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2.83
Average Rating
52%
Complete
518 albums remaining
Featured Review
(What's The Story) Morning Glory
Oasis • 5/5
5 Late nights spent playing Halo with Will. Driving around in Colin’s white minivan. Performing Wonderwall at the collage concert. My old house on Union. The last truly free summer vacation of my teenage years. I have so many memories and emotions attached to this album that I truly don’t even know where to begin - and how appropriate to see it pop up here now in the midst of Oasis Live ‘25. If there’s anything these past couple months have taught me, it’s that Oasis aren’t just a band that defined my adolescence, they’re one that continue to define my life. I mean, I just bought a f***ing overpriced bucket hat from their LA popup for chrissakes. I don’t even really remember how this album first ended up in my hands (I think it had something to do with Some Might Say being in Guitar Hero: World Tour), but I do remember it speaking to me almost immediately after acquiring it - so much so that I pretty much forced it on my friend group, who thankfully all felt very similarly that I did (Will especially), to the point that the songs here became defining high school anthems for us all. And man, what a collection of songs. Not a single skip. Not a single flaw. No notes. This is about as good as Britpop gets, if not music in general. I have a million things I could say about each individual song here, but attempting to do so feels in vain - my favorite Stephen King quote to mind: “The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them - words shrink things that seem limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out.” So, instead, I’ll just say that Oasis crushed them on their reunion tour, creating not only a very memorable show, but a moment that feels like it’s brought my relationship with Oasis full circle in a lot of ways. I still can’t quite believe the enthusiasm I’ve seen now both in London and Los Angeles surrounding the brothers’ reunion - for a band over 30 years old and broken up for about half of that, you would really think Jesus returned to Earth. The energy I felt from the band and audience alike is unparalleled, like being a part of something much bigger than myself. It’s a good time to be an Oasis fan - hopefully I’ll be able to score one of those Adidas collabs one day. Music is a powerful thing, man. Old photos and home videos offer a lot of nostalgia, but the closest we’ll ever get to time travel is the feeling an old song can give you. I listen to this, and I can almost feel what it was like to be 15 again. I think of people, I think of places, I think I moments… I guess I think of a lot of things, but without fail, I always smile.
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21
5-Star Albums
35
1-Star Albums
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You Love More Than Most
Albums you rated higher than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Repeater | 5 | 3.12 | +1.88 |
| Nothing's Shocking | 5 | 3.17 | +1.83 |
| Darklands | 5 | 3.23 | +1.77 |
| Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables | 5 | 3.27 | +1.73 |
| Public Image: First Issue | 4 | 2.42 | +1.58 |
| Unknown Pleasures | 5 | 3.47 | +1.53 |
| Paul's Boutique | 5 | 3.47 | +1.53 |
| GI | 4 | 2.54 | +1.46 |
| Licensed To Ill | 5 | 3.56 | +1.44 |
| Ramones | 5 | 3.58 | +1.42 |
You Love Less Than Most
Albums you rated lower than global average
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Hard Day's Night | 1 | 3.9 | -2.9 |
| Remain In Light | 1 | 3.67 | -2.67 |
| Talking Heads 77 | 1 | 3.56 | -2.56 |
| Arrival | 1 | 3.49 | -2.49 |
| Aja | 1 | 3.46 | -2.46 |
| Abbey Road | 2 | 4.46 | -2.46 |
| Diamond Life | 1 | 3.42 | -2.42 |
| Faith | 1 | 3.27 | -2.27 |
| Revolver | 2 | 4.25 | -2.25 |
| American Beauty | 1 | 3.24 | -2.24 |
Artist Analysis
Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beastie Boys | 3 | 4.67 |
| Nirvana | 2 | 5 |
Least Favorite Artists
Artists with 2+ albums
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Waits | 3 | 1.33 |
| Talking Heads | 3 | 1.33 |
| Grateful Dead | 2 | 1 |
| ABBA | 2 | 1 |
| Beatles | 6 | 1.83 |
| The Divine Comedy | 2 | 1.5 |
| Pet Shop Boys | 2 | 1.5 |
| The Mothers Of Invention | 2 | 1.5 |
| Orbital | 2 | 1.5 |
| Bob Marley & The Wailers | 3 | 2 |
| Yes | 3 | 2 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 3 | 2 |
| Neil Young | 3 | 2 |
| The Byrds | 4 | 2.25 |
Controversial Artists
Artists you rate inconsistently
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Todd Rundgren | 4, 1 |
5-Star Albums (21)
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Popular Reviews
The Residents
1/5
1
Oh my God it’s the eyeball dudes. I’ve heard of these guys, but I’ve never listened to anything they’ve put out, mostly due to the general discomfort they give me. And I gotta say, going in with just that knowledge, somehow all of my expectations were met. Yep, it’s just a bunch of weird noises and voices for 35 minutes. There’s a certain 60’s Saturday morning cartoon vibe buried in all of the chaos that I think I had mild appreciation for, but that’s probably the most positive thing I can say about this album - when I realized the first track Constantinople is the band’s most popular on Spotify, I knew I had a very, very long listen ahead.
Ironically, compared to many of the other albums I’ve rated poorly thus far, there’s actually quite a bit that’s remarkable and stood out to me across my listening, but I feel like trying to express any of it into any kinds of words here would be a massive waste of time for everyone involved. I’m convinced that no one actually listens to this kind of stuff out of pure personal enjoyment, and it instead becomes known and popularized from the kinds of reactions you get from people when you put it on. If you’re into really bizarre or trippy stuff for whatever reason, I guess give this a listen. If you’re looking to enjoy some new music, I suggest listening to quite possibly anything else. This shit made me want to listen to The Beatles.
In summary, art rock is dumb - there’s nothing profound about making your music unlistenable.
At least this one wasn’t as aggressive as that Suicide album.
30 likes
Beatles
2/5
2
Supposedly this album marks when The Beatles started getting into drugs, and while it’s noticeably less bubblegum-y than their prior work, I still didn’t find anything here to be overly interesting - even with some new flourishes like the sitar on Norwegian Wood, a song which is apparently John Lennon’s attempt at putting a fun spin on him cheating his wife. F that guy. Paul’s songs are definitely the better ones here (surprise, surprise), but even then I wouldn’t call them great. Really, I don’t think there’s anything here I would call outright enjoyable, but I can point to the opener Drive My Car is probably the worst thing on the album. The only thing worse than the lyrics are the Beatles fans trying to build upon them on Genius. For example, the annotation for “Beep beep'm beep beep yeah!” reads:
“This iconic transition utilizes onomatopoeia for the sound of a car’s horn. It serves to illustrate how much fun The Beatles are having with their newfound fame and success.”
End me.
As if to bring the album full-circle, the group decided to end on another low point with a song threatening to murder a partner if she were ever to take another man. I know it’s based on a song by Elvis and isn’t totally out of place in that era of music, but I don’t think that makes it any better.
Everything in the middle is kind of meh, but with there being a song titled What Goes On, I will give a shoutout to my Dad’s guy Lou Reed and his group The Velvet Underground, who have a song with the same name that, despite having half as many Spotify plays, is like 1000x better. Considering that’s the Ringo song on this album though, maybe that’s a given (sorry Ringo).
Man, despite usually keeping it in the 30-minute range, I swear these guys always seem to find a way to make their albums drag. That being said, I think some of the art rock/experimental stuff we’ve heard has really redefined for me what true 1 means, so I’m going to go with a 2 here, but either way I won’t be listening again anytime soon.
19 likes
Radiohead
2/5
2
Radiohead to me is the musical equivalent of Rick & Morty, in that I tend to find their fanbase insufferable. In both cases, they’re largely comprised of devout fanatics that seem to think a certain level of intellect is required to appreciate the content, when really it’s nowhere near as complex or as clever they make it out to be. While I don’t outright hate the band or the TV show themselves, I do think they’re largely overrated and that the fans need to take it back a notch or two.
Anyway, that being said, I’ve heard a few Radiohead albums in my life, but this is the first I’ve heard Hail to the Thief. And idk, coming off of OK Computer and Kid A (I admittedly haven’t heard Amnesiac), this seems like they were playing it a bit safe? In some ways, it feels like the “lite” versions of those albums - the hints are there, but you never quite get a full taste of the real thing. To put it more bluntly, it’s boring, and it doesn’t flow nearly as well as their previous work.
I’ll give credit where credit is due when we inevitably see more of this band’s work pop up on this list, but… this one? Really? Didn't completely hate it, but not super interested in listening again.
Decent songs: Go To Sleep, There, There, A Wolf at the Door
15 likes
Dead Kennedys
5/5
5
Fuck yeah, love the Dead Kennedys. As probably one of the most politically charged groups of all-time (up there with Rage Against the Machine and Public Enemy), I've always felt that this band (along with the mentioned) "got it".
Going into my review, I was actually prepared to give a 4 or 4.5 because, while I really enjoy the album, there are a handful of songs I don't return to as much. After giving this a re-listen now, I'm left wondering what the hell I was doing sleeping on them before. All killer, no filler front to back - an absolute punk essential (though Frankenchrist is also an amazing album imo).
They say that the older you get, the more disillusioned you become with the punk mindset, and a developing exposure to the larger political stratosphere leads to a more complex and comprehensive mindset.
I say - Dead Kennedys were right all along.
RIP D.H. Peligro
Favorite songs: Obviously Holiday in Cambodia and California Über Alles are bangers, but you can't go wrong with anything here. Let's Lynch the Landlord is probably the most underrated.
11 likes
AC/DC
5/5
5
I’m going to try to avoid echoing what I think my Dad’s review will sound like as much as I can here, but I do have to validate one thing that I know he’ll say - that being, AC/DC with Bon Scott is true AC/DC, and there wasn’t a bad album released by the group while he was a part of it. Meanwhile, Back in Black is kinda meh and everything after that mostly sucks. I don’t have anything outright against Brian Johnson, but I don’t really care for his vocals, and more importantly, the sound of the group as a whole changed with his involvement - the heavy, raw AC/DC sound that we know and love came to an end with this album, and Back in Black ushered in a new era of overproduced, polished radio rock music.
Anyway, that’s my segue to Highway to Hell - it’s probably the group’s best, though as I said before, you really can’t go wrong with any Bon Scott AC/DC album. Either way, what a note to go out on. I know a lot of people accuse every AC/DC song of sounding the same, and I can admit a lot of them do have a similar sound. If you don’t like one song on this album, you’re most likely not going to enjoy the rest, but if you do enjoy the sound of one song, there’s a good chance you’re going to enjoy the bulk of this album. For me in particular, it would be really hard to pick a favorite, though I can probably point to the title track Highway to Hell as probably being my least (most likely due to it being overplayed). However, I will say Girls Got Rhythm, Touch Too Much, and Shot Down in Flames are highlights - though nothing here is bad. I know I normally make fun of cock rock bands for their macho, oversexualized lyrics, but AC/DC somehow is able to do so in a way that just feels naturally cool. I think it helps that they seem to have a degree of self-awareness and humor in their music, and hell, even a dose of humility with Shot Down in Flames. How often do you hear a rock track literally being about striking out with women? I also really like the closer Night Prowler, which involves a really cool buildup of the music that sends the album off on a high note. It’s admittedly a little creepy (and more so in hindsight because of the whole Richard Ramirez thing), but I think its intentions are mostly grounded. Also, I always thought it was kind of funny that Bon Scott’s last words on an album are “Shazbot. Nanu nanu.”
I probably haven’t listened to this album all the way through since high school, but as I was doing so for this review, I realized I have just about every song here saved to a master Spotify playlist. So, while I really didn’t set out to give this a 5, I think I’d be lying if I didn’t put it there - this is a truly enjoyable album that has played a big part in my life and musical development. I realize rating this higher than Zeppelin IV is probably insane and deserving of getting my music nerd card taken away, and yes, I’m aware that that album is objectionably better from probably a number of perspectives, but at the end of the day, I have fonder memories of AC/DC and find myself coming back to them a bit more. So, we’re gonna pull the trigger on the 5 - Hell ain’t a bad place to be after all.
Sorry I missed the cover band, Dad!
9 likes
4-Star Albums (100)
1-Star Albums (35)
All Ratings
Sufjan Stevens
3/5
3.5
All I knew about Sufjan Stevens going in was that he's a folk musician, which isn't usually my go-to type of listening. I was really impressed by the versatility on this record though - in some ways, it almost felt like a rock opera of folk. The album did grow on me more as it went on, though towards the end I thought it might have gone on just slightly too long. Above all I found it to be an enjoyable record. I probably won't find myself returning to it too much, but I could definitely see it getting spun again on a quiet, relaxing night.
Favorite songs: John Wayne Gacy Jr., Chicago, Casimir Pulaski Day
The Isley Brothers
2/5
2.5
I bet this album got you laid in the 70s. Overall, it was a fun taste of the past that didn't outstay its welcome. It transitions between funk, soul, and rock pretty seamlessly, though that being said, it didn't stand out apart from me to similar records of the time. That Lady is a bit too thick of a slice of 70s cheese for me, though Summer Breeze was a really cool jam out that must have been fun on 70s drugs. If I'm on 70s drugs, I'll keep this album in mind.
Oh and hearing a funk cover of Listen to the Music was cool.
Favorite songs: Summer Breeze, Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
Otis Redding
4/5
4
Having only heard "Sittin in the Dock of the Bay" before this, I gotta say I really dig Otis' voice. He has one of those distinct voices you can identify just a few words into a song, and with the energy he puts into every performance on this record, to say he "sings" soul feels like an understatement. Despite most of the album I believe being covers, he really makes each song his own - to the point I actually think I prefer his rendition of "My Girl". Hearing the original version of "Respect" was also a nice surprise. There's no beating Aretha, but it seems the song came into existence already with a strong foundation in Redding's.
Favorite songs: Ole Man Trouble, Respect, My Girl
Beatles
1/5
1
Ah fuck here we go. I have a complicated relationship with The Beatles - in that I generally really don't care for The Beatles. However, after sitting down and giving A Hard Day's Night a good listen...
Yeah not much has changed. This is The Beatles at their most bubble gum-poppy, and I just really can't say I see the appeal. Don't have much else to say on this one.
Favorite songs: ???? Any Time at All I suppose
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
3.5
I really liked this record more than I thought I would. The homemade, garage rock sound of this record does wonders for Neil Young, especially this deep into his career. It really captures the feeling that you're listening in on Young's private jam sessions rather than a polished set of studio recordings, and it makes the album that much better.
While I don't think the songs spoke to me much on a personal level (hell maybe Fuckin Up), this was a really fun jam-out rock record. I could see myself returning to this one.
Favorite songs: Fuckin Up, Over and Over, Love to Burn
Massive Attack
4/5
4
I knew nothing about Massive Attack going into this, but holy shit I enjoyed this record. It really felt like all the best parts of 90s hip hip, electronica, and big beat wrapped up in one cohesive package. I really feel like the cycling of vocalists also helps the album feel fresh throughout. Safe From Harm and Hymn of the Big Wheel are a great opener and closer, respectively as well.
Really curious to check out more of their work!
Unrelated to my rating - the text on text action going on in the album cover lowkey drives me nuts.
Favorite songs: Safe From Harm, Unfinished Sympathy, Daydreaming
Michael Jackson
3/5
3.5
Fun fact: I previously reviewed this album on my unaired, short-lived series "Boozy Listening". I gave it 3.5 then (after two strong cocktails), and I'm gonna stand by that now.
This album starts off really strong - Wanna Be Startin' Something is not only a great opener, but probably one of my favorite MJ songs. That spirit continues on Baby Be Mine, loses me a little bit on Girl is Mine, and then we get to the mega hits... and man I was gonna talk shit, but I underestimated how much I was going to enjoy listening to Thriller, despite having it heard it many, many times before. Then Beat It is always great, though Billie Jean didn't phase me much. I feel like that song in particular I've heard enough in my lifetime to the point where it simply harmlessly "exists" now. Maybe that's just bias despite the enormous popularity of the song, but hell it's a subjective review.
My review of the album would probably be higher if we stopped there, but unfortunately the last three tracks really start to lose me. It just feels like the "high" of the album is over to me after Billie Jean and I'm afterglowing until The Lady in My Life's long conclusion.
I see why this album is so highly regarded, and while I hold respect for it myself, and just isn't quite a "top album" for me.
Favorite songs: Wanna Be Startin' Something, Thriller, Beat It
PJ Harvey
2/5
2
God I really didn't like the opening track. It's one of the most jarring starts to an album I've heard, and musically/vocally I found it grating... though not nearly as bad as the song England. The rest of the album is pretty "meh".
I feel like a lot of the songs I kind of liked had an aspect to them that tainted it a bit for me. For example, I thought The Glorious Land was a good song apart from the annoying bicycle horn-like noise that kept repeating, and I was really enjoying The Words That Maketh Murder up until the backup singers started cheesily repeating the title of the song.
Not the worst album I've heard, but not impressed either. This is the first PJ Harvey album I've ever listened to, so while not a good first impression, I believe she has another album or two that are pretty coveted, and I look forward to listening to them.
Favorite songs: The Glorious Land, The Words That Maketh Murder, Bitter Branches
Dwight Yoakam
2/5
2
I'm not gonna lie, I've never heard of Dwight Yoakam, but as soon as I saw a cowboy hat on the cover of this album, I groaned. I'm really not much of a country guy, but I tried going in with an open mind.
As far as country goes, this is a pretty innocuous album. It really feels grounded in the roots of the genre, however, with that being said, I'm not sure what sets this album apart from similar country albums of the era - maybe I just don't know enough about the genre? I would enjoy it if I were at a country bar, but I don't see myself listening to it much on my own time.
Favorite songs: Idk they really all kind of blended together for me. I Got You?
Don McLean
3/5
3
Today I learned Don McLean is not a one-hit wonder.
I've always been a fan of the title track - the song structure is incredibly catchy and the lyrics well-written, which makes the song feel much shorter than its 8 and half-minute length. (Though it's hard for me not think "My my this here Anakin guy / Maybe Vader someday later..." whenever I hear the chorus).
I dug the guitar work as a whole on the record, which at times gave me Simon & Garfunkel vibes. However, though enjoyable, most songs didn't do much for me to stand apart from the other tracks.
Favorite songs: American Pie, Till Tomorrow, Winterwood
k.d. lang
2/5
2
Going into this, I knew nothing about the artist or album, yet I had a bunch of questions - including but not limited to:
"Who is k.d. lang and why does she look like lesbian Morrissey?"
"Why does the Wikipedia article have no information outside of track and personnel listing?"
"Why does the most popular song on this album have <500k on Spotify?"
After listening to the album, all I can confidently say is that the Pasty Cline vibes are strong with this one... to the point k.d. almost sounds like a tribute artist. If you like Patsy, you'd probably like this album. If you find Patsy okay like I'd do, you'd probably find this album mediocre at best.
No song on the album is particularly good or bad to me, but I do think it's a bit too much of the same slow burn to listen to in one sitting - I was kind of bored by the end. If I were in a dim-lit smoke-filled saloon occupied by cowboys drinking away their lonesome sorrows at last call, this album would probably hit the spot. In any other scenario... not sure I'd reach for this album.
Favorite songs: Western Stars, Tears Don't Care Who Cries Them
Keith Jarrett
3/5
3
I'm not familiar with Keith Jarrett, but I buckled myself in once I realized it was going to be an hour of instrumental piano improvisation, genuinely unsure of how I would feel about it.
One of the first things I noticed was how much this album benefits from the live setting - some people may find the crowd noises and applause annoying, but I thought capturing the captivation Jarrett had over the audience added to his already impressively flawless live performance.
While I enjoyed the album, I mostly found it mostly to be relaxing background music while I got work done. I could see myself listening to it again in that scenario, but I don't ever see myself sitting down to listen in my free time. Part 1 was a quick half hour for me, but by the end of Part 2 you definitely feel the full hour. As far as instrumental piano records go, this has gotta be one of the best I've heard (possibly the best), but I just really feel like there's a cap on how floored I can be by that kind of record.
Favorite song: Köln, January 24, 1975
Paul Simon
3/5
3.5
I really enjoy Simon & Garfunkel, but I haven't listened to much of Paul Simon's solo stuff. I'm not sure how indicative Graceland is as to the sound of the rest of his solo work, but it's evidently a lightyear away from his Bridge Over Troubled Water days.
He clearly leans into an African-inspired sound on this record which was fun and provided a unique-listening experience, but that's likely because I haven't exposed myself to enough music of the culture. Still, it's cool to hear an accomplished songwriter like Simon weave it into his music so seamlessly. That being said, there weren't a ton of specific standout moments to me on this album, so I don't feel like I have ton to say on this one. Good album listen, but not one I feel like I'd go back to specific songs for - had to re-listen to pick my favorites below.
Favorites: The Boy in the Bubble, Graceland, Homeless
Todd Rundgren
4/5
4
I read beforehand that this album was inspired by Rundgren's experimentation with psychedelics, and after having listened through, I gotta say that checks out. Rundgren captures the feel of a drug-induced trip well with this record... for better or for worse. The two sides of the album are drastically different - yet somehow complementary.
Side A was mostly a sporadic collection of sounds and songs transitioning before I had a chance to fully digest one... and not all were pleasant to listen to.
Side B was where the album really shined for me, where Rundgren creates a fusion of soul and R&B before finally "coming down" on a rock closer. At this point, I felt like I had reached the end of some spiritual journey.
It's hard to pinpoint specific songs on this record, but I feel like that's kind of the point, and that the album is made purely to be consumed in one go. The second half is much stronger than the first, but at the same time, it almost feels like one couldn't exist without the other? Where Side A gives way to Side B to complete the journey? I'm still not sure how this album made me feel, but I think I liked it, so we'll go with 4. Idk I think I need to lie down.
2/5
2
I've never heard of the artist ABC (though I dabble with the alphabet) or this album, but after listening, I found it to be a pretty run-of-the-mill new wave album... which kind of bummed me out cause I dig a lot of 80s British new wave.
I feel like I heard elements of Talking Heads and David Bowie in there, but the songs just didn't have quite the same hook those artists have. While I enjoyed parts of the album, others just seemed more obnoxious than catchy, and overall it didn't come across as particularly lyrically or thematically profound either. Probably wouldn't go out of my way to listen to again.
Favorite songs: Tears Are Not Enough, 4 Ever 2 Gether
TLC
4/5
4
This one surprised me. Don't get me wrong, No Scrubs and Waterfalls are bangers, but I never thought a 90s pop girl group album would be amongst my favorites so far... yet here we are. Just about every song on this album is a banger. Admittedly, it did start losing me a bit after Waterfalls, but it pulled me back in with Switch, and then finally with an absolute killer finale in Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes.
While I don't think this could ever crack the status of being a "top album" for me, I would listen again in a heartbeat.
Favorite songs: Waterfalls, Sumthin' Wicked This Way Comes, Creep, Diggin' on You
Nirvana
5/5
5
"This is off our first record. Most people don't own it."
This was destined to be a 5 for me the second it came up on this list. For me, this is Nirvana's finest hour and the album of theirs I return to the most. The band was given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform a set on MTV Unplugged, then refused to play their hits, opting instead to play deeper cuts and covers... and just fucking killed it. They even used their time on-stage to share the spotlight and promote lesser-known band Meat Puppets, and the album benefits so much from it. I have a hard time imagining this album would be as highly praised if they had just stuck to the hits like MTV wanted, but Nirvana went out and performed the show they wanted to perform, and the result is a piece of musical history.
All of the songs on this album sound amazing live, and Kurt sounds just as raw and real as he does on the studio albums (if not moreso). All of the originals complement the studio recordings nicely, and in some instances even outperform them by miles (looking at you About a Girl and Pennyroyal Tea). The highlights have to be the covers though, which Nirvana truly made their own and have even become the definitive versions of the songs for many (myself included)... and to do that with a David fucking Bowie song?? What other artist could do that?? Their cover of Where Did You Sleep Last Night though has to be one of the greatest closers to an album I've ever heard, and I will never not get goosebumps when the music cuts out and Kurt screams out the final verse like he thought it was the last show of his lifetime (the actual would be four months later).
I could go on much longer about this album, but I'll wrap this up by saying, for me, this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime album from a once-in-a-lifetime band. While not my favorite record of all-time, I'm not sure there are going to be a ton of records on this list that beat it.
Favorite songs: Yes
Billy Joel
2/5
2
I'm not much of a Billy Joel fan, though I've never listened to a complete album of his before this. I'm not sure exactly what it is... he sounds fine enough, but none of his songs have ever really grabbed me. This album didn't do much to change things. Just the Way You Are even kinda bored me, though I found myself enjoying Scenes From an Italian Restaurant despite it being the longest song on the album. Other than that, not particularly remarkable.
Favorite songs: Scenes From an Italian Restaurant, The Stranger
Tom Waits
1/5
1.5
I'm really not sure what sure I expected from this album, but it wasn't... whatever it is. Clearly I'm missing something, because I'm pretty sure Tom Waits is a pretty esteemed cult musician, but feel like I just listened to The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack played backwards. I really tried to look past its rough outward exterior as well (as I've had to do with artists like Bright Eyes to learn to appreciate them), but I'm just really not sure what I'm supposed to find. This album ranges from okay to rough to unlistenable for me, though that being said, I'll bump up to 1.5 stars for Time.
Favorite song: Time
Sheryl Crow
2/5
2
It's not a bad album, but it's not for me.
Rated leniently for not sucking.
Favorite song: No One Said It Would Be Easy
D'Angelo
2/5
2.5
Having never listened to D'Angelo but familiar with the name in the context of great albums, I expected more. This is a fine R&B album - It incorporated some elements of funk I dug, but overall it lacked versatility and didn't offer me a ton of memorable moments. Some of the songs felt longer than they needed to be, which left me a little bored by the end. Musically and vocally it's airtight, just not very interesting.
Favorite songs: Shit, Damn, Motherfucker, Cruisin'
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
3
I really wanted to watch some Peanuts after this.
What can I say? It's a jazz record. Never something I'd rush out to listen to, but also something I'd never complain to have on. However, I really couldn't tell you what the difference between this jazz record and every other jazz record in existence is, and I definitely couldn't have told you four songs were played twice (albeit different takes) without looking at the tracklist. Overall, it's a fine enough album.
Elvis Presley
4/5
4
At this risk of being a bit biased, I can't understate how well-timed this album is. On a particularly rough day when I wanted nothing but comfort music to soak myself in, this album took me back to my childhood. Elvis Presley is among the first artists I can ever remember listening to in my lifetime, and his star-studded, clean-cut, poster boy image was everything I wanted to be. As an adult, while I can acknowledge a great deal of his success came from profiting off of the music of lesser-known black artists, it's hard not to see the charm in his music today I saw all those years ago.
Despite it being his first, Elvis oozes rock star energy all over this record, and it's not hard to see why he would go on to become one of the most-recognized musicians of all-time. It's not the most rounded record, but it's a fun, quick listen, and I always have a good time when I return to it.
Favorites songs: Blue Suede Shoes, I Got a Woman, Blue Moon, Money Honey
The Doors
3/5
3
The Doors are an artist I used to really enjoy in high school but have found myself listening to less and less as I've grown older. I still believe Jim Morrison has one of the best and most iconic voices of rock, though I don't think the direction of this album highlights that compared to some of the band's previous work. I don't mind the blues approach, but I think it's a step down in comparison to the sound of the band's earlier work, especially their debut, which I find to be a much better album. Riders on the Storm is a great track and closer though.
Favorite songs: Riders on the Storm, L.A. Woman, Hyacinth House
James Brown
4/5
4.5
Holy cow this has to be one of the most explosive live albums I've ever heard, and the energy James gives the crowd and the crowd gives back is the stuff that separates great frontmen from legends. This was an incredibly quick 30 minutes, and it honestly could have gone on so much longer for me. I really, really need to check out more James Brown.
My only complaint with the album is the production on Lost Someone... there's a good chunk where James Brown sounds completely washed out? Other than that, the sound and energy on this record feels like
a lightning in a bottle live album, and I'll definitely be listening to again.
Favorite songs: I really liked them all, but I'll Go Crazy, Think, and the buildup on Lost Someone stood out to me
Goldfrapp
3/5
3
I really liked the sound of a lot of songs on this album, but I also don't feel like they imparted much of a lasting impression on me. It almost felt like an ambient album, but a good ambient album at that... like a lot of these songs would go hard if used effectively in a movie or show. The songs that utilized strings (like Cologne Cerrone Houdini) were definitely the standouts for me over the more electronic ones.
Very much feels like a situational listen.
Favorite songs: Little Bird, Cologne Cerrone Houdini, Caravan Girl
The Cure
4/5
0/10 album was actually 38 minutes long
Jokes aside, this album actually changed ratings for me over the course of the weekend. What started as around a 3 for me went up to 4 when I found myself listening to it again.
What I think I appreciate most about this album is the atmosphere it builds - yes, it can be a bit same-y, but I really dig the sound and can feel myself getting sucked into the world it creates. It's nowhere near as big or as flashy as the band's later work, but it's solidly consistent and gives a taste for things to come.
Not a lot of the tracks are standouts, however, I do think this album is the definition of the whole being stronger than the sum of the parts. While I probably wouldn't go back to listen to individual tracks, I can definitely see myself listening to the full album again in the future. I do want to give a shoutout to A Forest though, which is an absolute banger, and feels a bit like foreshadowing to the band's future.
Not their best album, but still a solid entry, and I'm happy to have been exposed to it.
Favorite songs: A Forest, Play For Today
CHIC
2/5
2.5
Funk disco at it's funkiest. I liked the sound, but every song felt like it went on longer than it needed to. Lyrically, pretty cheesy love and dance stuff. I really dug the shredding on Savoir Faire, but I wasn't as into the slower R&B stuff like At Last I Am Free.
It's probably a lot of fun to dance to, but not sure I'd put it on in a casual scenario.
Favorite songs: Chic Cheer, Savoir Faire, (Funny) Bone
Frank Sinatra
3/5
3.5
"In the Wee Small Hours" has to be one of the most well-suited names for an album I've heard... I'm not entirely sure what it means, but Frank Sinatra manages to capture what it feels like on this record. The underlying forlorn tone makes me feel like I'm doing it wrong by listening at 2 PM while working and not at night with an old fashioned or some kinda rat pack-esque cocktail.
This is definitely another case of "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts" for me, where I would likely give the entire album a listen before seeking out individual tracks, but in this instance, it's much more of an "in the mood" record. I can't really fault it for that though, cause it kind of outlines that right there in the title. So, I could definitely see myself re-listening when the wee small hours are upon me... probably not midday again.
Favorite songs: In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning, Mood Indigo, Glad to Be Unhappy
Kraftwerk
3/5
3
This album feels ahead of its time being released in the 70s, and I can see how it would influence a number of artists in the coming decade. In some ways, it felt like a more electronic Joy Division (reinforced when my Spotify jumped to the band after the album concluded), and it's as cold and industrial as I could only expect from German music.
Truthfully, I'm not entirely sure how I felt about this one. I think I liked it, but there's not a ton to say as there are really only six tracks if you count Trans-Europe Express and the two songs after it as one song (I do). I could see myself listening again, but I think it's a little too emotionally-devoid to be something I could get too attached to... in this case, I think I'm more of a fan of the artists they influenced.
Favorite songs: Europe Endless, The Hall of Mirrors, Trans-Europe Express
The Doors
3/5
3.5
Our first artist repeat! And just one week after LA Woman. Compared to that album, I enjoyed the sound on this one a lot more - while still bluesy, it doesn't lean quite has hard into the genre (which I think serves the band better), and it also just felt a bit more versatile and crisp. This album also contains "Peace Frog" which is one of, if not, my favorite Doors songs (Note: This is likely largely due to its presence in a Tony Hawk video game).
Other than that, I don't think I have ton to say, but this an enjoyable classic rock record and Jim Morrison shines as always on here.
Favorite songs: Peace Frog, Waiting for the Sun, Indian Summer
Hugh Masekela
3/5
3.5
Eat your heart out, Bill Evans - It's another jazz record, and I really think this is probably this has been the most fun and interesting one yet. There was enough variety on this record where I was able to keep mostly engaged for the 76 minute runtime. That being said, while I liked the jazz albums we've had so far, I haven't loved them, and I think I'm learning the genre is probably never gonna be an all-time favorite of mine - I really don't anticipate any of these albums getting a 4 or higher from me.
I don't know how likely it is I consciously put on a jazz record, but if I do pick one, I could see it being this one.
Favorite songs:
Can't really remember, but I think I liked Big Apple and Maesha
Sam Cooke
4/5
4
So what I'm learning from this list is that live soul albums were something missing from my life. Both this and James Brown Live at the Apollo have been absolutely fantastic records with artist/crowd synergy unlike anything I've ever heard before on a live album. Sam Cooke sounds amazing here, and I can only imagine how much fun being at the show must have been - It almost made me nostalgic for a period that existed 35 years before my birth.
Despite trying to review each album in a vacuum, I was originally gonna write about how the circumstances of Cooke's death tainted the album a bit for me, but after doing some further research, I've learned the matter is more open-ended than I originally believed. While originally on the fence about re-listening, I did again afterwards was able to enjoy in a much more objective manner... and I think I'll be listening again.
All said and done, this album really just feels like a good time for good times' sake.
Favorite songs: Feel It (Don't Fight It), Cupid, It's All Right/For Sentimental Reasons, Bring it on Home to Me
Pantera
2/5
2.5
Pantera was not on my 1001 Albums bingo card, but it was definitely a nice change of pace from what we've been listening to so far.
That being said, I'm not much of a metal fan, as I find a lot of a bit too same-y and macho cheese, and while I enjoyed this album more than many others albums of the genre I've heard, it definitely fell into those traps for me (shoulda known from the album cover). I was also bummed cause I actually enjoy the song Cowboys From Hell and it's not even on this record (Walk is overrated imo).
Would maybe re-visit songs - not sure about the full album.
Favorite songs: Mouth for War, This Love, Hollow
A Tribe Called Quest
3/5
3.5
Excellent skateboard rap.
The beats are absolutely great, and I loved the usage of an actual bassist to support them - it made a world of difference for me. However, while sounding great, I felt like there wasn't a ton of versatility with the usage across the album, and a lot beats ended up sounding the same to me (though there are definitely some exceptions).
Vocally, however, the album was airtight. Having multiple vocalists in the group helps keep things fresh despite some repetitive beats, and lyrically the album was pretty on point as well (though there were definitely some exceptions for me here as well... I never wanna hear the phrase "penal cord" again in my life). I also thought having each song segue directly into the next was really cool and helped keep the energy going.
Overall pretty solid. Could see this going up to a 4 for me with time.
Favorite songs: Excursions, Show Business, Check the Rhime, What?
Tangerine Dream
1/5
1
Beep beep boop boop beep beep boop boop.
This is like Pink Floyd but if every song they wrote was like "On the Run".
On the Run works within the confines of Dark Side. On the Run does not work for me as a 37 minute standalone album.
I can see how this could could be majorly influential for the genre of electronica in the years ahead, but truthfully, it's never been a genre I've been particularly fond of. I feel like it just kinda stresses me out and like I need to be on some kind of drug to get it. I don't get this album, and it kind of stressed me out. Especially whatever that screeching noise was near the end of Phaedra... egh.
Unrelated to my review, I learned Tangerine Dream did the scoring to Grand Theft Auto V and that stuff was pretty cool.
Miles Davis
3/5
3
Alright, this is one I've been waiting for. Having never heard the album, I've seen it ranked consistently among the best albums of all-time (and it's always one of the top comments on any "Best Album of All Time" Reddit threads).
And... it's a jazz album. It's a good listen, but I still feel like I couldn't tell you what separates this from Bill Evans or Hugh Masekela. This list has done a good job of expanding my knowledge of jazz, but I feel like I'm still waiting for something to "click" and I finally understand the genre. Unfortunately, I think I may just have to accept jazz while never be a favorite of mine. I've yet to find any of it less than pretty good, but not sure it could ever cross the barrier of being a favorite.
The Who
4/5
4.5
Alright, confession time... I'm a fan of The Who, but I've never listened to this album all the way through. Holy shit I was missing out - pretty sure this album was the first true rock opera to ever exist, and it clearly set the standard for every attempt that followed.
Tommy kicks ass out right out the gate with Overture, which I thought was an amazing introduction and taste of what's to come, and then proceeds to never stop kicking ass until it concludes. The end result really feels like the product of a band firing on all cylinders.
The only real criticism I had is that I felt it could have benefitted from a little more diversity in sound - it does some really cool things, but I feel like I would describe the overall sound as pretty consistent. Not necessarily a bad thing, but some bigger shifts in tone would have been an interesting dynamic. Then again, I didn't care for the album's hardest shift in Tommy's Holiday Camp, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.
Favorite songs: Overture, 1921, Christmas, The Acid Queen, Pinball Wizard, Sally Simpson
Love
3/5
3
For a 60s band named "Love", this album went pretty hard. Musically it was a little all over the place - it bounced pretty abruptly from psychedelia to surf rock to finally an 18-minute blues closer. The punk in me really enjoyed Seven and Seven Is, and I see how it could have influenced punk in the years ahead (The Ramones even covered it at one point). Other than that, nothing in particular seemed to jump out, and I don't really think the closing track was quite interesting enough to justify its length.
Favorite songs: Stephanie Knows Who, Seven and Seven Is
Bob Marley & The Wailers
2/5
2
Another artist I've always found massively overrated, and again I didn't feel like my listening here did much to change that. Reggae as a genre I've always found to be pretty boring musically, and with this album in particular I found myself pretty bored here about halfway through. I'm pretty sure a lot of people see Marley as a pretty profound lyricist, but I'm just not sure I hear it.
I can see how people could get attached to his music, but it's just not for me. Could see listening maybe to some tracks in a tropical vacation scenario.
Ella Fitzgerald
4/5
4
I haven't listened to much Ella Fitzgerald before, but clearly I need to listen to more - she has an incredible voice, and her music oozes oldies charm. This record makes me want to host a cocktail party just so I can put it on... and also play Fallout.
An incredibly pleasant listen. Probably wouldn't enter a regular rotation with me, but will definitely be played again.
Favorite songs: I Got Rhythm, The Man I Love, Love is Here to Stay
The Smiths
5/5
5
Wtf they really gave us this album the day after the Queen died... wild.
Anyway, one of my all-time favorite albums by one of my all-time favorite bands. Probably their best, but one of three I would give a perfect score (the others being their self-titled debut and Louder than Bombs). It's no secret I think Moz is an all-time great lyricist, and he shines brightly on this record in particular - though I also have to give kudos to Johnny Marr for writing some brilliantly unique and catchy riffs here that complement the vocals nicely.
The title track is one of favorite opening tracks to any record ever - it gets me hyped up straight out of the gate every time and in my opinion is one of the band's most criminally underrated tunes. I Know It's Over is one of the most honest and vulnerable songs I've heard (a Smiths specialty), and encapsulates depression in a way I feel few songs have. There's a lot of other great songs here as well, but I have to give a special shoutout to There Is a Light That Never Goes Out. Truly one of the greatest songs ever written, it captures love in a beautifully macabre way I've never heard another song approach, and I never fail to get goosebumps from the synth outro. An all-time great.
Admittedly, I do think Some Girls are Bigger Than Others isn't the strongest closer in the world, but it's still a decent track and the rest of the album makes up for it tenfold. Love The Smiths and Morrissey (only musically speaking) always.
RIP Queen Lizzie
Favorite songs: There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, The Queen is Dead, I Know It's Over, Cemetry Gates, Bigmouth Strikes Again, Frankly Mr. Shankly
The Stooges
3/5
3.5
It's clear how much influence The Stooges and Iggy Pop had on punk music with this album - Hell, the Sex Pistols would even go on to do a cover of No Fun. This has all the makings of a solid punk record - 1969 is a great track and opener, I Wanna Be Your Dog is a Stooge classic... then I'm not really sure what was going on in We Will Fall. The 10-minute psychedelic noisescape track was kind of an unnecessary and jarring shift for me.
No Fun is a good start to Side B, but not much after that jumped out to me. Solid protopunk album, but nothing spectacular.
Favorite songs: 1969, I Wanna Be Your Dog, No Fun
Beck
3/5
3
Never really been able to get into Beck. I appreciate his ability to jump between and blend musical genres, and while I feel he did it pretty well here, no one track gave me the feeling of "I gotta give this song a listen again"... it felt more like he wanted to dip his toes into different genres without getting all the way in.
Essentially, every song boils down to being very "Beck" at its core, like the same song was wearing thirteen different outfits. It's not a bad album by any means, but I think it's far from a masterpiece - though I'll give kudos to Ramshackle for being a solid closer. Would maybe listen again if I'm not crucified by the entire indieheads community first.
Favorite songs: Ramshackle, Minus, The New Pollution
Rod Stewart
2/5
2.5
Don't feel like I have a ton of thoughts here. Never been much of a Rod Stewart fan, but this is a serviceable classic rock record. Maggie May is a decent song, not much else stuck out. Could see myself owning and listening again on vinyl, but likely because I'm more in the mood for classic vinyl rather than Rod Stewart himself.
Favorite song: Maggie May
Germs
4/5
4.5
The Ramones may have invented punk, but The Germs invented hardcore... and the genre owes so much to them for it. It's not for everyone, but man it's for me - I couldn't help but bang my head along even though I was working in the office while listening. Darby Crash is an all-time great punk vocalist (RIP) and Pat Smear (later of Nirvana/Foo Fighters fame!) an all-time great guitarist. Would have loved to mosh to these guys.
It's really all killer, no filler here - just 38 minutes of raw, uncut punk. Yeah, not the most versatile record to exist, and maybe some songs blend together, but dammit I had a great time with every single track. Special shoutout to Lexicon Devil for being one of the greatest punk songs ever written. Would listen again in a heartbeat... though probably need to take a minute to calm my anarchical urges.
Favorite songs: Liked them all, but love Lexicon Devil
Beatles
2/5
2.5
Here we go, Round #2 with The Beatles. As mentioned, I've never been much of a Beatles fan, but I gotta say it dawned on me quickly this album is a lot better than their earlier work - in particular, this is miles ahead of A Hard Day's Night. Still, I'm not exactly sure what makes The Beatles the most recognizable and legendary band of all-time. Most (if not all) of the tracks here don't sound too out of place from other albums of the time - not bad, but not great either. There are a few shining moments (Blackbird's a good song with probably one of the most iconic guitar riffs of all-time), but the rest feels like a lot of 60's fluff that I'm not sure justifies a double album.
Favorite songs: Blackbird, Dear Prudence, Helter Skelter, Julia
Elvis Costello
2/5
2.5
Elvis Costello is an artist I've never really been quite able to figure out. I've heard him labeled as both new wave and punk... but yet I really don't hear either. What I hear (and see) is someone trying to put a "modern" spin on 1950s rock, and it's fine I guess, but it's not spectacular either. I feel like I'd rather just listen to '50s artists.
Favorite songs: Welcome to the Working Week, (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes, Less Than Zero
The xx
4/5
4
Having heard of but never listened to The xx, I really enjoyed this album. It's very much "in the feels" music... aka my favorite kind of music.
Musically, I really liked how subtle it was. While simplistic, it felt like every note captured the exact emotion the song (and album) was going for, and I couldn't help but bob my head along. In many ways it reminded me of a lot of my favorite artists, but I couldn't pinpoint exactly which ones - in some ways, it reminded me of a modern New Order. That being said, the Chris Isaak vibes were strong with Infinity.
While I didn't walk away in love with it, I feel like there's a lot of room for growth on me, and I think one day this album could yield a higher rating. I will be listening again.
Favorite songs: Intro, VCR, Crystalized, Islands, Infinity
Yes
2/5
2
More like "The 'No From Me' Album".
.
.
.
I'm not much of a prog rock fan, and this album didn't feel like it did anything interesting enough to add to the genre for me - Even the guitar freestyle track Clap felt kind of underwhelming. If I were in the mood, I would just listen to Rush instead.
Favorite song: I've Seen All Good People (but mostly just the second part)
Fairport Convention
4/5
4
I enjoyed this album a lot more than the artwork suggested. What looked like a boring record your grandpa probably owned actually turned out to be a really interesting 60s folk rock record - a genre I'm slowly learning to appreciate with recent forays into Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, and Nick Drake. While not the most spectacular record I've heard, most songs did a good job of finding its own identity, and it held my interest to the end.
The highlight of this album for me has to be singer Sandy Denny's voice, which I found to be completely captivating and enchanting, and left me wanting to listen to so much more of her work (After a Wikipedia deep dive, I learned she did vocals on The Battle of Evermore by Led Zeppelin - a personal favorite of theirs!)
Good vibes from this one. Will be listening again.
Favorite songs: A Sailor's Life, Who Knows Where The Time Goes?, Percy's Song
Eminem
4/5
4
I feel like I’m missing some context with this album having not heard The Slim Shady LP, but I still really like what I heard. It reminded me of Pinkerton in some ways in that it’s a sophomore album dealing with the struggles of adapting to the sudden fame acquired from the debut, though compared to Weezer, Eminem seems to process with it in a slightly… different way. It’s violent, it’s sexist, it’s homophobic, but it’s a character (I hope) whose arc I enjoyed following across the album. The skits were also entertaining interludes that helped keep the album interesting and feel a lot shorter than its >60 minute runtime. I think I need to explore more of Em’s discography to truly appreciate this album, but I’ll likely be listening again.
Favorite songs: Stan, Kill You, The Way I Am
Miriam Makeba
2/5
2
Having never heard of Miriam Makeba, I found her life story to be incredibly interesting and tragic, and I’m glad to have learned about her through this list. That being said, while she has a beautiful voice, I didn’t find the album to be particularly musically interesting, and I’m not sure if I would re-visit. Her rendition of House of Rising Sun was cool, though Charles Coleman made me uncomfortable on One More Dance.
Favorite songs: House of the Rising Sun, Mbube
Jerry Lee Lewis
3/5
3.5
This must have been a super fun concert to be at, and I can only imagine the energy in the crowd as Jerry Lee Lewis performed. Much like James Brown and Sam Cooke’s live albums, the energy Lewis put into his performance is palpable, though I didn’t feel like this album in particular was able to capture the performer/audience relationship that benefitted and personified the aforementioned greatly. It also didn’t feel quite as rounded as Brown’s and Cooke’s albums, though you can definitely hear their influence on him (with a splash of Elvis for good measure as well).
Fun through and through, but didn’t blow me away.
Favorite songs: Mean Woman Blues, High School Confidential, What’d I Say
Morrissey
3/5
3
I absolutely adore The Smiths and Morrissey, but I've always been of the opinion that, while The Smiths produced great albums, Morrissey solo only produced great tracks. It seems his ego took off around the same time his solo career did, and it shows (though the absence of Johnny Marr is also glaring).
Still, he has some absolutely amazing songs... that aren't on this album. In fact, as a Morrissey fan, I was kind of surprised to see this album here, as I've always found Your Arsenal and Viva Hate to be miles ahead of this one. I can only hope those albums made the list if this one did, and if they didn't (or even if they did), do yourself a favor and listen to the below songs:
Suedehead
Everyday is Like Sunday
I Know Very Well How I Got My Name
Glamorous Glue
We'll Let You Know
Tomorrow
Jack the Ripper
Back on the Chain Gang
and my personal favorite:
Seasick, yet Still Docked
Favorite songs on this one: Spring-Heeled Jim, Now My Heart is Full, The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get, Hold on to Your Friends
Deep Purple
2/5
2.5
I don't know a lot about Deep Purple aside from Hush and the two hits here, and compared to those, I like Hush a lot more, so maybe I'm a bigger fan of their earlier psychedelic sound? I can't listen to Smoke on the Water without thinking of Guitar Hero, and I can't listen to Highway Star without thinking of that car ad it was in. Not necessarily bad things, but I think that paired with the unremarkable nature of the other songs ultimately leaves the album lacking a sense of its own identity. I guess I can see how it would be influential for heavy metal, but that’s never been a particularly favorite genre of mine anyway.
Favorite song: Smoke on the Water
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
4
I absolutely adore Come On Eileen, but always assumed it was a one-hit wonder from Dexys Midnight Runners. The Spotify play counts seem to reveal that as true, but actually listening to the album made me realize that's a damn shame - this album is an absolute blast from front to back. The sound of the band is one of the most unique I've heard, and it's really interesting to hear how they utilize it outside of Eileen (really effectively apparently). It ultimately makes a really fun, strangely danceable folk/new wave record - nothing mindblowing, but I had a good time with it. Though I didn't factor them into my review, the bonus tracks on this album were great as well.
Favorite songs: Come On Eileen (duh), Plan B, I'll Show You, The Celtic Soul Brothers, Let's Make This Precious
Kate Bush
2/5
2
My roommate is close friends with a couple from the UK who adore Kate Bush, who then proceeded to get my roommate into Kate Bush, and now I hear too much Kate Bush for my own damn good (Stranger Things also didn't help). So, I kind of groaned starting this album, as it sounded like everything else I've heard from her - very generic 80s pop. While I don't necessarily mind that kind of music, it doesn't feel like there's much here that I haven't heard before.
Side B on this album at least went in a little bit of a different, experimental direction that I appreciated at first, but it started losing me again towards the end. To me, it feels like she wanted to explore two different genres/concepts, but didn't venture far enough into either direction to do them justice and ended up with an all-around mediocre album. Sorry Brits, but I'm another American who doesn't get it.
Favorite songs: Jig of Life, Running Up That Hill
Cheap Trick
4/5
4.5
"This next one is the first song on our new album. It just came out this week, and the song is called... Surrender."
One of my most-spun vinyl records, and one of the greatest live albums ever recorded (though Nirvana's MTV Unplugged holds the crown). Cheap Trick was the definition of being "big in Japan", and the way the audience reacts to the band's every note is the stuff musicians dream of.
This album also undoubtedly holds what is the definitive edition of I Want You to Want Me - hearing the studio recording without the echoing screams of Japanese fans just feels so hollow and lifeless. To be honest, I actually haven't heard the studio recordings of most of the tracks on this album, and I'm not sure I want to... not sure they could live up to the energy levels at Budokan.
Blast from front to back.
Favorite songs: I Want You to Want Me, Surrender, Hello There, Come On, Come On, Lookout, Need Your Love
Fairport Convention
3/5
3
Surprised to see a second album from this group here considering I had never heard of them before the first.
Sandy Denny sounds as great here as she does on Unhalfbricking, though this album as whole comparatively feels like more of the same, but not quite as good. I still enjoyed the overall sound, but the songs lack a certain individuality as compared to the previous album, and the whole thing just kind of feels like it runs together without a lot of standout moments.
A decent companion piece, but I'd opt to listen to Unhalfbricking instead.
Favorite songs: Reynardine, Matty Groves, Tam Lin
Brian Eno
1/5
1
I appreciate the album going ahead and rating itself for me in the title.
I was bored about 5 minutes in, and it didn't get any better from there. It didn't even do anything interesting... like it just repeated the same piano patterns and vocal harmonies for like 10+ minutes at a time. I would say to leave this at the airport, but then I read the below on the album's Wikipedia page:
"The album has been installed and performed in at least five airports; it has been met with resistance from some travellers and workers, who deem it disruptive."
So I guess it's not welcome at airports either ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I know a lot of people find ambient music calming and good to get work done to, and I can definitely understand that, but still, not for me.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
3
I don't claim to know a ton of Stevie Wonder, but it doesn't feel like I'm listening to the best he has to offer here. Don't get me wrong, it's still an enjoyable album, and when it has its highs they're pretty high, but a lot of it was just pretty decent for me - I feel like I've heard other stuff of his that I've liked a lot more.
Other than that, not a ton of thoughts... though the music on Creepin' gave me big old school Nintendo vibes. Like if you took an instrumental version of the track and put it in the background of like Big Boo's Haunt in Super Mario 64 or an Ocarina of Time temple I'm not sure I would even recognize the difference.
Favorite songs: Heaven is 10 Zillion Light Years Away, You Haven't Done Nothin', Creepin'
Pretenders
2/5
2.5
The Pretenders are a band I've always wanted to like, but for some reason I just can't quite get to click with me. This album feels like something I would love... I adore Chrissie Hynde's voice, and the music I would best describe as a manifestation of the punk to new wave transition. Hell, Johnny Marr would even later credit the guitar work on the album as his biggest inspiration for The Smiths (one of my all-time faves!).
Yet despite all of that, it just feels like they neglect to do anything overly-interesting with the tools they have at their disposal. I'll admit this album kicks off pretty strongly with tracks like Precious and Up the Neck, but starting around Space Invader, slowly but surely, I feel like the album becomes less and less musically interesting, to the point where I was kind of over it at Private Life.
Overall, a net okay album - Tattooed Love Boys is a jam though and by far the best song on the album.
Favorite songs: Tattooed Love Boys, Precious, Up the Neck
Ananda Shankar
3/5
3
I appreciate this list recognizing music outside of Western/English-speaking countries, because not only do I feel like it's typically neglected when it comes to top album discussions and rankings, but I admittedly have also done a really poor job of exploring myself. Granted, this album is a take on Western music (it literally says so on the album cover), but I feel like it's a good stepping stone into venturing out further.
Aaand I quite enjoyed it. My guy shreds the sitar in ways I didn't know one could, and I really thought he bridged the gap between two cultures effectively. Both of the covers were really, really good, to the point where I may even say Light My Fire... sounds better on a sitar than on a keyboard?
It didn't blow my mind, but it definitely encouraged me to listen to more world music - so an effective record through and through.
Favorite songs: Light My Fire, Raghupati, Jumpin' Jack Flash, Metamorphosis
The Divine Comedy
1/5
1.5
So, his schtick is he does a poppier, strings-heavier take on Sinatra? But coupled with some of the worst lyrics I've ever heard?
"If you were a horse
I'd clean the crap out of your stable
And never once complain"
What?
Apparently there's room for filler in a list of 1001 greatest albums of all-time. This album is musically mediocre and lyrically painful, and I'm really not sure why this is something I "must hear before I die". On to the next one.
Fiona Apple
2/5
2
I read on this album's Wiki page that Apple was going for an unconventional percussive sound on this record, and that definitely came through on my listen. Lyrically and thematically the album is pretty sound, but I found the music jarring, which is a shame. Every time it felt like a powerful feminist statement was being made, it was immediately washed out by the most obnoxious drum pattern I've heard.
It had its moments, but as a whole I definitely felt the 51 minute runtime... so I don't think I would give this full album a re-listen.
Favorite songs: Ladies, Under the Table
The Rolling Stones
3/5
3.5
And on the last album of my 24th year, the Lord said... let there be Stones.
Our first Rolling Stones album of what I assume is going to be a handful, and I was surprised by how... country it is? Country blues was not a genre I realized the Stones ever leaned into, but I didn't mind it. That being said, the less-bluesy tracks (like Street Fighting Man and Stray Cat Blues... ironically) stood out to me more. Songs like No Expectations and Dear Doctor were fine, but kind of ran together, and Factory Girl was borderline a Led Zeppelin song (not necessarily a bad thing).
All in all, found it to be an enjoyable record with strong classic vinyl vibes. Would probably listen again.
Favorite songs: Sympathy for the Devil, Street Fighting Man, Stray Cat Blues
Buffalo Springfield
3/5
3
A little all over the place and disjointed, with the songs being very hit or miss for me. I found myself vibing with the album at times, only to immediately be sucked out by a jarringly different and lackluster track (looking at you, Sad Memory).
From what I saw on Wikipedia, it seems like there were three songwriters on the album, and from what I heard, it seems like none of them were on the same page. That being said, the Neil Young penned songs were the highlights, and probably a good indication of why he would go on to have the most successful solo career... though I'm starting to think this list of albums may be convincing me I'm a Young fan.
Favorite songs: Mr. Soul, Expecting to Fly, Hang Upside Down, Broken Arrow
Beatles
2/5
2
Our third Beatles album, and one that falls directly between the past two chronologically. So, it's only fitting my rating should fall there as well. It's interesting to listen to this album third, as it's very much a midpoint marker in the transition from the sound of early Beatles to later Beatles... and I'm learning I prefer the latter (though not drastically).
That all being said, this is probably the longest 34-minute album I've ever heard, and I was pretty surprised to learn that the longest song on this album is exactly 3 minutes when I checked in on my listen progress - I just don't feel like there's a ton interesting going on here. Eleanor Rigby is a good song, though as if to counterbalance that, Yellow Submarine is probably one of the hottest pieces of garbage I've heard.
As a whole, I didn't hate it, but I definitely felt underwhelmed.
(Why is this the biggest band of all-time???? A global average of 4.26 are you kidding me?????)
Favorite songs: Eleanor Rigby, Tomorrow Never Knows
George Michael
1/5
1
Late review because I definitely wasn't listening to this at the office and... wtf. I've never been much of George Michael fan, but goddamn this album is CREE-PY.
I felt uncomfortable for the entire listening of Father Figure, and then if that wasn't bad enough, he decided to double down on the following track subtly titled I Want Your Sex. I probably shouldn't over-analyze something that's intended to be a serviceably danceable slice of '80s pop music, but goddamn this whole song is Michael trying to convince someone to have sex with him who clearly doesn't want to.
"I'm not your brother
I'm not your father
Oh will you ever change your mind
I'm a gentle lover with a heart of gold
But baby you've been so unkind
Come on
I want your sex"
And this isn't even the only questionable lyric... this about how every verse goes.
When I wasn't completely unsettled, I was bored out of my skull listening to substance-devoid lyrics and unoriginal 80's pop beats. It sounds like he's trying to do a Michael Jackson thing on quite a few of these songs, but while equally as creepy, I'd take a Jackson album over this any day.
Once you've had a chance to slog through the boring back half of this album, guess how Michael decided to close it out? Yep, that's right, with a reprise of I Want Your Sex.
Ultimately, I just don't think this album has aged well at all. Make the argument all you want that I "had to be there" - you all should have realized this album was bad then, and I'm holding everyone alive in 1987 accountable.
Supertramp
3/5
3
An enjoyable rock opera-sounding album that wasn’t actually a rock opera (though I think that might just be called “prog rock”).
School was a really fun opener that set the stage for the sound of the rest of the album well. From there, I enjoyed the twists and turns taken, with there being a few really cool moments along the way (I loved when Asylum got all explosive near the end). Not a ton of specific standout moments as a whole though, and I kind of wish all the songs were connected through a more clear sense of narrative or theme like a rock opera. As is, it feels a bit disjointed and lacking in a sense of specific identity.
Still, a fun listen, and I look forward to listening to Breakfast in America from here (assuming that made the list if this did?)
David Bowie
4/5
4.5
Bowie! Having listened to the man's entire studio discography, I can confidently say this ranks among the best of his work, and in my opinion contains some of his most underrated tracks. Changes and Life on Mars? are of course great, but Kooks, Andy Warhol, and Queen Bitch are three favorites of mine I never hear get talked about - though truthfully, there's not a bad song here.
This is the album that really exemplifies the shape of things to come for Bowie, and embodies all that I admire most about the man: his confident and unapologetic ability to be a freak (or a "kook") and to not only own it, but to make it his identity. I feel like he was the first artist to represent so-called outcasts and misfits, and so many other artists who would go on to do the same have him to thank for that (Nirvana covering Bowie anyone?)
Anyway, while Hunky Dory isn't perfect, it's a damn good record. Rest in Peace Bowie, and I look forward to all the albums ahead on this list.
Marty Robbins
3/5
3
No way, they made the Fallout song into a full album??
An enjoyable listen front-to-back that didn't outstay its welcome, though I do think all songs pale in comparison to Big Iron, which is by far the standout. They start running together shortly into the album, but distinct or not, each song does a great job of creating ambience, so I didn't mind too much. Also, if you're able to focus in on the lyrics, there's a lot of fun storytelling going on.
There's nothing bad here, and as a whole I find the album niche enough to scratch an old-timey Country Western itch I didn't know I had. Makes me want to play Fallout or a cowboy game like Red Dead.
Favorite songs: Big Iron, The Master's Call, The Hanging Tree
Also, if you haven't heard it, Mike Ness of Social Distortion has a solid rockabilly cover of Big Iron - would recommend giving it a listen.
Jurassic 5
4/5
4
I kept thinking this group sounded so familiar until I got to A Day at the Races... and of course it was in a Tony Hawk game. Neversoft was always on the ball when it came to picking out music, and this is no exception - both the track itself and the album is fantastic.
From the beats, to the vocals, to the lyrics, the members of Jurassic 5 were firing on all cylinders here, and there's not a bad or uninteresting moment to be had. I feel like I can hear some A Tribe Called Quest influence in the vocal dynamics, social messages, and basslines, though the group still forges a clear identity of their own with unique beats and quirky transitions - likely largely a product of producer/member Cut Chemist. Another name I know from the Tony Hawk games, the dude is an absolutely insane DJ, and this album definitely makes me wants to check out more his production work and J5's discog.
Favorite songs: A Day at the Races, If You Only Knew, Sum of Us
The National
4/5
4
It dawned on me pretty early (roughly around the lyric "I don't wanna get over you" on Sorrow) that I was going to have to listen again, as this definitely isn't a "10 AM Friday morning with a cup of coffee playing quietly so to not wake up your guest sleeping in the living room" kind of album.
So I put on again around 7 PM, and let me tell you, if you're not giving this album a nighttime listen when you're by yourself and can fully soak in everything it has to offer (perhaps with a moderate amount of vice of choice), you're doing it a disservice. I know "in the feels" kinds of albums aren't for everyone, but man I vibe with them like no other. If it's the kind of album you're listening to moments before sending an ex-girlfriend a drunk text you're gonna regret in the morning, it's probably something I'd like... not that I've ever done anything like that.
Anyway, while it wasn't absolutely spectacular, I feel room for growth here, so I'll be listening again and checking out more of what The National has to offer.
Favorite songs: Terrible Love, Sorrow, Afraid of Everyone, Bloodbuzz Ohio, Conversation 16
Jane Weaver
3/5
3
Seeing as how Googling this album results only in Bandcamp links and no Wikipedia results, shoutout to 1001 Albums for pulling out a modern deep cut here. That being said, this is a neat, modern electronic psychedelic listen without much substance at its core. Didn't dislike any of it in particular, but I was left without much of a lasting impression, and, while I'm not trying to dismiss amateur songwriting by any means, the "messing around in GarageBand" vibes were strong.
So idk, it was fine. Seems like something to get high and play video games to.
Favorite songs: H>A>K, Modern Kosmology, Slow Motion
Sly & The Family Stone
3/5
I got really excited when I saw Sly & The family stone. This album is really good funk and soul with the kinda jazz sound I don't really mind. Good album to groove and sway in your seat kind of music. But I can tell you this isn't their best work....
Anyway, enjoyed Luv N Haight and Family Affair. Don't know if would go back and listen to this album again, but always enjoys this guys voice.
2.5 to 3 for me
Dead Kennedys
5/5
5
Fuck yeah, love the Dead Kennedys. As probably one of the most politically charged groups of all-time (up there with Rage Against the Machine and Public Enemy), I've always felt that this band (along with the mentioned) "got it".
Going into my review, I was actually prepared to give a 4 or 4.5 because, while I really enjoy the album, there are a handful of songs I don't return to as much. After giving this a re-listen now, I'm left wondering what the hell I was doing sleeping on them before. All killer, no filler front to back - an absolute punk essential (though Frankenchrist is also an amazing album imo).
They say that the older you get, the more disillusioned you become with the punk mindset, and a developing exposure to the larger political stratosphere leads to a more complex and comprehensive mindset.
I say - Dead Kennedys were right all along.
RIP D.H. Peligro
Favorite songs: Obviously Holiday in Cambodia and California Über Alles are bangers, but you can't go wrong with anything here. Let's Lynch the Landlord is probably the most underrated.
Frank Black
2/5
2.5
Whatever DID happen to Pong?
Pixies are one of my favorite bands, but I haven't listened to much of Frank Black's solo stuff. I thought I was digging this album, but then about halfway through I realized none of the songs had left any lasting impression on me... and when I finished, that was still the case. Like, while I enjoyed the overarching sound, I couldn't pinpoint a single moment in particular that stood out to me.
So with that being said, this is probably the coolest unremarkable album I've ever heard, which in turn has made this really hard to assign a rating - I guess we'll go in the middle. Was going to bump up half a star because Frank Black, but took it back because it's a little too long. Would maybe listen again, but would probably opt to listen to a Pixies album instead.
Favorite songs: ??? I straight up listened to this album twice and can't think of one individual song to highlight here
Grateful Dead
1/5
1
Ugh. Never understood the Grateful Dead. What is this? Country music for hippies?
I'm convinced the reason they're so tied with LSD usage is because you have to be on it to enjoy the music, and imo if your music requires the listener to be on a controlled substance to find anything of value... you're probably not a very good band. Maybe I'm missing out on some kind of third eye by not listening to the Dead under the influence, but this album isn't inspiring me much to go out and try.
Echo And The Bunnymen
4/5
4
I raised an eyebrow when I saw I was about to listen to an Echo and the Bunnymen album without any of the hits on it, but mad props to this list for highlighting it, because this is an absolute hidden gem. For me, this is new wave at its best - gothic, yet danceable.
Going Up is a catchy kickoff that sets the tone for the rest of the album nicely (as all great openers should), and despite listening in an office cubicle, I couldn't help but bob along to Do It Clean (yeah, yeah, I know it wasn't on the original release, but it was on the version us Americans got, so I'm counting it).
Admittedly, not every song is a standout, but they all do a great job of maintaining the atmosphere and energy of the album, and nothing feels out of place. Will be listening again.
Favorite songs: Do It Clean, Going Up, Monkeys, Rescue
5/5
5
I don't care if it's a mainstream opinion - this is Bowie's best. Space Alien Bowie is the best Bowie, and he oozes androgynously glam rockstar charm that so many other artists have tried and failed to emulate.
Every song on this album is absolutely fantastic in its own uniquely crafted standout way, to the point where you really couldn't go wrong jumping in on any track at random. Of course the four hits are rock staples (on an album only eleven tracks long!), but songs like Soul Love, It Ain't Easy, and Hang on to Yourself - that aren't talked about as much - are just as strong as the aforementioned titan tracks, if not stronger. In particular, if we're being real here, Five Years is not only the best song on the album, but probably among the best of Bowie's career.
An actual sci-fi adventure in album form, you're doing yourself a genuine disservice if you don't listen at least once in your life.
Wilco
3/5
3.5
A grower, not a shower.
This reminded me a lot of other early 2000s folk indie groups like Eels and The Shins, both of which I like but don't love. After my first listen, I lumped this album in with those and moved on.
