing for the latter's inflated reputation is saying something.
Robbie Williams
2/5
Gaudy and gleaming, this rocks a bit more than one would have expected from a boy band alum and a tabloid-y star, but anything remotely approaching soulful is buried under an excess of dubious effects pointed squarely at the mass market (and probably quite well researched, too). The mawkish "God's Better People" gives the game away. The world would be a better place if fewer people cared about such mass-produced/mass-marketed outputs as this or needy-reaching mediocrities as RW, who seems to want to be a celeb more than anything else. One pities those young people who might have been captivated however briefly (and one cetainly hopes it was brief) by all the soaring and reaching or thought it coudln't get any better or more meaningful. Really, who cares? Speaking as. a Yank, one's glad this was mainly an Anglo phenomenon, a British invasion that would have been pretty easily resisted. Mostly forgettable and totally disposable pop. Points off for ever being in an boy band.
Mylo
2/5
Seems better suited to the "1,001 pieces of sonic wallpaper you must hear before you die" book, with the hearing most likely be in an elevator or other places where Muzak formerly reigned. Utterly forgettable.
Soft Cell
2/5
One feels the need to take a shower after listening to this – feeling sleazy in seedy sin city, indeed. Still, there's a bit of lonely poetry here and there, probably accidental given all the pervy camp. Oy, are the synths dated, to the point that one struggles to remember if this was pre- or post-sexual revolution.
Roxy Music
4/5
Arty and cool and interesting. One digs the tough sax. "The Bogus Man” and “Grey Lagoons” are highlights). Not as polished as the later work, mostly in a good way.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
A characteristically regal performance – such depth of soul, such a fluid and credible way through all of the songs. Who knew she played the piano so well?
Madonna
4/5
A mature record that works on several levels. There's some meaning and soul (no doubt down to her developing spirituality and the perspective of motherhood), but also fun and lively. Title track slaps, absolutely and there are a greater number of additional moments of depth and quality than perhaps her past led one to expect.
Queen Latifah
4/5
This is pretty easy to like as one can't much argue with the quality, musically and production-wise. It does feel the slightest bit forced and she sounds so very young, but good on her for being a groundbreaker. Best cut is one with De La boys.
Rufus Wainwright
4/5
Almost too much ... extremely, almost absurdly good by a unique and massive talent. Hard to say which is better Want One or Want Two. Both are rich, many-layered (again, almost too much) but compelling throughout. Rewards multiple listens.
Deee-Lite
2/5
Fun for about a minute. And that minute was decades ago. One would say "one-hit wonder" but there's a real deficit of wondrousness despite all maximalists layering. If only all the world was merely a night in a club ... with club kids ...
Tim Buckley
3/5
If this is a cult classic, it’s been graded on the curve. There’s very little magic to justify the reputation. He’s into it, he’s working hard. There are a few moments – especially the opening track, which is much more than a "nod" to Miles Davis, but a full-on heist of the bassline to "All Blues" – but it's mostly downhill from there. The lack of magic may result from trying too hard, see the utterly unconvincing "Gypsy Woman." One doesn't get the posthumous hype for this sorta-interesting, but mostly-just-okay artist. Whichever critic revived the reputation clearly wanted the glory or rediscovering someone. Maybe that critic lost out on the far more worthwhile and enjoyable Nick Drake.
The Thrills
4/5
Very good clean fun. Their freshening up of a certain timeless sort of West Coast vibe holds up so much better than so many more "original" records of the same era (looking at you Strokes, YYYs, DCFC!). They pull it off with aplomb – and a great deal of fun by fully embracing the playfulness of the homage (note the "end it" yelp at the end of the most excellent opener). They seem very much in on the joke and go over the top with a winning wink. Strings, glockenspiel (one thinks), Plus the cover suggests a relatable crew one would enjoy having a pint with. Not even having a cut on W's iPod takes away the charm.
The Undertones
3/5
Good fun all around, and notably tight and crisp playing and "Wednesday Week" is the best of the lot. "On the Boardwalk" musta seemed funny at the time. Though it set a template for much that was to come, it's not exactly life-changingly memorable.
The Waterboys
5/5
What a record. Extraordinary playing throughout, with near-punk intensity on the early cuts and utter (and uniquely Irish) soulfulness enriching the mood. Title track is a fantastic opener and bleeds straight into "We Will Not Be Lovers" for a major power play, a sustained crescendo. "World Party" is great, too. The Yeats and Van homages are extremely well done. The second side dips a bit in power – how could it not? – but still offers charms aplenty ("Bang On the Ear" and "When Ye Go Away"). Has anyone ever used strings to better effect on a rock album? This is among the top few Irish albums of all time.
Supergrass
4/5
Such cute spunky kids – one misses having such energy, but also finds it somewhat exhausting. One prefers these guys to Arctic Monkeys and Green Day (by a lot). Perhaps a bit much of the same relentless tempo and perhaps a bit too shiny, too. The record gets better with the better cuts are backloaded after a more frenetic (a bit excessively so, depending on the listening context). Highest quality comes through "She's So Loose," "Sofa" and 2x "Time," the second of which, so Beatlesesque, one vaguely remembers from the day. "Alright" also considerably better than just that.
Ice Cube
3/5
Tough and kinetic, often humorous. Continually performative. Samey in terms of tempo and repetitive in the vocal styles. Not all that interesting in the end. Best cut is "Who's the Mack" because of a track with varied instrumentation.
Fleet Foxes
4/5
Every generation gets the CSN it deserve. Those who got FFs should consider themselves quite fortunate as this is interesting and elevating, fresh and original, thoughtful and often lovely, even soothing at times. One will never forget hearing "White Winter Hynmal" for the first time and it's not lost much of that impact or purity. it feels almost good for you to listen to it. The band may not have grown a lot on last several releases, but what they do, they do extremely well – and more wholesome-seemingly and affectingly than others in their peer group.
System Of A Down
2/5
Fans will think it tough and tenacious, others tedious and turgid.
Rush
4/5
Oh so proggy, both in conception and in the band's regard for their own braininess, and love of complexity for its own sake and silly myth-making and world-building. No wonder they're the favored band among role-playing gamers. And why wouldn't they think themselves utterly brilliant when they can dish out such piercing political insight as "you can't have freedom for free"? One's sure the the rock critics association on the Federation of Solar Planets gave them nothing but five-star reviews! But not too proggy in their willingness to rock tightly in a few different modes and avoid ridiculous instrumentation and endless noodling in absurd time signatures. It's their ability to create rich moods and textures, alongside the odd killer hook that made them or at least saved them from being an outright joke or just nerds' favorite band. One enjoys much of this (probably a bit more than one should on the merits) being of an age that one can easily overlook Lee's endless shrieking, the foolish and tiresome politics, and the other proggy ptifalls..
The Sugarcubes
3/5
Bjork is often appealing (already showing herself as one of a kind) and there are a few winning cuts – "Birthday" is a great song – but the other vocalist (Einar, one presumes) sounds very much like the joke the record was allegedly conceived as; his vocal impositions nearly squander the otherwise pretty cool "Deus" and "Sick with Toys." The band woulda been better off without him. The hype overwhelmed the actual goods here – this really shoulda been considered minor, such is the larkiness and predominant slightness (outside of just a few tunes), suggesting what was to come with future oversold Bjork efforts.
Crowded House
4/5
These cats knew exactly what they were doing and did it well and likably and tunefully. This is sensible, well-judged, well-mannered and well-made pop at a relatively high level.
The Stranglers
4/5
This must've sounded incredibly fresh and strong and accomplished in '77. It sounds fairly old in '23, though it still holds undeniable power and real teeth, and one hears a bunch of bands this record informed and perhaps catalyzed.The effective layering of synths and the odd sax, plus the crisp to sharp-edgy driving guitars reflect the record's being quite well made, and much more mature than many of their punk brethren and pointing the way to the more thoughtful and sophisticated stylings of new wave -- again, clearly this was influential. “Peaches” and “Down in the Sewer” predict The Fall, for instance, and in a good way.
Shack
4/5
Tuneful and swinging, with enough melancholy and darkness to make it interesting. One doesn't know the band but is inspired to hear more and dig thru the "lost band" phase of their history, too. If there's a complaint, it's that it can be a bit too shiny (a la Elbow and Crowded House, two reasonable comps).
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
4/5
Old-time music done in old-timey fashion. Feels a bit out of place here, but a fine listen all the way around of course.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
What a set of songs, what gaudy/grungy hooks so expertly executed. Page the wizardly puppet master here, Plant the high priest, or official Rock God. JPJ and Bonzo just rock-solid when necessary, and fluid and agile as need be. Hard to fathom the breadth and depth of skill and quality and power across this output, even if it's argubally 15-20% too long. "In the Light," Down by the Seaside" and "10 Years Gone" rank among the best-ever Zeppelin cuts and there are another 5-7 solid+ to very good songs. It all adds up to top marks, not only because this was one's favorite band as a teen and they seem to have even gotten better in the many years since one has listened to them regularly.
Garbage
3/5
Hits still sound good but much of this feels like My Bloody Valentine-lite. One can hear the commoditization of indie and alt in the production choices, which aimed for a tight, sharp sound, but also made it all pretty innocuous. Did editors include this pretty undistinguished record for the same reason that one was originally attracted to this record in '95: because SM was hot and formidable? Come to think of it, that's probably why producers picked her to be Garbage front person?
Goldfrapp
4/5
So comfortable as to seem nearly easy listening – and that's not at all a bad thing. Light and lilting for relaxation and perfectly charming overall, if borderline anodyne at times. Every record on this list should start from such a baseline of inoffensiveness.
Moby
3/5
More premise than payoff. These are pleasant on the surface and the layerings and contrasts (club beats, gospel vocals) present some interest. But on subsequent listens they soften to the point of blandness and offer no depth or resolution other than their own shine, which seems a pretty generic sort of attraction. The hits were the hits and one remembers the moment, but it all feels quite generic now and its coming and going so inoffensively and non-compellingly makes perfect sense.
Spiritualized
4/5
One likes to think of Spiritualized as Oasis' smarter, more reflective and less douche-y brothers. The dreaminess is the power, which builds slowly, through the layering and echoes and resonances, and only comes across fully on several listens. Floating through Space is the stronger record, straight-up, though one feels glad and grateful to be reminded how much one used to like this band. .
Tom Waits
3/5
Not as overtly theatrical as Frank's Wild Years and not as accomplished musically as Rain Dogs but still decent and fully Waitsian. "Jersey Girl" is an all-time song. Strings get a bit much, "Ruby's Eyes" is mawkish, and the roughed-up edges are excessively frayed, too intentionally Bukowskian (if effective and a credible simulation). Still one would rather listen to a middling from Waits than the best of what approximately two-thirds of the other artists on this list can deliver.
The Coral
3/5
Fairly fresh and spiky and energetic but grows a little tiresome after a time, with too many herbs and spices in an overbearing (also forgettable) stew one won't be particularly tempted to consume again anytime soon.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
As far as power trios go, one will take the fierce agility and jazzy proclivities of this lot over the (frequently lumbering) blunderbuss that was Cream. So many delights here beyond the fully worthy headliners ("Little Wing" [which should be about six minutes longer] and "Spanish Castle Magic" and "Castles Made of Sand") – "Wait Until Tomorrow" and "One Rainy Wish" and "She's So Fine" (which admittedly sounds a different band [mainly due to the vocals]) each merits a full digging. As with Coltrane, there's real subtlety and understatedness within the ferocity – the combo of those qualities plus the the thumping rhythmic playing as foundation, is what made the music. And one finds JH an underrated singer besides. And bonus points for this being released the year of one's birth.
Jeff Beck
3/5
It is a bludgeon-y sort of blues. Beck’s axe can seem quite a blunt instrument at times, a blunderbuss even. Rod’s the right vocalist, for all his schmaltztastic tendencies. They sort of deserved each other. "Greensleeves" and "Bolero" are interesting additions, if a bit showy. "Morning Dew" is a fun listen, too, especially for Deadheads (reformed, recovering or otherwise). Later records are better however, when JB seems to have given up wanting so desperately to be a rock star and just played. One wonders what would have happened had Rod been sacrificed for more expansive and exploratory virtuosity -- it's JB's record after all. Ultimately, this record feels a little constrained by the mostly blues format, which must've felt tired even upon its release (though one supposes the kids couldn't quite get enough) and the likely commercial pressures.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
Three E & B records is one too many, though one is generally a fan and their records have held up pretty well. This one takes some time to get going and is only saved from total mediocrity by the strong ending, especially "Gods Will Be Gods" and "Bluer Skies."
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
Two Chemical Bros' records are too many. Merging this and Dig Your Own Hole might justify one, in the eyes of the non-techno specialist. Dig is more aggressive and slightly more interesting (if only because the Beth O appearance is stronger), but 30 years on this is well past its "best by" – as editors surely recognize given the "had to be there" tone of their description of the CBs' rise at a speciflc club (such gatekeeping!). There are some moments here, but mostly we're in historical artifact (and probably soon to be historical footnote) territory. Though she does her best, not even Beth O can save this from basic averageness.
Dead Kennedys
3/5
Hooky, irreverent and fun. This is one's punk/hardcore faves. The political and social satire, while biting and a worth a laugh, isn't exactly piercing or multidimensional, Swiftian in design (at least on the opener) more than effect. But what they gain in humor, they lose in the playing; it's too one-note musically to rate much higher. The Elvis cover is perfectly wonderful, but indicates just how seriously this was to be taken ... or how far it could go.
Simply Red
4/5
Strong and steady throughout. Hucknall puts his distinct voice to very good effect across the cuts, the best of which are "Come to My Aid," "Jericho" and "Heaven" and "Holding the Back Years," which will have a long shelf life and history will continue to like – it just sounds like a song that will last forever. Overall, it holds up quite well (sophistication always does, doesn't it, when supported by tight and capable playing) and only here and there veers too annoyingly or eye-rollingly into ultimate '80s territory.
John Cale
5/5
Extraordinary. A true hidden classic. The first four tracks are excellent and fully engaging and then ends very strong indeed. Beautifully conceived, skillfully executed.
Deep Purple
1/5
Dumb and dreadful and impossible to take even a little bit seriously – and no way near the level of seriousness these lads no doubt were aiming for. One can just about see the armadillos in the trousers down all these decades? The prog-ish "Child in Time" is least worst of this lame, cliche-ridden lot. Should come with a total heavyosity alert. Strong contender for worst cover design of all time. And obvious points off for inspiring David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Lousy with masterpieces, this record more or less seals the deal on their being the best pure rock band of all time. What a canon, I-IV, unparalleled for quality in conception and ferocity in execution (except where tenderness was the goal). Here, the power of the hooks, the fundamentals working so seamlessly and performing at such a peak can seem overwhelming. Could the band do no wrong, commit no mediocrity? Plus, the diversity and texture – "Battle for Evermore" and "Going to California" offer variation and respite from the heavy infantry, but are finessed to near perfection on their own terms (especially the gorgeous yearning of the latter, perfectly balancing melancholia and optimism, the search for worthy satisfactions. Not only not an ill note played in the entirety, but not an instant of filler, it all pertains and matters with some intensity. “Stairway to Heaven” is the ultimate rock cliche, but sustains its majesty; listening with fresh ears (and a non-ironic posture), one hears understatement (not the most frequent Zeppelinesque quality) in the solo, and the first hints of the jangly indie rock ears. The structure is magisterial, symphonic. “Levee Breaks” is a solid closer, and holds well with the classics all about. The best singer, the best guitarist, mad-genius composer and a unimpeachable, granitic rhythm section – they had the goods and delivered time and again. It was once one's favorite band. One's long since left the genre behind, but this remains, an unadulterated classic.
Sufjan Stevens
4/5
A singular achievement, almost monolithic in its quality. There is ample excellence on display and a great deal of excellence, thought it can be tricky to tell them apart after a time, what with the somewhat samey strings on every song and a blueprint-similar vocal style, too). Obviously, SS is a massive talent; one wonders if he's always applied it to optimal effect.
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
A near ideal mix of the driving and dreamy, but across and within cuts. The transition from minimalist beginnings to baroque bodies and endings on many tracks ‘tis wondrous strange. Even as you want to move, this is music that gets in your head. Just excellently interesting. Opens intriguigingly and closes most compellingly.
Arcade Fire
3/5
Plays a little thin, if pleasingly. There are compelling moments, but they don't last. And it really asks to be taken more seriously than it merits.
Napalm Death
1/5
The musical equivalent of finger painting. One thinks of what kids often say, when first encountering a Pollock or de Koonig or a Frankenthaler or Kraser at a modern art museum, that they could do better. In this case, the kids would be right.
The Young Gods
2/5
Impressively tedious, combining the worst of metal-industrial and oompah bands. It is notably cleaner and airier from a production perspective than most metal, but that's like saying some toxic sludge has a nicer patina than other toxic sludge.And to think one ever liked the Swans.
Roxy Music
4/5
Sneaky good – and much more directly rocking than one expected/recalled. Not sure the songs pay off the cover. "Thrill Of It All," "Out of the Blue," and "Prairie Rose" are top cuts.
Coldcut
2/5
Synthetic and silly and tedious and way, way too long. Wow, do all the sound bytes make this sound dated and the utter opposite of timeless. "Party and bullshit" -- very much the emphasis is on the latter. This Fall fan will pretend not to have heard Mark E. Smith. More dumb than dope.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
5/5
Weird and wonderful and not "too much madness is too much sorrow" but actually a near perfect mixture of both (if one likes that sort of thing). The country debauchery and insanity on "Down By the River" and "Cowgirl In the Sand" feels Faulknerian or Flannery O'C-esque. The layered vocals on "Round and Round" are pure haunting. One loves the expansive and unhurried solos, they add to the sense of menace and decay – they themselves seem ready to wander off the rails.
One vastly prefers the mellower cuts – "Love Lives Here" and "Debris" – to the raggedy, bell-bottom-y rockers, such as the sturdy but stupid "Stay with Me." Did someone spill booze or other liquids on the tape for "Memphis, TN"? To be fair, the cut does trail off pretty enjoyably, with some rollicking roadhouse-y piano and woozy-warbly guitar action. One likes the simplicity of attack -- this was natural to the point of organic rock, almost free-range in its conception and execution. Highly accruate artifact of the early '70s, too. And there are just enough fun flourishes (the ttile, say, and the generally larky-winky tone of the whole thing and is that a steel drum on the closer?) to get it above repalacement level (if not by a mile). It sort of all comes down to Hot Rod, who's something of a love-him-or-hate-him figure –a lightning Rod, if you will. One's always had a soft spot for him (even liking the outputs from some of his dodgiest decisions – boater hats, disco, American songbook) plus nobody ever did the basic rock "whoo" more persuasively or smoothly than RS. Net-net, one mostly digs this record, even with its considerable1971-y limitations, though likely won't ever go too terribly far out of one's way to listen again, it being Stones-lite as much as it's anything at all.
The Darkness
2/5
The obvious talent might have been put to better use. And it likely woulda been a better record had they made their talent a little less obvious.
Manu Chao
4/5
Groovy world music (though that term probably isn’t used anymore). “Mama Call” and “Malegria” and "Mentira" are best songs. Would be good to know what he’s singing about with such obvious passion, but that’s not Manu's problems. This feels very well made.
Germs
1/5
Their brevity was their greatest strength as a band, both musically and lyrically.
The Monkees
4/5
Fun and sweet and it's a shame they were so shamelessly marketed, because this much substantive and skillfully executed than the "made-for-TV-boy-band" reputation allows for. The number of quality cuts sneaks up: "Forget That Girl" is twee, dreamy pop that Belle & Sebastian could scarcely improve on (though could certainly make more literary). "You May Be the One" is strong and direct. "Shades of Grey" is a bit soft, sure, but lovely cello, no? "For Pete's Sake" is super crisp and a decent Summer of Love sort of anthem – there are many others that have aged much more cringily. And look at them gettin' all avant-g on "Zilch." "Early Morning Blues and Greens" is not quite at the level of "Sunday Morning Coming Down," but same vibes, though slightly sweeter and less bitter. The most memorable "Randy Scouse Git" leaves a mark, with its "Rocky Raccoon" flourishes has a chamber-pop whimsy that approaches grandeur, plus a near-angry, hard-edged chorus that is most appealing. The Decemberists should be this good. TBH, there's barely a misplaced note here. But by far the biggest problem with assessing the Monkees remains their reputation as the Monkees. One has to be a committed contrarian to argue their case beyond "better than commonly believed." To wit, this is awfully close to a 5 but one just can't quite get there.
Grant Lee Buffalo
4/5
Singing calls to mind many different quality influences – Dylan, Mike Scott/Waterboys, Vedder. Can be fairly criticized for not having a hit and for being a touch same-y. Lots of interesting cuts. "Shining Hour" is quite a strong opener. "Jupiter and Teardrop" is an epic acoustic ballad. "Have to Be Crazy" is an effective closer. "America Snoring" suggests how they might have been a full power ALT-rock band, which good thing they avoided as they show some tendency toward the smoldering overseriousness that was a weak spot of that ilk. Still, this works, as one has always like some smolder in one's melancholia, and some restraint in one's rage. Can get behind them any day, though admittedly this is right in one's sweet spot, both genre-wise and era-wise.
Neneh Cherry
2/5
Tinny, silly, insubstantial, but perhaps slightly ahead of its time as music didn't really get this stupid until a few years later.
The Triffids
3/5
A few decent tunes – "A Trick of the Light" being the best, with "Bury Me Deep" and "Bad News" are also solid – and above average overall, but not by a mile. "Love the Fever," with its egregious drum machine don't, reminds us why we should be grateful the '80s are over.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Tough and tight, this churns and burns, stews and stagnates, roils and twists into many arty and interesting (and mostly dark) places. It loses steam late but the opening cuts are very strong indeed and the mood holds effectively well to make a big and memorable overall impact.
Frank Ocean
4/5
Interesting and engaging thoughout and likably offbeat, with nice mix of big/bouncy and small/pecuilar beats ("Pyramids" has both). And he's a great singer. "Crack Rock," "Sierra Leone," "Super Rich Kids," "Sweet Life," and "Lost" are all better than good and approaching great. Might be slightly too determined to parade its own quirks and idiosyncracies and not sure how soon the synthy efects will sound dates, but one's fully in support of Frank O letting his freak flag fly. A memorable and important record that smoothly and winningly fused multiple trends in modern music. Will be interesting to see if his career trajectory is more like Prince, whose vocals he mimics somewhat too closely at times, or Stevie Wonder or perhaps Janelle Monae.
Lauryn Hill
5/5
A record of serious soul and personal consciousness that also swings sweetly and amply entertains. It is well judged and exquisitely produced. Consider the groovy yet tasteful and highly pleasurable take on "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" and the lush and melancholic closer "Tell Him," when it seems an anti-climax is inevitable – and how could it not be, given all the embarrassment of riches that's preceded. There are thoughtful and highly effective grace notes throughout – Santana's flamenco playing on "Zion;" the brief a capella harmonizing on "Doo Wop," the appropriately Doors-y keys on "Superstar;" the little Kung Fu shout-out / sound effect on "Every Ghetto;" the dreamy/otherworldly synth and organ on the late-arriving title cut. Indeed, the keyboard touches are a consistent delight. MJ Blige and D'Angelo add value and texture. Top-class cuts come thick and fast– "Lost Ones," "Used to Love Him," "Final Hours." It is perhaps a touch long (like so many records of this era) but is/was fully deserving of all the accolades – every single one. What a voice. What a vocalist. What a record.
Johnny Cash
4/5
What to say here? The voice is sometimes shaky, even if mostly commanding, though there's no denying it's seen better day. One supposes he always talked his way through many songs. One has to assumes Rubin is behind the dodgier song choices – "Personal Jesus" and NIN, for chrissakes. But the several winners are quite compelling. The Hank Williams and Eagles cuts are a cut above and the closer takes the elegaic feel to near-transcendence. The series should've stopped here, with that cut being his last – an upbeat "We'll Meet Again," what better ending could there have been? The earlier records are comparable, arguably better, but the later ones are much, much worse and feel like exploitation of an aged icon. Rubin should know better, in fact, probably did, but carried on anyway.
Public Enemy
4/5
Yeah, Boy-eeee! Maybe seems somewhat diluted after all this time, but no doubting the originality, influence, etc.
Lightning Bolt
3/5
Metal sound but arty/indie vibes. Definitely has intriguing moments and textures if a little exhausting/overwhelming in the end.
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
Interesting and cinematic and worldly (obviously). One prefers the instrumental and more abstract pieces (e.g., "Tides,"Serpents"). Loungier cuts are also good (e.g., the opener). "Nadia" is best of the vocal cuts. A little too self-consciously complex and a bit too long for its own good, but clearly NS offers a lot as a composer and one is inclined to seek out more. Not sure how much the audio clips and anti-nuclear preachifying adds. "Homelands" was a bit overexposed all those years ago and hasn't got any less annoying. "Beyond Skin" is a strong closer.
Richard Hawley
5/5
Fantastic. Deserves so much more acclaim and recognition. He goes deeply and powerfully old-fashioned right out to the gate and closes with something haunting and beautiful to remember by. Goes rich and heavy on the emotion but avoids sentimentality – no easy trick, that. "The Ocean" is one of the best songs of the 21st century. Don't sleep on True Love's Gutter, which nearly blew a hole in the top of one's head first time one heard it and which easily merits inclusion on this list.
The Mars Volta
2/5
They coax out some very cool sounds (esp from guitars) and grabby hooks but then too many reverses and generally too much going on (including whoopy and screamy vocals and general overindeixing on speed and volume). Woulda been a great band in the mid- or late ‘70s, when this would have sounded more impressive, leaner than arena rock flab and we weren’t all exhausted by prog-y tropes and stylings and we were more comfortable with excess in conception and approach. Indeed, one much prefers the noodlier and more expansive bits (the quieter side of prog-y, say), brief though they are, over the nu-metal extremity.
Van Halen
4/5
Rocked totally in the day. Slaps completely today. Bass and drums just boom. Eddie does Eddie unapologetically (thank god he thought better of joining Kiss) — the first taste tasted best. and DLR (love or hate as one may) had undeniable frontman presences and 'tude. Plant with a sense of humor, it could be said. There are a coupla classics of the genre – including 3 of first 4 songs and just a killer opener – to set the template for what hard rock merged with catchy pop hooks and super muscular (even steroidal, near-macho) playing could produce. Still only a 4 because not so much of this should be encouraged and to hold VH to account for their future insults to musical (and world) culture and the obnoxiousness of their mostly cretinous fan base. In other words, it’s never been ones thing but does work well on its own terms and in certain controlled conditions (eg, in the gym).
Sister Sledge
4/5
Sturdy bass beats, fluid grooves, sweet strings adding sweep and depth – who knew disco could remain so sweet and pleasurable? And so well-made, too. Just had to be Nile Rodgers, right? And if it's good enough for Pops Stargell, it should be good enough for everyone.
Jacques Brel
4/5
Certainly a committed and convincing singer. One only wishes one knew what he was singing.
Incredible Bongo Band
2/5
The sort of music only a geeky 13-year-old would think is cool or "killer," and not really for any mature, much less discerning rock critic. At best, a briefly amusing novelty act. At worst, a complete waste of time.
Travis
4/5
Sweet, sensitive, fin de siecle/aughty pop that's held up well, thanks to solid craftsmanship and prodcutio, plus-plus songwriting and excellent melodies. "As You Are," "Luv" and "She's So Strange" are one's fave cuts, with "Turn" and "Driftwood" also delivering charm a good bit above one's daily quota. This record meant alot back in the day and one's glad to be so pleasantly reunited with it.
Paul McCartney and Wings
5/5
Amazing how good McCartney can be when he avoids the reaching for sentimentality and schmaltz and has a little fun. Title cut, "Jet" and "1985" are classics and there's nothing here that disrupts the flow of quality pop tunes, energetically delivered. Even Lennon fans can love this unabashedly.
David Bowie
4/5
Is this record more successful than many other Bowie efforts because he plays it relatively straight – you know just making a pop/rock record and not some high-art statement or playing around with some silly and unnecessary personae? A credible case can be made. Sax playing is a strength throughout and title cut is an all-time personal fave. Much else seems an outlier in the Bowie canon because of its seeming authenticity and rather straightforward relatability.
Massive Attack
3/5
One prefers the less trip-hoppy cuts, that particular sub-genre seeming awfully dated 20-30 years on. Tracey Thorne shines – what a voice. Title-cut opener and "Better Things" are great. "Weather Storm" also more along the lines of what one wants from this sort of act – loungier, say, but also elegant with some dark and thoughtful shadings. "Sly" also pretty cool but man do things go sideways late: do we need the mouth-breathing on "Heat Miser" which has a cool beat and decent keys? And that take on "Light My Fire" bad is so poorly conceived and dodgily executed that it threatens to thoroughly undo much of sleek/sophisticated vibe they've created heretofore. Overall, it's a strong outing – polished, chill, sophisticated – and stronger than Blue Lines.
Lana Del Rey
4/5
One wants to read this as short story of young struggles, and one likes it on those terms, and when one can get quiet enough to enjoy this on its own terms. The "White Dress" song is relatable and affecting, for instance. The less she sounds like Fiona Apple and the more she sounds like Hope Sandoval (e.g., "Yosemite"), the more one likes it. The delicate guitar work that comes weaving in ever so gently toward the end of "Not All Who Wander" is the best moment on the record, and makes it seem like it's 1967 or '69 of a sudden. The weaknesses are also related to youth; an overvaluing of lyrical cleverness (not all instances of which work well); the excessively breathless vocals suggest the need to tell LDR that all this urgent young person stuff and amazing experiences really aren't so much actually. Still, she's young and glam so there is some beauty and passion and things to be enthusiastic about. And one rounds up to show one's belief in youth and, therefore, the future of music, humanity, et al.
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
One gets it finally. After several listens and many years of not understanding why this band was so well-regarded. Irish literary walk of fame makes for a fun opener. It's more brass than one typically likes in rock records, but it's used to quite good effect – brightening and enervating some tunes, grounding and deepening others, a little Celtic Ska never having hurt anyone, really. Not sure it ever gets to punk effects. Maybe the punkiest bit is opening of "Thankfully" which then gets silly-poppy, a fun balance that early '80s bands struck better than anyone. Weird how they'd go basically all strings on future records. "Lights Are Green" rocks pretty fully. "Seven Days" is maybe most soulful track, with a wonderful little news-ticker rattle from a xylophone (or whatever). The tune seems to have pillaged by JoBoxers for "Just Got Lucky," fondly remembered throwaway hit of that era. One loves that Rowland's singing is occasionally overwrought (was Robert Smith listening to his reaching tone in the middle range?), which shows commitment (to be glass half-full about it) and it seems like they perhaps tried a bit too hard on the fashion (and so on the want-to-be-famous) front. But, musically, the record works, showing that Celtic Soul was a thing (and a legit one, too) and tipping a lot of what would be good – or even great – about '80s music.
The Byrds
4/5
A full notch below the other Byrds records here – and maybe two notches below Sweethearts and Notorious Bros. Still awfully good because it's you know the Byrds.
Wild Beasts
3/5
Stylish and generally pretty cool though the failed-opera-singer vocalizing does wear thin after a time, though second, more straightforward (and deeper) singer helps. Not entirely sure how one missed this record 'til now, but glad to know it.
2/5
Maybe one just doesn't get the joke. And if one's unsure about who the joke is on (their fans, perhaps?), one's certain the joke's not him. Anyway, this seems not worth the time of anyone but archivists of novelty-act footnotes to pop music history.
Pere Ubu
4/5
Easily the most tuneful of Pere Ubu's record (not a high bar, admittedly) and almost fun (if not quite fully danceable) at time, one is just pleased that Pere Ubu exists, and that all such artists that place their vision above their commercial prospects. To honor such commitments (and because one likes to be contradictory and generally enjoys a certain amount of austerity and thorniness), one resolves to spend more time with these cats.
Everything But The Girl
4/5
Was a breath of fresh air in college radio days. Still sounds light and airy, and perfectly lovely most of the time, if a bit sleepy in the middle. One gets arguments about its slightness but feels lightly elevated. “Goodbye Sunday” is a long-forgotten old fave and a seriously underrated track. Interesting that such modest beginnings ended in clubby success on a global scale. The modesty was more effective. Basically smooth jazz, with skilled vocals from a singer with a lovely, lovely voice, one of the best of late 20th century. 3.6 > 4
Bobby Womack
4/5
Soulful, soulful. Last two cuts best. Lyricists that name their work such as this need to seriously consider whether incorporating "Kentucky Fried Chicken" is a suitable artistic choice.
Quicksilver Messenger Service
4/5
Gets totally heavy, and nods toward plodding at time – in other words, it's not exactly quicksilver in feel, despite some jam bandy predilections. Does rock with legit bluesy psychedelic feel without moving fully into dinosaur territory, though certainly it's proximate.
Pantera
1/5
Utter waste of time.
Liz Phair
4/5
One digs the melancholia and languor (plus the pluck and attitude generally). A few perfectly (if grittily) formed gems, but this one is more about mood and tone and vibe, on which dimensions it mostly excels. Def has a '90s feel and energy and one wonders how meaningful it might be to hip young women today compared to say Jenny Lewis or Courtney Barnett or the Boygenius ladies. Could it be that it remains slightly under teh radar, still? Rounding up only a bit for cultural influence and a certain cool factor and because one roots for underdogs, including confused young people of the '90s (because one can relate). One hopes that doesn't feel patronizing to LP.
Neil Young
4/5
Rough and ragged (even by NY's standards) and certainly not his best, but engaging and authentic nonetheless. "Speaking Out" has a warbly poignance with a great solo from Nils adding to the sloppy sweetness. "Mellow My Mind" is good, too, if also prescribing what Neil was trying to do. The record gets steadily better with "Albuquerque" and "New Mama" offering considerable value and “Tired Eyes” is aching, near heartbreaking in its sweetness with (again) a high warble factor, in combo with some spoken word action. He does make himself vulnerable in his art, doesn't he? This sounds exactly like what it was: a pivotal album, albeit one that perhaps freed this unique artist to grow through further and freer exploration.
Can
4/5
An indisputable masterpiece on multiple levels – not least in terms of influence. But often a pleasure, too. (Well, maybe not "Aumgn.") One gets that non-fans of "shamanic avant-funk" will be left a bit cold, but that's their problem, and there's no accounting for taste. The drumming on "Oh Yeah" is just fantastic – sounding like 2 or 3 are at it. And, if the legend is to be believed, what production to turn this into a such a sprawling yet integrated work.
The Black Crowes
2/5
Can't really countenance this for all the contrivance and cynicism and stupidity that came at a time when the world needed less of all of the above. Sure, Rick Rubin is primarily to blame. The reason they had initial commercial success is that they were created and packaged from a commercial entity from day one (again, Rubin), selling mediocre music to mostly nostalgic folk who didn't want to think too hard. Not like we needed teh Black Crowes to prove the rule that no onee ever went broke underestimating the tastes of the American masses and the corollary that in the culture/arts game get rich pandering to those very bland tastes. "She Speaks Backward" by Mr. Crowe's Garden was, in one's humble opinion, the Bros. Robinson's highest musical achievement. Otherwise, these cats were only marginally better than rednecky ATL bands (looking at you Georgia Satellites) that were threatened by REM, Pylon, Love Tractor and other vastly more sophisticated and cooler bands from Athens. The raggedness and raffishness and nonchalance seem entirely calculated, as if they're play-acting, which one is convinced they were. From the cover shot and hair styles to the guitar riffs to the song titles, it's all second-rate Stones; however, fair-mindedness compels one to point that, in terms of second-rate knock-off Stones acts, these guys aren't strictly the worst. Also: editors once again show their blind spot re Southern music; this band has only passing resemblance to ABB and a fraction – like an nano-iota – of their talent.
Arcade Fire
4/5
One doesn't hear the krautrock and bossa nova the editors claim to hear, and one does hear emo-adjacent vibes (which editors try to claim they don't, revealing the axe they pretty clearly wish to grind). Overall, this is a intense, driving, rock-centric sorta record that sounded fresh and new a decade-plus ago and retains much of its energy today. Solid all the way around, though slightly overwrought at times.
Paul Simon
4/5
So mellow to be quite gentle in effect and easily and fully listenable. Graceland is the better record, obviously, and one is loath to overpraise given the size of Simon's ego and his reputation for being an awful human being. But one will separate artist from art here, while hastening to point out what a very stupid song is "Cars Are Cars."
The Jam
4/5
This is the sound of Weller coming into his own, both as songwriter and musical leader. Though it only hints at the extent of the evolutions to come, the songs are very well balanced and nuanced, with crisp production and strong, almost flawless execution. "That's Entertainment" and "Monday" and "Man in the Corner Shop" are the top cuts.
Adam & The Ants
3/5
Really good fun to hear this after so many years. While he seemed something of a novelty act all those years ago, one hears now how he deserved credit for experimentation, especially for rhythmic innovation. The drumming is especially kinetic (as Jacko apparently thought, too). Not sure this is his best work. His legacy is surely a handful of the hits, which represent the act well and fairly.
Peter Gabriel
5/5
An astonishingly well made pop record with half a dozen absolutely first-rate cuts, and the non-hits of high quality too. "Sledgehammer" has aged well; despite its seeming incredibly annoying in the day, one finds the latter bit of it actually enjoyable. And "Big Time" is about as good as big-time upbeat pop hit can be. "In Your Eyes" is as sweet and true (and as well made and as credible, etc., etc.) as any pop love song ever. "That Voice Again" a tumbling, mid-tempo pleasure. "Red Rain," "Mercy Street" and "Don't Give Up" are all lovely links to PG's artier past. Hard to beat – a note-perfect pop masterpiece, that beautifully balances aesthetic and commercial imperatives.
Soft Machine
3/5
One like the out-thereness of this, and finds it more satisfying than a great deal of prog, because it has more to do with Coltrane than ferries, wizards or extraterrestial creatures.
Megadeth
1/5
Total waste of time.
The Verve
3/5
Typical, generic-y, post-shoegazing Britock of the mid ‘90s. The slow-burning grooves, with the way overworked wah-wah washes, are generally more effective than the straight-up rockers. Nothing disagreeable, but no better than pretty good in the end. And hard to tell the Northern bits from the soulful ones.
Cornershop
4/5
Most fun and interesting and still sounds as fresh and savvy as it did on release. It's a hair too long and the second half tires a bit, but 3-4 completely listenable and highly infectious hits. One's inspired to go hear some of the later records, including some quite recent, about which one's heard pretty good things.
Supergrass
4/5
A poppier and more pranksterish Janes Addiction. A differently delicious and spicier flavor of Britpop – with a lot of glam and punk, considerable new wave and a dollop of vintage ‘60 psychedelia (think Kinks and Beatles). This band did not fully take back in the day but one more than gets the appeal now, which is multi-layered and fun, boisterously baroque but sweet and tuneful at the same time.
Johnny Cash
3/5
Yes, he's a true American original with an instantly recognizable voice-of-God sort of singing style, but one finds him a hammy, even cringey showman. And what does he find so amusing about murder ballads? The production is rudimentary and the playing not exactly virtuosic and yes, we get it, you're recording a live album, so no cussing. One imagines it was a bit of a location joke – you just had to be there.
John Lee Hooker
4/5
The solo songs are by far the best and breathtaking on their own terms – just massive power comes through the near whisper. The duets have the feel of (best case) victory tour/charitable testimonial and (worst case) an outright gimmick. Still, the vocals are haunting and powerful, quite obviously, JLH is the voice of god (James Earl Jones being the understudy). One's certain there are far better records to include here.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
Almost comically over-engineered. Were they so unconvinced by the "grandeur" of their own vision that they added the (pretty lame) rock tunes?There are some interesting bits but it's not enough to make up for the mass silliness on display (not just talking about the cover art, either). Certainly demonstrates some of what was interesting about prog. More definitively indicates EVERYTHING that was wrong with it.
Kraftwerk
3/5
The vocals don’t much work (especially on “Hall of Mirrors” even if one knows to listen ironically). And the overall effect is one of tedium. One recognizes they are trying to demonstrate the mechanistic nature of modern life – so point made, but doesn’t make for a killer listening experience. "Abzug" and "Franz Schubert" are best cuts.
Duke Ellington
4/5
Even if big band isn’t your first language, this record shows all the strengths of Ellington’s band: the mix of hot and sweet, the grand-scale compositions, threaded thru with intimate moments, the integrated soloing by players set up to succeed, the sheer swinging romance of the entire endeavor. Take the yearning of Hodges’ solo on “I Got it Bad” (not on original). And of course there’s the Gonsalves solo heard ‘round the world, one of the great all-time moments in jazz, and one of the best solos ever recorded, in any genre, at any time.
Blondie
4/5
Opener is great and "Heart of Glass" is a top 5 disco tune of all time. "One Way or Another" is sexier than one recalls, if not entirely convincing. "Sunday Girl" is sneaky fun. The balance ranges from meh to okay to fine. Production is notably clean. As a vocalist, Harry peaks at very good and is somewhat inconsistent; the voice is quality, the delivery not always top-line. Seems easy to say now but they never felt all that punk and wanted to be more than pop (which was probably their strength). Maybe they were vaguely mod, with the talent, fashion-sense and good fortune to nail a few catchy hits at the right time. Maybe one senses a little bit of wanting it too much – the fame and glamour.
Spacemen 3
4/5
Highly expansive and highly interesting and highly, well, high. The slow pace ("How Does It Feel," "Let Me Down Gently") is not just for mellower narcotic appreciations but for tension-building and to give ideas space to breathe and time to develop. Spiritualized is a natural evolution of these ideas and a worthy heir. One feels like one hasn't had quite enough Spacemen in one's life in recent years.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
Mostly straightforward, fresh and high-energy and likably cheeky, if not especially innovative. One likes how they close out songs, the guitar chime on opener and the smoothly fading chords on “Fake Tales,” as if if life goes on, and the sharply truncated ending on”Red Light.” Key lyric: “I am talking gibberish.” There are ample good moments and grace notes, like the doo-wop chorus on “Still Take You Home.” “Riot Van” is good melancholy fun and a bit reminiscent of Replacements’ “Nightclub Jitters.” “Mardy Bum” is quite good too — AMs can clearly do highly competent pop hooks – and might have had a bright future as a different sort of band. The end the album crisply, too, with something sounds like they have a good shot to mature in a bit more serious vein. Like so many records of this ear, one or two fewer cuts might have strengthened the overall quality. Maybe they were once overhyped, but their above-average career means that Green Day might the American Arctic Monkeys (rather than vice-versa).
Slayer
1/5
Hope everyone feels better now.
George Jones
4/5
One loves countrypolitan for having the same excesses as '70s rock. The excessive, almost baroque hair, the layering-it-on-thick instrumentation and more-is-more production. Oh, the pedal steel guitars and strings. One would call the sardonic lyrics icing on cake except that they're just too good. Country at its smoothest, slickest, most unguent. The Possum is almost convinvcing about the heartache and need for love on a few cuts. Love it ironically or love it straight up – just love it. Title track, "Borrowed Angel” and “She Told Me So" are top cuts. Editors seem to miss the irony on some of the tunes.
Giant Sand
3/5
It's pretty obvious that they deserve more acclaim (based on "Punishing Sun" and "Shiver" and "X-tra Wide," say), but perhaps not all that much more acclaim. It's all just a bit too obscure (willfully, one feels), a bit too ephemeral and elusive, and discordant/distressed (purposefully one assume) and though much that drifts through is interesting and even purty as a desert sunset, much just kind of evaporates. One also suspects this isn't their best record (but simply lacks time just now for full exploration of the catalog) and that some of their influencees (e.g., Bill Callahan, Mark Kozelek) might have outpaced them, even if subject to some of the weaknesses. Also, if GS is/was on this last. where the hell is Yo La Tengo?
Tricky
3/5
Tricky's just not all that. And never really was. Massive Attack's output is holding much better and Goldfrapp's much better still. This is fine as far as it goes but feels oh so dated, especially the sound effects. There are a few decent cuts and the mood/vibe is interesting, but the emotional effect is pretty limited – ranging from credible chilly and clubby languor ("You Don't") to the outright annoying ("Strugglin'"). "Aftermath" was way overexposed and, while okay-cool, never merited its ubiquity, besides being way too long. "Feed Me" is kinda cool, too, but largely anodyne and neither impactful nor memorable. Does trip-hop really matter? And will it be seen as having mattered at some point, beyond the limits of faddishness? By what year will it be forgotten entirely, if it isn't already largely so today? If one never heard a trip-hop cut again, one's not sure one'd notice the difference.
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
It's all here – the reaching, grasping, blazing solos, the sudden stops from high speed, the bashing drums and romping bass, the uncertainly yearning vocals, the layering of acoustic guitar next lacerating electric, hooks galore and bittersweet, melodies that half make one smile, half break one's heart. Opening cuts are worthy intros. The solo on ""They Always Come"" launches majestically and becomes elegantly restrained, with languid vocals contrasting the driving close-out – an essential Dinosaur moment. The ending solo/riffing on ""Let It Ride"" pure coruscation. "Keep the Glove" and "Pond Song"" are additional highlights. "Don't" very much is, the only track that doesn't work. Is it too much to say that Mascis' voice manifests the entire indie rock ethos – the DIY factor, willingness to be unpretty and non-harmonious, the embrace of the off-beat and rough-edged in the name of authenticity, and of course the inherent and persistent yen to connect, with not a little guilt and worry and regret mixed in? No, one doesn't think so. The initial preference for the later records (Green Mind and after, based on these being when one got involved with D, Jr. and more partying memories with those cuts as soundtrack having accrued) but this is flat-out great, and very might well be their best. And all in a tight sub-:40 package. Nobody better balanced ""chaotic and melodic"" (per editors) than Mascis & Co.
Dennis Wilson
4/5
Classic '70s maximalism, with choirs, string sections and lotsa brass, and excessive production too. It comes off only intermittently -- opener gets to something like liftoff but the warmed-over '50s vibes of "What's Wrong" feels well past the expiry date and mighta been on original release date, too. And does DW sound just a touch like Randy Newman? "Moonshine" offers a stoned sort of grandeur, but it seems to have taken on orchestra to deliver it, and it feels a bit muddy besides. The Little Feat-esque "Dreamer" is kinda groovy, but only kinda, and then has an interval that sounds like a self-help hymn. "Thoughts of You" is sweet, but the vocals fall short of what effective ballads, which may be why they layered still more strings and high-tech (even Space Age, seemingly) production effects. (Anybody else here the Eels on this cut?) "You & I" is legit lovely, vintage '70s soft rock, and sounds maybe more like one would expect the rather too swampy title cut to sound. "Farewell" is scruffy and "Rainbows" and "End of the Show" make for a nice finish, and just barely over the line to a 4 (because God loves a drunk, one supposes) but did it really need seven years to complete?
Julian Cope
4/5
Hard to get a clear purchase on this one, much as it is with most of Cope's oeuvre. Feels like fairly standard, bright shiny indie rock at times and then gets considerably more experimental (and interesting) as it goes along and really pays off with some excellent songs at the end ("Beautiful Love," "Hung Up," "American Lite" and "Las Vegas Basement"). Strong overall, but maybe a slight vibe of wanting to like slightly more than one actually does, though the closing sequence of songs makes for a high-quality end.
Super Furry Animals
4/5
Wacky, ecstatic and full-on Beatlesesque, this is hard not to like. And they certainly have fun with the fuzz, don't they? Best cuts are “Something 4 the Weekend,” “Hometown Unicorn,” and "Destroy." Just a helluva lotta fun throughout – give me these cats over way taking-themselves-too-seriously Oasis and Blur any day.
Nirvana
3/5
This band was so overrated at the time. No doubt they were kinda cool, but some band for the ages? Not a chance. A handful of these songs hold up – "Dumb" (but just adding cello doesn't make it masterpiece). "All Apologies" and "Heart-Shaped Box" are also good – because melody is foregrounded and there's no more of the screaming and banging that dominate most other tracks. Myths matter of course, and few acts have benefitted any more than N has from its.
DJ Shadow
4/5
Masterpiece of texture and layering, of synthesizing for mood and vibe and incorporating many different elements (see “Organ Donor”). Opener is quite intriguing with near-minimalist piano setting a tense mood. “Stem/Long-Stem” and “Transmission 2” seem to want to be classical and ambient, respectively. A work – or composition – best judged as a whole, it feels like a hip-hop flavored genre of its own (made with hip-hop techniques), with lots of jazz influences and atmospherics, and ample ambient feels, too. Super influential and has held up on its own terms quite sturdily indeed. 100%-worth knowing and hearing.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Editors have given NC entirely too many records on this list, though this one isn't the worst of the lot. This is fine, but no great shakes, especially those of us who don't buy the schtick (and it seems very much to be that). "Straight to You" is solid+. "When I First Came To Town" is also good – no surprise the most straightforward tunes work best. The music is carefully considered, and occasionally interesting, but the jeremiads and morality plays don't really pay off. Nearly all of the rest is overdone and not a little pretentious; the ask to be taken so seriously lacks credibility, in one's view. Any comparison to Leonard Cohen (vocal quality, moral authority, songwriting/poetry chops) is ill-advised and does no service to NC. In fact, ranking Aussie + Kiwi rock stars just on the basis of personal preference, one finds NC outside the top 10, behind Michael Hutchence/INXS, Courtney Barnett, Tame Impala, Midnight Oil, Go-Betweens, Finn Bros/Split Enz, Crowded House, Triffids, The Beths, The Chills, The Cruel Sea, Rolling Blackouts and even the Little River Band for chrissakes, but certainly – if not hugely – ahead of AC/DC and Air Supply, maybe tied with Architecture in Helsinki.
ZZ Top
2/5
One of the weirdest commercial successes of the early MTV era or any musical era. Their earlier records are miles better. And this gets serious points off for being way overexposed (with cheesy videos and stupid songs) at a time when much more interesting music would have better used the space. One's still not convinced it wasn't all a joke; certainly these guys seemed to enjoy it.
Jazmine Sullivan
4/5
Likable on many levels, most importantly the musical. Flows are real and R&B-like, and the content shows vulnerability that seems more authentic (if oversharing) than a marketing ploy. "Sex is my superpower" indeed!
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Haunted and haunting. My theory is that, as much as the lyrics, it’s the production that makes these records. Specifically, the choice of instrumental flourishes plus the lyrics plus LC’s distinctive voice that add up to such affecting and memorable work.
Basement Jaxx
1/5
One doesn't care about this record, because there's nothing to care about here.
The Offspring
1/5
Including this record is a stain on all of the other listings.
Black Sabbath
2/5
Hooky at times (title cut is best thing they ever did), but mostly full-on sludgy, white-bluesy, with the occult cosplay playing as little more than schtick after all this time. There's no doubting Ozzy's originality, but three BS records is at least two too many for this list.
Public Enemy
4/5
Holds up fully, especially the beats and overall consciousness. One wishes one heard more hip-hop of this orientation (and less silliness) today. Terminator X and the Bomb Squad were legit in industrializing a certain style of rigorous beats and beds.
Mike Ladd
4/5
Much to like here. The beats are solid and interesting and nicely varied. The rapping just fine, too, with much better than average content (e.g., Don Quixote). A strong chapter of fin de siecle hip hop.
Girls Against Boys
2/5
Clunky, heavy-handed and mostly uninteresting '90s ALT-y rock. Lacks the scruffy, underdog-y feel of true indie rock.
4/5
Brazillans are good at music. And futebol, too. This is likably chill and easy grooving, and just a touch trippy. In one's next life, one will take the aspiration to learn Portuguese a bit more seriously.
Beastie Boys
4/5
One gets why it wasn't quite the hit that earlier albums were. But it's still pretty impressive, esepclally with the layered samples (the Superfly Curtis Mayfield on "Egg Man" is a highlight, as are the Beatles, Incredible Bongo Band and Mountain drops) and silly-to-genius name drops (DJT, Yosemite Sam, Ben Franklin, Scorcese, Gabe Kaplan, Chuck Woolery, Dicken, Mario Andretti, Saduhara Oh, anyone?) if too-clever-by-half at times. It's accurate, if overly flattering of Beasties, to call this the White album of hip-hop. Maybe the London Calling is more apt. "The Boullabaise" is the top section.
The Flying Burrito Brothers
4/5
A pleasure to hear. They have as much fun with others' material as they do with others and every cut works well on its own terms. Who cares what genre this is, few of their imitators ever did any better.
Rod Stewart
4/5
Best thing Hot Rod ever did, pulls offer every cut credibly and convincingly and not trying too hard. The likably loose and shambolic cut has long been a personal favorite – something about the perfect simultaneity of the cymbal crash on the opening vocal (like first syllable) sets a rollicking tone. Every cut packs a punch. Dylan cover is great and every old chestnut should hold up as well as "Maggie May." "Mandolin Wind" and "Reason to Believe" are also strong. An under-appreciated classic, really, though perhaps so because of some of Rod's less salubrious contributions to the RnR canon (and one speaks as a fan).
Brian Wilson
4/5
One gets ultra-theatrical, like Wonka-esque or Pleasuredome vibes on this. It's rich and lush and absurdly melodic and intermittently wondrous, but also tending to the wackily baroque to an extent far out of one's comfort zone. The opening prayer sets the tone, and there are gems throughout – "A Song for Children" and "Surf's Up" and of course "H & B" and "Good Vibes." Overall, this is hugely indulgent, but one indulges BW here because of Pet Sounds, which this isn’t, however smile-inducing and fun it is. Belongs on the list because of its historical import.
Manic Street Preachers
2/5
Safe to say it wants to be an f-load cooler and profounder than it actually is. Aims to be edgy, and have real teeth, but just doesn't come off and feels just about as generic as can be in terms of the lamentable genre of ALT rock, which made a major contribution to the sheer musical insufferability of the '90s. One album from this lot is more than enough (by which one means too much, and utterly undeserved); two is an outright travesty. Only plausible explanation for inclusion of 2x TMSP records is that one of the editors had a vested interest (emotional, financial, etc.) in this group.
Antony and the Johnsons
4/5
Highly dramatic of course, thoroughly haunting, occassionally otherworldly, and a certainly more than a bit strange (mainly as an extension of its originality, though). Holds up really well. The cameos work. Worthy Mercury Prize winner, for sure, and the big-seeming, outta nowhere breakthrough seems wholly plausible/justifiable two decades on. Definitely should not have been exed.
Pink Floyd
5/5
About as good as rock record can be. Title cut is music for the deathbed itself, not just before dying. To think this was their follow-up to Dark Side more than cements their place in the pantheon.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
Mellow, langorous and interesting-offbeat throughout, easily one's favorite Joni Mitchell outing. A minor masterpiece of tone and mood.
Billy Bragg
4/5
Strong overall, but full ticks below Workers Playtime (the full apotheosis of early Bragg) and Don't Try This At Home (a very different sort of record). "New Brunette" is far and away the best song here and belongs in the first rank of BB songs, of which there are a truly impressive number.
Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart
3/5
A little Sinead O'Connor meets Happy Mondays vibe on opener bodes well and no surprise that one was the hit. But, despite the promising start, the rest drifts pretty quickly into generic world music vibes – not terrible, just not compelling.
Foo Fighters
3/5
Crisp and driving, with some decent melodies and a hard edge, but also pretty boring. Hard to say just how much better Nirvana was than this lot ... history might find them to be near equivalents.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
The emphasis is on the sweet in the bittersweet, because it swings and funks and boogies to be just about as cool as a record can be, while also sharing some hard truths that needed to be shared. The guitar work is wah-wah-wahnderful. One wishes the production did justice to the quality of the music.
The Strokes
4/5
Sleek and stylish and way too cool for school, but also a little self-regarding one feels, a bit too knowing but perhaps not as smart or savvy as it wants to be. Had the good sense to be poppier than punk, punkier than glam, and more fun/rolicking than VU/Reed with its predlictions toward the ponderous and pretentious. Perfomrative, yes, but will Casablancas some credit for irony and a touch of self-parody, too (which are features, not bugs, and seem to have grown more additive, if less necessary, over time). Still a pretty fun and glittery ride that holds up better than one might have guessed hearing it in real time lo, these decades ago.
John Lennon
4/5
A lot of excellent songs here, if some raggedness, too. The title cut exists in its own realm, but judging purely on the merits, minus all the cultural + sociopolitical baggage, it's a pop music treasure (on the same level of "Stardust," "I'm So Lonesome," and "Wonderful World"). "Jealous Guy" and "Oh Yoko!" are also first rate. One also is reminded of just how much of an entertainer's soul he seemed to have (even with dark material such as "Crippled Inside").
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
Easily the best of the too-many (by a factor of 2) records in this esteemed list. This works because musically it doesn't try to do too much and it's lyrically raw, obviously. It's lovely and haunting and played with understatement, if slightly one-note in tone. In general, one finds NC to be significantly overrated, but this provides at least some justification.
Ms. Dynamite
4/5
Strong and smooth, hip-hop inflected R&B , with a couple way winning cuts – "Sick and Tired" and "Seed to Grow" chief among them. Whole lotta Lauryn vibes, entirely in a good way.
Arcade Fire
4/5
Pretty good, but definitely not The Wall, which seems to be a bit of what they are reaching for. Top to bottom, it's strong and unified in terms of mood, which is controlled, and strums along pleasantly enough without having any truly standout tracks. "Sprawl II" is perhaps the catchiest, but it seems something of an outlier. Overall, one can't take AF as seriously as they seem to wish one to, but this is solid.
Rod Stewart
4/5
Just behind Every Picture as the best thing he ever did ... rocks convincingly and mellowly, suggesting that he should have stayed in the rootsy-folkie vein. He was never gonna be a mystic like Van the Man, but Hot Rod has such a distinct voice and uses it to much greater effect than he would in the disco and/or American songbook vein. "Country Comfort" "Lady Day" and "Jo's Lament" show his ability to articulately talk his way through a song in actorly fashion. Title cut and "My Way of Giving" are also strong.
Christine and the Queens
3/5
Kids dig it, one supposes, but one finds nothing much of interest or substance. It's as stylish as oversharing can be, one supposes. And is one supposed to be impressed that it's bilingual?
Beatles
5/5
Almost feels a continuation of the White Album, the songs so good and rich and varied. The song cycle on side 2 among the best and most interesting things they did, though one wishes each of the individual cuts were longer. It's an embarrassment of diverse riches – Ringo doing amusing little cartoon/kids’ book songs (“Octopus’ Garden” may be the best of the lot), Lennon going deep and raw in the blues, Paul exploring his more creative side (e.g., "Maxwell's," “Golden Slumbers“) George not contributing a ton but delivering a gem of the highest order, (“Here Comes the Sun” which is so much better than the treacly “Yesterday” and perhaps the tops of all the excessively played ballads [“Let It Be” being the silver medalist]; indeed, it’s simple and strong and relatable poetry, not vague sentimental verse). Nearly astonishing the level of quality (in spite of the indulgence) this late on in such a high-pressure career which was of course all disintegrating so fast.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Great, but not quite a 5 for me and certainly a notch below "Blood on the Tracks." One holds Dylan to a very high bar of course (but also a higher floor for his lesser works, which often turn out to be quite underrated in the end). "Queen Jane Approx" and "Tom's Thumbs" are longtime personal faves and "Rolling Stone" and "Desolation Row" are absolutely top-shelf songs. Several of the middle cuts here are pretty middling.
Slint
4/5
This is ragged and discordant, mostly in a good way, though also vaguely unsettling (which can also be viewed as a plus). More lethargic than lovely. Dull and dreamy but debatably too downbeat. The whispery vocals get a bit stale after a time, as do the quiet-loud shifts. The basic template soon suffers from un-embellishment and loses one’s interest – later post-rock practitioners would add depth and frills. At its best and edgiest, it feels avant garde but also shows the limits of DIY.
Dion
4/5
Soft rock at a pretty high level, approaching but never reaching fully Spectorian shlock. "Only You Know" and "NYC Song" are lovely. Don't sleep on Streetheart, either. There are a few winning cuts there, too.
Deep Purple
2/5
“Yeah, Yeah, Yeah – Space Truckin’!!!!!!” No band or record in this esteemed list is more Spinal Tap-esque (and not in a good way). Sure there are some major hooks, but from the dead-dull cover to the dumb name to the banal lyrics to vocals more screamed than sung, this is music from the tar pits. It’s impossible not to see the air-guitaring and head-bobbing kids in their tight tees, bell bottom jeans and bad well-combed winged haircuts just fully digging this heaviness. Some of the keyboard riffs are engaging and Blackmore could surely riff, but Gillian is not an especially impressive singer and overall this is just dinosaur-ific.
The Pretty Things
4/5
Weird, wild and (mostly) wonderful. One's reminded of much that worked well in the '60s and rich vein of creativity that psychedelia enabled. "Trust" might be best cut. Fully deserves to be better known and full credit to editors for doing their part to make us all more aware.
James Brown
3/5
Definitely explains the fuss, which one has long heard about but never fully got. The band is almost painfuflly tight, and some of the cuts almost vanishingly short – it was a different era, one supposes. Weird that the record itself is so brief. "Try Me" is pretty deeply affecting.
Dr. Dre
4/5
Beats are great, vibe and sounds are all-time cool and there are touches of genius (e.g., the flute on "Lily Ghetto Boy," the leaning out the Zeppelin beats on "Lyrical Gangbang"). And one might be taken for a square, but it must be said: the braggadocio re violence and misogyny re sex gets annoying after a while and ultimately feels pretty ugly by the time we get to "Bitches Ain't Shit." The rivalry with Easy E feels silly.
Jeru The Damaja
3/5
Strong production and quite solid overall. Just feels a little middling after all these years.
The Kinks
4/5
Tasteful and clever and groovy, with many standout cuts of significant variety, from the rocking “Holiday in Waikiki” to the mostly effective raga “Fancy” (which seems more Beatlesesque than Kinksy but works all the same) to the delightful languid pop of “Sunny Afternoon,” one of the best-ever tracks. “Too Much on My Mind” is terrific and the chamber-y opening of “Session Man” sounds like it could be from Vampire Weekend’s latest record and “Little Miss Queen of Darkness” is also sharp and swinging, the spiky “I’ll Remember” and the well balanced “I’ll Remember” feels like an unheralded gem. The social commentary cuts in the middle mostly land for being so crisp, a bit biting and a bit sweet. The Deluxe edition offers some tasty add-ons, especially “She’s Got Everything.”
OutKast
4/5
Sprawling and dynamic and almost absurdly creative. Feels like a milestone hip-hop record and holds up well. One finds it encouraging that Andre just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
Daft Punk
3/5
When it comes to French kids with synths, one will take Stereolab over these cats, who are obviously having fun, every time.
Brian Eno
3/5
Some fairly indifferent songs and he only sounds half-in and thus many cuts feel half-baked. The more ambient instrumentals are best cuts – no surprise – by some distance. Still, it's Eno so it's interesting, but lacks souls (also characteristically).
KISS
2/5
Sludgy, perfunctory-sounding, silly and unconvincing. The undistinguished, sub-mediocre vocals perfectly suit the lame and the distinctly uncool, “aren’t-we-cool” vocals. Waste of time. One of the editors must have had the lunchbox or invested copious leisure time in full make-up bedroom air-guitar concerts. “Caricatures of all the urges of youth” indeed, and not even Beethoven can redeem it.
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
Maybe one's just being a square but this sounds less profound or biting than indulgent and annoyingly preachy and self-satisfied with its own quippiness. They are trying too hard (taking themselves more seriously than the hippies they accuse of the same sin/crime). Comparing themselves to the Beatles (which is obvs what they are doing) is self-flattery of the rankest and least justifiable sort. And anyway mocking Sgt Peppers and Hey Joe is supposed to be blazingly original? One could see it being the most influential album of the week it came out, but can't even remotely credit editorial claim in book that this was one of the most influential albums of the second half of the 20th century. Perhaps it sought to call as much attention to itself as any other album ... And too bad FZ didn't let a few of the neat little melodies play out as pop songs, because after all he is a pop musician, not Howard Zinn or Ralph Nader or Lenny Bruce or ...
Neil Young
4/5
Extremely good with a huge variety of high-quality cuts, with a range that reaches from the lovely to the outraged, from the edgy to the authentically mellow and therapeutically serene. NY"s putting it all out there / wearing heart on sleeve works very well here, largely a result of the control he seems to exude and the clear purpose of every song. His voices makes the despair and heartbreak sound somehow triumphant, the confronting and moving past it. One wants to say "minor masterpiece" but the qualifier may not be necessary.
Kraftwerk
3/5
Speaks to one's mind more than one's heart or soul. Full appreciation of the trance-y effects (more on "Kometen 2") may require one to be in the right mood. The opener may be symphonic, but it's also too long. "Morgen" is probably the most interesting song for not being so relentlessly minimalist and repetitive. Hard to get past the kitschy sound of such dated keyboard technology.
5/5
What can possibly be said? This is one of the hallmarks of 20th-centry art – any genre or media or discipline – and an all-time high-water mark or pop music ("full cultural legitimisation for pop music" is spot on). Edifying, elevating and vastly entertaining, SPLHCB merits every critical acclaim and commercial milestone it has earned.
The Pogues
4/5
One prefers "If I Should Fall from Grace" but this is great overall, with a few absolutely first-rate cuts ("A Pair of Brown Eyes," "Dirty Old Town") and the absolutely can't-avert-your-eyes (as much as you want to) "Waltzing Matilda to closer. Rough, rowdy, wholly likable and lasting – not only in the sense that the melodies and the stunningly original vocals, but also in that it holds up well (thanks to the organic and culturally valid instrumentation and playing). If the mission was authentically Irish folk-punk, then it's very much job done.
M.I.A.
3/5
Annoying if often distracting with hookiness, making it more or less a sugar high, musically, so likely for kids only. Maybe "Amazon" gets pretty catchy, with the marimba-like effects. "10 Dollar" is wild and abandoned. It's a fine balance here as there's repetition trending near to tedium and the catchiness feels mostly algorithmically. Bonus points equally for originality and DIY spirit and political awareness.
OutKast
5/5
Crazy, wildly, and sprawlingly good. So many worthy ingredients – funk, rock soul, R&B; Sly, Clinton, Prince, Isaac Hayes.The tempos and textures are terrific. The interludes aren't compelling, necessarily, but do provide a break from all the excellence. "So Fresh, So Clean," "Mrs. Jackson" "BOB" and closting title track are all first rate. Hip-hop's Radiohead seems about right to this indie rock fan.
George Harrison
4/5
Maybe the best ex-Beatles solo album. Rich and warm and so very listenable.
Grateful Dead
4/5
The farther we get from the touring years, the more Dead seem like just another band. And this collection is a bit of Rorschach test. There are a few very good cuts – "Box of Rain," "FOTD," "Ripple," "BDP," "Sugar Mag"– all of them excellent mellow stoner anthems. But they do sound somewhat tepid and frankly mid after all these years and compared to the best of the bootlegs. Plus, "Truckin'" and "Attics of My Life" are dreadful – truly awful. As much as this record once meant in one's troubled younger years and during one's alleged spiritual development, one just doesn't much hear it anymore. Workingman's Dead is a better record. One will round up against one's hardest critical judgment, for auld lang syne, basically, despite the presence of those clunkers.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
A pretty remarkable work, offering depth and loveliness and simple listening pleasure, if one can overlook the gargantuan Simon ego, the tendency toward preciousness, and the clear reaching (that often is beyond their grasp) which is most often manifested the overdone arrangements (way too many smearings of cloying strings). . Quite a few of these songs suffer from overexposure (starting with the title track and the near-obnoxious "Cecilia"). "The Boxer" and "FLW" and "Only Living Boy" are all first rate.
Muddy Waters
4/5
The voice of God, the direct attack on every instrument – this is s strong, substantive, legit classic blues.
Astrud Gilberto
3/5
The voice begs for more straightforward and much less schmaltzy arrangements. It all feels so broad and variety show-esque, trading on the basest/crudest conception of the exotic. "Parade" and the duet with the kid shows just how misconceived the overall effort is and "My Foolish Heart" how much better it might have been (even it's far from the most subtle reading of that song). Sure, she sounds sexy, but sings like a little girl, resulting in a pretty high creep factor. Easy listening can be hard to like for evolved modern sensibilities. Just go hear the Stan Getz. A charitable 3.