But then, while cooking dinner that night, I found myself humming I Am Trying to Break Your Heart and thinking on the lyrics. So, I gave a second listen when I was able to dive a little deeper, and I think my experience benefitted greatly from that. While not particularly flashy or musically complex, there are lot of cleverly nuanced lyrics and raw emotions that I think drive this record home.
Nothing mindblowing, but I enjoyed it.
Favorite songs: I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, Radio Cure, Jesus, Etc., Pot Kettle Black
Pet Shop Boys
1/5
1.5
I find 80s pop to be a really interesting spectrum, and overall very, very hit or miss. On one side you had flashy icons like Madonna, Michael Jackson, and George Michael with catchy, danceable hits, on the other side new wave artists like The Cure, Simple Minds, and Echo & The Bunnymen with broody, outsider anthems, and then somewhere in the middle is this. This album seems to mesh the broodiness of new wave and danceability from mainstream pop here into one proto-electronic package... and it doesn't work for me.
I totally get the primary function of some albums is just to provide something to dance to, and I can only imagine how much fun this must have been at 80s clubs, but in many ways I can hear how this inspired modern electronica, and in turn, modern club music, or "Good luck if you're sober" music. Simply put, it just feels abrasive in a very cold and lifeless way.
Of course, everyone enjoys music differently, but that isn't for me, and neither is this - This is an 80s album that's gonna fall under the "miss" column.
Travis
2/5
2
Travis as a band name has always bothered me... like, come on guys, it's a pretty common first name. Imagine the confusion that would ensue if a hot, new band broke out known only as "John". Good luck Googling that.
Anyway, segueing here, the music is about on the same level of creativity. This album seems to hit all the same notes that every other early 2000s pop rock band was putting out, but compared to groups like Coldplay and The Fray, I feel like Travis is all-around less remarkable. The singer also sounds incredibly similar to Thom Yorke vocally, to the point where a few of the songs sound probably like what Radiohead would have sounded like had they decided to play it safe after The Bends.
Regardless, no matter how you slice it, there's nothing here I feel like I haven't heard before. Not bad, but meh.
Favorites songs: As You Are, Turn, Blue Flashing Light
Joni Mitchell
3/5
3
Pure folk. I found Joni's style of songwriting interesting, as it seems to be a form of personal storytelling and often lacks any kind of chorus. That being said, while unique, it doesn't necessarily result in overly-interesting music. Most of the songs sound pretty similar if not the same, and while personal, lyrics often feel very surface-level... like she's just describing the itinerary of her day spent in a new town. That isn't the case for all tracks though - the title track in particular I found to be pretty lyrically strong.
That all being said, I really didn't hate any of it, and I really enjoyed her voice, so this is probably mid-tier for me. Would be curious to hear more of her music.
Favorite songs: Hejira, Coyote, Blue Motel Room
The Clash
5/5
5
An album widely regarded as one of the best ever recorded... and you know what, everyone who says so is 100% right. I'm usually quick to point a finger at something for being overrated, but through and through, this album is perfectly rated as the musical monument it is. In fact, if there were any one album agreed upon as being "the best", I'd be okay with it being this one (sorry Sgt. Pepper's).
I've always thought of The Clash as the most important group of punk's first wave. Sure, Ramones and Sex Pistols pioneered the sound, but The Clash lived and breathed the mentality and values. They didn't just write songs about social justice, they were actually out on the streets fighting for it. So despite many trying to argue London Calling isn't a punk album because it blends different musical genres, you can't tell me the punk spirit isn't still present in some form or another on every track. Clampdown in particular is one of my favorite anthems, and contains some of my favorite punk lyrics:
"Kick over the wall, cause governments to fall
How can you refuse it?
Let fury have the hour, anger can be power
D'you know that you can use it?"
While Beto O'Rourke was never my preferred presidential candidate, respect to him for using it as a part of his campaign.
I've tossed this expression around a few times in my reviews, but this album is the definition of a group firing on all cylinders - every member is giving 110% into songwriting and performance, and it shows. Bassist Paul Simonon even stepped up to write and sing for the first time with The Guns of Brixton, and it's honestly one of the best songs on the album.
Just about every track here is fantastic and unique in sound though (on a double album no less!) There's a lot I could highlight about each one, but I'll just call out Spanish Bombs and The Card Cheat as two of my favorites I don't see get talked about enough. The former is catchy as all hell, and the latter never fails to give me goosebumps when the horn section kicks in. The only real miss for me across the album is Lover's Rock (not really sure what they were going for there), but I'll give it a pass considering it's essentially a pebble in a bag of diamonds.
Alright, I wrote way more here than I intended to, but even then I still feel like I have so much more I could say. Long story short, this album is a requirement for anyone with even the vaguest interest in music history.
Elton John
3/5
3.5
Great timing seeing as how I'll be at Sir Elton's Dodger Stadium show this Thursday for the last stop on his farewell tour.
With that being said, while I quite enjoy a good chunk of Elton's work, I'm far from his biggest fan (more of an "in the right place at the right time" kinda thing regarding my upcoming LA show). I've heard this album in particular before, and while I'm overall a fan, it admittedly all starts running together after Levon. Nothing is unenjoyable or outstays its welcome, but it's not particularly remarkable either.
So, this album is probably about a 3 from me, but I'll bump an extra half point because Tiny Dancer really is that good of a song.
Suede
2/5
2
This felt like the missing link between The Stone Roses and every other 90s Britpop band in some ways... but much less interesting than any of those bands in every way.
Aaand that's all I really I have to say on the album - It was almost remarkably unremarkable. Started off with some okay at best Britpop, and then slowly devolved into boringly overblown piano and operatic ballads. Supposedly Rolling Stone labeled this as one of the most pretentious albums of all-time, and I can definitely see where they're coming from.
Idk nothing outright bad, but I probably wouldn't listen again. My favorite song was Stay Together... which is a bonus track and not even part of the actual album.
Talking Heads
2/5
2
Talking Heads are an artist multiple people have recommended I dig into, but I have just never been able to get. Supposedly they invented new wave, a genre I'm normally a big fan of, but I just don't really hear it. What I hear instead is annoying vocals and guitar jangles accompanying what sounds like an attempt at funk.
This band has its moments, but none of the particularly notable ones are here. After listening to this album a couple times, I’ll admit Thank You For Sending Me an Angel grew on me a bit, and Take Me to the River is fine enough, so I’ll round up to a 2 from my initial rating of 1.5. Every other song is a pass from me though.
Bob Dylan
4/5
4
Bob Dylan was once an artist I found incredibly boring, but who I've learned to appreciate in the more recent years of my life, along with folk music as a whole (likely due to Conor Oberst bridging the gap between the genre and emo). Sure, it's not always super interesting musically, but often times there's a very distinctive sense of storytelling paired with well-crafted lyrics that pulls me in.
Anyway, much like how Conor Oberst blends folk influence into his work, this Dylan album in particular is notable for incorporating elements of rock and blues into his music for the first time, which I think all-around makes the album more accessible for newer and casual listeners. For more familiar fans, it's a milestone in his musical evolution.
While I personally wouldn’t go as far as to call it an all-time favorite, there’s not a bad moment here to be had, and I think it's entirely valid to argue Dylan as the king of folk music based on this album alone.
Favorite songs: Like a Rolling Stone, Tombstone Blues, Highway 61 Revisited, Desolation Row
Lynyrd Skynyrd
3/5
3
Alright, I should preface by saying I'm normally not a fan of Southern (or wannabe Southern - looking at you, Kid Rock) rock, like at all. But, my dad spoke very, very highly of this album, so I tried going in with an open mind... though I was prepared to dip out if I had to listen to anything about the Confederacy or Dixieland.
And I didn't hate it. My dad was right about the non-hits being the better tracks here. While I've never been able to stand the song Gimme Three Steps, Tuesday's Gone was an unexpectedly solid tune, and when Simple Man’s transition into some honky-tonk stuff started losing me, the song Poison Whiskey was an enjoyable surprise that pulled me back in.
Then of course the album ends with Free Bird, and, while my dad is gonna groan reading this, I gotta give credit where credit is due and admit this song is legendary for a reason. The theme of preparing to fly solo for a period of one's life is one I think anyone can relate to, and the back half of the song consists of probably some of the most iconic guitar solos of all-time (or is it all one solo? Either way)
Anyway, the album was better than I expected to be. Didn't fall in love with it, but would maybe listen again, or at least my newfound sleeper hits mentioned above.
The Clash
4/5
4.5
Fuck yeah, love The Clash (as evidenced in my London Calling review). Their debut is no London Calling, but it’s a damn good punk album. While I wouldn’t go as far as to call it the best punk debut, I would argue The Clash as one of the most consistently good punk bands - there’s not a bad entry across any of their five studio albums (yes, I mean five).
Janie Jones is an excellent opener, and I’ve always loved Mick Jones’ WHOOooooaaaaooo that closes the track. I also adore White Riot, I’m so Bored with the USA, London’s Burning, and Career Opportunities, and consider them all to be punk staples. Not every track is a standout (not sure what’s going on in Protex Blue), but all fit the album nicely and keep the energy going. In fact, the only shift in sound on the album is the track Police and Thieves… and it does so in the best possible way. Not only is a solid take on a reggae track by its own merit, but in hindsight, it’s a bit of foreshadowing to the cross-genre fusion that the band would famously implement on their later albums.
Fantastic album, and a great start to a legendary career.
The Temptations
3/5
3
Despite being born and raised in Michigan, I really haven't listened to enough Motown music for my own good. I'm embarrassed to say the only Temptations song I knew prior to my listening was My Girl, and so I kind of lumped them in with that 60s R&B sound. As I've learned from this album, the 70s brought on a musical evolution for the group I had no idea existed.
Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On is a powerful slice of raw funk, reminiscent of James Brown's earlier live work, that starts the album off on an immediate high note. That energy continued on for me into Papa Was A Rollin' Stone, which felt nowhere near as long as its 12 minute runtime.
The back side slowed down the tempo quite a bit, and overall I didn't find it as strong. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face was a highlight, but the other songs weren't particularly memorable, or in the case of Love Wake Me Up This Morning, a little too cheesy for my taste.
Takeaway - should probably listen to more Motown.
Tracy Chapman
3/5
3.5
I recognized the album cover to this one but knew little else beyond that, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn it’s a strong folk album with socially and politically conscious lyrics that rival even Bob Dylan. In fact, I think the lyrics are really what drive this album, and although dark and depressing at times, they’re always an ashamedly honest reflection of society… and sadly the subject matter still holds up just as much in 2022 as it did in 1988. There were a few lyrics I wanted to highlight here, including verses touching on racial assault in Across the Lines and police ineptitude in Behind the Wall, but instead I’ll urge anyone listening to follow along with the lyrics if possible - your experience will benefit greatly from it.
The back half of the album isn’t quite as strong as the first, but overall it’s a well-paced album with a message more powerful than the musical backdrop. To be honest, I don't find most of the songs overly interesting musically, and I likely would have rated the album lower if not for the aforementioned themes, but I really feel like those are what cement this as an important listen, and I’m glad it’s on this list.
Favorite songs: Talkin’ Bout a Revolution, Fast Car, Behind the Wall
Buzzcocks
3/5
3
While I love a good punk album, Buzzcocks have never been my favorite outfit of the genre. They have a few songs I really like, but having now listened to an album of their lesser known stuff, I stand by my initial thoughts on the band. While every song has that early punk energy and attitude we all know and love, there’s nothing particular of note in any individual song, and despite the group riding a musical wave defined by counterculture and protest, it doesn’t feel like much is being said here.
I would rather just listen to Singles Going Steady - I feel like I can get the full Buzzcocks experience I need from that album, and I would urge any other skeptics to do the same. Honestly, I think it’s likely we didn’t get that album instead because the listmakers didn’t want to include compilations, which is fair, but in this case it feels like an unfortunate oversight.
Favorite songs: I Don’t Mind, Get On Our Own, I Need
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
2/5
2.5
Fine Blues Rock - I can see how this could be influential for the rock bands to come in the decade ahead. Another Man in particular reminded me of the opening to Bring It on Home by Led Zeppelin, though to be fair, both artists were inspired by (or ripping off) blues artists from years prior.
Don’t feel like I have a ton to say beyond that. I’ve never been much of an Eric Clapton fan, and this didn’t do much to change that. One of the most “Yeah, that’s music alright” listens I’ve heard so far, and, as someone who is far from an expert on the genre, I’m confident there are much better blues albums out there.
Favorite songs: All Your Love, Another Man, It Ain’t Right
Ramones
5/5
5
There’s a lot I could say about The Ramones’ impact and legacy on not only punk, but music as a whole - though most of it isn’t anything that hasn’t already been said a million times before. So, instead, a bit selfishly, I’d like to talk about my own personal experience with the band.
The first song I can ever recall hearing in my life is Blitzkrieg Bop (thanks Dad), and the first album I ever owned in my life was “Loud, Fast Ramones: Their Toughest Hits” (thanks Angel). It was Christmas at Grandma’s, I was probably like six years old, and I remember getting a new Hot Wheels set alongside it.
There’s a lot I could say about my history with The Ramones and music from there, but I’ll keep it brief in saying that it sparked a life passion, led to lifelong friendships (thanks Will), and is probably why I’m taking on this very challenge of listening and reviewing 1001 albums now. In that time, I’ve learned to appreciate many, many new artists and genres, but because of The Ramones, punk has been a fascination of mine that has never dwindled in 20 or so years.
While The Ramones themselves are no longer my favorite artist, they’ve always represented a safe space I can go to no matter when or where I’m at in life, and for that alone, I couldn’t rate this any lower than a 5. I don’t want to end on a soft note though, so to cap things off
This album kicks fucking ass. Hey Ho, Let’s Go!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BpMw7gMOsA
Paul Simon
2/5
2
I talked about this a bit before in my Graceland review, but while I really enjoy Simon & Garfunkel, I’ve never been able to get much into Paul Simon’s solo career. While I can respect Graceland for experimenting with songwriting and sound, this just feels like a poppier version of his existing folk career… and is just worse in every way.
Mother and Child Reunion I found to be a particularly annoying opener, and I really couldn’t tell you what the song is about if I tried since 75% of the song is the line “The mother and child reunion is only a motion away”. Duncan and Everything Put Together Falls Apart felt like a nice return to form, but then from there the album devolves into track after track of overproduced folk pop, to the point I was pretty bored by the end.
Favorite songs: Duncan, Everything Put Together Falls Apart, Armistice Day
Beatles
2/5
2
And for our 100th album, it’s another Beatles album… and an early one at that. While I’ve already said my peace on early Beatles albums, I guess I can admit I enjoyed this one slightly more than a Hard Day’s Night. Hell, I might go as far as to say I kind of enjoyed All I’ve Got To Do, despite its cheesiness. As a whole I feel like I’m less offended by the bubble gumminess, though it did start wearing on me at the end. Maybe I’m just less (or more) jaded than I used to be.
Probably wouldn’t listen again, but I guess I didn’t completely hate it. At least it wasn’t long.
Also random factoid - this album dropped the same day Kennedy was assassinated. So by default, I guess this wasn’t the worst thing to happen on that day in history (though the CIA might beg to differ).
Janis Joplin
2/5
2
Never been much of a Janis Joplin fan. I think some people have a problem with her voice, though honestly I don’t mind that as much as I just don’t find her music particularly interesting. It very much fits the time and place, but I would rather listen to other Summer of Love artists instead like Jimi Hendrix or Jefferson Airplane - though I’ll take this over Grateful Dead any day of the week.
I was also surprised to learn the majority of the album consists of covers. Not that I think any less of the album because of it, but I guess I always thought of Joplin as more of a songwriter in my head. However, considering one of the original songs she did write for the album was Mercedes Benz, maybe it’s for the best.
I can definitely see how this could be a vibe to hear live, but it doesn’t do much for me in album form.
Favorite songs: Cry Baby, Move Over
Oasis
4/5
4
A welcome surprise. There’s a lot I could say about Oasis, but I’d like to save most of it for (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? - And if it didn't make the list, then I guess those thoughts go unpublished. For now, I’ll say high school wouldn’t have been the same without the band.
Anyway, regarding this particular album, while not their best (I would put it under both the aforementioned and Masterplan personally), this is still a classic 90s alternative rock record and among Britpop best. Rock n Roll Star is a great opener, and I’ve loved it from the second I first heard it in the form as You All Everybody by Drive Shaft on Lost (it’s the same song and you can’t convince me otherwise). Supersonic, Live Forever, and Cigarettes & Alcohol are of course certified classics, but there were even a few songs here and there like Shakermaker, Up in the Sky, and Bring It On Down that I had forgotten about and enjoyed more than I remember. Not every song is a banger, but they’re all at least pretty good.
Far from the first time I’ve heard this one, and while I don’t think it’ll ever be the Oasis album I return to most, it’s definitely one I’ll re-visit from time to time again.
3/5
3
I feel like this is one of those albums where you know if you’re gonna like it or dislike it within the first minute or so - I mean, it’s Bob Dylan. I enjoy Dylan, so I enjoyed this, but I can admit the live aspect of this album didn’t really do much for me to add to his music. I would likely rather listen to the studio recordings instead… especially so I don’t have to deal with constantly adjusting my speakers for piercing harmonica solos.
The shift from solo acoustic to full band halfway through was a nice change of pace that helped prevent the album from feeling overly long, but I was little disappointed in what I heard (or didn’t hear) after reading the Wikipedia page on the album. Per the article, Dylan’s shift to electric alienated his audience, who seemingly turned against him and spent the rest of the show heckling and trying to throw him off rhythm, with Dylan firing shots back in return. So, while I guess I assumed the album was famous for what I imagined being the folk equivalent of a Steve-O live show I saw not too long ago, I ultimately didn’t hear any of that on my listen. Maybe the final product edited that out?
Anyway, I digress - it’s a fine album, but nothing special.
Favorite songs: Visions of Johanna,
Baby, Let Me Follow You Down, One Too Many Mornings, and of course Desolation Row is always great
Bauhaus
3/5
3.5
Fish cakes? Fish cakes.
When I think of Bauhaus, I begrudgingly think of that Matt-era blink-182 song She’s Out of Her Mind, which has the lyrics “She got a black shirt, black skirt and Bauhaus stuck in her head”. Outside of that, all I knew was that Bauhaus is 80s goth music.
And I kind of dug it! In some ways it felt like new wave bands of the era without many of the pop elements, with also maybe a bit of German industrial mixed in? There are also some absolute killer bass hooks that I couldn’t help but bob along to while working. Even the more droning ambient tracks kinda worked for me in the way they helped flesh out the album’s doomy atmosphere.
I could see myself listening again… maybe after a shopping trip to buy some black nail polish and eyeliner.
Favorite songs: Hair of the Dog, The Passion of Lovers, Dancing
Also the lead singer vocally is basically Fred Schneider from the B-52s but goth - change my mind.
Gang Starr
3/5
3.5
The only Gang Starr song I knew prior to this was Mass Appeal, as featured in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4. While I adore probably a solid 95% of the songs used in the Tony Hawk games, Mass Appeal was never one that was high on my list. So, I didn’t have high expectations going in.
Turns out, it’s a solid album. What stood out for me most was how subtle it was both in terms of vocals and music. Nothing was overly flashy or fancy, yet each song seemed to have a clear sense of identity with unique beats and subject matter. Guru’s delivery almost feels effortless, while also somehow complementing each of the beats perfectly. There’s not a ton of range in vocal performance to be had, but it doesn’t feel like anything extra is needed at any point.
All in all, a really relaxing listen, and there’s not a bad song to be had. In many ways, it was a nice contrast to many of the more mainstream hip hop tracks of today. Will definitely be checking out more of their stuff.
Favorite songs: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, Execution of a Chump, Take a Rest, Lovesick, Who’s Gonna Take the Weight?
The Mamas & The Papas
2/5
2.5
Turns out I can, in fact, believe my eyes and ears - this is a very run-of-the-mill slice of the era. The harmonies are nice I guess, but the music otherwise isn’t particularly notable. California Dreamin’ is of course an exception - while not the most creative song lyrically or musically, there’s something beautifully haunting in the vocal harmonies and resolve, which creates an interesting juxtaposition with the supposed light subject matter.
Anyway, that’s probably the most I could say about any song on this record. This is the third cover of Do You Wanna Dance I’ve heard after The Beach Boys’ and Ramones’ versions, and I can confidently say it’s the worst of the three. Go Where You Wanna Go was probably my personal favorite outside of Cali Dreamin’, though conversely, the song Spanish Harlem came off feeling a bit patronizing to me (I know it’s a cover but still).
A net “okay” all-around.
The Undertones
4/5
4
Really thought these guys were one-hit wonders on the poppier side of punk, but this album was great through and through and went harder than I anticipated. There were quite a few tracks that really stuck with me, and a couple I actually even liked more than Teenage Kicks (the aforementioned hit I knew prior). With all that in mind, I’m kind of surprised this band isn’t held in a higher regard, or at least brought up in conversation more alongside other first wave punk bands like The Ramones and Sex Pistols. In any case, I will be from now on.
Favorite songs: Male Model, Jump Boys, Teenage Kicks, Family Entertainment
Also, am I the only one who thought it was interesting there’s a song on this album called Casbah Rock, released three years before fellow punk outfit The Clash released their iconic hit Rock the Casbah? Can’t seem to find anything online that connects the two. Coincidence? Or major punk conspiracy?
Green Day
5/5
5
Was saving my review for this one until I could properly appreciate it. Every time I listen to this album, a wave of feelings comes over me with memories of high school, first love, summer nights, and most importantly, good times with good people. Sure, the album was already 20 years old when these memories were made, but great music is timeless, and even as this album approaches 30 years, it’s still my ultimate feel-good record. No record has ever quite captured the feeling of being young, dumb, reckless, lazy, and loving every minute of it like this one has for me (though Enema of the State is very close). It’s fun from front to back, and there’s not a single dull moment to be had in its 38 minute runtime - and yes, that includes All By Myself.
Never has a band since The Ramones used the three power chord song structure so effectively, to the point where the music is so goddamn catchy you don’t even notice the simplicity of the structure. There’s not a ton of versatility, but it never once feels like any more is needed, it’s like you’re having the time of your life on a high-speed roller coaster without any signs of it slowing down.
There’s probably a bit I could say about each individual song, but to avoid making this review too overly long, I’ll just say every song fits perfectly both within the confines of the album and on its own, and while I adore each and every one, She is my personal favorite (my #2 GD song of all-time after Whatsername on American Idiot).
One of the best ever for me. The second I start it, I know I’m in for a great time. Whether you agree or disagree, I hope you all have an album that makes you feel the way this one does me.
Todd Rundgren
1/5
1.5
Our previous Rundgren album, A Wizard/A True Star, was a fun musical journey through the audible equivalent of an LSD trip. This one is a bit more of a musical marathon, where you’re out of breath and ready for the finish line by the end. I’m really glad he decided to get a bit more experimental with his follow-up, as this one just feels like safe pop song after lame soft rock song… after safe pop song after lame soft rock song after safe pop song after lame soft rock song. Really don’t think this needed to be 25 tracks, and I think the fact that not one jumped out to me makes it seem like Rundgren was going for quantity over quality. I guess I’ll give him kudos for playing almost all of the instrument tracks on the album, but still, it doesn’t make the listening any more interesting to me.
Since I didn’t outright hate any tracks in particular, I was feeling a strong 2 at first, but I ultimately decided to deduct a half point for runtime, as that would most likely deter me from listening again in the future.
The Blue Nile
3/5
3.5
One of the more unique albums I’ve heard thus far. The singer’s voice, the electronic beats, and the heavy synth/strings are all so distinct that it feels like one shouldn’t pair well with the others, yet somehow it blends beautifully. A lot of sappy themes and lyrics about love (I swear the word itself is mentioned in every song), but it worked for me in a kind of new wave, arthouse way that makes me think of a pretentious Perks of Being a Wallflower-esque mixtape - the song Stay specifically if you’re trying to win someone back.
Speaking of, I really enjoyed Stay and all the tracks leading up to it, but it felt like the back half of the album descended into slower ballads that started to lose me. Heatwave wasn’t bad, but Easter Parade and Automobile Noise were a bit of a slog. Still, the album worked for me as a whole, so I’ll likely listen again - if not the full thing, definitely a few songs. I’m also curious to check out their supposedly critically acclaimed followup Hats.
Favorite songs: Stay, Tinseltown in the Rain, A Walk Across the Rooftops, Heatwave
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
3
This album is an enigma. Having never heard of the artist, the Wikipedia page only offered me five brief, matter of fact sentences (one of which mentions its inclusion on this list), and even more strangely, while the album is nowhere to be found on Ramblin’ Jack’s Spotify page or through in-app lookup, a Google search reveals the album does in fact exist on Spotify and is fully listenable. What are you hiding, Jack??
Further research into Ramblin’ Jack’s career reveals a deeply rooted Woody Guthrie idolization (his first studio recording was even a Guthrie cover album), and a quick listen to any given track on this album basically confirms that. Yet despite that, and despite me being ready to write him off as a glorified fanboy, I actually really enjoyed my listening. Sure, it’s not the most distinct thing I’ve heard, and no, Ramblin’ Jack doesn’t come off quite as versatile as his hero or contemporaries like Bob Dylan, but I had fun. And you know what? Sometimes that’s what it’s all about. Makes me want to play some Red Dead.
Favorite songs: San Francisco Bay Blues, The Boll Weevil, Cocaine, Brother Won’t You Join in the Line
Eminem
3/5
3.5
I’ve never actually listened to this one, but I was pretty interested to check it out for contextual purposes at the very least after listening to The Marshall Mathers LP.
In some ways, it’s a contrast to the follow-up - whereas MMLP feels like a reactionary response to sudden fame and the criticism that comes alongside it, SSLP feels more like a reflection of living in poverty and culture surrounding it. In other ways, it’s a lot of the same - violent, misogynist, and shocking… but hey, he did give us a warning. That being said, I’m able to acknowledge Em is playing a character here. That’s not to say that he’s any kind of moral inspiration outside of the studio, but the album is clearly trying to be provocative to get a reaction out of people… and it succeeded.
Anyway, musically, the album is pretty solid. I was surprised by how much I hadn’t heard before (the only song I recognized was My Name Is), but Dre’s production is great on every track - as it always is. Not as many standouts on this one for me as MMLP, but as a whole it’s a clear sign of what was ahead.
I’ll end with this Wikipedia quotation:
“‘97 Bonnie & Clyde’, which was formerly featured on the Slim Shady EP as ‘Just the Two of Us’, was re-recorded for The Slim Shady LP to feature his daughter Hailie's vocals. Because the song focuses on disposing of his girlfriend's corpse, Eminem was not comfortable with explaining the situation to Kim, and instead told her that he would be taking Hailie to Chuck E. Cheese's.”
Favorite songs: My Name Is, Role Model, My Fault
Radiohead
2/5
2
Radiohead to me is the musical equivalent of Rick & Morty, in that I tend to find their fanbase insufferable. In both cases, they’re largely comprised of devout fanatics that seem to think a certain level of intellect is required to appreciate the content, when really it’s nowhere near as complex or as clever they make it out to be. While I don’t outright hate the band or the TV show themselves, I do think they’re largely overrated and that the fans need to take it back a notch or two.
Anyway, that being said, I’ve heard a few Radiohead albums in my life, but this is the first I’ve heard Hail to the Thief. And idk, coming off of OK Computer and Kid A (I admittedly haven’t heard Amnesiac), this seems like they were playing it a bit safe? In some ways, it feels like the “lite” versions of those albums - the hints are there, but you never quite get a full taste of the real thing. To put it more bluntly, it’s boring, and it doesn’t flow nearly as well as their previous work.
I’ll give credit where credit is due when we inevitably see more of this band’s work pop up on this list, but… this one? Really? Didn't completely hate it, but not super interested in listening again.
Decent songs: Go To Sleep, There, There, A Wolf at the Door
Deep Purple
2/5
2.5
Being released in 1970, the elements of hard rock and metal on this album definitely make it feel ahead of its time. So, I can see why people think of Deep Purple as pioneers of the genres, but personally I can’t help but wonder how influential they actually were versus more well-known acts like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, who were both also putting out this kind of music at the same time… and much better music too imo. It still seems like it clings onto some elements of 60s keyboard-driven psychedelia which creates an interesting fusion I guess, though not overly.
Fine slice of the era, but far from its best. Not sure we needed two by these guys on the list.
Favorite songs: Child in Time, Hard Lovin' Man
Joy Division
4/5
4
Haunting. Beautiful, but haunting - from front, to back, down to the cover art depicting a literal tomb. Ian Curtis was a brilliant lyricist and master of the style by his own merit, but it’s hard not to think of the context around this album and his life when listening. Every time I hear Isolation, I can’t help but think of a scene from Curtis’ biopic Control where he apathetically performs the vocal track alone in a recording booth while the rest of the band and producer mindlessly sit around the control board bickering, unaware they’re listening to cry for help.
Great album, but know what you’re getting into.
Folks, the world is a better place with you in it.
Favorite songs: Isolation, Twenty Four Hours, A Means to an End
Merle Haggard
3/5
3
Really thought I was familiar with Merle Haggard, but after listening to this album and his top songs, it’s clear I just know his name. While his voice sounds really familiar, it also sounds like every other country artist of the era, so it’s probably not safe to say I recognize it. I really dug the Western outlaw vibes on the first track, but everything started running together after that. Kinda wish Haggard leaned more into the whole lonesome fugitive thing thematically across the rest of the album instead of all the cheesy love ballads, but I still enjoyed most of them - they were short, sweet, and provided a consistent vibe that I feel would be fun at a country bar.
Favorite songs: I’m a Lonesome Fugitive, Drink Up and Be Somebody, Skid Row
Various Artists
3/5
3.5
I mean, it’s Christmas music - you know what you’re getting into here. It’s fun to get into the festive mood around the holiday, not quite as much fun any other time of the year… like January when I’m listening right now (tbf this should have been rated and reviewed on or around Christmas so that’s on me). That all being said, if there’s any one Christmas album you should probably listen to outside of Elvis’ and Bing Crosby’s, it’s probably this one - It’s full of all-time Christmas classics that are much more fun and upbeat than a great deal of the more Jesus-focused stuff.
The Ronettes are standouts here, and it’s no mystery why their songs are the ones we still commonly hear on contemporary Christmas radio today, though that being said, this collection does in fact contain my all-time favorite Christmas song in Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love - I bumped up to 3.5 from my initial 3 from the inclusion of that song alone.
I would probably never put this on unless hosting a holiday party, but I can’t argue it’s definitely a good vibe for December, and yes, I’m in the camp of not wanting to hear any of this before Thanksgiving. Kinda interesting such a cheery record was released on the same day as the Kennedy assassination (also the same day as With the Beatles!), but that was probably an omen for the murderous piece of shit Phil Spector would become.
Anyway, Merry Belated Christmas everyone!
Favorite songs: Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), Frosty the Snowman, Sleigh Ride, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Iggy Pop
4/5
4
Solid David Bowie album.
Jokes aside, while there’s no denying Bowie’s heavy-handedness, and it’s hard not to compare this to the series of albums he would immediately follow-up with, I don’t think it’s fair to say this album doesn’t have an identity of its own. Though they have a very similar sound, Iggy’s grungy vocals and lyricism makes this album feel heavier and more industrialized than anything released in the Berlin Trilogy. Hell, and for that reason, I actually think I enjoy Iggy’s version of China Girl over Bowie’s cover (though I know that came quite a bit later).
Overall, even if Bowie’s musicality is the backbone of the album, I think his partnership with Pop is really what brings this album to the next level, and in many cases I think it’s fair to say Iggy influenced him as much as he influenced Iggy (supposedly the album cover of “Heroes” was inspired by Iggy’s post on the cover of this). If nothing else, good on Bowie for instilling the confidence in Pop to take on a larger role in his musical ventures ahead.
Favorite songs: Sister Midnight, Nightclubbing, China Girl, Dum Dum Boys
Tito Puente
2/5
2
Yeahhhhh I don’t know about this one. It made me think of vacation in some ways, so I’m sure it would hit hard in the right environment, but I just really don’t see myself putting this on in my own time. I’m not going to pretend I’m any kind of expert on the genre, but I’m not sure what makes Tito Puente in particular stand apart among mambo artists. Not much stood out to me here besides some cool vibraphone on Hong Kong Mambo and Estoy Siempre Junto a Ti.
My dad probably liked this because it reminds him of Puerto Rico. As for myself, not quite my thing, but I’ll give Tito Puente credit for having not been the one to shoot Mr. Burns.
Butthole Surfers
2/5
2
Holy shit Butthole Surfers made the list.
Having never heard any of the songs on this album, the inclusion on this list alone was enough to have me intrigued. And, while it was about as goofy as I expected, it was also a lot creepier than I expected? (tbh I probably should have known from the album art). Most of the songs were too experimental for me to have much of an opinion, but I really liked Human Cannonball, though I realized afterwards it’s pretty much Bro Hymn. Considering the latter came out four years later, I think Pennywise has some explaining to do.
Anyway, yeah, not much of this album is really listenable, but to be fair that’s probably on me for expecting anything else. Still would rather listen to this than The Beatles.
Mercury Rev
3/5
3
I saw that the frontman for this band was previously a guitarist for The Flaming Lips, and I can definitely hear how his time with the group influenced this album. However, this album was also supposedly recorded while the band was at its lowest point, after a period of commercial failure, personal hardships, and amassing debt, and I think the ensuing sound does a good job of encapsulating the desperation of the band. I kept thinking how each song would fit behind a character’s “come to Jesus” scene in a movie or show, when they realize they’ve bottomed out, and are about to begin their redemption arc (or tragic ending).
The tone throughout is very consistent, and nothing feels out of place (except for the hidden track, though those are usually deliberately jarring), but it’s also not overly interesting. Holes was a great opening track and moodsetter, but not much else stuck out to me after that. I think the fact I kept thinking of movie scenes is proof of the music here being more complementary sound than the forefront. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing and that music should always be flashy and catchy, but in this case I wasn’t left with much of a lasting impression.
The War On Drugs
4/5
4.5
I absolutely adore the song Red Eyes, so I was really excited to see what else this band had to offer - and I wasn’t disappointed. One of the most perfectly named albums I’ve probably heard, this album FEELS like navigating a hazy dream, the kind that makes you wonder how much was real and how much was made-up once it’s over. I’m a sucker for this kind of bass-driven dream pop bullshit, and this album is nothing but one great example of it after another. No matter the song, there was a really cool bridge or crescendo or some kind of musical shift that just set off all the auditory nerve receptors in my brain… or whatever tf it is that makes us enjoy music. As much as I’d prefer not to use someone else’s words, I really feel like Stuart Berman from Pitchfork describes it best in his review of the album:
“Loaded with songs whose greatness is revealed slowly, where the simplest, most understated chord change can blow a track wide open and elevate it from simply pretty to absolutely devastating."
Just a pleasant listen from start to finish, and feels nowhere as long as its runtime suggests. The perfect mental escape of an album, but at the same time there’s a part of it that makes me think of late nights with the people I care about most in this world. The kind where we’re all probably a little bit messed up on something or other, but we’re enjoying each other’s company and not caring 10 PM has just turned into 1 AM.
Good vibes all around.
Favorites songs: Red Eyes, Under the Pressure, An Ocean in Between the Waves, Burning
Nas
4/5
4
Great rhymes, great beats, great lyrics, great flow - I see why this is considered a crown jewel of the genre. Similar to NWA’s debut, Nas chooses to shine a light on his home city and way of life, not afraid of showcasing the ugliness for the sake of capturing the reality, but whereas NWA took a deliberately aggressive approach to reiterate the hardened Compton culture, Nas opts instead to chronicle Queens with poetically smooth delivery, making it easy to forgot how many themes of violence and crime there are underneath. Even as someone who had a pretty atypical upbringing in small town America, there’s still a lot of relatability on this record, especially on tracks like Life’s a Bitch. Life's a bitch and then you die, that's why we get high? I’ll drink to that.
The World is Yours is a song I’ve known for years thanks to Tony Hawk’s Underground, but I’ve never realized it was off this album. A little bit of a contrast to the previous track, but still a good tune nonetheless - makes me want to bust out my skateboard and cruise the streets of Hollywood. Every song here is good though and has a unique sound to it, likely due to the fact there were like 5 or so producers across the album, but I still find it impressive there’s a clear direction despite that.
I see why everyone hypes this up. While not the most amazing thing I’ve heard, it’s very good.
Favorite songs: The World is Yours, NY State of Mind, Life’s a Bitch, Represent, It Ain’t Hard to Tell
The Velvet Underground
3/5
3.5
Soooo confession time, I’ve never listened to a Velvet Underground album. I know how acclaimed both the band and Lou Reed is, but it’s just never been something I’ve gotten around to checking out. Now, I’m not really sure if this album in particular is the best jumping in point for the band, but it was a lot softer than I expected? I know they’re famous for influencing alternative rock, and I can definitely hear that, but I can also very much hear how they fit in with the era. Like, if I didn’t know any better, I could believe Candy Says is a Beatles song.
From there, things kicked in with What Goes On, and I was starting to see what all the fuss was about, but then it mellowed right back out again. Not much of the middle was particularly interesting for me on my first play, but I found the song Pale Blue Eyes sticking with me afterwards. After giving a re-listen (or two), I gotta admit it’s an absolutely beautiful tune that has really grown on me, and I can definitely see why it’s their most played song on Spotify. The album ends strongly with The Murder Mystery and After Hours, both of which I thought were two of the more unique tracks and did a good job of creating a sense of finale.
While it didn’t blow my mind, there’s nothing bad on the album, and when it has its highs they’re pretty high. If the few songs I really liked weren’t enough to make me want to check out more of their work, my dad calling me after a day of binging their discography to express his regret over not rating this higher definitely did. And yes Dad, Heroin is a great tune :)
The Flying Burrito Brothers
2/5
2
Terrible band name, and the music isn’t much better. Pure country, but I really don’t feel like there’s anything interesting going on here with the songwriting or storytelling, and to be honest I really don’t care for Gram Parsons’ voice. Why the hell was this guy hanging out with the Stones? I’m guessing Keith Richards was his dealer.
Anyway, not a big fan of the album, but if you’re not familiar with the story of Gram Parsons’ corpse being stolen by his friends for a ceremonial cremation, I would recommend looking into it because it’s pretty interesting - the Disgraceland podcast and its book adaptation cover it.
Steve Earle
2/5
2.5
Oh boy, more country! I was at least a little interested to check this one out, being familiar with Copperhead Road as a karaoke staple for my dad, but he warned me ahead of time this album is not that, and he’s right, it isn’t - it’s much more on the lighter side. I still thought it had a fun energy to it though, even if it was a bit more on the poppier side, and I genuinely feel like Earle has a voice made for country music. Other than that, don’t feel like I have a ton to say - pretty middle of the road country, so middle of the road rating.
I saw Emmylou Harris has a cover of the title track, and I found it pretty solid, to the point where I may even prefer hers… though to be fair, there’s probably very little country music I don’t think could be sung better by her. Shoutout to Bright Eyes for featuring her on I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning.
Favorite songs: Guitar Town, Hillbilly Highway, My Old Friend the Blues, Someday
ABBA
1/5
1
Ugh. I’m sorry, but I can’t stand ABBA. I know that’s an unpopular opinion, especially as of lately with their whole TikTok resurgence, but I just find their music so goddamn cheesy and boring, and this album didn’t do much to change that.
When I Kissed the Teacher was an… unexpected open to the album, and I actually kind of liked how it started, but it lost me when it kicked in and the backing vocals jumped in. Dancing Queen is such an overrated and annoying song, though nowhere near as bad as Mamma Mia or Waterloo - I guess I’ll give this album credit for not having those songs on it. From there it’s just kind of a lot of BS in the middle up until Fernando, which I’ll admit is a DECENT song. Almost bumped up to 1.5 because of it, but then I learned the song is a bonus track and wasn’t even on the initial album release. So, 1 it is, though honestly I still don’t think I would ever seek out that song on my own anyway.
Anyway, can we end the whole ABBA thing now? If I have to hear another song of theirs at a party, I will commit war crimes.
Fugees
3/5
3.5
So I’ve actually never listened through this one or Lauryn Hill’s solo debut for that matter, but I know they’re both considered two of the best albums of the 90s (if not ever), so I was really excited to see what all the hype is about.
I wasn’t immediately sold at first, and I even raised an eyebrow pretty early on upon hearing the lyric “I used to be underrated, now I take iron, makes my shit constipated, I'm more concentrated” on How Many Mics. But as the album goes on, there’s a certain charm that develops as its personality begins to show, and the smooth flow of the album is undeniable. The way that each song segues into the next feels incredibly satisfying with how seamless or entertaining it is, though I did raise another eyebrow at the Chinese restaurant skit. Regardless, no matter your feelings on the actual skits or music, I feel like the production quirks make this a particularly unique and memorable listen - I mean, have you ever heard an album with an actual credits sequence at the end??
Anyway, regarding the music, there aren’t any bad songs, but I feel like I actually preferred the less popular songs over the hits. Killing Me Softly and Ready or Not are both pretty good, but I feel like I had a lot more fun and vibed more with the stuff in between. Fu-Gee-La is definitely solid though, but contrarily, while I like this version of No Woman, No Cry more than Marley’s, I still wasn’t a huge fan.
Anyway, while I’m not sure I would consider this one of my personal favorites of the 90s, it’s still a good listen and I would definitely encourage others to check it out. Excited to listen to Miseducation when it appears on our list!
Favorite songs: Zealots, Fu-Gee-La, The Score, Cowboys
Leftfield
3/5
3
Looking at the album description and seeing “electronic” and “dance” really had me prepared to dislike this one, and I even had a joke set up where I was going to say it’s called Leftism because it never sounds right, but I ended up enjoying this more than I thought I would. A lot of the album is actually more ambient sounding than dance, another genre I’m not a fan of, but compared to Tangerine Dream and Brian Eno, I actually thought a lot of the soundscapes were really cool. In some ways, they reminded me of the scores to video games I used to play as a kid.
Release the Pressure is a solid opener and dance number, but I realized about halfway through it kind of sounded just like Macerena, which is honestly a better, catchier song… and it has its own dance! It was also pretty cool hearing Johnny Rotten on Open Up - like him or not you have to admit his voice is iconic.
A lot of beep boop, but cooler beep boop than I’ve heard before.
Favorite songs: Melt, Release the Pressure, Open Up
The Temptations
2/5
2.5
As mentioned in my All Directions review, I didn’t realize Temptations took on a funk sound later in their career, and this seems to be the album that marked that shift. Cloud Nine was a really solid opener and seemed to be a good selling point on the new musical direction, and that was further backed up by the fun funk breakdown on Runaway Child, Running Wild.
Then, starting with Lovin is a Hurtin’ Thing, it seems like they just decided to take a hard shift back to their R&B/soul roots? I don’t know, it wasn’t bad, but I just kind of wish they had stuck to one sound, as the final product just seems awkwardly glued together, almost as if the funk stuff was an afterthought tacked on to the front of a work in progress album - like they weren’t entirely confident in their new sound and wanted a fallback. To add to the incoherency, Gonna Keep on Tryin’ was an incredibly unceremonious conclusion to the album, to the point I head to go back to Spotify and confirm the album actually ended where it was supposed to.
Fine overall, though the back half is pretty unremarkable. The best part of the album definitely lies in the first three tracks.
The Cure
3/5
3
Another early Cure album, and while this one doesn’t feel quite as grandiose or as new-wavey as their later stuff, it’s definitely more musically elaborate, keyboard-heavy, and possibly even moodier than Seventeen Seconds. That being said, it’s very same-y, and as a whole I feel like it has less personality to it. While I thought 17S did a good job of building atmosphere, this one felt a bit more like a wall of doomy sound. And while I enjoy that doomy sound, it doesn’t provide much to dig into - so pretty mid album overall. Don’t feel like I have any favorites or comments on any of the particular tracks.
Public Enemy
4/5
4
Love Public Enemy - not just their music, but what they stand for. If NWA started the fire, Public Enemy poured gasoline on it (Burn Hollywood Burn!) Alongside Rage Against the Machine and Dead Kennedys, they’re one of the best groups to blast when you’re pissed off at the government, society, or any kind of authority figure and want to see change (Fight the Power!) It’s sad how little has changed since this album released 33 years ago (911 is a Joke!), but I hope this album and the group continue to inspire progress and trailblazers in the world ahead.
Anyway, political diatribe aside, looking at the actual meat and potatoes of the album, I can confidently say I love every song I cheesily referenced above, but I hadn’t heard much of the in between before. After listening through, I can confirm the beats go hard af on every track, and there’s no shortage of the socially-conscious lyrics and attitude that Chuck D and Flavor Flav are famous for. That being said, most of the tracks didn’t seem to reach the highs of the more popular songs for me, to the point where some of it even felt like filler.
So, while I don’t feel like it’s perfect musically or structurally, I still really enjoyed the album and see myself listening again. The vibe successfully does a great job of getting you amped up to topple a system of institutionalized racism, and I absolutely respect that energy. I do think I might prefer It Takes a Nation of Millions more though - The songs on that album seem to have a little bit more of their own identity, and as a whole it feels a bit more airtight, though I can’t argue Black Planet is a great companion piece and follow-up.
Johnny Cash
4/5
4
Sooo I had no idea Johnny Cash has multiple live prison albums, though it definitely makes sense after hearing this one. While the Man in Black radiates rock star and outlaw energy, there’s no denying the connection he seems to have with prisoners in particular.
In many ways it feels like listening to a piece of history, and in many ways it is. Supposedly this concert is his first ever live performance of A Boy Named Sue (improvised on the spot) and also the origin of the iconic middle finger photo. However, as monumental as those are, smaller moments like hearing Johnny duet with June and interacting with the crowd and camera crew are really what makes it feel like a moment in time I’m sad I’ll never be able to experience. Hell, the in-between song banter is partially what makes this album for me, even if it is about half of the 34 minute runtime. Not sure we really needed to hear San Quentin twice in a row, but I’m willing to give him a pass considering how great the rest of the show is.
To summarize, this album cements exactly why Johnny Cash is an icon and always will be - no one else could ever make country music this badass.
Favorite songs: Wanted Man, I Walk the Line, San Quentin, A Boy Named Sue
Buck Owens
2/5
2
A lot of country recently. I’ve learned to appreciate the genre a little bit more with some of the entries on this list, and with a 1965 release date, it sounds like Buck may have been influential to some of those records with his early honky tonk Nashville sound - though perhaps too influential. It seems like many who followed were just emulating Buck’s sound here, to the point where it even makes his stuff sound unoriginal. Like, any of these songs could have been written and performed by Merle Haggard if I didn’t know any better. I know that’s not Buck’s fault, but it does retroactively make the album less interesting at least for me.
Pretty unremarkable all around without a lot of substance, though I did find the song Wham Bam in particular kind of curious - I didn’t realize the term is that old, and while I’m not sure it means the same thing now it did then, it still made the song a little more entertaining nonetheless. Memphis was also a pretty decent closer, and I kind of dug the rockabilly tone it had to it, though mostly because it was a long overdue musical shift.
Not terrible, but far from the genre’s best.
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
3.5
Hey look, it's post-breakup stuff from the best Beatle! While I’ve made no attempt of disguising my hatred for the band thus far on the list, I’ll admit I’ve actually always enjoyed the title track on this album, though I haven’t listened to much of Wings’ backlog.
As it turns out, they actually have quite a few good tunes! Coming off the heels of the iconic opener, the vibe was kept up with Jet coming in hot as a straight-up banger. I really didn’t think the album would be able to keep up the strength from there, but I was proven wrong - not only is every song enjoyable, but I was particularly impressed by the amount of versatility. Elements of hard rock, soft rock, jazz, and blues are all here, and they’re utilized so effectively and seamlessly that the album always felt fresh and never dragged. While it’s nothing mind blowing, and I’m not sure I would go out of my way to listen to individual tracks, I definitely see myself listening to the full album again. Nearly gave this a 4 but I couldn’t quite convince myself to pull the trigger.
That all being said, I’m going to say it - This is the best album done by a Beatle (I’ve heard thus far).
Eat it, John Lennon.
Favorite songs: Band on the Run, Jet, Bluebird, Let Me Roll It
Fun fact for anyone who hasn’t already read this on the Wikipedia page: Aside from McCartney, his wife Linda, and guitarist Denny Laine, the album cover features an assortment of random celebrities. That’s Count Dooku in the top-middle.
The Streets
2/5
2.5
What? What is this? It sounds like a British AI attempting to rap. I think there’s supposed to be a narrative to this album, but the dude’s vocals are so distracting that I can’t even focus on that - though something tells me there isn’t a whole lot of substance in there anyway. There are a couple tracks with really solid beats that feel like they’re juuuuust on the verge of being good, and right when I’m about to be sucked in, the vocals pull me back out again. That’s the album at best though - there are also some really grating beats in there as well, like on Blinded by the Lights and Get Out of My House in particular. Really, most of this album is an awkward mesh of robotic vocals and beats that just don’t seem to pair well together at all.
Anyway, those were my thoughts after my first listen, and I was prepared to give a fat 1. But after re-listening, I’ll admit there’s a certain charm that grew on me, and a couple of the tracks are actually kind of catchy despite their quirks. Yeah, it still has a lot of bad, so I’m not sure I could go higher than a 2.5, but I miiiiight give Could Well Be In and Fit But You Know It a re-listen. Maybe a little more if the mood strikes. Hell, this album may grow on me more to be honest.
One of the more interesting ones I’ve heard thus far for sure.
Sade
1/5
1
I’m sorry, this was sooooo boring. There’s nothing interesting going on musically, vocally, or lyrically, and it just comes off sounding like lame lounge music… or even elevator music at times. I feel like every 80s pop star attempted a song like one of these on at least one of their albums, and they were never good or memorable. This is like a compilation of those. I’m trying to think of more to write about, but I really feel like there’s nothing remarkable to comment on. This was a realllllly long 44 minutes.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
2.5
I’m not really sure if this is the best entry point for Nick Cave since I’m pretty sure the sound of this album was a one-off thing, but since I’m at the mercy of a randomized list here, I guess I’ll just let it be known I’m pretty unfamiliar with the group and probably lacking some context.
Anyway, it’s a nice sounding piano-driven album. Cave has a great voice that pairs with the music nicely, but the somber, one-note tone of the album really makes this feel more like a situational listen. In particular, it came off sounding like funeral music… like one of the slow piano covers of a popular song you might hear at one. Now, normally I’m a fan of that kind of dark, broody, sentimental stuff, but this one didn’t really resonate with me much. Generally speaking, I didn’t find much of it overly interesting, and most of it seemed to run together. As far as piano music goes, it didn’t feel like anything I hadn’t heard before.
Didn’t dislike, but didn’t particularly like either. I’d say it’s 50/50 I listen again.
Favorite songs: Into My Arms, People Ain’t No Good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4mqHdd5gzo
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
3.5
Album cover hasn’t aged particularly well, though the art style is really cool.
I didn’t go into this expecting a whole lot since I’m not the biggest fan of the Janis Joplin stuff I’ve heard (see: Pearl), but right off the bat, I found Combination of the Two more fun than anything of hers I’ve heard prior. While Pearl felt like a take on soul and blues, this album is a burst of pure rock n roll energy, a genre I feel her voice and presence is much better suited for. The production isn’t quite as clean here, but that’s rock n roll baby!! I didn’t even realize Piece of My Heart was done during her time with The Holding Company till listening to this, but considering the sound of the track, it makes a lot of sense in hindsight. I had also kind of forgotten about the song, but this was a nice reminder that it’s actually a pretty quality track.
So, probably a hot take, but I think I can confidently say I enjoy Joplin’s time with the Holding Company more than her solo career. In fact, I really wasn’t even sold on her until I heard this. You can definitely tell she’s carrying the group (Oh, Sweet Mary is instantly escalated from a generic rock song to iconic when she jumps in on vocals), but the musical backdrop provided does wonders to enable her performance. Tripping on 60s drugs during the Summer of Love while listening to this stuff live sounds like an absolutely incredible experience.
Favorite songs: Combination of the Two, Piece of My Heart, Ball and Chain
Beastie Boys
4/5
4
Love The Beasties - I actually went as MCA as Nathan Wind as Cochese from the Sabotage music video for Halloween this past year. However, right off the bat, I can tell you this isn’t their best album, nor is it even probably Top 3. Still, it’s a really good one through and through. Sure Shot is a great opener, and the transition into Tough Guy is a great reminder of the punk roots of these guys. From there, aside from Sabotage, the album seems to descend into a lot of not as memorable hip hop fluff. But you know what? It’s still a heck of a lot of fun. Admittedly, I don’t think the instrumentals are quite as effective, but they also don’t break up the flow of the album either by any means.
So, I really debated my rating on this one. Since there aren’t a ton of individual songs I’ll probably re-visit, especially for a 20 track album, I initially went with a 3.5, but come on, it’s Beasties. Even if there aren’t a ton of standalone moments, I had a blast the whole way through and will likely be listening to the full album again at some point.
On a side note, I think this album cements my opinion that the Beastie Boys are basically the blink-182 of hip hop (or I guess blink-182 are the Beastie Boys of pop punk) - Both groups consist of multiple vocalists/songwriters that great at putting out material that’s kind of immature and not overly deep but absolutely tons of fun. If you don’t agree with me, please look no further than “Shit, if this is gonna be that kind of party, I'm gonna stick my dick in the mashed potatoes” on B-Boys Makin’ With the Freak Freak.
Carpenters
4/5
4
The first time I ever heard The Carpenters was in an episode of The Simpsons. I’m sure most Simpsons fans remember this one, but basically, in a high school flashback, Homer dismisses the song Close to You on his drive into school as cheesy garbage (opting instead for Steve Miller Band). Then, when he lays eyes on Marge for the very first time as she walks into his classroom, he can’t help but hear the song in his head, finally understanding it. It’s a great episode, and likely at least part of the reason why I find the song to be a genuinely touching song about love rather than cheesy garbage myself.
Anyway, this is a beautiful sounding album, and it really made me feel things at times. Karen Carpenter has an incredible voice, though I find her story heartbreaking, and in some ways it added to the emotional aspect of this album for me. I know the vibe is supposed to be happy and lovey-dovey, but I really couldn’t shake a sense of bittersweet sadness throughout my listening. Idk maybe I’m just weird, but I think because of that it resonated a lot more with me.
Great album, but it’s probably going to require a certain time, place, and headspace for me to re-listen.
Favorite songs: Close to You, We’ve Only Just Begun, Maybe It’s You
Hole
2/5
2
Pretty jarring going from The Carpenters to this. I’ve never been able to get much into Hole or Courtney Love - Maybe it’s because all of their music sounds like generic, uninspired alternative rock, maybe it’s because vocally she sounds like a less interesting version of contemporaries like Kim Shattuck or Kathleen Hanna, maybe it’s because she had Kurt Cobain murdered. Regardless, I can’t help but feel the only reason this album is even listenable let alone somehow acclaimed is due to Billy Corgan’s influence in the studio.
I genuinely couldn’t tell you what’s supposed to make this album special. As mentioned, this feels about as generic as 90s alternative rock can get. Supposedly it’s supposed to be conceptually focused around California, but that feels like a very loosely applied afterthought to give some kind of direction to the album.
I didn’t completely hate it, but not much stuck with me. On a second listen, I’ll admit Awful and Petals grew on me a bit. Overall, it felt a lot longer than it is.
Kacey Musgraves
1/5
1
This list has helped me develop some respect and appreciation for country music, a genre I’ve never been the biggest fan of, but modern country pop stuff like this… yeah still not a fan. I can acknowledge this isn’t an outright bad album in quality, but it also does nothing for me. I wish she had leaned more in either the pop or country direction instead of straddling the line of both, as the result comes off sounding like formulaic sounding radio fodder without much of its own identity, or at best, a second-rate Taylor Swift album.
All in all, it’s not incredibly versatile in vocal or musical performance, making it all feel very one-note. If you don’t enjoy the first song, you’re not going to enjoy the rest.
Can’t imagine a scenario where I’d willingly listen to this one again.
Prince
3/5
3
And in comes a Prince album, which I imagine will probably be one of the quickest 5s my Dad gives out, and his third overall. I know this is one of his all-time favorites, and while it provides me with wonderful memories of home and my childhood, for me it’s no Purple Rain. Comparatively, this one has a bit too much of an 80s pop-driven sound for my taste, and it just feels a little safer and less experimental than his later work. The title track is enjoyable, but honestly, if not for the vocals, it sounds like it could be a Michael Jackson song. From there, Little Red Corvette is a fantastic tune, though I've always thought the production feels a little off on it. Like, it almost sounds like the audio is compressed? Not sure what happened there, but it’s kind of a shame since the song is so great otherwise.
I didn’t recognize much of the album beyond that (even though I’m sure it was probably on in the background numerous times throughout my youth), but I found it pretty hit or miss. Delirious in particular I found a bit annoying musically, but then Let’s Pretend We’re Married was a fun return to form with a great beat to it. From there, it’s a lot of the over-sexualized funk and dance pop that Prince is known for, but they’re mostly all composed creatively enough that you don’t notice the majority are 6+ minutes long.
Fun vibes all around, but I don’t think it’s the most diverse offering of Prince’s output - his best was yet to come. Still, it makes me think of my Dad, so I couldn't go any lower than a 3.
Steely Dan
1/5
1
Oh my God Steely Dan is such a boring band, and living proof that putting personality into music is much more important than being technically proficient. Supposedly this album also helped invent the genre of yacht rock which makes it infinitely worse.
Honestly, I’d even go as far to say that I’d rather listen to a Beatles album over this.
The Zombies
3/5
3
I really thought The Zombies were more of a one-hit wonder group, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they actually have a solid output of 60s psychedelic rock sprinkled with Beach Boys-esque harmonies. There was something about that era of music production that has a bit of a haunting quality to it, but compared to artists like Jefferson Airplane and Donovan, it seems like The Zombies really leaned into the gothic aspect of that sound - Considering their name, maybe that’s the point. Despite very little of the actual subject matter being that dark, the general vibe is something that wouldn’t feel out of place at a Halloween party (I think Time of the Season was even used in The Conjuring?). That being said, if memory serves me correctly, the track A Rose for Emily is based on a spooky classical short story we read in high school English (I think Will actually showed me the song around the same time), so maybe there’s more than meets the eye here.
Anyway, not the most amazing thing I’ve heard, but I dig the sound, and I think singer Colin Blunstone’s voice pairs nicely. Will keep this in mind around the spooky season.
Favorite songs: Time of the Season, Care of Cell 44, A Rose For Emily, Beechwood Park
Also, if you haven’t heard it, Foo Fighters have a solid cover of This Will Be Our Year
Fatboy Slim
4/5
4
Probably not something most people would think I’m into, but as far as big beat and electronica goes, I think Fatboy Slim is the best in the game. His beats are so goddamn epic and catchy, and straight out of the gate this album starts with a strong example of that with Right Here, Right Now. Then, at nearly seven minutes, The Rockafeller Skank seems like the kind of song that would grow annoying quickly, being that’s it basically one line repeated over and over, but the dynamics of the composition are so snappy and interesting that it really doesn’t grow old, to the point where I probably wouldn’t even mind if it went on longer. I don’t think there are a ton of DJs that could pull that off, and he does so successfully a few times here on the album, though also notably on one of my personal favorites of his, Don’t Let the Man Get You Down (not on this album).
While not every song reaches the highs of the above mentioned tracks, they’re all still fun and have a good vibe to them, though I do have to praise Praise You in particular for being an absolute 10/10 song and probably the best of his career. If you haven’t seen the Spike Jonze-directed music video, I would recommend giving it a watch.
While not a 5/5 album, I do think Fatboy is a 5/5 in the genre, and if you enjoyed anything here I would encourage giving at least the rest of his Greatest Hits a listen.
Dire Straits
3/5
3.5
Great guitar work that feels masterfully executed without being overly flashy, something I think Mark Knopfler excels at. I actually much prefer the band’s sound here over that of their later career, when they were playing the guitar on the MTV. This album has such a distinct sound of its own, whereas the stuff on Brothers in Arms feels like it has a pop-focused shift, and for me results in blending in with similar stuff of the era. The subtle classic vinyl style is one I feel suits the band and Knopfler’s guitar style much better.
Everything on this album is enjoyable, but I have to highlight Sultans of Swing for being an all-time great song. I think it’s the perfect embodiment of what makes the sound on this album so unique and praised - it makes several advanced and technical guitar licks (or what one might call “shreds”) sound casual and foundationally based in the song instead of extra layering, like Knopfler isn’t even trying that hard to pull them off. It also has a great call and response dynamic with the vocals and guitar work, and most importantly, brings good memories of a time in high school when Will and I were both really into the track.
Anyway, not the best classic rock album out there, but definitely a more distinct and replayable one.
Favorite songs: Sultans of Swing, Down to the Waterline, Six Blade Knife
Japan
2/5
2
I didn’t realize the entire nation put out an album, but good on them. The 1979 release date surprised me, as it sounds like something that would have come out within the new wave scene in the mid 1980s. Considering the nation is responsible for things like the Walkman and Super Nintendo, I guess it makes sense Japan was ahead of their time here as well.
Anyway, while it seems they were pioneers for a sound that would define the decade ahead, they’re a lot less remarkable than any of the groups that would follow. The title track was decent enough, but I really couldn’t find anything to note beyond that. No real versatility across the board in any area, with most songs blending in with the next. When it was finished, I didn’t even realize I had listened to a deluxe version of the album and had heard some form of the song All Tomorrow’s Parties three times (which I guess is a Velvet Underground cover… oops, sorry Dad).
While there’s not a bad sound anywhere to be found, I can see why Japan isn’t talked about more within the context of new wave… or even really music as a whole. Definitely one of those groups where it seems their influence was much more impactful than their output.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
2/5
2
I hate this album cover. What’s with the babies?? And why do they look badly Photoshopped onto an illustration from a 1970s children’s book?? What does this have to do with the music??
Anyway, that out of the way, fine salsa music. Far from my favorite genre, but there were a handful of standout moments here. In particular, I really liked how Plástico kicked off with a unique, disco-style opening and then rounded out with a series of shouted call and response lines. Looking at the lyrics, it seems he was calling out an attendance list of Latin American countries with the backup singers responding “Present”, so I guess this is pretty much the salsa equivalent of California Love. I also liked the West Side Story references on Pedro Navaja, especially because I think they were used in a sarcastic way to complement an ongoing criticism of the American Dream and lifestyle, though I can’t speak Spanish, so I’m really taking Genius’ word on that one.
But yeah, even though it’s supposedly a pretty politically charged album thematically, musically most of it sounds like pretty standard salsa fare. Buscando Guayaba sounded like borderline elevator music. Ojos had a bit of a hook to it with its repetition of the title, but beyond that, not much else of note. I said it before and I’ll say it again - not my type of music, and I likely wouldn’t put it on in my own time. That being said, I’m a very lyric-driven person, so I would maybe re-visit and learn to appreciate more if I ever became proficient in Spanish.
Stereolab
2/5
2
Holy cow the beat on Metronomic Underground is so infectious I couldn’t stop thinking about it long after I moved on to other songs. But, as is tradition for the French, they quickly laid down and surrendered with a series of blah techno-rock stuff as mediocre as their food. Things picked up a bit around The Noise of Carpet when they shifted to a more guitar-oriented sound before quickly losing me again.
The production is incredibly repetitive, and when it works, it’s fun and catchy, and when it doesn’t, it’s annoying as all hell. While I don’t outright have a problem with the style of music production and song composition they went with, I think it gets old quickly, and ends up making the full hour-length release feel tiring. It feels a bit like putting all your eggs in one basket - if the one beat isn’t absolutely stellar, then there’s not much else to save the song, considering the accompanying lyrics are just as minimalist and seemingly intended to be catchy instead of clever or deep. Not that there’s anything wrong with writing lyrics that way and that they should always have some deeper meaning, but in this album’s case it kind of re-emphasizes the one-note nature.
Would listen to Metronomic again in a heartbeat and maybe Carpet, but most everything else is probably going to be a skip from me.
Air
3/5
3
Another album from our chain-smoking, crepe-eating friends overseas. Really expected this to be heavy electronica club music that I was going to dislike, but it turned out to be more of an instrumental easy listening album with electronic influence. There was actually nothing I disliked, with each song having a distinct sound to it helped set it apart from the others. That being said, I do feel like the quality slowly declines as it goes on, like Air decided to frontload the album with their best work. The first half is amazing at building intricate soundscapes that would be a great backdrop for getting work done, playing video games, or even getting high and vibing. The back half, while still good, doesn’t feel quite as compelling or elaborate, almost like something pulled from a royalty-free music site. It’s also a bit more downtempo, to the point where you can almost feel it slowing down (probably trippy on psychedelics).
All in all, a pleasant surprise, and one of the better instrumental-leaning albums I’ve heard. I definitely feel like Daft Punk took some inspiration from these guys.
John Lee Hooker
3/5
3
Wild that homeboy was 73 when this came out, especially considering it was the most successful release of his career. In some ways, it feels like a celebration of Hooker’s music and legacy with all the guest appearances on the album. I wasn’t too impressed with it at first when things kicked off with the title track, as it felt like an 80s “modernization” of his sound, but as things shifted to a more old school blues style I began to enjoy it a lot more. Hooker sounds great by his own merit (I particularly like his style of singing), but the guest musicians really help make this album stand out. Though I didn’t care for the backing music on The Healer, Santana’s guitar work is a highlight, and while I’ve never been the biggest George Thorogood fan, his slide guitar on Sally Mae is absolutely excellent. That all being said, the best moment here has to be Bonnie Raitt on I’m in the Mood - not only does she sound great, but her musical chemistry with Hooker is nothing short of blues at its best.
Not everything is amazing or noteworthy, but aside from the title track (which is ironically the biggest hit), don’t think you can go wrong listening to anything here. I’m curious now to hear some of his older stuff.
Van Halen
4/5
4
Ohhhh Van Halen. Sure, they’re cock rock, but I have to admit they really do have a number of great tunes, and a lot of them are on this album. In fact, I might go as far to say that this is their best album, so it always kinda puzzled me why my dad never owned this one on CD but had everything else, including Van Hagar stuff (I was going to mention here he would probably say like Fair Warning or something is a better album than this one, but after a phone call I changed my mind).
But come on, this is everything that makes Van Halen iconic. You can feel David Lee Roth’s energy all over, to the point where you can practically visualize him doing that jump splits thing numerous times throughout listening. To me, that alone cements him as one of the best rock frontmen in history and why Sammy Hagar could never compare. And of course you have to talk about Eddie’s guitar playing - I don’t think many musicians could put out just a guitar solo as a standalone track on an album and have it be as iconic and as successful as Eruption. It complements the album so well it almost feels weird to not have it segue into You Really Got Me, which, as a Kinks fan myself, I have to admit is better than the original. Runnin’ with the Devil is also an all-time great opener, and I can never not visualize the opening shot of Freak and Geeks when listening, when the song cues as it pans to the burnouts smoking under the bleachers. Between the iconic guitar riffs, harmonies, solos, and David’s shrieking, I would probably go as far to say it’s the band’s best song. Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love is of course iconic as well, though I always thought the line “You’re semi-good looking” line is kind of funny with how brutally specific it is. Finally, I’ll give a shoutout to Ice Cream Man - though a tad silly, it’s one of the band’s most underrated tunes.
Great debut, great album, and great production - the guitar tone on this album is insane. While Van Halen isn’t an artist I typically seek out, when they do find their way to my Spotify, it’s always a good time.
fIREHOSE
3/5
3
Hopefully they’re not in Ohio now 😬
I’ve never heard of this band or album, but I learned they’re basically the punk equivalent of New Order, forming and operating under a name separate from Minutemen after former frontman D. Boon passed away - though in this case with a new singer/guitarist in his place. So, with that, I expected this to have a punk sound to it, and while elements of that are definitely there, it seems like the new guy brought in a degree of folk influence, even going as far as to do a full-on cover of a folk song with Vastopol. The Minutemen roots are by no means absent though, with hints of their sound on some tracks (particularly in the basslines), and other tracks like Mas Cojones and What Gets Heard sounding like they could be full-on outtakes from the prior band.
My first impression was that it’s an overall diluted sound of a better band, but it definitely started growing on me by the end. While I’m not sure if there are any specific tracks I would go back and revisit, as a whole it didn’t outstay its welcome, and so I think it’s fair to call it a nice companion piece to Minutemen’s discography.
Roxy Music
2/5
2
I haven’t listened to much Roxy Music, but in listening to this album, right off the bat I can tell you that Talking Heads owe a lot to these guys - for better or for worse. Like Talking Heads, this album has its moments, but other times it comes off feeling like pretentious art pop with an unbearably annoying singer. Editions of You was a fun rockout song, but In Every Dream Home a Heartache was a lot of overdramatic bullshit, and the funk bassline on The Bogus Man isn’t quite catchy enough for the song to be anywhere near as half as long as it is, especially when compounded with the wailing vocals. Speaking of In Every Dream Home a Heartache, I saw a few people putting their nose up at it for being a love song about a blow-up doll. I don’t mind that aspect of it conceptually, but I gotta say The Police did it a lot better on Be My Girl - Sally from their debut (Did that album make the list?? It better have, it’s better than this).
Supposedly Morrissey called this the only “truly great British album”, and as is the case with most other of his opinions, I’m going to have to disagree with that here too.
Supergrass
3/5
3
I think Supergrass is technically the second band I’ve ever seen live, being that they opened for Foo Fighters just after another group called Year Long Disaster… or maybe the third if you want to count a Cheap Trick show that happened at a bandshell in my hometown when I was 1 (true story). Either way, I know very little about this group despite having been at one of their shows.
I enjoyed the first handful of tracks (aside from the jarring end to the title track), but it also didn’t feel like anything I hadn’t heard before. To me, this is Britpop at its most whelming, and I can see why these guys aren’t held quite in the same regard as Oasis or Blur. The back half especially is an assortment of unremarkable alternative rock, and the vocals across the board seemed to blend in for me with other artists of the era - depending on the song I feel like I could hear Thom Yorke or Billy Corgan.
Wouldn’t mind having on again, but probably wouldn’t seek out.
Thundercat
3/5
3.5
What a ride of rapid-fire electronic jazz this was. For an album entitled “Drunk”, I feel like alcohol is probably not the most ideal drug for listening. In particular, it reminded me of that LSD-inspired Todd Rundgren album we had, being that it feels more like a journey through music than it does a collection of songs. Between references to anime and video games, maybe this is a Millennial/Gen Z take on what Rundgren was going for 50 years ago. The sound and style are also notable considering Thundercat was the bassist for Suicidal Tendencies before this. Clearly the guy is talented though, and I’m glad he had a much more successful and frankly well-done transition out of punk bass playing than Dee Dee Ramone (if you’ve never heard Dee Dee King, prepare yourself before listening).
The features on this album are great (and a tad surprising in the case of Mr. Footloose himself), but Kendrick is by far the standout, and a gentle reminder that I need to listen to more of his stuff - maybe I will with this list?
Anyway, much like A Wizard/A True Star, while there aren’t a ton of individual songs that stood out to me, I definitely see myself listening to the full thing again. I’m still not entirely sure of my opinion tbh, but I can confidently say this is one of the most unique listening experiences I’ve had, and it will definitely stick with me.
Anthrax
4/5
4
Look, I’ve never claimed to be the biggest metal fan - as of this writing my Summary page on this site even has it listed as one of my least favorite genres. It’s just never been one that’s spoken to me much, and I just don’t think there are a ton of associated albums I would rate highly (see: Pantera). Now, that all being said, this is one of those exceptions.
When it comes to the “Big Four” of metal (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax), I’m fully in Anthrax’s corner. I’m not even entirely sure why that is - I can admit they don’t sound drastically different from the others, but there’s something about Joey Belladonna’s contrastingly clean high-pitched vocals and the backing chants that really set the band apart for me. And then there’s the speed of the music - the band rips so hard so fast that I can’t be convinced that there isn’t at least a degree of punk influence in there. Sure, it can be pretty same-y, but the thrash nature makes the album (and individual songs) feel so much shorter than they are. It’s just one rapid-fire flash of moshable material after another, without any hint of slowing down. Speaking of, Caught in a Mosh is not only a highlight of the album and an exemplification of all things that make this band work, but probably one of the best tunes to ever come out of the genre. It’s also a personal favorite of mine to listen to while working out - whenever my Spotify shuffles it in, I know I’m about to absolutely crush my next set (sorry if too bro-y, but if you find yourself at the gym I recommend tossing it in in the queue).
Among metal’s best for me, but it might just be because of my punk background. Regardless, I enjoyed quite a bit.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
3/5
3.5
I can see how someone could write them off as Public Enemy rip-offs, but even if The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy had a similar sound and focus, you really would have to overlook a lot of clever lyrics and beats to do so (though yeah the guy sounds just like Chuck D at times). Hell, on this album alone they tackle a broader range of social and political issues, including school shootings and environmental protection, both topics that I don’t think PE has ever touched, at least to my memory. However, despite that, I saw some other users labeling this as being aggressively woke, “phone=bad” music. Even on tracks like Television, The Drug of the Nation where I could maybe see that being the case, I still feel like some solid points and criticisms are raised, with race baiting in politics and the reframing of US atrocities in news ("Civilian death" to "collateral damages") being two topics in particular that stuck out to me. Yes, it’s a topic that PE had already covered, but I think the argument could be made that Television is more in-depth and insightful than She Watch Channel Zero?!, even if it is one of my favorite songs of theirs.
Now, that all being said, I admit I can see why this group isn’t looked back upon as fondly as Public Enemy. Overall, there’s much less of the palpable anger and call to action that PE does so well, and what I think really sells their message. Also, while I did genuinely like every song, most lack any kind of clear musical or vocal hook to really pull you in and impart a lasting impression. I wasn’t a big fan of the song Music and Politics in particular, with it coming across as to me as “I’m more woke than you”... despite the whole “poop in my dog bowl” line, which wasn’t so much a clever metaphor as it was just kind of gross. The take on Dead Kennedys was a nice surprise though, and being that it’s a remixed and re-written update rather than an outright cover, it probably embodies the spirit of the original more than anything else they could have done - I would imagine Jello is a fan.
So, while I don’t think they’re better than Public Enemy, I do think they complement the group nicely. Definitely worth a listen and shouldn’t be overlooked solely because of the parallels.
King Crimson
3/5
3.5
Despite being one of the most memed albums of all-time (probably second only to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea), I had never heard this before in whole, just the song 21st Century Schizoid Man and the nightmare-fuel album art.
Idk, I’m mixed here - this was a ride. I’ve always kind of liked the first song, so I knew what I was getting into there. Between the distorted vocals, blasts of saxophone, and thundering guitar riffs, it’s a great prog rock track. Then, all of a sudden things really slowed down and devolved into boring soft rock on I Talk to the Wind. The song just feels out of place, like it was lifted from a Buffalo Springfield album or something. However, just as I was losing interest, Epitaph came in hard, and was a song that really made me go “Oh, this is what all the hype is about.” The atmosphere it builds is among the best I’ve ever heard, and you can almost physically feel the musical soundscape you’re in while listening… so it’s a shame it leads into the bullshit that is Moonchild. Moonchild is the equivalent of seeing a painting of a square at an art gallery and thinking to yourself “I could have made that”. Imagine the looks you’d get if you were given the aux cord and put this on… and I say that as a Bright Eyes fan. And it’s not like this is a brief transition track or anything, this is like 25% of the album’s runtime. But, just as I was over it, things drastically shifted AGAIN with an absolute banger of a closer in The Court of the Crimson King, which I really don’t think can be described as anything short of epic. Even long after I finished my listening, I couldn’t get the chorus out of my head, especially with that huge crescendo on the delivery of “KINGGGGGGG”.
If I was a bigger Beatles fan, this album would probably remind me of The White Album - moments of brilliance between moments of wtf, though the production on this is miles ahead. So anyway, all that being said, this is really hard to rate. Like when it’s good, it’s REALLY GOOD, but when you don’t like two of the tracks on a five track album, how much can you say you really like it? I’m pretty sure that’s a failing grade in school. Was going to give 3/5 accordingly, but I do think that undercuts the great moments a bit, so bumping up a half point.
Faith No More
3/5
3
I really didn’t expect this to have the kind of versatility it does. I’ve always known Faith No More as a funk/rap metal group, but right off the bat, From Out of Nowhere was a hair metal-sounding banger that sounded like it could have come from a Mötley Crüe album. That’s followed by the classic FNM sound we all know and some love on Epic, which I have always thought is a great tune, though in this particular listening I really noticed the parallels with Red Hot Chili Peppers on the verses. Supposedly Anthony Kiedis accused the guy of ripping off his style when the music video came out, and I can definitely see where he’s coming from. I will say though, when comparing Epic to the track prior, it really showcases the vocal range Mike Patton has and Anthony Kiedis does not. RHCP also began shifting their sound away from that funk style immediately after this release with their next album Blood Sugar Sex Magik, so maybe FNM scared them out of the game ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The genre-shifting continued with Falling to Pieces, which was practically a piece of 80s pop rock and wouldn’t feel out of place being played on mainstream radio alongside artists like Bon Jovi or Journey… only for the album to then make a hard shift to a straight up metal song in Surprise! You’re Dead! At this point in my listening I was really impressed by how varied it was, but unfortunately, the creativity seems to wane from there and sometime around the title track I feel like you’ve gotten everything you need out of the album. I was excited to hear their take on War Pigs but it more or less sounds identical to the original but with Mike Patton.
Solid first half, weak back half - Might give a few songs a re-listen. Still probably among the best in the rap metal genre, but that’s a low bar.
ABBA
1/5
1.5
Look listmakers I warned you - If I was forced to listen to any more ABBA, bad things were going to happen. However, after browsing the tracklist and not recognizing any of the songs, I went in with my violent urges at bay, and fortunately, the opening title track was immediately enough of an interesting and new wave-esque evolution of their sound that I was fully talked off that ledge. Unfortunately, it devolves back into a lot of the classic ABBA bullshit immediately after, but as a whole I can concede there is a sense of maturation and progression from their prior sound.
The Visitors is a good tune. Would probably never listen to anything else off this ever again by choice, but if I had to, I guess it’s better than anything else of theirs I’ve heard. That being said, consider this your final warning, 1001 Albums.
Scott Walker
2/5
2
Never heard of the guy, but it seems he transitioned from being a teen pop sensation to this - for better or for worse. I appreciate his musical evolution and the introspective nature this album offers, but a lot of the time it came across to me as overdramatic and pretentious, and despite only being 32 minutes, I was pretty bored about halfway through. It also sounds just like that Divine Comedy album we had despite the 30 year gap between the two releases. In either case, they feel like strings-heavy, second-rate Frank Sinatra albums, though this one is probably just a touch stronger lyrically than A Short Album About Love.
I liked the Western-influenced opening track The Seventh Seal but not much else.
James Taylor
2/5
2.5
Really wanted to make a Simpsons reference and open my review with “Wow, former president James Taylor!”, but someone already beat me to that, so I’ll refrain.
I’ve always liked Taylor’s voice, but I’ve never found any of his music overly interesting. I guess it’s fine easy listening stuff, but it doesn’t really seem to have a ton of personality to it, so I don’t usually walk away with any lasting impression. Fire and Rain is a perfectly fine acoustic track, but never something I jump to. I did enjoy Country Road a bit more than I remembered in past listenings, but then found the guitar work on Oh, Susannah immediately after really annoying, and while Steamroller Blues was a nice take on the specified genre, I found his second stab at it on Oh Baby, Don’t You Loose Your Lip on Me to be kind of cringeworthy.
Had a bit more diversity of sound to it than I expected, but nothing that really changed my existing opinion. Not a ton to say beyond that - one of the most “okay” artists out there for me.
Joy Division
5/5
5
Come on, it’s Unknown Pleasures. I’m not sure that I have much to say about this one that hasn’t already been said a million times already, but I’ll take a stab at it.
This album isn’t like anything else I’ve heard, nor something I think anyone else had heard prior to its release, yet its influence is still felt in music today. You could argue artists like Siuoxsie Sioux and Kraftwerk helped pioneer the bass-driven gothic sound we associated with post-punk today, but Joy Division was truly the band that popularized and expanded it, and I think much of new wave and even modern indie has them to thank for that (if you want say New Order too, sure, but same diff). And much of that success and influence I think can be chalked up to the sheer talent of the band - Ian Curtis, brilliant lyricist, and while not everyone’s cup of tea, iconic vocalist. At the forefront of the goth and emo subcultures, I think it’s fair to credit Ian as among the first frontmen to sincerely utilize melancholy and personal anguish into popular music (yeah yeah Brian Wilson whatever). Sadly, we all know where that story goes - if you haven’t seen his biopic Control, I’m going to plug it again here, but know what you’re getting into. Continuing on, Bernard Sumner is also an incredibly talented composer and frontman by his own merit, and I think a large chunk of New Order’s identity and success comes from him. Peter Hook is an absolutely insane bassist, and his development to the aforementioned bass-driven sound really helped lay groundwork for numerous genres and artists even today, with his recent contributions to Gorillaz being a case in point of that. And finally, shoutout to Stephen Morris for a technical ability so good it almost sounds like a drum machine (though it may actually have been on later New Order releases…)
Not just a great album, but probably one of the most important ones out there. Disorder is one of the greatest songs ever written, though She’s Lost Control, Interzone, and Shadowplay are also personal favorites here - if you haven’t heard The Killers’ cover of that last one, I would strongly recommend giving it a listen. Honestly though, every track is great and flows perfectly into the next, creating an immersive and broody atmosphere unlike anything else. Like it or not, this is a mandatory listen for any music fan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-KvyKNSV7U
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
3.5
A perfect segue from Joy Division.
Having now listened to two of these guys’ albums, I gotta say they’re probably one of the most slept-on acts of the era. This album rivals the quality of their debut, an album I rated highly, though the production in particular is miles ahead here. Each song feels like a soundscape of gothic abstraction with the orchestral backdrop, and while that produces some very strong moments, it was a bit much for me at times and too same-y overall - I think I preferred the more stripped back approach of Crocodiles. Even if this one is a bit more theatrical and structured, fewer individual songs stuck out to me. The Killing Moon however is of course an all-time great track, and for me will always be tied to the opening bicycle scene of Donnie Darko, which I’ve always thought was a really effective choice for establishing the tone of the movie in the first minute or so (why did they change it to INXS in the Director’s Cut??)
Really good, but not my favorite of theirs. Will be listening to more!
Madness
1/5
1.5
These f***ers really never got around releasing this bad boy in America, forcing me to listen to a YouTube rip… and then didn’t even make it good.
There’s just way too much going on on this album. While it’s admittedly diverse in sound and style, they manage to overdo it on almost every track, resulting in the whole thing feeling overcrowded musically. In particular, things started off on a really jarring note with the title track. I had to rewind and check I loaded in on the right spot - there was just no introductory element to the track, making it feel more like something mid-listen than the opener. Part of me wonders if maybe it was an afterthought to put it first once the name of the album was decided upon. Things don’t get much better from there - The only song I found to be enjoyable or even really listenable was the album’s hit, Our House. Songs like Mr. Speaker, Sunday Morning, and New Delhi stood out to me as particularly grating, but to be honest I found most of this album annoying. Probably wouldn’t listen again.
Supposedly this is considered ska music, and if that’s the case, I gotta say America’s approach to the genre in the 90s was much better than this.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
3.5
Will’s going to think I’m crazy for this one.
Sure, it’s a lot of feedback. Sure, the production is far from clean. But buried in that rough exterior is absolute pop charm, and I think it’s the balance of the two that really makes this album remarkable. I can see how this would be majorly influential on the genre of shoegaze or even alternative rock - I’m pretty sure these guys were major influences on the Pixies. Hell, I can even hear elements of modern day lo-fi here (I swear Something’s Wrong sounds just like a lo-fi version of Ceremony by New Order). I’m not sure there’s much more I can say to explain exactly why I enjoyed this album, but overall there’s just a certain alternative/anti-mainstream expression that really speaks to me.
I will admit, as is often the case with shoegaze, it starts running together as it goes on, but it was never anything I got sick of at any point in the 40 minute runtime. Just Like Honey was an absolutely fantastic tune though, so I’ll definitely be listening to that again if not the full album.
Queen
4/5
4
Welp, this album confirms a theory I’ve had about Queen - their best songs aren’t their hits. Somebody to Love, Another One Bites the Dust, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Don’t Stop Me Now? Skip, skip, skip, and skip for me. (Yeah fine I’ll admit Bohemian Rhapsody and Under Pressure are great, though tbf that second one is 50% a David Bowie song) But goddamn, almost immediately, Father To Son went harder than anything else I’ve heard by the band - and then it just proceeded to keep going hard from there. I was half convinced I was listening to a Who song when The Loser in the End came on, so I had to look it up on Google to confirm I wasn’t hearing a Roger Daltrey cameo (it’s Roger Taylor).
The second half of the album leans slightly off of the harder rock elements of the first, and more into a theatrical and operatic direction, which in hindsight feels like foreshadowing to the future ventures of the band. That change in tone made a lot of sense when I learned Brian May composed the majority of the first half (Side White) and Mercury the second (Side Black). Each side is absolutely fantastic though and complements the other nicely, highlighting the strengths of both songwriters as well as the band as a whole and results in an overall consistently enjoyable and balanced listen.
I’ve never claimed to be the biggest Queen fan, so I didn’t expect to enjoy this one as much as I did. People are sleeping on Queen II.
Pixies
5/5
5
Another good segue from Joy Division - if that band influenced post-punk, new wave, and modern indie, Pixies influenced probably every band you like from the 90s (and even the ones you don’t). In particular, Nirvana and Weezer have cited the band as their primary influences, with Kurt Cobain even admitting Smells Like Teen Spirit was his attempt at writing a Pixies song… and Undone - The Sweater Song pretty much just being I Bleed off this album. So, it’s a shame Pixies generally aren’t widely as known as the bands they influenced - though admittedly their raw production and surreal lyrics may be a hurdle for some people. Like, what does any of it mean? Slicing up eyeballs, monkeys in heaven, whores in my head, hips like Cinderella? Idk man it’s Pixies, and it’s badass.
For anyone new to the band, this is the place to start. While I think an argument can be made for either Doolittle or Surfer Rosa as their best album, this one admittedly has a bit higher of production quality and pop structure to it (though yeah the Fight Club song is on the other one). A lot of their best and most iconic songs are here as well, including Debaser, Wave of Mutilation, Monkey Gone to Heaven, and Gouge Away, though I’ve always found the more pop-oriented tracks Here Comes Your Man and Hey to be a little overrated. Still enjoyable though, as is everything else here.
My only complaint is that they made the song No. 13 Baby the 11th track for some reason. Otherwise, near-perfect album. Great band to see live too - If you ever get a chance to see them (especially in a smaller venue), do it. They sound great, still have tons of energy, and since they’re not really a band with radio hits, you get a little bit of everything. One of my all-time favorite concert memories is jumping up and down to Debaser along with the pit around me, shouting the “Hey!”s and throwing our firsts up in unison.
Anyway, to wrap up - important band and album for any alt rock fans out there. You really can’t go wrong with anything they put out pre-initial breakup.
Nina Simone
3/5
3.5
Beautiful and profound.
Having not listened to much Nina Simone, I quite enjoyed this, with her distinctive voice being the highlight for me. I wasn’t immediately sold upon hearing the opening track I Love Your Lovin’ Ways, finding it a pretty generic slice of the era, but Four Women won me over with its smooth oldies jazz sound and social message regarding depictions of black women. As the album went on, Nina’s charm continued to slowly unfold as her range in both performance and songwriting ability grew and grew. It’s no wonder this album inspired artists from a variety of genres even years after its release. I listened to David Bowie’s and Jeff Buckley’s respective covers of Wild is the Wind and Lilac Wine after this and was really impressed with how they were able to capture Simone’s spirit while still containing elements of their own iconic artistry. Of course, they were in good hands to begin with choosing songs from here.
It didn’t blow my mind, and to be honest I don’t see myself listening to this often, but there’s definitely a vibe I appreciated and would likely come back to in the right time and place (I think my mom would like this too). If I ever decide to host a fancy cocktail party, this would be high on my list to play.
David Bowie
2/5
2
Oh boy. Look, I love David Bowie and would rate the vast majority of his albums highly, but Young Americans… yeah I never got this one. Out of all of his studio albums released pre-90s, I might go as far to say this is my least favorite. The kooky space alien Ziggy Stardust does an album of funk and lounge music-bordering R&B? I guess in a way that’s the kookiest direction he could have gone at that point, but it doesn’t work for me. And he does a Beatles cover? Why? And it’s somehow worse than the original?? I guess John Lennon was his homeboy during the recording of this album, which explains a lot and adds on another layer of suckitude.
The funk moments are the stronger moments here, but even then I don’t think Bowie was doing anything particularly remarkable or better than actual funk artists of the era. The one saving grace of the album is Fame, one of my favorites of his, but that’s about all it has going for it. The title track is soooooo boring and overrated.
Will still score 2 because Fame and because it’s Bowie.
Van Morrison
2/5
2.5
Idk man this didn’t really give me a lot to bite into - pretty generic classic vinyl. And It Stoned Me was a decent opener, but I was pretty disappointed by the title track, finding it a pretty boring piece of jazz that could probably rival some elevator music. The next few tracks were slightly better, with Into the Mystic probably being my personal favorite here, and while I appreciated the unique sound to each, I still didn’t find myself overly impressed with anything. Unfortunately, it’s downhill from there - as it turns out, this is actually an incredibly frontloaded album, and there is just nothing interesting going on in the back half.
I guess I can acknowledge and commend the versatility, but nothing about any of the songs provided a notably standout moment for me. While I don’t think Van Morrison is a bad songwriter, his stuff doesn’t resonate with me - one of the more mid albums I’ve heard so far.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
4.5
Alright, Smashing Pumpkins - one of my favorite bands. While their best album in my eyes will always be Siamese Dream, I can see why some consider this their magnum opus. The double-album was a huge step forward in the evolution of the band and is full of creative, diverse, and, at times, theatrical songwriting, BUT it raises the age old question… is it too long?
Look, this album starts off 10/10. The titular piano ballad is absolutely beautiful and sets the tone for the album immediately without outstaying its welcome - and then we kick into the absolute banger that is Tonight, Tonight. It’s one of my favorite songs by the band, and I’ve also always thought the music video captures the vibe of both the song and album perfectly (it also features the future voice actor for Spongebob in the main male role!) Then we get into some heavier, electric guitar-driven stuff that serves as a nice reminder that these guys can really rock out. Of course Zero and Bullet with Butterfly Wings are classics, but I’ve always thought Jellybelly and Here Is No Why are absolutely great tunes by their own merit and hold their own despite being cramped between a series of mega hits. From there, I feel like we hit a little bit of a slump in the album as things slow down with To Forgive. While things start picking up again with Galapagos, Porcelina of Vast Oceans is the last epic moment of this side before things end with a bit of a weak closer in Take Me Down (sorry James - Blew Away is a great tune though!).
Part 2 starts incredibly strong with two of the band's most underrated tunes in Where Boys Fear to Tread and Bodies (the latter I always thought was a good skateboarding song). After that, I feel like you get a bit of a mixed bag, generally alternating between a really solid tune and a more forgettable one. Among those solid tunes is 1979, which, yes, is the band’s most popular song, but honestly has every right to be. Despite the name, the song feels timeless, and even as someone born 18 years after, I think of my high school friends and shenanigans whenever I listen. Finally, after 26 tracks, the band sticks the landing with By Starlight (probably the best slow song on the album) leading into Farewell and Goodnight, which, although a tad cheesy, feels like an appropriate conclusion.
So is it too long? Is a double-album justified? I definitely think the argument could be made that it is and that there are songs that could be cut, but I also feel like that would take away from the grandiose, theatrical nature of the album in some ways, and honestly, even the weakest points of this album aren’t bad. That being said, I do feel like the two-hour runtime does dissuade me from re-listening to this one too often, so do with that what you will.
As stated, not my favorite of theirs, but very, very, very good… and appropriately, I think this is now my longest review as well. Final thoughts - if you’re in the camp this album is too long, as a test of Billy’s musical drive/insanity, there were at least 30 more fully finished songs prepared for this album that didn’t make the final cut. Let that soak in.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
1/5
1.5
“Ok gang, let’s see who’s really under this penguin mask”
*gasps*
“Brian Eno???”
“Grrr, and I would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for you meddling kids”
Look, I’m not going to deny Eno is a talented musician and producer - he was a major contributor to Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy after all - but man I don’t get this ambient stuff. I guess this was slightly less repetitive than his Airport album, but overall I still didn’t find it that enjoyable. It has moments where it feels like it’s about to hit a point of cozy background music, only to then be interrupted by some weird tangent or piercing violin. At one point I had to check Spotify to see how far I had made it and was pretty relieved to see I was eight songs in, only to then learn the last three songs are actually the longest and take up over half of the album’s runtime. I was pretty checked out from there.
It’s a shame, because I feel like there are some decent moments as far as ambient music goes, but it’s almost always ruined by some bullshit. Don’t see myself re-visiting.
Talking Heads
1/5
1
Oh my God Brian Eno produced this… smh.
I’ve mentioned before that I'm not the biggest Talking Heads fan. Like, what even is this music? Funk music for people who are really into Andy Warhol and Roxy Music? That’s the vibe I’ve gotten from the band on everything of theirs I’ve heard prior, and that’s what I was greeted with immediately here. Only in this case, halfway through, it was sprinkled with some of the most annoying electronic noises I’ve ever heard (dammit Eno!). It didn’t get much better from there… in fact, I groaned once I realized Once in a Lifetime is on this album. The only thing I may ask myself when I hear this song is why I’m listening to it. The rest of the album is just repetitive electronic loops with David Byrne being David Byrne all over them - the strongest points for me were the songs at the end that involved him dialing it back a bit.
I have no idea why these guys are critical darlings with a cult following. Because that’s the case though, I’m sure we’ll be seeing even more of them on this list, so I guess they have a couple more chances coming to them ahead. I do genuinely like the song And She Was, so hopefully they have other stuff out there I’ll enjoy as well.
Amy Winehouse
3/5
3
As someone not familiar with anything of Amy’s that isn’t on Back to Black, I liked this. It gave me the impression of listening to her perform at a dimly lit, smoke-filled night club… or maybe a cafe. Considering the album is named after Sinatra, I think that was the vibe she was going for (the night club one obviously… though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t entertained by the thought of hearing My Way at a Coffee Bean). Anyway, that’s about all this album has going for it - there really aren’t a ton of specific remarkable moments along the way. I enjoyed the songs Fuck Me Pumps, What is it About Men, and Amy Amy Amy a little bit more than the others, but to say they’re standouts feels a bit like overpraise.
An instance of an album where I think I appreciated the atmosphere it provided more than the actual songs. It’s fine enough, though I think I can see why her follow-up is more acclaimed.
Missy Elliott
2/5
2
I haven’t heard much of Missy’s stuff, but… I was expecting more? Hell, maybe I have heard some of her stuff before and didn’t realize it, because this didn’t sound like anything I hadn’t heard before. It also just didn’t feel like it’s aged particularly well musically - whereas contemporary releases from hip hop artists like Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Lauryn Hill, and Outkast still feel like they hold up today for the most part, the production here makes it feel very much like a product of the late 90s. I know this is produced by Timbaland who is supposedly a legend, but I don’t feel like I’m hearing GOAT here. If anything, the highlight for me here was Busta Rhymes.
Don’t have much to say beyond that - It’s not bad, but I wasn’t much of a fan.
Metallica
3/5
3.5
I’m not much of a Metallica fan, but I was really curious to check this one out when I learned it’s an orchestra-accompanied live album. I don’t believe I’ve heard anything live by these guys beforehand (no less with an orchestra), so I went in with an open mind, hoping to expand my perception of the band - even with that daunting 133-minute runtime (longer than Mellon Collie… and I think our longest so far).
First off, I loved the usage of the The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly score to start the show. I know they’re not the only band that’s done it (Green Day played it at a show I was at… and I think The Ramones used to do it before either band did), but I can’t fault the band at all because it’s an incredibly epic way to start a concert and never fails to build hype. Once the actual Metallica set started, it was immediately clear how much the orchestra added to the performance - and that’s as someone who has never even heard The Call of Ktulu prior. As it transitioned in Master of Puppets, a song I’m much more familiar with, the added dynamics of the orchestra completely validated its usage to me, and I was completely sold for the rest of the show. I definitely don’t think any of the tracks here are the definitive versions of the songs by any means (well except for the new songs No Leaf Clover and Human I guess), but I do feel like new life is breathed into them, and the band’s catalogue is both complemented and rounded out because of it. Speaking of No Leaf Clover - “the new song” a near 20-year old band introduces at their concert is actually the most popular one here? How often does that happen?
While I don’t think it quite turned me into a Metallica fan, I had fun, and I could definitely see this being an all-time favorite live album for someone who is a bigger fan. And honestly, the more I thought about the runtime, the more I was okay with it. How many live albums out there do you see that are 40-ish minutes? Like what? Was it a short set? Or are we only hearing the “best of”? And even then, in person, a lot of bands don’t venture much further than that 90-minute mark (*cough* *cough* blink-182 *cough* *cough*), so I have to imagine both the fans present here and the ones that listened to this album were very content with this performance.
Suicide
1/5
1
I feel like I was violated listening to this thing. Being that it was released in 1977, you could argue that it was ahead of its time, but my takeaway was that there was clearly still a ways to go in electronic music. I mean, the keyboard on Ghost Rider was so harsh that I thought I was about to be impaled by the audio waves. Johnny was kind of funny to me at least because all I could think of was the opening to the Peanuts theme - kept waiting for Schroeder to jump in with the high part. Unfortunately, my mood quickly shifted when I became very, very uncomfortable right afterwards with Girl. And then don’t even get me started on Frankie Teardrop. It was clear about a minute in that the next nine were about to be very long and… and then… then the screaming started 0_0
One day I’m going to wake up with a cold sweat in the middle of the night thinking about this song.
Supposedly this is supposed to be a take on punk, and I guess I can hear that in its rawness, but I feel like punk is supposed to stand for something, and I don’t think this stands for anything. Call it experimental if you want, it doesn’t make it listenable.
Eels
4/5
4.5
Really happy Eels made this list. While not an all-time favorite of mine by any means, I do think the band is criminally underrated and has some great tunes… and yes, not just the ones on the Shrek soundtracks. But holy cow, I’ve been underrating them too - this album is fantastic.
Novocaine for the Soul is a great song and opener - I’ve always loved the track, and here it’s really effective at setting the tone and themes for the rest of the album. I also really loved how it segued into Susan’s House, a song that sounded completely different (like it could have come off of A Tribe Called Quest album) but never came off as jarring or out of place. As I kept listening, I learned that was the case with the majority of this album - incredibly diverse in sound, yet somehow it flows perfectly.
There are a number of songs here I had never heard before but fell in love with instantly, including Rags to Rags - especially the line “And one day I'll come through, My American dream, But it won't mean a fuckin' thing” with the music cutting out on that last part. Guest List was another favorite, with that goddamn “I’m never on your list” outro hurting me somewhere deep. Not Ready Yet, Mental, and of course My Beloved Monster were also highlights. Yes, the latter is known for being in Shrek, but everyone knows the soundtrack to that film went way harder than it had any business doing so, and this song is no exception - I listen to the song semi-regularly because of it. There’s something about the quiet verse/loud chorus dynamics of the song that I absolutely love (probably because of Pixies).
Finally, Manchild was a beautiful closer, though I have to ask - is this the first time an artist used their ex-girlfriend’s voicemail in a song?? I guess modern emo bands have just been copying this guy’s notes this whole time.
A great time, especially for miserable times, front to back. Airtight musically and lyrically - I’ll be listening again. Probably soon.
Depeche Mode
3/5
3
I kept wondering why I felt like I had just recently heard Never Let Me Down Again, then remembered it closed the first episode of The Last of Us. Great show, and great song. Unfortunately, that ended up being the highlight for me - the rest of the album is pretty same-y and unremarkable. While I liked the sound throughout, it didn’t provide a lot of standout moments.
So, takeaway, while I don’t dislike Depeche Mode, this cemented an opinion I’ve held of the group for some time now - that they’re basically the Great Value brand Tears For Fears. Like, tell me half the songs here (and that’s being generous) couldn’t be put on a TFF album without anyone noticing. Though, that’s probably an insult to TFF, who are a really great and probably better group - like, I would rather listen to Songs From the Big Chair than this again.
It was fine, but outside of Never Let Me Down Again, I’m just not sure how driven I’d be to listen again considering I can get a better version of this sound elsewhere.
TV On The Radio
2/5
2.5
This reminded me of Depeche Mode a bit with the first song, but then shifted into much more of a heavier-electronic direction (though I feel like I heard some Coldplay in there at times).
Anyway, I walked away with mixed feelings on this. This style of electro-rock is generally pretty hit or miss with me, and I found that to be the case with most of the songs on this album. Sometimes it does some cool things, but other times I thought the electronic emphasis was a bit much or a tad repetitive, and honestly, I think that made the album feel kinda long. That being said, I really, really liked DLZ, both in regards to the intense, musical atmosphere it builds and from a lyrical perspective. In particular, I loved the line “But this is beginning to feel like the dog wants a bone” to close out the verse and kick off the chorus - it’s a cool line that just feels like it fits the tone of the song perfectly. Don’t have a ton of specific comments beyond that, though I will credit Lover’s Day for comparing love to cannibalism - that was a new one for me.
So, that all said, this one kind of balances out to middle-of-the-road status for me.
Caetano Veloso
2/5
2
It seems our summer of love-era psychedelic scene made its way south at some point. Hearing a fusion of more traditional Latin American music with what reminded me of The Zombies was interesting at first, but I feel like it ultimately kind of resulted in the worst of both worlds, as no part of this album comes anywhere near the abstractly trippy or catchily danceable highs of either genre.
I will say, I’m trying to open my mind as much as I can with this list, but some of these foreign language albums can be hard for me, as I’m a very lyric-driven person and only fluent in English. I really need something else strong to grab onto if I’m going to be drawn in, and this didn’t give me that.
Didn’t dislike, but I found it pretty forgettable, and I don’t think I’m likely to return.
David Bowie
4/5
4
At the risk of coming off as melodramatic, I feel like I have to start this review off by saying David Bowie’s death is still the one that has upset me more than any other famous person to date. I can remember exactly when and where I was when I heard the news - on my way to my morning class at the Psychology building at Michigan State University… and I cried. I previously talked about what the man means to me in my Hunky Dory review, so I won’t get too into that here, but January 11, 2016 was a sad day in history for me (he passed the day before, but the news didn’t break until the next day… no pun intended)
Anyway, sorry for the schmaltzy anecdote, but I do believe his terminal diagnosis and eventual death is important context for the listening of this album. These songs were knowingly his final creative offerings, his final testimony, and a final thank you to the world and those who loved him.
Musically, it sounds unlike anything of his released prior - I think the closest comparison would be the soundscape of the Berlin Trilogy, but even then this feels distinct in that it relies more on a jazz backdrop than an electronic one. Supposedly Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly was a huge influence, which I’ve always found fascinating. I think it speaks a lot to Bowie’s musical passion that a modern icon of a completely different genre could influence and inspire him this late into his career (reminds me a bit of Johnny Cash and Hurt).
Lyrically, the album is filled with introspection and reflection upon a career and life that was unapologetically brazen. However, it definitely adds a certain haunting element to the music - I mean, look at the first verse of Lazarus:
“Look up here, I'm in heaven
I've got scars that can't be seen
I've got drama, can't be stolen
Everybody knows me now”
Chills.
So, that all being said, this isn’t my favorite Bowie album, nor do I find myself picking out individual songs to listen to on it often. I would even say there are some minor misses for me here in ‘Tis a Pity She Was a Whore and Sue (Or in a Season of Crime), which I don’t feel like quite fit the rest of the album tonally. Yet, as a whole, the complete package is a unique piece of art that feels cathartic whenever I decide to listen, like another chance to say goodbye to an old friend. It may not be perfect, but it’s an excellent bookend to the career of an artist who only falls to this Earth once in a lifetime.
Manic Street Preachers
2/5
2.5
I’m not going to lie, I thought these were the guys that wrote that Broken Phone Booth song, so I was disappointed to not see it on this album. Manic Street Preachers, Primitive Radio Gods, it’s not just me, right?
Anyway, all that to say I apparently didn’t know anything by these guys. After listening, I learned it’s basically pure 90s Britpop, and I gotta say, the more of the genre I listen to, the more I’m starting to think Oasis is the only band that really pulled it off. Like, it doesn’t sound bad, but after my first listen, I retained nothing. So, I gave it a second listen, and this time really tried to focus in on the individual songs, but I swear every track on this album sounds exactly the same.
I thought it was kind of funny that the Wikipedia article mentioned they put a heavy emphasis on the drum production here, because even after knowing that fact, I still couldn’t detect any kind of distinct emphasis or flair on the drum track. In fact, thanks to Wikipedia, the most interesting part of this whole experience for me was when I learned that this is the band’s first album without former lyricist/guitarist Richey Edwards, who straight up disappeared a year prior and still hasn’t been found to date. He was presumed dead in 2008, but apparently there have been sightings of him in India?
I digress, the pacing of this album was pretty good and never dragged, but really it’s just mediocre Britpop at best. Would rather listen to Oasis (or maybe some early Supergrass as my Spotify shuffle has been getting me into lately!)
The Smiths
4/5
4
Look, I love The Smiths and consider them to be one of my favorite groups. While most consider The Queen is Dead to be their magnum opus (myself included), Meat is Murder is also oftentimes thrown out there as the group’s best… and I gotta say I think those fans are over-inflating this one. It’s very good for sure, and some of the band’s best songs are here, but there are also a few misses for me. In particular, I have to call out Barbarism Begins at Home - I know it’s a fan favorite, but I can’t stand this song. The funk riff is so annoying and feels so out of place… and then they made it seven minutes long?? Wtf. If I wasn’t listening for the sake of review, I would be skipping this one.
Anyway, that out of the way, I do want to highlight the good, because the majority of this album really is fantastic. The Headmaster Ritual is a great opener and song, and I’ve always considered it to be one of the catchiest and most danceable of The Smiths’ catalogue. Following that, while Rusholme Ruffians isn’t an all-time great or particularly deep by any means, the bassline is incredibly infectious (shoutout to Andy Rourke). I Want the One I Can’t Have is a vibe we’ve all experienced at one point or another. For Smiths fans, it’s probably associated with the girl they’ve been too scared to talk to for six or so months that ends up having a boyfriend. What She Said is a short, fun blast of energy. Then, we get to the best track on the album - That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore. Yeah, it’s the exact brand of self-pity that people like to hate on Morrissey for, and maybe you could argue the outro is overly long and repetitive, but I personally find the build-up of the vocal delivery and music to be profoundly beautiful and dynamic in the best kind of broody, gothic way.
Unfortunately, the album starts losing me a bit from there, with two pretty mediocre tracks Nowhere Fast and Well I Wonder leading into Barbarism. Ironically, I think people hate the title track for mostly the same reasons I hate Barbarism, but there’s something about Moz’s delivery of “Murrderrrrr” I’ve always kinda liked, so I would argue the album ends on a high note.
To conclude, it’s The Smiths. Love these guys, and I’ll always rate them highly, but sadly this one just doesn’t quite earn the honor of a 5/5 from me.
Guns N' Roses
2/5
2
Groan. Here we go. Probably the cock rock-iest of all the cock rock bands. If there’s any one frontman I would punch in the face… it’d probably be Gary Glitter. BUT, if we’re talking those without heinous sex crimes, it would be Axl Rose. The dude is a pompous diva, and everything he says and does makes me want to punch him in the face. As Kurt Cobain said himself, “The guy is a fucking sexist and a racist and a homophobe, and you can't be on his side and be on our side. I’m sorry that I have to divide this up like this, but it's something you can't ignore. And besides, [GNR] can't write good music."
Honestly, where’s the lie? If you disagree with the claims of bigotry, look at One in a Million (Google the lyrics, don’t give this fool a Spotify play). Alternatively, look at any comment he’s made towards a woman. As far as bad music goes… well, Axl certainly is no Bob Dylan. Out Ta Get Me quite literally ends with the line “So you can suck me, Take that one to heart”.
That being said, I realize that’s not what this album is about - it’s about sex, drugs, and rock n roll, and I can’t argue that the album succeeds in that regard. I mean, there’s a reason it’s considered a rock classic, especially with three of the songs here being staples of any rock radio station. The production is incredibly clean, the songs are both catchy and commercially palatable, and I’ll even admit I had Welcome to the Jungle and Sweet Child O Mine on my first MP3 player… yet I don’t find myself listening to them (or anything else by the band) anymore. Maybe I’ve heard the songs too many times, but really I think I’ve just grown kind of jaded. The further into music I’ve explored, the more I feel like the band is the most superficial side of the art form, like they only learned their instruments to get girls. There’s no real substance here, and honestly, it’s really same-y, like every song that isn’t one of the big three is trying to sound like them. Also, I really don’t feel like there’s anything landmark about this album - just about every other hair metal band you can think of was doing this before GNR, and honestly are probably all better. I really couldn’t tell you what makes people put this band on a pedestal in comparison, but I guess there’s something about them that just really speaks to the kind of crowd that’s likely now drinking Miller Lite out of protest for Bud Light becoming “too woke”.
I debated a 1, but I can’t confidently say this is a bad album. I can however say that it and the band itself are both largely over-inflated in musical history.
Syd Barrett
3/5
3
So THIS is what Syd was up to after Floyd… getting really into the University of Maryland’s college sports program.
Still not entirely sure how I feel about this one, but it definitely grew on me. I wasn’t too impressed with anything I had heard during my first listen, but upon listening again I thought the imperfect, raw nature of the album had a certain charm to it that seemed to offer a small taste of the mind of Syd Barrett (Lord only knows what was actually going on in there). Terrapins, No Good Trying, and Here I Go are all songs I can look back on now and say I enjoyed, though others like Love You and Octopus felt a bit Beatles-esque for my taste.
The listening of this album sent me into a bit of a Syd Barrett deep dive, and the more I read about him, the more tragic I found his life - It really seems like the guy had some deep-rooted, crippling mental issues and that the LSD only exacerbated them. He was loved dearly by his bandmates, who never had any intention of ejecting him from the band, but at a certain point it became apparent the man was no longer capable of performing live (He played a single show after the release of this album and walked off after four songs). David Gilmour and Roger Waters even stepped in to help him finish/produce this album purely out of love for an old friend. That being said, I can’t help but wonder how listenable this would be without their influence…
Anyway, I digress, I can walk away saying I appreciated and enjoyed, but I definitely didn’t find it amazing by any means - not sure if I’d give a full re-listen.
Gary Numan
2/5
2
Got this guy confused with Randy Newman at first and was really confused when the album started. Anyway, I’m not familiar with Gary, but from what I heard here it seems like he was majorly influential on the upcoming new wave scene. That being said, I think Kraftwerk had already been doing this kind of thing for a few years now. Maybe they were an influence on him, maybe they just sound similar due to the limitations of early electronic music, either way, I think I enjoyed Kraftwerk a bit more. Whereas their album felt like it had a sense of atmosphere and innovation to it, this just kind of sounds like one long electronic loop… like seriously, there were multiple moments where the next song kicked in and I was like “Isn’t this just the same beat as before?” I might be exaggerating a bit when I throw that kind of claim out typically, but I am 100% earnest when I say it here.
Bum BUM Bum. Bum BUM Bum. Bum buuum Bum. Bum buuum Bum.
You can hear it, right??
Didn’t hate it, but it’s not for me. I’ll stick with my TRANS. EUROPE. EXPRESS.
Louis Prima
2/5
2.5
Look Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction was a good effort, but when it comes to the wildest, you ain’t got shit on Louis Prima over here. Imagine just lamely welcoming people in like some kind of jungle doorman when Louis is out here running the kingdom (as King Louie in The Jungle Book). Both albums also literally contain a song called “Night Train”, though GNR’s is awkwardly shoved into one word. I’ll let you guess which one is better.
Alright, enough shitting on GNR. Classic 50s jazz stuff here that would fit perfectly in a Fallout game (I had to double check that it wasn’t already). I recognized the song Jump, Jive, An’ Wail as something my middle school choir teacher used to play, but I think her version was actually the cover done by Brian Setzer of Stray Cats fame.
I realize I’m just spitting out anecdotes here, and I think that’s mostly because I don’t have much else to say on this one. It’s fine. I don’t hate this kind of music by any means, but I don’t feel like I’m hearing the best of it here. Honestly, I’d probably just listen to anything off the Fallout soundtracks instead of this again. Not that I disliked, but this is probably as mid as the genre can get for me.
Fuck Axl Rose.
Pink Floyd
4/5
4.5
Nearly ten years ago, a sixteen year-old Luke would have probably told you that Pink Floyd is one of the greatest bands to ever walk this Earth… despite only having listened to three of their albums (I’ll let you guess which ones). Anyway, my group of friends were mostly all fans of the band, and Dark Side vs. The Wall as the GOAT was a big debate among us. I think I was actually the only one in Dark Side camp, but sitting here a decade later, I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time I listened to either all the way through. So, this should be a good test of my musical maturity, right?
Whereas Dark Side is more of a concept album, The Wall is an outright rock opera with a more clear sense of narrative, and truthfully, it’s one of the best albums to ever do so - though it also helps that it had an accompanying movie to further flesh it out (see what I did there?). Both contain an assortment of amazing and iconic tracks, but The Wall specifically has a lot more eerie, transitional stuff… though that’s the point. It was never intended to contain a collection of potential singles or hits, it was meant to tell a story and be consumed in one go, start to finish. And a story it tells - if you’ve ever felt alone, isolated, and/or on the verge of breakdown, The Wall probably hits home.
Diving into the songs, In The Flesh? Is an all-time great opening track, and I love how it serves as an overture for the album, with its reference to the upcoming show working in both a narrative and meta sense (and the usage of the reprise is great as well). Mother, Goodbye Blue Sky, Young Lust, Run Like Hell, and Comfortably Numb are also all great tunes, and I think this particular listening may have cemented Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 3 as my favorite of the three. While I enjoy the kids on Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2, for the most part, I’ve always found the disco nature of the song kind of annoying - usually a skip for me when in shuffle. However, the track I’ve been sleeping on the most? Nobody Home. My Dad once told me a personal story he associates with the song, which really encouraged me to give it a thorough listen - and it’s great. I love the piano and musical build-up, highlighting a kind of beauty in utter despair and isolation.
I did go back and listen to Dark Side after this, and ultimately, I don’t really think it’s fair to say one is better than the other. They’re both fantastic albums by their own merits, with one being a collection of amazing songs and the other being a unique musical journey through sound and mind. What I would opt to listen to now would likely depend on my mood, but at this point in my life I don’t think I would rate one better than the other (spoilers for my upcoming Dark Side review I guess). So high school friends, I’m willing to call it a tie, though I’ll concede that this is a one-of-a-kind album even still now, decades after release, and yes, Comfortably Numb may in fact contain the greatest guitar solo of all-time.
Anyway, on that note, random funny anecdote I gotta throw out there - the first time I listened to this album was on a burned CD from my friend Kaleb, who accidentally put a two second gap in-between each song. Not quite the same experience lol.
DJ Shadow
3/5
3.5
I’m familiar with this guy’s name from collaborations with other artists, but I think this is my first time listening to any of his standalone work - though a lot of this sounded really familiar to me. I had to look up the songs Organ Donor and What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt. 1 in particular to see if I knew them from somewhere else or if I knew the original source, but didn’t see anything I recognized. Honestly, it may just be because they sound like video game music (picturing a haunted house level with Organ Donor). I also got strong Moon Safari vibes overall with its style of electronic, easy listening ambience, though its reliance on samples also made it feel like a mellower Fatboy Slim album. Supposedly this is the first album ever to exist solely of samples, and I’ll give credit to Shadow’s creativity and innovation there. While I don’t know a ton about mixing and remixing music myself, I have to imagine trying to seamlessly blend existing stuff together must be a tougher challenge at times than writing something from scratch - especially by 1996 standards.
Anyway, I struggled with my rating a bit on this one - I really liked the overall vibe, but I’m not sure if there’s much on here I would go back to and re-visit. Building Steam with a Grain of Salt was probably my favorite track with how atmospheric it felt, though I also really liked the audio track of the woman on Mutual Slump (Do you feel like Darth Vader?) The only thing on the album I wasn’t a real big fan of whatever that stuttering audio effect was on Changeling - thought I was having connection issues with my speaker for a sec.
Good, but not great - pretty good album to have on for getting work done though.
LL Cool J
4/5
4
Man, what a childhood throwback. And by childhood throwback, I’m referring almost exclusively to the track Milky Cereal. How is that one of the least popular songs on the album?? I thought all of the wordplay and callouts to my favorite cereals were so cool as a kid, and I still could probably recite the whole thing for you today.
Anyway, despite that track being a childhood staple and my dad owning the album on CD, I don’t think I’ve heard anything else from it prior aside from the title track. So, I really wasn’t sure what my opinion was going to be, but with the first song in I knew that I was in for a good time ahead. The charm of Milky and Mama is present in every song, and I really don’t think I could find anything unenjoyable if I tried. Beats are catchy and delivery is smooth - this is among 90s rap at its best. How was LL never featured in a Tony Hawk game?? Murdergram in particular stood out to me as fun and skateboard-able, though of course I have to call out Mama Said Knock You Out as a banger. Special shoutout to the line “Don’t call it a comeback, been here for years” - my Dad’s been saying it for probably just as long, and I may have once or twice as well in my lifetime. However, what I never realized till now? Another catchphrase from my Dad, “I gotta thank God, 'Cause he gave me the strength to rock hard” also comes from the song. Anyway, great tune. I also noticed LL kept repeating the phrase “run the jewels” on Cheesy Rat Blues, so I had to look it up, and yes, the rap duo got their name from the song. However, despite the number of iconic bars that stood out to me, I saw a few other users call out the lyrics overall as having not aged well. So, I tried following along with a lyrics site on a subsequent listen, and for the most part I personally didn’t hear anything that seemed more provocative or offensive than anything else of the era. There is one questionable lyric on Mr. Goodbar (“And I can't make you, I sure wouldn't rape you”), but as far as the history of sexual references in music goes, I feel like it could be a lot worse.
This was very nearly a 4.5 from me, but ultimately I feel like I have to dock half a point for runtime - really think this could have ended after Jingling Baby without anything feeling lost. Not that anything after is bad, but they’re by no means highlights, and as a result the runtime is definitely felt. Still, really good album through and through.
Dion
2/5
2
I’ve always considered Dion’s work with the Belmonts and early solo stuff like Runaround Sue to be among late 50s/early 60s pop at its best, but this is my first time hearing anything from this stage in his career.
Look, I gotta give the guy credit in getting with the times and adapting his sound as the music and culture shifted around him. This is unrecognizable from the stuff I mentioned above - like, if I wasn’t told the artist before listening, never in a million years would I guess this is the same guy who did A Teenager in Love. That being said, while a step forward in musical evolution, it’s also probably about two steps back in original, identifiable, and catchy songwriting. I know it’s not supposed to be reminiscent of his prior work in any way, but man, there is very little to grab onto here - it’s just kind of a bunch of lame soft rock that blends in with similar stuff of the era. There are higher points here than others, but not any true great moments… or even particularly good moments for that matter. (He’s Got) The Whole Word in His Hands was probably my favorite (I use the world lightly), but I’m not sure why the production quality sounds noticeably worse on just that track - probably from Spector doing something dumb in the studio in the midst of some kind of binge.
Didn’t hate it by any means, but I don’t see myself coming back. Also, there are a total of three 5-star reviews for this album on the Global Reviews page… yikes.
Spiritualized
2/5
2.5
Never heard of this group or album, but I saw some comparisons to Radiohead and The Verve, and with the genre listed as space rock, I was hoping to hear some Muse in there too. Well, I didn’t hear any of those here - the closest thing I think I can compare it to is that Mercury Rev album we had.
I really dug the opening track - I thought the usage of Can’t Help Falling in Love was really cool, especially how it was implemented with the whole battling vocals dynamic. If that kind of thing kept up, I think I would have really liked the album, but it seemed to immediately segue into Britpop on the next track Come Together. From there, it seemed to straddle the line of both, creating one big forgettable, half-baked album.
I really didn’t outright dislike it, so maybe I’m being a bit harsh, though based on what I read about it before listening, I’m a bit disappointed. I was expecting an epic space rock opera, and while I really feel like it had the potential to be that, what we got instead was Britpop with prog rock influence and without any real sense of flow or arc to it. As a result, it just comes out sounding more overdramatic than it does grandiose. Just because you add a bunch of toppings to your pizza doesn’t automatically make it better, ya know? Sometimes just a pepperoni pizza hits the spot. (Credit to vgdunkey on YouTube for that metaphor - I use it all the time)
Common
3/5
3.5
After just having an album produced by the monster Phil Spector, it’s nice to have something produced by someone without any known controversy or offensive behavior.
Man, what a refreshing rap record. I really, really, really, really don’t want to give Kanye any kind of credit for obvious reasons, but I can’t deny the production here is fantastic. There’s clearly quite a bit of old school R&B influence, and the album benefits so much from it - everything felt so alive and colorful without ever feeling repetitive or manufactured. That sound combined with Common’s effortlessly smooth delivery and insightful poeticism made this a really solid listen from front to back. For every infectiously catchy hook (“Before you lock my love away!”), there’s a socially-conscious one that’s just as profound. In particular, I really liked the message regarding the ability to create greatness regardless of one’s beginnings on It’s Your World - though I have to admit the line about being the “best swimmer in 500,000” was a bit much.
That all being said, I actually struggled a bit with my rating for this one. I liked almost all of it, but I’m not quite sure how much of it I actually loved. There haven’t been any tracks I’ve gone back to since my listening, but I do see myself giving the full album a listen again in the future. So, there might still be some room for growth with me.
Suzanne Vega
3/5
3
Folksy with a bit of a contemporary 80s pop sound mixed in there, and I think I liked it… though heavy emphasis on the “think”. Each song came and went quickly without giving me much of a lasting impression, kind of like a soft gust of wind on a hot day - it felt nice, but wasn’t noticeable enough for me to give a second thought. Suzanne really does have a nice voice and I do feel like there’s some solid songwriting buried in there, but for the most part, none of it was particularly standout or unique enough to make the songs themselves stand out to me. There were a couple moments that did though - Small Blue Thing was probably the highlight, with her metaphors for vulnerability and delivery of “Today I am” probably being the peak of her songwriting here for me… even if I think the title itself is a little lazy.
On a nitpicky note, the text on this album cover drove me nuts. I guess I can get past her name being in two different fonts, but doing the same thing with the tracklist makes it seem like there’s going to be some kind of drastic shift from Side A to Side B, and… there just isn’t? Besides, why is the tracklist even on the front cover to begin with? That’s what the back cover is for.
I digress, would maybe listen again, but I’m not overly eager to do so.
T. Rex
3/5
3.5
I know this band and album were supposedly super influential on the rock music to come in the decade ahead, and so with that in mind and with a title like “Electric Warrior”, I expected this to be a lot heavier, more in the vein of 20th Century Boy, one of two songs I knew by the band prior. Instead, this was more of a groovy, mellower, and oftentimes acoustic rock record - and I didn’t mind that. In fact, I enjoyed quite a bit of this. That being said, I can’t seem to pinpoint exactly what made this album so influential. It definitely sounds like an album that bridges the gap between the classic rock sound of the 60s and the flashy, flamboyant style of rock to come in the 70s, but I’m not sure exactly what seems to mark that transition here. Maybe it was Marc Bolan’s whole makeup and top hat thing?
Anyway, regardless of what’s there to be said about legacy, in outright quality I’d say this is pretty good. I’m not sure anything stood out here as an immediate replayable favorite, but Mambo Sun, Jeepster, Planet Queen, Life’s a Gas, and of course Bang a Gong at least all stood out to me as fun, though their take on blues in Lean Woman Blues was nothing special. While I didn’t love Cosmic Dancer, it’s a hell of a lot better than Morrissey and David Bowie’s take on the song. As a diehard fan of both of those guys, that kind of pains me to say, but if you haven’t heard their version, well… it’s rough.
Overall, solid classic rock album that never outstayed its welcome. Hope the next one is just as fun and upbeat!
Lou Reed
3/5
3.5
“The album is a tragic rock opera about a doomed couple, Jim and Caroline, and addresses themes of drug use, prostitution, depression, domestic violence and suicide.”
Well, here we go.
My Dad mentioned he was going to need to give this one a deeper listen with headphones before putting a review in, and about halfway through my listening, I realized I was going to have to do the same - this is definitely not a “play in the background while doing work” kind of album. So, at night I popped my buds in and really dialed in, doing my best to follow along with the lyrics and story online, and I gotta say, even doing so, I don’t feel like this is the most structured or organized album I’ve heard, especially by rock opera standards. Supposedly half the songs here are repurposed outtakes from Lou’s Velvet days, and I think that kind of shows. It wasn’t until somewhere around Caroline Says I that the album started coming together for me, with the first true sense of narrative coming together in exploring Caroline’s cruel nature. While I don’t think the song itself was amazing by any means, what really sold me on the track was its contrast with Caroline Says II, which turns things around and explores Jim’s abusive tendencies, ultimately creating two complementary pieces that highlight the all-around toxicity and dysfunction plaguing the relationship. So, shoutout to Lou’s songwriting there. However, the true gut punch of the album is in the one-two combo of The Kids and The Bed, which, although probably far from Lou’s most deep or complex work lyrically, the relatively straightforward songwriting here is painfully effective, and it’s hard not to feel absolutely devastated by Caroline’s tragic ending. I had mixed feelings on the closer, Sad Song - though it honestly may have been my favorite song on the album musically, it just felt a bit too on the nose lyrically and thematically.
This was a hard one for me to rate. As far as rock operas go, I don’t think this stands among the best, but when this album decides to throw an emotional punch, it hits hard. So while far from perfect, this was a memorable listen and I can’t say it was anything less than good. It’s no The Wall, but it is a nice reminder of the power of storytelling in music.
The Damned
4/5
4
I always appreciate having a punk album, mostly because I love the genre, but also because it means I can probably listen to it a good 3 or 4 times in preparation for my review… and then still find the time to listen to other stuff in the day. This album also comes during a punk high for me - after catching an elbow to the nose in the pit of a Vandals performance this past weekend and jumping back in as soon as I could get the bleeding a bit cleaned up, I think it’s safe to say punk music and culture is a part of my identity (though fuck that asshole with the elbow).
Anyway, Machine Gun Etiquette - probably the most diverse-sounding punk album I’ve heard from the first wave era. Ok, yes, London Calling (which was released just a month later), but I think it could be argued this album explores the full scope of punk without ever truly leaving its musical roots - whereas The Clash were fully diving into entirely different genres. And while that worked well for The Clash, the sound here works amazing for The Damned. Not every song is of note, but the pure punk energy mixed with dashes of varying cross-genre influence throughout really prevent this album from ever getting stale, even if there’s not a ton of lyrical or thematic substance. There are definitely some socio-political elements sprinkled in there though, and while it’s not quite Clash-level, it does result in great tunes like Anti-Pope. I know The Damned are far from the first group to put out something anti-religious or anti-Christian, but to my knowledge they’re the first band to put out something specifically anti-Pope. Being that this was years before the whole Catholic church diddling thing came to light, I’ll give them some credit for being ahead of their time there.
While it didn’t become an immediate favorite of mine, I had a blast from front to back. This is a perfect example of how creative and fun punk can be, so I’ll be listening to more Damned in the future.
Black Sabbath
3/5
3
Supposedly the first ever heavy metal album from the first ever heavy metal band… though I know there are claims they ripped off a group called Coven who had released an album with a similar occult-ish hard rock sound just a year prior. I don’t know how much truth there is to that or if it was just parallel thinking, so I’m not going to point any fingers, but I do think it’s a little suspicious that Coven had a band member that went by Oz Osborne and a song also entitled “Black Sabbath” (true story - look it up).
Anyway, just food for thought, not trying to take the snuff out of this album - there’s definitely a reason that it’s recognized as monumental in musical history and that most people have never heard of Coven, or instead associate the name with that American Horror Story season. So as a first time listener of Black Sabbath’s debut, I have to say… I was surprised by how not that heavy this was? I know that’s not really fair to say considering this is the VERY first of what was to come with metal, but this was wayyyy more bluesy than I anticipated. And I didn’t find that to be bad at all - while there weren’t any particular moments I loved, as a whole I thought it was an enjoyable listen. The 40 minute runtime was perfect - any longer and I think it would have started to lose me. The solos scattered about all went hard and felt like shapes of things to come for the group, a later heavier period that, to be honest, I enjoy a little more. Paranoid is a really solid album and noticeably heavier, despite being released just seven months after this one. I’m not sure exactly what changed in that short of time, but the growth of the band and the evolution of the genre is felt.
On a slightly different note, I’ve always thought that this album’s cover is really cool and great at establishing the vibe of the band… though as a confession, I learned only recently it’s a woman on the cover and not, in fact, Ozzy. Whoops ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Another fun fact - the same woman is also included on the cover of Dookie by Green Day. Angus Young is on there too if you’re interested in playing more album cover I Spy.
The Fall
2/5
2
If you’ve ever wanted to listen to a drunk British dude’s impression of Iggy Pop, then this is probably the album for you. Unfortunately, this isn’t nearly as interesting as anything that the former-Stooge has ever put out - this is like if Iggy decided to make a career out of being a dancer instead of a punk. Like, was this an alternative rock record or a dance record? I’m not against cross-genre fusion by any means, but it didn’t work for me here. And then combined with this guy’s voice… Look, I’m not normally picky about vocals, but man I feel like I’m listening to karaoke from a guy who’s about to be cut off at the pub. It never feels like he’s giving any more than maybe like 60% effort max, and for a studio recording, my guy was noticeably struggling to hit some of the notes (I’m Going to Spain was especially bad). Not much else jumped out at me, except for maybe The League of Bald-Headed Men, but mostly because I read beforehand that it was accused of ripping off Misty Mountain Hop by Led Zeppelin. Personally, I think it’s a coincidence, but I can definitely hear it.
Not much else to say on this one. I didn’t hate it, but I don’t see myself coming back to it.
Pavement
3/5
3.5
I know these guys are indie rock legends, but before this I only knew them for Cut Your Hair (which was on the Jackass Number Two soundtrack for some reason). While that song’s not on this album, a lot of enjoyable stuff is - there’s something about frontman Stephen Malkmus’ style of half-singing/half-talking I dig and feel gives a distinct sound to the group. So, as someone who generally enjoys classic alternative rock and unique vocals, I thought this was going to become a quick new favorite of mine, but ultimately I found it to be more good than it is great. I started noticing a little bit more nuance in the songwriting when I gave a second listen, with Conduit for Sale! jumping out as punk-esque favorite and Here jumping out as a mellow favorite, but still, even after a further third listening, I don’t feel like I have much else to say. A lot of this runs together, and while nothing is unenjoyable or boring, there’s not a ton that’s remarkable either. I have nothing bad to say though, so I would say this is a strong 3.5. It’s sad that these were one of those groups whose critical acclaim never quite translated into commercial success, but I’m pretty sure they had a song go viral on TikTok a couple years back, so they have that going for them.
Also, this album totally had random moments where the music totally cut out, right? I’m not going crazy? Right?
3/5
3
Man, I saw War and had a whole intro planned out for my review revolving around how Low Rider haunts my dreams due countless summer nights falling asleep to George Lopez on Nick at Nite. Well, that song’s not on this album, but that all to say when I think of War, I think of Low Rider, and then I think of George Lopez… and then I think of the freedom in summer vacation we take for granted as kids.
Anyway, getting too deep here - let’s talk about The World is a Ghetto. I’m not normally the biggest fan of funk music, but I gotta say there’s a lot of fun and catchy stuff here. I’m not much of a dancer (sober anyway), but it’s really hard not to feel the groove to The Cisco Kid, and despite only having about three total lyrics, it’s catchy as all hell. That being said, I wasn’t into the instrumental stuff on the album as much. While it all had a nice sound to it, it didn’t do much for me, which is unfortunate because it’s a good half of this album’s runtime. The title track was really solid though, and I wish they had decided to end there instead of with Beetles in the Bog, as I found the latter to be kind of weak. It just feels like ending on The World is a Ghetto would have rounded out the album musically and thematically a little bit better than a song about bugs, what do I know? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Anyway, didn’t love the album, but it’s definitely enjoyable.
The Residents
1/5
1
Oh my God it’s the eyeball dudes. I’ve heard of these guys, but I’ve never listened to anything they’ve put out, mostly due to the general discomfort they give me. And I gotta say, going in with just that knowledge, somehow all of my expectations were met. Yep, it’s just a bunch of weird noises and voices for 35 minutes. There’s a certain 60’s Saturday morning cartoon vibe buried in all of the chaos that I think I had mild appreciation for, but that’s probably the most positive thing I can say about this album - when I realized the first track Constantinople is the band’s most popular on Spotify, I knew I had a very, very long listen ahead.