Pavement
4/5
The sound of suburban slackerdom, innit, with perhaps slightly too many Dinosaur Jr-esque vibes to be considered wholly original. The link to / influence of The Fall should also not be overlooked. “Elevate Me Later” is classic, a personal Pavement fave. And “Cut Your Hair” is their best song, bar none. “Range Life” is very good, too. Some songs seem midpoints between dark/menacing and pure ennui (“Stop Breathin,” “Newark Wilder,” “Hit the Plane Down”). The questions remain of course: Do they care or are they too cool to care? Is it all irony or is there any sincerity? There’s no question about their jadedness. And it’s certainly cool, though one’s always resisted liking the bands one felt one was supposed or expected to like. Plus there’s the sense of their being a bit too impressed with their own cheekiness/cleverness – hence the aloofness and being above it all. The closer, “Fillmore Jive” is perfectly fitting, with its lazy, discordant sort of grandeur; in other words, it’s completely on brand. Seems a harbinger of their late tiredness, which was always going to happen, an inevitability, really. Their latest live shows did little to lessen that impression or resolve any of these sincerity-or-all-irony-all-the-time questions though it did confirm that the mascot dude is more worthless-annoying than ever.
Ozomatli
3/5
Fine and fun, spicy and swinging – one might like it better if one were a better dancer.
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
As incredibly thoughtful and craftfully played – somehow manages to be mellowly groovy and socially biting and quietly elevating at the same time. What a musical/political statement by an all-time artist. Just great.
The Auteurs
4/5
"An early, unknown classic. Sounds fully modern – like it coulda been released last week. Seems more connected to '80s than '90s. Catchy, stylish and distinguished early, even proto-Britpop. There's a lot to like and nary a dog on the whole disc; "Don't Trust the Stars" is terrific. Much better than Blur, basically. "
Gorillaz
4/5
More than moderately cool but as with all things Albarn-y, it's a little self-impressed and too clever for its own good. Saying it's better than the Monkees or the Archies isn't a very high bar, now is it? There are more than a few class-a grooves and beats (one's favorite might be "Left-Handed Suzuki"). Thought it has held up pretty well, and feels more larky than kitschy and even seems a bit better than Blur overall, one has to force oneself to give it a 4.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
Worth hearing and knowing, but not all that entertaining unless one is deeply into boll weevils and bed bugs.
Frank Sinatra
4/5
Easily Frank's best. Wonderful songs, tight, clever arrangements and Frank doesn't overdo it, as he'w wont to do.
The Sabres Of Paradise
3/5
Is it any more than meh? Not so much. "Wilmot" and "Tow Truck" and "Chapel Street Market" each has its merits, but one won't be spending much or any further time with this record. Best to have left in the '90s, the indifferent musical decade from whence (rather appropriately, one must say) it came.
Kate Bush
4/5
So good. That one's tween kids are getting into Kate Bush crica 2024 speaks to the quality. "Love and Anger" and "Woman's Work" are outstanding and much in between is very strong, too. KB remains an under-appreciated treasure.
5/5
Acoustic side is extremely good and electric side nearly as good. It's hard to grok the all the controversy, given what we know now, mainly that Blonde on Blonde was fast approaching and that the early tunes would be certifiable classics (if they weren't already). The poise, grace and loveliness of the acoustic side is such that one can understand to some extent the haters – that is, there is a jarring contrast, but the electric side delivers, too, in a raw way that some of Dylan's records could be said to lack. But the songs ... the songs ... "Visions of Johanna," "Desolation Row," "Like A Woman," "Baby Blue," ... these are national treasures, wonders of the world, really and this is a most worthy document/artifact capturing a world-historical musical artist at a major inflection point of his many evolutions.
Meat Puppets
3/5
Halfway decent mostly, but not a great deal more and not exactly smart or polished. A few cool sonts including “Aurora Borealis” and “We’re Here” and “What to Do."
John Prine
4/5
Awfully strong, if unassuming-seeming, debut. "Illegal Smile" is sweet, it a touch silly. "Hello In There" is borderline heartbreaking. The sub-par vocals (which JP seems to accentuate at moments of drawing out syllable and acting like he's leading a kids' singalong or when he seems about to break into yodeling and might undercut the more serious/heavy songs ("Sam Stone") though maybe the effect is meant to be tragicomic. In contrast, the lyrics are mostly execllent , with homespun wisdom ("blow up your TV/eat a lot of peaches") and impressive imagery both inventive (fight between Tuesday and Wednesday over Saturday night") and bleakly despairing ("hole in Daddy's arm where the money goes"). Dylan made the world safe for this sort of intentionally singing, one thinks, but he's more effective than the often flat, frequently clangy Prine. "Paradise" and "Pretty Good" are solid. One wonders if Prine was so underrated for so long that he ended up somewhat overrated at the end. One feels sort of the same way about "Angel from Montgomery."
Elvis Costello
4/5
Gritty/intense in attitude plus hyper-articulate/savvy-literate lyrically equals excellence, and maybe EC's best record. The playing is understated and here and there exquisite (intricate axe work on "Miracle Man," tinklingly dreamy keys backgrounding / vaguely counterpointing on the otherwise tough-toned "Blame It On Cain," and the nod to the '50s on "Mystery Dance"). A handful cuts deserve to be considered classics – "Angels" and "Less Than Zero" and "Watching the Detectives." THen there's "Alison," may be the best ballad (okay, love song) of all the '80s. "Sneaky Feelings" also very good, sneaky good one might say. The quality so astonishingly high throughout that surely Basher deserves more credit (and certainly one more of his records belong in this list) that it's not really all that surprising how well this holds up.
R.E.M.
4/5
Every band's 7th or 8th best album should be so good. An REM homie in place (Peach State) and age (EP came out first year of high school), one aims to be objective in assessing the major-label debut (note to editors: album title was a reference to the money they were now makign as much as environmental concerns). Overall, this is polished and confident and consistently strong, but lacks the magic of many of the other records (and it begs comparison because of the types of songs they included here which tracked to other records, too). There was/is no disputing that they had become, as the Rolling Stone cover put it directly, the best rock band in the world. Also, Stipe hits the limits of his vocal prowess. "Orange Crush" and "Pop Song 89" are perfectly fine and "Get Up" has aged well, better than the better known "Stand" anyway. One remembers liking "Turn You Inside Out" more (maybe it's the remastering or maybe one heard superior live versions). The quieter, more acoustic-y cuts are more numerous than one remembers and better, too – "World Leader Pretend," "The Wrong Child," "You Are the Everything,” “Hairshirt” – than one remembers, though none are perfect gems in themselves (in the way of "Perfect Circle" or "Camera" or "Wendell Gee" or "Night Swimming" or "King of Birds" or "Flowers of Guatemala" or "Swan Swan H" or "Find the River"). Similarly, "I Remember California" is not as good as an ominous burner/brooder as "Oddfellows 151." Conversely, the untitled track here sets the stage for "Belong," from OOT, in the category of lovely, ebullient, near orgiastic tunes. Far below Murmur, Document and Automatic, this is solid overall but there are multiple worthier candidates in REM catalog (the fresher and more magical Reckoning, the more fun Out of Time, the weightier and more contemplative New Adventures in Hi-Fi) which are not included in this esteemed collection.
Leonard Cohen
5/5
An extraordinarily powerful and profound work of art. Produced and delivered so close to his demise adds to the effect (obviously). If you had tto pick just one record to listen to before you die, this might very well be it.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Pure class from top to bottom. Even the minor cuts offer major (if sometimes subtle) rewards (see "Maybe Your Baby," "You Got It Bad"). "Superstition" has a hook for the ages, a high-water mark in that most hookiest of decades, the '70s. "Big Brother" is mellowly groovy and quite intricate. From the opening "Sunshine of My Life" to the closing "I Believe (When I Fall In Love)," the whole thing feels warm and bright and sweet (if occasionally shading into sentimentality) and even life-affirming. There's no doubt Stevie Wonder's gifts have made the world a better place.
Pixies
4/5
Builds to a vaguely ominous majesty and feels like a slow-burning song suite, a unified complete work than a collection of songs (of which there are few standous). Each cut blends fairly seamlessly into the next. There is a cohesion of theme and tone, a lack of the unevenness, and all-over-the-place feel of some of their records. More singing and and less outright screaming. Feels just a notch off their hardest, farthest edge, but more measured and powerful for that effect and the sense of control underlying it. Also maybe more emotionally authentic seeming for being serious and nearly overwrought, and not so intentionally hysterical. Not the record the cool kids liked at the time (Surfer Rosa, Doolittle were) but preferred by cool middle-agers no doubt.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
Such is the warmth, humanity and good vibes that there is no pretension, despite the considerable ambition. Fun, sweet and vaguely uplifting as this is, one still slightly prefers Yoshimi as FLs' masterpiece.
Doves
4/5
Compellingly moody and engagingly (not oppressively) dark and windswept. Opener sets a high bar and the remaining cuts continue in a mostly consistent and strong vibe/channel. "Catch the Sun" the clear winner as single. Worth continued listening. Not as good as Radiohead (obvs), but probably better than Oasis and certainly superior to Blur (as almost everything is).
Beatles
5/5
About as good as pop music can be, it's crisp and direct, yet richly layered, subtle and mature, experimental and complex. To maintain such high quality across such a breadth and variety of different songs is nearly unfathomable. The opening notes of "Taxman" is the very sound of mod. "Eleanor Rigby" is next level, an order of magnitude better than typical pop songs – cinematic, sophisticated, self-contained. "I'm Only Sleeping" is a personal Lennon fave, one knows the feeling, which the song articulates/presents in extraordinarily fashion. "She Said," "Yellow Submarine," "Got to Get You," "Dr. Robert," "Your Bird" – there's excellence across the board, and a tone of underrated gems – not just no dogs or now filler – this is extraordinarily high-level music making from start to finish.
Goldfrapp
3/5
Not exactly Kate Bush in the end. Great vocalist but the songs feel too arty and overly structured and get a little aimless. It's meant to be like a movie, one knows, but can muster only so much dreaminess in one sitting. One's a big fan of Seventh Tree, however.
Le Tigre
4/5
Just great – a fun listen but with more substance than first meets the ears. First few cuts, while absolutely likable, suggest this might be borderline novelty act or super-slight. Yet even as the bounciness and bubblegum-y hooks continue throughout, the quality and substance build with a lightly worn intensity and thoughtfulness. “Hot Topic” is just great. "Cassevetes" is cool/interesting, reflecting those pre-cancel days, when such binary questions/conversations were new and seemed relevant. "Eau d’Bedroom Dancing” is another highlight, while "Let's Run" and "My Metrocard" and "Friendship" and "Slideshow" all have their merits. The spoken word bits and sound effects work very well, they are effectively integrated and not overdone (as is so often the case). In other words, this is sneaky good / quality despite it being pure fun and brightly lit.
Beck
4/5
Generally good fun, if a bit backward-looking, not just to his '90s work but to the '70s even, a decade Beck would no doubt have felt quite at home in. "Girl" is a very good track. His heart doesn't feel fully in every song, but will round up because of the general creativity and willingness to be all over the place in a mostly likable – a somewhat tepid 4.
Mike Oldfield
3/5
Interesting-ish, with Exorcist song offering the most compelling content. Otherwise, largely dull and dated. The spoken word/voiceover is like prog rock version of Bernstein's Young People's concerts. Difficult to disagree with Oldfield's own assessment that it could have been better.
Emmylou Harris
4/5
There's no better voice than Emmylou's, and this is mostly gorgeous, of course, though the lyrics are here and there a bit shaky. The playing and production are on point and entirely tasteful. Wrecking Ball might be a touch better, but it's close and one thinks Emmylou definitely merits mulitple records on this list.
The Prodigy
2/5
Energetic, sure, primarily noisy and inappropriate for any activity other than skateboarding; certainly, not appropriate for, you know, just listening.
Common
4/5
It gets off to a relatively slow start but gets considerably better. One likes the chill flow as much as the positivity, though like so many hip-hop aritsts, there is a bit too much in the way of self-reference. "Time Travelin," "6th Sense" and "Geto Heaven" are all terrific.
3/5
Glam, emo and metal tendencies abound here. Not outright insufferable and bits sound good, but mostly uninteresting and dull, too slick and polished and seemingly market-tested. One's hesitant to say it takes itself too seriously, since one doesn't even taken seriously enough to muster the accusation. Too many obvious Radiohead, Travis and Coldplay vibes and affectations (and the Queen mimicry on that one tune) to be considered anything like original – this is just another forgettable alt-ish band of the aughties that couldn't choose what it wanted to be. Its commercial success seems an obvious market against it, despite a few questionable accolades. The ex-ing makes perfect sense in that regard.
Barry Adamson
3/5
Vaguely interesting and perhaps slightly better than average as background music. The problem with artists that have a unique and singular vision is that they run the risk that few others will get it, which seems to be the case here. There are moments but it doesn't cohere. "Everything Happens to Me" is the highlight. For most of the rest, one isn't sure what he's meant to be listening to or for. Let's be honest: this is marginal material.
The Young Rascals
3/5
One struggles to hear much that's interesting or subtle, though it's likable enough here and there ("Sueno"). There's schmaltzy vibe that's common in '60s mainstream pop (see accordion + strings + horns on "How Can I Be Sure," which has intriguing-ish open but then goes sideways). This is borderline square, like the '50s and '60s were still doing battle, like you can judge this particular book by its cover. Bottom line: this doesn't belong on this list. And anyway one has long preferred the Dead's version of "Good Lovin'," which sounds so much better despite being a to-the-note replica.
Flamin' Groovies
2/5
Q: How many Stones licks can one garage band rip off on one side? A: Too many to count. Yes, this rocks and would seem easy to like, but in totally derivative fashion (including both covers and originals). One doesn't have to like it just because Greil Marcus thought enough of this lot to write about them (or one song anyway). Plus, the idiotic name, for which rounding down. 2.5 > 2
Hole
4/5
Rocks decently hard in a conventional, '90s alternative way, but with better melodies and just a touch of melancholy. One likes this better now than one did them.
Fred Neil
3/5
Good to know where "Dolphins" came from (Billy Bragg does a fine job with it and to hear the original “Everybody’s Talking at Me” to the bigger hit), and the closing raga is good. Otherwise the voice sounds stiff and musically it's all quite sub-fabulous.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Just yuck on the production -- the synths and drum machines seem like they’re there as jokes, almost positioning LC as a novelty act. Some cuts (e.g., “Jass Police”) have aged quite poorly indeed. Songs (“Everybody Knows” is classic) are of very high quality, and the iffy/gimmicky arrangements and instrumentations can’t quite defeat the voice, the voice, which is as dark and distinctive as ever. It grows on you after a while, and the talent ultimately comes through.
Scissor Sisters
4/5
Several terrific cuts (including both the opener and closer) amidst considerable (and quite fun) silliness. "Take Your Mama" and "Tits on the Radio" work well.The Pink Floyd cover is a hoot – sort of shows how it's done, even if it may feel blasphemy to overserious Pink Floyd fans. Beyond all the creativity on display, the amalgaminess of the sounds – mixing glam, disco with Laurel Canyon, all within a '70ish-decadence – makes it a plus experience overall and a gay album that even the narrowest straights can enjoy. Did not deserve to be exed, in one's view.
Dolly Parton
4/5
Such authenticity seems almost too much to take at times, but this is priceless and pure, almost honorable in her commitments to telling it true and uniqely. Best cuts are "Mystery of the Mystery" i "Early Morning Breeze," and "She Never Met a Man" and title cut. The playing is sleepy good, barely noticeable in just how real this sounds, and even above commerce in a way.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
This is not one's favorite Joni (one rates Hissing and Hejira a bit higher), but it's solid throughout, alternately sharp and sweet, dreamy and bouncy.
Animal Collective
4/5
Glimmering and strikingly different, but also choppy and severely lacking in flow, though it does seem warm-hearted and joyous enough. It gets better (and easier on the ears and brain) the more it goes along. One finds it gets better on repeated listens ... which says one's not sure what about its overall quality. This album's influence has been considerable, apparently, but not necessarily to all positive effect. A begrudging 4 primarily for the ecstatic/orgiastic closing track.
Coldplay
3/5
Moody and chiming, ambitious and intermittently operatic. But the record also gets to feeling calculated and overdetermined, I know it was all about the high drama of the early 2000s. “Clocks” is perfect, precision-engineered pop, an earworm for the ages. “Green Eyes” shows the merits of simplicity and shows where they might have gone. The big hooks and effects (strings and more strings, splashy cymbals, dreamy keys, clippy guitars), plus the over-solemn, borderline treacly slower cuts, reveal the perils of overstatement and excess ambition, a flaw that would soon prove to be more than fatal. Seems more calculated than naturally beautiful though editors are on track to call it "engrossing."
Public Image Ltd.
2/5
Utterly unmoving. There’s very little of interest and certainly nothing beautiful. Does it take talent to make something so unlovely? I have always felt Lydon was a poseur, just blowing with the wind and trying to provoke in whatever ways might get him noticed. His schtick – and that’s what it is – got old fast and has not improved with age.
Sebadoh
3/5
Likably slack and raffish, with some interesting moments but maybe too DIY-ly unambitious for its own good. The winning cuts include "Cliche," "Homemade" and the opener. "Flood" is a bad closer.
The Afghan Whigs
4/5
Severa very good, subtle and slow-burning cuts, but not a ton of the hookiness or anthemic-ness that would have made them obvious candidates for mass appaeal in the days of grunge and very early ALT rock. Best cuts are "Be Sweet," "What Jail is Like," "When We Two Parted," and the closer, which achieves a kind of gritty transcendence – one's always been a sucker the brooding, instrumental aspect of hard rock. Safe to say they deserve more and are well worth knowing beyond just this one record.
Orange Juice
4/5
This is what stylish, sophisticated Britpop sounded like before it existed. Hear what state-of-art vocals sounded like for this time and what a timely and substantive sax solos could add, not to mention the well executed and tasteful and even elegant guitar solo – how much class could be added. Title cut is engaging opener and charm abounds throughout, every song holds up, with variety provide by a touch of funk and R&B. Well deserving of much more extensive recognition, OJ weren't as good as Style Council (but not miles off) and definitely better than Haircut 100. That's a legacy to be proud of, really.
Happy Mondays
4/5
What a record, what a time. If only rave culture had extended further in the '90s and rap-rock and ALT metal, etc had been precluded or eclipsed, we'd all be happier-chiller now (albeit with vastly fewer brain cells). "Step On" is infectious to a near-otherworldly degree – utterly irresistible. "Bob's Yer Uncle" is among the sexiest-sleaziest grooves of all time. Much else works well and effectively. As with one's youth in clubs, this and they were never gonna last.
Baaba Maal
3/5
A decent listen with some fairly enchanting cuts and some vaguely haunting and pleasingly and lightly swinging ones too. And it gets better as it goes along. But as with much world music, not a great deal sticks or obtains purchase. The vocals might be varied a bit more. So it’s interesting but only somewhat. Also some unfortunate synth choices make for a dated sound. Best tracks: “Sy Sawande” and “Lem Gi.”
Robert Wyatt
4/5
Dreamy and aptly titled. Seems a very ecccentric choice for inclusion in this list but one's definitely glad it's here because of sweetness of temperament and the oddness of originality.
Rufus Wainwright
4/5
Opulent, maximalist and massively overdone (in one view) but also all-in and absolutely gorgeous. If one likes an artist with a vision and the guts to explore it all the way to the end and lay it out all there in pursuit of executing it, this is youre record. Because of the layers, one must be patient to appreciate the actual subtleties. Want Two is every bit as good, but different. There are a half-dozen top-rate songs – Movies of Myself," "Go or Go Ahead," “Vibrate," "14th Street," “Natasha," “Harvester of Hearts," “Want” 11:11” and “Dinner at 8." Just extraordinary. The vocals might strain a bit after a time, but the range of emotions well expressed lyrically is singularly impressive. Damn near a 5, really.
Haircut 100
4/5
A delight to listen again after all these years and find it every bit as fresh sounding but even more stylish and sophisticate and – yes, even – substantive. They were having fun, but that doesn't mean it's not artful or artfully ambient. Editors are wrong to call this silly and seem so apologetic, it's straight-up quality if designed to be on the lighter slide; those who think it slighter only miss out. Pro tip: Nick Heyward's "North of a Miracle" is not to be missed.
Iggy Pop
4/5
Let’s be clear: “Lust for Life” and “The Passenger” are very good songs, but it’s worth asking questions about the record. The intro to title cut takes too long and then the song goes on too long, too. Iggy sings – by which I mean sneers and growls when appropriate and doesn’t go all warbly too much of the time – much more effectively than on The Idiot where his stabs at mildness and slower tempos largely fell flat. “Tonight” and “Success” are good songs, but for me exit velocity is never achieved. Production is tinny and hollow. The sound is too ragged and too much like a Bowie record where he outsourced the vocals. And the recovered addict going on about his recovery makes neither good conversation or particularly memorable records.
Youssou N'Dour
4/5
Richly and spicily complex and intricately layered, both highly engaging and easy to listen to, plus oh-so-groovy/funky. One digs it from top to bottom, though can't speak to just how authentically Senegalese. And sure, it's danceable but one prefers the slightest hint of melancholy – what's Senegalese for saudade? – that seems to undercut a few of the tracks (appropriate for a record about exile and diaspora, no?)
Mercury Rev
4/5
This is pretty good and definitely interesting, with a few well near-excellent moments ("Holes," "Opus 40," "Goddess on the Hiway," "Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp"), but it seems as if it (and they) might have been so much more. Did MR know who they were and what they were trying to accomplish? On the latter point, might it have been too much or too different? Hey editors: the comparisons to Neil Young and Pink Floyd are not exactly apt. There's too much filigree (especially with the theremin [or whatever] which only ever gets in the way by calling excessive attention to itself). It's overly dramatic if interesting and unlike other ambitious '90s artists this doesn't go on way too long. And at least it's not grunge or alt rock. One never fully took to them in real time back in the day, felt it never quite fully cohered or compelled, and that impression repeats a few decades out. Rounding up for effort, however.
Talking Heads
4/5
Not one's favorite TH record, but certainly there's ample quality and a decently wide range of feels – scratchy/itchy/funky ("With Our Love," "Found a Job") to bouncy/pleasant ("The Good Thing") – and tense/off-beat/disconess ("I'm Not In Love,") that is very much on brand. "Stay Hungry" mixes all those vibey modes to pretty singular effect. By far the best cut is "Big Country," which tips both "This Must Be the Place" (one of the essential songs of the '80s [or any era]) and DB's solo True Stories project). The Al Green cover never was much to one's liking and time hasn't done anything to change that reaction. To be clear, there is much that's middling and fairly forgettable and would be far excelled by the far superior future efforts. As with other early TH records, this remains worth knowing, if only to contextualize what was to come.
The Dictators
3/5
Funny and fun but also kinda silly and stupid. This feels a little too arch and perhaps a touch too competent and too focused on (well) cars and girls (see backing vocals on that cut) to be considered full-on (or even proto-) punk, but the hair-splitting, genre-defining argument doesn't seem much worth pursuing. "Weekend" is decent as are "Cars and Girls" and "I Got You Babe" and "Back to Africa. This seems less than some lost classic, than a just-a-bit-more-than-minor footnote of the evolution of '70s rock. One takes it no more seriously than one is encouraged to do by the music itself.
4/5
A true delight, especially for Anglophiles. Concept albums aren't really one's thing (they try to do the work of novels or films), but this is musicaly rich and excellent throughout. "Music hall calypso" is dead on. "Victoria," "Driving," the Churchill song, and the title cut are all great, as are "Shangri La" and "Australia." Whole thing is as British as Benny Hill and clotted cream.
Red Snapper
3/5
Better than okay, but not much. Overdone overall though there are several cool cuts and a number of vibe-y moods across the record.
Sepultura
1/5
"Orgasmatron"? More like "Meaningless Movements"! Just f-ing dreadful. And to think there are two records by this band on this list. Zero stars should be an option, or even negative #s.
Brian Eno
4/5
In a parallel universe, there would have been a Time magazine cover about the future of rock and roll being Brian Eno and this record. One hears so much of what was to come, new wave (as is well known) but also indie and alt in all its variations (is the title cut / closer the first great shoegazing track?), plus hints of ambient and intimations of the future direction of club music, house, EDM. The guy’s a prophet, for sure. That said, not everything works equally well. Top cuts are the opener, “Cindy Tells Me,” “On Some Faraway Beach,” and the excellent closer. But much in between is too aesthetically edgy (and tries too hard to be so) and lands as mostly annoyance (see “Baby’s On Fire” and, most egregiously, “Blank Frank.”) Still, it’s prescient and quite cool.
The Gun Club
3/5
Fierce and raucous, but not all that great in the end, psychobilly/cowpunk having long since devolved into "seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time" or "you-had-to-be-there" territory. It seems obvious to say they would have been great live. And amazing how clean/lean the remaster sounds (compared to one's memories of how it sounded in back-in-the-day real time). One also remembers certain cool kids liking this one quite a bit more than one did actually. Sorta fun to hear again, and appreciate it for what it was, but only sorta.
Elvis Presley
4/5
Pure and fun and excellent and totally authentic seeming. One wishes it could all be so simple and powerful – without all the posing (yes, even though Elvis obviously wanted to be a big star). And funny how what was once radical and youth-corrupting and a harbinger of the of end of Western Civilization (or at least Christianity) can sound sound tame and wholesome.
Madonna
4/5
Pretty good and free-flowing and mostly fun, this is pretty easy to like now, when Madonna's cynical and continual reaching after relevance far in the rearview. The clubbier cuts that open the record are totally forgettable and mindless (as is anything with auto-tune) but much of the rest works well and has some emotion in it, seemingly. "I Deserve It, ' "Gone" and "Nobody's Perfect" and especially "What It Feels for a Girl" (maybe the best song) almost sound sincere. "Paradise" is also cool. Production mostly holds up, too. Like one said, pretty decent overall, but a grudging 4 (mainly for middle-effort with only a moderately sized amount of cringe).
The Specials
3/5
Fun, bouncy and a touch spicy – just fine Ska. First record better by some distance.
Traffic
4/5
A cool record from one of the coolest bands of the '60s, thogh not their coolest (that would be Barleycorn or Low Spark). "Don't Be Sad," the understated "Feeling Alright" and "Roamin' Thro' the Gloamin" and "Cryin' to be Heard" and "Shanghai Noodle Factory" are all plus cuts, though maybe the lack of a clear blockbuster or unforgettable hook holds this back slightly.
Boston
4/5
Approachably epic if cliched in ways that now seem pretty predictable (in that they didn't actually create any new cliches just reinforced a number of well-known tropes). Embodies all that’s good and wholesome about America and mom and apple pie and air guitar. It's sort of Rockwellian rock and roll, but there's a reason this record sold so well -- it's nearly perfect in terms of doing what it set out to do. And that's really the point here – just listen to the record, which one remembers was the main point in the liner notes, which one remembers reading next to one's sister's turntable in the '70s. Bonus points for the main guy being an MIT grad. Good idea to quit his day job, though one wonders if he ever went back.
Throwing Muses
4/5
Vintage indie rock – gritty, tough and melodic – of a distinctive style that would prove pretty influential and is still a substantive and enjoyable listen today. One can make a case that the next few albums were every bit as good as this one. Caveat: don't listen to the self-titled record of the early aughts that pales compared to this.
Merle Haggard
4/5
Outlaw Merle could be pretty smooth and slick, huh? But perhaps it's just the cover shot (which is more television actor than outlaw troubadour). The ease and buoyancy belie considerable darkness ("Insane with rage/I took my baby's life" and "If I could die/my pain go away" from "Life In Prison"). But the humor is just as clear on "Mixed Up Mess of a Heart" and other cuts. "Drink Up and Be Somebody" is relatable and regrettable at the same time. That song, as well as "Someone Told My Story" and "Whatever Happened to Me," are sufficiently meta to seem almost post-modern (about 30 years too soon). Even if one prefers scruffier later Merle, this is awfully – indeed, unimpeachably – good and fully vintage.
Nanci Griffith
4/5
Thank goodness for the likes of Nanci Griffith saviing '80s country music from its worst mainstreaming and commercializing impulses. This is a delight to hear – a voice so warm and inviting, sentiments so clear and nearly universal, and an artist doing her best (rather than trying too hard), with just enough high lonesome in the sound and subject matter to round it out.
Van Morrison
5/5
Is there a single note out of place in this record? Rich and unhurried and oh so thoughtful, it's fully enjoyable and listenable in any weather or mood. A time-well-spent or bettered-by-every-hearing sort of record. Both sides contain gems galore and when a song as overplayed as the title cut holds up so well over time, one knows the quality is deep and lasting. "And It Stoned Me" is an all-time opener, feels like the opening scene of a Shakespeare play in the sense that the dialogue starts right out of the gate and and so compellingly. "Into the Mystic" is at once elevating and soothing and every other cuts offers considerable pleasures and intrigues. Just great.
Miles Davis
4/5
This near-peak Miles, but neither at his most tuneful nor his most outrageous ... quiet and contemplative (but in a different way than Kind of Blue), open and innovative, just floats and shimmers and invites layered and attentive listening, with so many evanescent and glowing passages of wonderful and inventive playing to consider.
The Byrds
4/5
Given all the personnel turnover, hard to believe the Byrds could sustain such a high level of excellence, though perhaps the new personnel made it easier to go all-in on genre-hopping. Certainly, the brief additon of GP helped. His two songs are strong contributions. The Dylan covers are also oustanding – they just went all in on this. The music legit swings and sounds fully country-fried – not just countrified and certaintly not tricked out. They seem humble in their hybridization approach. This works from top to bottom, with every cut working on its own terms without trying too hard. But its the combination of warmth ("Nothing Was Delivered," the vocal harmonies on several cuts), wit ("The Christian Life," "Prison Life") and wisdom ("You'll Miss Your Water") are what really sets this apart. It's clearly a labor of love and there's appreciation and respect for the songs here. The record certainly qualifies as one of the best country-rock albums of all time, wherever one stands on the debate about whether it's the first.
Ash
3/5
Rocks relatively effectively, crisply and intensely, but not especially memorably (as is the case with too much '90s alt rock). It's definitely polished and assured for a debut (especially one by teenagers), with some nice variation and a few solid+ cuts one could imagine enjoying on further listens. In the end, this is neither terrible nor terrific. But, yes, one prefers it to Blur, and yes of course the record goes on too long just like every other record from the '90s.
Tori Amos
4/5
How one feels about this record might come down to how one feels about chamber pop, and chanson-ier side of the singer-songwriter street. That said, one doesn't remember this record having such quality or being quite so satisfying (perhaps because one's relationships with several Tori super-fans back in the day were neither quality nor satisfying). But it is good, full-on so in fact, or, as was said back in the day, way good, declaring itself as something sharp and different right from the opening note. Yes, it’s overwrought and perhsaps self-absorbed; certainly, there is an excess of strings (to telegraph the serious emotional stakes), highlighting that TA probably had high-art aspirations. A criticism would be that it gets a little too voice-and-piano through the middle – indeed, the more she expands the palette ("Tear in Your Hand," "Crucify," "Girl") the more compelling the results. And like every other '90s record, it's too long by more than a shout (the a cappella closer seems an obvious candidate for addition by subtraction). At its best (e.g., "China," Silent After All These Years"), it's sheer loveliness with just the right touch of offbeat to make it new. Such intensity is also a hallmark of many quality records, and of fully committed and passionate artists. Speaking of, this record compares favorably with Joni Mitchell (which seems slightly obvious to say) and there might even be days or hours when one would consider seriously the question of whether one prefers this to any of Joni Mitchell albums. Other notable comps (benefitting from the hindsight of many years): about as arty but more stylistically raw than Kate Bush; cooler/sexier than Judy Collins; less overbearing/in-one's-face/insufferable than Fiona Apple; much more substantive but packaging similar to that of Harry Connick, Jr, a contemporary trying to mainstream a pop-adjacent genre; perhaps a godmother of emo-inflected pop stars (one wonders how Taylor might feel about TA?)
The xx
3/5
Sounds like a modestly cool band overreaching for immediate relevance in an overcrowded and always cross-pollinating pop landscape. Yes, it's more expansive than their previous work (which isn't saying much), but some songs are incongruous. The guest flows on "On Hold" (hip-hop or Hall & Oates?) feel most out of place. The generally hushed vibe and subtle to the vanishing point are very consistent with the quietude of the first two albums, and as are the sluggishness and listener boredom that sets in not infrequently. Overall, the vocals seem balky and talky, a little awkward (as if they don't trust themselves to actually sing). On the plus side, they do a nice job upcycling '90s bass riffs (see "Replica" which cribs from the Cure). While not gruesome, this is considerably less than great. Bonus points for brevity, however, as modesty might be their strongest musical attribute.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
More ragged than glorious, this is barely above average straightforward rock, though certainly it has its heart in the right (though also predictable) places (see "Love and Only Love," "Mother Earth"). The band is a bit dumb and dull; though editors are too harsh in calling them "ham-fisted" and "numbskull," their claim that Crazy Horse is "best and worst band" seems about right. Certainly they bring out NY's better instincts and this did seem like a way out of the wilderness in which he'd been flailing for quite some time. A truly unique artist with some major blind spots (which are here manifested as questionable Boomer nostalgia [see "Days That Used to Be"]), NY has produced a good bit of dreck amidst the many gems. This fits neither of those categories, but nor is it a must-hear, falling miles short of the record to which it's most fancifully compared (Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere). And its timely relationship to grunge seemed coincidental at the time (one doubts it influenced anyone); today, this and Nirvana et al seem eras – even epochs – apart from just 30 years out.
Khaled
3/5
Easily diggable world music. One likes the voice quite a bit, which is world-weary at times and fully showman-like on other cuts. The playing and instrumentation seem predictably exotic – whether appropriate or appropriated one wouldn't be qualified to ascertain. But it certainly sounds good, if overtly poppy and pretty obviously designed to appeal to mass/mainstream tastes (see the very sweet/borderlilne saccharine "C'est la nuit" – which the background moaning improves). But it must be said that multi-lingual mainstream tastes may seem more sophisticated than, say, that of the average American consumer for whom the record is in no way intended). The treacly "Imagine" cover is best skipped.
David Bowie
3/5
Pretty cool and decently different, but not exactly life-changing or essential. And certainly not as avant-garde as it likely regarded itself to be. The experimentation is pretty tepid and derivative in the end. "Sound and Vision,” “Be My Wife” and “A New Career in a New Town” are best cuts. One doesn't much like the sound of "Breaking Glass." The instrumental second side is pleasant enough but drifts in to so much Enonian noolding. There are plenty of musty/dusty synth lines that sound as if Vincent Price may have dropped by the studio. Others are direct rip-offs of Kraftwerk or Neu, offering yet more evidence of Bowie as shameless imitator rather than true innovator. One can see why afficianados would consider this a hidden gem, but, given the significant superfluity of Bowie records on this list, impartial listeners might hear a likely candidate (among at least 3 and maybe 5 others) for culling.