Ironically, compared to many of the other albums I’ve rated poorly thus far, there’s actually quite a bit that’s remarkable and stood out to me across my listening, but I feel like trying to express any of it into any kinds of words here would be a massive waste of time for everyone involved. I’m convinced that no one actually listens to this kind of stuff out of pure personal enjoyment, and it instead becomes known and popularized from the kinds of reactions you get from people when you put it on. If you’re into really bizarre or trippy stuff for whatever reason, I guess give this a listen. If you’re looking to enjoy some new music, I suggest listening to quite possibly anything else. This shit made me want to listen to The Beatles.
In summary, art rock is dumb - there’s nothing profound about making your music unlistenable.
At least this one wasn’t as aggressive as that Suicide album.
The Flaming Lips
2/5
2.5
Supposedly this is the moment that The Flaming Lips went from alternative rock to space-y psychedelic, and while they definitely have stuff from this period that I enjoy, this album didn’t do much for me. The production is pretty solid and does a good job of building atmosphere, but it really all runs together. Maybe that’s the point, idk, but I couldn’t pinpoint any song or even moment that stood out as particularly enjoyable. If I absolutely had to pick a favorite, it would probably be Feeling Yourself Disintegrate, though really I think that one just stuck out to me because it has an opening almost identical to Queen Bitch by David Bowie.
Don’t feel like I have a ton else to say. The soundscape is interesting and enjoyable enough that I’d probably be willing to go up to a 3 if the album were a little shorter, but as you get closer to the end you really start feeling that one-hour runtime. That all to say, I do really, really like the songs Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and Do You Realize?? by these guys, both of which are on the follow-up to this album, so maybe this is just the very beginning of a sound and style of songwriting that the band had yet to perfect.
MGMT
4/5
4
Probably showing my age here - as a Gen Zer - but this is the first album on the list so far that I can remember releasing and having massive mainstream success within my lifetime. In particular, there are two songs here, Electric Feel and Kids, that you could not escape hearing in the late 2000s if your life depended on it - two radio hits that I actually feel completely opposite towards. Electric Feel is a song that I’ve always found kind of annoying and only grew to further dislike the more it became overplayed, meanwhile, Kids I would consider to be one of the single greatest pop songs to come from the decade. However, there was actually a third hit from the album that I had totally forgotten about - Time to Pretend. While I don’t remember ever being the biggest fan of that one either, I quite enjoyed it here - it’s an admittedly catchy tune when it’s not being played to death. This is also the first time I think I’ve ever paid attention to the lyrics, and while they’re not overly deep by any means, comparing the desire to spend your life living fast and loose to the innocence and naivety of youth was something I thought was really well done… and kinda hit home.
The musical diversity of this album was also a bit of a surprise - the duo’s influence from a decades-spanning assortment of pop music is felt on any given track, and yet they still managed to make everything feel like their own. I really wasn’t expecting their take on rock towards the end, but it resulted in two of my new favorites from the album, Pieces of What and Of Moons, Birds, & Monsters. Pieces of What in particular gave me strong classic rock vibes, to the point where I swear it sounds just like another artist I can’t quite pinpoint - maybe a bit of Mick Jagger in the vocals?
Didn’t expect to enjoy this one as much as I did, especially being that I wasn’t the biggest fan of two of the singles when they initially dropped. I still didn’t walk away loving Electric Feel, but come on, as a whole, this is just good pop music. The production here holds up a lot better than many other pop albums of the 2000s, to the point where I really think this album could drop today and still be a massive hit. Easily a solid 4 from me.
Throbbing Gristle
1/5
1
I saw that this is supposed to be some kind of industrial, experimental album, so when my Spotify glitched and the first song was entirely silent, I thought that might be a part of it. Turns out, I was actually better off when the album was playing with no audio.
Look, after The Residents, I just don’t have time for this shit. At least those guys tried to write music. There isn’t even an attempt at songwriting here. 1.
Say it with me kids: “There’s nothing profound about making your music unlistenable.”
Ok no I’m back with a final thought. After reading the Wikipedia article, the song United is apparently a re-recording. The original version was considered their best and most accessible tune, so in an attempt at being avant-garde, they sped it up to a runtime of 16 seconds for this album to make it entirely unlistenable. There’s a punk spirit in there somewhere I appreciate, but… yeah this album sucks.
Emmylou Harris
3/5
3
Emmylou!! Ok, admittedly, I’ve never listened to any of her personal work, but she was featured on a few tracks from one of my all-time favorite albums, I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning by Bright Eyes. Her voice pairs beautifully with Conor’s music and adds so much to the album, especially on the track We Are Nowhere and It’s Now, which is not only my favorite song from I’m Wide Awake, but also what I would consider one of the greatest songs ever written.
Anyway, we’re not here to talk about Bright Eyes, but all that to say I had a very high regard towards Emmylou coming into this because of them. And I gotta say, she sounds as great as I could have hoped for here, but musically… I mean, I wasn’t expecting it to sound like the work of a sad Nebraskan indie icon, but yeah this is pretty standard country fare. The slower stuff is the better stuff here (mostly because it highlights her vocal performance), with Boulder to Birmingham being by far and away my favorite song on the album - the ballad-like nature of the song is something I feel is so much better suited for her chops than something like Bottle Let Me Down. Speaking of which, I gave myself a pat on the back for recognizing it as a Merle Haggard cover, a connection I would have never made in a million years if not for this list… and then I proceeded to completely miss The Beatles cover three songs later. So, that prompted me to take a look into every song here, and as it turns out, they’re all covers except for one…
Yep, it’s Boulder to Birmingham. I really hope the success of that song gave her the confidence to start recording more of her own original compositions, because if so, I’ll definitely be giving a listen - maybe it was a fluke, but it’s by far the best moment of the album. Though hell, even if her other work is just more basic classical country, I’d still give a listen - it’s hard to find something to hate with a voice like hers.
Now that being said, I’m going to go listen to some Bright Eyes.
Paul McCartney
3/5
3.5
Between songs like Hey Jude, Blackbird, and his subsequent work with Wings, I’ve always considered Paul the best Beatle by a landslide, but the criticism I read surrounding this album reminded me that this is also the guy that gave us Wonderful Christmastime and Why Don’t We Do It in the Road? But come on, every great artist misses the mark once or twice in their career, and while Paul is certainly no exception, this album is not one of those times.
Lazy and unfinished? By no means is it as polished as any of his work prior, but for me that’s the charm of it - it’s simple and earnest while still retaining elements of catchy songwriting, reminding me of why the guy is a musical icon in the first place. I’m not going to pretend anything here is mind-blowing by any means, but I can honestly say I had a really pleasant time listening throughout. Funny enough, the most popular track here, Maybe I’m Amazed, was actually my least favorite - it’s the cheesiest, poppiest track by far, and probably the closest thing to a Beatles song anywhere on the record. The drum-focused closing track Kreen-Akrore was also not a high point by any means, but with it all said and done, looking back, I can confidently say I had a good time - I would listen to this again over a Beatles album any day.
Between this and Band and the Run, Paul has really surprised me with his post-Beatles work, and I’m starting to think that maybe the other guys (or at least John) were holding him back. Just like Band on the Run, I’m gonna score 3.5, but this could easily be a 4 for me on a good day. While maybe not a direct influence on any artists in particular, this feels like a musical milestone hinting towards the style of indie, lo-fi song production that was to come and that we still hear on platforms like Bandcamp today, reminding us that what makes a song great is not necessarily its quality of production, but a strong core idea paired with an impassioned performer.
It’s also entirely possible that I just have bad taste in music.
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
4
Not the first album to chronicle a nervous breakdown - Pink Floyd’s The Wall had done so 15 years prior (and 20 spots ago on this list) - but the first to do so so viscerally and aggressively. If you weren’t prone to a breakdown before listening, you probably are now.
This album is violent, and it was created in a setting of violence. Frontman Trent Reznor wrote and recorded this entire album at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles, CA - also known as the home that actress Sharon Tate and three of her friends were brutally murdered in by members of the Manson Family. And while those violent themes may be off-putting for some, somehow they’re blended with a cross-genre fusion of industrial music and introspective lyrics in such a way that, regardless of your typical musical taste, it’s hard not to find the album compelling, or even borderline catchy at times. While crude, lines like “God is dead/And no one cares/If there is a Hell/I’ll see you there” and “I wanna fuck you like an animal/I wanna feel you from the inside/I wanna fuck you like an animal/My whole existence is flawed/You get me closer to God” are about as catchy as the industrial genre can get. Speaking of the latter, despite its outright vulgarity (or maybe because of it), Closer is one of the best and most enjoyable songs here, second probably only to Hurt. However, because of the song’s success as a single, many see it as a glorification of primal sex and completely miss the contextual emphasis on self-loathing and mutilative tendencies. Honestly, I’m not sure which is better. On a slightly lighter note, I wrote this song in as a submission for my high school’s graduating class song. It didn’t win.
The back half isn’t quite as strong as the first, though it does a great job of maintaining the palpably hopeless atmosphere throughout, ultimately culminating into one of the single best and most painful closings of an album of all-time in Hurt. And I’m sorry, but I have to say it - the original is better than Johnny Cash’s. Johnny Cash’s version is excellent and especially impactful when paired with the music video, but there's a well-crafted feeling of isolation in Nine Inch Nails’ version that evokes a sense of utter despair so well. I know Cash’s version isn’t necessarily meant to convey the same message or feeling, so maybe it’s not fair to compare the two, but ultimately the NIN version is the one I found myself coming back to more frequently.
Great album, but not the kind you return to often (or at least I hope you don’t).
Happy birthday, Dad!!
Yes
2/5
2.5
20 years ago, a preparatory school substitute teaching under the name Ned Schneebly put this album in the hands of a young keyboardist, assigning him to listen to the keyboard solo on Roundabout and assuring it would “blow the classical music out of your butt”.
In hindsight, there’s an extra layer of humor to that quote having now listened to this album. Yeah, the keyboard on Roundabout is pretty cool, but the second track on the album is quite literally classical music. No idea if that line was written with that in mind, but either way, poor Lawrence had to put up with more of that bullshit, and subsequently, I did as well. That’s not to say that classical music is outright bad by any means, but listening to an artist of a genre I don’t love put their spin on a genre I like even less… it’s like if Creed did a cover of Achy Breaky Heart. We all lose in that scenario. The rest of the album is pretty mid prog rock with an acoustic solo or two thrown in there. Look, I’ve never claimed to be the biggest fan of the genre, but Rush or King Crimson have a way of making their music feel epic and exciting, and this… this just doesn’t get me there. If you like the song Roundabout I get it, it’s pretty good, but I could live without it, and that was the high point of the album for me.
Didn’t hate it, but it didn’t do much for me. Between this and The Yes Album, it seems I’m just not much of a Yes fan.
Nick Drake
4/5
4
Towards the end of college I got really into Elliott Smith, an artist who is often compared to Nick Drake. Despite having active careers nearly 25 years apart from one another, both were known for their soft singing voices and acoustic playing style, their struggles with depression and mental health, and ultimately leaving this world far too soon. So, fascinated by the parallels, I binged all three of Nick Drake’s albums in one day, and while I really liked what I heard, at the time, Bryter Layter stood out to me the least. I didn’t re-visit the album again until about a year ago, when the usage of the song Fly stuck out to me in a viewing of The Royal Tenenbaums (coincidentally, Elliott Smith also has a song in the movie). I still didn’t love the album, but Fly became a part of my regular musical rotation.
Listening to it now, I stand by my longstanding sentiment that this is not his best album, but to say it’s bad by any means would be flat out wrong. My only major criticism is its overproduction - as Pink Moon would later show, Drake was at his best with just his guitar, voice, and raw emotion alone. I don’t think the production here is necessarily bad, because when it works, it works - case in point being Fly and Northern Sky, songs elevated to transfixing highs with their touch of accompaniment, but when it doesn’t, it doesn’t, and we get elevator sounding music like Poor Boy. Compared to Five Leaves Left, this one feels a bit like one step up, two steps back.
Really struggled with my rating for this one. I know I just gave quite a bit of criticism, but I do think this is a very good album despite its faults. I had 3.5 originally, but I went back to look at my other 3.5s and I just can’t help but feel it’s a step above them. So, 4 it is - the guy seriously did not release a bad album, and I can’t understate how immensely sad it is that he didn't get to see any of his success during his lifetime.
Anyway, shoutout to The Royal Tenenbaums for getting me into Fly - pretty overrated movie, but the soundtrack is fire. The scene with Judy is a Punk by The Ramones is also absolutely 10/10.
Einstürzende Neubauten
1/5
1
Goddammit. The first song in I was thinking “Okay, this isn’t THAT bad”, then starting with the second track it turned into an aggressively unlistenable mess even worse than that Suicide album we had, and worst of all, my neighbors probably think I’m a Nazi now.
I try to be accepting of all musical tastes, but if this is your favorite album, I think you need to see someone.
Welcome to the list, Devin and Brendan!
The Verve
2/5
2.5
I only knew Bittersweet Symphony by these guys going into this, a song that has such a unique sound to it (unless you ask The Rolling Stones), that I wasn’t sure what to expect from their other work. Fortunately, this album starts off STRONG with an absolutely explosive blast of alternative rock in A New Decade, and while I got strong Oasis vibes (not a bad thing), it felt heavier than anything else that I’ve heard from that era of Britpop. So, I really thought I had a fun, enjoyable listen ahead of me, but man, that runtime quickly hits you in the face like some asshole violating the rules of a mosh pit. There are only three songs under five minutes… and they’re the first three. Not that anything after that is bad by any means, but I also didn’t find any tracks particularly interesting enough to warrant them going over that 5-minute mark, and subsequently, I found myself checking in semi-regularly towards the end to see if I was almost finished. Really feel like this had the potential to be something great with a better sense of pacing.
The more I listen to, the more I’m convinced Oasis is to Britpop what Nirvana is to grunge or My Bloody Valentine is to shoegaze… the band every other band of the genre is compared to, and for me, as good as the genre gets. Speaking of, supposedly Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft dedicated the title track A Northern Soul to Noel Gallagher, which is a pretty cool nod to a great musician and contemporary, but I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the line:
“So come on, come in inside of me/Let's spread it all around”
I’m assuming that’s some kind of metaphor, but either way -
Happy Pride everyone!
Ok, one more note - I stared at this album cover for longer than I’d like to admit. This has to be an homage to Queen right? Not that the arrangement of four heads in a diamond shape is necessarily a definitive Queen thing, but I can’t think of another band that’s done so off the top of my head. Also, is it just me, or do the guys on both the left and the right look lowkey like the illegitimate offspring of Jack White?
Aretha Franklin
5/5
5
One of the only - or quite possibly - the only album on the list thus far to have given me goosebumps. Her voice, her energy, her star power - Rolling Stone has now twice named the woman the greatest singer of all-time, and it’s hard to argue with that after listening to this. The album is a constantly swinging pendulum of fun and beautiful, and Aretha manages to knock it out of the park each and every time. Chain of Fools and (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman are classics, but the song that really moved me here was People Get Ready, a rendition of a song by The Impressions that was being used as the unofficial anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. Listening to perhaps the greatest singer of all-time spread a message of unity, pride, and power so beautifully during one of the most important chapters in US history… goosebumps. Just goosebumps, man.
While that was my favorite moment of my listening, truthfully, every song here is a highlight. I loved everything I heard and could probably go on about each, but the last thing I’ll touch on here is the closer, Ain’t No Way. One thing that’s stuck out to me about a lot of these older albums is a lack of finality, like you’re given a sudden ending once your collection of music runs out, but man, the song just seems to effectively sum up everything that makes the album and woman so iconic - the kind of closer that makes you take a step back once you realize it’s all over and go “Wow”. Unfortunately, you don’t quite get that if you’re listening on Spotify, as the application bundles four bonus tracks at the end, but in the fairest of exchanges, you get more Aretha, and even though they’re four tracks you’ve already heard, the extended version of Chain of Fools may very well be better than the original.
Great listen from front to back. As someone who’s never claimed to be the biggest fan of soul music, I’m not sure how someone couldn’t like this - at that point I think you just hate music. I really didn’t set out to give this album a 5 when I started listening, but to give it anything lower would feel like a disservice. Iconic all around.
Frank Ocean
2/5
2.5
Oh, Frank Ocean - back when he was still a hero to us, before having a career just long enough to become the villain. I’m familiar with some of his stuff, though this is my first time giving him a full album listen… and unfortunately I just don’t feel that anything was gained from it. His musical style involving a fusion of pop, R&B, and jazz is something that I feel should be iconic and enjoyable on paper, especially in relation to a lot of his pop contemporaries, yet nothing about it really jumps out to me, including the vocals, which, yeah, sound good, but really feel far from the more standout or unique performances I’ve heard. Overall, the songs here do just sufficient enough of a job to at least stand out to me from a lot of other 2010s pop, but not quite to a point where I feel the desire to go back and give another listen. My favorite part wasn’t even really a song - it was hearing the Playstation startup noise at the beginning. It’s such a cool sound effect and super nostalgic, so I thought I was in for an exciting listen with that at the head - I was wrong. However, the inexcusably worst part for me? Somehow it makes André 3000 feel kind of mediocre - not even sure how one does that.
It’s like a bowl of vanilla ice cream - not particularly exciting or my preferred, but I wouldn’t complain about having it served to me. I really, really want to like this guy because I know he’s considered a modern musical legend, but for the most part, everything I’ve heard just lacks a certain hook to really pull me in. I do admittedly enjoy the song Ivy on his follow-up album Blonde though, so I’m willing to give more of his stuff a chance to see what all of the hype is about. This could maybe be a 3 on a good day, but for now I’m airing towards a 2.5.
Anyway, album and Coachelle fiasco aside, I do want to say I have respect for him for his advocacy of gay and trans rights - Happy Pride everyone!
Black Sabbath
4/5
4
Well, I think this just became my favorite Sabbath album. We’re jumping ahead a few here from our last outing with the group, and the musical evolution is heavily felt. The blues foundation and influence is almost completely gone at this point - this is heavy metal as we know it in the flesh, and it’s crazy to me how fast that transition happened (just three years since their debut!) I mentioned in my review of that album that I preferred their later sound, but at the time I was referring to songs off of Paranoid and Masters of Reality - I had no idea there was an even greater evolution from there.
Holy cow this album starts strong - like to the point where I think Wheels of Confusion might be my new favorite Sabbath song, especially with that transition into The Straightener. Tomorrow’s Dream was a really solid follow-up form there… then unfortunately we hit what I would consider the low point of the album. Look, I know every hard rock band tries the tender piano ballad thing at some point in their career, but it's always incredibly hit or miss, and Changes is one that’s going to fall under the “miss” category for me. That being said, it’s apparently the most streamed song on Spotify from the album, so I guess my bad taste is just showing again. Things don’t immediately get better from there with FX, a song that gave me bad flashbacks to Throbbing Gristle - how it has more streams than the opening track kind of baffles me, but I did notice in general my favorite songs here were the ones with the lower play count. Hell, I take back my comment about bad taste, maybe mine is just superior to that of the rest of the listening world. I digress, fortunately, everything after FX is enjoyable, with Supernaut being another highlight, though a large part of that may have to with the fact that I had the privilege of hearing it performed live by Geezer Butler, Sebastian Bach, Lars Ulrich, and Foo Fighters at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert in Los Angeles.
Not perfect, but this album was a pleasantly fun surprise for me. It may be a touch disorganized and sporadic, but never to a point where it feels overly jarring - it also makes sense once you learn these guys were on cocaine for its entire production.
Anecdotally, I’m now 0-2 on identifying Black Sabbath album cover elements. I previously thought the figure on the band’s debut was Ozzy (it’s not, it’s a woman), and for some reason before this I thought the figure on this album was an angel (it’s not, it’s Ozzy). Don’t ask how I managed to see an angel before because I have no idea.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
2/5
2
Red Hot Chili Peppers - a band I’ve never felt that strongly towards. They have a handful of songs I kind of like, a handful I don’t, and everything else of theirs is pretty meh - never really bought into the hype surrounding these guys. I’ve heard this album before and figured this was going to be around a 3 for me, but man, about halfway through my listening, I had this slow realization that… I don’t really like this album. I kind of forgot how unbearable Anthony Kiedis is when he’s in full funk mode, and I was really sick of the whole thing by the end.
There are definitely high moments - Under the Bridge is a great tune, and probably the best thing Anthony has ever penned. I think the only valid criticism to aim towards the song is that it's overplayed. Also, as is tradition, I have to call out The Power of Equality as being in Tony Hawk’s Underground 2. While I don’t love the song, it will always hold a special place in my heart because of it. Breaking the Girl is a pretty solid song I totally forgot was on this album (if you asked me, I probably would have told you it’s One Hot Minute or Stadium Arcadium), and I Could Have Lied also isn’t bad. But ultimately, despite everything I said earlier of Kiedis in funk mode, I think Suck My Kiss is actually my favorite song on the album. It’s catchy, and I appreciate that it’s straight-up about its sexual themes without being overly vulgar or trying to pretend it’s anything deep or thought-provoking, which is more than I can say about a lot of the band’s other stuff…
That segues into my other major criticism of this album and the band - I don’t think Anthony Kiedis is a good lyricist. His lyrics are decent at best and nonsense at worst, the latter especially in more recent years. Admittedly, some of his strongest moments probably live on this record, but then there’s also stuff like this:
“Holy mother earth crying into space
Tears on her pretty face for she has been raped
Killing your future blood, fill her with disease
Global abortion, please, that is what she needs”
Ugh. And then there’s Give It Away, which is supposedly about altruism. Alright, sure, but in what world do the lines “What I got, you got to get it put it in you” and “Drinkin' my juice, young love chug-a-lug me” have to do with being charitable? Come on dude, just admit you wanted to write another song about sex. At least this one wasn’t as graphically specific as Sir Psycho Sexy *shudders*
This album really should have ended after Under the Bridge, cause man, at that point you’ve really already gotten everything you need out of your listening, but it just decides to keep going with a string of what are probably the six worst songs on the album. Apache Rose Peacock in particular is an abomination - musically it’s annoying, but oh my God this may be Anthony Kiedis at an all-time lyrical and vocal worst.
I think this the first album so far that my opinion has gone down on since its inclusion on this list. There are moments to be had here for sure, but this is definitely not a full album listen for me again anywhere in the near future.
Ice Cube
4/5
4
Probably not the best name for an album I’ve heard, but the first thing I did was see if It Was a Good Day is on this - and it is! If you haven’t seen it, there’s an interesting post somewhere online where some guy determined the exact date that Ice Cube had his good day based on clues from the song - January 20, 1992. Even though I think the rapper himself confirmed the song is hypothetical and not actually based on a real day, it’s still a fun read.
Anyway, great tune, but because it’s the one that I most associate with Ice Cube’s solo career, I didn’t realize how political his music continued to be post-N.W.A. In fact, It Was a Good Day almost feels out of place compared to the subject matter of nearly every other song on the album, most of which describe the current state of black oppression in America, especially on the heels of the Rodney King beating and LA Riots. And for me, how effectively it depicts the experience is the album’s biggest strength, attacking an unjust system which still exists today (Who Got the Camera? was hauntingly prescient). Coupled with some absolutely fantastic beats throughout, this really turned out to be a great listen.
There were a lot of highlights here for me, with two of my favorite tracks being When Will They Shoot? and Don’t Trust ‘Em - not only did they have two of the most infectious beats I think I’ve heard on a rap track, but they had profound lyrics to match. The Public Enemy sample on the latter was also a really cool touch, though I was pretty jazzed to hear a nod to the Beastie Boys’ The New Style on Check Yo Self as well, another fun song that I had no idea was the source of the phrase “Check yourself before you wreck yourself”. I couldn’t help but notice though that the delivery of his bars in the song feels very reminiscent of Jump Around by House of Pain - which is interesting because he also mentions the group by name in the lyrics. Maybe it’s an intentional homage, but I couldn’t find anything online about it. We Had To Tear This Mothafucka Up was another track with a great beat to it, with the bass emphasis reminding me of something off of A Tribe Called Quest album, but the usage of the homophobic slur was pretty jarring, especially considering it precedes another line in which he denies claims of being anti-Semitic.
On that note, I have to address the fact that he seems to be denying anti-Semitic claims on like half the songs here. I wasn’t really sure what that was about, so I looked it up and supposedly he negatively referred to his old manager with N.W.A. as a “Jew” on his prior solo release and had also endorsed a book asserting Jewish people were responsible for the slave trade. I’m not sure if the guy actually holds those beliefs or not, but I will say the constant mentioning of it was kind of weird, and when compounded with the occasional homophobic slur, I couldn’t help but feel it put a slight damper on the message of minority empowerment throughout.
That all to say, I don’t think this is an outright prejudiced record by any means, and I still had a lot of fun with it - it’s a nice reminder that Ice Cube was once a king of the game before Are We There Yet? (Ok, I can’t throw shade, I love him in the Jump Street movies). Definitely see myself listening again.
The Allman Brothers Band
2/5
2.5
The band is laughing on the cover because Duane just ran over, grabbed some drugs from a dealer, and stashed it in his lap. There, fun fact out of the way.
In traditional Luke fashion, despite having a familiarity with the album, I’ve never listened to it. I am familiar with a handful of the group’s songs though, including Midnight Rider, Ramblin’ Man, Listen to the Music, Jessica, and China Grove (note: some of these might be Doobie Brothers songs). While I’m not necessarily a big fan of any of those, fortunately none of them are here, so I went in with an open mind.
Well, it’s definitely much bluesier and probably better than anything of theirs I’ve heard prior, but that’s not saying much coming from me. From the limited knowledge I have of the band and what I heard here, it does seem they’re the kind of group that is probably better live, so I see why this album was a success. That to say, while some of the freestyling jam out moments were cool, I don’t think keeping them up for 10+ minutes made them any cooler. Like, come on guys, I thought that there was an unspoken concert rule that you get to do one extended version of a song if you so choose, but three?? It turns a setlist of seven songs into a marathon. At one point I checked in on my status of Whipping Post to see how far I had made it in and learned it had only been four minutes. Then when I thought for sure I had reached the end I checked again and was only 13 minutes in.
While I don’t really have anything negative to say aside from the runtime, I don’t have a ton to say that’s positive for me either - the jam out moments were the only remarkable aspects for me, each of which started strong then started to lose me the further they went on. So, I’d say it’s okay overall, but I’m probably not likely to return.
Television
2/5
2.5
Man, I really, really wanted to like this album. A band involved in the late 70’s CBGB scene that would go on to influence a number of artists that shaped alternative rock, including Joy Division, Pixies, R.E.M., and Sonic Youth? What a resume, one that seems like it would be an immediate sell to me on paper, but I just don’t hear any of that here. The album starts strong enough with See No Evil and has another high point in the title track, but everything else here is so boring. I don’t hear the punk influence, and I don’t hear the bands listed above or anything like them, instead I’m just hearing a style of artsy funk rock similar to The Talking Heads - a group I’ve historically not been the kindest on.
Contextually, yes, I can see how this album could be considered monumental - it really doesn’t sound like any style of rock that had come before it, but that doesn’t make it any more enjoyable to me. Just because you did it first doesn’t necessarily mean you did it the best, and in this case I would rather just listen to the bands these guys influenced. I have no idea what they saw in this album that I didn’t (and I listened to this three times looking for it), but at least it resulted in much better music.
Ali Farka Touré
2/5
2.5
Impressive guitar work, and reminiscent of Blackstar in that it was written and recorded by an artist knowing that his last days were upon him. Supposedly Touré pioneered the genre of music heard here, referred to as desert blues, which is definitely what I would consider an apt label for what I heard - a little drier and more chaotic than your normal blues, keeping you on your toes while you listen. Unfortunately, all of that charm seems to run out somewhere about halfway through this album and it’s a long journey to the end from there.
Didn’t dislike anything I heard here, but it was a bit long and didn’t give me much to grab onto (I think it’s in French? Couldn’t find confirmation, but that’s the official language of his native country, Mali). Hesitant to give another 2.5 since I feel like I’ve been handing out a lot of those lately, but really feel like we’re in a string of “meh” albums.
While not one of my favorites, I guess Matthew McConaughey is a big fan.
Alright, alright, alright.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
4
I absolutely love the song Maps, so I went in with high hopes here - and I wasn’t disappointed! Nothing else on the album quite reaches the high of Maps, but as a whole it’s just a really enjoyable blast of solid 2000s alternative rock. It knows better than to overstay its welcome, it keeps a fun energy up, and it has a bit of a raw sound to it that left me with a desire to see the band live. Also, I know this is a controversial opinion, but I absolutely love Karen O’s voice and style of singing. I think it adds so much to the music, and in some ways, reminds me of a more modern Chrissie Hynde, another vocalist I have much appreciation for.
While I don’t have a ton of specific individual moments to expand on, I feel like I have to touch on the lyric “Boy you just a stupid bitch and girl you just a no good dick” on Black Tongue. Like, come on, this is peak songwriting. If you don’t like that lyric, then you don’t have a respect or appreciation for the English language ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ However, the highlight of the album for me by far was the final three song stretch of Maps / Y Control / Modern Romance, ending on a note so catchy that it left me wanting more (I’m not counting Poor Song since I think it was originally a hidden track). I feel like it’s a pretty uncommon musical achievement for an album to close out this strongly, which to me is a mark of talented songwriting from the group and reminds me of one of my favorite albums, Third Eye Blind’s self-titled debut (holy shit that final stretch of The Background to God of Wine is insane).
Was originally going to score a 3.5 because I think the middle runs together a bit, but I ended up going back and giving this album a third listen, not because I thought I was missing something, but simply because I wanted to. So, I think that warrants a 4 from me - an album I definitely needed after the past few we’ve had.
Genesis
2/5
2
Have you ever asked yourself “What if someone made an album in the spirit of Tommy by The Who but dialed the fun and epic factor down by like three notches?” Well, luckily for you, that album exists in the form of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis.
This isn’t an outright bad album by any means, but the fact that it’s 94 minutes long and never once had a moment I would consider “exciting” has me chalking this one up as a miss. Like, all I could think about afterwards was what better things I could have done in that 94 minutes - you could watch the entirety of Toy Story and still have enough time to run to the bathroom and get snacks.
Musically, it’s pretty mid prog rock across the board - no particular highs that stood out to me, but fortunately there weren’t any noticeable lows either. Storywise… I had no idea what the fuck was going on here. I wasn’t sure if the randomly horny track Counting Out Time fit appropriately into the story or not, but it certainly didn’t feel like it while I was listening (it’s no Young Lust). Still, I didn’t want to dock the album for what may have been my own ignorance, so I gave a second listen and tried to keep up with some synopses online. Yes, I listened to this thing twice.
Holy cow, this story is the dumbest shit I’ve ever read. I recommend giving the plot summary a read on Wikipedia, but basically, the album follows a Puerto Rican New York gang member named Rael who is randomly warped into a prison-like cave while walking down Broadway. He escapes to find a factory that packages human beings and then runs away from that to find a chamber with 32 doors in it. After guidance from a random blind woman, he goes through a door leading him to a group of seductive creatures known as The Lamia, with whom he has sex with, but it turns him into a hideous creature that is subsequently castrated by The Slippermen. A raven then flies away with his penis, but in chasing after it, he sees his brother drowning in a river and attempts to save him. However, in a plot twist, it actually turns out to be himself he just saved, ultimately resulting in him becoming “It”. What “It” is is supposed to be interpretive to the listener, but frankly, I have no idea what the hell you’re supposed to infer based on whatever the fuck it is I just described. In my head canon he becomes the creature from the Stephen King novel.
Once again, not bad musically, but way too mid to be this long, and the story doesn’t make anywhere near a comprehensible amount of sense to be engaging. A 1 feels a little too low, but I don’t see myself re-visiting. Maybe if I ever find myself on the same drugs Peter Gabriel was on when he wrote this.
Leonard Cohen
3/5
3.5
Woof, this was a heavy one. Yet another album written and recorded on the verge of the artist’s death, knowing it was going to be their last. This one is up there with Blackstar in terms of its reflective and haunting nature (and released just seven months after - 2016 was clearly a bad year for music), however, whereas I feel Blackstar offers a successful balance of mourning and celebration, there’s not a whole lot of celebration to go around here… I feel like I was genuinely listening to a dying man’s last words. It also felt just a touch more personal than Bowie’s in some ways, like we really got to explore the depths of Cohen’s final thoughts and acceptances regarding life, relationships, and religion that were in some ways relatable and in other ways just as cryptic. As someone who wasn’t really familiar with Leonard Cohen’s work outside of Hallelujah, I can definitely see now why he’s held in such high regard - this album is a lyrical masterpiece. Sitting here a day after I listened, I’m still finding myself mulling over his words and contemplating existence.
That to say, I don’t think this album is perfect. I know Cohen is a poet first and foremost, but a lot of songs here leave a bit to be desired musically. While it admittedly matches the tone well, the musical backdrop feels a bit too subtle and funeral-ly at times to really pull me in, and in the case of Traveling Light, had too strong of “Italian mob boss” vibes to take seriously (that’s probably a me thing). Also, maybe a hot take, but I don’t love his voice, and a full album’s worth of that Death Valley-esque vocal range is a lot for me to handle.
Overall, this has been one of the hardest albums for me to rate and review so far. Despite my best attempts, I can’t describe exactly what I think or feel about it - in some ways I think this could be higher than a 3.5 for me and in other ways it could be lower. There’s so much more I feel like I could touch on and yet even more I feel like I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of. At the end of the day, music is all about making us feel something right? Well, this album did that for me, and while I think I’m still figuring out what exactly that is, at the very least, I feel Cohen’s absence in the musical world today.
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
2
Never really bought into the hype surrounding this guy. I’ve always kind of found his music to be a really generic attempt at connecting with the middle American blue-collar crowd, and this album didn’t do much to change my mind. Really don’t feel like there’s anything overly interesting or diverse going on across the music, and vocally, it feels like he’s doing a parody of himself at times. I will say, the 1975 release date surprised me as I thought this came out in the 80s, so I guess I’ll give him some credit for sounding ahead of his time here.
Born to Run is probably the best song on the album by default, but Thunder Road holds a special place in my heart solely due to the Jim Cummings short film of the same name - I recommend giving it a watch on Vimeo if you haven’t seen it, though as a heads-up, there’s a good chance it might make you cry (or at least I did).
Peter Tosh
3/5
3
As someone who has never been much of a fan of reggae, I was open to checking this guy out simply because he’s not Bob Marley… and then learned he was a former member of The Wailers. “So great, more Marley stuff” I thought. Well, I’m glad to have been wrong about my initial assumptions because this was a relaxing, enjoyable listen. It didn’t make me fall in love with the genre, but for about 38 minutes there was a fun vacation vibe in the air (the fact I’m about to take off for a week and half from work probably also helps).
Looking at the tracklist, I kind of expected this to be the kind of album where the big song outshines the rest, but the title track ended up being one of the more mid ones for me. That’s not to say I disliked it by any means though - Tosh’s delivery is pretty solid, and I also just kind of liked how straight-up the message is (there was also something kind of funny to me about him listing actual practical health benefits as it pertains to conditions like asthma and tuberculosis). As far as my actual favorites go though, Burial would be up there - made me think of sitting outside an ocean-side tropical cabana at night time - alongside No Sympathy. There’s something about the tracks (and a couple others I noticed as well) that give me some old school soul vibes, and I dug it. Ketchy Shuby was another memorably catchy track as well, though I gotta say across the board I think I enjoyed everything I heard here more than anything I’ve heard of Marley’s.
Don’t see this ever becoming a part of my regular musical rotation, but hell, if I ever do find myself in that oceanside cabana, this guy will be top of mind. Good vibes for sure - think I’m starting to understand what people see in the genre.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
4
Hey, it’s the Flaming Lips album with the songs I like on it! I wasn’t too impressed with the band’s prior release The Soft Bulletin, but it was clear almost immediately how much of a refinement this was on that space-y psychedelic sound that the group had started experimenting with on said previous album. The production is miles ahead, the atmosphere is engrossing and stimulating, songs are dynamic and catchy - this was a totally enchanting listen from front to back.
The two songs I knew coming into this album were Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt. 1 and Do You Realize??, but holy cow, right out of the gate, Fight Test may have surpassed them both as my favorite song by the group. Not only is it a crazy strong opener musically and thematically, but it’s paired with a strong set of lyrics to match, in particular the line:
“Cause I'm a man, not a boy
And there are things you can't avoid
You have to face them
When you're not prepared to face them”
I know it’s not the most clever or deep thing ever written, but compounded with everything going on in the song, it really struck a chord with me. I guess Cat Stevens sued the band and won for Fight Test supposedly ripping off the melody to his song Father and Son, but I don’t really hear it. Besides, that guy kinda sucks, so I’ll give The Flaming Lips a pass even if true.
I do feel there’s a slight lull in the middle with In the Morning of the Magicians and Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell, but they still do an effective job of keeping up the vibe and help segue us into an enjoyable path to the finish, with the aforementioned Do You Realize?? being far and away the strongest moment of the back half. The song does such a good job of handling existentialism in the most calming of ways, and while I don’t want to fill this review with lyrics we’ve all already heard, I have to call out the below as being one of my favorites from any song ever and one I think on often:
“Do you realize
That everyone you know someday will die?
And instead of saying all of your goodbyes, let them know
You realize that life goes fast
It's hard to make the good things last
You realize the sun doesn't go down
It's just an illusion caused by the world spinning 'round”
None of us are getting out of here alive, so tell the ones you care about that you love them, and enjoy every moment you’re able to with them.
Anyway, good listen - both fun and a little thought-provoking at times. I’ll be looking into more of these guys’ stuff.
Johnny Cash
3/5
3.5
So apparently both of Johnny Cash’s live prison albums made this list, though really it shouldn’t have been any kind of surprise - the man’s connection with prisoners is one-of-a-kind. Like, how many musicians can you imagine actually being able to go up on stage at one of these shows and having the audience be totally into it? No disrespect to modern country artists, but I think if someone like Morgan Wallen tried this they would catch a shoe to the head. And yet as a musician of the genre who never actually spent a night in jail himself, somehow Cash managed to embody that outlaw image so well.
There’s a lot of really enjoyable stuff here, and one thing this album in particular reminded me of is how good of a storyteller Cash is - my initial listening was during a workout, and I couldn’t help but pause sets so I could hear the conclusion to songs like 25 Minutes to Go and The Wall. Even if you’re not here for the stories though, there’s a really fun spirit about most everything, with Folsom Prison Blues and Cocaine Blues being two enjoyable tracks in particular that exude outlaw energy in the most badass of ways.
That all to say, while I enjoyed everything here, this one didn’t quite hit the same as At San Quentin. Comparatively, that one felt just a little more iconic and well-rounded, especially with songs like I Walk the Line, San Quentin (and its reprise!), Wanted Man, and of course, the debut of A Boy Named Sue. This one had a couple misses for me with Dirty Old Egg-Suckin’ Dog and Flushed from the Bathroom of Your Heart, and the crowd work in general felt just a touch less engaging - though I loved him getting bleeped for mentioning the words he can’t say on TV.
Through and through, still a really good album. After it concluded, it was a bit jarring to me at first when my Spotify decided to shuffle in The Ramones and Dead Kennedys, but then I thought about - an entire live performance planned for prisoners in an actual prison? The man may be a country musician, but there’s no denying the punk spirit there - and I respect the hell out of him for it.
R.I.P. Cash, few did it as cool as you.
Beatles
2/5
2
Supposedly this album marks when The Beatles started getting into drugs, and while it’s noticeably less bubblegum-y than their prior work, I still didn’t find anything here to be overly interesting - even with some new flourishes like the sitar on Norwegian Wood, a song which is apparently John Lennon’s attempt at putting a fun spin on him cheating his wife. F that guy. Paul’s songs are definitely the better ones here (surprise, surprise), but even then I wouldn’t call them great. Really, I don’t think there’s anything here I would call outright enjoyable, but I can point to the opener Drive My Car is probably the worst thing on the album. The only thing worse than the lyrics are the Beatles fans trying to build upon them on Genius. For example, the annotation for “Beep beep'm beep beep yeah!” reads:
“This iconic transition utilizes onomatopoeia for the sound of a car’s horn. It serves to illustrate how much fun The Beatles are having with their newfound fame and success.”
End me.
As if to bring the album full-circle, the group decided to end on another low point with a song threatening to murder a partner if she were ever to take another man. I know it’s based on a song by Elvis and isn’t totally out of place in that era of music, but I don’t think that makes it any better.
Everything in the middle is kind of meh, but with there being a song titled What Goes On, I will give a shoutout to my Dad’s guy Lou Reed and his group The Velvet Underground, who have a song with the same name that, despite having half as many Spotify plays, is like 1000x better. Considering that’s the Ringo song on this album though, maybe that’s a given (sorry Ringo).
Man, despite usually keeping it in the 30-minute range, I swear these guys always seem to find a way to make their albums drag. That being said, I think some of the art rock/experimental stuff we’ve heard has really redefined for me what true 1 means, so I’m going to go with a 2 here, but either way I won’t be listening again anytime soon.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
3
So, Stevie Wonder definitely has songs I like, but I think this album and Fulfillingness' First Finale have cemented for me that I’m just not the world’s biggest fan of his. I know that’s probably sacrilege, but I really haven’t been blown away by anything I’ve heard on either album. That’s not to say anything about them is bad, but my general impression of each has been “that was fine”. There are highs and lows, with the lows on this one for me being the first two songs right out of the gate (those and the Jesus song) - I really didn’t feel like this album started picking up steam until Living for the City. From there, I generally found everything pretty enjoyable, with Higher Ground being a highlight, but I gotta say (prepare yourself for further sacrilege), I prefer the Chili Peppers version - and yes, this is as someone who just dunked on this era of theirs twelve albums ago. There’s just so much more energy to their version that I think benefits the tune greatly, but admittedly I say that as someone with a natural disposition to punk music, so do with that what you will.
After a bit of a lull with the aforementioned Jesus tune and All in Love is Fair, the Latin-inspired Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing jumped out to me as a jarringly different, but fun tune, and it’s culmination into He’s Misstra Know-It-All was something I felt satisfying enough for the album’s conclusion.
Don’t feel like I have a ton else to say. Has fun, funky moments, but nothing I can confidently say I loved. Think Stevie is just going to be one of those guys I opt for individual songs over albums if I choose to listen.
Grant Lee Buffalo
3/5
3.5
One of the few things Wikipedia has to say about this album is that Michael Stipe once named it as one of the best releases of 1993, which is apparently all it takes to make a list of 1001 all-time best albums. Well, much like a lot of Stipe’s own work, I found this to be pretty good, but not great. I liked the acoustic, alternative rock sound, which seems to have some elements of garage, folk, and country sprinkled in there, but despite all of that, for the most part I thought it just kind of blends in with a lot of other alternative rock from the era. Not to say that’s necessarily a bad thing though - I tend to enjoy most stuff from that era of music, so even though I don’t feel like there was a ton of range or anything particularly unique going on in the songwriting, the overall sound was enjoyable enough to keep me mostly entertained for the duration of the album. It started wearing on me just a bit at Grace, but fortunately it starts wrapping up soon after that.
I’m not sure how many individual songs I would return to (if any), but I can walk away saying I had a good time with the album, even if it didn’t blow me away by any means. In some ways I can see how it could be considered a precursor to the later, softer 90s alternative rock sound to come, in particular groups like The Goo Goo Dolls, Counting Crows, and Matchbox Twenty - all groups that I would classify as “solidly decent” and a step down from the earlier sound of the decade, but still enjoyable nonetheless.
The Young Rascals
3/5
3
About 30 seconds in, I got the vibe this wasn’t going to be an album that I enjoyed and wrote these guys off as a second-rate Monkees. But man, Find Somebody came in with a swift kick in the ass to show me just how wrong I was - what a great tune. How is that one of the least popular tracks on Spotify? I love the raw guitar sound paired with the quiet/loud dynamics - it’s almost like a 60s Pixies track. It’s also been one of the first songs in a hot minute to go immediately to my Liked Songs, so when it went right back to some half-baked 60s pop music on I’m So Happy Now, I was convinced the prior song was a fluke. But then I was sucked back into the album again with the next track Sueno, only to be turned off by How Can I Be Sure, then vibing again on Groovin’... you get the idea. So while there was stuff here I definitely enjoyed, as a whole this album is incredibly disjointed - and I’m not just referring to my personal opinion on the songs, musically and topically this is all over the place. I initially thought that may have had to do with there being too many cooks in the kitchen being that there are multiple vocalists across the album, and while that may have been a factor, Wikipedia pointed out to me eight of the eleven songs here were already existing singles and their corresponding b-sides. Yep, that’ll do it.
Anyway, not a great album listen in my opinion, but I definitely see myself coming back to a few songs here, like the ones I mentioned above and You Better Run, a personal favorite that I guess was later covered by Pat Benatar?
On a tangential note, this album cover is up there for me with Siembra in regards to its terrible album cover. I get they were going for a Hanna-Barbera vibe, and while I want to appreciate that, they somehow were able to take that in the most uncanny valley-esque direction possible. Like, looking at every one of the rascals makes me uncomfortable. I also couldn’t help but imagine said cartoon versions playing each of the tracks while listening, which added an unintentional level of goofiness to the whole thing. Not really sure if that helped or hurt my experience.
White Denim
2/5
2.5
It’s funny that they went ahead and called this album D because that’s probably the letter grade I would give it.
Okay, maybe that’s not fair, because I do think that there’s some solid songwriting buried in here somewhere, but the problem is the production just seems to smush everything together into one indecipherable clump of music. And that’s a shame, because it attempts some cool stuff that I really wanted to enjoy, like the guitar-driven jam-out track Back at the Farm or the flute-featuring River to Consider, but the production does such a bad job of highlighting these elements that it ends up making each feel kind of lackluster. I tried looking to the lyrics for any kind of saving grace, but the vocals are so washed out most of the time that I really couldn’t tell you a single thing the guy says at any point. Keys was the only track that I thought was mixed okay, but unfortunately it’s probably also the most annoying song on the album, so maybe the producers were actually doing us a favor here by making everything else so unintelligible.
I feel like they tried to incorporate elements of psychedelia (Street Joy in particular reminded me of Breathe by Pink Floyd), but good psychedelic music should give you something to grab onto and vibe with, and this didn’t give me that. At its best, I would say this sounds like a generic slice of early ‘10 alternative rock. I’m not sure why this album was so acclaimed when it came out, but I have a feeling that might not be the case retrospectively. I can definitely see it being omitted when the next edition of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die comes out (if it hasn’t been already). As for me personally, I feel like I’ll have forgotten about this album by this time next year.
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
4
Run-D.M.C. has some great tunes, but I didn’t realize they were all on the same album - and man, what a solid album. Right out of the gate, Peter Piper comes in swinging with a great showcase of the duo’s spark and synergy, but the true punch of the album follows with the trio of It’s Tricky, My Adidas, and Walk This Way. I’m not sure now it’s possible to dislike these songs, though I will admit It’s Tricky and My Adidas in particular hold a special place in my heart due to appearances in SSX Tricky and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4, respectively. And Walk This Way? Come on, these guys make Aerosmith bearable, which is an achievement in and on its own.
There’s a slight lull in the middle of the album with Is It Live and Perfection (though there’s something really cool to me about the boys rapping solely against a drum kit in the latter), but holy cow this album brings the heat again with Raising Hell (pun intended). As someone who had never heard the track before, I think it may have become my new favorite by the group. What the hell was their label on when they issued You Be Illin’ as a single over this? Not that there’s anything wrong with You Be Illin’ - it’s funny and I appreciated it topically just being about people playing themselves - but Raising Hell it’s miles ahead in every way.
The album hits a low point with Dumb Girl, which is what I would consider far and away the worst song on the album, but finishes strong with Son of Byford, a song aware of the length of its charm (28 seconds), leading into the profound anthem Proud to Be Black. As a white dude, I’m aware this can’t probably resonate with me exactly the same as it would a person of color, but the song is such an effective reflection and celebration of black history that I think it can (and should) be enjoyed by anyone.
Across the board, the production on this album is insane (shoutout to Rick Rubin), and I loved how just about every track seemed to be set against some form of live instrumentation. Admittedly, I don’t feel like it was particularly strong lyrically, especially for a hip hip album (I thought it was kind of funny they liked the lyric “These rhymes are Darryl's/The burgers are Ronald's” so much they used it on two different songs), but there’s no denying how insane the the flow and beats are, making this an overall very enjoyable listen. There are a couple misses that made me consider a 3.5, but I really don’t think the magnitude of the great tracks here can be understated, let alone the album’s impact on all hip hop music to come. I know we’re not grading on influence here, so I won’t take that into account, but if I were to do so I could very much see this being a 5.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
4.5
I struggled a bit with my rating on this one. For a good chunk of my life, Led Zeppelin was IT. As a young rock and roller, I got into them a little later than most, but when I did (thanks Will), I was convinced these guys were truly gods among men. However, even then, and more so now, Led Zeppelin IV was never the favorite of mine. That crown always went to (and probably still goes to) Led Zeppelin II - though recent ventures back into the group might honestly have me putting Houses of the Holy up there as well. I don’t say that to disparage this album by any means though - there’s a good reason it’s iconic as, and as far as Zeppelin’s style of bluesy hard rock goes, this could very well be its peak.
Starting off, I have to get this off my chest - Led Heads, please forgive me, but I’ve always considered Black Dog to be one of the most overrated songs by the group. Robert Plant’s vocal sections in particular have always been kind of annoying to me and almost overly Plant-y. Like, “Hey, hey, mama, said the way you move/Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove” to me feels something that could have come from a Led Zeppelin parody group. Musically, it’s fine, but far from the best of Jimmy Page’s guitar shreds. Fortunately, the album gets a lot better starting with Rock and Roll, a really fun, explosive blast of said genre, before going into the true hidden gem (if anything on an album like Led Zeppelin IV can even be called that), The Battle of Evermore. Anything annoying Plant did on Black Dog is immediately forgiven here, and his duet with Sandy Denny (of Fairport Convention!) is nothing short of enchanting. Gorgeous tune with an absolutely perfect name that is somehow able to create a sense of world-building so well.
Then, we have Stairway. Look, we all know Stairway. There’s nothing I can say here that hasn’t already been said a million times over, but I’ll echo those voices and maintain that it truly is one of the greatest rock anthems ever written. Even as someone who is kind of sick of the tune after all these years, I’d be lying if I said I don’t still see the charm whenever I do decide to listen again. Great lyrics, great buildup, great solo, great closing - the song is nothing short of epic, and the only valid criticism that someone can lob at the song in my opinion is that they’ve heard it too much. Unfortunately, Misty Mountain Hop is a pretty hefty step down from there. While I wouldn’t call anything on this album a skip by any means, Misty Mountain Hop and Black Dog are definitely in a lower tier. Four Sticks is an enjoyable return to form, and then we enter a territory where any and all valid criticisms end with the one-two punch of Going to California and When the Levee Breaks. Going to California is probably one of the greatest acoustic tracks ever written and was carefully selected to play the second my plane landed in Los Angeles for the very first time - I still think about that moment whenever I give a listen now. When the Levee Breaks… come on, this song is awesome. Great blues tune that feels nowhere near as long as the 7-minute runtime would suggest. I have no idea what these guys saw in Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie’s original in order to create this, but in many ways I think it speaks to the sheer talent of the group. I was really surprised when I saw the Spotify play count for the track, as I would have guessed this was one of the band’s most popular (not that 116 million plays is anything to sneeze at). Clearly more people need this song in their lives. It also was sampled in another great tune, Rhymin and Stealin by the Beastie Boys, one of my dad’s favorites as well. So weird he didn’t mention that in his review…
Despite some shots fired earlier on a couple of the songs, I can’t argue the album’s objective greatness, and I wouldn’t fight you if you tried to say it was the best of all-time. Part of me wants to pull the trigger on the 5, but if I’m being true to myself, this just isn’t one of my all-time favorites or even my favorite Zeppelin record for that matter. It’s for sure a monument of musical history though and probably the best entry point for a new Zeppelin fan - if you feel it’s deserving of a 5, I’d co-sign it.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
2
232 albums ago, Ragged Glory convinced me I might be a bit of a Neil Young fan, and 63 albums after that, Buffalo Springfield seemingly reinforced that. Well, at album #240, I’m finally presented with a proper Neil Young solo effort from his golden era… and oh my god this album is so lame. Look, I’m normally a folk music defender, but this album doesn’t give me much to defend. While I don’t hate Young’s voice like most people do, the songwriting here just isn’t interesting. I gave a re-listen with headphones to try and see if there’s anything I’m missing - nope, not a lot there.
So, I went online and did a bit of research to see what all the hype is about, and apparently this album marked a shift to a rawer sound for Young - a shift that has made people retroactively refer to him as the “Godfather of Grunge”. Yeah… not really sure I hear that. It’s slightly unpolished and lo-fi for sure, but come on, it was 1969 - really doesn’t feel like a standout from the era.
Anyway, I wasn't really into it, but it wasn’t objectionable, so we’ll give a 2.
Sonic Youth
3/5
3.5
I’ve generally liked everything I’ve heard by Sonic Youth, and I maintain that opinion after listening to this album. It starts incredibly strong with Schizophrenia, a tune that I immediately had to turn my speaker’s volume up like two notches on because the riff is that good - I found myself bobbing around to it in the kitchen while I was making my lunch. Unfortunately, the rest of the album just kind of slowly devolves from there. While Catholic Block was another enjoyable track, it was a slight step down from the opener, with Beauty Lies in the Eye following suit, and so on and so on until you’re just kind of listening to a bunch of noise at the end.
But you know what? That noise is my kind of noise, dammit. It probably kept this album out of the 4 territory for me, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. This is the exact kind of classic unadulterated alternative rock shit I like - the kind that unites outsiders, never feels compelled to be a masterpiece, and just like Pixies, is the blueprint for what would eventually become Nirvana.
The Everly Brothers
3/5
3.5
I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Was really expecting this to be bubblegummy, sappy oldies stuff, and a lot of it is, but it’s able to do so in a fun way, the kind that makes you want to do the twist with that girl you’re going steady with and then get a milkshake after at Pop’s. The opening track Made to Love in particular was so incredibly catchy and had a lot more in common with surf rock than I expected. Yeah, maybe it’s a touch dated, but I really don’t feel like it’s objectionable in any way - just a cute, fun song, though to all my homo homies out there, I see you and think you’re made to love too.
It really doesn’t get any worse from there though - it has stronger and weaker moments for sure (Love Hurts, Lucille, and Cathy’s Clown were the highlights for me), but nothing that’s unenjoyable. As a whole, it really is the kind of album that makes you want to go back to the era… before you remember that times were crazy problematic back then. Oh well, I’ll stick to Johnny Rockets.
Final thoughts - between the album title, lyrics, and cover art, these guys had to be like the One Direction or Jonas Brothers of 1960, right? Like, I have no idea if trapper keepers or even stickers for that matter existed back then, but if they did, your grandma’s was probably covered with ones of the Everly Brothers.
AC/DC
5/5
5
I’m going to try to avoid echoing what I think my Dad’s review will sound like as much as I can here, but I do have to validate one thing that I know he’ll say - that being, AC/DC with Bon Scott is true AC/DC, and there wasn’t a bad album released by the group while he was a part of it. Meanwhile, Back in Black is kinda meh and everything after that mostly sucks. I don’t have anything outright against Brian Johnson, but I don’t really care for his vocals, and more importantly, the sound of the group as a whole changed with his involvement - the heavy, raw AC/DC sound that we know and love came to an end with this album, and Back in Black ushered in a new era of overproduced, polished radio rock music.
Anyway, that’s my segue to Highway to Hell - it’s probably the group’s best, though as I said before, you really can’t go wrong with any Bon Scott AC/DC album. Either way, what a note to go out on. I know a lot of people accuse every AC/DC song of sounding the same, and I can admit a lot of them do have a similar sound. If you don’t like one song on this album, you’re most likely not going to enjoy the rest, but if you do enjoy the sound of one song, there’s a good chance you’re going to enjoy the bulk of this album. For me in particular, it would be really hard to pick a favorite, though I can probably point to the title track Highway to Hell as probably being my least (most likely due to it being overplayed). However, I will say Girls Got Rhythm, Touch Too Much, and Shot Down in Flames are highlights - though nothing here is bad. I know I normally make fun of cock rock bands for their macho, oversexualized lyrics, but AC/DC somehow is able to do so in a way that just feels naturally cool. I think it helps that they seem to have a degree of self-awareness and humor in their music, and hell, even a dose of humility with Shot Down in Flames. How often do you hear a rock track literally being about striking out with women? I also really like the closer Night Prowler, which involves a really cool buildup of the music that sends the album off on a high note. It’s admittedly a little creepy (and more so in hindsight because of the whole Richard Ramirez thing), but I think its intentions are mostly grounded. Also, I always thought it was kind of funny that Bon Scott’s last words on an album are “Shazbot. Nanu nanu.”
I probably haven’t listened to this album all the way through since high school, but as I was doing so for this review, I realized I have just about every song here saved to a master Spotify playlist. So, while I really didn’t set out to give this a 5, I think I’d be lying if I didn’t put it there - this is a truly enjoyable album that has played a big part in my life and musical development. I realize rating this higher than Zeppelin IV is probably insane and deserving of getting my music nerd card taken away, and yes, I’m aware that that album is objectionably better from probably a number of perspectives, but at the end of the day, I have fonder memories of AC/DC and find myself coming back to them a bit more. So, we’re gonna pull the trigger on the 5 - Hell ain’t a bad place to be after all.
Sorry I missed the cover band, Dad!
Beastie Boys
5/5
5
Yep, back-to-back 5’s. Once again, I didn’t anticipate that being the case coming into this album, but holy cow, this instantly became one of my favorite hip-hop albums of all-time and quite possibly my favorite Beastie Boys album. How have I never listened to this before? And why haven’t more people listened to it? I don’t understand how this wasn’t a huge commercial success when it was released, but I’m glad retroactively it gets all the praise it deserves - this feels like a majorly impactful release for the genre. I was really debating a 4.5, but when you genuinely enjoy every single song on an album, is it deserving of anything less than a 5? Every beat, every rhyme, every dynamic between the boys - perfection.
I’ve always been a fan of the Beasties, but I really think this album escalated my respect for them to new heights. I don’t want to spend my review paraphrasing the Wikipedia page, but basically, after a period of being written off by both the music industry and pop culture as an annoying, frat boy-ish trend, the B-Boys dropped the rock instruments and talked sample-based songwriters The Dust Brothers into letting them use their music as the basis for their next album, one which they planned to produce themselves (and keep in mind these guys are like 22 at this point). And shoutout to The Dust Brothers, because these beats are absolutely incredible by their own merit, but man, the B-Boys elevate them into absolute musical excellence. I was about to start listing out my favorites here and then realized I would basically be just reciting the tracklist of the album - you really can’t go wrong jumping in at any point. To All the Girls is a great opener (if slightly dated), and I loved that they ended the album in a 9-song B-Boy Bouillabaisse suite. Kinda wish Spotify combined all the segments into one track (as intended), but either way, it’s really enjoyable. (Side note - if you’re like me and curious what a bouillabaisse is, it’s a kind of French fish soup. There, saved you a Google).
My biggest takeaway - this is peak hip-hop, and it’s so frustrating that we’ll never hear an album like this again. Once again, not trying to make this a Wikipedia article, but for those unfamiliar with music sampling, this was released in an era before doing so required clearance with the original owner (fuck you, Gilbert O’Sullivan). That no longer being the case, an album like this with 105 different samples on it is likely something we’ll never see again, and I think that detriments the genre so much. Obviously there’s still good hip-hop in the world today, but imagine if beatmakers were still able to explore their full scope of musical ability like The Dust Brothers were able to here. Well, at least we’ll always have a taste of it with Paul’s Boutique.
Iron Maiden
3/5
3
I don’t claim to be the biggest Iron Maiden fan, but having liked a lot of the stuff I’ve heard from the group, I was really looking forward to this album - and man, what a disappointment. Look, I know this is their first release, and so I wasn’t expecting it to sound like peak Maiden, but I was not at all prepared for the vocals to kick in and not be Bruce Dickinson. I totally forgot that the band had a different original lead singer, and let me tell you, it is definitely not the same experience. I get that the band as a whole is still very much finding their footing here, but I found Paul Di’Anno to be such a lackluster vocalist that the music always felt capped. Nothing about his voice feels particularly distinct or enjoyable, and as a result my favorite track here was probably Transylvania.
Much like Black Sabbath’s debut, I understand that this was the start of a variation on rock music that was still being ironed out - and you can definitely hear traces of what’s to come - but I also hear a lot of generic and uninteresting rock tropes mixed in there. The slow parts of Remember Tomorrow and Strange World were both pretty dull (though you can definitely hear the influence upon Avenged Sevenfold with that lead guitar work on the latter), and Running Free felt like an out-of-place Southern rock song that could have come from a group like Molly Hatchet. Prowler and Phantom of the Opera are better tastes of the band’s style, but even then aren’t anywhere near as good as their later work. So, like the aforementioned Black Sabbath album, this is going to get a 3 from me - admittedly influential, but retroactively pretty okay in comparison to what came later.
2/5
2.5
I’m not sure exactly what Suba is confessing to here, but it sounds to me like he’s admitting to being a pretty average electronic musician.
That’s not to say I disliked this - in many ways it feels like the natural evolution of the mellow electronic sound that Air had started experimenting with a year prior on Moon Safari (another album I gave a mediocre score to), but here, it’s hit with a dose of Latin-fusion, courtesy of Suba’s recent immigration to Sāo Paulo. And I would argue that’s the album’s biggest strength - the mixing of genres makes this a unique listen and encapsulates a “late night in a South American metropolis” vibe so well, even as someone who has never been (the album cover does great job of that too). I also really enjoyed singer Cibelle’s voice and thought they were a pleasant addition to just about every track they were featured on. Yet, despite all of that, I wasn’t really hit with any kind of lasting impression. There’s nothing here that I think I would go out of my way to re-visit, and the only songs that stick out to me looking back now are the closing track A Noite Sem Fim, which I found kind of annoying, and Samba Do Gringo Paulista, which I feel would fit perfectly in the soundtrack of a racing game (I could see it in a modern Mario Kart). Not much else to say on individual songs, though there was one track in there I swear sounded like Cibelle was singing “my dick”.
Maybe I could learn to appreciate this album if I ever get around to seeing São Paulo firsthand, but as is, I would say I found it okay. That being said, apparently Suba’s next release Tanto Tempo would go on to become the highest-selling Brazilian album outside of Brazil - an album that he apparently realized was that good because he literally died in an effort to save the recordings from a studio fire (a few days after this album released). So, I won’t write off Suba just yet - hell, maybe that album’s on this list.
Dusty Springfield
2/5
2.5
So… why is this an album I need to hear before I die? Yeah, Dusty has a nice voice and all, but this sounds like a really generic slice of the era - if not already a tad dated for 1964. And she didn’t even write any of the songs here, they’re all covers. I know that kind of thing wasn’t uncommon for the time, but my point being that I really couldn’t pinpoint any one thing here that I would consider particularly monumental or influential.
I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but this album helped me develop a smidge of respect for The Beatles. Even though I still don’t care for it, Rubber Soul released just a year after this and is not only made up of all original compositions, but its pacing and structure is lightyears ahead, almost to a modern degree - once again, making this album feel particularly dated, even from a contemporary perspective. And I totally get that some albums are just intended to be fun and not some kind of artistic masterpiece, and this album mostly succeeds in that regard - hence why I’m still going to rate this just a touch higher than Rubber Soul - but even then I wouldn’t call it overly enjoyable by any means. The only song that really jumped out to me was Every Day I Have to Cry (even though it’s hella dated), but I guess that track is a bonus track and wasn’t on the initial release, so I can’t really use it to the album’s credit here.
As a whole, I feel like this exact kind of music exists in other, better forms - or at the very least, on albums that don’t require you to partially assemble the tracklist on Spotify because they didn’t get an official US release. One of the more forgettable albums for me on this list so far.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
2
Nick Cave is an artist I really want to like - I mean, the guy is supposed a brooding, lyrical icon after all - but I’m still not impressed after listening to this album. After being disappointed with his effort at piano ballads on The Boatman’s Call, I thought I just had to hold out for something more conventional to really understand his charm, but unfortunately I found this even more boring than his piano stuff.
As suggested by the title, this is really two separate albums paired together into one release, and I gotta say, there is nothing interesting going on in the the first half, Abattoir Blues. This is rock music at its most generic, and even though I really tried to attach myself to the topics and themes he’s writing about in these songs, the overall songwriting seems to alternate between goofy and bland in such a way that it made it hard for me to dial in on anything he was trying to convey. I picked up that there’s a religious angle he was going for on a few songs, but between the cheesy choruses on songs like Get Ready For Love and Hiding All The Way or his weirdly numerous references to fingering women, I just really couldn’t get too into it. The saving grace from this side is the Johnny Cash-dedicated elegy Let the Bells Ring.
The Lrye of Orpheus marks the start of the second album, titled the same, and the change in sound is immediately noticeable. From what I’ve read online, this half is much more indicative of Cave’s typical output, featuring songwriting that I appreciated a bit more - it reminded me of a heavier Leonard Cohen in some ways - but even then I feel like it was only a small improvement above the first half. It has its highs with the title track (best lyric on the album by far is “Eurydice appeared brindled in blood/And she said to Orpheus/If you play that fucking thing down here/I'll stick it up your orifice!”) and my personal favorite song here, Supernaturally, which has the most enjoyable chorus of anything on the album, dare I say bordering on epic. Unfortunately, my least favorite moment is also here in the awkward and out-of-place ballad Baby, You Turn Me On (seriously why does this guy keep mention fingering?) Also, despite being the most popular track on Spotify across his whole discography, I wasn’t too impressed with O Children. I mean, it was effective enough for a closer, but the best this guy has? Really?
I really feel like either of these albums released individually could have gotten a 2.5 or even a 3 from me on a good day, but mushed together as is results in an album that feels too long to be this mediocre. I’m still open to listening to more of Cave’s stuff, but let it be known this is Strike 2.
Arcade Fire
3/5
3.5
Despite being one of the most acclaimed alternative rock acts of the 2000s, this is actually my first time giving Arcade Fire a listen. My first impression was that the album ran together a bit and overall sounded pretty generic for the time period, like it wanted to be a Coldplay release, but subsequent listens really helped flesh out its charm. While it does have a very consistent sound throughout, there’s a lot of interesting things going on in the songwriting I started noticing once I had the chance to properly dial in, with the hurdy-gurdy-featuring Keep the Car Running probably being my favorite tune here (a song later covered by Foo Fighters!) and (Antichrist Television Blues) a close second, with its vilification of parents who pimp their kids out for fame and fortune being something that really stood out to me. I wish the group stuck with the original name of the song (Joe Simpson), but I get why they didn’t - probably a bit too on the nose. Overall though, I mostly liked everything I heard (the organ-driven My Body is a Cage is an incredibly strong finale), though ironically, I think my least favorite track here was Neon Bible. It’s a great album name, so it’s a bummer the title track is so uninteresting.
Not an album I fell head over heels in love with, but something I enjoyed and see myself re-visiting. I know Funeral is supposedly the group’s true masterpiece, so I look forward to its inclusion on this list (assuming it made it if this album did).
Les Rythmes Digitales
2/5
2.5
This is one of the most 90s album covers I’ve ever seen. Like, I wouldn’t be surprised if homeboy is cracking open a Crystal Pepsi. Did SEGA base everything about Jet Set Radio off this one image??
Anyway, unlike the album cover, the music actually feels quite ahead of its time - it sounds like this guy was not only a big influence on artists like Daft Punk and LCD Soundsystem, but also the entire club scene in the decade ahead. That being said, I’m not a huge electronic fan, and this album didn’t do much to change my mind - which is a bummer, because I feel like it was so close to doing so. The album starts strongly with the danceable Dreamin’, seguing into what is far and away the best track, Music Makes You Lose Control. Holy cow, that looping guitar part is absolutely insane and was stuck in my head long after the album was over. Unfortunately, that song’s best attribute also happens to be the album’s biggest detriment - every one of these songs just loops over and over. When it works, it works well, and when it doesn’t, it turns a 4-minute long song into a slog, and the further you get into this album, the more of a slog it becomes. There’s really not a ton interesting going on after Hey You What’s That Sound? except for maybe the closer, Damaged People, but at that point you’re already long checked out. As mentioned, I know he was ahead of the curve here with the 2000s electronic scene to come, so maybe I shouldn’t hold him to the same standard, but at the same time, he had plenty of electronic groups from the 80s to take notes from, so I think this really had the potential to be something greater.
Either way, it seems like this guy is doing pretty well for himself, because even though this ended up being his final album under the uncreative and weirdly French name Les Rhythmes Digitales, he would go on to become a Grammy-winning producer, working with artists like Madonna and The Killers - so maybe he just needed somebody else in the studio with him to truly elevate his work. I wanted to end this with a jab at the French (as is tradition), but it turns out the guy is actually English. So, no jab needed, because what’s sadder than pretending to be French?
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
2
If in a nearby parallel universe The Beatles’ experimentation with LSD resulted in a bad trip, I imagine their subsequent music would have sounded something like this instead of Sgt. Pepper’s. Yet somehow, this album was composed by a man who famously abstained from drug use, which kind of makes it more terrifying to me - though to be fair, I guess their producer was on LSD so I’m sure that was a factor.
Anyway, apparently Zappa’s goal with this album was to satirize contemporary American culture and music, and that definitely came through to me, especially with the takes on pop music that sounded purposefully inflated with goofy, overdone lyrics and kazoo solos. I’m not sure if that’s the aspect that makes people revere this album, but if you ask me, just because it’s satire doesn’t mean it’s automatically smart, insightful, or even any good for that matter - I mean, there’s a reason Meet the Spartans isn’t hailed as a cinematic masterpiece. That kind of stuff takes up the majority of the album, with the beginning and end being bookended with some near-unlistenable songs that feel a bit more like psychotic episodes - kudos to anyone else who made it through all twelve minutes of The Return of the Son of the Monster Magnet. Even if Zappa himself didn’t do drugs, he clearly knew who his audience was.
The only other particularly notable track here is Trouble Every Day, which happens to be the one moment on the album where Zappa decided to drop the whole satire thing and just go all in on his grievances with modern America in a blues number. I really wanted to appreciate it, but ultimately it just kind of boils down to “TV=bad” and “these racial riots are an annoyance to me”. The line “Hey, you know something, people? I'm not black, but there's a whole lots a times I wish I could say I'm not white” gave me hope that he was making some kind of progressive statement acknowledging white responsibility for minority disparagement, but the next verse seems to indicate he says that because he’s annoyed these incidents are affecting white people. Maybe there’s a deeper meaning to the song I’m missing, but overall it just doesn’t seem particularly forward-thinking.
So yeah, purposefully bad, purposefully weird, and one decent song with a questionable message is how I would summarize this album. I considered a 1, but I think it’s just interesting enough to keep it out of that zone - still, don’t understand the hype surrounding this one.
Muddy Waters
3/5
3
Classic blues. Nothing mind-blowing, but a nice reminder of how much rock music owes to the genre. The numerous covers of Baby, Please Don’t Go being case in point, but the inklings of a musical movement yet to come are felt on every song here. Muddy sounds great, with my two favorites here probably being the mentioned Baby, Please Don’t Go and I Feel So Good (I’m convinced Stevie Ray Vaughn ripped off the latter for Pride and Joy), but for the most part this kind of ran together for me. The reprise of I’ve Got My Mojo Working was a fun surprise, but I didn’t find the song necessarily overly interesting enough to warrant it. But then again, I’m not sure I would consider anything here quite interesting enough to warrant a reprise. I know Muddy was majorly influential on blues and rock as a whole, but my only real takeaway after listening to this album three times is “that was enjoyable enough”.
Would maybe give a re-listen if I’m feeling in a particularly bluesy mood.
Sister Sledge
2/5
2
Yeah… not really a disco fan. I tried going into this with an open mind, but outside of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, this is probably as disco as disco gets. Apparently this album was entirely written and produced by the two frontmen of Chic, to the point where one of them claimed this as the best album of Chic’s career. Appropriately, it just so happens I have the same hang-ups with this album that I do with C’est Chic - songs go on too long, lyrics are pretty unimaginative and cheesy, and the R&B moments are weak. Lost in Music was the only song I kind of enjoyed, though I can concede He’s The Greatest Dancer could potentially hit pretty hard if it was playing in a dance environment and I had a few drinks in me. Not much else to say here - the title track is overrated and overplayed.
No disrespect to anyone involved with the making of this album, and by no means do I think this is bad, but it’s not my thing.
Nirvana
5/5
5
The Nirvana album that separates the men from the boys. No, it’s not their finest hour - that’s MTV Unplugged - but far and away the best of their studio albums. Bleach was a solid debut, albeit a tad one-note and directionless, and Nevermind an overproduced effort at bringing alternative rock to the mainstream (which it succeeded… and then some). But In Utero? In Utero strikes the perfect balance between the two. Admittedly, Nirvana wears their influence on their sleeve here the most of any of their records - not only does it sound like a Pixies album, but it’s quite literally produced by Steve Albini, producer of Surfer Rosa, an album Kurt once named as his second favorite of all-time (behind Raw Power by The Stooges). As it turns out, he was just the guy the group needed after dissatisfaction with their former release. Famously no-bullshit and a former punk himself, Albini was able to take the charm of Nevermind and strip it down to its core, removing all the fluff and instead choosing to highlight the genius of Nirvana with an unabashedly honest lack of polish - a sound the group was always best suited for.
“Teenage angst has paid off well/Now I'm bored and old”
The opening line of Serve the Servants greets you with an immediate acknowledgement of the counterculture revolution the group had ignited just two years prior, and more importantly, their desire to separate and move on from it. This album isn’t setting out to be Nevermind 2, and as if that line wasn’t enough to convince you, the following track Scentless Apprentice makes it damn well clear that the commercially palatable stuff is out the window. To me, this is the band in its purest form, and songs like Milk It, Radio Friendly Unit Shifter, and Tourette’s are reminders that Kurt’s idols weren’t the kind to write radio hits. Of course, this is still Nirvana we’re talking about, so despite its rougher exterior, the album still had its fair share of commercial success. However, even the hits have a certain raw, sincere energy to them that fits contextually within the album, which has resulted in me coming back to songs like Heart-Shaped Box and Rape Me more than I do Smells Like Teen Spirit or In Bloom.
As a whole, the pacing and song placement is excellent, resulting in an album that flows seamlessly despite a stark difference between songs like Dumb and Milk It. I do want to give a shoutout to Post Malone for opening his Nirvana cover set with Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle, as it’s one of the group’s most underrated tracks and quite possibly the best on this album - though it’s hard to beat a concluding track like All Apologies. The song is absolutely fantastic by its own merit, but there’s something hauntingly beautiful about it being the bookend of Kurt Cobain’s studio career. All in all is all we are indeed.
If Nevermind is a required listening, then I would argue this album should be as well. It has all of the genius without all of the polish, and while I admit that might make it a little less accessible, I believe therein lies its charm. The definitive Nirvana studio album for me.
Jazmine Sullivan
3/5
3
Classic 90s R&B sound with a feminist twist to it - I can definitely see this one pissing off the Ben Shapiro types of the world. Call it graphic if you want, but it isn’t without purpose, one I feel the first interlude, Antoinette’s Tale, sums up best: In a world in which sexual conquest is both expected of and enabled in men, why shouldn’t women have the same agency over their own body and desires? Whether it be for romantic, lustful, empowering, or ulterior reasons, women are at liberty to do with their body as they wish, just as men can and choose to do. This album takes a unique approach in tackling that concept as a sort of anthology, featuring a series of women’s “tales” that explore this range of sexual motivation and help tee up the next song, related in topic. That was an aspect I really enjoyed - it added a layer of personal depth that helped me connect with the music and view each track in a certain light. Of all these, the most insightful and profound for me was probably the finale, Amanda’s Tale and Girl Like Me, which describes the insecurity of someone who loses her man to the type of woman she finds herself constantly comparing herself to on social media, ultimately resulting in her embracing her sexuality as a form of value. In an album focused on tales of sexual agency, this last tale is probably the most tragic one, reminding us that there’s more to sexuality than just lust.
Anyway, while I clearly appreciated the topical nature of the album, musically… I found this kind of meh. Nothing I disliked, but at the same time, I can’t help but wonder if recency bias was a major factor for this album’s inclusion on the list. Of course the messaging is important, but I’m not sure it has quite the level of songwriting to hold up as an all-time great years from now. There was no song in particular that made me want to go back and give another listen - If I were to revisit this album, it would likely be for its narrative.
Feel like this had the potential to be something absolutely great, but it didn’t quite get there for me. Still, glad to have been exposed to it.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
2/5
2
What in the “South will rise again” is this album cover? Kudos to them for at least making it a Union soldier, though I still can’t help but feel the whole thing is a little questionable - especially for a group from Long Beach, California. Like, your state didn’t even fight in the Civil War, what are you on about?
I digress, really didn’t think this would be the kind of thing I’d like, but I was actually enjoying myself quite a bit as I started listening. I know these guys aren’t the original writers of the majority of these songs, but I was surprised by how much I knew from renditions by other artists - Keep on the Sunny Side obviously, but also Dark as a Dungeon from Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison album, Lonesome Fiddle Blues which would later go on to became The Devil Went Down to Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band, and Cannonball Rage from… well I recognize it from somewhere, that’s for sure. The biggest déjà vu moment for me though was the title track, Will the Circle Be Unbroken. I had myself convinced it was just because it sounds similar to Amazing Grace, but then it hit me - this is the song that greets Booker when he first arrives in Columbia in BioShock Infinite. I realize that probably means nothing to most people reading this, but all I can say is it’s an awesome moment from an incredible game - go play BioShock Infinite.
Outside of those songs, most of this album kind of runs together, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing - at first. I was getting Toy Story/Red Dead Redemption/Frontier Town at Cedar Point vibes all over that I was appreciating, but let me tell you, at two hours and ten minutes long, once that charm wears off, it’s gone, and it doesn’t come back. It kind of reminded me of running a marathon - it’s refreshing and fun at first, but then halfway through it hits you you have to run 13 more miles and you start asking yourself what you signed up for (Disclaimer: I’ve never actually run a marathon). It even feels like the album is taunting you with its length sometimes by putting a long stretch of instrumentals in the middle and then some dialogue tracks towards the end. Will the Circle Be Unbroken? More like “Will the Album F*cking End”.
So yeah, this really wasn’t bad, it just needs to know its limitations, because as is, I find it highly unlikely that I listen to the full thing ever again - which is kind of a shame because there’s actually some enjoyable moments here. At least it made me think of Bioshock.
Can’t wait for these guys to show up on my Spotify Wrapped this year!
The Style Council
1/5
1.5
Lame and pretentious - I mean, the genre of this album being labeled as “sophisti-pop” probably tells you everything you need to know. There is nothing interesting going on in the first half unless slow, unimaginative lounge jazz is your thing. When it came to the back half, it feels like the duo caught on to the fact they were going down a very boring route, and decided to spice things up with jarring attempts at hip hop, dance pop, and even a bit of folk. The attempts made them the more remarkable songs on the album for me, but they feel very out of place as a whole. I was kind of surprised that they didn’t have more plays on Spotify, or at least Strength of Your Nature, because I feel like those tracks at least all had mildly enjoyable qualities to them - I have no idea what would drive people to listen to My Ever Changing Moods or You’re the Best Thing instead. One thing’s for sure, they’re not getting another play out of me - this album sucks.
Duran Duran
3/5
3
Hungry Like the Wolf is a good song, Rio is alright, and the rest of this sounded about how I expected it to - more of the same, not quite as good. Nothing really jumped out at me my first time through, but after a subsequent listen, I can confidently say Lonely In Your Nightmare is the definitive underrated track here.
And that about amounts to my thoughts on the album. Overall, pretty okay, which is more or less the same opinion I had of the group going into this. Wikipedia helped me derive a little more entertainment out of this album when I learned that it initially flopped in the US and had to be remixed in order to find success. So, with that in mind, I assumed we were listening to the American version here, but it turns out this is indeed the original release. I’m not sure when exactly we as a country collectively agreed that we were wrong about our initial convictions, but if you’re curious about the remixes, they’re on the Collector’s Edition of the album. I really didn’t hear much of a difference though - in the case of Hungry Like the Wolf, the drums have a little more reverb to them, the electronic noises are a little quieter, and the sex noises at the end are much louder. In fact, I didn’t even realize there were sex noises at the end of Hungry Like the Wolf until I listened to the American mix. So, there you have it folks, if your band is struggling to break through in America, your music is clearly lacking in the sexual noise department.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
2/5
2
Yeah, I’ve established that I’m not much of a Bob Marley fan, and once again this didn’t do much to change my mind. I appreciated that these songs at least seemed to have a bit more political messaging to them, but then again, with lyrics like “Their mind is confused with confusion”, I feel like I can only commend the songwriting so much. Why is this guy considered an all-time great lyricist? I was hoping my guy Peter Tosh would hit me with something decent on his penned songs here, but I really couldn’t tell you any aspect of 400 Years or Stop That Train that makes them stand apart. Hell, I couldn’t even tell you what the biggest hit here, Stir It Up, has that the other songs don’t. I thought maybe it had a profound message I was missing, but no, it’s just about sex. Maybe people are just horny - see my earlier note about sex noises in music.
On a positive note, this has one of the coolest physical album concepts I’ve ever seen - and no, not the version featuring Marley smoking a spliff - but the OG release was in the shape of a Zippo lighter and opened up like one to reveal the record. That’s cool as hell - I’ll give Marley credit for that one.
N.W.A.
4/5
4
“You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge”
Has there ever been an opening line to an album so badass and yet so fitting? The development of gangsta rap with this album was a turning point for the genre, and depending on who you ask it either marked the end of the golden era or the start of a new one. As someone who grew up on punk music, I find myself in the latter category - an angsty album that’s both in your face and delivering a sociopolitical message? Yeah man, sign me up. So, this was one of the few rap albums I owned as a teenager, and at that point in time I would have told you this is an eazy 5.
Well, I still really enjoy this album, but it’s not quite as great as I remember. I’ve seen a lot of people write this off as sexist and outdated, but to be honest that’s not really the qualm I have with the album - not that I’m pro-sexism by any means, but I’ve always kind of interpreted the lyrics to be the reflection of the true no-holds-barred way of life in Compton, California and in no way intended to be a glamorization. My issue was more of the fact that I just totally forgot how much filler is on this thing - I was thoroughly enjoying myself when I started listening and was really convinced this might still be a 5 in my book, but starting with Compton’s N The House I feel like the album loses a bit of steam and then never picks it back up again. Dopeman was a song I remember being a fan of in my younger days, but it really didn’t do much for me in my listening here, and apparently I somehow wiped out the fact this album ends on an incredibly out-of-place note with Something 2 Dance 2. Who the hell’s idea was it to end this thing with a dance number?
…
Oh, Arabian Prince’s. That explains a lot.
Still a really good album for the most part - you really can’t go wrong jumping in on any of the first eight tracks. Either way, even if you hate it, it’s hard arguing with the importance of this album on all of rap music, and the careers and legacies each member has had since its release has made N.W.A. feel like a retroactive supergroup of sorts. An album 100% deserving of being on this list.
Bob Dylan
4/5
4
Sad Dylan is best Dylan - his claims that this album is in no way autobiographical is such BS. Like, you expect us to believe that, while separating from his wife, the guy just so happens to go from writing about politics to writing about failed relationships and that there’s no connection? Look man, there’s no shame in needing an outlet.
Anyway, as is the case with most anguished musicians, Dylan’s hardship ended up being a blessing for the musical world. Really, really good album - one in which its charm is still growing on me four listens later. And yes, I listened to this four times. At first I told myself it was just because I hadn’t given it a proper listen, but sitting here now I realize that I was really just trying to embrace everything it has to offer - something I’m still in the process of doing even now. I still have no idea what exactly is going on in a couple songs, like Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts in particular, but they all still managed to speak to me in some manner or another.
Far and away the best song on the album is Tangled Up in Blue, which may not only be the best song Dylan ever wrote, but “We always did feel the same/We just saw it from a different point of view” may also be one of his greatest lyrics. As someone who has never been in a relationship with a redheaded topless dancer, lyrics like that one still allow the song to resonate with me in a way that makes me reflect on my own personal failed relationships. And that’s really the magic of this album - just about every song here has that ability. Admittedly, some spoke to me more than others, but as a whole, this a really well-written and well-structured album, and I can see why it’s held in such high regard. I’ll definitely be giving it another listen.
The Youngbloods
2/5
2
Yeah, I don’t see what’s so special about this record. Supposedly these guys are an underappreciated late 60s folk group that are claimed to have bridged the gap between the genre and psychedelia, but after listening to this, I gotta say whatever amount of appreciation they have is probably enough. I don’t even hear the psychedelic aspect, instead it feels more like folk mixed with some jazz, but more in the sense each feels watered down rather than complementary. Didn’t find anything going on in the songs to be overly interesting, and after multiple times through, there’s nothing I could really point to as being worthy of a re-listen in the near future.
I know there are many groups out there that never receive the acclaim they deserve due to reasons outside of their control, but I don’t think this is one of those times.
Sorry Youngbloods. Clearly you have a fan somewhere if you made this list.
R.E.M.
3/5
3.5
Look, I like R.E.M. and all, but is this really an all-time great album? Obviously It’s the End of World As We Know It and The One I Love are fantastic tunes and put the band on the map, but for the most part this kind of just feels like a blended mesh of R.E.M. at their most okay.
Admittedly, there are a couple hidden gems sprinkled in here - the album opens with what might very well be its best track in the aptly titled Finest Worksong - but unfortunately everything starts running together very quickly after that with the following handful of songs. Shoutout to the group for covering Wire, and while I want to give them credit for putting a new spin on Strange, it kind of just boils down to exactly what you would imagine an R.E.M. cover of a punk song to sound like rather than anything particularly noteworthy or great. From there, once you’re through the hits, it’s pretty clear the best the album has to offer is over, and it feels like you’re left stuck with the group’s B material. The closing track Oddfellows Local 151 is decent enough, but I don’t think there’s anything about the three preceding it that would make me want to come back to them (though I did find Stipe’s delivery of “Crazy, crazy world” stuck in my head after listening, so do with that what you will).
Not a great album in my opinion, but it does have some great songs, and I don’t think I could go lower than a 3.5 for those alone. It’s hard for me not to think of Tommy Boy while listening to End of the World, and it always puts a smile on my face when I do. You ever notice every time a name is mentioned in the song they have the initials L.B.? What’s up with that?
The Doors
3/5
3.5
The first and only Doors album I ever owned on CD, and one I used to listen to pretty frequently in my early teenage years. I haven’t really returned to it since though, and I’m not sure exactly why that is. I still think Jim Morrison is a great lyricist and vocalist after all these years, but I think something about the keyboard-driven sound of this album hasn’t held up quite as well with my musical taste.
Listening to now, as a whole, yeah, it’s not as great as I remember or was hoping it to be. In many ways it’s creepier than I remember with tracks like Alabama Song, Take It As It Comes, and Back Door Man (might just be dirty-minded with that last one there), but that all to say, the absolute greatness of songs like Break on Through, The End, Light My Fire, and Soul Kitchen can’t be understated. Those four songs may sum up the group best out of anything across their catalog, and 55 years later they’re still among the most synonymous with the group. I mean, from the very first note Break on Through is instantly recognizable, and that chorus? Explosive. Right out of the gate the group came swinging with what might very well be the best and most iconic track of their career. And then you have The End that’s the opposite in many ways - mellow and slow to reveal its charm, but once it does, the ambience of the track is unlike anything else. If your group is able to put out a twelve-minute song and have it be one of your best, you’re doing something right - even if it involves murdering your father and having sex with your mother.
Anyway, the rest of the stuff on the album is just kind of okay. It never drags, which is good, but there’s nothing I feel that’s worth re-visiting outside of the four songs mentioned above. Twentieth Century Fox is a song I remember really liking in my mentioned teenage Doors era, but it didn’t do much for me here, and once again I gotta say Alabama Song in particular I found to be kind of an abomination.
Great debut, but not quite an all-time great album, though shoutout to my favorite cover band Crystal Shit. I hope these guys have a good sense of humor and don’t take them into court.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
4
I’m starting to see why my Dad likes these guys and gals so much - there’s a lot of really great stuff here, and I can’t help but respect Lou’s style of songwriting, which is seemingly a rejection of pop standards. I mean, an album glamorizing heroin, drug dealers, sadomasochism, and prostitution? Yeah, I can see why this was a bit of a controversial release in 1967. But I think that’s a part of the charm of the album, and paired with a competent songwriter like Lou and a talented vocalist like Nico, I found this to be a really good listen through and through.
Right out of the gate, Sunday Morning had my full attention - it’s one of the most enchanting openers I’ve heard to an album, the kind that you can’t help but sit back in your chair to fully acknowledge and that imparts you with the feeling that everything might just be okay, ya know? An LSD trip meets catharsis in song form. I’m Waiting for the Man is a solid follow-up track from there, transitioning into what’s probably Nico’s finest moment on the album, Femme Fatale, but really, I thoroughly enjoyed her full trifecta of songs here - kind of shame Lou fired her after his album.
Unfortunately, I don’t feel like this album finishes quite as strong as it starts, with Venus in Furs being the first miss for me of a few - whatever the hell is going on with the strings in the background is incredibly grating and made this song feel so much longer than five minutes (Dammit Cale). Things pick up again with the stretch of All Tomorrow’s Parties to I’ll Be Your Mirror, with the track Heroin in particular probably being the album’s second-best. The slow/fast dynamic of the song is really cool, the lyrics are incredibly strong, and… look, idk man, he just makes heroin sound really cool - I want to feel like Jesus’ son. Unfortunately, the comedown gives way to musical lows, and this album ends with two tracks basically comprised of a bunch of noise. Wish it could have ended as strongly as it started, but I’m sure there’s some kind of genius buried in there somewhere - let me know what I’m missing, Dad.
As a whole though, I think this is a very well composed album with quite a lot of good tunes on it. I can definitely see why it’s regarded as a classic, and I can definitely see myself coming back to it. Hell, like my Dad, it sent me down a little bit of a Lou Reed rabbit hole over the weekend, and I found myself listening to his solo stuff during the commercial breaks of college football (Lol @ Bama). No idea if this is common knowledge, but I didn’t realize Can I Kick It? by A Tribe Called Quest is a sample of the guy. Learn something new every day, huh?
The Stooges
3/5
3.5
Funny, just a couple days ago Gimme Danger was shuffled into my Spotify session, and I was like “Damn, this is a good song, wonder if we’ll be seeing more Stooges on our list?” Well, ask and you shall receive.
One of the most aptly titled albums out there and so incredibly influential on the entire punk genre to come (Kurt Cobain even once named it as his personal favorite of all-time). I find it kind of interesting that The Stooges are considered a precursor to punk considering that they arguably go much harder than many of the bands claimed to have invented it - though there are definitely similarities (tell me Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell couldn’t be a Misfits song). A lot of that raw sound can be chalked up to Iggy’s studio production inexperience, which I think simultaneously does both wonders and a disservice to the songs here. For that reason, there are apparently two different versions of the album - the Iggy Pop mix and the David Bowie mix, who was brought in by the record label to try and save it. Normally when an album has a remixed version, I feel like it’s not too drastically different, but man, in this case it’s a tale of two producers. Iggy’s is loud, messy, and sounds like the audio is clipping half the time, but embodies the uninhibited punk spirit so well. Bowie’s on the other hand is much cleaner and highlights the individual personality and technicalities of each song a little better. I listened to each multiple times to try and compare and contrast, and sitting here now I still couldn’t tell you which version I like more.
Regardless of which one you’re listening to, I think this album starts phenomenally and slowly becomes less remarkable as it goes on - the opening tracks are amazing and among the best of Iggy’s career, but I really didn’t care for the stuff closer to the end like Shake Appeal and Death Trip. So, that being the case, I think I prefer Iggy’s mix for the first half of the album, which makes a punk song like Search and Destroy sound absolutely EXPLOSIVE and a ballad like Gimme Danger feel absolutely gritty, but when you get to the stuff closer to end that has less flavor or personality to it, it just feels kind of unlistenable. So, point Bowie on Side B, as he was able to take songs that felt like skips on Iggy’s mix and give them a life of their own, giving me the realization of, “Oh, there really is a song buried in there.”
Either way you slice it, this is a good album, but I just don’t feel like it finishes anywhere near as strong as it starts. Could probably be a 4 from me on a good day, but I really only see myself regularly coming back to the first two tracks.
Fun Lovin' Criminals
3/5
3.5
Not going to lie, when I saw “rap rock” I expected to hate this album, but I ended up really kind of digging it - even if Fun Lovin’ Criminals is a goofy name for a group, at least they weren’t lying when they promised fun. The opening stretch of The Fun Lovin’ Criminal to Bombin’ the L in particular is incredibly strong, to the point where I was seriously questioning if the album could keep that musicality up and go the distance - and it doesn’t quite, the back half started running together and losing me a little bit, but it was still enjoyable for the most part, just not to the point where I found myself grooving like I was at the beginning. The only thing that really stood out to me after the midway point was We Have All the Time in the World, which was an interesting change-up from the rap sound of the album to a slower, alternative rock-style song with vocals that sounded like a cross between Lou Reed and the guy from Eels - it’s also possible I have too much Lou Reed on the mind lately.
Definitely a different spin on rap rock - this is way smoother than anything else that comes to mind when the genre is mentioned, which for me is Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine, and Limp Bizkit (for better or for worse). There’s not a whole lot of substance, so I don’t know if I’d go as far to say that this a full re-listen from me anywhere in the near future, but I can definitely see myself re-visiting the first six tracks. The chorus of Passive / Aggressive is incredible, the riff of Bombin’ the L goes hard (even if it is just Smoke on the Water), and the hook of Scooby Snacks is incredibly infectious despite goofy references to the cartoon series and Pulp Fiction. Can’t quite pull the trigger on the 4, but I can confidently say I liked this.
Led Zeppelin
3/5
3
Lo and behold, it’s the worst of the numbered Led Zeppelin albums. It’s such a shame too, because this album starts ridiculously strong with Robert Plant’s howling viking battle cries ushering in two and half minutes of some of the most epic rock music ever put to wax - and then nothing after comes anywhere close to it. To be fair, it’s hard for any song to compare to Immigrant Song, but it also doesn’t really seem like they were trying to with the acoustic approach taken on the rest of the album here. That’s not to say Led Zeppelin should have stayed in their lane, as some of their finest moments in the years ahead would come from deviating from their signature heavy, blues sound, and the group would even later prove further prove their acoustic capacity on tracks like Going to California and Hey Hey, What I Can Do, but whatever they were doing with it here just ain’t it for me. I mean, it’s Zeppelin, so it’s not unenjoyable, but I don’t have a ton of praise to hand out either - if I had to pick a favorite out of the rest of the bunch it would probably be Bron-Y-Aur Stomp, but even then it’s far and away from the upper echelons of Zeppelin’s best. Since I’ve Been Loving You is the only other real noteworthy track here with it’s more distinct blues sound, but if I had to pick a ballad by these guys I would definitely opt for something like Babe I’m Gonna Leave You or Thank You over this.
Not a bad listen, but never my first (or second, or third, or fourth) pick when it comes to Led Zeppelin albums. Feel like Immigrant Song is more deserving of a feature on one of their better releases, but at least we were fortunate enough to be blessed by its presence at all - even if the song is now associated with my dad’s 10 Street trivia team.
Taylor Swift
3/5
3
I didn’t really know what to think coming into this one. I have nothing against Taylor Swift, but I don’t claim to be a Swiftie, and I definitely wouldn’t say I have any intentions of becoming one. My friend Sarah is a diehard fan though, especially with Taylor’s newer stuff like this, so I really tried going into this with an open mind so I could at least walk away with an informed opinion on the album.
Initial thoughts - this is a far cry away from her t-shirt, sneakers, and bleachers days. I can’t deny its place as a pop album, but there’s a lot more folk influence on this record than I would have anticipated. I like a good amount of folk stuff myself, so I was hoping the sound of this record would be a good starting point for me with her discography, but after an initial listen, I found myself pretty whelmed - there’s not a ton of variation going on in the music or songwriting, and as a result this album felt overly long. Still, I didn’t want to write it off yet - I mean, there must be a reason she’s considered one of the greatest songwriters of the modern era, right? So, I went back in again and gave another listen, this time really trying to dial in on the lyrics and songwriting. While it didn’t drastically change my opinion, I would encourage anyone else on the fence to do the same, as I think it helps enhance your experience in highlighting the charm of Taylor’s songwriting. She’s able to articulate relationships incredibly well in her music, with lyrics like “There'll be happiness after you/But there was happiness because of you/Both of these things can be true” on Happiness or “Never be so kind/You forget to be clever/Never be so clever/You forget to be kind” on Marjorie being two lyrics that stood out to me on my subsequent listen, and Tolerate It? Woof - walked away from that one as a broken man. My personal favorite tracks here though would probably be No Body, No Crime (the older country style was great) and Coney Island (shoutout to my boys The National - Matt sounded great with Taylor here), though I also got a bit of enjoyment out of Closure just for the simple fact it sounded like Taylor was doing her thing over a Nine Inch Nails song.
I’m not walking away from this album stunned or as a newfound Swiftie, but I am walking away with a bit more respect for Taylor as an artist and her adoring fans around the world, so I would argue it definitely succeeded with me in some regards. It’s not my thing, but I can appreciate what it’s doing.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
3
Yeah… I don’t know about this one. At first I was like “Oh, cool blues sound”, and then the album proceeded to make no deviation whatsoever from that sound for the rest of its 67-minute runtime. There are no high points or low points, just middle-of-the-road blues rock that long outstays its welcome.
Why is this considered their best? Mick Jagger doesn’t even like this album, and most of the band shied away from it as best they could due to not wanting to step foot in Keith Richards’ drug den, where it was being recorded. I get that a lot of great albums are the result of a group in turmoil, but one in which the majority of your group isn’t even invested in its success? To me, that lack of collaboration is definitely reflected here. I listened to this four times in an effort to retain anything from my listening, and yet I’m still unable to point to a favorite here. If this is your favorite Stones album, I’m curious which track is your favorite and why - and no, just Shake Your Hips just because it sounds like La Grange.
Once again, the overall sound is enjoyable enough to keep it out of the 2 territory, but I’m really failing to see what escalates this album into what many consider a 5.
Cocteau Twins
3/5
3
Shoegaze meets dance pop meets Kate Bush meets… ABBA?
This isn’t my first foray with Cocteau Twins. Anyone who knows me knows that The Perks of Being a Wallflower is my favorite movie (and book) of all-time, and there’s a great line in it where Sam describes her first time hearing the song Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops by the group, an experience that entirely changed her musical taste by inspiring in her a vision of looking up, seeing someone at a party, and realizing that everything will be okay. So, of course I had to seek out the song, and while the music surrounding the movie is a large part of my adoration… I didn’t have quite the same reaction to it.
Now, Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops is not on this album, but from what I’ve read, many people have had similar experiences with Heaven or Las Vegas that Sam did that song, describing the ambience of the album as absolutely enchanting and transcending unlike anything else - but I wasn’t quite able to get there myself. I’m not even exactly sure why that is, I’m a sucker for this dream pop type of bullshit (see my War on Drugs review), but this really didn’t do it for me. It’s not bad by any means, and I definitely wouldn’t say I didn’t enjoy it, but it really failed to pull me in like it has so many others. Granted, each time I listened to this album was while I was working, so maybe I just need to fully immerse myself in it on a quiet, responsibility-free night? I’ll give it a shot one day, but in the meantime, we’re going to go with a 3. Sorry, Sam.
Lorde
2/5
2.5
I know she’s a musical icon, but I’ve always found Lorde to be kind of meh. Royals in particular is a song I’ve always found kind of boring, and anything else of hers I’ve heard has left me feeling whelmed. This is my first time giving one of her albums a full listen though, so I went in with an open mind, as I try to do with anything else on this list… and I maintain my opinion after. The first song Green Light is an enjoyable enough pop track, but it starts losing me very quickly from there. While there was more piano stuff breaking up the pop stuff than I expected, for the most part I thought everything kind of blended together. The only other song I found remarkable across my listening was Writer in the Dark, but mostly because the lyric “Bet you rue the day you kissed a writer in the dark” stood out to me as kind of cringey. But hell, with all the emo shit I listen to, I should probably be the last person to be calling a lyric out as cringey.
The fact I walked away from this without any real takeaway made me think that maybe I just wasn’t giving it a proper listen, but when my Spotify started shuffling in songs afterwards from contemporary female indie artists like Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers, St. Vincent, and Lucy Dacus, I started getting into a fun, musical groove, something I never found myself in during the listening of the actual assigned album. So, I think that validated my opinion that Lorde is kind of meh.
Not my thing, but shoutout to Lorde for being my age and also being way more successful. I’d take being called meh too if it came with an $18 million net worth and over 5 billion Spotify streams.
Willie Nelson
3/5
3
Holy cow, this came out during what’s considered the height of Nelson’s career and yet he already had 21 studio albums behind him at this point. And considering this point was 45 years ago, I looked up how many albums the guy has total, and as of 2023, that would be 74 - and that’s solely original studio albums, not even counting compilations or live albums. So, shoutout to Willie for breaking the “lazy stoner” stereotype, dude’s been cranking these things out - or maybe he’s just still working to pay off the IRS.
Anyway, I don’t feel like I have much to comment on this album in particular. I think it all sounds nice, Nelson’s vocals and guitar-work are soothing, though as someone not super familiar with a ton of his normal output, I’m not entirely sure how this compares. I did read he had previously established himself as an outlaw country artist, so his decision to write an album of pop covers was met with resistance from his record label. I respect his “screw you guys, I’m doing it anyway” energy, but once again, I don’t even really know the original versions of the songs he’s covering here besides Georgia on My Mind and Unchained Melody, so I can’t really comment on their translation either. Maybe that’s for the best, since it meant I was just able to enjoy the record without having to constantly compare it to someone else, though the two covers I did recognize felt like they each had an identity of their own with Nelson’s mellower takes here, so I don’t have any doubt he succeeded with each adaptation.
To summarize, I’m incredibly musically ignorant regarding most everything surrounding this album, but it sounds nice. Solid 3 from me.
Patti Smith
3/5
3.5
“Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine.” First impression - great opening lyric. Second impression - it’s clear that Patti was hanging around the same late ‘70s CBGB scene that gave us groups like The Ramones, The Talking Heads, and most noticeably, Television. Like, tell me this doesn’t sound just like Marquee Moon but with a gender-swapped singer. That’s probably not totally fair to say though, because I actually enjoyed this quite a bit more than Marquee Moon - in many ways, this is what I wanted that album to be. Musically and vocally I found this to be much more interesting and high-energy, though perhaps more importantly, I feel like I can actually hear the foundations of punk here instead of whatever artsy, twinkly, Talking Heads-esque stuff was going on in MM.
Gloria was a great opener, and even though it borrows heavily from the Van Morrison song of the same name, I really like how Patti put a new spin on the track instead of doing a full-on cover, which she does again to similar effect by incorporating the late ‘60s tune Land of a Thousand Dances on Land. It’s a great reminder how much punk owes to garage rock of the era, and overall is a really fun take on each, resulting in those two songs probably being my favorites here. Unfortunately, Gloria segues into what are probably my two least favorites in Redondo Beach and Birdland - I didn’t really care for the slower reggae/piano stuff she was going for on those tracks, and in some ways they reminded me of how grating I find the Talking Heads when they lean into their funk sound. Fortunately, I think the album picks back up with Free Money and leads to a strong finish from there.
Overall, pretty enjoyable listen. I know my Dad is going to groan reading this, but in many ways I feel like this is the natural evolution of the sound of The Velvet Underground and just as influential. I’ve established I’m not grading based on influence, but man, the number of artists that have pointed to this album as inspiring them to take up music - what a lineup: Siouxsie Sioux, Michael Stipe, Morrissey, Johnny Marr, PJ Harvey, Courtney Love (to a lesser extent). She probably won’t be getting lumped into any of my punk stuff I have saved on Spotify, but shoutout to Patti for helping lead the charge, and most importantly, for ensuring The Talking Heads weren’t the only group that inspired new wave.
Talking Heads
1/5
1.5
Speaking of the late 70s CBGB scene, here’s the worst group it has to offer. While I’ve never been the biggest of theirs to begin with, if there’s one thing this list has affirmed for me, it’s that I don’t like The Talking Heads. I swear they just write funk music for white people, and paired with David Byrne’s vocals, I’m beginning to find them unbearable.
I don’t really have much to comment on these songs other than that the vast majority sound similar and are annoying. This very much has the feel of a debut album in sound and scope, and I have no idea why it made this list other than the fact that music critics seem to have a hard-on for these guys (and gal). The best track here is Psycho Killer, but that’s kind of by default - generally speaking, I would say the song is just okay. The only good thing it really has going for it is that it inspired the name for one of my favorite punk bands, who, when covering the song and not knowing what David Byrne was saying in the chorus (tbf neither do I), improvised the lyric “Hüsker Dü”. So, at least quality music was inspired somewhere down the line. Also, can we talk about how the first song is just a rip-off of Come and Get Your Love by Redbone? Monumental debut my ass. For all good things Lou Reed has created, this is not one of them.
Elliott Smith
4/5
4
Oh my God Elliott Smith made the list!! I got into Elliott in college from parallels drawn with Bright Eyes, and man, does his music also do such an effective job of hurting me deeply - his soft, tender voice and personal songwriting rides the line of haunting and soothing so well.
While this isn’t his best or probably even second-best release, I’m happy he made it on nonetheless.
For those unfamiliar with his work, this is probably the most musically-elaborate of any of his albums, which are usually much more acoustic-based. So in many ways this feels like an evolution of his sound with great alternative rock-inspired tracks like Son of Sam and L.A., though traces of his earlier, acoustic work can still be found here, with Everything Reminds Me of Her probably being the most exemplary. If you haven’t just sat and reminisced about someone in particular while listening to the song at some point in your life, you haven’t lived. He even gets a little experimental on this album as well with the usage of transition tracks or the falsetto and high-note featuring Everything Means Nothing to Me. Even though it’s a bit odd-sounding, I've also always been kind of drawn to the track, especially as it resolves into absolute greatness when the instrumental backing jumps in.
While I think you could make the argument the album is a little long or that the back half isn’t as strong as the first, I still think there are some hidden gems buried in there if you give each song a good listen, with the last three in particular being a beautiful stretch of great lyricism and musicianship - though it’s hard not to find them a bit haunting with lyrics like “Wish you gave me your number/Wish I could call you today, just to hear a voice/I got a long way to go/I'm getting further away”. And the final track being an instrumental just called “Bye”? Woof.
Great release for what would be the last in his lifetime, bookending a career that I believe cements him as one of the greatest singer/songwriters of his time. For anybody else who enjoyed this (or even those who didn’t), go listen to Either/Or, and if you ever find yourself in LA, you can find the mural he’s standing in front of off of Sunset Blvd, near Los Feliz. I’ve lived here for a few years now and still haven’t made the pilgrimage - maybe that day comes this weekend.
Welcome to the list, Ashten and Alex, even though you both rated your first album wrong 🙂
Cream
3/5
3
I’m not usually much of a Clapton man, but I enjoyed this more than I thought I would - blues meets psychedelia, and it’s a solid combination. My reaction to each song went from about as low as a “meh” to as high as a “that was pretty good” - which nets out to about a 3 from me.
Sunshine of Your Love is of course a classic and one I knew I would enjoy going into this (shoutout to Guitar Hero III and School of Rock), but there were a couple of surprises for me here as well, including Tales of Brave Ulysses (which admittedly sounds just like White Room) and SWLABR (which admittedly has a really dumb name if you look up the acronym). Not much else here left much of a lasting impression, but there was nothing that ever broke up the flow of the record at any point - except for maybe the last track, Mother’s Lament. It was kind of a goofy conclusion, but I really can’t say I hated it - feels like the kind of thing that would be a hidden track if this album had come out 25 years later.
Not life-changing, but enjoyable classic vinyl.
Gil Scott-Heron
3/5
3
Another album that’s not available on Spotify, but thankfully YouTube randomly decided to give me a free two-week trial of Premium, so I didn’t have to suffer through any ads during my listen. Unfortunately for my dad, he had to suffer through a lot of flute on this album - never realized he had a personal vendetta against the instrument until we started this list.
Anyway, I’m not normally much of a jazz fan, but as I was listening to this while making dinner, I couldn’t help but feel like I was in a black and white movie and that a trench coat and fedora-wearing detective was about to knock on my door, delivering an important message while smoking a cigarette that would ultimately send me down the rabbit hole of a film noir-esque mystery. I’m not exactly sure if I would call that a positive per se, but I can’t say that about any of the other albums we’ve listened to so far, so do with that what you will. What really escalated this album for me though is vocalist Gil Scott-Heron - the guy has a great, iconic voice, and overall, a strong sense of lyricism, which makes sense given he has a background in spoken word. That being said, despite reading that this is supposed to be a pretty sociopolitically charged album, that didn’t really come through to me on most songs. It’s possible there are some metaphors and references that I’m missing, but for the most part, I feel like I just heard him talk a lot about family, brotherhood, and the centre for the 1986 Montreal Canadiens (joke for my dad). The exception here of course being H2Ogate Blues, which is an absolutely awesome impassioned track that made me want to snap my fingers and yell things like “Go off!” and “Preach!” for most of its duration. It’s sad so many of Scott-Heron’s criticisms towards Nixon’s America are still applicable today… if only he saw what was to come. Regardless, from start to finish, the whole song was fantastic, and I even dug the opening where he talks about shades of the blues.
Pleasant vibes throughout, but ultimately, H2Ogates Blues is really the only song I would say stuck out to me and that I would confidently say I enjoyed. Its inclusion alone helps teeter this one just above average for me.
Linkin Park
3/5
3.5
A few surprises for me with this one.
First, holy cow, I did not realize this album came out in 2000. If you asked me, I probably would have told you like 2005/2006. I remember this album being huge when I was younger - like, this was the stuff on the playground that kids who were inevitably going to either join the military or drop out and become a teen dad (or both) listened to.
Second surprise was how much of this I actually recognized. Looking at the tracklist, the only song title that stood out to me was In The End, but when I actually gave a listen, about half the songs in the front half had me like “Oh yeahhhh I remember this one”. Granted, a lot of these sound kind of the same so that also may very well have been a factor.
Third surprise… I did not realize Linkin Park was a rap metal band. Like, yes, I knew they played hard rock and incorporated rap on some tracks, but as far this album goes, this is straight up rap metal, similar to groups like Papa Roach and Limp Bizkit, and as a result, this album very much feels like an early 2000s time capsule. Not to say that’s necessarily a bad thing though - I would still very much put this above anything by their aforementioned contemporary groups. As someone who’s never been particularly invested in Linkin Park, I can see what drove people to this - there’s a fun, angsty energy all-around that was great to work out to at the gym. But they eventually weaned off a bit from this sound, right? The two other songs I’m familiar with by the group are Numb and What I’ve Done (the latter probably being my favorite of theirs), and I would definitely classify those as hard/borderline alternative rock more so than rap metal.
I digress, this didn’t expand my fandom of the band by much, but I had a good time. 3.5 may be a little high, but it hit me with a weird high of nostalgia that’s hard to come by, so we’ll go with it.
RIP Chester
Charles Mingus
2/5
2.5
Look, I’m sorry, I just don’t get jazz. And that bums me out a little bit because I really want to be someone who is capable of appreciating all genres of music, but despite this being the #14 highest rated album of all-time on rateyourmusic.com, nothing about it speaks to me any more than any other jazz album I’ve heard. I know that there’s something I’m missing, and I’m honestly a little envious of those who can pick up on it because personally, I feel like I just listened to a bunch of random instrumentation here.
That’s not to say this album is objectionable by any means - I would rather listen to it over many other albums we’ve seen on this list so far - but I just don’t see a situation where I would opt to put this on for pure personal enjoyment. I know it takes a certain level of musicianship to be able to freestyle like this, but that just doesn’t automatically equate to personal enjoyment in my book.
Anyway, I think I’ve made my point. All that to say though, I’m always looking to explore new music (hence why I started this project in the first place), so as long as jazz albums continue to exist, I’ll continue to give them a chance - still hoping for that one that finally makes it click for me.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
4.5
This site is really on a Zeppelin kick lately. Fortunately, this happens to be one of their best - for a debut, holy cow did these guys come in swinging. Yeah, just about everything here is lifted from Jimmy Page’s days with the Yardbirds, but dammit if it wasn’t ripped off to the best possible degree. It’s not quite the level of stuff that would put them at godlike status in the decade ahead, but all the traces are here. The interpretation of blues is fantastic, production is ingenious, the sound varied, the flow seamless, it opens and closes on an epic note - I don’t have anything negative to say about this album.
So, I really had to think about my rating with this one - I went in planning to give a 4 and walked away thinking this could be a 5. This is one of those albums that I always seem to forget just how great it is. Of course it has classics like Good Times Bad Times, Communication Breakdown, and Dazed and Confused, but Your Time is Gonna Come, How Many More Times, You Shook Me, Babe I’m Gonna Leave You, and hell, even the instrumental track Black Mountain Side? All bangers - there’s not a bad track to be found anywhere. So, you could probably argue that that warrants a 5, but I do think it’s juuust outside the category of perfection for me, so I’m going to go in the middle and say 4.5. Like their fourth self-titled effort though, I wouldn’t argue against a 5 rating here - bands have entire career runs without ever having an album as great as the one Led Zeppelin started with.
Dirty Projectors
1/5
1
What the hell is this? Is this what happens when Yale students start an indie band? Jesus Christ this was unlistenable. I thought it couldn’t get any worse than the first track… and then it somehow did. At no point is any kind of flow ever established; instead, it feels like they decided to write an album without any kind of discernible tempo or structure. In the rare instance it feels like it might do something cool, it gets interrupted by some jarring, out-of-place guitar work or strings. Also, this guy’s voice is annoying as all hell, and the girls aren’t much better.
F this album. I walked away upset and had to go back and listen to more Zeppelin. Aptly, the title translates to “Please Orca”... which is nonsense, just like everything else here.
PJ Harvey
3/5
3
This was fine, but most of it sounded the same and ran together. Sheela-Na-Gig was probably my favorite song, but really I think it’s just the only one that stood out to me. As a whole, I don’t feel like this album gave me a lot to comment on, and after Sheela-Na-Gig especially it feels like you hit a stretch of weaker songs. Finding out what a Sheela-Na-Gig actually is was interesting though, to say the least. Probably shouldn’t have looked up on my work computer.
Overall, I will say this is much more in line with how I expected PJ Harvey’s music to sound as compared to Let England Shake. I definitely prefer the more alternative rock style of her music here, but once again, I wouldn’t say it’s anything special. Don’t have much else to say on this one - after just having listened to Led Zeppelin I, I gotta say this album has much stronger “debut” vibes to it than Zeppelin’s did. But then again, it’s probably not fair to compare most groups to Led Zeppelin.
Muddy Waters
3/5
3
Our second foray with Muddy, but our first with one of his studio albums - though that wasn’t immediately clear with the first track, Mannish Boy, which felt like it was purposefully trying to sound live with its production (which was awesome btw - I loved the addition of the crowd yelling in the background). Between that and its catchy, distinctive blues hook, Mannish Boy was far and away the best song on this album - I even liked the lyrical reference to one of his older songs, Hoochie Coochie Man. The rest of the album consists of far less remarkable blues numbers that mostly run together, but fortunately, they never cease to be enjoyable, and the album never outstays its welcome in its 45-minute runtime.
Probably not an album I’ll be consistently revisiting, but I had fun in my time with it here. I was surprised to see the 1977 release date because this really feels like a man at his musical peak, but in actuality, it came out in the late stages of his career, 17 years after At Newport and just six before his death. Anecdotally, the track The Blues Had a Baby and They Named It Rock and Roll reminded me of AC/DC’s Let There Be Rock, in that both chronicle the creation of rock music from blues from the perspective of each of their own respective genres (like a parallel in some ways), so it’s crazy to think that both of those songs came out in the same year - especially being that I would have considered blues to have fallen out of the mainstream years beforehand.
Anyway, to wrap up, I didn’t love this, but I did enjoy it, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for both Muddy as an artist and for his influence on all kinds of music in the world today. Rock on, wherever you are now.
The Strokes
4/5
4
An album I slept on for years because I didn’t like the song Last Nite, and man, was I missing out - this was great. You could definitely point to a lot of it as sounding the same, but when you have indie rock with pop sensibility down to a science like these guys do here, you earn that right - at no point did I ever want or feel like this album needed to steer in a different direction. And despite that, I still felt like each song did a sufficient job of establishing its own identity, with Someday, Hard to Explain, The Modern Age, and the closing track Take It or Leave It jumping out to me as immediate favorites (I would also recommend checking out New York City Cops, a song that was removed from the American release last minute due to the events of 9/11 happening weeks before).
It really doesn’t feel like this album should work as well as it does given its simple, compact style of production, but somehow that adds to its indie charm, and in doing so, probably redefined the genre for the decade ahead. There’s a pretty distinct difference in the sound between 90s and 00s alternative rock, and for me, I think this album denotes that dividing line. While I’d still walk away from this saying that Last Nite is my least favorite track, I can say I developed an appreciation for everything here and that I’m interested to check out more of their stuff.
Boston
3/5
3
I know Will loves this album, and I can see why - there’s certainly a fun energy to it - but despite my best efforts, I just don’t quite feel the same. Having half of your album become classic rock staples is a really impressive feat for sure, but despite that, the only song that really stands out to me personally as something more than just a typical slice of the era is More Than a Feeling, and that’s probably mostly due to its inclusion in the first Guitar Hero. Foreplay/Long Time is enjoyable enough I suppose, and I do like how it transitions from a Yes-esque keyboard solo into one of the heavier, catchier songs on the album, but still it’s never quite sold me as something I feel the need to return on my own volition.
Don’t feel like I have much to say beyond that - to me, this is just kind of an adequate entry for the genre, and I don’t feel like there’s a ton of meat on it to dive into. Never something I would complain to hear, but also likely not something would ever put on personally.
Kanye West
2/5
2.5
Hooooooooo boy. I don’t even know where to begin with this one. I guess I’ll start with this - fuck Kanye. The dude is a bigoted tool, and I think it's totally fair and understandable to hate this album for that reason alone. That being said, while I would definitely rate Kanye the person a fat 1, I just don’t think I can say the same thing about this album.
First impressions - while I’m not grading on this factor, I have to acknowledge how incredibly influential this album was on hip hop. It marks a departure from hardened, violent gangster rap that ruled the 90s and early 00s and a shift towards a style more representative of the everyman, including middle-class college dropouts like Kanye. It also pioneered the production technique chipmunk soul, something I had never heard of going into this, but once I learned it refers to the sped up, high-pitched vocal samples in the background, it occurred to me how much I hear it in hip hop music today.
Topically, I appreciated the range of subject matter touched upon throughout, especially with how naturally one social issue seemingly flows into another. While I didn’t really care for the stretch of more sexual stuff in the middle, the tracks more focused on consumerism and higher education stuck out to me as having strong lyricism mixed with some moments of actual insight… though, emphasis on “some”. While I share many of the criticisms Kanye directs at these topics, the further into the album you get, the more his takes feel projective, self-validating, and preachy - especially as the skits come into play. All that aside though, my actual favorite track here was Jesus Walks, which was a bit surprising given that I’m not particularly religious myself. The beats and backing choir are great, though I can’t not mention the bar “So here go my single, dawg, radio needs this/They say you can rap about anything except for Jesus/That means guns, sex, lies, videotape/But if I talk about God my record won't get played, huh?” Ohhh Kanye, if only that was the reason your records aren’t getting played today.
Towards the end this album starts to feel a bit long, and right when I was ready for things to start wrapping up, I was smacked in the face with 12 straight minutes of Kanye trying to tell everyone how great he is and “I told you so” to those who didn’t believe in his success. It’s just a bit too self-indulgent - though I don’t know why I expected this to end any other way.
All that said, think we’re going to land in the middle here with a 2.5. I actually liked it quite a bit more than I thought I would, though there was just as much that I disliked. Even if you don’t want to factor in Kanye’s behavior outside of the album, there’s still a bit of his persona here that left a bad taste in my mouth. Terrible person, but not a bad hip hop album, especially given its influence and the fact that it’s a debut no less. If it makes me a bad person to say this album isn’t bad, so be it, but I gotta speak my truth here. So, thanks for the album, Kanye, but please
go away now.
Lana Del Rey
2/5
2
I feel like this list needs to learn that just because a well-received album was released in the last two years doesn’t mean it automatically equates to an all-time great or a must-listen. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the fact that it’s taking a stab at highlighting more recent stuff, and I totally get that it’s hard to predict what will ultimately prove to be influential years from now, but rather than doing that, I wish the listmakers would have leaned more into either landmark, pop culture-shaping releases or acclaimed, but lesser known indie releases instead of safe, middle ground popular stuff like this. I mean, it’s only been two years since this album came out, and I already feel like it’s been largely forgotten about.
Anyway, rant over, shifting gears to the actual album - Lana Del Rey has a beautiful voice, and for a woman of her talent, I respect her efforts at writing slow, impassioned ballads instead of radio pop hits, but goddamn this album is so one-note and boring. I actually really liked the opening track White Dress, but the fact that every song that followed just felt like a minor variation weakened it a bit for me in hindsight. As a result, everything here just kind of blends together, and while I want to say it gets worse as it goes on, it’s also likely I was just getting more and more sick of hearing the same thing over and over. I didn’t find any of the music or lyrics to be particularly great, with her voice probably being the only positive note I can say about this - and even then to say her vocal performances is varied here would be a lie.
The ambience of this album is the kind of thing I would have liked to have vibed with, but unfortunately, it ended up being the kind where I found myself constantly checking in to see how close I was to finishing it. I definitely wouldn’t say it’s bad, but it’s also definitely not that interesting - I would say it’s possible I revisit a song or two in the future, but likely not the full thing again anytime soon.
R.E.M.
4/5
4
How the hell it took R.E.M. until their fifth studio album to make it big will never make sense to me because what an album to start out with. In fact, I would even go as far to say it’s better than Document. Clearly the world just wasn’t ready for it yet - I mean, no band was doing what R.E.M. was doing at this time, and surprise, ten years later, it was what every band was doing. Like, if you didn’t know any better, tell me this wouldn’t fit perfectly alongside releases like In Utero and Siamese Dream. And yet, it actually came out an entire 10 years earlier, before decade-defining 80s stars like Cyndi Lauper or Madonna had even made it big. While they may not have invented alternative rock (the credit for that goes to groups like The Velvet Underground and Big Star), R.E.M. were probably among the most impactful on its sound. It’s like suddenly, rock music wasn’t just limited to grandiose rock stars anymore, nerds could do it too.
Of course, there was no way of knowing any of this at the time, but that all to say, I can only imagine that this must have been unlike anything else in 1983. The simple, non-flashy style of rock was everything the 80s wasn’t, but it works so well here. Even now, 40 years and 15 studio albums later, it might still be their best work… and yet somehow its name is rarely brought up in conversation regarding R.E.M. And that’s a damn shame because I think anybody who enjoys songs like It’s The End of the World, The One I Love, and Losing My Religion would actually enjoy a lot of the songs here. I would even go as far to say that Radio Free Europe is the group’s best song (okay, no, it’s actually Crush With Eyeliner, but RFE is a close number two). There’s no shortage of great tracks anywhere here, with Pilgrimage, Talk About the Passion, Moral Kiosk, and my second favorite here, Catapult, all being really strong offerings as well.
Admittedly, I do think the album ends a bit weakly - after Catapult, it doesn’t quite feel like you’re being hit with the same caliber stuff. Still, it’s not bad, and as a whole I really have no particularly strong complaints to lodge towards this album. While R.E.M. isn’t one of my all-time favorite artists, I do think this is a really strong album, and probably the one of theirs I’d rate the highest - though Automatic for the People might get there as well if I’m in the mood.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
3
Creedence Clearwater Revival has always been kind of hit or miss for me and, subsequently, this album was as well. I knew like half the songs here going in which probably speaks to the album’s legacy, but most of them are ones that fall in the “miss” category for me (their rendition of “I Heard it Through the Grapevine" is easily the worst out there and about 8 minutes too long). The exception here being Up Around the Bend - fun tune, great hook, and while lyrics are kind of goofy, they’re goofy in an enjoyable way. In particular, the line “You can ponder perpetual motion” is something I’ve always gotten a kick out of. Like, for a song that glamorizes escaping city life for a trip out to the backwoods, one of the biggest benefits highlighted is the ability to have scientific thought?
Anyway, re-focusing, the songs I didn’t know were actually the ones I found most enjoyable, with the opener Ramble Tamble probably being the highlight for me. Normally I groan when a 7+ minute jam out track pops up on one of these albums, but this was one of the better ones so far. Ooby Dooby was another fun tune with a 50s rockabilly vibe to it, so learning it was a Roy Orbison cover afterwards made a lot of sense.
Not much to say beyond that - While I do really like John Fogerty’s voice, I’ve never felt like CCR is a particularly commentable band. They’re fine classic rock, and so I’d likely rate their career the same as what I’m rating this album here. Fortune Son is great, and I wouldn't complain to hear most anything else, but I don’t think I would be largely impacted with the absence of this group in my life.
Beach House
2/5
2.5
I was really excited for this one because I like a lot of dream pop and shoegaze, but unfortunately this just didn’t do it for me, and, to be blunt, I think vocalist Victoria Legrand has a large part to do with that. I feel like an important part of either genre is to have a voice or delivery as calming, hypnotic, and nonchalant as the music, and while Legrand’s voice is certainly nice, it felt like overperformance more worthy of an Adele song than dream pop. It completely took me out of the music, even on tracks like Zebra which I feel like had a really strong foundation in its instrumentation. And even then, I would say the instrumentation and atmosphere grow weaker as the album goes on, to the point where the last handful of tracks feel like borderline piano ballads, adding to the Adele vibes. That’s not to say I have any kind of issue with piano ballads or Adele by any means, but that’s not what I’m signing up for when I’m in a dream poppy kind of mood.
Anyway, this album was pretty mid. I didn’t outright dislike it, but I just couldn’t get into it, and nothing really jumped out to me. Gonna go listen to some War on Drugs and My Bloody Valentine now.
Stereo MC's
3/5
3
Less remarkable Massive Attack. There’s nothing here I would describe as unenjoyable, but it also doesn’t feel like anything I haven’t heard before. The title track was probably my favorite of the bunch, but outside of that, I don’t think there’s anything I could point to as being particularly re-listenable or even commentable if I tried.
If I had to use one word to summarize this album, it would probably be “forgettable”. But hell, I’d take a forgettable album any day over having another album like Suicide… at least nothing here is going to haunt my dreams for the foreseeable future.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
4
Man, what a solid debut. As someone who's always found AM kind of underwhelming, the energy and personality of this album feels like a showcase of what drew people to these guys in the first place. In some ways it almost feels like a companion piece to Is This It in that both are critically acclaimed, genre-defining debut albums from 2000s indie rock bands that would go on to have incredibly successful careers in the years to follow, but whereas The Strokes wear more of a garage rock influence on their sleeves, The Arctic Monkeys seem to take more from classic British punk. And if you know me, you know that’s almost always a key to my heart.
This album comes out of the gate swinging with an absolute banger in The View From the Afternoon, the kind of opening track that makes it quickly clear you’re in for a ride ahead. And that same energy keeps up with what’s probably the best track on the album (and arguably of the band’s career) in I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor. It’s incredibly catchy despite its frenetic energy, and goofy lyrics like “Dancing to electro-pop like a robot from 1984” add to its charm. Unfortunately, the energy to the album starts to die down with Riot Van, and while I would like to appreciate the change-up, the slower stuff just didn’t grab me as much. The back half of the album is much more littered with those kinds of songs than the front, but I do feel like it starts picking up steam again towards the end and closes on a strong note.
That all to say, there’s truly nothing bad or an unfun moment to be found here, and I really liked how everything seemed tied thematically around the 20-something clubbing and nightlife experience - doesn’t seem that we’re so different than our fellow tea-and-crumpet eaters after all. Good album through and through, and it has me intrigued to listen to more of these guys’ backlog.
Side note, just have to call out, at the time of this writing, these guys are the #48 most listened to artist on Spotify in the entire world. Does that blow anyone else’s minds? For reference, Beyonce is #49. Must be our friends across the pond keeping these guys’ numbers high - keep doing the Lord’s work, chaps.
TV On The Radio
2/5
2
For a group I had previously never heard of and that I thought offered a pretty mediocre listening experience last time, I really wasn’t expecting to see these guys again on this list, but here we are… and it’s even less enjoyable than before.
I’ll give them this, the group has a pretty unique sound, to the point where I have no idea what genre to even classify them as. Industrial easy listening? Noise lounge? Thankfully, I have Wikipedia to bail me out here, which classifies this album as “avant-pop” and “dark wave”, neither of which are terms I’m familiar with, but both seem apt. Unfortunately, it seems neither avant-pop nor dark wave are my thing - the songs here for me ranged from uninteresting to annoying (holy cow Ambulance might be up there as one of the worst things I’ve heard on this list so far). While I wouldn’t describe every song here as sounding the same, I would say they’re all doing the same kind of thing, and so I found this to be a really repetitive and uninteresting ride to the end.
Not sure why the listmakers have such a hard-on for these guys - I really teetered towards a 1 here, especially with the inclusion of Ambulance, but I think the rest of the album is at least inoffensive enough to keep it out of that territory. Still, don’t see myself listening to any of this again.
Peter Gabriel
2/5
2
I don’t know Peter Gabriel, nor do I admittedly know a ton of his music, but something about this album and The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway makes me think I’d find him really annoying. He feels like a wannabe David Bowie but without any of the charm, and from what I’ve read about him, far too much of an egotistical control freak for the quality of his music. I’ve never been a fan of his later radio hits, and after this entry on the list, I gotta say I’m not a fan of his earlier experimental stuff either. This album feels a lot more like The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway than it does So, but whereas Lamb at least had some sense of structure to it (I say lightly), this album feels incredibly disorganized in comparison. Maybe that’s not a fair comparison given the other is a full on narrative-driven rock opera (allegedly), but any good album should have some sense of flow and framework to it regardless, and I don’t feel like that’s the case here.
While I can’t say I hated the sound, I don’t find it nearly as interesting or as ingenious as Gabriel seems to think it to be. As far as I’m concerned, this has third rate Bowie written all over it, with a splash of new wave mixed in for good measure. And yet, it seems I’m an outlier based on what I’ve seen others say about this album online - a lot of people hail Gabriel’s decision not to include any kind of cymbals on this album as musically revolutionary, but it really doesn’t feel out of place from other contemporary new wave/electronic stuff. And then there was this one review I saw where someone praised the album as genius because of its “secret way of listening”: Starting with the track “Start” and treating the first two songs as bonus tracks. What? Do you know what that sounds like? The same exacting f*cking thing. Ugh. The fans of this album are about as bad as Gabriel.
I digress, not terrible, but perhaps a bit too pretentious to be this mediocre. I’m walking away annoyed here though, so we’re going to swing for the lower half of the scale.
Herbie Hancock
3/5
3.5
No lie, whenever I think of Herbie Hancock, I think of that scene from Tommy Boy where Chris Farley fills his name in on a college History final as a framer of the US Constitution.
That WAS the case anyway, but coming off the heels of this, I may now have other fond memories and feelings associated - what a surprisingly enjoyable listen. I mean, surprising probably only to me, someone who has historically never been particularly predisposed to jazz, but I think this album finally helped fill in some of the pieces for me - there’s nothing but grooving fun times to be had here. Apparently that lumps me in with the majority of its listeners though - this album is historically known for pulling in rock and funk music audiences, largely in part due to the fusion of said genres across. I guess that makes me something of a jazz normie, but whatever, I’m glad I was able to find some connective tissue to get me there somewhere on this list.
I don’t feel like I have a ton in particular to call out musically (or lyrically obviously), but as someone who rarely listens to instrumental music (let alone jazz), I found myself bobbing in my chair to just about everything here - you can really tell there’s some solid musicianship on display here, and more importantly, that they know how to have fun with it. The first two tracks are admittedly much stronger than the last, but you really can’t go wrong jumping in anywhere.
So, while I don’t think I’m walking out of this with a newfound favorite album, I do see myself giving this another listen in the future. Don’t quite feel comfortable pulling the trigger on a 4 - yet - but let it be known my appreciation is growing. I’m definitely interested in exploring where the genre takes me from here.