Miriam Makeba
4/5
Swings sweetly, spiritually and dreamily, as retro/vintage world music is meant to do. The pristinely crystal voice is quite nimbly used. Best cuts = "Suliram" and "Lakushtin." This is definitely worth knowing and inspires further research into her catalog.
Skunk Anansie
2/5
Beavis and Butthead would have loved this record.
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
Soulful, fun and buoyant. Rowlands does try a bit too hard, maybe. Van cover doesn't do much, but the record gets better as it goes along. "Old" and "Let's Get This Straight" are among several plus tracks.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
3/5
One is all for jazz flavorings in rock and supports outright fusion, but this is unsubtle in the extreme. The Satie opener and closers only add to one's wonderment that this was a top-seller and Grammy winner. It's fine, if too loud, too effortful and over-emoted. The primary strength – the lead vocals – are also its greatest weakness (or annoyance). Dude had a great voice but way oversells it. "God Bless the Child" is the most interesting cut, if only because it's the one least bulldozed by too brassy brass and least bludgeoned over-the-top vocals.
Leftfield
2/5
It's the genre, that's the problem. Dance music records often sound less like actual albums than coding outputs or abstract patterns. And they should definitely avoid vocals, especially lame ones, which are abundant here. A waste of a slot in this esteemed list.
Goldie
2/5
Clinical and heavily machined and here-and-there interesting but way out-of-place anywhere but a club (and – let's be clear – a club in the late '90s), plus oh so soulless, indeed soulless to an extent that the ambition and innovation are undercut. Way too long (thanks '90s production excess). Utterly ill-named, too, as this is as dated as dated can be, thanks largely to drum machines. One seriously questions the historical staying power of dnb.
Ananda Shankar
4/5
The two cheesy covers early in the record are a serious misrepresentation of how good the rest of this is, especially "Mamata," "Metamorphosis" and the furious closer "Raghupati." Even if one weren't an Indophile, one would dig thoroughly.
Django Django
2/5
Moderately interesting at times and pleasant enough, but borderline forgettable.
Solange
4/5
Works well and on multiple levels, as sweet (okay, bittersweet), shiny and savvy R&B and equally as inspirational slice-of-life bit of black experience. The voice is dynamite and the production vibes and atmospheric and well suited to get the most out of it. Not exactly in one's wheelhouse musically, but hard not to like.
Pulp
4/5
This may not be their best record, Pulp is easily the best (and by far the cleverest) of Britpop and they hold up better to their obvious forebear (Kinks) than Oasis do to theirs (Beatles, in an insult to the Beatles). This is is witty and fun with some legit dark tones on nearly every track – they were/are masters of the ironic anthemic (though perhaps one means anthemic irony). The pieces work very well as a hole, but the steady momentum build is what makes this so good. The standout cuts include "Help the Aged," title track, "A Little Soul," "Sylvia," "The Day After the Revolution," "Like a Friend." So good, so Pulpy.
The Roots
3/5
More focus woulda make this a much stronger record. Throw out all the nu-metal stuff and get no more experimental than "The Seed" and "Break You Off" and "Complexity" of which are first-rate. Otherwise this is overstuffed – too many guests, too many ideas, too much genre-mashing/imitating. The overall effect is uneven, largely because what's not too loud is too long or incongruous with the adjacent vibes and flows. Aside: any song named "Pussy Galore" should be much better. And what a shame to end with a Prodigy soundalike.
fIREHOSE
4/5
Hard not to like the DIY spirit of this and its direct, stripped down sort of cleverness,. Best cuts are proabably the best known: "Riddle of the Eighties" "Liberty for Our Friend" and "Time with You" and "Understanding." One only half-liked this in real time of release (right in the heart of one's indie rock radio days), but it has aged surprisingly well, perhaps because of its organic instrumentation, authentic thrust and balance of hooky electric edges and folkie/melodic sweetness.
John Lennon
4/5
Very strong, emotionally intense (sometimes raw), fully committed and credibly executed (if a bit rough here and there and not exactly innovative in instrumentation), though maybe a bit too overtly therapeutic (that is, musicmaking as therapy) for its own good. Best cuts include “Mother,” “Hold On,” "I Found Out," “Working Class Hero," and“Isolation” – which make for a terrific Side 1. "Look at Me" and “God" nearly redeem a much weaker side 2. "Love" is too much, for instance, John overrearching as artists of over-sharing /overexposed, borderline naive/sentimental but still courageous ilk often do. "God" shows the risks (cataloguing too much) and rewards (pure authenticity, almost of the emo variety, the almost unberably vulnerable/ touching end) of that approach. it's both defiantally individualistic and uplifting in terms of praising the transformative power of love, and one does feel good for him, as editors suggest. Speaking of love, Yoko was net-net good for JL, one firmly believes, especially during the immediate, post-Beatles period. This worth knowing and its serious content means it's worth taking seriously, too.
Air
3/5
Dreamy and intermittently interesting but lacks context and even with the heavy-handed VO, lacks context to make this anything like a first-rate offering.
3/5
When one expects something to suck, decent feels like a pleasant surprise or outright win. Still, it isn't great, though more interesting (if not actually innovative) than a lot of the overbloated pomp (to which this veers awfully near) that was produced this era and type of act. "Nature's Way" and "Space Child" and "When I Touch You" are best cuts.
The Jam
4/5
One's a Weller fan and so digs this in most unsurprising fashion. Remastering improved the layering and textures and overall sound by more than a shout. There are multiple very strong cuts – "Mr Clean", "In the Crowd," "Fly," "A Bomb in Wardour Street," "Down In the Tube Station," and, to a lesser degree, "English Rose" which works, if a bit cringily. Collectively, this points to the excellent and more varied work Weller would go on to do in the future.
Gotan Project
4/5
Que copado! Que barbaro! Totally bueno onda! One is fully down with nuevo tango and 21st-century updates of a hugely underappreciated genre. Larga vida al tango! And gracias Gotan for helping to make it so.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
It’s hard not to conclude that less woulda been more here – both in terms of length/number of cuts and within cuts (why so many horns and so much backing vocals on so many cuts?). And it’s too scuzzy and muddy in production, with too many same-y, borderline filler-ish tunes (two of first four could be cut, plus "Turd" and one or two others late) to be among the very first rank of albums. All that said, this is great, the world is way better off because this is is still great, a triumph of mood and tone and vibe (or sub-genre [which would be raunchy country blues with a British accent]), the kind of album about which books are written and should be read. The "overrated" question is interesting but rather straightforwardly answered by saying it's not as good as Beggar's Banquet or Let It Bleed, and that's largely down to length. The "should it have been a double album" is the more interesting (if a little tired) question. It does lack hits and less woulda been more, but still a milestone and more than a minor masterpiece.
Björk
3/5
Arty and intriguing. Also arty and tedious. And last song very nearly ruins the arty vibe, the mix of vespers with human beatboxing being too weird to work well.
Beatles
4/5
Super crisp, super tight pop baubles, here, played with conviction and some teeth, like a well-honed and gritty bar band (which one reckons they more or less were, despite the cleaned-up packaging since Hamburg). One senses just a little bit of menace beneath the mop-toppy sound (even on cuts like "Please Mr. Postman"). But this does feel more than shouting distance from Sgt. Peppers, or even Revolver. Paul goes full Perry Como on his (characteristically) soft ballad, "Till There Was You," suggesting how they might have turned into Gerry and the Pacemakers, but thankfully didn't.
Paul Revere & The Raiders
3/5
Some crisp and vintage British Invasion pop here ("Kicks," "All I Really Need"), but also some badly dated, leisure-suit equivalents (e.g., "Stepping Stone," "Get It On," references to 30-cent bottles of wine). The basic issues are 1) be the second vocalist, who's very much second rate. 2) mostly rudimentary playing (despite some uber-groovy guitar licks ("Always Tomorrow,") and 3) the massively derivative nature of the overall vibes/feels (e.g., "SS 396" which is outright Beach Boys plaigarism and embarrasing beside; the same could be roughly said of "Little Girl in the 4ht Row" however charmingly sweet it is). The other major plus is that they dropped the Revolutionary War outfits. One doesn't in the least feel they were worthy or greater success or recognition, however au courant it might've seemed in the late mid-'60s, which is indeed where this is best left.
Suicide
3/5
Just not a scary as it is supposed to be (though of course it's quite serious and heavy) and it was never thought to be any good, like, musically, now was it? And no surprise that people hated that live. Albums that seem like therapy sessions for the artist may not be as beneficial for listeners. Weirdly, it's surprisingly approachable in some ways, with primitive, DIY-y SFX that seem to set the stage for 80s synth bands of both the light/bright and dark/arty varieties. "Frankie" is supposed to be like "The End" but haunts to a much weaker extent, seems rather basic social criticism (about as subtle as an Upton Sinclair novel) and is much less artful generally. (Or maybe one's just got too well adjusted in middle age to put much stock in such as this). That Springsteen liked shows the power of depression, but we seem to have got Nebraska out of the deal, a very fair trade.
Motörhead
2/5
Waste of space on any list that honors value. Definitely belongs on lists that prioritize volume.
The Stone Roses
5/5
Just fantastic, as good as it got back in the day, and still holds up excellently well. They actually overachieved despite an absolute tidal wave of hype. "I Wanna Be Adored" is a compelling opener, setting a serious tone, and the closer "Fool's Gold," is a strong contender for best cut of the last few decades. What's in between could be criticized for being just a litlte bit samey, but man is it groovy and deeply pleasurable to listen to. The record's too good to be characterized as a one-hit wonder but man does one with we'd heard more from this lot.
Super Furry Animals
5/5
Fun, different and interesting – and engaging in the most thoroughgoing sort of way. Because everything works well (and well together), it's hard to pick individual standouts but one has enjoyed these the most: the ecstatic title cut, "Not the End of the World," “Shoot Doris Day” and “Juxtapozed with U" and “Presidential Suite” “Run Christian Run" and "Roman Road." The more outre moments (scary voices on "Respectable" and sound effect montage on "No Sympathy" go borderline too far) but are mostly additive. usually, music of this quanity faces quality issues – not this one. SFA are a band one wishes one knew better and had more time for when one was younger, when life was more sprawling and delicious, weirder and more exciting, just like this most excellent record.
Sepultura
1/5
Waste of time. 0/5
3/5
Sure, it's more ambitious than Leisure, but better? More pleasurable? One's not persuaded. Plus, bands don't really deserve extra credit for attempting social commentary. Leave that to the novelists, sociologists, urbanists, etc., eh? This isn't as good as it seems to be convinced that it is and Blur often wrecks enjoyable songs with tone reversals that make the whole thing seem a joke. "Blue Jeans" and "Chemical World" are best cuts, but they aren't enough to push this into the top rank of records. Also, it's hard to escape the impression that Albarn just likes to hear himself sing, when he's really only too clever by a quarter. Oasis is better in one direction, Pulp in another. One should like Blur; one was/is very much in the target demo, but somehow their work never connects.
Mekons
4/5
Wonderfully weird and fun, with "Chivalry" and "Darkness and Doubt" and "Psycho Cupid" among the best cut. Full marks for originality and executing with a sense of humor and context.
Carole King
5/5
Is there a single note wrong on this record? Any questionable lyrics or phrasings that seem forced or unnatural or anything less than spot on? Not that one can hear. There are big hits all over the place, and meaningful classics ("Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?") whose impact and influence go far beyond the pop charts. It's encouraging that such a rich and substantive record sold so well. Only downsides is that it can seem sorta boring, with playing right down the middle, and her voice isn't the best, though the singing (phrasing, etc.) is first-rate. An eat-your-vegetables classic it may be, but a classic nonetheless.
Dirty Projectors
3/5
Okay-arty and semi-interesting, but lacks flow and one fails to connect too deeply for the bands' too much jumping around.
Randy Newman
3/5
Let's be clear: Newman would be cancelled for some of this today. And it would be on him – he clearly fancied himself a provocateur but the targets seem obvious and the jokes aren't as clever as he thinks (and his fans do). There are moments to be sure – "Marie," "Guilty" and "Louisiana 1927" – and real craft here but also a whiff of hackery. The instrumentation doesn't exactly suit the material either, with strings and brass that lay it on the thick, the cheese and sappiness and borderline sentimetality (and wouldn't Newman cringe to be accused of such?). Also, taking points off for the pretty crappy soundtrack work that would follow, though perhaps they were crappy by design since the movies were same. Though his partisans love to claim a lack of appreciation, his position in the canon – resting heavily as much on novelty hits and lame (if no doubt well compensated OSTs) as anything of more substance – seems about right, which is why it's safe to forget him.
Radiohead
4/5
This is interesting and atmospheric but patchy and certainly not as good as Kid A, to such an extent that one finds credible the arguments that this is a set of Kid A outtakes. The middle cuts – the excellent "I Might Be Wrong" and "Knives Out" and "Morning Bell/Amnesiac" anchor the record – which otherwise drifts. The "hit," "Pyramid Song," is alleged to the standout, but one finds it pretty meh, and ultimately unmoving. The windy, brassy closer doesn't make it for an effective ending and leaves one overwhelmed, perhaps appropriately.
Pearl Jam
4/5
The high-water mark for grunge, in one's view, with "Black" being the most emotionally susbstantive and resonant song in all that genre (which isn't exactly saying a lot, given the historical perspective). That cut's raw sincerity (and heartbreak [and courage from sad questioning in face of same]) retains its full power today. The supporting cuts include several top-notch cuts (which are too well known to bother naming). However it seems clear now that this was borderline music for muscleheads, in a way, punky/skateboardy kids from (relatively) prosperous suburbs, most likely with permissive parents who were down with long hair and maybe a few tattoos and certainly t-shirts with sleeves torn off and wearing hats backward. If ‘70s arena rock was bloated and gouty, as if it were a non-fit person who never went to the gym, then grunge came to be like dudes who went to the gym too often (after giving up booze, say), and were a bit too bowed out, a bit too angry and ready to assert machismo, maybe even took steroids and so got too rigid/inflexible (which might be this record's one and primary weakness). Vedder's vocal style is at once iconic and caricature-ish; one feels some pain in listening to him sing, actually, but it's amazing what he yields from the instrument, which is truly distinguished and a signature voice / style in all the r&r canon (i.e., not just grunge). the ‘90s were mostly all downhill after this, through one can make a case that the '90s mostly went downhill from here, though one is tempted to argue that Vs. might actually be a touch better, because variety and slightly looser/funner feel.
Beth Orton
4/5
Charming, warm, sophisticated. This is one of her three very strong records that one played a ton for a few years early in the new millennium. Both versions of title cut are great, as are "Sweetest Decline" and "Pass In Time" and "Love Like Laughter." Her last record showed exactly what made her great but an unfortunately failing voice. Still most worth knowing.
Syd Barrett
3/5
This is worth knowing, though mainly for historical purposes, and for reference to "mad genius" mythos. It's interesting, but not necessarily enjoyable or ultimately that impactful. Does get tedious after a time.
The Cure
5/5
An album so personally meaningful, emotionally resonant and musically immersive that it's one of the few that one insists on listening to only in its entirety and only when one can concentrate fully (or near fully). In other words, this is to be taken with great seriousness.
Sex Pistols
2/5
It's hard to never mind when the whole record is bollocks.
Happy Mondays
4/5
Likably loose and raffish, vaguely Stones-like in that sense, with some plus-pleasurable moments and vibes, but no songs that take off or fully captivate. Much better – hookier, more compelling – was to come. Rounding up for that reason, to a very soft 4.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
The RHCP album for people who don't like RHCP. One digs the mellow vibes and restrained playing throughout. They made a very wise decision not going any farther into rap-rock than they did.
Mariah Carey
3/5
Lays it on lush, lavish and way too thick. There are plenty of pleasing bits and sweetnesses, but they are buried under an avalanche of glissando, melissima and vibrato. Phil Spector was better with much less advanced studio tech. Sinead O’s title as top Prince interpreter remains unchallenged.
David Bowie
3/5
Just not that good, with the strong title cut standing head and shoulders above the rest which is more dross and drudge than sturm und drang. As so often, the over indulgent Bowie begs his listeners’ indulgence without offering sufficient return. That's especially true of side 2 (one's speaking as an ambient/Eno fan). Whichever editor likes him so much as to include this many Bowie records might need to have a think about the fanboy instincts.
Dr. Octagon
3/5
A hip-hopera about a space-age, super-hero gynecologist? Of course. Not sure the concept adds much but the music is likable throughout, though there's about three or four worth of cuts that are absolutely necessary. Sorta fun and cool. Sorta silly and sophomoric.
Roxy Music
4/5
One digs the artier edge of glam. “If There Is Something” is really something and "Would You Believe" is also good fun, combining distinctly '80s vibes in the opening '50s diner-doo-wop – strange but cool, not unlike the lead singer who has a wonderful voice and knows how to use it to excellent effect. The sax work is great throughout, notably on "Bitters End." Really strong overall, even if much better was to come.
Lambchop
4/5
What a pleasure to get served up a truly underappreciated band, one that resolutely did its own thing and did it quite well indeed. Ohio and How I Quit Smoking would be worth additions to this list. Understated is the new hot and quiet is the new loud.
Yes
4/5
Yes sort of transcends prog rock here, on what might be the best prog rock album. Put another way, they were the pop-vibiest of all the major prog acts (so maybe not really all that prog). But they are certainly artier than most of their arena rock brethren – so call them liminal (they'd probably like that). One has always dug Anderson's singing, too. “Seen All Good People” and “Yours Is No Disgrace” and “Starship Trooper” are all excellent would work for any band in any genre really, even if they're slightly on the loopier side for straight-up rock. At any rate, whatever you call it, this holds up well.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
One remembers this sounding a suspiciously upbeat on first hearing (considering the circumstances) and it still feels that way to some degree. (“Can’t We Be Friends” and “Mary’s Place” sound like they belong on another record.) And the return of the ESB seems also sort of obvious – big, solid and damn near perfect sounding; their return was perhaps necessary to produce this much quantity at such a high degree of quality, and to take on such rich but difficult subject matter at such a sensitive time. It's probably safe to say that this is what the country needed at the time (and Bruce doing what he could do), but only limited bonus points for that now. Musically, it’s solid all the way around and the band sounds fine and big. Still, I prefer lighter-weight and more minimalist Bruce. There’s a too-muchness on several cuts that are sad at the core and would be better stripped down – on “Nothing Man,” there are synths and strings and horns and repetitive backing vocals (“duh-duh-duh-da-doo” nine times in a row). Repetition is a problem throughout (“let it rain” x 4 and “strength/faith/hope/love” again and again on “Into the Fire”). Some cuts feel more forced (“Counting on a Miracle”, “Further On”) than felt (“My City of Ruins,” “The Rising”). Still, as ever with Bruce, there’s a great deal to like – opener and closer are both great – and even the few misfits are enjoyable. Still, enjoyability may be the wrong metric. As with all late Bruce, the actual music making and production are first-rate, unimpeachable really, with its heart in the right place and a high degree of thoughtfulness, even if it's a little broad and so damn near to sentimental (though the good kind, mostly).
Amy Winehouse
5/5
Pure class, innit? And what a debut. Not many better. The record's a total blast, fun and tart and sassy. One wonders what Carole King would make of "Fuck Me Pumps" or "I Heard Love Is Blind," a right proper 21st-centurty cheatin' song. It's at once fresh and new and respectful of tradition (love the hat tip to Sarah Vaughn), soulful in the classic sense and savvy in the modern way. "Mr. Magic" is a fantastic closer – just seals the deal. Cool and excellent throughout. Rounding up slightly, if only because of one's own sense of loss of what might have been.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
5/5
Just stellar – smart, savvy, literate, interesting, melancholy – all the things one loved in an indie pop/rock record circa early-80s (perfectly aligned to one's teenage years). An astonishing debut, that maybe drops too many names, but is otherwise modest in its ambitions. Clearly it's too subtle, too earnestly ironic, for many of the reviewers here – not every records needs bangers, eh? Or, the problem might be that, as one of his later songs would put it, "Baby, you're too well read."Dylan and Leonard Cohen are the wrong comps, Elvis Costello is a better one and John Wesley Harding, who followed LC. One is rounding up because of the personal connections (saw him multiple times and and interviewed him for college radio).
Radiohead
4/5
Is it a great band operating at (or near) the peak of its powers? Yes. Is it also too long (by at least a few cuts) and somewhat indifferent/directionless compared to their other fantastic work of this same vintage? Their sixth or seventh best record is better than the best of most other artists in this esteemed list.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
Other than it being massively presumptuous, pretentious and ponderous, it's just about as perfect as a complete and utter bludgeoning of several of the classical world's most memorable motifs can be.
Ute Lemper
2/5
Fails to move, primarily because, one supposes, it's not exactly Kate Bush or Aimee Mann, now is it? This seems like a record for people who feel Scott Walker isn't stiff or formal or melodramatic enough. Feels an ill fit for this list and easily replaceable by, say, Feist or Sarah Harmer or Waxahatchee or Snail Mail or Claro or Soccer Mommy or Courtney Barnett or even, for Chrissakes, Neena or Nina Hagen. Rounding down because of the line "if sex were an Olympic sport / we'd a won the gold" – even recognizing she didn't write it, she chose it.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
This is perfectly fine, if tepid and poppy, soul(ish) music, but really somebody should have told these cats the '80s were going to end one day and so lay off some of the cheesy studio effects. Dude had a voice, but still hard to avoid the one-hit-wonder stigma, huh?
New Order
4/5
Too many songs that sound like Depeche Mode ripoffs (plus a couple that should be on Cure records), but there's much that works well in vintage NO style (probing bass, authentic, slightly sad-yearning vocals). There's an excess of production gloss and maybe too much warmth in the vocals (which reads broad and obvious). There are too many synthy flourishes (see "Round and Round," "Mr. Disco") that relegate this to the disposable club music ghetto and badly date this (who cares about Ibiza now?). One much prefers the songs that sound like new wave/indie rock ("All the Way," "Love Less," "Run"). This is a somewhat generous rounding up for a record that doesn't really compare to the Stone Roses' debut.
Maxwell
5/5
A sexy record that makes one want to have sex – more and sexier sex. As good as neo-soul/R&B ever got, and not just 'cos it's a panty dropper, but because it gets damn near everything else right, too.
Stereo MC's
3/5
If released today, this would undoubtedly be called "vibesy," and one likes the positivity, generally, but wonder how many minds were elevated in any meaningful or lasting sense. Yes, it's decently cool, and one wants to like it more than one actually does. Seems rather more run-of-the-mill than anything like essential at this point.
Burning Spear
4/5
One can't hear a single wrong note here – so seems perfect, though one must admit to not being afficianado enough to appreciate all the nuances. Still, great, pleasure to hear and it might actually be that there are 1,000 reggae albums one should hear before one dies.
The Cars
5/5
Mabye this was the best of the first American new wave acts, more accessible and pleasurable than the Talking Heads; more consistent and better-rounded than Blondie. This record set an extraordinarily high bar that few other bands could ever get over, making it seem so easy and being so unabashedly stylish – this was how to put the final nails in the coffin of bloated arena/classic rock. The debut is a minor masterpiece, a clear agenda (non-grandiose) just about perfectly executed, way exceeding what was to come (spots of which were quite excellent indeed). Every song works – actually every note and sound effect – and the three or four stone-cold classics have lost not a bit of their tight and hooky sheen. Style and content forever!
Sparks
3/5
Showy, campy, high-energy, silly – this records is all of these things and more. Just not very good.
Elton John
4/5
Very strong opening, first two tracks just get better with age and represent something of a high0water market in ambitious West Coast soft rock. From there, though, it just kind of treads water – warm, rich and mostly pleasurable water. Remaining in a similar tone/mode throughout plus Taupin's obscure and not really that interesting lyrics keep it from getting anywhere near transcendent. Piano playing is additive. Strings become increasingly too much and start to feel slathered on by the end.
Pet Shop Boys
3/5
Too contrived, too camp, very difficult to take seriously.
Robert Wyatt
3/5
Somewhat endearingly odd and off-kilter, but just a bit too twee for me.
Public Image Ltd.
3/5
This list doesn't need two PiL records but this is very much the better of the two, dark and intense and not so silly-clubby or dancy as Lydon would get in the latter, lurid stages of PiL. One's never much liked his singing but the austere and relentless guitars have a bigger presence here and so lighten the (annoying) load of the vocals to a certain degree. The overlap with Joy Division and early Cure are undeniable.
Depeche Mode
2/5
"Not bad so far as it goes – very strong vocals, above average hooks – but it dulls after a time. Pretty awful lyrics (""Promises me I'm as safe as houses
/ As long as I remember who's wearing the trousers"") don't help. In the stripped down sound, it’s easy to see how they were pivoting toward a bigger, rockier impact and more mainstream appeal. Synths sound dated, as they always do (and maybe most dance music does, too), no matter the vintage. Personally, one hears not very much to get excited about. In the end, this lot are only slightly better than the Pet Shop Boys and nowhere near as good as The Cure.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
Not much better "fuckery" on this entire list and how much more one would have liked to hear. Every song has merit but "Rehab," "Me and Mr, Jones" and "Love Is a Losing Game" are all standouts. Just great.
The Cult
2/5
"Wild Flower" is great. The rest is of this sub-meh. The Steppenwolf cover is in the conversation for the GOAT of ill-advised covers.
Miles Davis
5/5
No better record has ever been made – in any era or genre. The playing on "All Blues" and "Blue in Green" are just otherworldly, with Evans and Coltrane in impeccable form throughout. Miles' ingenious vision and exquisite soloing make the thing a milestone in music history. It's remained a best-friend record, a dessert island disc for decades.
The United States Of America
3/5
A bit better than marginalia of vintage psychedelia, but not by much. "Hard Coming Love" will make one fantasize about go-go boots and lava lamps and there are quite a few other moments, some of which are related to the very strong vocals (e.g., "Love Song for the Dead Che") and some for other reasons (e.g., The Sgt Peppers-evil-twin tune "Stranded in Time"). Maybe tries too hard at times but A for effort and sprawl. There's a too-much sense at times, and one's sure that it woulda been better had they played it a bit straighter (but sure tell that to commies in the '60s). And one likes the reprisal of the whole record in the final cut (see the Las) but not sure this record 100% merits it.
Abdullah Ibrahim
4/5
A gorgeous and happy-making jazz record. "Mandela" swings ever so sweetly (the man inspired some great and joyful music). There's an Ellingtonian feel throughout (especially the lush, langourous and lovely "Song for Sathima") that plays as celebratory rather than derivative. Such polish and elegance in the playing and barely an ill note across the whole side. "Manenberg Revisited" is gossamer beauty, a light breeze on a warm, sunny day on top of a gently(and interestingly) skiffling rhythm section. "The Mountain" is beauitful – one wishes only that it were longer. "Sameeda" gestures at post big-band tonalities. What a record. Delighted to have made its acquaintance.
Drive-By Truckers
3/5
Rock operas never work and this one is no exception. Musically, this fine if not all that interesting. And it goes on way too long in a samey Southern-fried vein. Both vocalists are sub-par and the one is occasionally painful to hear. The Southern navel-gazing is a bit much, too; as a Southerner one has got awfully tired of it. As for the storyline ... well, it's not exactly Faulkner or Flannery O'Connor, now is it? The real shame is that there at least a dozen (and maybe several) of more deserving choices for the southern rock sub-section of this list.
The Divine Comedy
4/5
Clever but maybe too much for its own good. The joke is well sustained for most of this, the spiky and drily nostalgic (ironic?) music makes sense. Best cuts: "More Like Alfie," "In and Out," "The Frog Princess." Overall, strong and enjoyable, but, still, two records by this lot seems a bit much (much like the overall undertaking) for this list (this would be the one to keep).
Lou Reed
4/5
Mostly works if occasionally overdone. "Sad Song" is quite good and the orchestrations are mostly effective, if heavy-handed in more than a few spots; they also lighten and brighten proceedings, perhaps even slightly more than intended. It is lush and cinematic (one supposes) but the characters aren't all that relatable.
Taylor Swift
4/5
One can see how the Taylor Industrial Complex came to be after this one – which is high-gloss and precision-engineered, but a bit soulless and as cynical as necessary to achieve massive commercial scale. There's no denying a few of the first-rate cuts (and their mad-infectious hooks) – “Welcome to New York,” "Style," “Shake It Off." One generally prefers Ryan's version, if only showing how they might work in leaner, quieter settings. This is overdone, as with much of Taylor's world, but still ... rounding up if only from one's daughter's love.
Nico
4/5
This is proper chamber pop – with some knotty and odd bits, but mostly lovely and different. The vocals are offbeat and distinctive, not the sweetest or most melodious of singing styles but rather formal and structured and just the slightest bit stilted – which works very well between and across the string arrangements and looping-then-jabbing flutes. A few cuts are first rate – "These Days" and "Finest of Seasons" and "I'll Keep it With Mine."
Tom Waits
4/5
One's a fan but this is a bit too talky and floor-showy for one's tastes, but glad it helped revive/sustain his career. Certainly it feels authentic and seems like the crowd was into it. "Upon a Foggy Night" and "Warm Beer and Cold Women" and "Phantom 309" are the highlights. Piano and sax playing are here and there inspired. This is a full notch below Rain Dogs and Swordfishtrombones and even Frank's Wild Years. Still, rounding up for its uniqueness; few, if any, other artists coulda pulled this off.
The Allman Brothers Band
5/5
What a f-ing record this is – searing, magisterial, transcendent. The soloing is expansive and patient, but also insistent and frequently sizzling. No jam band has ever excelled this. Greg A was as good a singer as his brother was a guitarist, though the long instrumental passages are what makes this. How is Eat a Peach not on this list?
Lupe Fiasco
4/5
Fun, likable, fresh, with "Kick, Push" and "Daydreamin'" the top choices. The Outro is cool but probably not 12+ minutes cool.
Can
4/5
Most chill and groovy. Strange and alluring in effect, with wanderings that seem mostly worthwhile. In parallel universes, Can woulda/coulda/shoulda been the Dead. "Moonshake” is best while “Bel Air” goes a bit sideways before course-correcting.
Tom Waits
5/5
A stone-cold masterpiece. Musically interesting, cinematic in scope, lyrically piercing. By far it's his most balanced record, where the cheap laughs, borderline sentimentality and grim/noir aspects work well together, reinforcing the emotional impact of each. The middle part of the record through the end is just classic after classic – "Hang Down Your Head" and "Time" and "Rain Dogs" and "9th & Hennepin" and "Gun Street Girl" "Walking Spanish" and "Blind Love" and "Downtown Train" and "Anywhere I Lay My Head." All his dues-paying seemed to pay off in the coalescing of high musical art here.
Portishead
3/5
Dark and trenchant, but often resonant (especially when listening in the right circumstances [slightly depressed, say, on a grim winter's day]). Ages better than Dummy, thanks to cutting the cutesy (and uber-trip-hoppy) effects. This is music to set you on edge. “Nylon Smile” is woozy and warbly; “We Carry On” grinding (perhaps appropriately) and annoying. The migraine-inducing “Machine Gun” seems to want to be Nine Inch Nails-lite, a most dubious aspiration on multiple levels. And it feels like music singularly subject to the context of weather: the worse it is, the better this sounds. Maybe trip-hop was never one's thing. Or maybe it was overrated all along. Or perhaps it's a curse to win the Mercury Prize, relegating/restricting your work to a moment in time or ensuring your future ambitions will be frustrated. Editors comparing to an allegedly failed effort by The Verve seems like cheap and insecure justification or apology for a record that one finds distinctly hard to get behind. Menacing? Yes, for sure, but not necessarily in an engaging way. Enduring? One just doesn't hear it.
G. Love & Special Sauce
4/5
One is always surprised to enjoy this as much as one does, but it's critical to remember that this came out long before a bunch of tiresome adjacent acts (from the White Stripes to Jack Johnson to white rappers generally) embraced this for inspiration. This was early in the DIY revolution, which one didn't necessarily love, given one's trust in experts generally. Not terrible, but will get increasingly less above average as time goes by, one fears.
Christina Aguilera
3/5
Soulful but very shout-y. It's clear why she was a big star but why this era of pop (even including neo-R&B, a mostly likable genre) was so disappointing and obvious and excessive in so many ways. Less musically-driven than commercially-oriented.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
This is so overrated, as Frank is generally. One'll take Tony Bennett any day. Go listen to the TB + Bill Evans records for what a record with this title should sound like.
Culture Club
4/5
Absolutely first-rate vocals (both lead and backing) are the strength of this record. Odd to think how well this stands up given Boy George's focus on style over substance; if kids didn't know how controversial his look was, will they just think he's got an all-time voice that could flit between pure pop, white soul and gospel-inflected R&B. Playing is polished here and production is first rate. One always thinks these songs will seem trifles, and then finds them surprisingly substantive, if still fun, bouncy and danceable. One can make a case that Kissing To Be Clever is the better of the record (if only because it includes "Time (Clock of the Heart)" which isn't – hey editors – just a "slow dance tune for teens" but an absolute contender for GOAT love song), but still, glad some CC made the cut here.
ZZ Top
3/5
Good greasy fun. "LaGrange" has an all-time hook and "Waiting for the Bus" is strong opener, and "Hot, Blue & Righteous" and "Master of Sparks" are best of the deep cuts. Rounding down because Eliminator should be nowhere near this list.
The Libertines
4/5
Overall strong, if quite performative and showy, like all these bands were. Their attitudinal strengths and style points don't extend all that well over the years. “Music When the Lights Go Out” and “What Katy Did" are top tracks. Decent quality and maybe not quite so tiresomely full of themselves as FF and Strokes.
Van Morrison
4/5
This is very good on its own terms and one can listen to Van all day and so likes the prompt here. Honestly one thinks grumpy, expansive studio Van is more than man than frontman Van is. There are other of his albums one would prefer to have on this list. Say The Healing Game or personal fave Enlightenment. The band is almost too tight and polished as it distracts a bit from the vocals, and Van seems to be painting a bit by numbers, bouncing along to the playing, rather than these deep expansive articulations and growling passions that one gets off the studio work. So, great with asterisk one supposes.
Ian Dury
4/5
Had Benny Hill been a rocker, he'd have made a record like this. Rounding up for sheer unPC, cheekiness of it all very much including clever Trevor and Tina the Hyena.