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
1
Oh God, it gets worse than Freak Out. The majority of this album is just noise, and when it isn’t, it’s pretty much just Zappa ranting and telling hippies to get off of his lawn. While I would like to at least appreciate the group taking a shot at The Beatles with the album title and cover, is Sgt. Pepper’s really the most exemplary of the group vying for commercial success? If anything, the album was probably a bold jump for the group. I have quite a few criticisms to aim at The Beatles myself, but being overly greedy is probably not one of them - I don’t think they would have broken up the group if that was the case. Just because someone makes their music listenable doesn’t automatically mean they’re a sellout, Zappa.
It’s pretty clear that the music here is intentionally made to be unpalatable, so with that in mind, I would say my biggest issue with this album (and Zappa’s work in general) is its cynicism. People seem to think Zappa’s attempts at attacking and satirizing American culture and music has a punk spirit to it, but for me, punk music should stand for something, and this doesn’t stand for anything - it’s just about hating everything, and I think that makes Zappa come off as kind of an asshole.
So, bad takes, bad music, what does that leave us with? Oh yeah, a 1.
3/5
3
Apparently David Bowie was set to produce this album, but scheduling conflicts forced the group to go with Brian Eno instead - imagine the world we’d be living in now if that happened. Climate change probably would have been beaten, all war would have ceased, and the McDonald’s Dollar Menu would probably still be a dollar. Sigh. One can dream.
Anyway, this is the album we ended up with, and it’s fine. I’ve personally never been the biggest fan of DEVO, but there were still a few enjoyable moments to be had here. I am a big fan of the opener, Uncontrollable Urge, though it’s been ruined for me just a bit by Ridiculousness - it’s hard for me not to think of Rob Dydrek’s douchey voice welcoming us back to the show while listening. I also really enjoyed the track Gut Feeling - the soundscape at the beginning is really cool, like something out of a video game. In particular, it made me think of Crash Team Racing for some reason. The rest of the album I found to be just okay, but I will say it was at least mostly interesting, like the spin they put on Satisfaction, or the chorus to Sloppy which was stuck in my head after I finished listening.
Still, 34 minutes with Mark Mothersbaugh’s voice is too long, so I’m not sure if this a full album re-listen for me again, though credit where credit is due, I will admit this feels ahead of its time being released in 1978 - you can tell a lot of acts from the 80s were influenced by these guys.
I definitely see myself coming back to a couple tracks here, and I’ll always be appreciative of Mothersbaugh for his true magnum opus - the Rugrats score.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
3.5
It’s always a pleasure to see Echo & The Bunnymen on this list, though admittedly, I don’t think this album does anything different than the last two we’ve seen - it’s more of the same gloomy goth pop. I can see how it could be considered a stepping stone from the simplistic sound of Crocodiles to the more operatic Ocean Rain, but honestly, I wouldn’t describe those two albums as drastically different, the latter just feels a bit more elevated due to its higher production value. Being a midpoint between the two, this album doesn’t feel particularly unique itself, but the good news is that if you enjoy those other albums, you’ll likely enjoy this one as well. There aren’t really a ton of standout tracks besides The Cutter (which I found to be far and away the best songs here and one I immediately added to my Liked Songs), but the overall gothic, Donnie Darko-esque vibes are enjoyable enough to where that didn’t really matter to me. It’s not all-time great album material, but it’s a fun listen.
Shoutout to these guys for the consistently solid albums - I think I can confidently say I’m walking away from this list as an Echo & The Bunnymen fan.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
3.5
What is it about this kind of music that feels like Christmastime? It was the first thing I thought of when I put this on, and if you were to visit The Grove in Hollywood or various other shopping malls around this time of year, you’d likely hear similar music as well. Maybe it’s just because many of the classic Christmas tunes were recorded in this era, but there’s also just something so relaxing and home-y feeling about Frank Sinatra’s music, despite the name of this album indicating other intentions (That being dancing - the Wikipedia article clears up that Frank isn’t encouraging partner-swapping here).
There’s nothing but good vibes across this record, though not a lot of specific songs stood out in particular. I’ve Got You Under My Skin was probably my favorite, but I think a large part of that has to do with how weirdly nostalgic it felt - it’s definitely floated around my life at some point or another. I was excited to hear his take on Anything Goes but found myself kind of disappointed with that one - it just felt too low energy and underwhelming compared to other renditions. Still, it’s not bad, nor is anything else here, though I was a little sucked out of my Christmas-y spirit when I had to hear Ol’ Blue Eyes sing about “Makin’ Whoopee”. I think I could go without ever hearing or thinking about that one again.
Never a bad time with Sinatra - really don’t know how anyone could hate this. Admittedly, he’s an artist I usually have to be in a particular mood to put on, but when I am, an album like this could definitely be closer to the 4 territory for me.
Radiohead
2/5
2
A collection of songs recorded during the same sessions as the group’s previous album, Kid A, that they felt warranted a full, separate release. Well, I think this definitely feels like a collection of outtakes from a superior album, and anyone who calls this “Kid B” is right on the money. There’s no cohesion or connective tissue between anything here, and while there’s at least a unique sound to each song, it really just comes off feeling pretentious most of the time. At least we got a pretty good murder mystery movie out of the track Knives Out, which also happens to be probably the best song here as well - though likely because it’s the only one where it doesn’t sound like Thom Yorke’s head is fully up his own ass.
One of the most overrated groups out there, and it frustrates me when their fans try to assert this kind of thing as a masterpiece. Yes, Radiohead has some great tunes, some innovative, some just bangers, but there’s so much pretentious, annoying bullshit in their catalog you have to sift through to find those. Will die on the hill that this band is not as great as music nerds made out to be.
Mike Oldfield
3/5
3
Part 1: (^_^)
Part 2: (0_0)
Walking away pretty mixed on this one. After reading that the album is instrumental, I didn’t really go in expecting much, but I found myself grooving with it pretty quickly. Sure, it’s pretty repetitive, but the way it’s broken up musically kept it interesting, and each section was catchy enough to where its welcome never felt outstayed. The final guitar riff at the end of Part 1 in particular was insanely catchy, to the point where I would have been fine with it going on even longer than the near ten minutes it already does. I even liked the intro of each individual instrument during it - maybe it’s a touch cheesy, but I felt like it worked within the context of the song, especially with how the addition of each contributed to the music growing bigger and bigger, providing a great sense of finale for the first half.
And then came Part 2. Right out the gate, the music wasn’t anywhere near as catchy or as fun as anything from the first half, “But hey, maybe it picks up!” I thought. I was wrong. Instead, Cookie Monster breaks into the studio halfway through and starts freestyling into the mic. It doesn’t get any better from there, with the actual finale of the album feeling incredibly out of place from absolutely everything that came before it.
So, to summarize, I enjoyed half of this album. Part 1 had a fun, grooving energy to it, Part 2 did not give me that. Still, I think I appreciate what this album is doing as a whole, and I have a lot of respect for this dude putting it together single-handedly at the age of 19 no less. So, we’ll air just above a net “okay” by giving a 3.
Fun fact: You may already know that The Exorcist theme song came from this album, so here’s another one for you - the guy announcing each instrument in Part 1 is Vivian Stanshall, member of the group The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, a name you may not recognize (I didn’t), but their song Death Cab for Cutie would later go on to inspire the indie band of the same name.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
2/5
2
Really don’t have much to say about Bob Marley that I haven’t already said. I’m going to go with a 2 for the third straight time because I don’t consider any of his music bad per se, but it just doesn’t do anything for me, and I also don’t think this album does anything differently than the last two we’ve had. I don’t want to be that guy, but every song here sounds the same with just a slight tweak to each, and I listened to this 4 times in an earnest attempt to convince myself otherwise. Nothing is better or worse than anything else; it’s all just the same reggae style of guitar, drum, and vocal work that I find so boring - though I did groan when I saw that Three Little Birds is on this album. Look, I genuinely appreciate that the song holds a special place in so many people’s hearts due to its carefree, “Life is good” message, but personally, I’ve always found this song so goddamn cheesy and uninteresting.
For the third straight time, I don’t feel like I heard anything here that has me convinced Bob Marley is an all-time great songwriter. Sorry folks, just not my thing.
Neil Young
2/5
2
Ohhhhhhhh this is what people are talking about when they complain about Neil Young’s voice. Yeah, when you strip back the instrumentation, his voice is pretty unbearable. Like, I’m not sure how anyone is supposed to take the title track seriously - he sounds like a cartoon character. Fortunately, the songs that feature more of a backing band like When You Dance I Can Really Love and Southern Man are more enjoyable, the latter of which I appreciated in particular due to its callout of racism in the South - a topic apparently so provocative that it prompted Lynyrd Skynyrd to clapback on Sweet Home Alabama.
Not a ton much else to say - was pretty disappointed with this one. For only being 33 minutes, this felt like it went on kind of long - there’s just really not a ton going on that’s particularly interesting. I really started this list off thinking I might be a Neil Young fan, and our last two entries have me now convinced otherwise. I would definitely say the man has his moments, but he’s no musical genius, and I don’t see myself going out of my way to pull up the YouTube app on my phone in order to put his music on again in the future.
Radiohead
3/5
3.5
Three days after referring to its successor as “Kid B”, Kid A appears as if to stand up for its bullied younger brother in an attempt to beat the Radiohead hesitancy out of me. Well, spoiler alert: it’s just as pretentious as Amnesiac. However, it is noticeably better, and it also happens to contain one of my all-time favorite tracks of theirs: How to Disappear Completely. It’s probably the most traditionally structured song here from the group, but it encapsulates its title perfectly with the musical and lyrical approach, and its build-up is incredibly well done. I do get a little annoyed when I see fellow music nerds on Reddit describe it as one of the deepest and most emotional songs of all time (it’s not), but it is a great tune nonetheless.
Anyway, I wasn’t as familiar with the rest of the album, but found everything for the most part to air more or less on either side of decent. The first few tracks I found to be pretty strong in particular - Everything In Its Right Place is a solid opening track and one that I feel best prepares you for the new pseudo-electronic sound, and while I wasn’t immediately impressed with The National Anthem, the saxophones on it escalated it to a point of enjoyability for me. However, outside of Disappear, I think my favorite moment here was actually Treefingers - it’s not often the instrumental track is the highlight for me, but the soundscape there felt layered in the most enchantingly surreal way.
Somewhere after Treefingers the novelty of this album started to wear thin on me. A series of more mediocre tracks stripped away any hint of rose-colored glasses I was wearing, and I began once again seeing this group how I always have - artsy-fartsy, artificially deep, and pretentious. The only real standout for me in the back half of the album was Idioteque, which admittedly does some cool things musically, but I don’t think the charm lasts the full five minutes of its duration.
So, yeah, I still find the group incredibly pretentious and overrated, but I’m not afraid to admit that they’ve made some good music, and as far as greatness is concerned, this album may be as close as they’ve gotten (need to revisit OK Computer and The Bends). While I’m not walking away from this as a convert, it did help me see where some of the admiration lies, and I quite possibly may even give this another listen in the future - but sorry, still not convinced this is one of the best albums ever recorded. Shoutout to the group for a successful musical pivot, but it takes more than that to get a 5 from me.
Funkadelic
4/5
4
Man, what a way to start an album. It’s not often that a ten-minute instrumental wins me over, but in this case, to even refer to the title track as such almost feels like an insult. A better description would probably be an act of sheer musical brilliance bestowed upon guitarist Eddie Hazel by the psychedelic powers of LSD and the wacked-out mind of George Clinton. The fact that this was done in one take and was completely improvised is insane and was an immediate sign for me that I wasn’t in for just any album.
And sure enough, I wasn’t - things completely shift gears on the second track, Can You Get To That, in the best possible way. It’s much more in line with how I anticipated the album to sound, but I didn’t expect it to be this good. Like, this is funk and rock fusion at its best, and song after song, it just never ceased to go hard as fuck. Across the first five tracks, there are really no skips, but my favorite would probably be the heavy-hitting Super Stupid - it’s noticeably Hendrix inspired, but I really think it puts a number of the legend’s own songs to shame.
Unfortunately, that energy doesn’t quite keep up, and the album closes a bit weakly between the meh Back in Our Minds and finale, Wars of Armageddon. I guess that they were trying to bookend the album with long instrumentals, which I don’t hate, but Wars of Armageddon doesn’t come anywhere close to the opener. You feel the duration here - if Maggot Brains embodies an enlightening acid trip, this is definitely a bad trip, complete with screams, sirens, and… fart noises? It feels more like a Frank Zappa song, and I think it kills the momentum just a bit.
Still, very, very good listen - the vast majority of the songs here are incredible, and even then, while I didn’t love how it ended, I don’t think it necessarily ruins the album by any means. I definitely need to check out more George Clinton so I can get more of this funk rock sound shot into my veins - this was great. Will be keeping this album in mind the next time I feel Like Slow Disappearing.
The Sonics
3/5
3
Released the same year as Rubber Soul, and yet these guys go so much harder than those wussies in The Beatles ever did. Supposedly this helped lay the framework for punk rock, and I can definitely hear that with the group’s energy and attempt at shocking, irreverent songwriting on Strychnine (my personal favorite track here), but I also can’t help but feel that a lot of this blends in with other garage rock music from the era, so it’s hard to point to this album as being a key influence, especially considering that the vast majority of the songs here are covers.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s cool hearing faster, heavier takes on rock and R&B classics, but it also holds back the album from feeling particularly unique or commendable, and it’s especially disappointing considering that the four songs that are originals (The Witch, Boss Hoss, Psycho, Strychnine) are probably the best four on the album. I know it was commonplace for albums at this time to consist mostly of contemporary covers, but to play devil’s advocate, Rubber Soul, despite its faults, is comprised entirely of original compositions, so there was nothing stopping these guys from breaking the mold here.
A fine and fun album by its own merits, but I don’t think it’s overly impressive in any real sense of musical identity or influence.
Morrissey
4/5
4
Ohhhhhh Morrissey, my most complicated relationship, and one my own girlfriend must compete with at times (sorry Mel). Look, I know he’s a massive POS and has said (and continues to say) terrible things, but he’s also the ultimate sadboi icon, and this album is proof of how much star power and bankability there is behind that. Granted, it also led to an inflation of the man's ego that has spiraled and led us to where we are today, but for a minute there, Morrissey was king.
That all to say, this album is great, but it’s not better than the majority of his albums with The Smiths, nor is it even his best solo album (that’s Your Arsenal). There was just something about his chemistry with Johnny Marr (professionally, not personally) that elevated The Smiths to above and beyond levels of musical genius that he never quite reached again after their dissolution - though he’s come close, and this album is one of those times.
Gotta mention right out of the gate - two of the best songs of not just his career, but of all-time are present here in Everyday is Like Sunday and Suedehead. Morrissey captured everything that drove fans to The Smiths in the first place on these two epic numbers with impassioned, brooding charm that rivals even There Is a Light That Never Goes Out… aaaand then the rest of this album is just pretty good. There’s nothing that I dislike, though there’s also not a ton I find super commentable either. Alsatian Cousin is a cool opener, I Don’t Mind If You Forget Me is a banger, and as a whole, there’s a lot of cool, new instrumentation being thrown around, though I will say, Margaret on the Guillotine is a particularly strange and weak closer. I respect the energy though - wish he would have kept with those kinds of political views.
Regardless, if you’re a Morrissey fan, there isn’t a bad time to be found here, and while it’s not the best work of his career, it’s proof that the man had stock as a solo artist and ultimately sealed his place as a depressive musical icon.
Jacques Brel
2/5
2
So, going in with the expectation that I wasn’t going to enjoy this at all, the opening track Amsterdam turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable. Nothing mind-blowing - I just found it to be a cool song with an impassioned vocal performance… but man, that charm started running real thin real quick. I was about over it halfway through the second song and was completely over it when he started doing that weird, dramatic laugh/cry bullshit on the third song. So glad this thing didn’t go over the 30-minute mark.
I can admit the guy’s voice is impressive, but I listen to music more for personality than technical proficiency, and this didn’t give me that - though, then again, I don’t speak French, so I don’t know what the hell he was singing about. Either way, it was a bit too operatic and French for my taste, though it did make me think of that one opera-themed Bugs Bunny short, so it has that going for it (Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit).
While not my thing, I guess David Bowie was a big fan, and anyone who’s alright with Bowie is alright in my book. I would strongly recommend anyone reading this to give Bowie’s cover of Amsterdam a listen - not that this should come as any kind of surprise for those familiar with the man, but it’s a really well done translation.
Willie Nelson
3/5
3
Idk man, for an album about a man killing his wife and going on the run, I expected this to be a lot grittier. Like, if this is what “outlaw country” is, then I’m a little underwhelmed - this just feels like some acoustic music with criminal themes and harmonica. I appreciate its efforts at a narrative (supposedly among the first of its kind), but most of the songs here sound kind of the same. Then again, a lot of these songs ARE the same - I think some form of Time of the Preacher is on here three times?
Anyway, after a few subsequent listens armed with a better understanding of what I was in for, I can admit there’s a certain charm to the album I grew to mildly appreciate. I really do find Willie to be a talented guitarist and overall cool dude with a great voice for country music that manages to feel iconic without ever feeling exaggerated, but ultimately, I just don’t find his music particularly spectacular or overly interesting. At least he kept it short and sweet here.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
3.5
Alright, let’s go Dusty, this is what I’m talking about! After listening to her underwhelming and dated debut, it really feels like she found a sense of her own identity here. Across the board, there’s so much more personality, passion, and atmosphere to the music compared to what previously felt like a disconnected assortment of pop singles. Even if a lot of the songs here are still covers, she breathes life into each and every one as if they’re her own with her absolutely captivating voice and bravado, to the point where I was reminded of the legendary pop diva Aretha Franklin herself at times. That may be a bit of a stretch, but supposedly Elton John even once referred to Dusty as “the greatest white singer there ever has been”. The racial asterisk is a little funny to me, but I see where he’s coming from - it’s great, but not quite Aretha levels.
Still, this is a very enjoyable listen and it quickly commanded my respect for her as a performer and pop icon - this is a woman who deserves way more recognition. It’s not quite enough to sway me into the 4+ territory - at least for now - but this definitely won’t be the last time I give her music a spin.
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
4
"Didn't you ever have that feeling when you get up with a hangover, and you look at the world and think 'Count me out, I'd rather die!'?"
Look, I’m far from the first person who would defend Johnny Rotten as any kind of lyrical genius, poet, or even really a punk for that matter (his endorsement of Donald Trump really sealed that last one), but there’s something about his performance and energy that’s hard not to appreciate if you’re any kind of punk rock fan. Like, come on, tell me this wouldn’t be hype as hell to see live with a couple beers in you. Yes, it’s a very different group than The Sex Pistols, but it’s not intended to - and why should it? While not particularly mosh-able, it’s just as angry, and I think that paired with this album’s bass-driven sound largely shaped post-punk as we know it today. If you want to write this off as a bunch of repetitive rock loops with Rotten screaming over them, I can see where you’re coming from, but personally, I can also see how it helped bridge that punk gap. If nothing else, I find the energy of this album enjoyable enough to the point where I could listen to it much longer than the 40 minutes provided. Hell, even the closing track Fodderstompf (which feels intentionally made to be bad) held an ounce of charm with me - tell me there isn’t the slightest bit of catch with that bass groove and “We only wanted to be loved” hook. Even if you do absolutely hate it though, the track Public Image is so damn good that it absolves all sin.
Despite all the negative reviews surrounding this one, I quite enjoyed it. Granted, I am a Sex Pistols fan, so do with that what you will, but I genuinely think this a noteworthy musical evolution from Never Mind the Bollocks (which had just come out a year prior), and I have a bit of respect for Johnny Rotten for it. Just a touch though - he’s still a POS and his new band likely had a large part to do with it.
Speaking of, if you were curious to listen to the interview at the end on Spotify but intimidated by the length, here’s a TL;DR: Johnny Rotten spends the entire time ripping on The Sex Pistols, contemporary bands, the interviewer, and then occasionally speaks about his current band and the album.
Cat Stevens
2/5
2.5
A total vibe change from Public Image Ltd. Look, I don’t want to be that guy, but there’s something about Yusuf / Cat Stevens’ music that I just find really lame. So, this album surprised me a bit with its opener, Where Do the Children Play?, which was actually pretty enjoyable and lowkey kind of a banger. Unfortunately, that charm runs thin pretty quickly, and after a stretch of less interesting songs, I was over this album about halfway through. Father and Son is okay I guess, but F this dude for suing The Flaming Lips over it - I can hear maybe a bit of semblance to Fight Test if I listen closely, but calling it infringement is a joke.
Don’t have much else to say on this one - I just don’t see this being the kind of thing I ever put on in my free time. I’ll give it this, I was kind of impressed with how solid the production felt here for being released in 1970, though if I’m being honest, there’s a good chance I would have liked this more if it wasn’t so polished.
The Incredible String Band
1/5
1.5
So, this started off kind of weird, but bearable… then Jesus Christ, about halfway through A Very Cellular Song I contemplated if I would have more fun drinking bleach. Clearly these guys weren’t tripping on the same quality acid that The Doors and Pink Floyd were - if all psychedelic bands sounded like this, then I could be convinced that the war on drugs was a good idea. Or, maybe this is just a reminder that psychedelic drugs don’t automatically make you a good musician, there needs to be a base level of talent there.
After giving this thing a few subsequent listens, I’ll admit there are some moderately enjoyable aspects buried in here, especially with some of the more sitar-driven stuff (which I imagine could be fun on psychedelics), so I’ll bump up a half star, but that kind of stuff is few and far between a lot of crap. And I mean A LOT of crap. If I never hear The Water Song again, that would still be too soon. Supposedly this album was a big influence on Robert Plant for Led Zeppelin’s debut, and while I’m glad he saw something in here that led to the creation of that album, I’m even more now appreciative that Jimmy Page was the one in charge of producing it.
Metallica
3/5
3.5
I used to not be able to stand Metallica, but they’re a group I’ve learned to appreciate in the more recent years of my life (see: my review of S&M). They really do have a lot of great songs that I used to write off before, and a lot of them are here on this album - Nothing Else Matters, The Unforgiven, Sad But True, and of course, Enter Sandman. As a less cynical (or maybe more seasoned) music fan now, I really appreciated their inclusion here. As for the rest of the album, there’s nothing unenjoyable, but it’s a lot of the same kind of thing in a less remarkable form, making this whole thing feel kind of one-note, especially for its duration. I found myself really enjoying the album at the gym as it kicked off, but around the time Nothing Else Matters concluded, I was ready for it to start wrapping up - especially being that the four songs that follow it are probably the least remarkable stretch of songs on the album.
A handful of great songs here that I’ll be revisiting, but I’m not sure how often I’ll be giving this thing a full listen - really wish this just would have ended with Nothing Else Matters. Still, much higher than I probably would have rated any Metallica album five or so years ago, so for better or for worse, my musical taste is broadening a bit.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
3/5
3
Tom Petty isn’t one of my favorite artists, but he does have a good amount of songs that I enjoy, and this album didn’t do much to change my standing opinion on that. American Girl is still a great tune (though its placement as the closing track here felt kind of off to me), Breakdown is still kind of overrated, and every other song was just okay. It really feels like Tom Petty was still finding his footing here being that most tracks don’t really have a ton of energy or personality to them, especially compared to his later work (shoutout to Full Moon Fever - that’s a really good album, and I’m glad it’s been revitalized a bit with Love is a Long Road’s inclusion in the Grand Theft Auto VI trailer).
Really don’t think there’s anything here I would go out of my way to revisit except for American Girl - a song I already knew prior - but I wouldn’t describe anything here as unenjoyable, and with a 30-minute duration, it definitely doesn't outstay its welcome by any means. That all being said, as I mentioned, this guy has better albums out there, so I hope this isn’t the last time we see him here.
Tim Buckley
2/5
2.5
This had a relaxing, old school jazz sound to it that I mildly appreciated, especially paired with Tim’s deep, emotional voice, but I really don’t feel like it left much of a lasting impression. Buzzin’ Fly was alright, but not much else was particularly entertaining, especially Love from Room 109 and Gypsy Woman which in no way felt like they warranted being 10+ minutes long.
So yeah, really mid, and I don’t feel like I have much of an opinion or a ton of thoughts. I will say this, while it in no way affects my rating, this album did get me a bit invested in the Buckley family for a minute. Yes, this is Jeff’s dad - check out a side by side with Grace’s album cover. I had no idea Jeff Buckley came from a musical family, but what’s really crazy is that not only are both known for their careers as solo musicians, but they also both died tragically young - Tim at 28, Jeff at 30. I guess Jeff hardly even knew his father before his passing, yet would go on to follow in the exact same footsteps… to a haunting degree. Like father, like son.
Anyway, if you didn’t like the album, hope you were able to derive some enjoyment out of the above information. If not, I got nothing for ya ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Hope we get to see Grace as a sort of a parallel at some point on this list.
Anita Baker
2/5
2
Yeah, this really didn’t do anything for me. It very, very much feels like a product of its time and dated by 2024 standards. Her voice is of course nice, but it doesn’t come off as particularly standout or unique nor does anything about the music, so as a whole, I really couldn’t point out any one moment that stood out to me. In fact, I’m really trying my best here to think of anything to add to further flesh out my thoughts or maybe just help beef up my review, but I’m just drawing a blank.
Can’t say that it’s bad, but I can confidently say it’s not for me. I guess this won 2 Grammys which surprised me and made me think that I’m missing something, but then I remembered the Grammys committee has the most middle-of-the-road, borderline awful taste, so I feel like my opinion (or lack thereof) is reinforced.
Britney Spears
1/5
1.5
Look, I totally get why it’s here… but no. I don’t want to spend this whole review going off on a boomer-esque rant, but I truly believe the late 90s/early 00s was the absolute worst era for pop music. I know it doesn’t mark the start nor the end of the manufactured, curated pop star, but it was at its worst here. So many of the hits from this period just feel so artificial and cheesy by modern standards, and I really believe the reason that they’re still looked upon fondly today is done more so out of nostalgia rather than actual admiration for the artistry. For me at least, music is all about self-expression, so if you’re just putting out something scientifically engineered by someone else to sell records, what’s the point? Oh yeah, money. Fortunately, I feel like this is something that has gotten a lot better in recent years, and I do think we’re in a golden era of pop now that the record labels aren’t as afraid to let stars take on a much larger role in the creation and production of their own music.
Anyway, I’ll step off my soapbox now. Maybe I shouldn’t be looking at this album through a modern lens, but I just really feel like it’s hard not to find this album dated as you’re listening. I admittedly was a little surprised by some of the diversity in sound here, but then again, it also felt like some producer was going through and trying to check boxes. Topically and lyrically, it left a lot to be desired - at its core, every song seems to boil down to the same kind of lovesick teenager thing (felt like “love” and/or “heart” was mentioned at least once on every track). Not really much stood out to me besides the obvious megahit, but I will give credit to I Will Still Love You for being surprisingly enjoyable, though it transitions into the most annoying gummy pop song on the album in Deep in My Heart. Also, I gotta point out E-Mail My Heart - it’s hard not to crack a smile at that one.
So, I didn’t really enjoy my listening of the album, but I want to end my review on this - I have no disrespect or ill will towards Britney by any means. Why would anyone say no to fame and fortune, especially at her age? If anything, I have a bit of sympathy for her knowing she was largely forced into the role by selfish, greedy parents, not to mention the resulting developmental issues and media response. I’m glad Britney is doing much better now and that society has a much more considerate and understanding outlook on mental health today. Hell, if I’m being honest, I would even be interested in giving her memoir a read. Like her or not, there’s no denying her place as the Princess of Pop, and for better or for worse, she changed all of pop music to come after.
De La Soul
4/5
4
Smooth, creative hip hop that’s as catchy as it is fun. It really seems like these guys were having a blast making this album, and that comes through in the listening - there isn’t a dull moment anywhere to be had between the constant stylistic changes and goofy skits. The whole game show setup in particular was something I thought was a really fun idea, though I’m a little disappointed we never heard any of the answers. I mean, how many times DID the Batmobile catch a flat?
The songs here are obviously great as well, with The Magic Number probably being far and away my favorite - shoutout to the new Spider-Man movie for including it and Schoolhouse Rock! for inspiring it. I also found myself really enjoying Change In Speak, Jenifa Taught Me, and the Otis Redding-sampling Eye Know, though I do feel like the songs grow to become just a little less interesting (or maybe a touch tiring) the further the album goes on. I can’t help but feel like there’s some fluff in here that they could have cut which would have helped both the overall flow and runtime. If nothing else, it really could have done without the orgy skit.
Regardless, though it’s not perfect, I still thought this was a really fun record and one I see myself listening to again in the future. Even though I didn’t love every track, the good vibes are strong, and there were so many crafted little touches here and there that I couldn’t help but appreciate, like the sound of vinyl crackle across the album or any of the amusing, random breakdowns (”Hey, look at little Derwin! Look at him go!”). Definitely a standout album from the genre.
Tears For Fears
4/5
4.5
One of those albums where it’s not just a listening, it’s an experience. This is really among new wave at its best, and the soundscape created by these two sensitive British bois (one of which I’ve always thought looks like Jon Cryer) is one of the most immersive and captivating I’ve heard.
Shout is an all-time great opener, the kind that makes it immediately clear you’re in for an incredible listening ahead. It’s one of the best songs on the album, and I always find myself mouthing the words and mimicking the boys’ hand motions from the music video whenever I listen (it’s a cheesy, but kind of awesome video). The Working Hour is a different, but welcome jazzy change-up from there, segueing into the megahit Everybody Wants to Rule the World. In my opinion, it’s not the best nor even the second best song on the album, but it’s a fantastic tune, and the “There's a room where the light won't find you” bridge is insane. The actual best song here though is easily Head Over Heels, which is absolutely amazing by its own merits, but its fusion and reprise with Broken elevates it to brilliant. It’s hard to say if my love of the movie Donnie Darko is at least partially responsible for my adoration of the song, but it probably doesn’t hurt (the sequence the song is used in is among my favorite of any movie ever).
Unfortunately, not all of the songs here are quite as strong as the ones I’ve mentioned - and by not all, I really mean I Believe. I Believe, in my opinion, is kind of boring and also probably largely responsible for my final score being short of a 5 - it’s really the only miss for me here. It definitely doesn’t ruin the listening for me by any means, but it’s also hard to point to the album as perfect with its inclusion - though I was almost convinced of a 5 again with the closer, Listen. Holy cow, what an epic track to bookend the album.
So yeah, I really enjoyed this one. It’s not my first time hearing the album, but it was a great reminder of how fantastic it really is. Borderline a 5 for me, but at the end of the day, it just doesn’t QUITE stack up to my other 5/5 albums. Still, it’s damn close.
The Prodigy
3/5
3
I was a little apprehensive going into this one, but there’s definitely an enjoyable vibe to it. In fact, I found this to be much more accessible than a lot of other club-style electronica and was actually quite enjoying myself as the album kicked off with Smack My Bitch Up, a song that I’m sure has never attracted any kind of known controversy. Breathe was a similar, but excellent follow-up track (and probably my favorite of the album), as was Diesel Power and Funky Shit from there. But that’s really the problem with this album though - things never really change all that much from the same general sound. That wasn’t really a problem at first (once my coffee kicked in, I was plugging away at work to this like I was some sort of 80s sci-fi hacker), but the music - like the caffeine - started losing its hold on me about halfway through the album. After a certain point, I just found myself holding out for Firestarter, a track I’ve seen a lot of people name as the group’s best (and which also requires you to slog through the 9-minute Narayan), but… it just sounded like everything else here? Am I missing something? I mean it’s fine, but it’s nothing special, and it’s definitely no Stand Up, the actual best song by this group - give that a listen if you’re not familiar. It’s a totally different vibe, but much better in the sense that it makes you feel like a badass without feeling like you should also be tweaking on something. (On an opposite note, if you want to hear an abomination, check out Gene Simmons’ cover of Firestarter).
If you’re into electronica, I can see why you’d be a fan of this album. As someone who isn’t particularly into the genre, I still would say I liked this more than I disliked it, though not by a ton - the charm of this kind of stuff runs thin quickly with me. Will keep in mind if I’m ever on coke or molly.
Holger Czukay
2/5
2
As goofy as it was, I really didn’t hate the opening track, Cool in the Pool. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have a sense of charm and catch to it, but unfortunately, it just kind of gets weirder from there. And not weird in a particularly remarkable sort of way, more weird in an “Oh, okay, I guess this is what we’re doing now” sense. I don’t know if I’m missing some context as someone unfamiliar with Can (the acclaimed krautrock band this guy supposedly hails from), but to me, this just kind of felt like a bunch of sound. I definitely wouldn’t describe it as bad (I’ve heard much worse on this list), but I don’t think I could describe this really as anything more than just “music” - it’s not the kind that strikes you in any particular way, but it’s certainly music alright. I suppose if I had to take a more analytical look, I could see how this could described as bridging the gap between pop and experimental, but for me, this is one of those instances where it feels more like a watered down version of each instead of a perfect fusion, and as a result, the two 10+ minute songs here (aka 70% of the album’s runtime), feel like slogs. The usage of samples here is also noteworthy I suppose in that it predates the technique being used in hip hop music, but even still, it’s a reminder that just because you did it first doesn’t automatically mean you did it the best.
When summertime rolls back around, I may revisit Cool in the Pool when I feel like being cool in the pool, but outside of that, not sure this one is going to get another listen out of me. Sorry, Holger - maybe I’ll check out your group Can one day.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
3
A little bit different, but a nice change of pace from Frank Sinatra’s typical orchestral stuff. Antonio’s bossa nova sound pairs well with Sinatra’s voice, but ultimately, I don’t think it results in the most remarkable work of either’s career. It’s a cool crossover for sure, but at times I can’t help but feel like they’re weighing each other down more than they are lifting each other up, and as a result, a good chunk of this album was just kind of “meh” to me. I did really enjoy the opening track The Girl From Ipanema (a song I’m certain I’ve heard variations of before), especially considering that it’s like the only song that features an actual vocal duet from the two, but there wasn’t really anything else I felt that strongly about. The only other song that really stood out to me was Changing Partners, which I suppose was enjoyable enough by its own merits, but mostly just because it made me think that maybe Sinatra was getting after something else after all with an album titled “Songs for Swingin’ Lovers”.
Definitely not bad. I would say I genuinely appreciate this album as a spin on the typical Sinatra formula, but I just don’t see myself reaching for this one over many of his others. If I were to revisit, I would likely just give the Sinatra/Jobim Melody a listen, a song featured as a bonus track on Spotify - it incorporates most of the songs on the album in one six-and-a-half minute number, and in my opinion, gets you everything you really need out of the album.
Funkadelic
3/5
3
Coming off the heels of Maggot Brain, I was actually kind of disappointed with this one. It’s not bad, but it just doesn’t have the edge to it that MB does, and overall, I feel like I was hit with a dose of more mediocre funk music. Maybe mediocre isn’t the right word because this is still very much filled with wacked-out George Clinton diatribes about mental diarrhea, groovallegiance, and whatever the hell promentalshitbackwashpsychosis is, but I just don’t feel like the music is quite on par with the lyrics and themes. It gets close at times, but never quite enough to fully pull me in.
Maggot Brain was great because it felt like a psychedelic trip in music form, and this felt more like a trip to the dance club. That’s not to say I’m anti-dance club per se, but it’s not what initially turned me on to the group, and I can’t help but feel like they’re holding back here. You’re even teased with a bit of their older, more psychedelic sound with a live recording of Maggot Brain’s title track, and it’s once again the best track on the album, but it’s hard to give this album credit for just doing the same thing over again. It’s a cool live performance of the track for sure, but it’s not quite as transcendent as hearing the studio version for the very first time.
Maybe this is just more evocative of Parliament’s sound, and that’s great if so, but keep it out of my Funkadelic - I’ll go give Parliament a listen when I’m damn well feeling a groovy, dancey mood.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
4
I’ve always been a Simon & Garfunkel fan, and this album just so happens to connect two of my favorite movies as well: The Graduate and 500 Days of Summer (ironic, if you’ve seen the latter). The song Mrs. Robinson here obviously was composed for and largely featured in The Graduate, and the Bookends Theme was used more subtly, but perfectly in one of 500 Days’ best scenes, aptly bookending a romantic period for our lovably toxic protagonist.
I digress, this album is fantastic by its own merits and not just because of how its songs were used in movies, though admittedly, it’s a bit disjointed. Side A largely outshines Side B, mostly because the songs are connected as a sort of concept album, with Save the Life of My Child, America, Overs, and Voices of Old People/Old Friends illustrating youth, young adulthood, middle age, and old age, respectively, which are then literally bookended by the two Bookends tracks, which I assume refer to life and death. Side B is a compilation of songs that were written for or around the time as The Graduate, though only Mrs. Robinson ultimately made it into the film. The songs on this side are also much heavier than anything on Side A, but fortunately, they’re all pretty enjoyable as well, so it’s not a huge deal, though the shift is definitely noticeable.
Going into this as a big fan of Mrs. Robinson and the Bookends Theme, I actually walked away with a newfound favorite in America. The song really resonated with me, probably partially because it’s supposed to embody my current stage in life, but it’s also hard not to relate to a song about a young man from Michigan leaving home to see the country as an ex-Michigander, newfound LA transplant myself. Old Friends was another one that really stuck out to me as well, both because it’s a great song and because it served as a bit of reminder of my own mortality, giving me a bit of existential dread in the process (“Can you imagine us years from today/Sharing a park bench quietly?/How terribly strange to be 70”). I really don’t have anything negative to say about any of the songs though - I even kind of like Voices of Old People as an interlude, though it could definitely stand to be a bit shorter than two full minutes.
Really solid album and a nice reminder of what I like about these guys. Could probably be organized a bit better, but it’s still really enjoyable nonetheless.
Nick Drake
4/5
4
There’s something so hauntingly beautiful about Nick Drake’s music. Maybe it’s because of his soft, tender voice and delicate playing style, maybe it’s because of his tragically young passing, either way, I can’t help but feel a somber vibe whenever I put on his work. The man radiates an aura of tortured brilliance, and it’s sad he didn’t receive recognition for it until years after it had already consumed him. However, as is often the case with musical icons, I think the briefness of his career has ultimately added a lot to his legacy and seemingly created a romanticized sense of mystery about him - I mean, supposedly there isn’t any known video footage of the guy that exists in any capacity.
Anyway, this is where all that started, when Drake was a fresh-faced college dropout, long before things got bad. And for a 20-year old, what an album to start out with - Drake's knack for profound and contemplative songwriting is immediately noticeable and comes across much more mature than his age would suggest (Lord knows I was still writing songs about ex-girlfriends at 20). Time Has Told Me, River Man, and Day is Done are all incredibly enchanting tunes that I believe really highlight the magic of his music, though truthfully, there’s nothing bad to be found here. My only criticism with the album (that I share with his second album as well), is that it feels overproduced (which is a weird thing to say about an album from 1969). Not to be a broken record with my Bryter Layter review, but as Pink Moon would later showcase, Drake was fully capable of carrying his music with just his guitar and voice alone, so I don’t know why the producers of this album insist on trying to drown the guy out with strings. It works on some tracks, but it’s way too much on songs like Way To Blue and Fruit Tree. Still, it’s really hard to ruin the music of someone with a mind like Nick Drake, so I still find this to be a largely enjoyable album - the guy really didn’t have a miss in his short career.
If you liked this album, I strongly recommend checking out his songs Black Eyed Dog and Time of No Reply, two non-album cuts that I enjoy deeply. If you didn’t enjoy this album… idk listen to Weezer or something.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
2.5
This is much more accessible and catchy than our last Pet Shop Boys album, but really just to the point where I found it okay instead of annoying. There are a couple decent tracks here like Can You Forgive Her?, I Wouldn’t Normally Do This Kind of Thing, and To Speak is a Sin (not to be confused with their similarly titled It’s a Sin) that I feel are ALMOST good enough to put me in a dance-y mood, but they never quite get me there or even really impart a lasting impression for that matter. They admittedly do a good job of having a unique feel to each song, to the point that I almost immediately recognized them all upon re-listening, but even still, nothing about any one of them struck me in any particular way. Maybe Young Offender, but mostly just because that one was ick-inducing more than anything else.
Yeah, I just don’t think Pet Shop Boys are my thing. I’ve seen a lot of people refer to them as dance pop sadbois, so it seems like they should be up my alley, but I’m just not picking up on any of that in the music - thematically, both albums of theirs I’ve heard seem more focused on nightlife and hooking up. Supposedly this is also littered with hints of vocalist Neil Tennant’s homosexuality prior to him coming out which are definitely noticeable in the lyrics once you’re looking for them, but I don’t think it really adds to the album in any meaningful way, and it definitely doesn’t make Young Offender any less creepy.
I don’t think these guys are bad at writing dance pop by any means - I can definitely see the appeal if I was someone more into the genre - but I do feel like there are much better offerings out there from better artists. That being said, this album prompted me to go back and look at Actually again, and to my surprise, it features a collaboration with Dusty Springfield, an artist I didn’t know at the time of my initial review but am well familiar with now, and as a result, the track is probably now my favorite Pet Shop Boys song. So, I guess you could say some good came out of this after all.
Chicago
2/5
2.5
Chicago? Great city, great hot dogs, not so great pizza. The band? Ehhhhh. I’ve never really been a big fan of these guys. They’ve always come across to me as generic dad rock but with horns - horns that really do nothing to save the music from mediocrity, and somehow makes it feel even more MOR than it already is.
I knew this was going to be a slog the second I saw that the introduction was 6 and a half minutes long. But that’s just kind of the thing with this album - every song here is way longer than it needs to be. Like, they’re not even doing anything particularly cool or overly jammy on most tracks, it just feels like padding. And the one time they do attempt something improvised and experimental results in Free Form Guitar, an absolute ear massacre that is sure to turn off even someone who was genuinely enjoying the album prior. It’s like they were trying to prove they were hard or something here, but it’s just cringe-inducing. Maybe you could classify the closing track, Liberation as a better example of a jam-out track, but either way, I was long over the album at that point.
Not a ton of standouts here for a 76-minute album. I was curious what the group would have to say about Southern Californians with their song about Purples (whatever the hell those are), and yet them quoting The Beatles ended up feeling more insulting than anything negative they could have said. The August 29, 1968 tracks ended up being the actual charged tracks here, which I guess are about cops beating up anti-Vietnam protestors on said date in Chicago. I respect the energy (assuming they’re supporting the protestors - I can’t really tell), but given that the songs pop up a good hour into the album, the sudden political messaging feels a bit out of left field.
Overall, meh. Not bad, but a pretty forgettable classic rock record.
Electric Light Orchestra
2/5
2.5
I have a lot of the same feelings about this one that I had about the Chicago album prior. Once again, massively overrated classic rock band with an album that’s waaaaay too long. As for these guys specifically, despite having friends and family that enjoy the group, I’ve always found ELO to be corny and uninspiring. In particular, I can’t stand Mr. Blue Sky, a song that I feel epitomizes those attributes - and wouldn’t you know it, that song is on this album.
That all being said, I don’t hate the group - they have some songs I find decent - but I’m just generally unaffected by them, and that really didn’t change with my listening here. I did find the first few songs to be somewhat enjoyable and nearly considered giving a 3 because of them, but man, as you keep listening, you feel the length of this album. By the time Mr. Blue Sky rolled around, I was long over the whole thing and eagerly waiting for it to end. Fortunately, the following track Sweet is the Night breathed a little bit more life back into the album and was a back half favorite, but honestly, I think I really only liked the track because it felt like he was doing a Bob Dylan kind of thing with the vocals.
Double albums are always a gamble and very rarely stick the landing in my opinion, and this one is no different. I commend the group on having a unique and hit-making sound to them, but it’s just not my thing - it’s more the kind of thing I would pick up at a record store used for like a buck and then would leave sitting in the back of my collection, unplayed.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
4/5
4
On the topic of British music, most people will bring up the 1960s “invasion” era or the 90s Britpop “second wave”, but if you ask me, the absolute best the country had to offer was its early 80s gothic scene - a period of music that, for whatever reason, Americans at the time just didn’t get. Between artists like The Cure, The Smiths, Joy Division, New Order, Echo & The Bunnymen, and the queen of goth herself, Siouxsie Sioux, Britain was absolutely ahead of the curve and firing on all cylinders for a near decade.
And while I adore those artists, I’ve actually never listened to a full Siouxsie Sioux album - and to the least of my surprise, it’s just as fantastic. Like many of her contemporaries, Siouxsie feels incredibly ahead of her time here with a sound that you can tell shaped so much of alternative rock to come - I mean, The Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and Red Hot Chili Peppers are just a few artists listed on Wikipedia as having stated influence (no idea what the hell RHCP saw in this that translated into their music, but I appreciate the good taste).
Influence aside, this album is littered with banger after banger of absolute gothic rock excellence. Admittedly, it took me a couple listens to fully realize the charm of each, but once I did, I was fully sucked in. I genuinely enjoyed every song here, though I would probably point to Spellbound and Monitor as my two favorites (the latter in particular feels WAY ahead of its time, like it could be released today). The closing track Voodoo Dolly is probably the weakest here, but it’s by no means a bad note to end on.
So yeah, I really enjoyed this one. The atmosphere it creates is incredible, and I found myself already wanting to go back to give another listen shortly after finishing. What started as a 3.5 for me very quickly worked its way up to 4… and who knows, may rise even further from there.
Gillian Welch
3/5
3.5
For an album that looks like a contemporary country release, I really didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did. But then again, I’m not sure I would exactly classify this as country (or contemporary for that matter… 2001 was 23 years ago, woof). While it’s entirely possible that the more pop-structured stuff that’s come out recently may have altered my perspective on what an authentic country album sounds like, this felt much more like bluegrass to me than anything else - and either I enjoy bluegrass music or just Gillian Welch because I thought this was excellent.
Yeah, a lot of the songs here sound very similar, but I do believe that they all still shine in their own way. Welch has a voice that was made for the genre and elevates every track here, but just as importantly, she’s also a talented songwriter and storyteller, with songs like April the 14th and Elvis Presley Blues being highlights for me just due to how interesting I found them lyrically and thematically. However, my personal favorite track was Revelator, which I found to be a really stirring ballad to open the album and a great immediate showcase of her talents. I enjoyed most everything here though, but I will say, I don’t think the 14-minute closing track was at all needed. It’s not bad, but it’s just kind of the same thing looping over and over again for 14 minutes - you could have easily cut that bad boy down to about 3 or 4 minutes, and I don’t think anything would have been lost.
Not the kind of thing I normally listen to, and it’s probably not about to become any kind of newfound all-time favorite, but it is one of those albums on this list that I’m happy to have been exposed to. In the right time or place, I could see myself listening again in the future.
Mudhoney
4/5
4
I’m familiar with Mudhoney within the context of 90s grunge bands, but I didn’t realize that these guys were doing it before anyone else was. If you asked me, I probably would have pointed to Nirvana as pioneers of the genre (as I imagine many others would as well), but as it turns out, Kurt was copying these guys’ notes the whole time (he would even go on to name this specific album among his Top 50 of all-time). I don’t say that to be dismissive of Nirvana - I very much love the group and think that they had an important role in expanding and popularizing the genre - but to be honest, there’s stuff here that sounds nearly identical to their music. In particular, I found the riff on Need to be incredibly reminiscent of Rape Me, and the bass work on No One Else felt very similar to that on Downer.
That all to say, I really enjoyed the album and the overall sound, but I don’t think it gave me any one song or even moment for that matter to really grab onto and point to as a highlight. I also feel like I should point out that the original release of this album only consists of the tracks Need through In ‘n’ Out of Grace, so I’m only trying to factor my thoughts on those into my score here, but honestly, I don’t the bonus tracks here did anything to add or detract from those in any way regardless. I will say, I did have a lot of fun with the live tracks that are featured on the Deluxe Edition on Spotify - I gotta imagine these guys were a blast to see live (if you can get past what I imagine surely involves a small, chaotic room full of sweaty dudes).
Kept bouncing back and forth between a 3.5 and 4 on this one. I’m still having a hard time thinking of any one particular song that I really liked, but at the same time, I also just really enjoyed the vibe as a whole and found myself rocking out for most of its duration - and isn’t that what should define good music at the end of the day? So, we’ll round up - fun, short and sweet album from a group of guys that deserve wayyyy more credit.
3/5
3
I kept thinking that the name Spirit sounded really familiar (besides just being the low budget airline I always insist on flying), and then it hit me - these are the guys that sued Led Zeppelin for allegedly ripping them off with Stairway to Heaven. Well, considering how low their Spotify play count is, I feel like they should be thankful for Led Zeppelin bringing them some attention if anything.
Anyway, that was all I really knew about these guys going in, and that song (Taurus) isn’t even on this album. Even with a Wikipedia browsing, the only worthwhile information I picked up on the group is that their keyboardist’s name is John Locke (shoutout to Lost) and that their singer apparently would go on to write the theme song for the American version of The Office. Iconic theme song, but as for this album - it’s fine. It’s a pretty standard slice of the era without anything to dislike about it in particular, but there also wasn’t anything I found all that great either. The songs also felt incredibly disconnected from one another, so the album really seemed disjointed and lacked a sense of flow as a whole. Nothin’ to Hide, Animal Zoo, Mr. Skin, and Morning Will Come were probably my favorites of the bunch, but to say that I’m likely to seek them out again feels like a lie.
So yeah, just kind of decent. I feel like I can get what I want out of this album from other artists (certain songs gave me The Who vibes in particular), so I'm not sure I see a reason to revisit this one.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
3
I referred to these guys as hit or miss in my last review, but after this album, I think what that means for me is that they’re just an overall average group. They have highs and lows for sure (Fortunate Son being a personal favorite, Down on the Corner not so much), but for the most part, their catalog just seems to net out to a level of acceptably decent for me. Like, is this album doing anything drastically different from Cosmo’s Factory? Or is it even really better or worse for that matter? No, not really. Same kind of bayou-rock sound with one good song (Green River), an annoyingly overplayed one (Bad Moon Rising), and seven tracks of material that are fine enough.
As I’ve stated before, I’ve always dug John Fogerty’s voice, but outside of that, I don’t really get what makes these guys stand apart from a lot of other classic rock bands. There are definitely worse things to be listening to, but I don’t think they’re quite deserving enough to get anything higher than a 3 from me - though they’re at least consistent enough to probably avoid going below that score as well.
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
3
Oh boy, here we go - an album I’ve seen widely considered one of the greatest releases in recent music, if not the greatest of all-time (rateyourmusic.com has it ranked at #1 if you want to take their users’ word for it). So with that in mind, I can’t help but feel the bar may have been set a little high, because I’m walking away a little underwhelmed. That to say, I do have a lot of respect for what this album does, especially being released in 2015. I mean, not only is it an incredibly insightful and intricate depiction of the black experience in modern America, but it’s crafted in such a way that it expertly fuses numerous genres of music associated with black culture with common themes and musical refrains. So, in a lot of ways, this felt like a concept album, something I find incredibly refreshing in the Spotify-era of music, where singles are valued much more highly and albums are less frequently given front to back listens.
But despite all of my appreciation for that, I really didn’t fall in love with a lot of the individual songs here. Maybe it’s privilege to say that many of them didn’t particularly resonate with me, but I don’t think it was due to any lack of musicality, lyricism, or messaging, I just felt like there was too much going on in a lot of the tracks. There were definitely a few that I enjoyed though, with the more R&B-driven Complexion and These Walls being two of my favorites (My dad probably won’t want to admit this, but the latter sounds just like a Prince song - I’m almost convinced the guest vocalist on the song was deliberately doing an impression). However, the moments that ended up resonating with me the most were the spoken word segments. I loved the ongoing poem that concluded a number of the tracks, especially with how it culminated in the finale, Mortal Man, where Kendrick recites the full thing to none other than Tupac himself and then proceeds to have a profound conversation with the rap legend (using archival material) on the black role in modern society and Kendrick’s responsibility as a newfound icon of the culture.
So, I would definitely say this is the kind of album that largely benefits from diving deeply into it, but I still don’t think I can confidently walk away saying this was an all-time favorite of mine. Yes, I appreciate what it does, but it’s hard for me to score it higher when I didn’t love a number of the individual tracks, and I’m not racing to give the full thing another listen. I have a lot of respect for Kendrick, but this just wasn’t a life changer for myself as a music fan.
Fleet Foxes
3/5
3
Yeahhh this feels like the kind of thing we were all into in 2008 for a minute and then moved past. I was hoping I would enjoy it a little bit more than I did as someone who’s grown to appreciate a good amount of folk music, but nothing here really did anything for me. It sounds nice, and I didn’t mind having it on, but despite listening to this thing four times, I just don’t feel like I really retained anything. I guess I could point to White Winter Hymnal as my favorite or maybe just the most standout, but I think it’s mostly because that one seems to have a “larger”, grander feel to it as compared to the rest of the tracks. The only other thing I can think of that stood out to me was the opening line to Meadowlarks, but that’s just because I kept hearing it over and over again when my earbuds were glitching on me at the gym, and something about the mention of a cornucopia stuck with me - really couldn’t tell you another song off the top of my head that mentions a cornucopia in the lyrics.
Don’t have a ton much else to say on this one. I’ll give credit to the unique production on the album with its classical choral vibes (something I think the album cover nails), but it didn’t result in an overly interesting musical experience for me.
Queen
3/5
3.5
I’ve mentioned before that I’m not the biggest Queen fan in the world, but this album does kick off with what’s probably the single best non-David Bowie-featuring song of their career. That’s right, Brighton Rock babyyyy - and I have no shame admitting that Baby Driver was 100% what turned me onto it (come on, that scene was cool as hell).
Anyway, that aside, as a whole, this album definitely feels like a continuation and evolution from the sound of Queen II, but for me, it just doesn’t quite reach the same highs. Once again, you can definitely tell which songs were written by Freddie and which ones by Brian May (and which one is the token Roger Taylor song), and once again, they complement each other nicely, but something about their work here just doesn’t feel as grandiose. Now I’m Here is no Father to Son, and Killer Queen is no Ogre Battle (sorry to all the Killer Queen fans out there - it’s not a bad song, but it’s not one of my favorites). The way that Tenement Funster, Flick of the Wrist, and Lily of the Valley all connect is cool and well-done, but it ranks relatively low in the grand scheme of Queen epicness.
And that’s just how I felt about the first half - the back half of this thing devolves into what feels like a lot of half-baked ideas, especially with the stretch of Dear Friends to Bring Back That Leroy Brown. It’s at least a short stretch, and they’re followed by a nice return to form in She Makes Me (German soldier in stilettos, the Star Wars fodder with terrible aim didn’t exist yet) and a really solid closer in In The Lap of the Gods… Revisited. It doesn’t seem that the track has a ton of similarities with its previous incarnation on the album, but I really enjoyed and ultimately preferred it nonetheless.
So yeah, pretty good listen, but far from perfect. Queen was definitely still finding their footing a bit here, but to be honest with you, I would still take a number of songs off this album and their previous over many of their later hits.
Also, jfc Freddie’s chest hair on the album cover
The Byrds
1/5
1.5
Look, this list has done a successful job of opening my mind towards country music, but Jesus this was terrible. I don’t claim to know a ton about The Byrds, but supposedly their sound changed almost entirely with this album due to Gram Parsons’ involvement, so all I can say is F that guy for it. The story surrounding his death and cremation is awesome, but between this and that Flying Burrito Brothers album, that’s all he has going for him.
The first song, You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere is decent and gave me Bob Dylan vibes despite the twang, but by the second track, I was ready for this thing to end. And as it just so happens, the opening track is, in fact, a Bob Dylan cover, so once again, F these guys for dragging Dylan’s name into this. Everything else on this album sucks and/or is incredibly boring, with The Christian Life in particular being a song that made me want to bash my head against a wall.
Supposedly these guys were booed out of Nashville for being a bunch of hippies posing as country stars, and for perhaps the first time in my life, I gotta say I’m with the conservatives on this one - leave the country music to country artists. I know I’m in the minority here because this is a highly regarded album, but the closest comparison I can draw to this is when Weezer brought in Lil Wayne to help spice up Ratitude - and we all know how that ended up.
If you’re a big fan of classical country music, there’s probably some enjoyment to be had in this album for you, but as someone who wouldn’t consider the genre a personal favorite of theirs, I’d much rather listen to quite literally any other country album we’ve had on this list so far. Gonna need Patron, gonna need a beat, gonna need a lot of pretty girls around me in order to forget this one.
(I can’t stop, partying, partying)
Stevie Wonder
4/5
4
Okay, right out of the gate, I have to touch on the fact that I previously mentioned in my Fulfillingness' First Finale review that one of the songs gave me Super Mario 64 vibes, but holy shit, Sir Duke here is quite literally the Bob-Omb Battlefield theme from the same game. What the hell is going on? Is the Super Mario composer just a big Stevie Wonder fan, or is there a larger conspiracy at play?
Anyway, that out of the way - I gotta say, I thought the last two Stevie Wonder albums that we had were decent, but this really showcased for me what people love about him. Every song out of the 21 here just has a fun energy to it and is unique both musically and topically, really highlighting Stevie's diverse skillset as a songwriter and performer (it was also super cool hearing the origin of Gangsta’s Paradise). Honestly, my only real complaint about the album is that it’s just a touch too long, though it’s really not an issue with the number of songs present (there isn’t a single one I would point to as being a skip or removal-worthy), but I do think a few tracks - as great as they are - go on just a bit too long. Don’t get me wrong, my favorite stretch of songs here was Isn’t She Lovely to Black Man, but I think each (as well as a handful of other tracks) could stand to have maybe a couple minutes cut off of them. It’s probably sacrilege to say that about any song on this album or by Stevie Wonder for that matter, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have the thought. Also, I guess the last four songs that are included on Spotify aren’t technically on the album per se, as they were originally put onto a bonus EP bundled with the vinyl, and though they aren’t an unwelcome addition by any means, I don’t think they do a lot to add to the album or outshine anything already heard.
Still, absolutely nothing bad here for a near two-hour album, which isn’t something I think a lot of artists could pull off, especially as someone as deep into their career as Stevie already was here. It’s not quite the kind of thing to register as a 5/5 in my book (at least not at this point in time), but I gotta say, if you hate this, then I would question if you hate music.
U2
2/5
2.5
Not going to lie, it wasn’t until just now that I learned there are two different U2 albums that feature a boy with his arms crossed behind his head on the cover, and I was pretty disappointed to see this is not the one with I Will Follow on it.
Anyway, these guys have a handful of good songs (like I Will Follow), but as a whole, one of the most overrated and annoying bands of all-time, and I guess the political shift with this album marks when they became that way. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good politically-charged album if done right, but this epitomizes what I can’t stand about U2 (and especially Bono) - it’s just a lot of buzzwords flying around that don’t really say anything, coming from a band that pats themselves on the back like they’re some kind of disruptors. Look, I definitely have a sense of respect for Bono’s activism, but the dude is so dramatic and showy about it that I can’t help but find him gratuitously self-righteous and nowhere as deep as he seems to think he is. Referring to the title of the album, The Edge is even quoted as saying, "It's a heavy title. It's blunt. It's not something that's safe, so it could backfire. It's the sort of subject matter that people can really take a dislike to. But we wanted to take a more dangerous course, fly a bit closer to the wind, so I think the title is appropriate." Like, my guy, it’s just called “War” - who the hell would be provoked by that? The Clash (a band with similar ideals but superior in every way) went and named an album “Sandinista!” two years prior as a show of support for a left-wing resistance movement in Nicaragua - now that’s a bold political statement. And speaking of The Edge, that’s such an awesome nickname for a musician that it’s a shame it’s associated with a mediocre guitarist for a mediocre band - the dude just goes ham with effects units for his guitars and it’s somehow made him iconic.
Okay, rant over (for now) - This album was, appropriately, mediocre as well. New Year’s Day is a decent song, Sunday Bloody Sunday is highly overrated, and the rest of the album just sounds like more of the same thing as those but not quite as good or as memorable. Like I said, the group definitely has a handful of songs across their catalog that I do enjoy, but none of them are here, and certainly none of them are joining that short list after giving this a listen.
Not a bad group, but quite possibly second only to The Beatles as the most overrated.
Gram Parsons
3/5
3.5
I was just ranting three reviews ago about how this dude ruined The Byrds, and lo and behold, look who should show up on my doorstep again. Well, despite what I’ve said about the guy in the past, either a broken clock is right twice a day or Emmylou carried the guy on this album because it's surprisingly good. I didn’t want to admit it at first, but between Return of the Grievous Angel, I Can’t Dance, Ooh Las Vegas, and the cover of the Everly Brothers’ Love Hurts, I couldn’t help but find myself enjoying this, even making me question if the rendition of the latter was my new favorite version. Even the stuff in between those was still pretty decent though, and I appreciated that each song seemed to have a little bit more flair to it than the stuff I’ve heard previously from Parsons, like the xylophone on Hearts on Fire or the live-sounding Northern Quebec medley. The latter does contain Hickory Wind, a song I previously detested on Sweetheart of the Rodeo, and while it’s still probably my least favorite song here, how it’s incorporated bumped it up a little bit in my book.
So yeah, far and away the best I’ve heard from Mr. Parsons, though I’d be lying if I said that Emmylou Harris’ involvement probably didn’t sway my opinion on it a touch. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve been a big fan of Emmylou’s voice ever since I got into Bright Eyes and discovered I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning, so I’m sure the fondness that I have of her work with Conor there helped translate into an appreciation of what she does with Gram here (We Are Nowhere and It’s Now is one of the greatest songs ever in my books, and her involvement on the track is no small part of that). Obviously the woman is capable of standing on her own though (as Pieces of the Sky has shown us), and it’s a shame she was cut from being co-credited on this album with Gram and a space on the cover due to the dude’s jealous widow. Can you blame her though? Just listening to the two here feels like they have palpable chemistry.
Third time’s the charm I guess - shoutout to Gram for finally commanding some musical respect out of me, and shoutout to his friends for perhaps the greatest corpse heist of all-time.
Side note - I’ve seen this album cover before, and Gram’s image has always reminded me of the main dude from the Guitar Hero video games, Axel Steel. Does anyone else see it?
David Holmes
2/5
2.5
I saw this was listed as electronica, so I kept waiting for a beat to drop… and it never did. Not to say that’s a bad thing, I’m not really a huge fan of electronica anyway, but I was surprised to hear that this was more chill DJ work. And that being the case, this was a decent listen to get work done to, but it really didn’t leave me with much of a lasting impression. In a lot of ways it reminded me of the DJ Shadow album we had, Endtroducing…, but much more like a lite version of that, with less creativity, versatility, and personality to it across the board. The only thing that I could really point to you as being noteworthy or that I enjoyed was how each track opened with a recording of a random New Yorker going off about something, with the guy talking about how Shaft could kick James Bond’s ass and the dude ranting about how he got kicked out of the Continental Club for moshing being highlights (I guess the place closed down in 2018, so he got his wish).
But yeah, this was alright, though not particularly remarkable or memorable, in spite of the fact there’s a whole song worked around the James Bond theme. I can definitely see how this dude would go on to score films, but for an album, this just feels like it was missing something. Hope this dude’s mate Paul appreciated the shoutout at least.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
From Let’s Get Killed to Let’s Get It On… two kinds of people, I guess.
Anyway, while I don’t claim to know a ton of Marvin Gaye’s music, I do know the title track, but mostly because it’s pretty much become a meme at this point. For that reason, it’s honestly a little hard for me to take the track seriously, but I will say, it slowly grows more enjoyable once you get further into it and past the initial signature guitar wah-wahs. Aside from that, this album is nothing but an absolutely enjoyable blast of sexy soul music, something probably few do better than Marvin Gaye. Admittedly, it mostly runs together and is a bit one-note, but when you have said note down to a tee, why would you change it up? The album does an amazing job of setting and maintaining a vibe without ever growing tiring, and as a result, I found myself grooving in my chair to a good chunk of this and thinking about my Sauga gal.
Definitely not the most distinct thing I’ve heard nor is it the type of thing I see myself putting on often in my free time, but I enjoyed it quite a bit here. You really can’t go wrong with a lot of Motown, and this album is no exception.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
4
Funk excellence. I mean, Everyday People in and of itself is probably enough to seal this as an all-time classic, and yet there are a number of songs here just as catchy and empowering that manage to rival it, with the one-two-three punch of Stand, Don’t Call Me N*****, and I Want to Take You Higher being an absolutely killer trio to open the album. So, this seemed to have the makings of an all-time classic in my book early on, but unfortunately, there’s a bit of a dip after the first three songs, and then especially after Everyday People. That’s not to say I think Somebody’s Watching You or Sing a Simple Song are bad songs, they’re fine, but it was around the time of these two that I found my groovy mood slowly fading. Fortunately, the album is quickly saved and hits an apex with Everyday People, only to immediately bottom out with Sex Machine, a song far too repetitive to be anywhere near as long as it is. You Can Make It If You Try is admittedly a step back in the right direction, but at that point you’re pretty winded from the previous track, and considering how strong the album starts, it just feels like a lackluster conclusion.
Still, as a whole, this is a really solid funk album. When the group is firing on all cylinders, it’s absolutely electric, and paired with their signature brand of social messaging, you really have a showcase of what makes Sly & Co. so iconic and influential. While the mediocrity of some tracks made me question kicking this down to 3 territory, the greatness and importance of others here can’t be understated, so I don’t think I would feel right going any lower than a 4.
Now, time to go back and re-evaluate my opinion of There’s a Riot Goin’ On.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3/5
3
It’s Alright!
I knew that Yeah Yeah Yeahs eventually developed more of a pop sound later in their career, and I guess this album denotes that shift. Unfortunately, instead of having a distinct sound to it like their debut had, this makes them sound like just about every other 2000s alt band that tried to cross over from rock to pop. Admittedly, YYYs probably did it better than most because, as far as those attempts go, I found this to be pretty decent and listenable, but at the same time, to say it’s anything special would be a lie.
The album admittedly starts a bit promising with Zero and Heads Will Roll, two tracks that nearly had me on board for the group’s new sound, but it slowly devolves into a bunch of generic pop rock fodder from there. It’s the kind of thing where you can tell they still wanted to be considered alternative while also hoping to garner a bit of mainstream attention, which to me feels a lot like having your cake and eating it too. That to say, I’m pretty sure they actually succeeded in that regard with this album, so power to them - I’m willing to eat crow, but it’s still not my thing.
Fever to Tell over this any day - I mean, this didn’t have a single lyric anywhere on it that came close to “Boy you just a stupid bitch and girl you just a no good dick”.