Jane Weaver
4/5
One likes this quite a bit, but maybe overindexing on something relatively new and fresh after so much that felt old and (to be honest) stale. Though this one starts to feel a bit fabricated toward the back. One feels inspired to hear more of her catalog, as this is quite strong – driving, different and interesting – overall.
My Bloody Valentine
4/5
Sonically artful and totally engaging at times – musical equivalent of a Gerhard Richter canvas, giant, sprawling and wondrous and inviting viewers/listeners to immerse and get deeply and lysergically lost. the opener is just dazzling in its roaring quietude (quiet being the new loud) and "in another way" is tremendous, at once overwhelming and beguiling. A few other cuts challenging but well any effort required. Objectivity compels one to point out that three MBV records is borderline too much but one's quite pleased they are here (and for whichever is the main fanboy). This isn't Loveless but their second best, and stunningly original.
Aimee Mann
4/5
Brigtht, bouncy and brilliant, bascially. It's the details, like the glockenspiel quoting "Born to Run" after mention of NJ (which Hornsby noted) that add up to make this such a treat. The countryish guitar hook and backing vocals on “Fifty Years.” The ragtime piano and hidden penny whistle (if that’s what it is) on the closer. Her late-career renaissance produced several really good records beyond this one.That song alone would be worth the price of admission, but there are multiple other winners (“Stupid Thing” and “Say Anything” are standouts) and little to no filler. A street-smarter and more urbane Joni Mitchell. A more mature Liz Phair and more jaded (and more literate/bettter educated) Cheryl Crowe. She’s better than so many quality contemporaries near and far. But she seems to have become so much more distinctly herself on these later records, which were a pleasure to be surprised by first time around and are still holding up well.
Booker T. & The MG's
4/5
An enjoyable listen that reminds one how much fun focusing on the fundamentals can be, though the simplicity tends towards the simplistic at times. There's no major artistic vision here or groundbreaking virtuosity. One has no problems with instrumentals and quite likes the loose, jangly riffing on "Mo' Onions," say, and the moodiness of "Behave Yourself" and contemplative "Stranger on the Shore." But they are nice-to-hear and whimsical rather than show-stoppers or breath-takers. Even allowing for the more innocent era of its production and the modesty of its ambition, however, there is something tossed off about this and maybe the slightest whiff of novelty act (organ sounds like a carnival grinding or hockey rink while the Zamboni runs). "Twist and Shout" doesn't blow one away with inspiration or anything and almost sounds like "Do You Love Me" or some other Dirty Dancing soundtrack knock-off. "Lonely Avenue" is the more effective cover. "One Who Really Loves" is an engaging little mood lifter. Rounding up because one's glad the studio cats got their moment in the sun, though Booker does remain a rather mysterious frontman. If this is a hidden gem, it's sort of been hiding in plain sight and really isn't all that gemlike either, now is it?
The Cure
4/5
Droney and subtly moody and exquisitely controlled. One loves that they did what they did and not any more, not trying to overwhelm but create some murky, melancholic atmospherics with quietly propulsive basslines (like a heartbeat, really, as at end of "A Forest") and tonal gradations. The guitar work is quite understated, almost elegant at time in its self-restraint. Says what it says and gets out, which helps overcome the slightly outdated-sounding drum machines. The remaster feels much cleaner and brighter than the muddy-sounding casette one remembers from the early '80s. The guitars in particular seem sharper, more neatly jangly. Overall, the songs gets steadily stronger – "A Forest," "M" and titular closer are highlights. The Cure seems to get better YOY and with closer and repeat listenings, too, and there isn't much glowier praise one can give a band.
Welcome when it came out, one was skeptical but was quickly convinced that U2 was worthwhile/cool again after crappy/dancy/clubby previous few albums. Remaster seems to have dialed up the studio trickery and synthiness more than one would idealy like. This is the sound of a band navigating through its middle ages and adjusting more effectively to shifts in musical style. It also shows them being maybe a bit too concerned (even slightly desperate) to remain relevance. And there are hints of the bombast that has become the band's (mainly Bono's) major characteristic in the years since. But, to be clear, this is a collection of mostly first-rate songs – "Beautiful Day" is a great opener and "Elevation" a quality banger, while "Kite" and "Walk On" and "Grace" more than adequately hold up the quieter/more serious and contemplative side of things. The overall effect is largely what U2's best records do best – inspire, comfort and reckon. Though they've added far too much dreck to their catalog, that this is their 4th or 5th best record (behind Boy, War, UF, JT – not necessarily in that order) speaks to the sustained quality output.
Miles Davis
4/5
Is there a single missed note on this whole record? If there is, one can't hear it. Still, to be clear, this is far from peak Miles -- it's not Kind of Blue, In a Silent Way, Milestones or any of the great Quintet records. The influence is undeniable of course, and it's a pleasure to hear, if a little on the dry side and museum piece-y. "Boplicity" was among the first jazz tunes one ever loved so there's that, too. Easy 4.
Randy Newman
3/5
This if fine, witty here, sure, and biting there. And one's a firm supporter of curmudgeonliness and cynicism in many forms and okay with dudes who sing despite having indifferent or even poor voices. But this feels oversold, overdetermined and overdone. The best song "Dayton, Ohio," is a nice little set piece, but not quite the slice-of-life high art he appears to be reaching for. "Leave Your Hat On" isn't terrible either. For a guy so obviously playing for laughs, he does take himself awfully seriously, no? Would he even have made it on Tin Pan Alley? One's not so sure and really struggles to get into this at any more than a level of passing interest. The cover shot might be the best thing about the record. And whatever hipster cred or critical rep he had was lost with the Toy Story work (about which he seems way too proud).
Gene Clark
4/5
Utterly charming, one could listen to this man's understated and countrified soulfulness all day (and twice on Saturdays).
Les Rythmes Digitales
2/5
Has all the usual posterity problems of dance music – disposability, forgettability. Not sure about the nostalga, don't care about the (alleged) dancability. Seems more silly than fun.
Aphex Twin
3/5
A classic and ever so influential, of course, but one does lose interest as if floats and blips along, as if it's music for minds to wander to. Plus, synthesized music in all its form dates quicker, with its much shorter half-life. "Xtal" is best song, and it's not entirely downhill from there, but mostly.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
Love the sprawling excellence, and fantastically fragmented feel of this. With so many songs feeling unfinished or as if they coulda been more or longer or bigger hits, there's a ragged and occasionally wild effect. A lot of coke-edged melodies and excessive bounciness and the sequence of songs makes no sense – the penultimate title track shoulda really been the opener, which here is entirely too slow. But so many of the songs also feel familiar and recognizable as Fleetwood Mac, even if this is three solo records in one. It’s weird that I don’t really much like Stevie Nicks or Christine McVie as a singer, but the quality of the songs here are so uniformly high (darker, haunting songs for former, quite effecting sad-sweet ballads for latter). But their cuts are nice contrasts to the various magnum and mini opuses (opi?) of LB who deserves most of the credit (obvs), then. The White Album is the right comp (not only because of the similar production histories) and while this isn’t quite as weird, it’s damn close in terms of overall aesthetic impact. One can make the case, the best records are not necessarily those with most music but this double album gets bonus points for volume -- for a very high quality across the high quantity. Its fabulous for all the flaws which ultimately equates to genius.
The Who
5/5
Stunningly good even 50 years out. Two of the all-time rock anthems, plus "Behind Blue Eyes," "Getting In Tune" and "Going Mobile." Just classic. One of one's first favorite records and it sounds as good today as it did when one got the vinyl for 7th grade Xmas (one thinks). Because of hanging around too long and putting out some middling stuff, the Who became too easy to underestimate, but this is just about as good as it gets on this list or by any other measure.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
3/5
Definitely the type of record one would be into if one were into this type of record. Not terrible and certainly rocks intermittently ("R.L. Got Soul" is a high point), but not very authentic either, and so blatantly performative ("hey, let's dress up as blues artists for Halloween!") as to not even merit an accusatin of cultural appropriation. The opening scream tells one all one needs to know about their intention (which seems to be attention basically) and their willingess to overreach to achieve it. And one can't think of too many other records less deserving of a Deluxe edition.
Holger Czukay
3/5
Only vaguely interesting ("Persian Love" is pretty nifty and "Hollywood Symphony" offering a few moments of intrigue). Ultimately, this seems well deserving of its position as no more than a footnote in the annals of rock history. One's reminded that influence isn't everything and suspects his estate wishes he had patented sampling.
The Sonics
1/5
Total waste of time. Their obscurity is utterly justified. And wardrobe really should've done a better job for the album cover photo shoot.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
3/5
Perfectly fine, warm and sunny and upbeat. Plenty of worse records have sold more (and better ones fewer) so glad this enjoyed its commercial moment.
The The
4/5
I get some vaguely if-Pink-Floyd-was-a-new-wave band vibes. It’s dark and edgy and heavy. “Angels of Deception” is one's favorite cut, from a record one spent a lot of time with in the late '80s. Not as good as Soul Mining, but still substantive, interesting, well unified and very much worth knowing.
Suzanne Vega
3/5
Smooth and pleasurable and light-touch intriguing. SV seemed early on to be a worthy success to Joni Mitchell. Perhaps because this is tame and inoffensive in the extreme (however thoughtful), there’s just not much to get too, too excited about here. One suspects one should listen to the lyrics more closely, but one's not convinced one would find the characters all that interesting or sympathetic. Rickie Lee Jones is a much better artist.
Orbital
2/5
Dull and dancey do seem to go together don't they? All the skittering gets pretty tedious pretty quickly and AI is quickly making all this sort of music pretty obsolete anyway (which seems deserved in may ways). "Impact" is maybe okay. "Halcyon On and On" is decent, too. Otherwise this is a synthed-out snoozefest.
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
Not exactly one's thing – too much going on, too loud, somewhat simplistic in sentiment and man is the production bad, but definitely funky as hell and rock-y and hard not to admire what Sly accomplished and few have a stronger pedigree of influencees (Miles, George Clinton, Prince). "Sex Machine" is epic. "Everyday People" a little too cute to love as fully as the groove and its heart being in the right place might seem to merit otherwise.
Stan Getz
4/5
Museum quality jazz. Dry but lovely and chill and relaxing.
Radiohead
5/5
Just about as good it gets for modern rock. Four classic cuts, richly emotional, sharply intellectual – it's music to think about feeling, and feel about thinking.
Soul II Soul
4/5
Classy and elegant, and not insistently dancable – like the perfect midpoint between lounge and club music, or perhaps accurately described as dance music for people who don't like dance music. Big dropoff after the first cut, which is utterly classic, timeless.
Metallica
1/5
Perfectly awful.
Rocket From The Crypt
4/5
Rocket from the crypt: Rips and roars, hoots and hollers, but in the end it seems a decent bit more noise than heat or light. Likably raffish and the commitment to brevity is wholly commendable. The nice-touch horns and here-and-there harmonies do not prove ultimately redemptive. “Young Livers” and “Used” are best cuts, and the second half of the record seems better than first. Though a little later and more polished, this sounds like an apotheosis of a certain wild, grit-centric style and rockabilly-inflected strain of indie rock circa late-’80s to mid-’90s reminiscent of Dash Riprock and Fetchin Bones among other lesser known practitioners and maybe Superchunk and Smithereens among the more polished and popular. Rounding up because one misses those days and was inspired to go down some rabbit holes.
R.E.M.
5/5
Few bands accomplished more with such moderate talent, or got more mileage out of relatively simple hooks and the most basic of melodies and harmonies. A testament to the work ethic and vision and chemistry of four uniquely (if modestly) skilled folks making distinctive music to their own inimitable specs. (Well they were imitable, it would turn out, but to excellent effect and the distinct benefit of millions of listeners down the years, largely because they created something so necessary and relatable.) “Radio Free Europe” is a clarion call – was then, and resonates just as clearly and powerfully now. The affecting “Laughing” and liltingly, lovely “Perfect Circle” are side 1 highlights. “Shaking Thru” sets up a strong close with “We Walk” (more lilting, though waltzier this time) and the driving “West of the Field” that let everyone know there was more to come. But “Sitting Still” … one can barely speak to the depth of the emotion it summons … one of those all-time-life songs … of world-historical importance in one’s own world, as it were (of which more below). There is a certain element of inexplicability to all great works of art – and Murmur has it (not just talking about Stipe’s lyrics or vocals, either). Ultimately, this works entirely better than any involved party had a right to expect. For context, one recognizes the seeming slightness of a few cuts and has always found “Catapult” annoying to a fairly significant degree. And one can make a case that Reckoning is a straight-up superior record – with notably crisper production, a touch more polish and confidence (certainly it belongs on this list, as does Fables). But being first matters – and this was first, solidifying the new category/sub-genre of college rock (a milieu in which one would spend vast, vast hours, 1988-1992, in nearby ATL). But let’s be clear, this is off-the-charts originality and few bands would deliver at such scale and consistency. They paid off the promise of jangle first made by the Byrds decades before. They brought light and earnestness where the Velvets brought darkness and self-consciousness. Accolades are all deserved – one of best-ever debuts, top 100 (or 50 or 20) of ‘80s; beating out U2 War, Police Synchronicity and Thriller (for feck’s sake) for Rolling Stone album of the year in ‘83 is critical prescience at its best and unconventionally wise, too. All for such a modest record, really. So one rounds up REM being the band one quite literally grew up with and has seen more than any others, on every tour from Murmur to (at least) Monster, having seen them in amusement parks (with Fixx and Flock of Seagulls [who opened for whom?]), small gyms (D. Boon’s last show, in Dec ‘85, Charlotte, NC) for last show of Fables tour (when Stipe might still put a paper bag on his head) and then outdoor amphitheater (B’ham) for opening show of Life’s Rich Pageant tour that next fall, amazing Thanksgiving weekend shows at the Fox in Atlanta for four or five years running in college years. More importantly to be reminded of the soul work this music can do, reminding us of our own identities across long stretches of time: to wit, listening to “Sitting Still” for the first time in years, in late middle age, on a winter day, the record having shown up on this list, when life is very much too much on one’s mind, could scarcely be more soothing or solaceful, offering elevation and inspiration – and not just warm blanket of memory, but looking forward, too. But it’s the great reaching out at the end, the promise of connectivity – ”I can hear you / can you hear me?”, an all-time closing lyric [seek the Reckoning tour videos on YouTube) – prompting one to hope and optimism and trust in the future and bringing the best of oneself to all relationships and all life’s complications – just as did 40+ years ago when life being too much with one had a different valence and flavor. Still, kudzu and Rickenbackers forever!
Circle Jerks
1/5
Doesn't really merit a dignified response. Especially since they are still touring.
Heaven 17
1/5
The musical equivalent of a dot matrix printer.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
4/5
Eno with a lighter heart, but similar in that it can seem unresolved or never arriving though an awfully fun listen. Don't sleep on the Found Harmonium tunes either.
Q-Tip
5/5
Absolutely top-shelf (and non-toxic, non-misogynsitc) hip-hop, with half-dozen first-rate cuts – "Johny Is Dead," "Gettin' Up," "You," "We Fight/We Love," "ManWoman Boogie" (if that's not a perfect sequence of songs on gender relationships, one doesn't know what would be), "Life Is Better." Smooth, warm, accessible/approachable, jazzy, flowingly soulful – what's not to like? Indeed, this is a strong contender for one's all-time fave hip-hop record.
Ride
4/5
Shoegaze forever! Editors get this absolutely right – tangled washes, gooey walls of sound (or walls of gooey sound), swirly/ethereal emotional sweep, etc. etc. A hyperfocused classic of a brief, bright microgenre, and one much better than its near contemporary grunge.
Tom Waits
4/5
Overall, there’s a bit of a sampler feel to this, reflecting that much of this has been presented before and in more concentrated and persuasive form. And the Grammy was definitely a lifetime achievement award (another Grammy nobody much listens to despite feeling good about granting), not that TW isn’t deserving. This is far short of Rain Dogs (obvs) and maybe a few Waits entries on this list too. However, it mines all his best tics and angles and delivers all the classic Waitsian feels and vibes: “Who Are You” and “A Little Rain” and “Whistle Down the Wind” are all lovely and engaging and fully believable as Depression-era ballads. “Ocean Doesn’t Want Me” is weird and interesting and believable. One’s all for covering “Jesus Gonna Be Here” but can’t see this being a top 20 version. Editors have it right -- shadowy delirium, dark and raw, coarseness and relative sweetness. .
Dwight Yoakam
4/5
Lean, spare and often lovely, this is virtuous, classicist country from a real-deal artist. Maybe there's a touch too much violence but man is the title cut terrific, as well as the Buck Owens cover (with Buck!). First-rate offering from an under-appreciated artist whose heart and head are very much in the right place, and who's cool as hell besides.
Beatles
4/5
Pure pop, bright and sparkling and hopeful, retaining just a touch of grit and offerings tantalizing suggestions (e.g., "Things We Said Today") of the expansive brilliance just around the corner. Plus, an absolute all-time album opening – George's note is a chime, an auditory milestone, signals of freshness, new eras, etc. (Bookended perhaps by the coda closing of "Layla"). The movie is a pleasure, too, and not even really a guilty one.
Fairport Convention
5/5
Wondrous – loose and loving, a touch rough and riffy, subtle and most soulful. The playing is intelligent throughout, and scintillating here and there, though never showy. The Dylan stuff is generally fine, but far from the highlights. "A Sailor's Life" and "Who Knows Where the Time Goes" and "Percy's Song" are sheer class. "Genesis House" and "Ballad of Easy Rider" are good, too. Hard to say which is better, this or Liege and Leaf, because both are great, TBH. Sandy Denny has a voice and style for the ages. "Who Knows" just haunts. And perhaps they applied the hard lessons Dylan learned and found a way to more organically embed electric instruments respectfully within folk contexts – indeed, what would have the Newport Folk Festival made of FC had they showed up just a few years earlier, one wonders.
Stephen Stills
4/5
A fun and free-range romp, with loads of quality, tons of good vibes and many suggestions of where the sounds of the '70s would head. Best cuts are the mellow and hopeful "Colorado" and "So the Task Beings" and"Johny's Garden" (though "How Far" and "Move Around" are also stong, especially the interweaving of gentle strumming and out-there synthing on the latter. And who doesn't love a song called "Love Gangster"? One's always been a fan of Stills' voice and it doesn't disappoint here. This is a reminder of how many highly musical and ambitious records were made in the '60s and '70s.
Ray Charles
3/5
Lotsa soul, but overdone/heavy-handed arrangements and some pretty dodgy material. Surely there are are better RC records for this list. One really wants to like this more than one does.
The Human League
1/5
If ever there were a record that didn't deserve an exclamation point in its title, it would be this one. And even the band must not have been convinced, because it doesn't seem to appear on the album cover.* "Everyone needs love and adventure / Everyone needs cash to spend" might be the most obvious lyric of all time. Perfectly '80s and perfectly awful. 1.5 but rounding down because of having to endure "Don't You Want Me" at least one million times in one's teen years (couldn't have been good for cognitive development) and is certain to hear it least 100 more times in the future, which is approximately 100 times too many. (*The Human League Wiki [shudder to think there is such a thing] explains how record co added it for US release but not all covers have the "!")
Dusty Springfield
5/5
Just A Little Lovin'" and “Breakfast in Bed” aren't the only reasons this is right up one's alley, though those super-sexy cuts certainly contribute. The voice is lovely and well balanced, the singing beautifully balanced, never too much, never trying too hard or reaching farther (or higher or lower) than she can go. The yearning vibes are fully effective (see "I Don't Want to Hear It" and "No Easy Way Down" and "I Can't Make It Alone." She certainly overcomes the limits (and psychedelic schmaltz) of The Windmills of Your Mind” which never sounded so good. The arrangements are a tad much but offer memorable grace notes (sitar on "In the Land of Make Believe"). And anyway any saccharine in the strings is easily overcome by the voice ... oh the voice.
Living Colour
2/5
The very essence of meh and fully representative of a microgenre that it's safe for all of us to forget about now.
Dire Straits
5/5
So good. No filler and nary a misplaced note or lick. Great, understated playing. Maybe it’s a statement about what matters musically in a time of punk and disco hating on each other. The merging of classic and country rock (plus blues effects) seems to have helped set the stage for new wave and new kinds of guitar heroes. But whether that was intentional or not, it’s hard to say. There’s a modesty that underscores the quality. One gets the feeling that this band was just doing its thing and doing it at an extremely high level. One criticism would be the slight overreliance on a bouncy, carnivalesque feel to the keyboards. 4.6 for 5. (And still Making Movies and Love Over Gold [inexplicably not included in this list] are better.)
Marianne Faithfull
4/5
Forward-looking for the '70s and comes off way better than one might have expected given the high synth quotient and the very-much-an-acquired-taste sort of voice (which still adds credibility somehow). Opener is engaging and "Guilt" and "Ballad of Lucy Jordan" are also of note. She's into it, too, clearly, with a an admirable self-belief that leads her to do justice to the Lennon cover. The super saucy, third-wave-feminism (one thinks) lyrics of the closer also seem considerably ahead of their time. Just imagine how much more damage she might have done had MTV been around when this came out. Rounding up, because she seems a proper sort of proto-riot-grrrrl sorta badass, and because why not?
The Modern Lovers
5/5
This is garage rock for refined-cultured-educated types. One's fully down with any record that name-checks not just Picasso, but also Gauguin and Boston's MFA, and then misspells "girlfriend" just for fun. So much longing so expertly couched in sweet and well-owned irony that it somehow comes of as sincere. Way more substantive, with darker shadows ("Someone I Care About," "Hospital") and sharper edges ("Dance with Me," "Modern World") than one recalls and not so novelty-jokey as as some of JR's later works tended to be. Plus, original-distinctive as hell, totally knowing (but not too archly so), and awfully good fun besides. Rounding up for the truly unique, and tightly controlled vision and pulling it off with near-perfect execution -- a minor miracle, in other words, like all the best records (and indeed, art).
Air
3/5
One was right in the sweet spot for this, but it never took back in day and still won't or doesn't ... one's tried so c'est la vie, eh? (though maybe one means comme ci, comme ca). At any rate, the effort to make pace-age lounge music cool again is commendable, but it gets pretty dull pretty fast. And like a lot of kitschy, borderline novelty acts, it has not aged well
King Crimson
3/5
Sorta epic and both groovy-heavy and heavy-groovy, certaintly a milestone and highly influential (on everyone from Rush to Metallica to Dixie Dregs) but also sort too out there and illogical to get one's head around (WTF with the screams to shut down one of the most pleasurable-satisfying sections). One's all for bold experimentation, also for knowing where to draw lines, set limits, rein it in, give listeners a chance by giving it a rest. The heavy metal opener seems too much to take and not for great effect, and the closer versons (part III) works much better. The artier and more ambient/chambery stuff is best – “Book of Saturday” and “Exiles," say. "Easy Money" points the way forward to jam band. Ultimately, seems overdone, willfully obscure and difficult without really offering the payoff for the effort listeners are asked to put in (but that's prog, one supposes). Gotta round down for mainly self-inflicted excesses.
Destiny's Child
3/5
Maximalist R&B purely of its era, obvious in intent, fairly cheesy in execution and clearly intended toward a mass market (and thus disposable). Still, it's okay-decent ("Independent Woman" is best cut). The Gospel medley is unconvincing – Mahalia rolling over in her grave. But it's improbable that one will ever be listening to this again. And it's worth asking if or how or just how much this genre has advanced. One thinks not very much. This is/was a record worthy of nixing.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
This lot were maturer sooner than but were ultimately surpassed by Cure. Still, this is good, if slow starrting. It gets better – and more dynamic and fluid – as it goes along. Indeed last few cuts are best. This was a powerful group that perhaps didn't quite ever come to full fruition. Remains serious and substantive and stylish, too.
The Byrds
4/5
Fresh and new sounding, this is the record that feels most like an “American Beatles.” First cuts are letter perfect and the whole thing exudes warmth and humanity, especially "Bells of Rhymney" and "Chimes of Freedom" and "We'll Meet Again." If you like jangle, this seems more or less the creation of it. Nobody did Dylan better, as we all know.
D'Angelo
4/5
Every generation gets the Barry White they deserve.
Throbbing Gristle
3/5
Intermittently interesting ("AB/7A," eg, which puts one in mind of Ulrich Schnauss, and "E-Coli" is trippy-eerie, but not too) and songs like "Weeping" and "Hamburger Lady" build to a pretty strong effect, of dreaminess, sort of compiling a sort of wan and out-there vibe/mindset by wearing down one's defenses. But too much is inert and utterly amusical, though, sure, A for originality and doing it their way. The band name is about as good as the cover shot, though it suggests that this should be industrial rather than pretty quiet found-sound collages. And inspiring/influencing NIN isn't necessarily a strong recommendation. Nor are their extremely limited skills.
Fatboy Slim
2/5
This is enjoyable enough, in a chain-restaurant or all-you-can-eat-buffett sort of way – very large portions, smothered in sauce and extras, but quite unhealthy to consume very often and attracting all the wrong sorts of people. The occasional earworms are way overplayed and the name-dropping and propping himself on the second cut with radio call-in sample is worth a full-point penalty. Big beat is clear evidence that more isn't more.
My Bloody Valentine
5/5
This record's entrancing capacity remains a mystery: one returns to it with some regularity and is astonished to find its power and beauty undiminished every time. The whole thing works brilliantly, more than the sum of its parts, and buoyed by an intricate and beautiful construction where the transitions enhance the impact of every song. One thinks of giant Richter canvasses, of course. The fast, hard, serious opening – a handful drum beats and one’s in deep – signaling the intense, immersive, often dizzying ride to come. The barbed dissonance and many jagged edges are somehow all wrapped in an abiding sweetness. One used to think of it as something like a giant and highly satisfying monolith, but now, upon closer listening, one sees how intricate and thoughtful are the shadings and segues (again, think Richter). First three cuts set the stage wonderfully, then “Touched” shifts the mode of engagement, bleeding into the glitteringly woozy “To Here Knows When,” with its quiet, meditative urgency and dreamlike imperative so hushed and diaphanous and so slightly varied as to seem capable of meaning almost anything at all. And then things really take off with the driving “When You Sleep” (which sounds closest to a proper rock/pop song) and “I Only Said” (with its swirling, dizzying, siren-like orgiastic effect hinting at pure unadulterated joy or abandonment). And heed the note-perfect transition between these two songs – ten seconds that both prepare the listener and leave him vulnerable for another subtly profound shift. All variations of the transitions – the hard cuts, fadeouts and more extended transitions – work well to maintain a consistent vibe going while allowing for most intriguing and subtle modulations. The grinding contemplativeness of “Sometimes” yields to the ebullience of “Blown a Wish.” And listen how the driving and triumphant straightforwardness of “What You Want” warbles and wafts into the wholly satisfying dizziness – even giddiness – of “Soon.” Fewer records end better or more effectively in terms of resolving the initial tensions (which pointed toward darker themes) into something like pure lightness and buoyancy, however distorted.
The Beta Band
4/5
One digs records that mix an off-kilter, even outre, vibe with supreme listening ease and imminent diggability. This is such a record. All the cuts work well enough, but "Squares" and "Alleged" and "Eclipse" are one's faves.
Big Star
4/5
Strong overall. After the glammy opener, “Ballad of El Goodo” is excellent – definitely sounds like it came off All Things Must Pass and editors are on target to call it nobly heroic. "In the Street" is well balanced power pop. "Thirteen" is sweet. While there's a lot here that connects the Byrds to the Replacements, say, or REM or Guided by Voices, the bubble gummy bits (e.g., "Don't Lie to Me") sound uncomfortably close to Kiss. "India Song" belongs in a Wes Anderson movie. Another band whose cult status seems in line with its actual capabilities and outputs.
Björk
4/5
A lot to like here, the well-crafted contemporary classical feel, the emotional intensity and the originality, which is mostly engaging. But it can feel somewhat stiff and overdetermined. Still, one is prepared to indulge an artist like Bjork, whom one has always liked a little bit less than one figured one might have liked her.
Hawkwind
3/5
Seems kinda straightforward for prog, even in its harder-rocking, more heavily metallic manifestations. In fact one likes how they launch right in to rocking on several cuts with extended solos and don't mess around too much bizarre-o song structure and tempo shifts or too much world-building (as if music were just an extension of Dungeons and Dragons). The more theatrical and operatic gestures seem pretty safe to ignore. The sound effects are meant to be trippy, but mostly aren't, which works to their overall advantage in that hey don't anchor too much on them or soon enough get back to just, you know, rocking. In fact, the best effect might be the extended sax playing on a few cuts. "Space is Deep," for sure, but that song ain't, though certainly wider than average. One is increasingly of the belief that Hawkwind might have been – perhaps still is – very much in on the joke here. Still, it's this kind of record that gave the '70s a bad name and forced a reformation in rock and roll, too.
Koffi Olomide
4/5
Millions of Africans can’t be wrong, can they? And think of all the dancing that gets done to this music. One finds that good enough, plus it's sweet and pleasing to hear.
U2
4/5
Strong and high-quality throughout but seems so commercially-oriented and image-refreshing as to strike one as pretty cynical and certainly not as soulful as Boy, War and Unforgettable Fire. Perhaps because one gave up one's own youthful idealism too early and too easily, one wishes U2 had held on to theirs. Still the value is clear and undeniable on a bunch of cuts.
The 13th Floor Elevators
3/5
Pretty good, moderately interesting, likably rough around the edges, but let's not go too crazy with the Roky as misunderstood or overlooked creative genius nonsense.
The Residents
2/5
That they committed to costume-wearing for so long speaks volumes. As interesting and different as some of this, the jokes or satire don't land anymore (if they ever did) and it gets tedious awfully quickly.
Pink Floyd
5/5
As good a record as ever has been made. From the scope of the conception and depth of the emotional content, to the quality (right-note-right-time precision) of the playing and dazzling production, they got it all right.
The Band
4/5
Is it okay to like Big Pink better, because it seems a bit more contemplative and serious-sounding than this one? Plus, “The Weight” and “I Shall Be Released” are stronger than the hits on the eponymous record. However, one must respect the deep commitment in the The Band's approach here. Even if one feels like The Band gets too much credit for restoring a tradition (or creatIng the Americana category) that was never really lost (much like the demytholigizing of the American West massively outweighs and has been going on longer than the initial mytholigizing).
Suede
3/5
This seems the sort of record that one should like a good bit more, being right in one's sweet spot. The potential of the first record also seemed a positive harbinger. One can't escape the feeling that these guys took themselves too seriously and were mabye trying too hard. The orchestral excess of "Still Life" is more bombast than one wants from Britpop and there's too many glam effects througout. "The Wild Ones" is generally satisfying, but veers dangerously close to melodrama in the spirit of Scott Walker and Trafalgar-era Bee Gees. "The Power" has the same issue, though with a slightly more hair-band power-ballad vibe. Indeed, the overdone vocals are a recurring problem. This group is well outside the Britpop top 3 anyway, being nowhere near as cheeky as Pulp, nor as shape-shifty as Blur, nor as gloriously bloated and over-the-top (try though they might) as Gallagher, Inc. As such, do they really have the stature to jusify "Introducing the Band" (even allowing for new personnel)? There are some undeniably good bits ("Stay Together" and "Whipsnade" closer, which might not have been on album in first place). But too much is just replacement level Britpop which is not enough to hold a place in the Pantheon (at least one's own personal Pantheon). Certainly this record doesn't deserve anniversary editions (though neither does the debut).
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
Tender and heartbreaking is acoustic side, and suggest what NY might have been. Radically sincere and vulnerable, achingly so, these are songs adjacent to meditation. Raw, pure emotion packaged in song as an offer of connectivity. On the electric side, "Powderfinger" is minor epic, and quite literary. The hook on "Hey Hey" is nearly as infectious as "You Really Got Me" but in the service of a much deeper vibe ane effect.
The Temptations
3/5
Pretty groovy, sufficiently soulful and and a fun enough listen. Plus, it's interesting to see the influence of psychedelia on R&B, which was getting grittier and rockier, but a bit too soft, broad and commercial for one's tastes.
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
4/5
The title may be the best thing about the record, suggesting a philosophical angle that doesn't necessarily materialize. The influence of Wire is strong on a few tracks, especially the opener. "She's Leaving" is perfectly pleasing and, in a much different emotional register, so is the dirge-y "Sealand." And who's doesn't like not one but two songs about Joan of Arc? She certainly merits it. Still, synth-driven pop only goes so far for artists as ambitous as these cats seemed to have been (in their pre-Pretty In Pink days anyway). In other words, synth pop made for and by smart people is still synth pop and one can't in good faith say this has aged very well so a 4 feels like a generous rounding up (despite all the belated masterpiece citations) for all the pleasantness here and handful of effective artistic endeavors here.
Leonard Cohen
4/5
Another strong and memorable effort all the way around. Cohen's awkwardness as a singer – he mostly talks his way through these songs – plays to amplify the earnestness. One likes the spareness mostly, but the accordion flourishes, washes of elegant strings, and effective use of backing vocals on a few cuts suggest how much could have been done. No cuts really stand up, such is their deep even intense introspection (despite a certain casual or deadpan tone in the vocal delivery) as befitting the title and Cohen's monolithic reputation.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
4/5
Spare, moody, dirge-like. "A Minor Place" is great. Title cut, too (was good enough for Johny Cash!) Perhaps there was room for a few more bells and whistles, but hard to deny the power of simplicity and authenticity of the emotion. "Death to Everyone" is strong, too, getting right to the point, but it also has a sense of humor about it, which one likes. The closer is a fitting and coherent end. This is very much the kind of thing one likes if one like this kind of thing, which one very much does.
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
The rockingest rappers ever, no one did it better than this. Every hugely influential album should be so enjoyable.
Def Leppard
2/5
So bad it's ... awful actually. "Pour Some Sugar on Me" is an abomination (also a great pop song). An album one loves to hate, even if one has to acknowledge some guilty pleasures within, though not enough to explain tens of millions of records, which in actually the bigger abomination and a testatment to the pandemic of poor taste!
Pavement
4/5
Oh the loveliness of lo-fi. This is fun and fuzzy, but not as strong overall as the Crooked Rainx2. “Here” might be the most authentic (i.e., non-ironic) song they ever did and – what a surprise – it works. "Summer Babe" and "Zurich is Stained" are also quite strong. "Fame Throwa" is epic and askew. As ever with this lot, full marks for originality and doing their own things though one's always wished that they mighta tried just a little harder or played it a little straighter (not trying to be the coolest dudes in the room) or not been so slacker, so hopelessly whatever about their business.