Simple Minds
2/5
2.5
Allegedly this album helped innovate the 80s pop sound that would go on to define the decade. I can’t say that I feel strongly one way or the other in regards to that claim, but what I can confidently say is that what Simple Minds did with it here is far from the most interesting version of it. Maybe it’s not fair to compare this to music that followed and likely took influence, but there are plenty of genre-defining artists I could point to that came out of the gates swinging, and these guys couldn’t even do that five albums in. Hell, even comparing this to their own work, there’s nothing here that holds a candle to Don’t You (Forget About Me). Why didn’t we get that album? The inclusion of the Breakfast Club song alone must make it a better listen than this.
Trash talk aside, this really did nothing for me and was just kind of a non-presence while I was working. It didn’t give me anything to like, anything to dislike, or anything to feel remotely strongly about it in any particular way - this truly was just very vanilla. Normally I’m the first pretentious a-hole to call a group out as being better before they got big, but that is very much not the case with Simple Minds.
Ok, a correction after a Google search later - Don’t You (Forget About Me) was a non-album single written and recorded for The Breakfast Club (apparently reluctantly). While I could update the above paragraph, I went ahead and listened to the album the song was later bundled with anyway, and it is indeed better than this, so I stand by my initial sentiment.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
4.5
I went through a big Jimi Hendrix kick in high school, but for whatever reason, I haven’t really gone back to revisit a lot of his music since (I probably have Nirvana, Brand New, The Smiths, and Bright Eyes to blame for sending me down a sadboi rabbit hole around this time). Thankfully, this was exactly the reminder I needed - what an absolute shockwave of an album, the kind that feels like the only proper way of appreciating is by cranking it as loud as you can (while being respectful of your neighbors). Everyone knows Hendrix is one of the greatest guitarists of all-time, but it’s really hard to describe to someone why that is without just playing some of his work. He’s not busting out crazy speed metal-esque guitar solos, he’s not drastically redefining song structure or conventions, he’s not even playing in the most particularly polished way for that matter, and yet, the guy just seems to have a way of communicating with his guitar unlike anyone else, in a way that it almost feels like the guitar has a voice of its own. It feels passionately and thoughtfully executed while also managing to feel effortless, and once again, a reminder of why personality and emotion always trumps outright technical proficiency (though that’s not to say he was lacking in that department in any way).
Song-wise, I didn’t realize how loaded this album is - it seems that just about every other song here ended up being a hit, and yet even the ones in between that I had never heard of are just as good, if not better. Like, I’ve always found Fire and Foxey Lady to be a bit overrated, but holy cow, stuff like Love or Confusion, Third Stone from the Sun, and May This Be Love almost immediately entered the upper echelons of the Hendrix catalog for me. Of course, it’s hard to beat Purple Haze and Hey Joe, songs that go hand-in-hand with the Hendrix name, and for good reason (shoutout to Hey Joe for being one of the first songs my guitar teacher tried teaching me in like the fifth grade). The absolute best song on both this album and likely of Hendrix’s career has got to be The Wind Cries Mary for me though (Castles Made of Sand comes close). It's an absolutely beautiful track that hits me in a way that I think few others have. Finally, I have to give credit to the title track for being a fantastic closer (if you don’t count the bonus tracks), though that does bring me to my only real critique with the album - aside from Are You Experienced, it doesn’t really feel like a ton of thought was put into the overall organization or flow of tracks here. It’s not really a huge issue, especially with how distractingly fantastic each individual song is, but it does come off just a touch disjointed at times.
I really didn’t think I’d end up scoring this highly going in, but man, what an album, especially for a debut. You can just tell that the game was changed completely when it dropped, and so many contemporary rock acts and ones to follow were playing catch up. While I can’t quite pull the trigger on the 5 - still wouldn’t say that I love every song here - what an album to rock out to, one that I willingly listened to multiple times and that sent me on a bit of a Hendrix kick. Hoping we see more of his work pop up here.
Closing thoughts, is this not one of the best album covers of all-time? Jimmy looks like an absolute badass on it, and the style somehow perfectly captures what the album sounds and feels like. Iconic image in music, though if I’m being honest, it’s one I’ll always associate with the comic strip Get Fuzzy (iykyk).
GZA
3/5
3
Not really getting the hype surrounding this one. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a fine rap album, and I had a decent time listening to it, but nothing about it felt particularly noteworthy or special. I mean, the guy has good flow, but beats and lyrics-wise it all seemed pretty average and not like anything I haven’t already heard before. Really the only two tracks that stood out to me were Cold World and Shadowboxin’, which I will say have probably contained the best two beats on the album, but they also weren’t anything that imparted any kind of lasting impression or that I found myself missing when they were gone.
Supposedly there’s a large following for this album online, so I’m clearly missing something. I’m not overly familiar with Wu-Tang Clan, so maybe I’m just lacking some context there? I do know there is some praise thrown onto the album for its “cinematic” qualities, which I’m assuming refer to the B-movie-esque interstitials. I did think those were kind of neat, but at the same time, I also don’t really feel like they paired with any of the songs or created any kind of overarching connection in any sort of meaningful way.
If you’re a huge fan of this album, please let me know what I’m missing! I will say, the album cover is dope as hell and probably a 5/5 in my books if we were grading solely based on that.
Jack White
3/5
3.5
Historically, my opinion of Jack White’s music has been that it’s good, but not great, and this album didn’t do much to change that. Admittedly, it did grow on me the more that I listened to it, and looking back now, I would say that I enjoyed most of the individual songs (especially with how diverse they were in sound and style), but still, I don’t think there’s any one moment here I would go as far as to call great. It gets close - Love Interruption is a really solid track with a catchy, twisted charm to it, Sixteen Saltines is a fun blast of punk rock energy paired with goofy lyrics, Hypocritical Kiss is an impassioned (and likely autobiographical) ballad about an ex-lover with bitter spark to it, and hell, there’s probably a good handful of other songs I could point to as having specific enjoyable qualities to them as well if I tried, but ultimately, there just isn’t anything here I would refer to as particularly unique or groundbreaking. That’s not to say that I think every album needs to break some sort of mold in order to be highly regarded, I totally get that some stuff just makes for good comfort food listening, but as far as that kind of thing goes for me, I just wouldn’t call Jack White a comfort food artist. If anything, I would call his music perhaps a bit self-indulgent - despite coming off mostly as mid-to-decent, I can’t help but get a pretentious vibe from the dude, like he seems to think he’s more of a musical mastermind and deeper than he really is.
I definitely enjoyed my time with this album and would go as far as to say that I could see myself re-listening to it - or at least partially - but it also didn't really do a ton to expand my appreciation of Jack White or alternative rock as a whole. For what’s it worth, I’ll give it credit for this - the riff to I’m Shakin’ has been stuck in my head ever since I first heard it, though I still haven’t determined if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.
David Bowie
3/5
3.5
A pretty good album that’s largely overshadowed by Blackstar (understandably), so I’m pretty happy to see it get a shoutout on this list. Don’t get me wrong, it’s far from the best or most iconic of Bowie’s work, but it’s a really solid collection of songs and a bit of a return to form after a really mediocre, forgettable stretch of albums from the late 90s through the 00s… and perhaps even a bit of foreshadowing into what the final chapter of his career (and lifetime) was to sound like.
While there isn’t any one song here I would immediately jump to as being among his best, as a whole, I do think Bowie was probably at his most experimental and innovative with songwriting here since his Berlin trilogy days (which may have inspired the album cover, though I’ll come back to that later), and thematically, at an insightful and profound high. Like, three of my favorite songs here, The Next Day, I’d Rather Be High, and Valentine’s Day (which happens to be today, coincidentally), all seem pretty straightforward when you first listen to them, but when you dive further into the lyrics, they’re about religion, war, and school shootings, respectively (and then there’s Dancing Out in Space which I’m pretty sure is just about dancing out in space, but I give it a pass because it’s a fun song).
I don’t really have a ton much else to say beyond that, but I will say, I do think this is an album that rewards you the more you put into it. While Blackstar may be a superior continuation of the sound and themes of this album (but in a more self-reflective manner), I do believe this album stands on its own and holds a special place in the Bowie catalog.
Soooo, it’s such a shame it has to have such an abomination of an album cover. Like, I’m not sure if he was trying to draw a parallel or create a separation from that era of his career, but either way, do you really have to desecrate a classic to do so? And there’s a decent chance this inspired Green Day to do the same with their album Father of All… which almost makes it worse in retrospect (at least they made up for it a bit by giving proper homage with the lyric “Strange days are here to stay/Ever since Bowie died, it hasn't been the same” on their most recent release). Just ugh. This album deserved better.
Björk
3/5
3
My first real foray into Björk’s music, an artist that I’m aware is critically acclaimed and that I’m guessing we haven’t seen the last of on this list. I’m not sure if her debut (helpfully titled “Debut”) is the best place for a newbie to start, but given it made a list of 1001 best albums, it shouldn’t be a bad place, right?
I will say, for 1993, the style of electronic pop music on this album definitely feels ahead of its time, production-wise especially - if I didn’t know any better, I probably would have guessed this came out in the 2000s (or hell, maybe even today). That being said, I’ve never been a huge fan of that era’s style of pop music, and while I do think Björk does it a lot better than a lot of her contemporaries (and even those that followed), it’s still not quite enjoyable enough to have me feeling stronger than a 3/5. Honestly, what mostly makes the album for me are the vocals - I genuinely think Björk has a great voice and that it carries a lot of the music, though I may be biased because I found it incredibly similar to that of another mononymous female vocalist and solo artist whom I happen to adore - Mitski. That’s pretty high praise from me given that I think Mitski has one of the most beautiful voices in music, though I will say, while being perhaps a touch more technically proficient, I don’t think Björk has quite the same level of personality or distinction to hers (as an aside, if you’re like me and like Björk’s voice but don’t love the sound of this album, I recommend giving her former group, The Sugarcubes a listen).
Song-wise, there wasn’t a ton that stood out to me here. Human Behavior is a solid opener and probably the best song on the album, but it’s quickly followed up by the cheesy and overly cutesy Venus as a Boy. After that, the only real highlight was Violently Happy, which I’ll admit has a catchy chorus to it, but that one is immediately followed up by an absolute abomination of a closer in The Anchor Song. Jesus, that song is grating - how can anyone seriously give this album a 5 with that crap on it?
I’m definitely curious to check out more of her work, but I’m not impressed by the debut.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
5
My building’s fire alarm went off at 5 this morning due to someone smoking, and by the time everything was sorted, it was time to drag my groggy ass to the gym… on leg day, no less. So, I didn’t start the day in a particularly good mood, but instead of putting on some familiar comfort music to power through my workout, on a whim, I decided to check out my album of the day, a certain What’s Going On by Marvin Gaye, to see what all the hype is about. The next thing I knew, mid-squat, I had the biggest smile on my face and found myself looking forward to the day ahead.
What a magical album. I enjoyed Let’s Get It On, but this is next-level - and applicable in non-sexual situations, which is an additional bonus. I can’t even really describe what makes it that way, but there’s something so enchanting about Gaye’s work here that makes you want to stop what you’re doing so you can just sit back and listen. I didn’t even bother trying to keep up with what song I was on in order to make note of specific highlights, I just found myself enjoying the moment I was in, an experience that’s greatly enhanced and kept suspended by the nature of each song’s segue into the next - it’s beautifully executed and effectively keeps you in a perpetual trance for the duration of your listen. The album also feels ahead of its time in that regard, though truthfully, I don’t think it’s ever been done better than this right here.
An immersive and fantastic experience from start to finish. I’ve somehow never heard this before, and yet I knew after my first listen this was going to be a 5. At its heart, music to me has always been about emotion, and this made me feel a few quite deeply, reminding me of what I love about the medium and why it has and always will be my favorite thing this fucked-up world has to offer. A great album to end the week on and start the weekend, the kind that reminds me of the good in the world and makes me want to share love with those that I love - because what IS going on?
RIP Marvin - you have a newfound fan in me.
Hawkwind
3/5
3.5
This album feels like it would be either one of the most incredible or one of the most terrifying experiences on drugs.
I’m not normally much of a fan of jam bands or really any kind of group that regularly goes off into extended instrumentals for that matter, but I gotta say, it was working for me here - there’s just a really cool vibe to a lot of the songs that I have to imagine must be awesome on psychedelics. That is, if you aren’t totally spooked the fuck out by the spoken word segments in-between. I see what they were going for, and I’m sure it works for some people, but for me those moments brought back the trauma of that tunnel scene from Willy Wonka.
Outside of those though, really enjoyable album, one that goes harder than any other psychedelic rock project I’ve heard and that I think benefits greatly from doing so. Like, outside of the spoken word stuff and that one electronic track (which even then I didn’t mind - it gave me Star Wars vibes), there isn’t much random, trippy noise bullshit, it’s just pure, trippy rock energy - something I like to think is largely due to Lemmy’s involvement. Yes, Lemmy Kilmister is the bassist here. If you have another venture into this in you, I recommend trying to listen for the bass parts specifically - you can totally hear it’s him. While I don’t claim to be the biggest Motörhead fan, I generally enjoy most everything I’ve heard from the group, and I think that greatly benefitted my listening here - apparently trippy Motörhead was something missing from my life.
So, that all to say, I actually went back and forth on my rating with this album a few times. I do genuinely think this album has an awesome sound and atmosphere to it, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think it was too long and too much of the same thing. As much as part of me really wants to bump this up to a 4 just because I think it would be a fantastic listen in the right “state of mind” or even just an incredible experience to see live, in my current state, I’m feeling this thing needs a handful of tracks cut if it wants to get a full re-listen out of me. Who knows though, definitely see a world where my rating on this album goes up in time.
Pink Floyd
5/5
5
I previously mentioned in my review of The Wall that this album is also probably a 4.5 for me, and I even went as far to listen to it then to confirm that - but my mind was changed with this listening. Maybe I was trying too hard to compare it with The Wall then, maybe I wasn’t fully paying attention and appreciating what it had to offer, or maybe it’s just nostalgia now that’s convincing me otherwise, regardless, as someone who was a big fan of Pink Floyd in high school, this reminded me of what initially drew me in to the group - when this particular album redefined for me what an album could be. Suddenly, they didn’t have to just be collections of songs for me to cherry-pick favorites from, they could be experiences. And that’s truly what this album is, a musical journey, the kind that makes you feel like you’ve reached some sort of spiritual destination or catharsis when it ends.
That’s not to say there aren’t fantastic individual songs here though, with Time and The Great Gig in the Sky probably being my two personal favorites - the former is an incredible, insightfully written (and anxiety-inducing) track that seems to hold profound resonation at whatever age I’ve found myself at when listening, and the latter has perhaps one of the greatest and most impassioned vocal tracks ever laid to tape. But ultimately, it’s the way that each of these songs connect and harmonize with one another that really elevates them. Like, Eclipse is far and away one of the greatest album closers I’ve ever heard, and yet it almost doesn’t work for me if I haven’t heard the whole album before it. Even tracks that would go on to become classic rock radio staples like Money and Breathe have grown to become songs I tend to skip when they pop up on shuffle, but juxtaposed to everything surrounding them, they each felt perfectly constructed and placed, almost like I was hearing them again for the first time. If having that kind of power a decade later isn’t an indication of an all-time great album, I don’t know what is. I know referring to The Dark Side of the Moon as such isn’t any kind of unpopular opinion, but for me personally, I think I owe it some credit for making me into the album-listener I am today and quite possibly why I’m taking on this very list now, so how could I give it anything less than a 5? Being 50 years old and still constantly being regarded as one of the best albums ever is no easy feat, and I think Dark Side is so very deserving of that continued praise (I’m sure college dorm rooms today are still littered with posters of the thing - Lord knows I had one up just eight years ago).
I have a whole spiel of anecdotes I could go on about with Dark Side of the Rainbow as well, but instead, I’ll end with a fun fact - Paul McCartney, who happened to be recording in the same studio at the time, was interviewed by the group to be included as one of the voices heard at the end of Money, but ultimately, Roger Waters thought he was trying too hard to be funny and cut him from the final release. Instead, they included his Wings bandmate Henry McCullough - also known as the guy that says “I don’t know, I was really drunk at the time”.
Franz Ferdinand
3/5
3
Take Me Out is a great song, but outside of that this is a pretty generic 2000s alternative rock record. In many ways this just feels like a natural continuation of the whole garage rock revival thing that The Strokes started and perhaps a precursor to where the Arctic Monkeys would later take it, but ultimately, it’s not quite as catchy or as interesting as either group’s spin on the genre. The only song I would say that I particularly enjoyed and that stood out to me besides the mega-hit was Michael, which has a really solid, catchy chorus to it - outside of that, everything felt like pretty standard, forgettable alternative fare from the era. I guess you could say the dude has a bit of a distinct voice, but even then it seemed to have the same kind of general quirky flair to it that a lot of indie male vocalists were experimenting with at this time. I can see how this could have been a big deal when it came out, but sitting here twenty years later, I just don’t feel that it’s an album that has or will stand the test of time (though compared to a lot of other stuff from this time period, it certainly could have aged a lot worse).
Don’t have much else to say on this one besides that. It’s a fine album and far from the kind of thing I would avoid as an alternative rock fan myself, but I just don’t ever see myself opting for this album specifically over a lot of similar ones - will probably just keep it to Take Me Out appearing in the shuffle once in a while.
OutKast
3/5
3.5
First and foremost, B.O.B. may very well be one of the most hype songs ever written. That out of the way, I thought this album was fine. Honestly, I’m a little disappointed and was hoping to have enjoyed this a little bit more being that I’ve enjoyed everything that I’ve heard from these guys prior, but outside of B.O.B. and Ms. Jackson (another 10/10 track), this album is 50/50 in being either pretty good or forgettable. And a lot of said pretty good songs, like Gasoline Dreams, So Fresh, So Clean, and Spaghetti Junction, fall in the first half of the album, so once you’re past what feels like the peak in B.O.B., the whole thing starts to lose a little bit of steam - and that’s not even halfway through yet. That’s not to say anything in the back half is bad, there really wasn’t anything that I disliked, but there also wasn’t really a ton jumping out at me either. For a closing track, I initially thought Stankonia was kind of annoying and repetitive, but I did find the chorus stuck in my head after listening and think I was able to develop a bit of appreciation for it in hindsight.
Though speaking of hindsight appreciation, the songs that stood out to me the most in the back half on my first listening were We Luv Deez Hoes and Toilet Tisha, mostly because of what seemed like hard, out of place, misogynistic shifts. Well, fortunately, I decided to read into the tracks a bit, and as it turns out, the first track is actually supposed to be satire regarding pimping and the latter is actually commentary regarding the social stigma of teen pregnancy. I guess the boys deliberately set out to touch on feminist themes with this album as a contrast to a lot of other contemporary hip hop, and if you look into it further from there, you learn Ms. Jackson is an apology to a mother for getting her daughter pregnant and a promise to stick around and be a father, and I’ll Call Before I Come is about… uh… supporting female needs, I’ll leave it at that (probably should have deduced that one a little quicker than I did, especially with the preceding skit). That all to say, I think some of the messaging on this album helped me appreciate it just a bit more.
But yeah, despite having a good chunk of stuff here that I liked and a couple instances of stuff that I loved, I think the album is just a touch bloated and has a bit too much filler. A lot of the skits were misses for me aside from Pre-Nump and Drinkin’ Again, the only two I found somewhat funny, though I will say the latter gave me a little bit of dread thinking about when AI inevitably replaces all of our jobs (I know, I know, waayyy overthinking that one). As a whole, still pretty good though and something I would say I mostly enjoyed. For the time being, Outkast will probably be an artist I stick to listening to individual songs with, but I’d definitely be interested in checking out more of their albums in the future.
Eagles
2/5
2.5
I feel like Eagles are one of those groups that public opinion has shifted a bit on in recent years. Like, despite being one of the biggest rock bands ever and having the single best-selling greatest hits album of all-time (and third best-selling album overall), I just don’t feel like you see a lot of Eagles fans anymore. You could make the argument that that’s bound to happen with any musical group as time passes, but in my experience, you still see fans of The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, The Grateful Dead, etc. floating around and preaching about them online, even among the Gen Z crowd, but you don’t really see anyone raving about Eagles anymore. And honestly, I think it’s because we’ve all come to the conclusion that their music is kind of lame and wasn’t really all that groundbreaking or influential after all. Or maybe that’s just how I feel, and I’m projecting here, either way, I didn’t really care for this album.
Ok, don’t get me wrong, Hotel California is a fantastic track - There’s an iconic guitar hook to it, a well-crafted build-up, a great set of lyrics (“You can check out any time you want/But you can never leave”), and an absolutely amazing guitar solo. Honestly, I love this song and think it’s really the only claim to put forward as Eagles being a monumental group - but man, nothing else on this album sounds anything like that. Like wtf, Hotel California is followed by a country track? Who the hell’s idea was that? That track is at least followed by Life on the Fast Lane, the second best track on the album by default, but even then, it’s not a song I really care for. Despite its name, I don’t find it particularly interesting or exciting, especially being that I almost exclusively now associate the song with Cedar Point’s fastpass system, Fast Lane. No idea if they still use the song to promote it, but I swear you used to hear the chorus about every five minutes walking around the park.
Not much else to comment on from there. The fact they named two songs the exact same thing is fun and not at all annoying or confusing, and the closing track The Last Resort was a pretty uneventful and slow way to end things on.
The title track saves this thing from bad territory, but overall, mid across the board. I swear the only reason this album is regarded as iconic and sold so well is because it was riding the coattails of Their Greatest Hits, and it was from an era where if you just wanted to hear one song, you had to buy the whole damn thing (yes, I know singles existed, but you had to wait 2.5 months after this dropped if you wanted to own the title track).
Ghostface Killah
3/5
3.5
I wasn’t expecting much out of this one given that I wasn’t overly impressed with fellow Wu-Tang Clan member GZA’s solo album, but as I started listening to this, my first thought was “Damn, this is a solid track”, followed by “Damn, what another solid track”, and then “Damn, this is a REALLY solid track” (shoutout to The Champ - probably my favorite here). That to say, this album starts crazy strong. Like, honestly, if this thing ended after Back Like That, it would have easily been a 4 - maybe even 4.5 - in my book. Aside from the painfully unfunny, cringeworthy Heart Street Directions skit (which at least has the Bad Mouth Kid skit to help balance it out a bit), I really didn’t think there was a single skip in the first half of this album - even Whip You With a Strap, which has a message to it that I don’t really support, but it’s too catchy for me to care.
But then, it keeps going… and going. This album is ten minutes shorter than Stankonia but somehow felt twice as long. The only bright spot for me in the whole back half was Jellyfish, which has a fantastic lo-fi keyboard thing to it that I loved and a lyric that made me debate moving this whole thing up to a 4 (“Sweet sexy LaShawn, she got body like whats goin’ on/On some Marvin Gaye shit like lets get it onnnnn”), but man, everything else surrounding it is so mid. Each time I listened to this album, I just kind of found myself waiting for it to end after Jellyfish - hearing the Sly & The Family Stone sample on Dogs of War was neat at least, but it still wasn’t quite enough to sell me on the track. The only other thing that stood out to me in the back half was the closer, Three Bricks, but really just because I had to do a double take when I saw that it had a Notorious B.I.G. feature. While it was cool to hear, I gotta say, it seems a touch distasteful to me to use archival material of a dead artist in that way - I know Kendrick Lamar’s TPAB does the same thing with Tupac, but he was at least going for something insightful there. Granted, I have no idea what went into clearing and using the sample here, so maybe there is a personal, respectful reason associated that I’m unaware of.
Anyway, half of this album is great and made me want to bust out the ol’ skateboard so I could cruise the streets of North Hollywood, the other half is unfortunately not. So, I wouldn’t go as far as to call this a great album, but I do think Ghostface’s beats and flow here are incredible across the board - I’m definitely walking away with an appreciation for the dude and a handful of tracks that I’ll be coming back to.
Radiohead
4/5
4
At the end of the day, Radiohead’s best album, despite what the Internet music nerds will tell you. Yeah, it may not be their most unique-sounding or adventurous, but it’s their catchiest and least pretentious by far (though still a little pretentious - I mean, come on, it’s Radiohead). But I gotta give credit where credit is due - this album is really solid and contains some of the band’s best work.
In particular, I have to shoutout the three-track run of The Bends, High and Dry, and Fake Plastic Trees, which is an absolutely insane trio of songs. I mean, you’re hit with an amazing, high-energy alternative rock track with a catchy chorus and killer guitar work to it, followed by an enchanting and transcending ballad about a relationship gone stale, finally followed by what is the single best song of the band’s career. Look, for as much shit as I give Radiohead, I have to admit that Fake Plastic Trees is one of the most beautiful and profound songs I’ve heard. I can never help but get sucked into the buildup, especially when it hits at an emotional and musical high with the lyric “She looks like the real thing/She tastes like the real thing/My fake plastic love” and its follow-up into the mellow “If I could be who you wanted” section, with the tender, organ-esque keyboard outro being icing on the cake for me. Fantastic song, and for me, probably the only true argument for Radiohead as an all-time great band.
But even outside of the three songs mentioned above, there are a lot of just really solid tracks across the board here, with Bones, Just, and Sulk also being heavy hitters through their own merits. There’s really nothing to dislike here, and I think a lot of that has to do with how fantastic the production and flow of this album is - after having a couple that felt overly long, it was nice to have something with a great sense of pace.
So there you have it folks, probably the best review I’ll ever give Radiohead - I suppose a broken clock is right twice a day after all. Though, that to say, Thom Yorke apparently hates this album (as he does their song Creep), so maybe it was just a happy accident. Speaking of Thom having bad takes, I’m going to end this with a quote from Wikipedia that I enjoyed:
“Yorke held contempt for the style of rock The Bends popularised, feeling other acts had copied him. He said in 2006: ‘I was really, really upset about it, and I tried my absolute best not to be, but yeah, it was kind of like— that sort of thing of missing the point completely.’ Godrich [their producer] felt Yorke was oversensitive and told him he did not invent ‘guys singing in falsetto with an acoustic guitar’”
Van Halen
4/5
4
I previously referred to Van Halen as cock rock on this very list and then went on to give their debut a 4, and I’m about to do the same thing now. For as cheesy as hair bands from this era are from a modern perspective, there’s no denying that Van Halen with David Lee Roth had guitar-driven rock and flamboyant frontman showmanship down to science, and while I really don’t think they had a bad release during his time with the band, it seems appropriate that the two albums that ended up being the group’s best and most defining were the ones that bookend his involvement with them.
On paper, it really doesn’t seem that the album should work as well as it does given the creative power struggle behind the scenes between Eddie wanting to venture into new wave synthesizer-driven sounds and David wanting to stick to their hard rock roots, yet somehow, they were able to establish a perfect balance of the two (though it did lead to Roth’s eventual departure). For as big of a musical leap as it was for the group (avoiding the obvious pun there), Jump is a fantastic tune, and while it very much is a song that feels like a product of its time, it has such a fun, light-hearted energy to it that’s hard not to appreciate and feel a sense of fondness for the era, even as someone born in 1997. Though, I am someone who grew up in a Van Halen household, so there very much is a sense of nostalgia to it for me. However, while a lot of these songs are ones that I grew up hearing, many of them have gone on to develop further appreciation from me as new memories have become attached to them. While I’ve always enjoyed Panama, I now can’t think of the song without thinking of Foo Fighters’ Taylor Hawkins Tribute Show in Los Angeles - there were a lot of incredible and memorable performances at the show, but something about hearing Panama live from Eddie’s flesh and blood honoring both Taylor and his own father sticks out to me as one of the most hype concert moments I’ve ever experienced (also shoutout to The Darkness singer Justin Hawkins for being a fantastic David Lee Roth fill-in). Hot For Teacher is another incredible track that I adore simply because it just goes hard af, but another part of me will always think of it as the final song to Guitar Hero: World Tour, where I would fail it about five seconds into the opening solo and then have to sit through all 30 seconds of the drum intro each and every time before immediately failing again. Drop Dead Legs is a song that always makes me think of my dad, mostly due to how it managed to appear in about every incarnation of our Spotify Family Mix that was ever generated (RIP) presumably due to how much my dad must play it - for all 21 million streams the song has on Spotify, I’m assuming he must be half of them. Final song I’ll shoutout is Top Jimmy - I don’t have a specific memory associated with that one, but it’s a fun tune that I remember hearing growing up, though I will say, in this listening, it occurred to me that there was a bit of a missed opportunity in not segueing it directly into Hot For Teacher. Listen to the drum fill at the end - it sounds just like the opening to Hot For Teacher.
Anyway, realize I’m just sharing anecdotes at this point, but isn’t that what a good album should do? Bring back good memories? (Even though Hot For Teacher nearly had me smash my Guitar Hero controller at a time). I evidently have quite a few with this one, though at its core, I just think 1984 is a fun album. Call it cock rock if you want, but if you genuinely hate this, I would question how fun of a person you are to be around. RIP Eddie, and shoutout to David Lee Roth as being, in my opinion, one of rock’s greatest frontmen. Though, I did lose a little bit of respect for the guy when I found out about his beef with Joe Strummer. Sorry David, mano a mano, I’m in Joe’s corner ten out of ten times.
Jane's Addiction
4/5
4.5
Amazing band with one of the most iconic and distinct voices in rock music, one that you either love or hate (a lot like The Smashing Pumpkins in that regard). While I’ve always been a Jane’s Addiction fan and owned all their albums in high school (even the reunion album Strays which I’ll still defend to this day), I feel like they’re a band that has grown on me more with age. A large part of that likely has to do with the fact that I’ve now had the privilege of seeing the group live twice in Los Angeles, and man, let me tell you, do they still put on a kick-ass show. Perry Farrell still sounds as great as he does on the albums, and the band still goes as about as hard as I can imagine they did at their peak, even to the point of having strippers dance onstage with them (one of which is Farrell’s 49-year old wife who apparently has done so at every show since 1997).
That all to say, go see this band live if you can. That also to say, seeing this band live is what helped elevate this album for me. While I’ve always loved Nothing’s Shocking, I didn’t used to “get” Ritual de lo Habitual outside of the hits Stop and Been Caught Stealing (which are two songs I still love to this day). And truth be told, I still don’t love the stretch of songs from No One’s Leaving to Obvious (although the echo thing on the latter is kind of cool), but I’ve finally come to realize it’s the back half of this album that really elevates it, the suite of Three Days to Classic Girl, four songs that thematically connect the death Perry Farrell’s girlfriend from drug overdose to the suicide of his own mother when he was young. It’s the most experimental the group has ever gotten, and it took me years to appreciate it, but sitting here now, it may very well be the band’s finest moment, with Three Days in particular quite possibly being my all-time favorite song by them. And I think seeing it live is what caused me to finally recognize that - it’s apparently a staple of the band’s live set (all ten minutes of it), and it’s easily been the highlight of the show both times I’ve seen it. I honestly think it’s bound to make a Jane’s fan out of anyone (though Ted Just Admit It… is amazing live as well). There aren’t a ton of ten-minute songs out there that I think I could listen to repeatedly, but Three Days is definitely one of them - and that’s not even to mention the other three songs that round out the album. While not quite as strong as Three Days (but hell, what is), I find them all to be so interestingly composed and unique that the ride to the end of this thing is an absolute blast. Classic Girl is a perfect track to close the album, though there’s something I found so incredibly powerful about the closing lyrics of Then She Did…
“And will you say hello to my mom?
Will you pay a visit to her?
She was an artist, just as you were
I'd have introduced you to her
She would take me out on Sundays
We'd go laughing through the garbage
She repaired legs like a doctor
On the kitchen chairs we sat on
She was unhappy, just as you were
Unhappy, just as you were
Unhappy, just as you were
Unhappy, just as you were”
To summarize, Jane’s Addiction fucking rules. A part of me wants to pull the 5 on this, but I just can’t quite convince myself of it being that I don’t love three of the songs here (though they’re still pretty decent). That also happens to be roughly the same opinion I have of Nothing’s Shocking - spoilers if we have that in the future, but I find it to be a near-perfect album with two skips Standing in the Shower… Thinking and Idiots Rule. But who knows, given that my love of the band has just kept growing over the years, maybe these will both end up as 5s one day in my book.
Steve Winwood
2/5
2
Whenever I think of Steve Winwood, I think of that episode of Always Sunny where Dennis and Dee try to change the music at a spin class and ultimately leave the instructor with a Steve Winwood album as a parting gift. Great show… not as great of an artist.
Respect to the dude for playing every instrument here and self-producing, but I think this may be one of those rare instances where it would have benefitted from having more cooks in the kitchen. As is, it sounds like a white dude trying to do a Stevie Wonder thing with maybe a splash of Peter Gabriel thrown in there for good measure, but any of the fun attributes of either of those artists are completely boiled away. Like, it’s not objectionably bad music, but it just doesn’t work for me - I find it incredibly uninteresting, soulless, and ultimately, a slog of a listen. Is Always Sunny doing a meta joke that its terrible characters have terrible taste?
Don’t really have anything else to say on this one - there’s not much this album does that’s particularly commentable, and there isn’t any one song or moment that I would say is better or worse than any other. Oh well, after writing a novel with my last few reviews, I’m probably due for a shorter one anyway.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
2/5
2
I don’t disagree with Elvis Costello being on this list, and I think his debut (which we had some 300 albums ago) is a totally valid inclusion… but why the hell did this make it on? There’s nothing overly interesting going on at any point, and the production is just kind of bad… There's way too much going on and it all feels squished together, like nothing in the mix has room to breathe. I can tell he was going for some grandiose things here, but the end result is that it feels like a clumped ball of sound. How the hell did the producer of this work on Sgt. Pepper’s and Abbey Road? And why the hell was this critically acclaimed?
I do feel this album benefitted a bit from re-listening, as I was able to start picking pieces out of the rubble and identifying individual songs, but really the only one that I would say I was able to develop a bit of an appreciation for after four listens is Man Out of Time. So I’ll give credit to Elvis C there, that’s a decent track, but the rest of this is just kind of forgettable. The only other positive thing I have to say about anything here is that I thought he was saying “Shabadoo” at first instead of “Shabby Doll” on said track, and that made me think of that bit from The Simpsons when Homer asks Moe about advice for his friend Joey Jojo Jr. Shabadoo. I’m going to link it here so that if you too disliked this album, hopefully this at least bring a smile to your face like it did me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dbi3--k4SM
Man, The Simpsons was great back in the day. This album is not.
On a side note, according to Wikipedia, the zipper creature things in the top right of the album cover spell out “Pablo Sí” (as a nod to Pablo Picasso), but I’ve stared at this thing for like ten minutes and still have no idea what it's talking about. Is it just me?
Al Green
4/5
4
Smooth, classic R&B, with the title track in particular probably being one of the most definitive songs of both the genre and the ‘70s. It’s the kind of song that almost makes me wish that I could have lived through the decade - when I hear it, I imagine chilling in Eric Foreman’s basement stoned with a group of feathered hair buddies. It’s a really solid song, and while it does sound a bit dated, I would have to think there’s something wrong with you if you don’t find yourself grooving to it just a bit… and the great thing about this record is that the groove never really stops from there. Admittedly, it never quite reaches the same high of Let’s Stay Together, but there isn’t a single unenjoyable moment anywhere to be found - it’s just one blast of groove followed by another, and while a lot of it runs together, the vibe is so fun and absorbing that it never really matters. Though if you do listen closely, I do feel there’s a certain charm to be had with each track. For example, I absolutely loved the guitar work on Old Time Lovin’, as simple as it was (it gave me Maggot Brain vibes in some ways) and the horns on La-La For You. Also, while I wasn’t aware of this prior, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart is apparently a Bee Gees cover - after going back and giving their version a listen, there’s no denying Al’s is the definitive version and totally his own.
Short, but sweet listen, so I'll keep this review short, but sweet - great, classic album, the kind that feels like a staple of the genre. It’s probably not becoming any kind of all-timer for me, but it’s a really fun 34 minutes.
Amy Winehouse
4/5
4
They say good artists borrow, great artists steal, and Amy does that with her influences clearly on her sleeve here. Despite being a white British woman doing so some 40 years after the artists she was inspired by, she’s somehow able to pull off a modern rendition of the Motown sound so well that it makes you wonder why a revival of the genre hadn’t been attempted already. I do think that speaks largely to Amy’s talent though, because to my knowledge, it hasn’t been done successfully again since. Maybe it was just the right time and place, but for an album that’s nearing 20 years old itself, not a single one of these songs feel out of place today. In fact, they feel just as timeless as the tracks she was attempting to emulate. Though, what sets Amy’s music apart are lyrics like:
“What kind of fuckery are we?/Nowadays, you don't mean dick to me (dick to me)”
Honestly, it’s a large part of what made this album for me - there’s something really funny and enjoyable about the contrast between the music and lyrics. That to say, the album does a good job of tying everything together topically under a theme of broken and failed relationships - I’m not sure quite how autobiographical each and every song is, but given Amy’s known turbulent love life, it’s a bit of interesting insight into her state of mind. I enjoyed just about every song here, though Rehab, You Know I’m No Good, and Back to Black were clear highlights. As it just so happens, those three were all produced by Mark Ronson. Being that the dude only produced half of the songs here (all of which are probably the best ones), I can’t help but wonder how much better this could be if he produced the full thing (no offense, Salaam Remi).
I’ve never considered myself much of an Amy Winehouse fan, but I enjoyed this album a lot more than I thought I would, and I think I developed quite a bit more respect for her in the process. This sent me down a bit of a wormhole into her life story, and while I don’t think the major beats are a mystery to anyone, I still can’t help but emphasize how tragic and troubled she was as an artist (as so many of the best are). As much as I’m sure we all wish she could still be here with us today, I don’t think her lifestyle was leading her in any other direction.
RIP Amy - Hope you’re jamming with Kurt, Jimi, Janis, and Jim somewhere now.
Red Snapper
2/5
2
Oh God, another 60-minute instrumental electronic album. I thought the first track, Keeping the Pig Together, was actually pretty good and felt promising for the rest of the listen, but it very quickly gets incredibly same-y and repetitive from there.
There is one thing in particular that stood out to me, and that’s that this album sounds just like the São Paulo Confessions album we had from that dude Suba, even down to the album art looking incredibly similar. That album came out just a year prior, so maybe Red Snapper were heavily influenced by it, but I found it to be pretty unremarkable as well, so these guys clearly didn't do much to evolve the sound if so. If anything, Suba’s album at least had video game vibes and to my knowledge never had any explicit descriptions of oral sex, so I’m going to give the guy the edge here.
I suppose this was okay as background music while working, but not the kind of thing I would go out of my way to listen to again. Your aim was not met, Red Snapper.
Donovan
3/5
3
Supposedly this album was among the very first psychedelia albums ever created and was heavily influential on the genre, and while I can definitely hear that, it also very much feels more like the work of a folk musician who just discovered the sitar, probably because of the Beatles incorporating the instrument on Rubber Soul a year prior. He definitely makes better use of it here than The Beatles do though - I mean, this album may very well be the reason the sound of the instrument is now associated with psychedelia. So, I’m willing to give credit to Donovan for laying the framework, though I've said it before, and I’ll say it again - just because you did it first doesn’t necessarily mean you did it the best, and I’m not here to grade solely based on influence. Don’t get me wrong, this album is fine, but whereas releases like Dark Side of the Moon, Maggot Brain, Are You Experienced?, and a Wizard/A True Star feel like enchanting, psychedelic trips even to a sober mind, this feels like it never quite left the station.
Maybe it’s not fair to compare Donovan to his successors, and maybe that’s not even what he was going for, but even if you just want to consider this a folk album with psychedelic touches, there still isn’t quite enough charm to it to make me want to come back for more. The only really good song here is Season of a Witch (especially when heard around the spooky season), though I will also say Legend of a Girl Child Linda grew on me a bit across my listenings - it’s a bit long, but it’s also probably the best balance of folk and psychedelia on the album and probably the best exemplification of what Donovan set out to do with this. There weren’t really any other standouts besides those two tracks, though I did appreciate his shoutout to then up-and-coming Jefferson Airplane - whom I would consider a better psychedelic group - on The Fat Angel (though I guess its title is supposed to refer to Mama Cass, which is… kinda mean).
Decent listen, but not the kind of thing to leave me with a lasting impression.
Harry Nilsson
2/5
2.5
I feel like I was just tricked into listening to a Beatles album. Being that this came out a year after their breakup, this guy was clearly taking a page out of their book either for his own personal success or to try and keep Beatlemania alive. And sure enough, after looking him up, the dude was apparently friends with The Fab Four and sometimes even referred to as “The American Beatle”. Well, I definitely hear why that is, but I don’t think he’s really doing anything noteworthy or transformative with their sound. For the most part, it’s innocuous enough to never piss me off, though it definitely feels like he was trying to at times with stuff like Early in the Morning and Coconut. I had no idea the latter was originally by this dude, and while I can admit there’s a certain catch to the song, its charm runs really thin really quickly. Goddamn, sitting here hours later, the song is still stuck in my head, driving me crazy. Is this the reason this album made the list?
Not much else of real note. With the exception of Jump Into The Fire, I appreciate him keeping these songs short, though ironically, that ended up being my favorite song on the album and one that I think would have benefited most from having a runtime in the same general ballpark as everything else. Oh well - not a bad album, but pretty gimmicky, and mostly meh. Curious if Beatles fans are a bigger fan of this one.
Santana
3/5
3
The only songs that I knew by Santana going into this were Black Magic Woman because of Guitar Hero III and that one he did with Rob Thomas from Matchbox Twenty in the 90s. I’ve never really loved either, but I’ve always found Black Magic Woman at least to be pretty decent. It also happens to be probably the best song here (and is also apparently a Fleetwood Mac cover??), but the psychedelic nature of it makes it feel a little out of place on an album that bounces back and forth between a more traditional Latin style and the occasional bluesy track. Still, I didn’t think anything here was bad, and I found Santana’s guitar work to be pretty incredible across the board regardless of the genre he was taking on, though personally, I think this could have benefitted from having more vocals throughout. I know the guitar work is what he’s known for, but I think relying less on instrumentals would have kept my interest a little more. That to say, I do have to call out one mostly instrumental track in particular, that being Oye Como Va. I kept thinking to myself “Why does this song sound so familiar?”, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s a cover of a song from my family’s favorite Puerto Rican musician and Mr. Burns murder suspect, Tito Puente. Now, I’m not certain which version of the song I’m more familiar with, it may very well be Santana’s, but regardless, it’s a song that I know I’ve heard during my stays in Puerto Rico and that was absolutely perfect to hear in preparation for my next departure to the territory. I’m sadly back home and back to work as of the submission of this review, but giving this one last listen felt like a small taste of the island’s piña coladas I hold near and dear to my heart. If you ever find yourself in or nearby Fajardo in Puerto Rico, do yourself a favor and pick one up from El Cayo.
Anyway, this didn’t really alter my opinion on Santana’s music in any particular way, but I appreciated the Tito Puente cover and the memories of vacation it brought along with it.
The Offspring
4/5
4.5
Oh boy, what an album that takes me back to high school (despite its 30th anniversary coming up in just a week). I think The Offspring have fallen out of favor within the music community a bit in recent years, and given some of their more recent releases, I can see why, but it’s kind of a shame people don’t look back on their early work quite as fondly as they do many other 90s acts. A part of that may be the role this album had in the creation of pop punk, a genre many would point to as a corny, immature offshoot of a superior genre, and to that I say - come on, haven’t you ever had fun in your life?
And this is a fun album. It’s no Green Day or blink-182 (at least for me), but there’s certainly no shortage of bangers to be found - it’s just one explosive blast of catchy punk leading into the next. Nitro (Youth Energy) is an amazing introduction to the album (not counting Time to Relax), with Bad Habit, Gotta Get Away, and It’ll Be a Long Time all being personal favorites from there. However, this particular listening reminded me of just how great even the stuff inbetween I had forgotten about is, like Genocide, Something to Believe In, Not the One, and the closing track Smash (though I had to Google the lyrics to that last one to confirm he wasn’t saying what I initially thought he was saying in the chorus).
Of course, there are the two mega-hits here as well, tracks I’ve grown to listen to less frequently as I’ve gotten older, but whenever I do decide to, I still find a certain charm to them. I’ll always dig the Middle Eastern-esque guitar hook that drives Come Out and Play, and Self Esteem will always remind me of my high school friends, not only because we all loved the song, but also because we tried to cover it as a band a handful of times. While I don’t think we ever successfully got through a full playthrough, it’ll alway hold a special place in my heart because of it.
Anyway, I really enjoyed my return to this album with this list. While I don’t think it’ll ever hold quite the same charm again it did when I was a teenager, I still had a really fun time with it and was even able to find some new things to appreciate - a handful of songs that weren’t already in my Spotify playlists were quickly added to. Apparently the band is doing a 30th anniversary performance of the album in Anaheim in June, so all I can say is, after this, my interest is piqued.
Queens of the Stone Age
3/5
3.5
Being that I’m pretty sure these guys have a couple acclaimed albums that came later in their career, I was pretty surprised to see that their debut made this list. After giving it a listen, a part of me now sees why it did and a part of me is still just as confused.
You can definitely tell that the band had their sound figured out from the get-go, which is more than you could say about a lot of other bands, even some of the all-time greats, yet this seems to lack a real sense of identity, personality, or structure to it - in a lot of ways, it feels more like a demo. For that reason, I actually really struggled with my rating on this one because despite that, a handful of these songs are REALLY damn good. In fact, Regular John, If Only, and Mexicola may very well have become three of my all-time favorite songs from the group. But ultimately, I just don’t think their combined efforts make for a particularly great or remarkable album experience, especially considering the seeming lack of versatility across the board (though the band would later improve in that aspect with later releases). So, as close as this comes to a 4 in my books, I think I’m going to have to knock this down a half star - though the absolute ear massacre at the very end also helped solidify that for me.
I do hope this isn’t the last we see from these guys, but even if it is, this has definitely encouraged me to check out more of their releases.
Tom Waits
1/5
1.5
Yeah, I’m sorry, I don’t get this dude - Both of his albums have now sounded like The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack but if Danny Elfman was on deliriants when he composed it. I’m not someone normally opposed to unconventional music or vocals, but I really have no idea what this is supposed to be or whom it’s for. Like, I can’t imagine what would compel someone to be like “Oh man, you know what song I would kill to hear right now? Underground by Tom Waits.”
Still, I would rather listen to this over that German industrial album we had or Throbbing Gristle, so I’ll bump it up to 1.5. I do think there’s a sense of musicianship buried underneath it all, and there’s no denying it takes a unique mind to put this kind of thing together, but still, it just doesn’t speak to me at all - it feels more like a thing for edgy theatre kids.
Most positive thing I can say about this album - driving through Hollywood at night time listening to 16 Shells From a 30.6 was kind of a vibe, but I don’t think I would go out of my way to do it again.
Kanye West
4/5
4
As someone who hates Kanye just as much as the next rational individual, I feel like I’ve been subconsciously avoiding this album for some time now due to fear of enjoying it, and, well, I did. I totally see why this album was acclaimed when it came out - yes, Kanye’s rapping is great, but the production here is unreal. I know this is classified as a hip hop album, but it really seems to transcend the genre to become its own elevated thing. There’s a lot going on in the mix, but it never feels overcrowded or overblown, and there are splashes of just about everything you could want in an album going on at some point - R&B/soul here, classic rock there, some strings mixed in for good measure, and there’s even a reference to his appearance on South Park. Each and every song feels like its own totally unique thing while still managing to flow perfectly into the next, resulting in what feels like a ride from start to finish. Admittedly, I do think there’s just a bit of a slump in the middle with the stretch of Monster to Devil in a New Dress, despite featuring quite possibly the best rap verse of Nicki Minaj’s career (though that’s a low bar). However, things pick right back up with the best this album has to offer in Runaway - it’s a beautiful, powerful track that feels nowhere near as long as its 9-minute runtime would suggest and, as much as I hate to say it, with its conclusion, I now have a favorite Kanye song. And it really doesn’t slow down from there between the rocking, Iron Man-interpolating Hell of a Life, impassioned, Chris Rock-monologuing Blame Game, and finally, danceable, Gil Scott-Heron-inspired Lost in the World, which provides a great sense of conclusion to the album (especially with the segue into Who Will Survive in America).
So, yeah, I enjoyed this more than I thought I would or wanted to. That being the case, it presents a bit of a struggle for me knowing that it came from Kanye West, known racist, Holocaust-denier, and general psycho. And even if you’re someone who believes in/is able to separate art from the artist, the thing about this album is that Kanye doesn’t hold back from putting his insufferable personality on full display in a lot of the lyrics here. It’s insightful in some ways but just as disgusting in others, and in a lot of ways, I feel like it holds me back from truly appreciating the album at max capacity, putting an asterisk next to every moment of enjoyment.
At the end of the day, I do think acknowledgement is owed to this album’s fantastic production and overall place in the musical world. You can be a monster and a talented producer, two things can be true - look at Phil Spector. I don’t support or endorse Kanye in any way, but as a music fan, I have to say this is a good album. So, I say give it a listen if you like it, but idk, maybe pirate it or something so you’re not giving this dude more money.
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
3.5
As someone who has admittedly never done so himself, I don’t think I’ve ever heard an album that seems to sum up the NYC clubbing experience quite as well as this one does (though The Strokes’ debut comes close). Both musically and lyrically, this album feels like the experience of going out, getting a little too crazy, and then sobering up on the walk back to your apartment, just as the sun begins to poke out.
That to say, I’m not normally a big fan of club music, but LCD Soundsystem is able to put an alternative rock-inspired spin on the genre that seems to work for me… about half of the time. The few songs I’ve heard by the group prior have been pretty hit or miss, and I felt mostly the same about this album. But man, when these songs hit, they HIT. I really liked Someone Great and North American Scum (don't blame the Canadians), but holy cow, All My Friends is on a totally different level. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve listened to the track since I first heard it (despite its near 8-minute runtime) - there’s just something about the song that really speaks to me. I love the fast-paced piano hook, I love the buildup, and God, I love the lyrics.
“You spent the first five years trying to get with the plan
And the next five years trying to be with your friends again
You're talking 45 turns just as fast as you can
Yeah, I know it gets tired, but it's better when we pretend”
“Though when we're running out of the drugs
And the conversation's winding away
I wouldn't trade one stupid decision
For another five years of life”
I think most importantly, I love nights with my friends, and as someone who is reaching the end of his first five years of trying to get with the plan, this song really strikes a chord with me. Is there really anything better than just a good night with good friends?
Fantastic song, but unfortunately, the rest of the album just doesn’t really hold much of a candle to it - each time I re-listened to this thing, I found myself kind of over it after All My Friends. I like the closer, New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down, but other than that, there’s really not much of interest going on in the back half. I like the lyric “Sound of silver, talk to me/Makes you want to feel like a teenager/Until you remember the feelings of/A real-life emotional teenager/Then you think again”, but the song grows repetitive and annoying very quickly.
I struggled with my rating a bit on this one given how much I love and appreciate the song All My Friends, but really, the only particularly enjoyable aspect to this album for me is that song and the two before it. So, I think that keeps it out of the 4 territory, but everything else is at least inoffensive enough to keep it from being below a 3, so I’ll allow the greatness of those three songs to earn it the half star. Plus, something about this album makes me think this group would be an absolute blast to see live - I’ll definitely be looking into that.
3/5
3.5
Another album that I used to own and enjoy in high school, but in my opinion, this one doesn’t hold up quite as strongly as Smash. It’s certainly still an enjoyable album, but listening to it now, I find it a bit overdramatic and derivative of Radiohead - or Elvis in the case of Soldier’s Poem. I do appreciate the sci-fi twist they put on the sound and think it results in some cool moments, but as a whole, I just don’t find it as exciting or as inspired as I once did.
That being said, Starlight and Knight of Cydonia are still both incredible songs (never quite got the hype surrounding Supermassive Black Hole). The latter is one that I still listen to regularly today and that has actually become my go-to hype song whenever I need to amp myself up. Job interview? Knights of Cydonia. Intense workout? Knights of Cydonia. Michigan State down at halftime? Knights of Cydonia. (Note: The song has produced better results for me personally than it has for my Spartans). If you haven’t seen it, the music video for the song is just as great and nails the vibe of the song perfectly, both in style and in scope with what’s basically a sci-fi Western short film.
Anyway, while I enjoyed revisiting this one, I can see why it didn’t end up leaving much of a lasting impression on me. However, I did get the chance to see these guys live just last year, and I gotta say, regardless of how you might feel about their newer stuff, they still put on a pretty damn good show. It’s as flashy and theatrical as this album is in all the best possible ways, and the guys rock out just as hard (and one of their touring members proposed to his girlfriend at my show!) Never a bad time with Muse, but they’re not quite all-time favorite material for me.
The Human League
3/5
3
I really thought that The Human League were one-hit wonders, but I guess this album was a pretty big commercial and critical success. It’s also credited as having helped define the synth-pop sound of the 80s, though I feel like I’ve seen that said about multiple albums on this list. I don’t know how many albums one can realistically give credit to for having done so, so maybe it’s fair to say they all had a part in it, but I couldn’t tell you what this one does any better or worse than the others. For the most part, it’s just as mid and mostly inferior to a lot of the music it allegedly inspired later in the decade.
This album does start pretty strongly though with the opening track The Things That Dreams Are Made Of, which has a catchy beat to it that I found myself vibing with and great lyrics to match. Well, maybe not great lyrics, but “Meet a girl on a boat” and “Johnny, Joey, Dee Dee, good times” were both things that spoke to me on a personal level. So, I thought I was in for a bit of a surprise treat ahead, but man, does this thing just kind of devolve into the same kind of thing over and over again, to the point where you’re not sure if it’s getting worse or if you’re just growing bored, but either way, the sound of the synth is slowly driving you to commit atrocities. Fortunately, it ends on a high note with Don’t You Want Me Baby, a welcome (albeit awkwardly-placed) closer to the album. It’s not a song I would consider amazing by any means, but it’s at least pretty good - maybe it’s for the best it’s what the group is mostly remembered for these days.
Outside of the two tracks that bookend this thing, the only song I really kind of dug was Seconds, and the rest I found to be kind of annoying. Still, it’s well-paced enough and provided enough of a sense of enjoyability that I’ll shoot for the higher end of average here, but not by much.
Interesting tidbit from Wikipedia: In a bit of foresight, the group intentionally used extreme close-ups of their faces on the cover and within the gatefold knowing that the style of their hair and outfits would likely make the album appear dated years down the line. It’s kind of ironic given that everything else about this feels incredibly dated, but I appreciate their attempt. Decent album, but timeless music this is not.
Beth Orton
3/5
3
Never heard of Beth Orton - supposedly she’s a “folktronica” musician, but I really don’t hear the electronica aspect to this album except vaguely on a track or two. Fortunately, I do like a lot of folk music, and as a result, I really, really liked the opening track Stolen Car. There’s a great energy to it, and I really dig Beth’s voice, so it’s kind of a shame it’s wasted on a bunch of unmemorable coffee shop music throughout the rest of the album. It’s not bad by any means - I actually found it to be pretty good background music to get work done to - but that’s probably about the highest praise I could give.
Pretty okay, but I would say I found it mostly pleasant if unremarkable and a bit long - though aside from the opening track, I don’t see myself purposefully putting this on again in the near future. This did remind me of that Gillian Welch album we had some 40 albums back, which in my opinion, is a much better offering of the genre and had much more personality to it. Looking back now, I feel like half of that album still stands out to me - may have underrated that one. This one - a 3 feels pretty accurate.
Beck
3/5
3.5
Damn, I didn’t know Beck had this in him! I thought all this dude wrote was alternative, experimental, borderline hip-hop stuff with nonsense lyrics, but I guess all it took for him to create what’s probably the most genuine and cohesive album of his career was a nasty breakup (isn’t that what it takes us all sometimes?) For the first time, I feel like I’m actually hearing Beck instead of some artsy-fartsy wall he puts up, and it’s absolutely beautiful and introspective - I finally understand why people admire this guy’s artistry.
So that to say, I nearly gave this a 4, but the more I listened to it, the more I couldn’t help but feel that it’s a bit long and same-y, especially in the back half - I definitely think you could cut two or three songs there without losing much. The front half is crazy strong though, with the opening track The Golden Age being the highlight of this album for me - it far and away strikes the best balance of melancholy and beauty of anything here. Honestly, as of this writing, I would say it’s probably the best Beck song that I’ve heard, and I found myself just wanting to go back and give that song a re-listen the deeper I got into the album. Not that it ever gets bad by any means, but somewhere after Lost Cause it does start to devolve into more of the same kind of stuff you’ve already heard but not nearly as remarkable, and at a certain point I found myself ready for this to start wrapping up.
Probably the best album of the guy’s career, and I can see why it was acclaimed, I just think it could have been tightened up a bit. Definitely could see this being a worthwhile addition to my sadboi collection of records though.
Nick Drake
4/5
4.5
Wow, Nick Drake is 3 for 3 with this list. I mean, you knew Pink Moon was coming after seeing the last two made it on, but still, you have to admit, having every album of your career make a list of the 1001 best albums of all-time is an impressive feat. And appropriately, we’re ending his run with the last of the three, which also happens to be his best.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it a third time - Nick Drake has composed some of the most hauntingly beautiful music ever written, and this is the peak of that charm, where any sense of backing instrumentation is stripped away, and we’re left with just Drake’s soft, delicate vocals and raw, acoustic guitar work. It’s an incredibly powerful display of emotion and musical brilliance, though in Drake’s case, it’s also the product of an unwell headspace, one which he was never able to overcome. In many ways it adds to the haunting nature of this album, but in just as many ways, I think its subtle, withdrawn approach provides a sense of comfort. And really, I think that’s what this album ultimately boils down to and what keeps bringing people back to it - it’s a comforting listen from a tortured genius.
It’s also the epitome of short and sweet - I couldn’t point to a bad moment here if I tried. This was so nearly a 5/5 from me, but I just don’t think it QUITE hits that mark - though it’s damn close. Still, having scored no lower than a 4 from me across all three albums is a pretty noteworthy accomplishment in my eyes, one which I think earns Nick a special place in my musical catalog. I truly think he’s one of the greatest songwriters of all-time, and that he walked so that so many of my favorites could run.
RIP my guy - Hope you’ve found peace somewhere now.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
3
So, I’ve gotta start this off by saying - one of the worst album covers of all-time. Who wants to be staring at a dude’s bulge while listening to the Stones? I don’t care that it’s Andy Warhol-inspired, the cover art alone has always deterred me from listening to this thing. I know it’s not the first phallic album cover he had a hand in, but at least The Velvet Underground’s was more subtle. And if that’s not bad enough, the opening track Brown Sugar - wtf. I have heard the song before and have always found it to be questionable at face value just knowing it describes a black woman, but I didn’t realize until now it describes a young, enslaved black woman specifically. “Brown sugar, how come you taste so good? Uh huh/Brown sugar, just like a young girl should, uh huh, oh/Ah, got me craving the, the brown sugar/Just like a black girl should, yeah” How the hell did this get made? I guess Mick Jagger has gone on to disown the track, but I’m still surprised there hasn’t been more negative attention surrounding it, especially given that it was a pretty big hit.
Anyway, that all out of the way, the rest of this album is pretty good. I guess I never really realized how much of The Rolling Stones’ music has blues, country, and honky-tonk inspiration to it, especially given the lack thereof in a lot of their hits (though Honky Tonk Women should probably have been a giveaway). And I think it works pretty well for them - Wild Horses and Can’t You Hear Me Knocking are both fantastic tunes, though really I enjoyed most everything here. That being said, I’m not picking up on why people consider this album to be monumental or game-changing for rock music. It’s a fine slice of the era for sure, and maybe I just had to be there to really get it, but listening now, this feels far from mind-blowing or even all that phenomenal for that matter. It’s the kind of thing to register around a 3.5 for me, but I’m going to knock it down a half star for the reasons mentioned in my opening paragraph. Call me a snowflake or woke or whatever you want, I don’t care, regardless, I’m not hearing five stars here.
Joan Baez
2/5
2
A lot of folk lately. I don’t mind the genre, but it hasn’t been great gym music. This was especially tough at the gym this morning, and unfortunately it didn’t get much better during subsequent listens. I’ll give credit to Joan for this - the sound of this album feels a bit ahead of its time being that it predates artists like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell by quite a few years, but man, I just didn’t find anything about her take on the genre here interesting. The fact that these are all covers doesn’t do her any favors, and while I think she at least deserves a shoutout for doing House of the Rising Sun four years ahead of The Animals, it’s nowhere near as good as their version.
The one aspect I’ve seen a lot of people praise Joan for is her voice, and while I agree it can be beautiful at times, it changes to the most piercing thing you’ve ever heard on a dime - I had to adjust the volume on my speaker multiple times while listening because of it. And the more I listened to this album, the more shrill I found her voice to be, to the point I kind of dreaded putting this on again.
There are definitely some enjoyable aspects and charm buried in this, but as an album, it’s just too long and not overly interesting - the only song here I could point to you as having somewhat enjoyed is actually the Spanish song El Preso Numero Nueve. I was impressed with her fluency of the language (granted, I’m not fluent, so can’t vouch for that), and it’s probably the best vocal performance of the whole album - or it might just be the only one without any of those grating high notes.
Maybe this is just the kind of thing you need to see live to get, but this album wasn’t it for me. I could maybe see myself being somewhat of a fan of her work in moderation, but even then, I don’t think I would opt to listen to any of this over stuff from similar artists. Sorry Joan - I hope your music picked up a bit after your debut, but I’m not going out of my way to determine that anytime soon.
The Byrds
2/5
2.5
Not as bad as that country album these guys attempted, but it’s not a whole lot better either - for the most part, it’s just inoffensive, but forgettable classic rock. Supposedly people credit this as being one of the first psychedelic albums ever recorded, but I don’t really hear that. Maybe topically, with there being songs about space and fifth dimensions, but I’m more willing to give someone like Donovan credit as having innovated the genre over these folk rockers and cowboy wannabes. Like, nothing about this album is trippy - it’s just a series of short, early Beatles-esque rock numbers that come and go without ever really leaving much of a lasting impression. I listened to this multiple times, and the only two songs that I would say have stuck with me are Hey Joe, mostly because of Jimi Hendrix’s later cover (though I will say this version isn’t bad), and that Lear Jet song near the end that was annoying as all hell. Though, apparently, there isn’t just one, but TWO songs here were previously recorded by Joan Baez and featured on the album we literally just had prior to this (John Riley and I Know You Rider) - really weird coincidence. I couldn’t really tell you how much better or worse these versions are as compared to hers given how forgettable they were, but at least the vocals here didn’t cause me physical discomfort, so they have that going for them.
Of all the 60’s rock records I’ve heard, this is definitely one of them. Also, if you listen to the bonus tracks at the end of the album's re-release, it ends with an interview with the band - except, it seems that they removed the questions being asked by the interviewer, so it’s just a series of uncontextualized responses. What the hell were they thinking there?
The Avalanches
3/5
3.5
I read a review from someone before listening who claimed that this album is the kind of thing you have to be on E to enjoy. So, I was expecting rave music, and while it’s certainly danceable at times, for the most part, this really isn’t that - it’s more chill electronic music, much like that DJ Shadow album we had. Also much like that DJ Shadow album we had, this thing consists entirely of samples, allegedly over 3500 according to one of the guys who created it, none of which I recognized (though I swear one of the sound effects here sounded just like something from Animal Crossing). While I have a hard time believing that this really has quite that many, I have learned to develop a bit of an appreciation for sample-based music after having listened to the aforementioned DJ Shadow album (Endtroducing.....) and Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique. I feel like creating new music by combining elements from existing music and various other audio formats is an interesting niche that takes a certain kind of creative mind to pull off as compared to writing something from scratch.
So, that to say, I struggled with my rating a bit on this one. At first, I didn’t think this album did the whole samping thing nearly as interestingly as the other two I mentioned did. But, I kept finding myself drawn to re-listen, and I eventually realized that it’s not trying to do what they had already. Rather than being a showcase of using samples in more conventional songwriting, this is more of an effort to create an operatic, concept-driven piece of art through sampling. The fact that each song segues directly into the next was something that I thought was really cool and helped prevent the album from getting too stale, even if a lot of the individual pieces weren’t overly remarkable - with the exception to that assertion obviously being the “Boys need therapy” song, Frontier Psychiatrist. It’s the single best track here and the one moment I found myself looking forward to the most on re-listens - good work there, guys, that’s a great piece of electronic music.
So, while I still don’t think that this is the kind of thing I’ll likely be putting on again in the near future, I do think that what this album does is cool and will definitely get a replay from me at some point. Also has me curious to check out more sample-based music!
Thin Lizzy
3/5
3.5
I’ve never claimed to be much of a Thin Lizzy fan, but this album definitely made me more of one! I really thought all these guys had was Jailbreak and The Boys are Back in Town, but there was no shortage of great songs to be found here, with Emerald, Rosalie, Are You Ready, and my personal favorite, Southbound, all being highlights. I didn’t care as much for some of the later slower stuff like Dancing in the Moonlight and Still in Love With You, but I will say, as a whole, I really do think the songs are greatly enhanced by the band’s live performance - in most cases, I found them better than their studio versions.
While I wouldn’t go as far as to call this one of the best live albums I’ve ever heard, it does have a great energy to it that makes me think these guys would have been a blast to see. Granted, there was apparently a lot of studio overdubbing work done on this, but that kind of thing happens with most live albums, so I don’t really fault them for that here, and I honestly, I think they did it more seamlessly than some other live albums I’ve heard (love The Mark, Tom, & Travis Show, but yeah…)
I don’t think this is any kind of all-time great, but I do think this a fun live album and definitely has a place in a classic rock record collection.
Jorge Ben Jor
2/5
2.5
I guess Jorge’s fusion of Brazilian samba with American funk music is alright, but it really never got me in that groovy, danceable mood that either genre is known for. I feel like it gets close at times, but never quite to a point to ever fully suck me in or leave much of a lasting impression for that matter. Honestly, I think the only song here that I would really walk away saying I kind of liked was the titular and closing track, África Brasil, mostly because it felt kind of angsty, like he was angrily screaming some of the lyrics. Outside of that, the only other song that stood out to me was Taj Mahal, a really annoying track that is retroactively worsened by the fact that it later inspired/was stolen by Rod Stewart for Do Ya Think I’m Sexy? I don’t really hear it that much, but honestly, I wasn't overly invested in giving either song a long and thorough enough listen to really make that determination.
Not bad, but it’s not for me. Though, did anyone else hear him asking about Joe Gatto throughout the album? I don’t know what he’s doing since he left the Impractical Jokers either, man.
G. Love & Special Sauce
2/5
2.5
Never heard of G. Love, but I can tell you that I don’t want none of his special sauce.