CHVRCHES
3/5
Great vocals and lots of intriguing hooks ("Recover," e.g.) and the closer is strong (much more up one's alley) but man are there too many synths could this lot do with some straightforward with rock guitars.
Michael Jackson
4/5
Off the Wall is the better record to one's ears, with the title track aging especially poorly now and the duet with Paul McC, unconvincing upon release, sounding even more so now. The totally overlooked "Baby Be Mine" is a pleasant surprise. "Billie Jean" and "Human Nature" and "Beat It" are all state-of-the-art, precision-engineered pop cuts. "Startin' Somethin'" and "PYT" are fine, too. It's hard to argue with the success on this scale, but one's begrudging admiration for it in the '80s hasn't really deepened or expanded. One just listened to What's Going On for this exercise, and Thriller pales in comparison. This record, perhaps as good as pop as top-of-the-market, commercially-oriented pop music could be at the time, will never get any better.
The Soft Boys
4/5
Terrific – and the bridge from the ‘60s to the ‘80s. One’s always liked Hitchcock’s solo work but this is is excellent. Opener, title cut, “Tonight” and “Queen of Eyes” are the top tracks. Who this record influenced is important, of course, but it also works very well on its own.
Scritti Politti
2/5
A vanishingly insubstantial and utterly disposable, plastic meringue of an album, for which one has no use whatsoever. Its saving graces are two: 1) it's not Metallica and 2) its tepid banality, which seems to approach some horizon of non-existence at several points.
Joy Division
4/5
Dark, intense, powerful.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
So good it makes me want to holler (though in a conscious fashion). He does human sexuality and social commentary equally well. As with Let’s Get It On, the mood and tone are sustained throughout to great effect – with some songs seeming slight but meaningful variations of the one before – and the voice goes high, higher, highest, with lovely modulations to make or emphasize a point. Three full-on classics (title cut, “Mercy Mercy Me” and “Inner City Blues”). The thoughtful music suits the seriousness of content, though there are plenty of smiles to be had and lovely touches all over the place (e.g., flute, vibes and sax on “Right On;” strings on “Wholly Holy”). Hard to believe Berry Gordy could have been so wrong about this record – and overlooked its most obvioius flaw, which is that it's far too short. 4.6 for 5
Stephen Stills
4/5
Warm and earnest and lively, occasionally soaring. Quaity is strong throughout but "Do for Others" and "Church" "To a Flame" and "Sit Yourself Down" and "We Are Not Helpless" are best of lot. The presence of all these all-stars barely moves the needle on what's a strong effort throughout from a dude who no one seems to like (or maybe just had the worst coke habit of all these cats) and is thus largely overrated today.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
4/5
Easily one's favorite Albarn project. Spiky, sour and here and there discordant, one is fully down with the inclusion of Tony Allen and Danger Mouse. Who cares that it's a concept album? That's just Albarn always overdetermining things when it's satisfying enough as straightforwardly cool modern rock (to use the old term). Funny how cool music played skillfully and with commitment works on its own terms – and overcome downsides like DA's flat/annoying voice – without cartoon characters or trying to take the piss (or troll, to use the current term) on every single track. Starts strong and ends strong, too, always a bonus.
Mudhoney
1/5
A complete waste of time. It's not clear when these guys learned to play their instruments, if ever. Ineptitude – even if authentic – doesn't make for memorable art.
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
One gets the appeal – loud, obvious, hooky – without finding it very appealing oneself. This belongs in a club or at a rave, and preferably with a tailored drug regimen (sans tranq, natch and obvs). Otherwise (with the possible exception of the gym [and only on high intensity workout days]), it simply doesn't suit anymore. Beth Orton's contributions save one half of one song. It's odd that such aggression plays as tedium in the end.
Butthole Surfers
4/5
Heavy, weird and more chaotic than creative. Oddly enough, one appreciates it more now as an old dude than one did then as a young dude. Funnily enough, the most conventional, "Human Cannonball," works best, though one has a soft spot for the bizzaro-rama that is "Kuntz." "22 > 23" shows how they might have developed in the direction of (or made the world safe for the likes of) Sonic Youth and other proper noise rockers. And compared to the way less original, way more tiresome imitators of the '90s, these guys got the advantage of brevity.
Kings of Leon
4/5
One fully endorses the mumbly vocals on the opener – they read authentic to one's ears. The middle of the record is strongest – "Joe's Head" and Trani" and "California Waiting" are all strong, with a touch of melancholic vibe overarching the tight hooks and compelling riffs. Last two cuts means we leave on quite a high note. Though one prefers the glittier and more tuneful later rectords, the template is clearly in good shape on this one. Their tendencies and techniques and general approach have an impressively large amount in common with the Stones, and are certainly more authentic in terms of a weirded-out, countrified, substance-abusive background. That's doubly true of latter-day Stones imitators (e.g., the Strokes, Franz Ferdinand). One admits being late to KOL party (and totally ignored them in real time – foolishly so, one should add), but is making up for lost time by digging them fully now.
Pere Ubu
4/5
One digs bands who do it their way, commercial consequences be damned. Pere Ubu is very much such a band. This is spiky and difficult-seeming but they create a rich and resonant complexity out of relatively simple approaches (see the opening of "Chinese Radiation"). And they don't have to ask one to humor them when they do things like unsentimentally – in fact, brutally – deconstruct "Sentimental Journey." Indeed, that and next cut make for a powerful, if bitingly staccato, ending.
Country Joe & The Fish
4/5
A big slab of psychedelic country blues, reminding just how refined this could be delivered and how satisfyingly delivered by cats (or fish) who knew what they were doing. Indeed, the Summer of Love raised the floor on a certain style, a certain sound, and lots of bands – CJ&F very much included – delivered at a high level. In general, this leans. "Sad and Lonely Times" is first rate and dreamy-gently trippy "Area 43" and the similar (but darker-hued) "Bass String" are also quite strong. A weakness is that they seem to overrely on the organ late on in the record. In general, one thinks this leans more to the mental-psychological, than the bodily-physical side of the title's equation, though one's always been more of a thinker than a dancer. One's glad to have heard this which also serves as a juicy and enjoyable historical artifact.
Baaba Maal
4/5
When one hears in the right mood and circumstances, this has a major impact. It's lovely and lilting, expressive of deep and urgent yearnings (that's what one hears anyway) and then moves on. One only wishes one spoke griot so one could dig even more deeply.
John Grant
4/5
Warm and witty and vintage-sounding – like early-'70s soft-rock vintage. Only jokes about actresses give away the era. What it lacks in groundbreaking sounds or innovation, it makes up with clear and effective execution.
Beck
4/5
As with Bowie's work, one likes the more straightforward efforts than the more ambitious, chameleonic records, which too often sound like desperation-tinged, relevance-seeking than authentic artistic evolution. The opening cut – the opening line – is an all-time fave. The rest of the record is a bit more mixed, with some standouts ("Guess I'm Doing Fine," "Lost Cause," "Sunday Sun") alternating with snoozier fare. Thankfully, there's a good bit more of the former than the latter. Overall, strong, however, and highly listenable, ideal for a quiet afternoon and bonus points for maintaining a consistent and coherent tone throughout.
Alanis Morissette
3/5
Not terrible, with some catchy hooks and pleasingly poppy songs, but didn't dig then and don't dig now. One worries that one's reasons for not liking – it's overwrought gerenally and here and there histrionic – sound borderline sexist. Perhaps the fact that one just preferred Toni Childs and Tori Amos may serve as sufficient defense. Sheryl Crowe and Liz Phair are also much better. It really wants to be taken seriously, and viewed as wise, but one just doesn't see it (see lyrics to "Ironic" which would be a non-serious person's idea of serious lyrics – a fly in your wine is unfortunate, not necessarily ironic; same with rain on one's wedding day). Alanis Morissette is closer to Britney Spears than Lucinda Williams, say. And she doesn't need one's endorsement given that she sold many more records than she actually deserved, capitalizing on the perennially dodgy taste of American consumers.
2/5
Zorn is certainly a provocateur – or troll, in today's parlance – and one has more than enough time to wait out exploratory, out-there and even the most atonal and non-traditional sort of jazz and art rock, but this too often feels a dissonance too far, which is no fault of OC's. The attack does now and then cohere into something recognizable as not noise, but it's still punishing in the main. Rounding up just because it's jazz and not metal.
Elastica
4/5
Tart, tough, biting and fun -- in some ways, this holds up better than overdone Britpop (definitely better than Blur) and is an authentic "best of the '90s" sort of sound.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Fine as an example of blues-inflected and fashion-oriented, culturally appropriated '60s pop – straightforward and competently played, if not very exciting to hear and certainly not at all groundbreaking One's fully aligned to the many commentators who point the relatively minor historical importance being insufficient justification for inclusion on this list. Still this is better than any of the last dozen records this lot have foisted on an unsuspecting public.
Pretenders
4/5
An extremely strong debut, tough and tender and true. "Kid" and "Stop Your Sobbing" are both great but the whole thing exudes a youthful energy and confidence that maybe CH didn't actually feel. This holds up extremely well.
Aerosmith
2/5
After strong first two cuts – let's give them one point for each – but zero for the rest of the album being an undistinguished and derivative slog. Plus, one can't ever forgive these cats the shameful dreck of their later years, even if "Walk This Way" might have been the first rock song one ever loved in real time.
Hüsker Dü
4/5
"Fuzzily and ferociously fantastic – is there any poppier punk in this list? Such sweet melodies in all the furious shredding. That the two vocalists have similar styles may be a function of old couples coming to look and/or sound alike. Holds up well – really well – and better than the of others in their peer group. "Friend, You've Got to Fall" is one of their best-ever cuts.
Britney Spears
2/5
Who cares? And not worth trying to remember why anyone ever might have. Gives pop music a bad name, really.
The Pogues
4/5
Rollicking and ribald and rip-roarin' generally. One doesn't have to be an expert an Irish (or Turkish [both gestured at and actually pursued] or Mexican) music to appreciate the full-on playing, which sounds awful tight most of the time. "Fairytale of New York" is the standout – "Danny Boy for hipsters, with its all-time opening line – but the title cut "Metropolis" and "Thousands are Sailing" also deliver rich pleasure or rich pathos or a well-balanced mix of both. They are either the Irish Replacements or the Replacements are the American Pogues. Either way, the playing is surprisingly tight at time ... the unit worked well enough for all the mythic drunkenness and debauchery. And has there ever been a better worse singer than Senor McGowan?
Sade
4/5
Sweet and smooth and let's round up because so many of us got laid to this record in the '90s. Plus, musically, it's legit Singing is great. Playing is tight, polished, etc.
Spiritualized
4/5
It's a toss-up as to whether one prefers this or Lazer-Guided as the better record. Both are right up one's alley, with their sedated sort of elevation. One prefers the dozier cuts, the waltzy-lullaby of the opener, the dreamily lulling "Break Your Heart" and "Cop Shoot Cop" – the more ethereal the better when it comes to this lot. It might be a bit of a reach to say this was one of the best records of the decade, but it's still quite good and much better than Oasis and Blur (obviously) and probably holds up better than Super Furry Animals or Polyphonic Spree, their wondrously weird contemporaries.
Mudhoney
1/5
Two Mudhoney records in less than a month is two too many. Indeed two Mudhoney records in two lifetimes is two too many.
Jerry Lee Lewis
3/5
A landmark, of course, but one's never liked these songs. The high energy grates after a while – the hootin' leads to little more than hollerin' and then devolves into basic screaming and banging which only goes so far. The novelty has long since worn off, but once a killer, always a killler, one supposes.
Hot Chip
2/5
Somewhat fun and certainly bouncy, but mostly trifling, despite the alleged ballast of Eastern mysticism.
Talking Heads
5/5
Just great and hits all the criteria for a cool record – original yet accessible, ambitious yet humane, rhythmically complex yet sweetly melodious, serious/substantive yet fun and danceable. The best of the early records and their high-water mark generally. Eno is in top form, too (his obsession with Fela Kuti paid off handsomely). “Born Under Punches” offers a killer opening groove. "Crosseyed and Painless” and "Seen and Not Seen" are also first-rate and "Once In a Lifetime" is a valid contender for best song of the '80s.
TV On The Radio
5/5
Grooves well and easily and convincingly, without overreaching or trying too hard. And certainly they knew/know their way around the indie rock map, but – critically – how to embroider and spin it up into something new, fresh and just a litlte bit different. Plus artier, with excellent use of strings, brass and percussion. One can't help but like a good bit of it, given how much it sounds like other favorite bands (e.g., the National, Radiohead). One particularly digs the opener and "Stork & Owl." "Golden Age" and "Red Dress" are cool and funky, but not too. "Family Tree" is legit and lovely. "Shout It Out" is how to do mid-tempo set-up for near full-on banging. "Lover's Day" is an excellent closer – rich and interesting and wholly satisfying. The little "cool" on the exit into silence, a few seconds after the last note closes the deal – there's a humility about it that suggests one would like these guys as well as their music. This is so thoughtful and well executed and holds up so well that's it's destined to be called Dad Rock.
Eminem
4/5
It can be simultaneously true that this is utterly loathsome on multiple levels and also cool as hell, and funny, and banging and perhaps a valuable window onto the state of American culture in its time. In other words, one struggles to know just how one feels about this.
Hanoi Rocks
3/5
What works here – and not very well, TBH – are the new wavey elements, including sax and keyboard flourishes and also Strummer-esque vocals on the first part "Mental Beat" and the overall feels on "Tooting Bec Wreck." On balance, this could scarcely be more forgettable (or more regrettably '80s for that matter). One can't confirm that "Lick Summer Love" (among the least bad cuts here) is a Spinal Tap cover but the title suggests it must be. The hair styles alone require a full point deduction. The lyrics also suck for being sub-sophomoric. They can't be Finnish, can they? Or is Finland some neighborhood in LA that one doesn't know? Perhaps the best that can be said is that this coulda been much worse, and the packaging tees up that expectation.
FKA twigs
2/5
If FKAT had not made this record, ChatGPT undoubtedly would have. The problem isn't that it's not in any one genre (more trip-hoppy than R&B and certainly not punk) but rather that it's so synthetic and ultimately insubstantial. Thinking back a decade, perhaps this was groundbreaking in some way, but given how programmed it is and how common this sound has become, perhaps "Original-ish" is an apt description. One's also reminded of dating younger women who seemed to delight in their own conceptions of sexiness, not worrying too much about whether that mode was at all relatable or if sexiness might actually be in the eye of the beholder.
David Crosby
4/5
An interesting, sometimes haunting record and the value of this list is in the summoning of such "hidden" (or forgotten) gems. This is a touch rough, but more authentic seeming and emotionally powerful for that. The musicianship more than makes up for DC's occasionally shaky vocals. "Music is Love" and "Laughing" are strong. The harp on "Traction in the Rain" is great. One fears that "peace might be a bit too much to ask these days," as the world seems ever more distant from '60s idealism.
Christina Aguilera
2/5
Two records by CA is silly as who really cares about this anymore, if anyone ever did.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
5/5
Not many more pleasurable records on this list, even overlooking the seriousness of intent (and content) in some of the songs. "Natural Mystic" and "So Much Things" provide immediate quality and "Waiting in Vain" and "Turn Your Lights Down Low" are excellent love songs and the title track is both groovy and gritty – equally swinging and salient. "Jamming" and "Three Little Birds" have maybe been overexposed across long time horizons, their inherent sweetness having become too easily beloved by non-thinking fans. But every record should have "flaws" that inspire such minor quibbling. One could listen all day and just might today, in fact.
The Band
4/5
Sound like the invention of Americana, doesn't it? It's perhaps a bit too warbly and woozy at times, as if they're playing almost too hard at authenticity. Hits are great but for both "The Weight" and "I Shall Be Released" there are better versions.
The Beach Boys
4/5
This is among the weirder Beach Boys' records, which is saying something. Is this when Brian started slipping away? But all weirdness should be so warm. First few cuts get off to a great start. The student protest song is unconvincing and a clear argument for staying in one's musical lane. Other quality cuts include "Disney Girls" and "Long Promised Road" and "Feels Flows" and "Take a Load Off" is classic BW – super odd, but well judged. Is there a better song about taking care of one's feet (or any other limb)?
4/5
Strong all the way around, with well-measured grooves and loose funk. The variety of songs and range of emotions are strengths. "Cisco Kid" is a delight and the vocal harmonies add depth and warmth throughout. Holds up very well, musically and message-wise, too.
Steely Dan
4/5
The only issue that one can find with one record is that it's not Aja. One prefers over Can't Buy a Thrill because it's more expansively jazzy. The playing is great – the guitar solos and vibes and electric piano are just dynamite. Every song works, but "Boddhisvata" and "Old School" really stand out.
Big Black
3/5
Always tough, only spottily tuneful. Everybody loves Steve Albini, who seemed to be a pretty great guy, but this isn't one's thing – neither musically nor nihilistically speaking. Certainly has its moments – "Passing Complexion" is cool and "Kerosene" uber intense. And this should be regarded as ahead of its time, obviously, but some of the influencees (lookin' at you NIN) made the spark of darkness considerably worse.
Herbie Hancock
4/5
Cool and controlled funky as only experienced jazz hands can pull off. "Vein Melters" is awesome. Editors overstate the case that this record invented multiple genres (though it certainly predicted smooth jazz and hints at other forms). They also unfairly diss the Mwandishi records, which are every bit as cool as this, though with a different tone and timbre.
The Fall
3/5
One's a fan but get that this isn't for eveyone and it's certainly not the F"s best effort. Still, a unique/original, if highly spiky and often sour, effort.
Sonic Youth
4/5
Brooding, gnarly and tough – one digs. There is an uncertainty about the proceedings that adds to the art-rock ambiguity, if it dilutes the impact somewhat. This laid a template for the more concentrated and direct work to come and the dreamier too (think Daydream Nation).
Calexico
4/5
Rich and warm like a dessert breeze. The first few cuts create a mood that is sustained throughout. Opener and "Stevie Nicks" and the thoughtful-haunting "Woven Birds" are the strongest cuts, but everything works well, both instrumentals and sung tracks. The last few cuts get a little woozy and off-kilter, perhaps slightly less strong than the first half of the record. Perfect audio complement when reading Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy.
Cocteau Twins
5/5
A dizzying dazzlement, a marvelous mosaic of glimmering, gossamer evocations. Who knows what’s being sung when it’s so gorgeously rendered? One has long loved the record but only in listening for this exercise does the stage setting for Sigur Ros become clear. The chamber pop flourishes and structures, the moments of Beach Boyishness, little hints of Joni Mitchell in the phrasings and timbre of RF’s vocals. Fresh, effervescent and Exhilarating are the effects of its peculiar majesty. The closer soars in an understated, elegant sort of way, making one feel like everything will be okay, like a vaguely better (or bettered) person, that the world, sad and ethereal as it so often is, can also be fleetingly and redemptively, beautiful.
Incubus
2/5
It wants to rage, it wants to rock and I suspect it does to teenage boys, whose hormonal surges distort their hearing. One senses it wants to be seen as serious and edgy, as well as clever and provocative, but it cops out with the same tired tropes and transitions on every song – the formula is intense bit/contemplative bit/intense bit (the only variation being that some songs go contemplative/intense/contemplative). There’s a reason that funk metal (or nu metal, whatever) has gone from sub-genre with a bullet to micro-genre approaching invisibility in just a few decades. Rather than hearing before one dies (or ever again), one'll be content to actively ignore and seek better listening for one's remaining days.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Musical genius opening up for a warm embrace. The opener sets a thoughtful yet groovy tone and it just gets deeper and more expansive. Not everything works, and Steve can land on sentimentality when overreaching, but the "serious" social criticism is knitted mostly neatly into the sweet and playful hooks.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
Funk for funk's sake. One digs thoroughly all the looseness of the layering, and the letting it all hang out hangs together just enough. Did it take such extensive tinkering to make it seem so tossed-off. First few songs set the tone beautifully and "Family Affair" slows it down a touch and deepens the vibe, distilling the coolness. "Spaced Cowboy" is proof that we can all be more fun and productive when on drugs. The closer is great, a wide-open, slow-burning panoramic breakdown / exploration of an all-time hook from a previous hit. That it doesn't sound as sour or angry is as it is alleged to have heard is perhaps a function of one's listening in times as uncertain – okay, bad – as when this was recorded.
Ryan Adams
4/5
This is a great record, polished, mature and beautifully bittersweet. One allows for accusations of excessive personal attachment and the risk of overrating because one lived in NYC when this record came out, and listened to it somewhere between religiously and routinely, often whilst walking the very streets he name-drops. But what's not to like – the commitment to surviving and transcending heartache/heartbreak, the youthful energy, the historically informed, yet not fawning and still original homages to country/folk-rock gods. Not many better outings in early Americana than this. The opener, "La Cienega" "When the Stars Go Blue," "Sylvia Plath" and "Harder Now" are all standouts, but every cut offers something of interest. What a pleasure to hear this again to but also substantive, begging the usual question with RA, which is how did he ever write so many good songs so fast?
CHIC
4/5
Substantive dance music tinged with melancholy, the agues of the day – who says disco couldn't be just a little bit sad? "Good Times" as "Happy Days Are Here Again" is quality insight from the editors (though calling this dark overstates the case) – and one can dig a song that combines and references to "the sporting life" with lyrics like "rollerskates, rollerskates," not to mention the leisurely wide open spaces mellowly explored for the last several minutes, which makes this seeming trifle actually quite epic. "My Feet Keep Dancing" is also tinged with a weighty sort of self-consciousness, as if one's out ot control and knows not what else to do – the almost mechanistic repetition of the vocals and the sharp strings emphasize the potential seriousess of the situation, with the chiming bells adding a note of contemplation and perhaps gravitas. "Forbidden Lover" swings a bit more loosely. "Will You Cry" is lushly sad, wallowing in post-break-up bad vibes. "What About Me" – with the repeated riff from the opener totally justified for its quality – was/is an anthem most apropos to the me decade. Quality playing abounds, well accessorized with grace notes galore –the squeaky/edgy guitar, the steadily-bouncing and vamping, and then romping-roaming bass lines the quartering little piano figures, the pointillistic/staccato strings, the bells here and there offering a churchy solemnity as if disco is about solace from pain as much as having a good time. Disco's gifts have long outlived its demolition and death. This record delivers an epic when many were perhaps expecting a trifle.
Eric Clapton
3/5
One woulda thought coke-fueled, Miami records would be a bit more energetic. All of this is fine, pleasingly and shufflingly mellow for the most part, but also vague and woozy and energy-poor – like should "Hand Jive" be so soporific? "Sheriff" and "Let It Grow" are the highlights. The vocals and the axe work feel phoned in (and on a landline, too with a long tangled cord, too). Really, wouldn't/shouldn't more have been expected from, you know, God? Whose grumpy-old-man politics, it must be said, are increasingly hard to ignore.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
Hard not to like – the voice being what it is, which is fantastic – even if some of the arrangements and playing feel a bit muddled and/or overdone. All the known cuts deliver the goods – "Chain of Fools," "Natural Woman," "Groovin" and "People Get Ready." That soaring coo in"Ain't No Way" is definitely a sound of the era. Clapton solo cool and understated. One can't say as definitively as the editors do that this record is superior to the previous two, but okay – they are a continuum of comparably high quality.
Harry Nilsson
3/5
This can't be considered a cult classic as it was too popular but it reads today like one, oddly so, as if its charms have grown indiscernable. Overall, it's perfectly fine, and decently cool but other than the cut redeemed by Tarantino, it's telling that top cuts have better known versions by others and the faint whiff of novelty songs don't help either. Not really as good as the high-profile endorsers would lead one to believe. Also, was the cover an inspiration for Big Lebowski?
Prince
4/5
One wishes the production had retained a bit more gleam and something could be done about the ultimate-'80s synth, which don't sound great. That said, "1999" is an all-time party cut, "Little Red Corvette" is an all-timer, period, but it's the non-hits on the backside ("Free" and "Lady Cab Driver" and "All the Critics Love You" and "International Lover" ) that put this over the top as a classic. One prefers Purple Rain anyway.
Venom
1/5
This spot really should/could have gone to someone more deserving, like, say, Liberace, or the Chipmunks.
Frank Black
4/5
A lot to like here in the realm of kinetic and (only somewhat) eclectic but thoroughly off-kilter indie-rock world. It's Pixies-oriented – with a larky, tossed-off feel, if not fully Pixies-centric. The heart of the records is the run of "Calistan" and "Vanishing Spies" and “Speedy Marie” and “Headache." "Superabound" and “Big Red” are also good. On the one hand, this should be better know. On the other, it does go on too long, with 22 tracks practically inviting unevenness (very Pixies-like) with several disposable cuts late on underscoring that less would have been more (as it so often in pop music). An as fun as the overall ride is, generally, it lands fairly close to "for fans only" territory.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Easily one's favorite heavy metal album of all time, which means it might just crack one's top 1000 overall. It's about textures and hooks, such as the bouncy guitar bits toward the end of the opener. "Changes" is a better than a power ballad and "Laguna Sunrise" also a nice break from the noise, if a bit heavy-handed and syrupy on the strings. "Snowblind" is also cool. There's a lack of pretension here that maybe Metallica woulda done well to emulate. Before he became a reality TV joke, Ozzy was kinda cool, no?
Beyoncé
3/5
One's final indifference to this record, despite their being a good bit to like (at least theoretically) is likely a function of not being the target audience. One senses there is authentic emotion here but it feels buried under heavy slathering of production gloss and off-putting celebrity aura, which makes the whole thing feel massively synthetic. "Blow" is cool enough and "Rocket" also, but they are both undone with needless filigree and excess. One likes some of the boldness but less would have been so much more .... too much ego and posturing (which she seems to think necessary to stand up to the boys – see the triumphalism of "Bow down, bitches" and the own-her-own-sexuality challenges of "what you gonna do with all that ass") suck a considerable amount of the potential soul out of the music. Rounding down because what else to do for the woman who has everything.
N.E.R.D
4/5
Real good fun, with likable buoyancy and fluidity keeping this out of many of the usual sins of rock-rap. Also the risk of Pharrell aiming be to too clever is largely avoided. "The Way She Dances" is great.
Fiona Apple
3/5
Fine, but annoying.
The Hives
2/5
A compilation, huh? What a dodge that is. Plus, this is lame. Seems like these guys dressed up as rock starts one Halloween and decided to stick with it.
The Smiths
4/5
Some very good songs but uneven and not fully cohesive, and sounding as much like a Morrissey solo records than a "Smiths" outing. "A Rush & A Push" and "Paint a Vulgar Picture" (so reminiscent of REM's "Voice of Harold" in terms of indie rock royalty's self-referentiality). "Death of a Disco Dancer" is quite epic, sneakily so, and "Girlfriend in a Coma" is peak Morrissey trolling, really – happy sounding grim content. Their 4th best album, but still quite good.
Bon Jovi
2/5
When asked if they wanted extra cheese, BJ clearly answered in the affirmative. That this poor excuse for a hair band ever got into the RRHOF is ridiculous. What a waste of time (other than being good for a chuckle) and certainly a waste of a lost in this esteemed list.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
4/5
Oh, to be transported back in time when "fresh" was the top adjective for fly, dope, hot, etc. This is good fun to listen and it stands up better than many other genre-defining records. The high energy and fun spirit is strong. One always forgets if the Tom Tom Club provided or stole the riff on "It's Nasty." And obvioulsly the "je m'appele Melle Mel" explains hip-hop's popularity in France. One's pretty sure one didn't know what to do about "Scorpio" when on high school dance floors. The love song to Stevie Wonder works, if weirdly (with bonus R&B vibes [and what a bassline]). And the samples of Blondie and Chic and Queen upset or overturn one's sense of time and sequencing – where they added to a remaster? The title cut is classic, genre-defining (or genre-birthing), the first example of hip-hop being a newslike report from the front lines, with the "huh-uh-huh-uh-uh" is the genesis of a hip-hop convention. This is an historical artifact and very much not a relic.
Dizzee Rascal
2/5
Okay cool, okay clever, okay original, but when BIlly Squier is your major sample, you've comporomised your claims to timelessness. And certainly this seems very much a time-bound cultural artifact, which causes one to view its cockneyfied hip-hop in a continuum with Dickens and Hardy novels, say, or the films of Mike Leigh and Ken Loach. Anyway, Streets are (is?) better.
The Go-Betweens
4/5
Gets better on repeat listens. And gets better as one grows older and gains patience with overdetermined records and artists trying too control too much or sub-optimal vocals. Everything's solidly played and they're all thoughtfully lyrically. Let's call it adult music, maybe predictive of dad rock. Easily in one's top all-time top 5 of Australian bands. Hot tip: This record doesn't include far and away their best song, "Bye Bye Pride."
5/5
Orgiastically English and just great. Every cut is of interest in one way or another (usually several), but the several standouts include "I'd Like That" and "Harvest/Festival" and "Easter Theater" and "Knights in Shining Karma." What a record -- definitely needs to get on streaming services (though one admires Andy P's principled resistance).
Metallica
2/5
Solo on "Orion" is interesting and so is the droning passage that follows – no surprise that when the pace slows and the bludgeoning backbeat fades a bit, that the record gets considerably more interesting. All that would make "Orion" one's favorite Metallica cut, which is very much a tall pygmy award. Strong contender for most overrated band of all time.
LTJ Bukem
4/5
Is this technically a compilation? If so, shoudl it be included? That said, it's pretty cool, epsecially those cuts that explore and loungier side of d&b.
The Zutons
4/5
This is bouncy and solid overall,, with the diverse (but not too) sounds grows on one across the record. Best cuts: "Remember Me" and "Don't Think Too Much." One gets vibes neo-Kinks vibes and the Las too. Worth knowing. Wonder why one hasn't heard more of them.
Al Green
4/5
Not many better soul music records than this and it stands up well for almost any genre. Love the range of the voice on top of such exquisite arrangement and squeaky clean playing.
David Ackles
1/5
Lame and tame ... the schmaltzy horns, the bad-toupee piano. Randy Newman's theater-major uncle, one assumes.
Aerosmith
3/5
Two all-time great songs in the middle of the record – "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion" – and two decent/not-completely-stupid cuts to close the record. The rest is pretty meh. One deeply resents – and takes as a personal affront – their later work (Pump, Permanent Vacay, American Idol) so rounds down accordingly.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
5/5
So good – a dozen highly literate, sharply observed, skilfully played and produced pop gems. Coherent storylines and consistent-to-complementary tones from song to song make this a master class in pop music, from the strong first cut to the exquisite closer. Tasteful applications strings and horns and subtle piano figures seem to comment on the moods of these songs, adding lush sort of depth and richness in uber-appropriate ways. "Shabby Doll;" “Man Out of Time” and “Almost Blue” and "Beyond Belief" and "Little Fool" are the top cuts but every song is excellent in its own way, which is why this is, without a doubt, a masterpiece.
Nick Drake
4/5
Not his best. Still great, with opener/title track the best of the lot. The rest is broody-thoughtful (maybe to a fault), beautiful and important. A clear and understandable manifestation of his legend.
Ray Charles
4/5
One naturally frowns on such a self-serving title, but there are suggestions of genius, sure, especially for such a young singer. The heavy-handed smatterings of strings complicate a few cuts – they weren't necessary or at least it would have been nice to see what a lighter touch might have sounded like. Mostly this is pleasant. ”When Your Lover Has Gone” and “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying” are one's faves.
Janet Jackson
1/5
Do not dig. This is the pop music equivalent of excessive plastic surgery, just fakey and overdone and obvious. The concerns about the world and for the masses feel contrived and not exactly in synch with dance music generally and cheesy synths particularly, not to mention the mass excess of the production. The readymade beats sound dated and make the whole thing feel utterly disposable. The reason such records are this are measured in units is that they sound mass-produced and manufactured as artificially and soullessly as consumer goods. Would’ve been interesting to hear what Janet could have gone in a less false and synthetic production approach, but this is such dreck one confesses to writing her off entirely and never giving any of her other records a chance (and not regretting it either).
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
3/5
Of the several too many NC records on this list, this might be the best but it's still a mixed blessing. First side/record is too turgid and overly controlled. The latter half is much better, soulful and interesting, with real sweetness to the presentation and elegant and well judged playing. "Breathless" is the strongest of the several winners late in this record.
Wilco
5/5
One can see the record company's point in terms of the strident warbling of the opener but it gets better and chiaroscura (dark/uncertain songs followed by brighter/tuneful ones) seems to be the key to this deeply thoughtful, creatively conceviied and exquisitely well made record, which was something like a personal life OST for the first few years of the new century. Too many grace notes to list, but the whole puzzle works and every piece has emotional substance and/or beauty and/or fun and/or psychological insight. Plus, the well layered sonic environs here, offbeat sound, and arfful noise rock flourishes. DOn't sleep on A Ghost Is Born, which is nearly as good and certainly merits inclusion on this full list. Wilco are a major artistic force in one';s life and this just one of several best-friend records they've blessed one down the years.
The Electric Prunes
2/5
Perfectly serviceable and fully representative – if largely forgettable – pop-oriented psych rock. Generally tame, too, and one of the worst band names of all time. Any cred they gain for a few decent cuts is more than sacrificed to the execrable trolley car closer and several other cringey misfires. "Onie" isn't bad (if sounding much like "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'"). Maybe EPs are slightly overlooked or forgotten (unfairly or justifiably) but there's no shortage of average '60s bands in this category. This is in no way necessary or essential to a happy musical life. Imagining an alternative history: had EPs been just a little better, perhaps they might have prevented Jefferson Airplane from getting big, which might have spared us all the atrocity of “We Built This City.”
Malcolm McLaren
4/5
Weird how calm (and calming and charming) the opener is. Honest joy throughout this makes it more sonically pleasing and vastly more interesting than the Sex Pistols to one’s ears and perhaps more meaningful, too. "Jive Me Baby" is also fun. Last song sort of ruins the sophisticated travelogue vibe. Yes, it seems a bit like a science project, but at least the operative science seems to be anthropology.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
2/5
Undersized, self-consciously-dressed Brit with massively unrealistic musical ambitions wants to sing like a Delta bluesman and then pose as a sexual trickster, then be a chanson man, then pretend he's Jimi Hendrix– what could go wrong? No bonus points for seeming to inspire AC/DC vocalists. The whole thing's excessive even allowing for the indulgence-friendly standards of glam. Also, bands that include "Sensational" in their names are not to be taken seriously. Same with those that feature song titles like "Giddy Up a Ding Dong."
N.W.A.
3/5
Well this has held up in terms of retaining some of its shock value (or truthfulness and moral clarity). A number of the beats sound dated (not so surprising) and the flows can't always be taken seriously (obvs). What may seem surprising is the number of straight-up fun (even comedic) tunes. NWA might have been overlooked in terms of hit-making (rather than just attention-attracting). "If It Ain't Ruff" has a infectiously bouncy bass (great sample) and "Express Yourself" is a nifty updating. "I Ain’t Tha 1” and “Something 2 Dance 2” deliver the fun.
Elliott Smith
4/5
Bright, buoyant and well balanced. He knew what he was doing and this is a pleasure to listen to. Highlights are both "Everything" songs and "LA." Last few cuts are heartbreaking in retrospect.
Common
4/5
Smooth and soulful and positive-vibesy – one’s preferred hip-hop mode. Exceedingly non-cringey and in no way a guilty pleasure (for there’s nothing to be embarrassed about). “Go!” is an all-time personal fave. “Love Is” and “Chi-City” and “Real People” and “They Say” are also great. Warm and humane closer makes a mood-improving exit. Samples are well chosen and beats well balanced, mostly groovy and inclining to the chill and thoughtful (the template for conscious hip-hop, maybe). Bonus points for holding up so well over time.
Justin Timberlake
4/5
A very well-made, if excessively filligreed, pop confection, with his enthusiasm and sheer joy at performing shining through with nearly every beat. "Senorita" gets off to a fun and funky and surprisingly engaging start. One confesses that this is much better than one expected, and certainly more Michael Jackson-esque, too. he's a capable singer and clearly wants to show what he's got, which he largely pulls off, without being embarrassingly hungry from stardom. The R&B heart of the record is strong. "Take It From Here" is legit pop sweetness – showing why simplicity works. "Cry Me a River" also solid. Even if overdone and too long, the record's quality is mostly sustained. There have been many, many inferior pop records that have sold more. And it may have been just this sort of record that K Sanneh had in mind when he wrote his "rockist" essay and initiated the era of "pop-friendly" or "poptimist" criticism.
Kate Bush
3/5
As this is a full notch below her other entries on this list, it makes sense that it never sold. One's a fan but doesn't hear much here to get excited about – it's all too theatrical, melodramatic, stiff, non-flowing and excessively arty. Her view that it was a "she's gone mad" record shows considerable (and admirable) self-knowledge. It would seem that the "KB is the female Bowie" theory applies equally to the lowlights as well as the highlights.
Muddy Waters
3/5
As this is a full notch below her other entries on this list, it makes sense that it never sold. One's a fan but doesn't hear much here to get excited about – it's all too theatrical, melodramatic, stiff, non-flowing and excessively arty. Her view that it was a "she's gone mad" record shows considerable (and admirable) self-knowledge. It would seem that the "KB is the female Bowie" theory applies equally to the lowlights as well as the highlights.
Duran Duran
5/5
"A record (along with Madonna's debut) that set many youngsters on the path to puberty and sexual awakening (and helped more advanced players get actually laid). Indeed, ""Hungry Like the Wolf"" ranks high in the list of all-time sexy/horny songs. The title cut/opener is a near-perfect pop song – fun, aspirational, hooky. Also, songs that reference air races are generally cool, one has found. Overall, the tracks cohere nicely, each well made, hooky and sophisticated, with sharp edges, shearing guitars, pressing disco-inflected rhythms and tempos, and solid vocals at the center. Le Bon had a great voice and used it well – accessible yet distinct, strong, unhurried and credible in delivery. Beyond the two massive (and excellent!) hits, the other cuts are substantive and well thought out and well executed (with “Save It for the Morning After” and “New Religion” perhaps also deserving to be hits. This succeeds so well on its own terms – what else could one want from a quintessential New Wave act that very nicely balanced a stylish cool with commercial ambition? Rounding up (if only slightly) because anything that causes one to remember taking certain smokeshow (as no one said in 1982) high school girlfriends to the Omni in Atlanta to see DD deserves such a break.
Funkadelic
4/5
In one's next life, one will write a dissertation how Maggot Brain is basically a Walt Whitman poem, containing multitudes in a time of societal turbulence and showing so much of what's wonderful, weird and wicked (cool) about America, inclusive of folk and funk, gospel and rock. Which is one's way of saying this is a holy mess, rocking sprawlingly and pleasingly and all-over-the-placingly.
Devendra Banhart
3/5
Psych folk always seemed a better idea in concept than execution. Still, this is consistently interesting and mostly original seeming, if also too willfully weird and intentionally off-kilter. One’s full tasting notes mention vague Tom Waits vibes, whiffs here and there of Leon Redbone and darker Drake-ian notes. Also succeeds in being just a little creepy and uncomfortable (partially from the mumbly vibrato effects).
Afrika Bambaataa
3/5
Of legit historical interest – and intriguing because of the not-so-well-known-as-it-should-be link btw Krautrock and hip-hop. Musically, however, feels a bit stale and dated, not unlike Krautrock itself. Well worth revisiting however, given the historical import and influence.
Caetano Veloso
4/5
Brazilian people are cool. Also sexy. Some of this feels over the top (ie, a few arrangements),but one mostly digs, especially "Clarice" and "Alegria Alegria" and "Soy Loco." But the whole thing feels sweet and interesting and is most pleasant and interesting to hear, suggesting one needs to spend considerably more time with CV.
Erykah Badu
5/5
Extremely strong – mellowly funky and vibesy, bittersweet and melancholic and so many interesting and well-constructed cuts ("&on" "Cleva"). "AD 2000" and “Orange Moon” are straight-up sweet and deeply soulful. The latter’s flutes are a lovely add, perfectly complemented with decisive-yet-soft-touch percussion and balanced, thoughtful piano and representative of the skilled/tasteful/subtle playing throughout the record Editors are right, “Green Eyes” is “sublime,” as is the album as a whole.
Os Mutantes
3/5
If one were asked what the '60s sounded like in Brasil, one might think something along these lines. Flowery, fun, if not exactly fantastic.
Kate Bush
4/5
One's favorite KB record and very strong overall. "Running Up That Hill" is a great opener, a fully engaging (rather than annoying) earworm, and one of the best songs of the '80s. "The Morning Fog" bookends it excellently well as a strong (if light-touch) closer. So much in between works well – "The Big Sky," and "Cloudbusting" (a master class in using strings in pop music) are both first rate, and title cut and "The Jig of Life" just a touch below. The balance of melodies and drama originality/offbeat-ness are very well balanced throughout.
Alexander 'Skip' Spence
3/5
Poor man's Sid Barrett, blah, blah, blah. So we're saying too much acid is bad for the artist but good for the art? And would we be listening to this if he hadn't done a Bellevue stint? Still, it's not bad, if excessively DIY (like to the point of being outsider/primitive/folk art of a kind). The groany/warbly/talky vocals don't work any more than half the time. "War in Peace" is probably best cut, though "Grey / Afro" is interestingly offbeat. No surprise, really, that this never took off and remains an obscurity for cultists only. Safe to say it's also too long by more than a little.
Missy Elliott
4/5
Represents for the ladies, for sure, with its pussy and period chat. Quite the invocation of the muse to start (replete with name-dropping of multiple Jeffrey Epstein listers!) -- wonder if she feels now that she's got the paper she thought she needed, thought she perserved. Pretty solid on the R&B and flow fronts, but ultimately not too much to get (or stay) excited about (for the long term, at least - her sisters Lauryn and Erykah being much more significant in that sense)t). Seems very much of its time, with the best cuts ("Bring the Pain," "Pussycat," “Back in the Day,”) resonating (perhaps because of their old-shcool vibes) and all the occupational hazards of hip-hop (excess boastfulness, non-convincing posturing). Still rounding up for her courage, the quality of the guest list, and because a number of tunes are well worth knowing.
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
"Sign one up for Celtic soul – anytime, anywhere. Still, this isn't perfect. One’s never been of the “shut up and play/sing” mindset (okay, sometimes) but KR talks too much and on too many cuts. The commentary doesn’t feel of any meta importance, if that’s the intent. “This Is What She Likes” and ""Listen to This"" are great, swinging smoothly and with balance, as does the whole record. While it does have some Wilsonesque moments, it's very much a push to liken this to Pet Sounds. Rounding up because one loves the Irish for their way-punching-above-their-weight cultural contributions.
Eminem
3/5
Few records are so simultaneously terrific and terrible. Rounding down because one can't fully endorse the content, as excellent as some of the beats and flows are.
Little Richard
4/5
Seminal, yes, also super simple sounding to contemporary ears. Sax is strong throughout and the whole thing is fun to listen, thanks to the direct, tight playing (the upside of simplicity, one supposes). "Rip It Up" and "Oh, Why" are among the standouts. Rounding up (if only a little) because it's straight-up cool (if seemingly old-fashioned today) and because he didn't get to be – though he should have been – Elvis, basically.
Roni Size
3/5
Sterile, synthetic and pretty dull overall, plus dated. Some sound effects are stupid and the "singing" suspect, mostly. The chiller/trancier moments are best. But overall, one simply can't muster much enthusiasm.
Fever Ray
3/5
Okay-interesting, but mostly unmoving, for being excessively plinky and synthetic and sort of floating in an unresolved middle space between dancey club music and synth-pop sweetness and industrial electronica. The vocals are certainly distinct but not necessarily in a good way, (vaguely Bozzionian [Missing Persone] or Sineadesque [at her most strident]). Indeed, there's an eerie sort of sleeplessness (if not quite bad dream) effect, furthered by a few of the lyrics ("needing to rest" and "not sleeping since summer"). A little self-care might be in order, one suspects.
Steve Earle
4/5
One loves the directness and pristine, historically informed approach but it reads a little dry early in the record. "My Old Friend" is great and the last three cuts are strong, too, and maybe slightly more alive (even if some regrettably tinny synth notes sneak in). Transcendental Blues is better but this is still classic and a pleasure to revisit. One's happy that Steve Earle, Dwight Yoakam and other traditionalists are out there, teaching us what we need to know and keeping the legacies alive.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
One has mixed feelings but begrudging respect for this. On the one hand, one likes the swampy and sprawling opener and the way they run out "Grapevine" to close the record, not exactly pushing the boundaries of virtuoso soloing but taking their chugging ensemble playing to the limit, and to pretty good effect. On the other hand, there are kitschy-silly and borderline novelty cuts ("Looking at My Back Door" and "Ooby Dooby") that make CCR hard to take too seriously. One doesn't love Fogerty's voice, but admires the tight and focused playing. To be clear, one's had the same feelings about Tom Petty down the years – high quality playing and distinct (if almost annoying) vocals and a classic, straightforwardness, that can tend to the point of boredom and predictability. Almost too normal, is what one means, because so rooted in the mainstream and playing to broad tastes.
Joanna Newsom
2/5
Can't get into it, as much as one's tried. Lacks flows and variety. Seems more Carol Kane than Kate Bush. Maybe one should try another of her records.
Elton John
4/5
Strong overall, if a little flabby in middle (double albums almost always are) with a handful of close-to-classics that continue to age well. Elton gave it his all, it would seem, and definitely had a good time with it, even if he got a little tiresome in his late, ubiquitious celebrity days.
Cowboy Junkies
5/5
Quiet is the new loud. Also the new ethereal and gorgeous and haunting. A near perfect album – original, thoughtful, effectively structured and sequenced, extremely well executed, unified in tone and vibe, sincere, authentic and not at all showy. Subjectively speaking, it's intricately related to a critical time in one's life. Long story and it might be too much to say it saved one's life, but it certainly helped one turn one's life around. More importantly, it's aged about as a well as record can age.
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
Must've seemed hipper and wittier back in the day because today it's evident how hard they were trying to be both. Like the Smothers Brothers who also seemed tame, despite their reptuation for subversivenes. Cheech and Chong also seem a fair comp – it's moderately amusing at best, and really not heavy at all. oo many horns and strings and obvious and goofy effects (oompa-loompa vocals and kazoos) on “Your’e Probably Wondering.” All of it reads corny today. One can't be an anarchist (or whatever it is they're trying to be when doing lame satires of '50s doo-wop). More than boundary-blurring or -breadking, just feels overbearing, like their parents' music almost, and overindulgent. Maybe bonus points for having a song called "Wowie Zowie" decades before Pavement, but definitely not too many points.
The Cardigans
4/5
Just great. "Lovefool" is just about as good as a straight-up, lightweight pop song can be. The Black Sabbath cover is sublime, utterly.
Cocteau Twins
4/5
Darker and more jagged than the later, shinier and more mature efforts (including the gloriously glimmering Heaven or Las Vegas). Still, this is quite strong overall and well worth knowing. "Pandora" and "Aloysius" are particular standouts.
Beck
3/5
This is pretty cool, but also very contrived. One suspects he thought he was the Quentin Tarantino of music, when he comes off as Malkmus' slightly less cool (though also slightly less self-conscious and more schooled in music history) little brother. The songs feel like kits, assembled from pre-fabbed parts, rather than rising organically from riffs or feelings or some other form of inspiration. The slacker-centric vibes feel samey (and less convincing) after a time, perhaps a function of the limited vocal range. And at some point sampling, however creative, begins to sound like theft; to wit, "Jack Ass," the best song here would be lame without the swirling chime of the repeated figure from Them – it's the whole song, basically. Sea Change is a superior record – and what does it say that it seems like the least Beck-like record.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
What a strong debut from a significant artist transitioning to solo. So much to like – “Solsbury Hill" is just great while "Humdrum" and “Modern Love” “Down the Dolce Vita” “Here Comes the Flood” all quite strong. There's maybe a touch too much theatricality and a few of the proggier flourishes he might have hastened to leave behind a bit sooner for they age quicker, too, don't they? But still – any record that includes "Solsbury Hill" has a chance to be great, or at least very good.
Jungle Brothers
4/5
The lean beats, direct flows and generally upbeat, Afro-centric tone make for a direct link to the early days of hip-hop, while looking forward, too. Plus, one's fully down with any record that references both Billy Squier and P-Funk. "Good Newz Comin" is best cut, which suggests they might have experimented a bit more freely and expanded the musical palette a a bit. It might not be Three Feet High and Risin' but it's in the same 'hood (obvi), which is/was a good place to be.
George Michael
4/5
One used to love Boy George, primarily for the gorgeousness of the voice; one might love George Michael as much today, for the same reason, primarily, though one was very much embarrassed by the love then, one is much less so now; however ready one was, given one’s contrarian spirit, to argue with one’s straight friends (as a straight guy oneself) about what a great singer BG was, one woudl do the same for GM now, though obviously no one cares anymore, this sort of commerically oriented pop being as quickly turned over as the snack aisle of the warehouse stores. One loved “Kissing a Fool” those year ago and might have dressed as GM one Halloween (still straight, girlfriend mighta recommended). Faith doesn’t hold up nearly as well as this, which is extraordinarily well crafted, well made, with distinct songs in complementary tonalities and vibes. This might be the record with the greatest delta in terms of reception at release time (complete and utter disdain) to now (measured appreciation). The title has always bothered -- is it caveat emptor or a lack of trust in his own material or vaguely insulting the audience? Even allowing for the argument that he’s Barry Manilow of the 90s, the 90s were cooler than the 70s so this holds up better.
Prefab Sprout
4/5
What a great (and unfairly forgotten) record, urbane and understated, tender and intelligent. R&B for '80s kids who never knew learned to dance or were comfortable dancing. Still sounds good – very good, in fact – today.
American Music Club
4/5
So good – humane and heartfelt, warm and contemplative. Maybe the invention of Americana, maybe not – but still great, with skillfully modulated vibes and tasteful, nuanced playing, honest/earnest vocals, Streaming services – let's get with it and add this.
Emmylou Harris
4/5
Pristinely beautiful in a legit and authentic country context. Nothing to argue with hear – these are good to very good songs executed most effectively.
Rush
4/5
Three first-rate tracks – don't need to say which – but the rest is mostly meh (one's sixth-grade self was right to skip those mostly). On the upside, there are Shakespearean and Twain references and a steady resistance to the most common prog pitfalls (noodling into blind alleys and black holes). On the downside, there are the mostly odious politics (on which, do we really need their guidance?) and, relatedly, they seem to have come to consider Ayn Rand's a great writer. Still three great songs and pure, warm sixth-grade musical enthusiasm feels sustained, when Shakespeare just beginning to matter and well before Ayn Rand would have done. Editors are right: cover is "a lame visual pun."
Oasis
3/5
Good, not great, though the next record would be much closer to great, before the returns quickly got diminishing to the point of disappearing. Gets off to bad start because rock and roll songs about rock and roll are notably – and famously – passe. High and undeniable doofiness factor, especially lyrically (e.g., “Feelin’ supersonic / Give me gin and tonic;" "she did it with a doctor/in a helicopter”) which is perhaps an occupational hazard for bands of the people. While most tracks are solid (and pretty straightforward, if overdone), only “Live Forever” truly stands out as approaching anything like transcendence. Feels like a slog when it’s meant to soar. Do they need to repeat “slide away” a dozen and a half times in a row to end that otherwise fine song? Was it thought that the repetition would make it seem more important or, like, heavier? Plus it’s overlong, patience-testingly so. The overall effect is of a big fat wedge of chugging and bludgeony and samey and laddish rock embicility. Again, morning glory is much the better record. Please, people don’t but reunion tour tix or we’ll never see the back of these allegedly populist yobs. Better than Blur, sure but not by much. And suffers from the same problem: they are not nearly as clever or cool as they think they are and it was mostly knuckleheads who made them think so in the first place.
Joan Armatrading
4/5
This is the list at its best, pointing users to artists who are underappreciated or unique or – as in JA's case – both. Whole thing works, warm and thoughtful, easy to listen to, plus obvious depth and soulfulness. "Water with Wine" and "Help Yourself" and “Somebody Who Loves You” are highlights, though opener and closer are also strong. Didn't know Fairport Convention backed here, but makes sense. Easy 4.
Carpenters
3/5
Maybe this is the apotheosis of the school of "rock" that features Bacharach, Lawrence Welk, Bread, countrypolitan, easy listening, Air Supply, all tending toward emotional catatonia and cheese, lots and lots of extra cheesiness (primarily via the arrangements [compare to Elvis Costello's Bacharach album for how cool/restrained it might be]). It gets weird when it tries to get psychedelic – not talking about the lame (the less said the better about both the Beatles and Hot Rod covers; they get away with stealing from Satie because their fans likely would not have known). There's a David Lynchian weirdness to some of these proceedings and the massive commercial success makes it seem even weirder (plus the clothes and haircuts). Some of the melodies are narcotically sublime opener and title cut, most obviously. Rounding up because one's mom loved but she was not tastemaker, now, was she? One would love to see how some other bands would treat the originals here.
Brian Eno
5/5
This isn't sterile at all to one's ears, more like sacred-secular. Long a staple of contemplative/meditative early morning listening, easily the best ambient of all time, likely the best thing Eno ever did. Will never stop listening to this, may even request as one's last musical meal.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
Hard to know whether this proves blues were more African (and thus less African-American) than previously thought. One's not sure there is – or can be – a true or final answer to the question of origin anyway, but the music sounds authentically rootsy and no doubt it’s a great listen, too. Deep and serious, soulful and borderline mournful, yet still tuneful and satisfying.
k.d. lang
4/5
Editors, make up your mind please. The book entry on Ingenue calls this record (among kdL’s first four) “average if inventive” – is that the standard for records one must hear before one dies? What then to make of the exclusion of plenty inventive and above average artists (another Lucinda Williams record, say, or KT Tunstall or Courtney Barnett or Neko Case or Sarah Harmer or Big Thief or Snail Mail or Soccer Mommy or …). Btw, this is awfully good, her voice as warm as a summer evening on the prairie and very assured playin throughout. It does, occasionally, feel a little in love with its own conceit, and maybe slightly overdone production-wise, which makes it come off as museum piece to a certain extent. Still, a pleasure to listen to.
The Doors
4/5
A band one loved as a kid still has pretty strong appeal. One likes the crispness of the playing on some songs, but there’s a dated grooviness (one can just picture the go-go boots) and a trying-too-hard factor on cuts like “Waiting for the Sun” and “You Make Me Real.” Then its get seriously better thru the middle section. One was already embarrassed about liking this album by the time one went to college, so wouldn’t the embarrassment have reached eye-rolling scale by now? Alas, no, this holds up nicely, especially the bits that showed up on An American Prayer.
The Police
5/5
Right at the top of the list for album of the '80s, with two strong contenders for the song of the decade ("Every Breath You Take" and "King of Pain") and a third great song right next to those ("Wrapped Around Your Finger") and several other very strong songs. The tour was great, too. Oh does this take one back but the its greatest mark of quality is how well it stands up.
Neil Young
4/5
Extremely strong overall, if uneven and a little ragged or too much at times. The orchestral cuts don't always work, specifically, but any record with gems like "Harvest" and "Needle" and "Old Man" is destined to be a classic. "Out on the Weekend" was the anthem of one's early 20s, when one was utterly lost, which NY seemed to acknowledge and offer hope that one might find one's way out. Editors are right that he narrowly escapes mawkishness, his regular temptation. Great to hear again after all these years.
SZA
4/5
Listenable and fresh and mostly fun R&B/neo-soul, with good guests and cameos and the semi/quasi-outrageous lyrics on "Doves in the Wind" are very much true in one's experience.
Eagles
5/5
Hard to quibble with the greatness on full display here – and right from the start, with four near-perfect songs. The opener remains epic, the folk-rock "Stairway to Heaven," with the matching solos reaching and reaching, unforgettably, and the emphatic drum pounds underscoring the haunting profundity. One responds well to the cynicism, but feels the Eagles maybe shoulda better understood the self-infliction that got them there. "New Kid in Town" is inch perfect, an all-time soft rock song, and slips in a sneaky pathos toward the end. "Life in the Fast Lane" is not one's thing, sonically speaking, but is so skillfully executed that it's hard not to like. "Wasted Time" is richly layered, sad and true. What a song. One forgot how good the back side of the record, is too, especially "Try and Love Again" and "The Last Resort," which is epic (if a touch pedantic). One's always felt like the Eagles were lucky to realize the fame that the Byrds probably deserved and other soft-rock pioneers, but this is so well made that it's hard to argue that it was deserving.
Meat Loaf
3/5
Well it hasn't got any less overdone or bombastic over the years, has it? This was never one's thing, even if one can vaguely admire the over-the-top-ness of it (an admiration tempered by something like embarrassment for this cat). "Two Out of Three" is a bit better than one remembers, but could never (and still can't) abide "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," however close it hit home, this Spectrian opera for teens, however accurately it represented one's lived experience (speaking of embarrassment).So bonus points for verisimilitude, one would say, plus ML had a voice rather well suited to his physique. The Rizzuto sample is a multimedia innovation but also strains the metaphor far past the breaking point. One’s not saying the song is unoriginal or lacks authentic drama (or even truth). But, for context, compare it to two other songs of roughly the same vintage covering the same volatile material (i.e., teenage sex) in similarly direct but more thoughtful and less obvious (and thus more powerful) ways: Carole King’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” and Billy Joel’s “Only the Good Die Young.” But generally one's feeling is that this sort of extravagance (maybe exhibitionism) should not be encouraged, and especially not in rock and roll.
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
Seems like a record can be either unlistenable or something to hear before one dies, but not both.
Dagmar Krause
1/5
Mostly a waste of time and a waste of a spot on this list -- just too obscure, too theatrical and Brechtian or Zweigian (one's guessing here) to really suit this list. "The Perhaps Songs" is a plus title. At any rate, maybe some people need to hear this before they die (the composer's family most likely); one certainly does not. Listening just once, whilst still happily alive is more than enough.
Finley Quaye
4/5
This is a cool and interesting record and one's glad to have got to know it via this list. Certainly it's much better than Seal. Or Terence Trent D'Arby. One has no clue what Maverick A Strike could possibly mean. Sounds like the guy was difficult and maybe overrated himself and his potential for long-term stardom. Still this holds up and is well worth a listen on its own terms.
Ice T
4/5
It does seem just about the most OG of all the OG claimants. As strong as this (and its strength is in its directness), it's got all the seeds of hip-hop's rather less successful baroque era.
The Divine Comedy
3/5
Clever and cheeky, sure, and assuredly executed, but did we really need two of these louche-y larks? For Godfather 2 or the Empire Strikes Back this is not. It's less outrageous (or obvious) than Casanova, and so its seems likely that the jokes were lost on even more people. The most germane questions might be how often the hipsters (the purported intended audience) who bought this in the late '90s listen to it now and whether they feel good about their purchase today?
The Magnetic Fields
4/5
One senses this is too droll by half and excessively ironic, plus maybe a touch smug and far too self-satisfied – but then the gets to feeling overwhelmed by just how good and clever it is – so it's a smugness/drollery/self-satisfaction with portfolio. And despite one being right in the middle of the target demo (aging, well-read, perhaps overeductated hipster living in Brooklyn, attending Moth and McSweeneys' events), this never quite clicked or fully engaged in real time – so one's had to work a bit to appreciate it, TBH, which isn't necessarily a ringing endorsement. That said, the variety and quantity are impressive. Certainly the song titles appeal as ideas ("I Don't Believe in the Sun," "I Dont' Want to Get Over You") worth exploring poetically or musically, as is the implied thesis that all songs are love songs. But one's patience goest get a little strained by too many not-even-half-baked concepts (e.g., "How Fucking Romantic) which are seem to be included to showcase a single line (e.g., rhyming off "Rodgers and Hart tune"). "Fido" and "Punk Love" are similarly superfluous. Hence we get 69 love songs, when 42 migtha sufficed and/or actually strengthened the record. There's a sense that they're all just clever ditties but it does get a touch overwhelming. Indeed, the observation that "the book of love is long and boring" (one of the more memorable lines) could also be applied to this record, Disc 2 is much musically diverse and thus interesting (with several of the better and more fully developed cuts, including "Grand Canyon," "No One Will Love You" and "Papa Was a Rodeo"). But overall, one finds Jonathan Richman to be both funnier and more sincere/humane. Still, it does accrete to an excellence or near-excellence, that is undeniably witty and urbane, even if it does carry on too long.
Klaxons
3/5
Crisp, energetic and perfectly fine, if not great. One thinks "new rave" is accurate enough, but their literary interests seems slightly counter to the party vibe, no? Not fully convinced, however, that this is actually a sci-fi concept album. And I'm not sure it would matter if it were.
Green Day
3/5
One gets the appeal – fresh and clean-sounding punk [or punky power pop], mall-friendly, and equally tuneful and bouncy – without much digging. Certainly, one sees how suburban adolescents might've embraced this as their summer soundtrack and how it might sound good years later, but one wasn't such an adolescent and thought, when this lot came long, that they were overrated and that fans claiming them as some great rock and roll or punk rensacence (or whatever) were badly misguided. One prefers the slower/sweeter tunes (“Novocaine,” “When September Ends”) but maybe only because one's a tame and quiet-minded oldster. Each generation gets the Ramones it deserves, though GD seems to have been more comfortable with large-scale commercial success posing as anti-commercial statements.
Isaac Hayes
4/5
Baroque '70s soul that seems almost spoken-word or performance art at times. All quiet storms should be so groovy and vice versa. The playing is sublime, throughout ... one feels somewhat toyed with, but that's the prerogative of such a cooler-than-cool and sui generis artist.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
5/5
Distinctly and durably great from end to end, this album checks many, many boxes and fully delivers on its promise. "Carry On" is an all-time opener and "Country Girl" and "Everybody I Love You" offer a fully satisfying close – a measured crescendo that blends and amplifies all that comes before. In between are a few classics (the hymn-like "Helpless," the utterly catchy "Teach Your Children Well," and the vaguely Beatlesesque sweetness of "Our House") plus several other notable cuts (including the sublime title track and the uneasily contemplative "4+20"). Only "Almost Cut My Hair" veers toward hippie cliche. The only other quibble would be that these songs might've been even more expansive, coulda gone on longer to good effect. These were unique talents whose collaborations here were well worth all the tension and strife of the recording, one believes, achieving a depth of soul through the gorgeous harmonies, the light jammabilty and the countrified flourishes and veneers.
The Pharcyde
4/5
Fun, groovy, if a bit silly, and sure amateurish.
Willie Nelson
4/5
This an old fave, though one's always thought Willie sounded less than fully comfortable with the format and the arrangements, as if his deep respect for the material led him to be somewhat stiff in his approach. Yes, editors, he is a bit of a jazz singer, and it's cool how he countriies these tunes despite the broad, sweeping and normie orchestrations. There are better Willie records (Teatro should be on the list, say), though the quality and originality abound here, too. The strong commercial reception is well deserved (and no doubt helped with his parlous tax situation), though slightly more variance in tones/tempos as the record progressed mighta made it even better. Bottom line: these are timeless songs intriguingly interpreted by a truly original artist and a delight to hear overall, far transcending the bad vibes stemming from the fact that this was a favorite of one's ex-wife.
Metallica
2/5
I didn’t know Mannheim Steamroller could rock so hard. Oh, wait …
Pixies
3/5
Raw, ragged and reaching, this is an impressive debut – a statement, to be sure. "Gigantic" ranks among their best songs, and "Where Is My Mind" is also strong. But this would be well transcended by the subsequent records, a little more polish (or rather slightly less roughness) would up the impact (at least to one's ears). The 2007 remaster seems much cleaner than what one recalls hearing in real time.
The The
5/5
Love this record. It’s deep and serious yet utterly listenable (the musical equivalent of a think piece), a high-water mark for post-punk or new wave or whatever precisely Matt Johnson wanted to call himself. The drum machines seem just a touch dated, but otherwise this feels classic, up-to-date and – more to the point – timeless. Easily one of the best albums of the ‘80s. Don’t sleep on Mind Bomb either.
Ali Farka Touré
4/5
If Ry Cooder is a cultural appropriator, one's very grateful for it. There’s a little bit of a “field study” vibe here, but it's a deep and moving delight to here such exquisite playing, though it’s excelled (IMHO) by both In the Heart of the Moon and (of course) Savane.
The Who
4/5
So they didn't know if they wanted to be mods or rockers? A powerful and impressive debut, with a clutch of first-rate songs, was born of the confusion, to the ultimate benefit of listeners everywhere. One digs fully, even if it's a touch ragged and reach-y at times, that would always be a trademark of theirs, no? "Kids Are All Right" and "Legal Matter" are sneaky good, and undermine the conventional wisdom that this was all about the power. The additional tracks on US release and subsequent updates add to its strength (obviously).
The Associates
3/5
Ultimately, this is way too '80s, even for this child of the '80s. One gets their influence but man does that drum machine and tinny production (a remaster, really?) date this. In hindsight, it is self-parodying, as editors suggest, but really who could have known it at the time?
Steely Dan
4/5
A band that knew what it was doing and seemed determined to enjoying the doing. One never liked "Rikki" as a kid but sees/hears the quality now. "Barrytown" and "Any Major Dude" are longtime faves, and everything else is tight, well-judged and purposeful. A wholly professional effort that offers good value throughout, if never quite reaching Aja-levels of transcendence.
Peter Tosh
5/5
One's fave reggae album by some distance. Joy and mellowness combine well with wit and wisdom. Every song works and opener / title cut could be viewed as weakest of the bunch.
Talking Heads
4/5
Twitchy and legit, plus at once moody and dancey. One's never been a full-on Heads head – more of an admirer of the effects – but digs the moods they achieved. The early records are the most interesting work they ever did, obvs (thanks to some significant degree [if not entirely] to Eno). Best songs sound like a list of all the best things in life – "Air" "Heaven" and Drugs" ("Zimbra" also good.)
Elvis Presley
4/5
Hot take: this Elvis character was a pretty cool cat. Also sort of a ham-poseur, with an excessively performative bent and a rather egregious (okay embarrassing) need for acceptance in his pursuit of hits – which points several of these songs toward full-on schmaltz territory (including "Gentle on My Mind" and "In the Ghetto"). But there are a few classics ("Suspicous Minds," "True Love Travels a Gravel Road," "Kentucky Rain") and quite a few underappreciated cuts ("Wearin' That Loved-On Look," "I'm Movin' On"). Basically everything is overdone – no stone or studio trick went unturned in this hunt for relevance. To be clear, he would do a lot worse (and soon) and his history has to be viewed in the light of the fact that he seemed to bring out the worst in American public tastes. Not sure how ironic hipsters had to be in 1969 to dig this, but one would guess more than a little.
William Orbit
3/5
AI generated or not? That seems the relevant question. Maybe will be remembered for being ahead of it's time it's not. Overall, just okay, though too floaty to fully engage.
Paul Weller
4/5
Very strong overall, rich and warm, if not quite My Ever Changing Moods. "Moon On Your Pyjamas" is lovely, one of best all-time songs about kids. "Sunflower" title cut and "Country" are all excellent, but there's quality and depth throughout. And don't sleep on Illumination, one of his later solo efforts.
Supertramp
3/5
Not at all terrible and certainly they would get worse. The playing is crisp, generally, and there's a pristine sound overall, which almost make the considerable ambition pay off. But it feels like an overreach on a net basis. Hard to see ST as much more than a poor man’s Genesis. Or a late-'70s version of Coldplay. A smattering of Pink Floyd? Barely a smidgen, a quarter-smidgen at most.
Nas
4/5
Perfectly fine hip-hop and seems like a milestone in the long-term maturation of the genre. One likes the intensity and directness.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
Country-bluesy cuts work well and there's much of interest here, as well as considerable grooviness, as in the chugging opener. Instrumentals work well. One likes Beefheart the more one listens, generally, but maybe this record would have been better if a tad shorter. "I'm Glad" shows what an R&B fan he was.
4/5
This is as good as populist rock can be. The multiple first-rate songs and overall impact suggest why/how these lads got so overrated so fast and have remained so for so long. The songs do suffer a touch for being derivative, albeit quite transparently so. And they remain better than blur. "Champagne Supernova" is borderline self-parodying but somehow remains one of the top songs of the '90s. This is way better than anything Blur ever did.
Skepta
3/5
Doesn't completely suck seems about the best that can be said by non-fans, which one very much is. Despite a few interesting cuts ("Numbers" and "Ladies Hit Squad"), grime does test one's patience. Plus, it's hard to see how this will remain some critical landmark/milestone in hip-hop history, especially since this has more skits than it needs (which would be zero, actually). That's why one's more in the sayanaro camp when it comes to Konnichiwa.
The KLF
2/5
One's just not into it – and never was. The massively annoying "3 AM Eternal" is somewhat – but only somewhat – compensated for by "No More Tears." "Madrugada Eterna" would be better without the sampled vocals. Like so much club music, this feels disposable, forgettable and very much yesterday's news.
Cat Stevens
4/5
Perfectly fine, mellow and somewhat serious, but probably not as deep or wise as it aspires to be. Vocals are good but there's an undeniable meh factor going on. One always wonders how he feels about his conversion to Islam.
Machito
3/5
Certainly not unpleasant to listen to, but it can get a little loud and feels mostly like soundtrack music for a film set in the 1950s. Title cut and “Holiday” are best, but everything sounds pretty good. Beyond the congas and complex rhythms, there’s quite a bit that sounds like what other notable big bands were doing.
Cypress Hill
4/5
Tight, lean and fresh (as once was said), feels a bit like the midpoint between Public Enemy and DeLaSoul/Tribe Called Quest. Does get a bit samey. The loose jazziness is a plus even if it leads them to wear out samples which was kinda the way in this era of hip hop as one recalls.
Marilyn Manson
1/5
It was silly when it came out and it's only grown sillier over time.
The Monks
2/5
One's not at all invested in the question of whether or not this is the first punk record, so one doesn't care and finds little musically to engage with. It sort of sounds like someone's antique roadshow sort of find, perfectly fine, but really who cares?
Bob Dylan
4/5
Fabulous, obviously, but a a full notch below Blonde on Blonde and a notch and a half below Blood on the Tracks.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Pristine and scriptural. Astonishing how this record defies irrelevance or any sense of aging. It seems as urgent and impactful and – most importantly – true than it must have way back when. An absolute milestone and also a harbinger. Every time one listens to this, one appreciates it more and it rises in the ranks of favored Dylan records. Might be #3 or so these days. Movie enhances listening now, too.
Anita Baker
4/5
Pure class. Simple and sweet with an impeccable voice and skilled and tasteful (if safe) playing throughout. Easy listening it may be but ease (and calm) is a vastly underappreciated musical quality today.
Mott The Hoople
4/5
Has ever a rock vocalist sounded so jaded and world-weary as Ian Hunter? The appreciation of the record will be largely down to how listeners rate Hunter, who does sound at times like a Bowie impersonator. A bunch of strong cuts, with particular strength of the slower tunes: "Ballad of Mott" and "Hymn for the Dudes"and "I Wish I Was Your Mother." One's always intrigued by the presence of the sax in glam, which roots the sound in the '50s of course as if the glamsters maybe knew that even the newest trends weren't all that new. On balance, this is solid and a fun listen, too.
The Fall
5/5
So good. While it sounds at times like their disco or new romantics album, it's also crisp and dark, playful and spiky. A hard balance to pull off but as usual with the Fall, they do it with aplomb, humor and a resonant seriousness that puts the likes of most Britpop stars to shame.
2/5
Album name and song titles are somewhat interesting and one hear traces of innovation and originality but it's awfully clangy and largely tuneless – basically, grating to no worthy purpose. Not many candidates for song of the summer to be found here. It sounds like music that could threaten the psyche of impressionable youngsters. Feels too precise and controlled, too, which adds to the near palpable tension. Comparisons to Radiohead are strained, to put it mildly.
M.I.A.
3/5
Sounds like the 21st century – that is, strident and shrill, lurid and clangorous, multi-layered and mostly non-melodious, exhibitionist as much as energetic, chaotic, and borderline beserk. Full marks for originality. Not hard to see how/why it (and "Jimmy" in particular) resonated globally.
Kings of Leon
4/5
Strong throughout. The key to one's ears is the conviction and distress in the vocals which sounds like authenticity and passion. The driving playing and slight, minor-key plaintiveness add depth and richness. One missed these guys in real time – or didn't fully appreciate anyway – but one likes more with every hearing.
Silver Jews
4/5
This seems both slacker and more serious than Pavement, with the rich hipster ennui at times approaching true and resonant sadness, or pathos. It certainly won’t cheer anyone up but the cool kid-imagistic verse might elicit some new views on our grim world. Opening line is just a killer. The titles alone are wonderfully poetic. ”Time Will Break the World” and “Death of an Heir of Sorrows.” And there’s just enough variety to break from Berman’s annoying-adjacent vocal style (probably intentional). The singlalong works well. “I Remember Me” and “Tennessee” are countryfied highlights. One has a slight preference for American Water (which certainly belongs on this list though it's in much the same mode as this) because it offers more distinctive and varied guitar stylings and includes the rosetta stone line re Berman's vocals ("All my favorite singers/Couldn't sing"). Sad to think what might have been but DB might have wanted it that way.
Shivkumar Sharma
4/5
Lovely, contemplative, meaningful/mystical – everything one wants from what was once called world music. This cat Sharma provided the soundtrack for one's multiple trips to India in early aughts, so fondly remembered (especially "Dogri Folk Tune," which is not on this record).
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
One fully digs Bill Evans (everyone does) but has always preferred other records (Explorations, Portrait in Jazz and the underrated BE/Tony Bennett) as this leaves one a bit cold, as the playing gets a bit clinical and finicky, perhaps even a touch show-offy. It may not even the best record he put out in '61 This choice seems obvious for a list that way underplays jazz overall.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
4/5
Intense, passionate, searching and (yes, editors) sexy – this works remarkably well as religious/spiritual music, including for non-believers.
Kanye West
4/5
Lotta good stuff here. Also, a lotta marginal stuff. For all the overflowing and overweening creativity, one finds one's patience tested by some of the lamer joke, by the sheer volume of ideas, hooks, samples, etc., and the faux intensity (not to mention the misogyny). Ye does suck all the air out of the room, doesn't he, and by design, too. Best standalone tracks are "Devil in a New Dress" and "Runaway." Rounding up because of boldness of including King Crimson samples and Michael Jackson references. Great to hear Gil-Scott Heron, but Ye is no G-SH, let's be clear. Kids this record – and Ye himself – don't matter nearly as much as he – or you – might think and no one should take oneself this seriously. One wonders if he woulda been better records had he not indulged himself – would the music be improved if he improved himself as a, you know, human being? And will this age well? One thinks not.
Bob Dylan
4/5
Contains a few of the best Dylan songs ("Visions of Johanna," "Sooner or Later") but also several of the most annoying Dylan songs (“Rainy Day Woman,” "Stuck in Mobile," "Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat"), which is why it's a notch below Blood on the Tracks. "I Want You" and "Just Like a Woman" are sneaky good. “Sad-Eyed Lady” is gorgeous and "Most Likely" and “Fourth Time Around” are easily forgotten gems.This is rough and ready, overflowingly creative and a true landmark in R&R history. Hard to believe it was released only six months after Highway 61.
Paul Simon
4/5
Highly listenable and mostly likable. Also, undeniably strong and well executed -- there are lots of grace notes with instrumentation choices). But one can ever escape the sense with Simon that this is only slightly elevated musically, lyrically or artistically than other pop songs on the, you know, radio. (Kelefa Sanneh would likely disagree but one believes Simon is much closer to James Taylor and/or Dan Fogelberg than he is to Bob Dylan.) This record excels in a non-threatening normie sort of way, and seems more observational and detached (even slightly contrived in a "let's make music" sort of way) than being a totally driven, urgent or "this record had to be made" sort of record. Put another way, it's more clever than intelligent, more glib/catchy than deep/resonant. While he often settles for cuteness ("Hobo's Blues" e.g.), he clearly wants to be taken more seriously than he was when in one's view it seems he’s been appreciated and compensated more or less in line with his talent and the merits of his output.
Alice Cooper
2/5
Silly and sloppy and not at all worth the time. This is pretty close to full-on novelty act territory. Two albums by AC is two too many.
Green Day
2/5
Pallid, overly polished power pop-punk, the musical equivalent of processed food.
T. Rex
4/5
One feels tempted to build a theory that T Rex were first slacker band, such is their looseness, chill-coolness and commitment to vibesiness. This is thoroughly diggable and right from the start – the calm shuffle of an opener, the waltzy understatement of "Cosmic Dancer," with its most judicious and tasteful use of strings. "Bang a Gong" may be the weakest song in the set, while "Life's a Gas" seems the best. When they open it up on "Rip Off" (wth somewhat skronky but fully effective horns), it comes off as a controlled sort of crescendo, a slightly chaotic closer. Strong candidate for best all-time (or maybe just top 10) glam album, though the more T-Rexstatic The Slider also has a shout. Special shout-out for "Monolith" making a cameo in the hilarious, hallucinogenic historical Cortes-meets-Montezuma novel by Alvaro Enrigue, which is well worth anyone's time [could even be one of 1,001 novels one must read before one dies].
The Crusaders
4/5
Yes, it can seem obvious and broad (elevator music is too harsh given the skills of the players, which they feel no need to show off). In fact, the broadness makes it all the more subtle – or challenges the listener to hear the subtlety and nuance. But this is more or less exactly what one wants from smooth jazz (that unloved genre) – easygoing vibes, restrained and tasteful playing (guitar work is especially strong), mid-tempo swinging, and a sunny-bright tone that makes one want to calm down and perhaps even smile. If that's not an argument for adding more c-jazz to this list, then one wouldn't know what would be.
Bonnie Raitt
4/5
Much of this is meh to middling, but good for her winning a Grammy and plenty of acclaim (commercial and critical). Title track is tops here, followed by "Have a Heart" and "Too Soon To Tell" Thank you for your service, Don Was. Early records are much more deserving but easy to round up for lifetime achievement reasons.
The Incredible String Band
3/5
Listening to this one sometimes thought "an interesting/trippy/odd madrigal – pretty cool." But more often one thought, "Wait, is this a Monty Python skit?" So enjoyed it but found it a bit too outre and silly to take too seriously.
Beatles
5/5
A huge advance artistically – when they started to get a bit weird, a bit arty and subversive Even if they wouldn't (and couldn't) have known where they were headed, they don't put a foot wrong in advancing their work; every note is crisply executed and snaps perfectly in place in beautifully structured pop songs that aren't as sweet or simple as they seem on first listen. Or there's a lot suggested beyond the shimmering surfaces. Just great and a delight to listen to. Remastering is pristine. Maybe Revolver is just a hair better but definitely the journey to their eternal legacy started here.
Jack White
4/5
More fluid and intricate than the name suggests, with lots of cool hooks and modes. And, oddly enough, the title track is the least blunderbuss-y of all. One's never fully dug White's various outputs, which have always seemed overdetermined, far too studied and borderline contrived. At times, they almost seem like dry museum pieces or clinical sub-genre experiments, as if he's a poseur's poseur. But this is strong throughout and rocks properly, and here and there sings. It might even be said to slap, though only intermittently. Top cuts include "On and On and On” and “Hypocritical Kisses” and “Love Interruption” plus title cut.
The Only Ones
4/5
Crisp, well-executed, fully credible and well ahead of its time. The languor (e.g., "The Beast") sounds like much of the best '80s rock. Vocals are an acquired taste, to be sure, the sneering a seeming artifact of/tribute to J. Rotten's style. But there's much that sounds pre-punk (e.g., the Santana-like expansiveness of "Breaking Down") and beyond-punk considering that these guys know how to play their instruments. Rounding up because heroin addiction is hard and these guys probably deserved a touch more love than they got. And honestly it's not hard to see how, with a little luck, and perhaps slightly more adventurous guitar playing, they mighta achieved a trajectory more like The Smiths ("No Peace for the Wicked" is certainly Morissey-esque) or The Clash or the Buzzcocks. Agree with others who say the "discovery" of such a band as this is what makes the 1001 project worthwhile and rewarding. Warning: do not enter "The Other Ones" by accident when searching in streaming services, unless you like bad dance music of an adjacent era.
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
This is great of course (because Ella, because she's always a delight to hear), but Riddle offers only the broadest and most overdone arrangements. And editors might consider spiffing the list with the likes of Abbey Lincoln, Cassandra Wilson, etc.
Cee Lo Green
4/5
Good clean fun (well 2 out of 3 isn't bad). It's an enjoyable listen, to some considerable extent because the fun the artist was having is absolutely palpable. There's a major "entertainer" vibe here – like CLG a modern version of Sammy Davis, Jr, say, or even Nipsy Russell. Not all the jokes land (nothing like a Blockbuster Video mention for keeping it timeless). But there are too many likable grooves to quibble and this is clearly meant to be a party record more than otherwise, so let's not poop on it for not being something else, for it more or less delivers what it seems to have set out to do. He's far from the worst of the musicians who ultimately became better known for being well known. Best cuts: "My Kind of People," "When We Were Friends." "Die Trying" approaches something like soulfulness. The unique voice is a plus.
Slipknot
1/5
There are nine of them. They are from Iowa. They wear masks. One would be inclined to do the same if one were responsible for – nay, even remotely associated with – with this monstrosity (a descriptor, alas, that might be misconstrued as a compliment). Least-shocking ex-out from the official book. 0/5 (And wouldn't Slipknot be an appropriate name for a smooth jazz or yacht rock act?)
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
The tension is high; he’s angry, but not mad and the band just lets it rip when compared to other more polished records. One loves the menacingly bleeping organs and sharp, almost aggressive guitar riffs (e.g., on “Chelsea”). "Living in Paradise" and "Lipstick Vogue" are seriously underrated entries in a most impressive catalog. Just solid from top to bottom, with universally high quality throughout. Another commenter nailed it: “Perfect balance of pub and punk.”
Snoop Dogg
4/5
Swings, slaps and sizzles (though maybe one means foshizzles and/or shiznits). Pitchfork’s recent top 100 rap albums was indubitably wrong ranking this #100. Should be way higher.
Anthrax
1/5
If this is peak thrash, one would hate to hear trough thrash.
Janelle Monáe
5/5
Utterly marvelous and fully credible/convincing (as well as richly enjoyable) despite (perhaps because of) the genre-hopping. Nearly every song / entry works effectively. The contrast between "Wondaland" and "57821" shows the remarkable range she covers. The disco works as well as the R&B which works as well as the outre folk and classically-inflected cuts. And there are 6-8 first-rate songs that stand out from a very high baseline of quality. Despite the length, one never gets bored and repeat listens reliably yield multidimensional pleasure. With so much soul, one's as impressed and elevated as entertained and amused.
Everything But The Girl
4/5
TT has a voice for the ages and she uses it to good effect, which makes one forgive them jumping on the trip-hop/lounge fad of the day. The canned, drum-machine-y beats are, for the most part, skillfully and subtly deployed, though they have a dating effect, grounding this in a quite specific time rather than elevating this to timelessness. Some actual instruments mighta warmed things up a bit. Still, execution is everything and as with everything EBTG did, they do so with restraint and style and sophistication here. So it works as a largely pleasing record, albeit not one of the challenging records on this list.
Dinosaur Jr.
4/5
Sweet fury, hot melodies – so good. One prefers the later records, to be honest (the quality of which this rather obviously predicts) when the production got much cleaner but this is pure Mascis, just outright blazing riffs, thin wailing vocals that echo deep longings but do seem meant mainly as contrast and almost an afterthought in some ways. The opener and "Tarpit" and "Kracked" and "The Lung" and "Sludgefeast" are all strongest cuts. The retroactive addition of the Cure cover is good fun (though the scary metal scream is silly and non-additive). A friend from long ago had a good chunk of this on a playlist called "Heavenly Hardcore" and while not a precise definition (genre wise) it's utterly fitting and inspiring of pleasant memories.
TV On The Radio
4/5
This is tough and cool and different and interesting, song after song. One wasn't ready for this when it came out in early aughts (from one's Brooklyn neighbor, as it happens) but man has it aged well. Not sure it shoulda been exed but Dear Science is a superior album. These cats (seems appropriate to call them such) were determined to do it differently and succeed. Adebimpe's voice is certainly unique, too.
The B-52's
4/5
Just great and holds up better than one mighta expected. "Downtown" cover is a little iffy, while the rest of the record is both outre dancey and sorta punk too. The first frew cuts are just dynamite. One will never forget seeing them on SNL all those years ago ... life sorta began just then ... not sure one'd ever seen such a strange band or SNL. FUn memory. The later records got a touch cringey but first few remain strong.
Slipknot
1/5
Including two records by this lot is critical malpractice.
Queen
3/5
Overwhelmingly baroque and flamboyant – and not in a good way, as if they thought glam/arena rock was insufficiently theatrical and self-indulgent. There are a few decent tunes. "KIller Queen" is great and catchy and stops just short of being overdone. "Misfire" is the simplest, and most straightforward song on the entire record (and among the best). "She Makes Me" also shows how a little restraint might've elevated them, as does the finale. FM had a singular voice and they were ahead of their time production-wise. And every song offers something (choruses in "Leave it in the Lap of the Gods," cooing background harmonies on "Flick of the Wrist,"), but most have way too much. "Tenement Funster" would be a welcome break from the Freddie-shrieky intensity, if not for the metalesque guitars. But why did they find it necessary to try and include every idea and multiple styles in every song, to make every single, f-in cut into a rock opera, verily? One finds this level of excess to be exhausting, rather than exhilarating.
The Verve
4/5
One was late to this party back in the day, never really taking to this band and not taking Oasis that seriously either. One remains a little skeptical now, but digs the general vibesiness, the unhurried mode and mid-tempo expansiveness – might it be considered proto Dad rock somehow. The opener always seemed a bit overrated to me but there's much else to like – "Sonnet," "Rolling People". There is a last days feels to this with the rockier side of Britpop clearly on the wane. The slow-burning brooding tracks are best, but feel a bit same-y. Certainly not bad, but short of life-changing, or even inspiring. Doesn't really transcend A Northern Soul other than opening with a mega-hit. Seems just a touch contrived and too premeditated and performative. But not as obvious or obnoxious as Oasis and cooler than Blur. The last cut suggests that AI woulda created this lot had they not created themselves way back when. And the hdiden track mighta been left that way with no major impact on the overall effect.
Digital Underground
4/5
Peace and humptiness forever, from Cleveland to Samoa! Fun, funny and outright sexy
Miles Davis
4/5
Not one's favorite Miles but still Miles so still great and excellence – and such excellence is always relevant (at least to listeners of taste) no matter what editors say about Miles in the '60s. One digs the expansiveness and toughness and courageous exploration, though certainly understands why others would not so dig. This asks a bit of listeners, though one has always believed it's well worth the effort as with most things Miles. One likes to just put it on and let it sprawl ... in all it's unhurried skronk and toughness. And there's plenty of grooves if one's patient enough (e.g., "Spanish Key").
Waylon Jennings
5/5
Damn near perfect country record. Deep, mellow, unhurried, bittersweet. One is deeply appreciative for the turns Waylon took and even if one's cynical about Outlaw Country (marketing concept as much as anything), there's no arguing with the quality of the outputs.
Nirvana
4/5
Perhaps the best way to assess this record is forgetting what a new phenomena MTV Unplugged was (which only briefly preceded its becoming a cliche), ignoring the rest of the catalog and pretending one'd never heard Nirvana before. In that view, this is straight-up interesting on its own terms, a creaky-voiced though impassioned singer, playing brooding, sometimes raw, vaguely psychedelic folkie rock, with a few intriguing and well selected covers. (One's always been annoyed by the intelligence-insulting introduction of "Man Who Sold the World" as a Bowie song, though a charitable interpretation would be that KC was trying to be helpful to the benighted and wanting people to know bettter.) The cello adds depth (even if seeming slightly affected) and Greil Marcus is right that this gets deeper and more hauntingly musical across multiple listens. Certainly, it's more inventive than Pearl Jam's set and one likes it better than Nirvana's studio albums but then again one has always (then / now) found them to be pretty overrated.
4/5
Everything one wants from classic country – crystalline vocals, seamless and understated playing (every note in place), rich and specific vignette-songs with clear morals and dripping with the authenticity of Good Country People. Seems worth noting (via Ken Burns) that this came out the same year the National Organization for Women was founded and the term "women's liberation" was coined. Maybe this is a greater (and more durable) testament to those principles. It may seem modest in its ambitions, but the impact is powerful indeed (and still hits significantly today) and the execution pretty close to perfect.
The Boo Radleys
4/5
Strong and sophisticated, but also warm and fun, with considerably more depth than the polished pop facade would suggest on a first or cursory listen. One didn't quite track them in real time, not with the attention they seem to deserve anyway. The mix of shoe-gazing, Britpop, and something like straight-up (or rave-adjacent) indie rock and variations on genre (reggae, eg) works effectively and holds up quite well, easily (almost effortlessly transcending pure '90s cliches, especially bombast). There are swirling, totally hummable melodies (e.g., "Wish I Was Skinny") that add sweetness but ample distortion and spiky riffs to challenge a listenter and suggest their ambition (as do the mini-suites). The understated brass and winds (on "Best Lose the Fear") are grace notes. The sequence of "Leaves and Sand" > "Buttefly McQueen" > "Rodney King" is particularly strong. "Barney and Me" and "Lazarus" are among the other plus-plus cuts – there is more than enough quality to justify the (borderline too long) quantity here (speaking of '90s cliches). They bring to mind the Pernice Brothers, among other current indie bands. Will need to remind oneself to listen to more of them in the future (which is before one will die, assuming one has the timings worked out).
The Beta Band
4/5
Certainly has a sense of the carnivalesque about it, doesn’t it? This is the way to design and deliver psychedelia in post-modern times, in the 21st-century. Fun and enjoyable and likably weird and more than little interesting. What else does one want in a rock record? No way this shoulda been exed. Another band one didn't appreciate enough in real time and one's glad to be reminded of now via this exercise.
Pink Floyd
4/5
One's late middle-age self has a difficult time taking this anywhere nearly as seriously as one's mid-teenage self did. The Final Cut seemed better then and still so today. "Comfortably Numb" holds up better than many another war-horse-dinosaur arena rock cut. Still, it's quite a vision and achievement and – okay – could be said to be iconic (most overused world). Despite being overdone, one will round up because The Wall itself is in the rock and roll HOF. One wonders how the movie holds up – one suspects not all that well.
Eels
3/5
Perfectly fine and relatively interesting, if anodyne and highly controlled/restrained (and thus never achieving liftoff). Editors/critics are straining in the extreme to make Beatles and Bryan Wilson comps. Production so pristine and precise as to seem clinical, even pharmaceutical. Talky vocals do get a bit tiresome. One always expected to like this band in real time more than one actually ever did – not sure who's mainly responsible for that. One's not any more moved by this now as one was then, which is to say not especially much.
The Dandy Warhols
4/5
One didn't properly dig them in real time, but always admired/enjoyed them – in some ways, this is peak '90s qualikty. Today, one remains perfectly okay with / positively inclined toward the style-substance equation here, their artier-than-alt take on indie rock and their being less grungy and more shoegazy. They are more relaxed / less self-serioius than (and nearly as smart as) as Pavement, and thus some of the jokes and hipster insights/satire ("Heroin is passe") land better (if maybe a touch broader). The value of good song titles ("COol as Kim Deal," "Pete International Airport," "Hard On for Jesus") is not to be underestimated. It's a good mix of party tunes and sadder, morning-after vibes ("Good Morning" sounds very much like Lloyd Cole, which is a good thing). Again, this well-balanced throughout and bonus points for non-ponderous self-awareness, which makes more manageable their being distinctly non-transcendent and unlikely ever to be regarded as anything like timeless (though certainly better than Blur). Good clean fun as it were, with the plausible implication of much recreational drugs-taking and casual sex.
Joe Ely
4/5
Pretty terrific, if MOR, traditionalist country, that's easy to like. Bonus points for properly pronouncing "piana."
Isaac Hayes
5/5
Wah-wah pedal meets Ravel. Two perfect tracks bookending rich evocations of the sexy-sexy ‘70s, with lush orchestrations that make Barry White look like a square, hinting at the think-y Odd Couple theme, casually tossing in some Wes Montgomery vibes. The many loose, fluid melodies risk seeping off the vinyl. Theme song is just all-time – "he's a bad mutha / shut your mouth / just talkin about Shaft" is borderline performance art in the best possible way. "Ellie's Love Theme" is brilliant. "Early Sunday Morning" sounds like the Saturday-night lovin' went late and quite satisfactorily indeed. And “Do Your Thing” is seriously underrated as an all-time jam tune, much cooler and more soulful than basically all comers. "Soulsville" is only a slightly different angle than "In the Ghetto." Maybe wanders a touch and it must be acknowledged that Hot Buttered Soul is superior. but what a record overall and how cinematic in scope and vibe, and rounding up because (obvs) Isaac Hayes is the coolest man who ever lived, seeming to have single-handedly invented both the slow jam and the quiet storm.
Morrissey
4/5
Absolutely world-class piss-taking by one of the world's all-time great piss-takers. He's in fine form here and no way this should have been exed.
Bill Callahan
4/5
BC is one of those artists that has demonstrated the value and pay off of one's commitment to continually seek new music. One found him late (probably from algo-reco based on lots of Red House Painters listening) and felt immediately spoken to, understood, drawn in and gravitating toward. Then realized one knew Smog (a bit) and so ... it's all likably strange, rich and moody, literary and spiritual; warm, empathetic and humane, too – right up one's alley. "Jim Cain" and "Faith/Void" are an extraordinarily strong opener-closer combo.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
Ick.
PJ Harvey
4/5
One like the more measured pace, layered textures and folkier tones and timbres here than on their more enraged and punkier records – this is by far one's fave PJH outing. Lots of interesting and engaging (even outright tuneful cuts): title cut/opener, "The Glorious Land," "On Battleship Hill" (with lilting piano figures rounding out the tense strumming) and "Writen On the Forehead." Extremely strong outing and a major modern (and modernizing) contribution to Englandiania (see also V's St Crispin's Day speech or various 19th-century novels [Eliot, Hardy, Dickens] or The Lark Ascending or a Turner landscape).
Kings of Leon
4/5
One digs KOL – for the rough edges and raffishness, the quality of the vocals, which sound purely rock, ancient and primal, plus the melancholia that drapes nearly every song, including the bangers. The later records have always seemed unfairly maligned – they don't seem overproduced or slick, or not any more than the excellent hooks merit. Southern-friend Strokes has always been right, though one has a strong preference for KOL, of reasons of authenticity, especially relative to the fully contrived Strokes (though perhaps one has a pro-South bias, being Southern oneself). Best cuts: opener, "Taper Jean Girl," "The Bucket," "Soft," "Day Old Blues" and "Where Nobody Knows." They were really a breath of fresh air, weren't they? And how all three KOL records got axed, one has no idea.
Gang Starr
4/5
Genius old school wins out here. One's more or less fully down with any record that samples Bacharach and Dark Shadows theme and obscure jazz. And shows if emcee's got the skills, the records don't need no frills (wait, that rhymes).
Bert Jansch
4/5
Pristine, pure and austere – as early, obscure-but-influential folk music should be. Now haunting, now lovely, i still packs a punch, mainly due to the artful, subtle and accomplished playing.
Wu-Tang Clan
4/5
One has long gone back and forth on the proper question posed by the editors: is this "genius or just exceptionally well-done nonsense." On most recent listening, one landed firmly in the former camp. Certainly, it's wholly original and unique, the lean, muscular beats, muddy-ominous sound, gruff and growling vocals. "So Simple" and "Method Man" are absolute prime, hip-hop classics, and the middle cuts are for sure the strength of the record, generally. On the nonsense side of the equation, the Kung Fu bits, however representatively metaphorical for the art of hip-hop (need for bravery, precision, etc.), are also fairly silly. Genius or nonsense – one is increasingly inclined to accept both things as simultaneously true.
Dolly Parton
4/5
A lot to like here, including the fully old school vibes, legit honoring of tradition and gorgeous (GORGEOUS) singing. It’s absolutely lovely, if a little on the prosaic side. “Making Plans” is the early highlight, "Rosewood Casket" the late one. Shout-out to Ry Cooder and (even more so) the hugely unheralded David Lindley – go check his solo stuff.
John Martyn
4/5
Two John Martyn records are too many, and though each has its moments, neither has enough to make them top-shelf records. Previously, one has preferred the looser-scruffier-scattier-jazzier One World, though it’s so scatty as to make the lyrics unintelligible, which suggests maybe the lyrics don’t matter. More recently, Solid Air would seem something like a better choice of posterity, and the first few cuts are a strong start. Did Pink Floyd outright rip off “I’d Rather Be the Devil” for the opening guitar riff of “Run Like Hell” or is it just similar delay effects? And was the wah-wah on “Dreams By the Sea” inspired by the Shaft OST? Who knows? And white British hippies singing about jellyrolls strains credibility, to put it mildly, but hey rock and roll of this era was all about cultural appropriation. That said, “I don’t want to know evil/I only want to know love” is among the quintessential hippie lyrics/sentiments. One wants to like this more than one actually does (not as good as Drake, probably for reasons of vocal quality), though will likely keep giving it a try on quiet nights, quiet mornings.
The Go-Go's
4/5
Kinda like the Monkees, but personally one finds Belinda Carlisle a lot sexier than Davy Jones. Early 80s were a mini-golden age for this sort of pop (oh bliss to be alive in that dawn), even for those acts aiming to modernize 50s hooks and vibes. And certainly this has more heft than much of today's disposable, (hyper)pop. That Greil Marcus loved it is both surprising and excellent, speaking volumes about the quality pop of this era lifting all boats (including allegedly lightweight ones like this) and offering ample fodder to anyone considering this a guilty pleasure (as one does) or embarrassed about liking it even a bit (as one is). And wouldn't it have been better for everyone if punk bands had learned to play their instruments so well?
Metallica
1/5
Enough with the bombast.
Buzzcocks
3/5
Fun and frolicsome, without being outright, you know, filthy. Doesn’t seem now as exciting as it once must have done.
Eagles
3/5
One’s operative theory of the Eagles is that they were hugely lucky, “happened to be in right time at right place” recipients of a force, a vibe, that was so large and momentous that it could elevate such middlebrow blandness to stardom, when the Byrds, Burritos, etc. etc. were more deserving of the fame, of the fortune. They are something like CSNY-light, in other words. Not that this terrible – the bookended songs are easy to like, especially, as peaceful (and easy) listening music for taking it easy times. There are also the cooing harmonies (see CSNY-light) on “Most of Us Are Sad.” But there’s also plenty of vintage bad and greasy-licked 70s party rock – “Chug All Night,” which is Thin Lizzy with country choruses, basically, and the dreck-y, middlin, tight-t-shirt, winged hair and moustaciohed rock of “Tryin.’” Never truly transcends blandness and rounding down as they’ve always seemed pretty outrageously overrated.
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
The squarest hippie music of all time.
Sleater-Kinney
4/5
One’s quite fully down with SK, though perhaps more so now, it must be said, than in the past, like in real time, when annoying hipster-ish (or hipster-aspiring) friends oversang their praises. In other words, they've held up well. Brevity’s a strength, as are the sense of humor and the certain lack of overweening self-importance (looking at you Karen O). Plus they get good yields from by extending basic punk template (plus knowing how to play, plus legit riot grrrl attitude [so timely and au courant then] plus good production all of which make a considerable difference). “Littke Babies,” their version of "Hot Topic" by Le Tigre, shows just how Go-gos they coulda gone.
Kid Rock
1/5
Unspeakably crass and imbecilic. The music's not very good either.
Underworld
2/5
Relatively benign and clubby chill, and certainly not the most soulless electronica one's ever heard. It's possible that this might be more subtle than one realizes, given one's disinclination to give such synthetic and borderline tedious beatfests much time when it comes to attentive listening. Net-net, though, is that one struggles to see how this would in any way prepare one's soul for the afterlife (assuming there is one). As such, this can be regarded as non-essential, pre-demise listening. They got their 15 minutes with Trainspotting OST so don't really need (or deserve) much more love than that.
Genesis
4/5
Dreamy and delightful, and damn close to Lamb Lies Down level of overall quality and impact. Strong contender for one's personal all-time fave prog record (perhaps it's not too proggy). The vaguely medieval milieu and fairytale flourishes don't get in the way of quality playing and pure musical enjoyment. Yes, there's epic scope and dramatic urgency, without (crucially) self-importance, plus many hummable sections and engaging (even ear-wormy) passages. A number of the songs were of such quality as to sustain the transition to Phil Collins' singing them on later live records. Just great and aging very well indeed.
Slade
3/5
Oh the '70s when the licks were set to scorching and the stomp designed for industrial strength, when men were men, when fun and sex were the lingua franca of rock and roll and the hair styles absurd or surrealism-adjacent. "Mama Weer" is good clean fun, innocent-seeming and triumphantly empty-headed. The best that can be said that at least they didn't take themselves too seriously, possessing at least that much self-knowledge, though two songs with "Crazee" in the title and various other silly spellings, plus the goofy cover suggests maybe they should have done.
Elvis Costello
4/5
Rounding up because the lack of killer cuts is more than made up for reasons of lifetime acheivement and by the very high quality throughout (including the high-quality production from Nick Lowe). There's a little return-to-form feel, like EC wanted to show he could bring the vinegar and bile – and it largely succeeds on that front. Top cuts include "Too Soon to Know" and "This is Hell" and "Sulky Girl" and "13 Steps" and "Tripped," each of which has moments that suggest the's about to break into one of his signature cuts (hinting at how much there is to like here, though also leaving one perhaps wanting just a bit more).
Peter Frampton
3/5
Seems just about most unlikely major hit by minor player in R&R history. Or perhaps just what happens in the summer of (bicenntenial) love when everyone was stoned – and it must have been very good pot to yield such amazing sales and the frenzy of the crowd on the recording. Safe to say the record is 50% too long, for there is much that's meh. Hits are fine and hooky (they sound like hits, don't they?), even if they push the talkbox way, way (WAY!) too far and too long. And the cover of "Jumping Jack Flash" feels like a textbook definition of filler. Frampton could be a contender for most fortunate rocker of all time.
Thundercat
4/5
Wonderfully weird, offbeat amusing and skewily humorous. Michael McDonald sounds right at home here (and fully deserves the intro shout), which speaks to both the timeliness and timeless aspects of this record. There's a similarly intriguing tension between the darkness of the lyrics and the lightness of the delivery – one likes a little ebulience mixed in with his despair (musically speaking). The density of creative ideas makes this a memorable listen overall, and not just a pleasurable one, though it's certainly that. Like a fun bender with a strange friend best taken in doses, though there's no doubt his heart is in the right place and sense of the groovy super well-honed.
Bebel Gilberto
4/5
It's all about the vocals, isn't it, and they are super charming and alluring. Though restrained, it still falls warmly on one ears, though wishes it had maybe a touch more saudade. The record feels notably front-loaded and drifts off into pure background listening territory toward the back (though the closer livens things up a bit, perhaps even too much).