Jokes aside, this was fine, but I have no idea why it made a list of the 1001 best albums of all-time. It’s one of the most 90s things I have ever heard, to the point where I imagine the guys were probably sipping on Crystal Pepsi, feeding their Tamagotchis, and watching Beavis and Butthead between takes. No idea why this album is still applicable as an important listen today unless mediocre, douchey whiteboy alternative hip hop is your thing. There’s nothing remarkable going on anywhere here except for Baby’s Got Sauce, which is about the catchiest abomination I’ve ever heard.
One of the more forgettable albums for me thus far, though apparently this guy is playing a show near me in a week. Honestly, I’m considering buying a ticket just for the meme.
Neil Young
2/5
2
Jfc, another Neil Young album. Think this like our fifth? The fact that we’ve had five of these now and zero Bright Eyes or blink-182 albums is either proof of an unfair God or an absence of.
Anyway, I really couldn’t tell you what this album does differently than the other two we’ve heard from this era of his career, and vocals-wise, it’s just as grating as ever. Normally I’m someone who enjoys unique, imperfect voices and thinks it adds personality to the music, but Neil Young is not one of those instances for me. Given that I enjoyed his later 90s garage rock record Ragged Glory, it seems that his voice improved with age at least, but man, I could not tell you what draws people to his early work. I swear, it’s like he’s trying to piss you off with songs like For the Turnstiles.
Nothing interesting going on musically, and while I do at least found him a decent lyricist and storyteller, the only lyric that really stood out to me here was “Well, I hear that Laurel Canyon is full of famous stars/But I hate them worse than lepers and I'll kill them in their cars” on Revolution Blues. I think it refers to the Manson family, but as someone who actually takes Laurel Canyon to commute to work and has to deal with rush hour traffic on it, it speaks to me on a personal level.
Third 2 in a row he’s getting from me after three very similar, subpar albums. At least I’m not forced to listen to his music on YouTube anymore.
Ray Charles
3/5
3
I saw Ray Charles on this list and smiled to myself, thinking of childhood memories of his music, including his wonderful rendition of America the Beautiful as featured in The Sandlot. Well, unfortunately, this album didn’t quite live up to my expectations. I’ve always known Ray as more of a piano-based soul/jazz artist and didn’t realize he did so much big band stuff - stuff that, honestly, didn’t really work for me. Maybe it’s just the production of this album, but I found the first half to be incredibly brash, to the point where I had to turn down my speaker multiple times while listening. It certainly has an old-timey gala charm to it at times, but it’s hard to get too sucked in.
The second half of this album I think does a much better job of highlighting said genius of Ray Charles with its more stripped back, slower tunes, but even then, there still wasn’t anything that quite captured me like his music did for me so many years ago. The last three songs on the album are far and away the best (with Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Cryin’ probably being my personal favorite), but it feels like there’s a lot you have to wade through to get to them.
So, this one was a little disappointing for me, but I don’t think it’s changed my opinion on Ray as a performer and singer - I just think there’s too much going on in this album to really allow his talent to shine. It’s still a generally enjoyable listen (it’s hard to imagine anything coming from the guy not being), but for better or for worse, what this album mostly succeeded in was making me want to listen to his other stuff.
Carole King
2/5
2.5
Four syllables for you - ov-er-ra-ted. I really don’t understand why this album is so acclaimed; it’s the most middle-of-the-road soft rock music. Maybe that’s why it was so successful, in that it’s inoffensive and neutral enough to achieve a wide reach, but I find it too safe, uninteresting, and devoid of personality, with the closing track, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman being case in point for me. I had no idea that Carole King originally wrote the song (any many others) before becoming a performer herself, so, she’s actually performing her own work here, but if you ask me, Aretha will always be the true artist of the song for the sheer amount of her soul and being she puts into it, something that I never really felt any song here.
Really don’t have a ton much else to say on this one. I don’t think it’s bad by any means, but I find it very vanilla and uninteresting.
George Harrison
4/5
4
…Did George Harrison seriously write the best Beatles album?? All this time I’ve been pointing the finger at John and Ringo for making The Beatles suck, but maybe Paul should be lumped in there as well because this is honestly way better than anything I’ve heard from the combined efforts of The Fab Four - I finally feel like I’m hearing what people are talking about when they describe The Beatles as the greatest group of all-time. Like, this album is just great song after great song - in the beginning anyway, which is a good segue to my 2.5 hangups with this album:
1) The front half is MUCH stronger. I don’t think anything here is bad, but it really feels like Harrison relegated all of his weaker material to the back. Some of it could have just been cut, especially…
2) the four jam tracks at the end. Look, I could handle the Johnny’s Birthday song and maybe one of the jam tracks, but four extended attempts back to back to cap off an already long album is just a tedious and unsatisfying conclusion. And besides, there’s enough padding as is what with the…
2.5) alternate takes scattered in between. I make this a half point because most of them were added later for a re-release of the album, but regardless, why the hell would they be put smack dab in the middle? You couldn’t have included them as bonus tracks at the very end like a normal re-release? It really breaks up the flow when trying to listen.
Anyway, those out of the way, I still find this to be a really good album, and honestly, said hang-ups don’t even really bother me quite as much as my bullet points may make it seem. While I do think this could have been condensed into a near-perfect, single album, I don’t find the total volume of work here totally unwelcome. That being said, there isn’t anything else on this album - or across The Beatles’ entire catalog for that matter - that trumps the stretch of the first five songs here for me. Not even I Dig Love with its questionable “I love dig” lyric (come on man, you had to have known what that was going to sound like).
Speaking of sounds like - does anyone else totally hear Fox on the Run on What is Life? I think Sweet has some explaining to do.
Iggy Pop
3/5
3.5
Another day, another David Bowie album in the form of an Iggy Pop release. Mostly kidding - while you can still very much hear Bowie’s voice in this (literally at times), you can also definitely tell Iggy was starting to take more ownership of his music with this record. I mean, yes, seven of the nine songs here are credited as having been composed by Bowie, so the umbilical cord clearly wasn’t fully cut, but I think the musical partnership between the two is strongly felt here, most noticeably in the sense that this sounds much more like an evolved Stooges album than its predecessor. And as it so happens, two of Iggy’s fine moments came from this particular partnered effort as well - Lust for Life and The Passenger. I probably don’t have anything to say about either track that hasn’t already been said a million times over, but they are two songs that I believe have gone on to define his career and that I genuinely feel emanate a sense of greatness as you’re listening.
Sooo, it’s kind of unfortunate that the rest of this album just doesn’t really hold a candle. There’s nothing here that’s bad (though admittedly the opening lines of Turn Blue made me do a double take), but there’s also nothing here that gets anywhere near the high of the two hits. The closing track, Fall in Love With Me, is probably about as close as it gets, but even then, I still wouldn’t consider it in the same ballpark.
The end result is you get a good, but uneven feeling album, so while I enjoyed this, I honestly just don’t feel it’s structured as well as The Idiot is. Definitely a must-listen for an Iggy Pop fan, but it’s not his best (or probably even his second-best) work.
Bob Dylan
3/5
3
Baby Dylan. While he’s not quite rocking the rosy-cheeked young boy look here like he is on the cover of his debut, this is still very much an album of the man still finding his voice - quite literally. This is probably the most normal I’ve heard him sing across any of his work, but I find that to be to the album’s detriment - where’s that iconic nasally inflection we all know and love?? (Okay, maybe not all of us).
I also can’t help but feel that his songwriting here was still in its early stages as well. I don’t mean that to diminish - I think putting out an album like this at the age of 21 feels incredibly mature and insightful beyond his years - but the Woody Guthrie influence is heavily felt, and there just isn’t much that spoke to me on a personal level… which you really kind of need with Dylan’s lyrics given the simplicity of a lot of his accompanying music. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciated the reflection of 1960’s America captured, especially as it pertains towards the fears of nuclear war that lingered at the time, but ultimately, the only song that really stuck with me here was the opener, Blowin’ in the Wind - which honestly, is truly a great tune, and quite possibly among Dylan’s best. Other than that, the only song I kind of dug was the closer, I Shall Be Free, which I thought did the best job of capturing the era - but I gotta say, out of the all the advice you could have given JFK, Bob, why did go with Brigitte Bardot and NOT avoiding Dallas in November?
Jokes aside, I do have to say the song did resonate with me what with the name drops of JFK and MLK as contemporary societal figures - given how this dude is still touring as of 2024, it’s an important reminder how close we really are to some of the ugliest chapters in American history (though Lord knows it’s far from over).
Side note - Mike Ness of Social Distortion has a really solid rockabilly cover of Don’t Think Twice. Would recommend giving it a listen if you’re a fan of his style, or if you’re just looking for something faster-paced after finishing this.
Heaven 17
2/5
2.5
Apparently two of the guys from this group are originally from The Human League, which makes sense given this feels like a continuation of the same sound - I guess this album even came out just a month apart from The Human League album we had on this list. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really add anything to the experience for me - if anything, it feels like a step down. I listened to this multiple times and just couldn’t find anything I found particularly enjoyable or catchy. The opener, (We Don’t Need This) Fascist Groove Thang, is great from a lyrical perspective (and sadly still relevant today), but for a synth-pop album, I was not vibing at all with the music. The closest I came was probably Play to Win, but just because something about the track gave me Super Mario vibes.
Not particularly enjoyable, but inoffensive to the ears at least, so going to land in the middle with this one - another entry I’m unsure of why it made this list.
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
3
“I like your sleeves. They’re real big.”
I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this one, but it’s surprisingly enjoyable. Granted, it also very much feels like a product of its time, but I think you would have to be the wettest of wet blankets to not have at least a little bit of fun with this. You really can’t go wrong with the first four tracks in particular, with Money Changes Everything and When You Were Mine being the two surprises here for me. Both are incredibly fun, energetic, and catchy, with the latter also being a great take on Prince. To be honest, I’m actually more familiar with the song in the form of the later Bright Eyes cover (forgive me), but after listening to this album, I gotta say, I think Cyndi did it best. And then you have the two mega-hits, Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Time After Time, which are also both mostly enjoyable, though I gotta say, Girls has been overplayed to death (it’s also a bit cheesy), and I can’t hear Time without thinking of Napoleon Dynamite (see opening quote).
As for the rest of this album - pretty standard 80s fare. Don’t have much else to say about it, though dialing in on and re-evaluating the lyrics of She Bop was interesting after learning about the controversy surrounding it. Is it sexist that this song was scorned and Dancing With Myself wasn’t? Probably, it was the 80s ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Also, I kind of dug the ragtime segue He’s So Unusual, which is apparently a cover of an old Betty Boop song - it’s a cute way to set up the closing of the album.
Nothing spectacular, and there’s nothing I’m immediately jumping to save on Spotify, but it’s for sure a fun slice of the era.
Radiohead
2/5
2
Noel Gallagher once said, “I reckon if Thom Yorke fucking shit into a light bulb and started blowing it like an empty beer bottle it’d probably get 9 out of 10 in fucking Mojo”. After having now listened to five Radiohead albums on this list (out of their nine total), I couldn’t agree with Noel more, though I think none have epitomized the spirit of that quote quite as well as this album right here. Look, I don’t outright hate the evolution of Radiohead’s sound - in some ways I even have a sense of respect for it - but it’s at a point here where Thom Yorke’s head is fully up his own ass. This isn’t nearly as deep or insightful as it pretends to be, nor is it even entertaining for that matter - it’s just the dude whining over a bunch of ambient stuff.
I honestly have nothing else to say on this - at least they didn’t make people pay for this shit. While a large part of me wants to give this a 1, I can’t quite convince myself it’s objectively one of the worst things I’ve heard - but it’s far from what it’s made out to be.
Beatles
2/5
2.5
Supposedly this is the single highest rated album on the site - and I just don’t get it. I do feel like I get it just a little bit more after having listened to All Things Must Pass, but at the same time, I also feel like that just makes me frustrated knowing McCartney and Lennon were continuing to stifle Harrison’s creative efforts here just to serve up crap of their own like Maxwell’s Silver Hammer and I Want You (She’s So Heavy). Honestly, the only two good songs on the album are George’s (Something and Here Comes the Sun), and I find it so vindicating for him that the latter would go onto become one of the most well-known songs by the group, and currently their most popular on Spotify as of this writing.
As for the rest of this album - meh. Call me a contrarian or even uncultured if you want, but I’ve always found Come Together to be a bit boring, and the Ringo song here… well, it’s certainly a Ringo song. I will, however, give credit to the back half for doing something totally different and innovative with the eight-song medley that concludes it. I’m not sure if this kind of thing had been done before on a mainstream release, but regardless, I thought it kept things interesting and prevented the album from growing too stale. That to say, there weren’t a ton of individual moments about the medley in particular that jumped out to me, but the combination of Carry That Weight and The End do admittedly conclude it nicely - though I think I largely just appreciate The End due the Beastie Boys later sampling it on The Sounds of Science from Paul’s Boutique. A song which is, frankly, better than anything found here (Ponce de Leon, constantly on!) I do like the ending line, “And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make” as simple as it is, but at the same time, the first thing that jumps to mind when I hear it is Chris Farley asking Sir Paul about the lyric on The Chris Farley Show.
Pretty overrated album, but there are certainly highlights here to be found. I will give it this - it does have quite possibly the greatest and most iconic album cover of all-time. It’d probably be impossible to count the number of times the image has been recreated and parodied, but as for my association, I always think of a time spent dissecting a poster of it in my cousin’s bedroom to find all the clues it contains about Paul’s death. Shoutout to Emily!
The Band
2/5
2.5
The review.
Honestly, I feel like my rating could go a few different directions here. A part of me kind of liked this, a part of me found it unremarkable, and a part of me thought it was way too much of the same kind of thing. Regardless, I don’t feel like it provided me much to comment on, and I don’t think it’s any kind of all-time great (maybe by Canadian standards). The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down is both kind of annoying and charming, and I couldn’t tell you how any other of these songs went if I tried.
It’s certainly an interesting take on Americana given these guys hail from The Great White North, but I can’t help but feel they were probably better off when they were Bob Dylan’s backing band - nothing here holds a candle to anything off of Highway 61 Revisited.
Barry Adamson
2/5
2.5
Supposedly the schtick behind this album is that it’s supposed to be the score to a non-existent crime film, which I think is a cool idea, but it’s not quite as cool in execution. I mean, this was definitely a vibe to get work done to, but it’s also far from the most unique or interesting thing I’ve heard, which begs the question, why bother listening to the soundtrack to a made-up movie when there are plenty of soundtracks to real movies out there that are generally better and what this thing likely was trying to emulate anyway - hell, even the soundtrack to the video game L.A. Noire is better than this. Ultimately, the only song that stood out to me here was an actual cover, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which is a really random inclusion, but it brought back some nice memories of Homer Simpson warning me about how this year’s Halloween episode may not be suitable for children.
This isn’t bad, but even if it was attached to a real movie, it’s milquetoast at best. No disrespect towards Mr. Adamson, but I think the fact that only a handful of his original compositions have ever actually made it into any kind of movie speaks for itself.
Frank Zappa
3/5
3
Zappa does jazz - aka, a person I haven’t been the kindest on does a genre I’m not the biggest fan of… and it turns out to be probably the best thing I’ve heard from him. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not earth-shattering by any means, but for 43 minutes and 19 seconds, I found myself in the mildest of grooves - hell, even Captain Beefheart’s garbled singing on Willie The Pimp kind of worked for me. As someone not normally drawn to a lot of instrumental music, I thought this was paced well and that each song felt unique - not quite to a point where I feel I have much to comment on in particular, but if you’re a fan of jazz (or even jam records), I would imagine you'd probably be a big fan of this.
For all the shit I’ve thrown his way, I’ll give Zappa credit for his musical evolution and maturation here. I definitely wouldn’t say that I’m any kind of newfound fan of his by any means, but I would consider this at least deserving enough of having him removed from my list of “Worst Artists” on the site. That probably won’t happen given that it’s technically The Mothers of Invention that are listed, but I’m willing to acknowledge the invisible asterisk.
David Bowie
4/5
4.5
Kind of a weird coincidence that we went from having two instrumental albums to the closest Bowie’s ever come to writing one, but what better way to send off the trio of like-minded works than with the beginning of Bowie’s own famous musical trilogy. Obviously I’m using “like-minded” loosely here, as this is miles ahead of Barry Adamson and Zappa in every way imaginable - I mean, come on, it’s David Bowie. As someone who just claimed not to be the biggest fan of instrumental music in my review prior, this album is an exemplification of how to do it and make it compelling.
I mean, right off the bat you’re greeted with probably the sexiest blast of jazz to ever open an album - you know, the kind of thing only Bowie could pull off. It’s such a captivating, groovy, and inviting way to kick things off, and it transitions into a series of slightly more conventional tunes from there that I really think are among Bowie’s best. I absolutely love the synthesizer on Breaking Glass, the clanging piano on Be My Wife, and the simple, catchy charm of Sound and Vision - these are seriously all tracks that I think need more love within the larger Bowie catalog.
The back half is where you get into the meat of the instrumental work, and while I can see how it could lose some people, I really find Bowie’s take on it to be some of the most atmospheric I’ve heard. There’s an incredible ambience established immediately as Warszawa kicks in, and it really doesn’t let up until the album concludes. Supposedly the songs were inspired by Bowie’s time in Berlin, but for me, they’ve always given off this sense of “final level” in a video game (which, to be fair, Berlin was in a sense at a time) They’re all great, but to date, I honestly think Warszawa is my most-listened to instrumental track ever.
David Bowie is a legend among musicians and men for a lot of reasons, but I think one of the biggest reasons was his ability to consistently innovate and reinvent himself, and I think this album, denoting the beginning of his next musical chapter, may represent that spirit the best. The Thin White Duke and Ziggy were out - David was back and changing the game again.
Bonus points for why Bowie is the man: Instead of promoting this album, he chose to support his friend Iggy Pop on tour as his keyboardist.
Jane's Addiction
5/5
5
I have a few complaints to lodge towards this list about the number of times some artists have made it on (while others I have yet to see at all), but including both of Jane’s Addiction main studio albums is such a W decision that I’m almost willing to forgive the fact I’ve listened to Neil Young five times.
I mean, come on, this album rips - it’s just banger after banger after banger. Like, forget all the cheesy hair metal stuff out there, this is the exact kind of thing that makes me fantasize about being up on stage rocking out. It kicks off immediately with an absolutely epic opener in Up the Beach (which is how they open their live shows as well), before transitioning to Ocean Size, a fantastic track that never fails to hype me up. The way the song slows down with its acoustic strums just to have Perry’s wail cue the rest of the band back in at full force - crack to my ears every time (the kicking in of the drums on Summertime Rolls also has a similar effect). And for the most part, the album never slows down from there. I swear, I go back and forth on my favorite song from the album all the time - one day it’s Ocean Size, the next it’s Mountain Song, the next it’s Summertime Rolls, the next it’s Ted, Just Admit It…, all proof that this album is loaded with highs, though Ted in particular is one that only somewhat recently won me over after having seen it live. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it many times again - fucking incredible live band, even still now (or at least in 2023 when I saw them). In fact, I can’t help but visualize the performance every time I listen to Ted now, what with all the lights, pyrotechnics, and dancers coming on in conjunction with the buildup of the song. Honestly, it’s one of the greatest live experiences I’ve ever had, and while I know it’s a pretty messed up song topically, I can’t help but adore it. Sex is violence!
That all out of the way, I can’t go on without mentioning Jane Says. For as much as my favorite song here changes, at the end of the day, I have to admit it’s the band’s finest moment. It’s a very simple song in concept, but it’s catchy and charming as all hell in execution, especially the lyrics. “Jane says, ‘I've never been in love’/No, she don't know what it is/She only knows if someone wants her” is probably my favorite from the song, but also, it’s so incredibly hard to resist screaming out “SHE CAN’T HIT” along with Perry. That all to say, I’ve actually gone on to appreciate the live version just a bit more, but no matter how you want to slice the song, I truly think it’s the band’s masterpiece and quite possibly one of the greatest songs ever written (at the very least, it’s the single greatest use of steel drum).
Now, if you’ve followed my past reviews (if you’re still reading this, I assume you’re a loyal fan), you may have noticed I previously mentioned in my Ritual de lo Habitual review that I would consider this album a 4.5, and the reason I meant that at the time was largely because of the songs Standing in the Shower…Thinking and Idiots Rule. Well, truthfully, I still don’t love the songs (I particularly hate the lyric “The water hits my neck and I'm pissing on myself”), but listening to the album now, I ultimately don't think they detract from the overall greatness in any way, and they’ve certainly never stopped me from putting it on. I mean, they’re not songs I’ll probably ever seek out to play on their own, but in the grand scheme of this album, I think they fit in fine. Though I’ll say this - I do think Idiots Rule grew on me just a bit with this re-visit (fun fact - Flea plays trumpet on the song).
Always a blast listening to this one - truly an alternative rock masterpiece in my opinion, and the fact that I found myself so excited to listen and then kept listening to it after I had all of my thoughts written down is proof in my mind that it’s deserving of the full 5. I’m so glad it made it on this list, but now I’m annoyed I have to wait around for them to come back to LA.
Adam & The Ants
3/5
3.5
This dude has a great song called Stand & Deliver that’s not on this album, which is all I really knew about him going in - well, that and the fact he always seems to have this flamboyant, early American colonial/pirate thing going on. And based on just that knowledge, this album was about what I expected it to be - goofy, theatrical post-punk/new wavey stuff with a pirate vibe to it. Stuff that, for whatever reason, works for me. I mean, yeah, it’s not without cheese, but there’s also a certain charm to it, and the songs are mostly fun and catchy. There wasn’t really any one here I was drawn to in particular, but I enjoyed the vibe they offered as a whole - though if I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be the title track, which has a great drumbeat, buildup, and overall “marching to battle” vibe to it. However, the actual best songs to be found here are actually the B-Sides bundled with the Deluxe Edition of the album on Spotify. Like, I honestly think that Press Darlings, Physical, and Fall In trump every song from the actual album - no idea why they were cut. They are admittedly a bit heavier and have more of a punk energy to them, so maybe it was determined they didn’t fit the vibe, but in my opinion, that’s their appeal, and I think the diversity of the album would have greatly benefited from their inclusion.
This certainly isn’t any kind of masterpiece, but it was a fun listen for sure. I’m not walking away with any kind of newfound respect or admiration for Adam Ant, but I am walking away with probably a couple new songs saved on Spotify.
Aerosmith
2/5
2
Oh God, a late-stage release from one of the most overrated bands of all-time, and man, is it horny - something I find especially cringe coming from a group of guys in their 40s at this point. I was at least curious to hear what their take on Pink Floyd would sound like, but nope, turns out they just copped the name Young Lust for a completely unrelated, much worse song of their own. F.I.N.E. and Monkey on My Back are both dumb as all hell, but they at least bookend probably the best song here by default, Love in an Elevator, which is also the only one I think I would describe as being somewhat enjoyable. Meanwhile, I’ve always found Janie’s Got a Gun to be kind of boring and The Other Side to be whatever, and as for the rest of this album, it’s just more of your standard Aerosmith fare. I guess the closer, What It Takes, is alright, but something about it feels off to me, like it doesn’t fit with the rest of the album - it also kind of feels like the guys were trying too hard to write a power ballad.
If you’re an Aerosmith fan, I’m sure you love this album, though I am a bit confused by its inclusion - I feel like these guys have better and more acclaimed albums than this one. I will say, I didn’t realize that the hits from this album came so late in the band’s career, but I still don’t think that makes this any kind of must-listen - I guess Mr. Tyler’s seduction techniques worked on whomever compiled this list.
Duke Ellington
3/5
3
Not only is this album apparently pretty historical, but the entire concert as a whole. Like, I guess the interludes here entitled “Pandemonium” and “Riot Prevention” are pretty literal, as the crowd at the show were going about as nuts as a tweenage girl at a Taylor Swift concert, borderline Fear on Saturday Night Live level. The performance was also allegedly supposed to end with the three-part Festival Junction suite, but after a lukewarm response, Duke kept the show going and egged on the crowd with bigger and bigger numbers, much to the festival organizers’ annoyance - to the point that his saxophonist ended up collapsing out of exhaustion after his solo on Diminuendo in Blue.
So, I gotta say, I find that all to be pretty cool, but listening to it in album form… I mean, it just feels like two hours of jazz. It was a pleasant listen to get work done to, but for as acclaimed as this performance supposedly is, I never once came close to feeling mind blown or wowed - maybe you just had to be there? I also find the pandemonium especially surprising being that it feels like this kind of thing was already outdated by 1956 standards (I would have thought everyone had dropped big band music for Elvis at this point). I guess that ultimately speaks to Duke and his band’s talents, but it doesn’t speak to me much as a listener here now in 2024.
I went back and forth on this one a few times. It’s certainly not bad, but it doesn’t do much for me, and it’s also way too long. Granted, I guess if you’re listening to the “Complete” edition on Spotify, you’re actually listening to two different versions of the album smushed together, so maybe I shouldn’t let that sway my opinion too much. At the end of the day, I think the overall talent of the group does shine through whether I find it to be overly enjoyable or not, so given that - and the fact that the recent Fallout TV show has reminded me of the charm of this era of music - I’ll shoot for the higher end of “okay”.
Def Leppard
3/5
3
I never realized how much the lead singer of Def Leppard sounds like Brian Johnson. I’m not saying they sound exactly the same by any means, but there are a few moments here I swear it comes damn close.
Anyway, there were two songs here that I enjoyed, and those happened to be the two songs that I already knew prior - Photograph and Rock of Ages. To its credit, Photograph really is a fantastic tune and quite possibly among the best from this era of hair metal, and there’s a certain charm/borderline sense of epicness to Rock of Ages, if a bit on the nose and cheesy (though, for better or worse, I always assume I’m about to hear The Offspring whenever I hear the opening now). The two are also the only Def Leppard songs I’ve seen live, in this case, at the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Show. Coincidence they ended up being my favorites here? Probably not. Either way, shoutout to Miley Cyrus for killing the vocals on Photograph.
As for the rest of this album - yeah, pretty standard rock fare for the era. Not a lot stood out to me, though, I will say, as douchey as this is probably about to sound, Too Late For Love went up a couple points in my book when it provided me a sense of “walk-up song” as I approached the squat rack to attempt my max at the gym.
For as much as I think this album tries a bit too hard at times, it’s mostly enjoyable overall. Definitely not any kind of all-time great in my book, but I’d never complain to hear anything here mixed in the shuffle.
Terence Trent D'Arby
3/5
3
Yep, this is an 80s R&B album for sure. I feel like he’s trying to channel a little bit of every icon from this era, like Prince, Lionel Richie, Michael Jackson, etc. (I swear I heard some HEE-hees), but pairing it with some of the most generic 80s production I’ve ever heard. Is it unappealing to the ears? By no means. But is it the kind of thing that sticks with you? Or that you’ll even retain an hour after listening? No, no it’s not. Obviously your mileage may vary, but this felt pretty non-distinct and unremarkable to me - you can get much better flavors of this elsewhere. The only thing that stood out to me was As Yet Untitled, which I’m pretty sure is intended to be some sort of emotional climax to the album, but it’s singlehandedly the most uncomfortable five minutes I’ve experienced in a while - if I ever listen to this thing again, that track is getting skipped.
Not much else to say on this one. Shoutout to this dude for calling it the most important album since Sgt. Pepper’s though! You gotta admire the confidence.
Judas Priest
4/5
4
The third 80s rock album we’ve had in the past week, and I was somewhat expecting this to be in the same vein, but holy cow, does Judas Priest blow Aerosmith and Def Leppard out of the water. I’ve never claimed to be the biggest fan of the group, but I was rocking my ass off here, to the point that I couldn’t point to a single unenjoyable moment if I tried. I was even prepared to give some shit to Living After Midnight, the most radio-friendly and overplayed track of the bunch, but I still ended up really enjoying it as I was listening - like it or not, you have to admit it fits really well within the context of this album. However, the highlight of this album far and away is the trio of Rapid Fire, Metal Gods, and Breaking the Law - what a hell of a way to open an album. Now, there IS one pretty corny track to be found here in Red, White & Blue, but thankfully, it’s not a part of the official release, and so I don’t have to factor it in my review. Patriotic or not, these guys are from the UK… what are they on about?
A short but sweet blast of loud, high-speed rock - what more could you want out of an album? If you’re someone looking to write and perform heavy metal, the blueprint is right here. I actually had my review for this album finished and still chose to give it another listen at the gym - I mean, there wasn’t any way I was allowing Duke Ellington to be a gym listen and not Judas Priest.
Also, a few days early, but what a good way to kick off pride month, with a rock icon we probably should have picked up as gay wayyy earlier (no disrespect meant, Rob Halford is a badass - fuck anyone who stopped listening because of it).
Miles Davis
2/5
2.5
Not really sure what to say about this one. It’s a jazz album, and it’s not a particularly exciting or interesting one at that. It’s also not even really a studio album as it is more of a collection of songs from early in his career, meaning it doesn’t feel structured in any kind of way, but then again, is any jazz album?
Inoffensive to the ears, but not the kind of thing I’d willingly put on again, especially with how lacking in variety it feels. I appreciate him keeping this short, but in listening to this during a drive to the airport, I still found myself bored pretty quickly - it felt like my radio was stuck on NPR or something. I do think Miles is a talented dude, but unfortunately his music just doesn’t speak to me.
Brian Eno
3/5
3
As someone now familiar with Brian Eno as an instrumental, ambient artist and producer, this album caught me very off-guard - in a good way, at least at first. Needles in the Camel’s Eye turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable glam rock opener and gave me hope for the rest of my listen ahead, but as I probably should have guessed, this quickly turns into a bunch of annoying, avant garde BS, starting with the questionably-named second track that I’m not going to write out here (though shoutout to its mention of Paw Paw, Michigan). Like, my biggest takeaway from this album was how much the Talking Heads owe to this dude - I know he produced a lot of their work, but it seems like David Byrne was copying his notes (and vocal performance) long before he entered the studio with the group… and I don’t mean that as a compliment.
Fortunately, unlike most Talking Heads albums, there’s actually some decent stuff here, with Baby’s On Fire, Cindy Tells Me, and On Some Faraway Beach all being tracks I considered pretty solid. I mean, on the other hand, tracks like Driving Me Backwards, Blank Frank, and Some of Them Are Old made me want to pull my hair out, but I think the good generally outweighs the bad here. My actual favorite song from this album though ended up being the titular closer, Here Come the Warm Jets. While I hate the title (it doesn’t exactly bring pleasant thoughts to mind), musically, I thought it had a really cool, lo-fi vibe to it. Yes, you heard that correctly, the one instrumental track on an otherwise non-instrumental Eno album ended up being my favorite of the bunch - how the turn tables.
While this didn’t really give me a ton of newfound appreciation for Eno, it certainly provided enough to where I can at least admit he might be a bit better of an artist than I previously thought (he did produce some of David Bowie’s best albums after all, I suppose). As much as I’d love to dock this album for inspiring Talking Heads, I’ll choose to ignore that fact - just this once.
Can
2/5
2
I spoiled my dad’s score on this one for myself before I listened and then found myself thinking, “Damn, only a 1? It’s not amazing, but it’s decent psychedelic jam stuff.” Hell, I even found myself in a bit of a groove during Halleluhwah despite its 18-minute runtime. But holy cow, does this album change on a dime into some of the most unlistenable, experimental garbage I’ve heard yet. What, were they afraid of listeners enjoying themselves too much? Who the hell wants to hear piercing strings and screams for 17+ minutes? I don’t know if this is supposed to be some kind of artistic statement or expression or something, but man, does it just about ruin the entire experience. It’s not quite Frankie Teardrop level, but it’s damn close - if your album requires me to scramble for my phone volume so my neighbors don’t think a murder is happening, it’s not a good album.
Anyway, I see why my dad gave this a 1. Personally, I still find the first half of this thing listenable enough to keep my final rating out of the 1 territory, but talk about souring a listen. Maybe I just need to have the worst psychedelic trip of my life to understand this, but… I’d rather not.
Mj Cole
2/5
The only version of this available on Spotify is the Deluxe edition, and while I generally try not to have bonus tracks play a factor in my ratings, I found a bunch of conflicting information online regarding which songs are actually on this album. I guess no one really cares enough to properly identify the tracklist, which is something I totally get after listening. As it turned out, I really didn’t like or dislike any one song here more than another anyway, so it didn’t matter - this is truly one of the most generic 2000s electronic dance albums I’ve heard. At best, it sounds like the soundtrack to some SEGA game from this era. No idea why they leaned as hard into the genre as they did, but tell me this isn’t the kind of shit that would play as you were flying around looking for pieces of the Chaos Emerald as Knuckles.
Not a lot to comment on in particular. Elisabeth Troy’s vocals probably save this from being entirely boring and one-note, but even then, not by much, and they're certainly not unique for this kind of music by any means. The only other thing that stood out to me during my listen was that this dude 100% lifted the sound effect at the beginning of Bandelero Desperado from the song All Mixed Up by 311. I don’t have enough evidence to prove that it wasn’t a sample or that 311 really even did it first, but either way, they at least used it before MJ Cole and within a much better song.
Just meh, and way too long of a meh at that. Granted, I’m not entirely sure how long this is actually supposed to be given my Deluxe edition confusion, but Wikipedia says 72:20 which is still way too long for music this generic. I don’t see this getting another play from me.
The Kinks
2/5
2.5
The Kinks have a handful of tracks that I really enjoy, such as Lola, You Really Got Me, All Day and All of the Night, and Destroyer - and none of those are here. In fact, there wasn’t really anything here that I overly enjoyed - the songs on this album just seem to lack a certain edge that the above songs have. Like, I really thought these guys were more of a garage rock group, but it seems that at this point in their career they were more interested in trying to emulate The Beatles, to the point that I could be convinced that some of these are genuines outtakes from the Fab Four. In doing so, I feel like they kind of backed themselves into a corner because, if you like The Beatles, you’re probably going to think this album is a second-rate knockoff, and if you don’t like The Beatles, then you’re probably not going to like this.
The only notable song here is the closer, Waterloo Sunset, which is a really solid, sunny day feelgood kind of track, but once again, it wouldn’t feel out of place on a Beatles album. As for the rest of this - inoffensive, but forgettable. Give me back my proto-punk Kinks!
Cornershop
3/5
3.5
I’m familiar with Cornershop as an alternative rock band with a bit of an Indian-inspired musical flair to them and from their song here Brimful of Asha - a song that I enjoy, but, I gotta be honest, think was done better by Fatboy Slim. The original version isn’t bad, but every time I listen to it, I can’t help but find it slow and a touch dull in comparison to the remix.
The rest of this album was brand new to me and gave me some mixed feelings. It’s entirely all over the place, going from alternative rock, to a more traditional Indian sound, before finally ending with some hip-hop. And I actually think that works to the album’s favor - while I enjoyed the first two tracks, if every song sounded like them, I think this would have grown stale really quickly. Though, at the same time, how it’s executed also feels a bit unfocused and unorganized, and there are way too many random instrumental/noise tracks for its own good (and don’t even get me started about the Beatles cover at the end).
That all to say, I found this overall to be more enjoyable than not, and I think I could point to most songs here as being at least somewhat solid (also, tell me Funky Days are Back Again doesn’t sound like something from Homestar Runner). As imperfect as it may be, I think there’s something really interesting, unique, and honestly, a bit fun about what the guys set out to do here, and its charm has definitely grown on me as I’ve continued to listen to it. Hell, it may still keep growing on me from here.
Death In Vegas
3/5
3
Dirge is an absolutely incredible opening to this album, one that I thought absolutely nailed the vibe that comes to mind when you think “Death in Vegas” - crime, drugs, overindulgence, and dry heat. In some ways, it even kind of reminded me of an instrumental, more electronic Queens of the Stone Age song. Really great, atmospheric track to kick things off.
As for the rest of this album? Entirely forgettable - I couldn’t point you to another highlight if I tried. I mean, I guess the Iggy Pop feature with Aisha stands out, but… it’s far from one of the stooge’s finest moments, I’ll say that. (The guy from Jesus and Mary Chain is much better on Broken Little Sister). Overall, the music is fine, and it’s certainly more diverse than that MJ Cole album we had, but it’s just barely more interesting. Really, Dirge is probably carrying my 3-star rating here.
On a slightly more interesting note, coincidentally, in addition to Iggy and Jim’s features here, Aladdin’s Story is a song originally written by the Rolling Stones, and the vocalist on Soul Auctioneer is the guy from Primal Scream - two artists that happen to make up our next three albums.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
3
I was kind of prepared to dunk on this album, but there’s a certain novelty to hearing what’s basically Mick Jagger doing karaoke to popular tunes of the late 50’s/early 60’s. I mean, yeah, it’s nothing praise-worthy given that it’s almost all covers and doesn’t feel overly innovative by its own merits, but it’s a fun listen. Though, I’m not sure it’s the kind of thing that should be on a list of 1001 albums you need to hear before you die - unless it’s purely meant to demonstrate the evolution of the group?
Most of these tracks kind of run together, and while there were a few standouts for me, including Route 66, Can I Get a Witness, and Walking the Dog, they’re not any better than the originals - or even later covers in the case of Walking the Dog (shoutout to The Sonics). I did, however, like their interpretation of I Just Want to Make Love to You, especially when they started dropping Violent Femmes lyrics on the track. Turns out, the Femmes were actually borrowing from Muddy Waters on Gone Daddy Gone this whole time. Who knew? My actual favorite here though was probably Mona, so I was surprised to see it was the one song they cut from the American release of the album in favor of a Buddy Holly cover. I mean, I get that the dude may have more appeal to an American audience, but I think there were plenty of other songs here they could have cut over that one.
Far from the best the group has to offer, and far from any kind of all-time great, but this was a fun 30 minutes. Not sure I’d go out of my way to re-listen, but it will definitely come to mind when I feel like listening to some Stones in the future.
Hookworms
2/5
2.5
The most definitive thing I can say about this is that it’s certainly a 2010s indie pop album. Beyond that, I got nothing - this honestly is one of the most unremarkable listens I’ve had so far, and I’m walking away with little to no feelings towards it. Like, by no means is this bad, but it also did absolutely nothing for me. And I actually listened to this thing like four or five times in an earnest effort to appreciate something about it, but sitting here now, still nothing comes to mind.
Okay, I have one thing - Boxing Day sounds a bit like Joy Division and was probably my favorite song for that reason, but still, it’s like a third-rate Joy Division song at best. Also, the weird cutoff at the end is more annoying than it is creative and caused me to check my phone the first few times to make sure I didn’t get interrupted by a phone call or somehow accidentally skip ahead.
TL;DR - meh. Not sure why this is here.
Primal Scream
2/5
2
I recognize this little blue dude on the cover, so I’m assuming this album is pretty famous (well, that and because it’s on a list of the 1001 supposed best), but man, this just did not speak to me at all. I really try to give every album a fair shake and not dismiss based purely on genre, but there’s something about electronic dance music that just doesn’t do it for me, especially something as club-leaning as this - which, is weird both because I am someone who enjoys dancing (after a couple beers, granted) and because this group apparently identifies as a rock band. Granted, the further you get into this, the more diverse in sound it admittedly becomes, but LCD Soundsystem this group is not - there wasn’t really anything here I found overly catchy. The songs are also way too long, to the point that I was over this about halfway through, but I will at least give them credit for having aged pretty well as far as 90s electronic music goes - though, the amount that try to sound like Freedom by George Michael is too many.
Supposedly this album is largely inspired by and tied with LSD/MDMA culture, so I’m assuming I just have to be on drugs to get it, but it’s unfortunately a Wednesday, and I’m behind on my reviews, so a 2 this gets.
Soft Machine
1/5
1.5
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxuRQB1_96_Q22crgCTK6-tzf-R2wTOoo1?si=glw7Y0cquRI6GSg7
I feel like some of these albums lately have been trying to piss me off. This is just random noise for 78 minutes that sometimes turns into jazz (which I guess in and of itself is just random noise), broken up into four nearly twenty-minute chunks. I checked a few times to see how far I made it in and was surprised to learn each time that I was still on the first track. Fortunately, it gets a little better and more conventional after that, but not by much. As someone who isn’t even a huge fan of jazz to begin with, the attempt at it here feels far from the most interesting the genre has to offer, especially considering how long these tracks are. The third track at least adds some vocals, but they’re kind of terrible - the dude sounds like he’s battling a cold and out of breath for most of it. By the fourth track I was completely tapped out.
I’m giving this thing a half-star because there’s a hint of an album buried here somewhere, but my god, was this a slog. I can’t even begin to tell you how grateful I am that Spotify has the bonus tracks on the album grayed out and unplayable. Don’t ever see myself listening to this again.
Calexico
3/5
3
Indie folk with some south of the border flavor. I was hoping for skate punk based on the album cover, but I probably should've known better coming from a group named Calexico.
Anyway, I’m not exactly sure how I feel about this one. I feel like there’s a subtle charm to be found here, and in some ways, it even kind of reminded me of my favorite group, Bright Eyes (Not Even Stevie Nicks in particular reminded me of Poison Oak), but at the same time, it’s really not overly interesting music - some might even say it’s borderline boring. Despite the unique, genre-fusing sound, a lot of this ended up sounding kind of the same. I saw a few people write off the instrumental tracks in particular, but I actually found those to be some of the more interesting and diverse tracks here, and I think the album actually largely benefitted from their inclusion.
I went back and forth a few times with my rating on this one. At the end of the day, I think I would say I think I liked this more than I disliked it, so we’ll go with a 3, but I also wouldn’t call it particularly memorable or revisitable.
Black Flag
4/5
4.5
How timely, I just saw Black Flag last weekend at No Values… and they sucked. I actually left about halfway through their set to go get some pizza. If you go to one of their shows nowadays hoping to hear anything that sounds even remotely like this album, you’re going to be disappointed - Henry Rollins bounced a while ago and has since been replaced with professional skateboarder Mike Vallely, and, well, it’s not a great combination. In fact, it’s borderline unlistenable - I don’t know what the hell happened when Mike V joined, but somehow, one of the most iconic punk bands of all-time turned into a shitty cover band.
Anyway, there was a time this band truly was great (I’m assuming they were great live as well - too young to have ever seen them with Rollins), and this album is probably the best exemplification of that. I mean, just the opening track Rise Above is proof enough - like, if you’re putting together a top ten list of punk anthems, there’s no way it doesn’t make the cut. It’s one of my personal favorites of all-time, and it’s just one of many bangers here - other favorites include: Six Pack, TV Party, Spray Paint, and Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie, though honestly, everything here is great and gets me in a particularly angst, mosh-y mood (meaning the album has done its job).
That all to say, I have a lot of favorite punk albums, and I’m not sure this one quite reaches the level of others. I do think the back half of this isn’t quite as strong as the first, and the fact that the music cuts off abruptly in between certain tracks has always kind of bugged me as well. Still, it’s a damn good album, and one that laid the blueprint for all of punk to follow by introducing the “hardcore” to “hardcore punk” (Well, these guys and Minor Threat). As much as I love The Ramones and Sex Pistols, this album made them look like the Billboard Hot 100.
Want to end with this - speaking of No Values, the festival was a strong reminder that punk music runs through my blood through and through. I mean, music in general is my happy place, but it’s something special when it’s loud and fast (though Bright Eyes and The Smiths will always hold a special place in another part of my heart). When I die, there better not be any sappy, black tie-wearing pity party going on, everyone I know and love better get a keg and blast some great tunes as loud as they can. Gabba gabba hey!
MC Solaar
3/5
3
It’s hard for me to comment on this one - the two things that most interest me in rap music are the beats and the bars, and these beats were mid as hell and the bars French as hell. Like, yes, I’ll be the first to acknowledge it’s my own ignorance of the language that’s probably stopping me from enjoying this more than I do, but… I don’t know what to do about that? I’m not going to take Duolingo in an attempt to appreciate one specific album a little bit more. And what if I actually end up hating this album more once I know what he’s saying? That’s hours of my life I’m not getting back. Sacre bleu.
Anyway, I’m aware there’s more to music than just lyrics, but as far as hip hop music goes, nothing about this felt particularly unique or special. My favorite track here was probably Caroline, which is admittedly smooth as all hell, but outside of that, the only two other songs that jumped out to me were Ragga Jam, which is annoying as all hell, and Victime de la Mode, which sounds just like another song I can’t quite place. Wait a second… is this Baby’s Got Sauce?? This mfer really got that song stuck in my head again just when I thought I got it out. Curse you, G Love.
Liked this more than I disliked it, but I still wouldn’t call it anything special. If I ever learn the French language and then learn to live with myself after doing so, maybe I’ll check this out again.
Fever Ray
3/5
3.5
What is this, Sugar Ray’s Wario? At first I just thought this was a lot of weird, gothic ambient shit, and - well, it is, but it really started growing on me as I was listening. This isn’t at all the kind of thing I would say I normally listen to, but I found myself kind of vibing to this - it reminded me of the music to some old school 90s video games in some ways. I mean, it’s also not the kind of thing that I see myself saving any individual songs from (nor do I have any favorites or least favorites for that matter), but at the same time, I really wouldn’t describe anything I heard as unenjoyable. Across the board, I really thought everything felt paced well and that the songs all had a really solid sense of ambience and atmosphere to them. Hell, they borderline had me wanting to paint my fingernails black.
Not sure if I’d rush out to listen to this again, but I could definitely see myself re-visiting - it’s definitely something I’ll be keeping in mind come Halloween season.
The Coral
2/5
2
This is probably the least British-sounding British band I’ve ever heard. Despite that, I was kind of hoping to hear some Britpop, but I’m not exactly sure what the hell this was - or who exactly it’s for. Wikipedia says it’s a mix of neo-psychedelia and folk rock, but I feel like I listened to a series of shanties where the band tried to push themselves to see how un-catchy they could make the melodies. There are also supposed parallels people have drawn with this dude’s vocals and Jim Morrison’s, but I really didn’t hear that - instead I feel like I was getting more of an Eddie Vedder thing with maybe a Steven Tyler attempt on the high notes. At the very least, there’s some kind of weird attempt at Aerosmith I was picking up on, but it lacked any of the edge of the band - and I say that as someone who can’t stand Aerosmith, so you can imagine what it was doing for me here.
Far from the worst thing I’ve heard, but I didn’t find anything here to be particularly enjoyable. I have no idea what would draw people to this band or 159 million people to Dreaming of You specifically, but they’re clearly hearing something I’m missing.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
5/5
5
Due to travel and some time spent at home with the fam, this is probably the longest I’ve sat on a review since starting this list, but I’m kind of glad how that worked out, as it gave me the time to really dive into this album. I mean, I knew this was going to be something special even upon my first listen, but having this stuck as my current album enabled me to keep putting it on, at first just to keep it fresh on the mind, but ultimately because it’s just damn good. With every subsequent listen, I felt myself becoming more and more drawn to its sound and aura, and sitting here now, I have got to say, what started as a strong 4 for me is now slowly crawling into the territory of all-time favorites.
The first thing noticeable upon listening to this album is how different this is from Psychocandy. The boys' songwriting abilities have grown quite a bit in just the two years, and with it, their sound went through a major glow-up. Now, normally I’m the epitome of the “their older stuff is better” music snob and hate when bands try to polish their defining sound, but I was totally sold on what they did with it here - rather than feeling sterilized, it genuinely feels more fleshed out, and what it lacks in flashiness, it makes up for with an immersive, moody atmosphere that’s as compelling as it is brooding. As much as I appreciated the feedback-driven sound of Psychocandy (especially on tracks like Just Like Honey - still probably their best song), I never really found myself missing it here. This album really succeeds in establishing its own identity while retaining every ounce of pop sensibility and edgy, “cool factor” as its predecessor. No track ever feels out of place or unwelcome, though I have to point to Darklands, Happy When It Rains, and April Skies as highlights and probably among the best of JAMC’s catalog.
I’ve listened to this probably 10+ times now, and I don’t see myself stopping anytime soon. The vibe here is unlike anything I’ve heard anywhere else and manages to keep hitting harder and harder as I continue to listen. I’m not going to endorse any kind of substance abuse here, but if you’re going to do it anyway, this is the exact kind of thing to put on once you’ve found the perfect buzz - whatever your vice of choice may be.
Dolly Parton
3/5
3
Dolly Parton is genuinely someone I respect the hell out of and admire as both a person and musician, but as far as listening to her actual music goes - meh. This album is fine, and Dolly has an iconic voice and all, but it doesn’t do much to really stand apart from a lot of other country albums from this era, at least for me - though, there’s admittedly a touch of charisma to Dolly’s music that puts her above some of her peers.
Things start strongly enough with Coat of Many Colors and Traveling Man, both of which have a strong sense of storytelling to them and even a bit of humor with the latter in particular, but I feel like songs start running together very quickly after that. The only track that really stood out to me as remarkably enjoyable after the first two was Early Morning Breeze, which I think largely benefits from Dolly’s delicate vocals, though I will give a dishonorable mention to Mystery of the Mystery for its redundantly dumb name and chorus. However, one song I do want to give a special shoutout to is the closer, A Better Place to Live. While I wouldn’t call it an outright favorite, I do love its messaging, and perhaps more importantly, the reminder it serves as to Dolly is truly being one of the most accepting and loving people in a musical genre notoriously tied with bigots. Though I didn’t love this album as a whole, I think the world would be a much better place if modern country music sounded more like this and less like Try This in a Small Town.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
3
Jesus Christ, how many CCR albums do we need on this list? I don’t mind the group, but is this album really doing anything the others haven’t already? It’s the exact brand of swampy, blues rock we’ve heard twice before now that, once again, consists of a hit that I enjoy (Born on the Bayou), a hit that I find overrated (Proud Mary), an overly long jam track, and a bunch of other stuff that’s alright, but mostly forgettable. Also, how many covers of Good Golly Miss Molly do we really need?
I’ll give CCR this - they’re probably among the most consistent bands out there. Every single one of their albums that I’ve heard seems to net out to the same level of quality, to the point that I really couldn’t point to any one that I like or dislike more than any other. Unfortunately, that level of quality is just “decent” for me, and while I do genuinely enjoy John Fogerty’s voice, I’d be lying if I said I thought it resulted in any kind of all-time great music. Well, maybe Fortunate Son - where the hell is that album at? On second thought, no, I think I’ve had my fill for the time being. No, John, I will not keep on chooglin’. I have no idea what you’re referring to, but I really don’t want to know, man.
I know this list doesn’t include Greatest Hits albums, and I totally understand why that is, but for me, CCR feels like the kind of band whose Greatest Hits is all you really need.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
3/5
3.5
Lowkey incel music about not getting girls coming from a dude who looks just like Buddy Holly - this is basically Weezer if they took themselves too seriously. I say that as a huge Weezer fan though, and while I’m not proud to admit it, I quite enjoyed this album as well. I don’t know what that says about me, but this is far and away the best of this guy’s stuff I’ve heard. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still not something I feel overly strongly about, but it’s definitely a pleasant surprise after our past couple outings with the guy. There isn’t any one song here I fell in love with or found myself immediately saving, but I did find pretty much all of them to at least be enjoyable - or even borderline danceable in some cases. While I’m familiar with and historically have not been the biggest fan of Pump It Up or Radio, Radio, hearing them within the context of this album actually helped me appreciate them a bit more. However, if you ask me, they’re far from the best of what this album has to offer - No Action, This Year’s Girl, (I Don’t Want to Go to) Chelsea, and You Belong to Me were probably my favorites and all songs that I think deserve a bit more attention among Elvis’ catalog. Though, you really can’t go wrong with anything here.
That all to say, as solid as this album is, it’s more of a solidly good than a solidly great - I’m not walking away as any sort of born again Elvis Costello fan, but I will give him credit for putting out something I enjoyed. While I still have quite a bit of his catalog to check out, I feel confident in saying this is probably the dude’s finest hour.
Primal Scream
3/5
It seems that Primal Scream got a little experimental after achieving success with their more dance club-leaning sound and… I’m kind of here for it. It doesn’t always work, and as a result, it hits lows that feel much much lower than anything heard on Screamadelica (seriously, wtf was Stuka and Motorhead?), but when it does, it hits what feels like career highs. In particular, Burning Wheel, Kowalski, Star, and Medication were all favorites of mine and tracks that I would consider among the best that I’ve heard from the group (which is admittedly only this and Screamadelica).
Overall, I would say the highs outweigh the lows here. Some of the stuff definitely reminds me of electronic stuff I’ve rated poorly in the past, but for the most part, I found this to be a well-paced album and somewhat of a vibe - though, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for a little more British wankery and ruffianism given that there’s a song here written for Trainspotting.
Bob Dylan
2/5
2.5
It never really occurred to me until listening to this album that I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything from Dylan released past like 1975 - and it doesn’t really feel like I was missing much. It seems that he made a transition from folk to blues with this album, and I don’t hate it, but the production is awful. I think its rough exterior was done intentionally to give more of a raw, live feeling to the album, and perhaps as a nod to some of his musical heroes from long ago, but compared to a lot of actual live albums (or even some of Dylan’s earlier work), I was just not feeling a strong emotional connection to this. As someone who has always had kind of a soft spot for Dylan’s nasally voice, it feels significantly degraded here, borderline Tom Waits-y. Maybe that’s supposed to encapsulate the spirit of the album given that it deals a lot with aging and death topically, but I don’t think that it automatically translates to listenability. On that note, people treat this album like it’s Dylan’s swan song, but the dude has released ten albums since. In fact, he’s actually playing the Hollywood Bowl tonight.
I will give credit to Make You Feel My Love as a bright spot - in my opinion, it’s by far the best song here, and the only one that reminded me of the charm I feel with a lot of Dylan’s older stuff. Though, conversely, Highlands was a slog - Desolation Row the song is not.
Not bad, but mostly unmemorable - I don’t see this being anyone’s favorite Bob Dylan album. I had a bit of a laugh seeing that this won Album of the Year at the Grammys in 1998 - because of course it did. For as much shit as I talk about Radiohead, I think I would have opted for OK Computer over this myself.
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
3
TIL Grace Slick is not the lead vocalist of Jefferson Airplane… and what the hell were they thinking? I’m pretty sure her vocals are the only thing that saves the group from sounding like just another slice of late ‘60s psychedelic rock. Like, Somebody to Love and White Rabbit are the two best tracks here, and it’s not even close - and judging by their Spotify play counts, most people seem to agree with me in that regard. Imagine listening to Led Zeppelin III, and coming off the heels of Immigrant Song, they were like, “Alright, we’ll let John Paul Jones sing the rest”. Her voice is so captivating and enchanting that it really makes the rest of the album feel like a letdown in comparison. I guess Jefferson Airplane is just one of those bands where one member clearly outshines the rest - too bad we never got a solo career out of her.
But yeah, the bulk of this album is just fine. There was never a point where I was like “Wow, this song sucks”, but after Somebody to Love, I did feel like I was just spending my listening waiting for White Rabbit to come on. The most remarkable thing I can say about any of the songs in the middle is that they have unique names. D.C.B.A.-25? No idea what that means. ⅗ of a Mile in 10 seconds? So what, 216 mph? Did I have to do that math? No, but it was more entertaining than the song - this album is so incredibly fortunate to have Somebody to Love and White Rabbit to bail it out of pure mediocrity. Both are great, but I have to say White Rabbit may be the definitive ‘60s psychedelic rock track for me - it actually feels like you’re tripping on LSD just listening to it, and I love the allusions to Alice in Wonderland (it’s also responsible for that iconic moment in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas).
On a tangential note, I have to call out the guy in the bottom right of this album cover. No idea who he is, but I get a chuckle looking at him every time I see this cover pop up. Like, the guy is mugging the camera like he’s Clint Eastwood or something while rocking the goofiest-ass ‘60s bowl cut I’ve ever seen and holding a banjo. Idk, maybe it’s just a me thing, but it’s always provided me with a bit of light humor.
Tim Buckley
3/5
3
Way more accessible than our last outing with Buckley Sr., but just as horny - if not moreso. Like, I’m pretty sure every song here boils down to sex - the dude was still clearly stuck in the Summer of Love three years later, but fortunately, it seems that his music improved quite a bit in that time. I guess I’m in the minority with that opinion though, as a lot of people consider this Tim’s sellout album, but personally, I find it so much more listenable and enjoyable (and much less pretentious) than Happy Sad. Plus, it just flows nicer and feels much better paced. It’s also nothing that I loved by any means, but there’s definitely a mildly infectious groove to it.
While there isn’t any one song in particular that I would say I enjoyed, there definitely weren’t any that I would say I disliked. There’s somewhat of a distinctness to each, yet they all seemed to have the same general level of quality to them. In doing some reading on the album, I saw some people refer to it as sexist and racist, but I really didn’t pick up on that. I was bracing myself for Hong Kong Bar in particular knowing that, but there’s no sort of reference to race at all in the song, at least that I heard - sounds like dude’s just longing for a past lover while drinking at a Hong Kong bar. Think we’ve all been there. As for sexist, I mean, yeah, this album is very sexualized, but nothing here really stood out to me as particularly degrading towards women - hell, dude’s even offering them the top.
More enjoyable than not, but also not particularly remarkable or memorable. Still looking forward to hearing some Jeff!
The xx
2/5
2.5
As someone who quite enjoyed this group’s debut, I was kind of disappointed with this one. I don’t know exactly why that is - it doesn’t sound drastically different - but it does seem to lack the same sense of subtle, moody charm. I don’t know if “poppy” is the right word I’d use to describe it, but it definitely feels showier in a sense that I don’t think does the band’s style of music any favors. You can tell they’re still going for the same kind of ambience, but something about the production really prevented me from being able to grab onto anything here. Or maybe the songwriting is just worse? Idk. It also felt incredibly pretentious - which, looking back, was probably always the case with this group, and this is probably my Keyser Soze moment, but it definitely spoke louder to me here. Really hoping that this doesn’t taint my view of the band as a whole because there are still a few songs of theirs that I enjoy and have saved on Spotify.
Ultimately, this isn’t a bad album, but I don’t feel like I’m walking away with anything gained. Probably the musical equivalent of a glass of water. Better than being dehydrated, but a beer sounds a lot better.
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
5
I’ve talked about blending politics with music before with artists that I appreciate, such as Dead Kennedys, Public Enemy, and hell, even those one dudes from The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, but come on, is there any one artist that has ever done it better than Rage? (If your answer to that question is Ted Nugent, Kid Rock, or Tom MacDonald, I suggest you don’t read any further… and perhaps question your life choices).
I mean, come on, it’s all right there in the name - these guys came out of the gates swinging, pissed off, and not afraid of dropping names and receipts. And what an album cover - a photograph of Vietnamese monk Thích Quảng Đức burning himself alive as a form of protest against the government oppression of Buddhists - it’s a chilling image, but man, does it capture the spirit of both this album and group perfectly.
As for the individual songs, everything here is fantastic and so effective in what it sets out to say. The opening bass lick of Bombtrack is nothing short of iconic and such a great way to kick things off, in terms of both this album and their live shows (I was lucky enough to have seen one of the like ten they did in 2022). That track segues into what’s probably the group’s best known tune, and for good reason. Calling the police force out as racist is a powerful reminder to question any and all authority and something I can only imagine was bold in 1992. I know this was coming off the heels of the Rodney King beating, but in many ways, the song also feels ahead of its time given modern events - which is truly a sad statement to make. One can only hope the aftermath we’re seeing from the recent George Floyd protests and subsequent increased political involvement from the younger generation puts us on a path of reform.
Anyway, there’s a lot more I could probably say about each of the songs here, but I’ll keep it at shoutouts to my favorites, including Bullet in the Head, which has a great message about American propagandization and probably the best closing to any song here, and Wake Up, which serves as a call to anyone who doesn’t believe our country’s long (and continuing) history of racism at a governmental level - wake up!
I truly think Rage is one of those groups where there was truly nothing like them before they showed up on the scene, and honestly, nothing like them since. While I don’t think a lot of rap metal has really held up over the years, something about Rage’s music feels just as cool as it did 30 years ago. No one can rap quite like Zach, no one can shred guitar quite like Tom, and no one can deliver a message quite like the four combined. Once again, I cannot overstate just how sad it is how well this album still holds up all these years later, but I can only hope the music continues to inspire many generations ahead to continue the fight against injustice (no, not you, Paul Ryan).
Finally, if you’re reading this before November of 2024, please go out and vote.
Gorillaz
3/5
3.5
I’ve never been a big Gorillaz guy, though I’ve always found the concept pretty cool - a fictional, cartoon band that performs songs composed by Blur’s Damon Albarn and just about any other British musical icon he can get ahold of? It’s unique, fun in concept, and also the only reason Americans probably recognize the name Damon Albarn aside from being the dude who did the “woo-hoo” song from the 90s. But, in execution, something about this “group” always felt kind of underwhelming to me. Like, Feel Good Inc.? Not feeling it.
However, this album was a pleasant surprise for me. I didn’t realize that Gorillaz border more on the edge of hip hop territory than they do alternative rock, and something about that combined with the overall lo-fi, chill ambience of this album really worked for me. I’ve heard the song Clint Eastwood a few times before (shoutout to my sibling, Ashten) and was never a big fan, but it worked for me a lot more hearing it within the context of this album. I also didn’t realize until now that that’s Del the Funky Homosapien rapping on it - the dude has one of my favorite songs from Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (If You Must), so I think learning that’s him helped me appreciate the track a bit more.
Overall, I thought just about everything here was enjoyable, but I do feel like it started to lose me a bit towards the end. I believe M1 A1 is supposed to be the proper closing track to the album, and it’s a pretty solid one at that, but I felt myself slowly losing interest somewhere in the stretch of Latin Simone to Slow Country. And while I won’t factor them into my review, the bonus tracks after did nothing for me, with the remix of Clint Eastwood being something I found borderline egregious.
Still, solid album with a good vibe to it, and I don’t have anything negative to point to except for maybe the opening vocals on Sound Check (Gravity) - let’s not try that falsetto thing again, Damon. I’ll give a final shoutout again to Ashten for good taste, and I’ll throw one to my dad as well for his Gorillaz gym shirt I think he acquired/may have stolen from them - will definitely have to dive more into this project’s back catalog.
Blondie
3/5
3.5
I enjoyed this album, but this is definitely one of those situations where the hits largely outweigh everything else. While Blondie’s best tune isn’t here (Call Me), it does have One Way or Another, Heart of Glass, and Hanging on the Telephone, all of which are also great songs, but the rest of this album just doesn’t come anywhere close. There’s nothing here that’s bad, and I even thought each song had a bit of unique sound to it, but despite that, there wasn’t really anything that stuck with me outside of the hits, all of which I was familiar with going in. I can’t help but wonder if the reason this album is as iconic as it is is because it came from an era where if you just wanted to hear two songs by an artist, you still had to buy the whole damn album.
So, for the most part, I would say there’s nothing here that really did much to expand my appreciation of Blondie, but I had a moment with I’m Gonna Love You Too that sort of did in a weird, roundabout way. The first thing I thought of when I heard it was Rudie Can’t Fail by The Clash, which, in my opinion, has a similar melody to its verses. Given the group’s punk roots, I thought it may have been some kind of nod, so I was surprised to see the song actually came out a year before Rudie Can’t Fail. Learning that kind of helped me put into perspective how ahead of their time Blondie truly was - this album would not feel out of place at all being released at probably any point during the 1980s. You can really hear how the group laid the framework for the new wave sound that would shape the decade ahead, and this was at a time conventional classic rock artists were still putting out major records and punk was in full swing.
That all to say, while ahead of its time, I do wish the band hadn’t totally abandoned their roots with this album - I’m definitely biased as a punk fan, but I think the end result is maybe just a touch too poppy for my tastes. But then again, this was a major commercial success for the group, so I’m sure they succeeded in what they set out to accomplish.
The Stone Roses
4/5
4.5
How appropriate, on the long-awaited day that the Gallagher brothers put aside their differences in the name of reunion $ to get Oasis back together, we’re given probably the second-best Britpop band that the country has ever offered us. Granted, I know these guys are pretty infamous for their so-called sophomore slump follow-up, but I think they still deserve that title based on this album alone.
This is actually an album I’ve been familiar with for some time now and even owned a copy of on CD back in high school, and to this day, I Wanna Be Adored and She Bangs the Drums are two of my favorite songs of all-time. Of course, there are plenty of other great songs here as well, with Waterfall, Made of Stone, and Elephant Stone being three other favorites as well - though, the latter didn’t seem to be included on the version of the album that’s on Spotify? It was definitely on my CD copy, so maybe it was some kind of bonus track just for the Yankee release. All that to say, if you enjoyed this album, I recommend giving that song a listen.
What ultimately holds this back from being a 5 for me though is how frontloaded it is - of all five songs I’ve mentioned, four are (or at least were) in the first half. While I do like every song here, something about Sugar Spun Sister, Shoot You Down, and This is the One just don’t hit as hard for me. I Am the Resurrection is at least a solid track and should have been the grand finale to the album, but unfortunately, you have to sit through nearly ten minutes of Fools Gold from there. It’s not a bad song, but it is about six minutes too long and has no business being the closer to the album. Like Elephant Stone, I think it’s actually an included bonus track for certain regional releases, but either way, they could and should have placed it literally anywhere else in the tracklist before shipping it to us Americans.
I teetered back and forth between a 4 and 4.5 on this one, but in the spirit of Britpop and what will soon likely become a public holiday in Britland (or at least in my home), we’ll aim higher on this one. This album is a total vibe, and there are so many songs here that just make me want to stand up and feel the music while I’m listening.
Anyway, I’m off to try and score some Oasis tickets.
Tom Waits
2/5
2
New decade, same, gruff Tom Waits sound - though, this time around he lifted the name of his album from a Pixies song. Unfortunately, nothing here sounds anywhere near as good as anything you can find on Surfer Rosa. At this point it seems pretty safe to say that this is a dude whose music you either love or hate, and I’m someone who lands in the camp of the latter. I just don’t get - it just feels like a sound collage of banging noise while a dude struggles to sing over it.
That to say, I actually don’t think I disliked this one quite as much as his past albums. Maybe I’m just accustomed to his sound at this point, but mixed in all of the chaos, I actually feel like there are some enjoyable moments to be had. In particular, I was somewhat a fan of Goin’ Out West, which has some cool, raw guitar work on it, and I Don’t Wanna Grow Up, which feels like the only conventionally structured song here. Though, my appreciation for the latter likely stems from the later Ramones cover, a song I’m very familiar with (and prefer), so do with that what you will. Those two songs also probably stood out to me the most because I’m pretty sure they’re the only two that have any sort of guitar on them - everything else is either a piano tune at best or straight percussion at worst.
Once again, no idea what would compel somebody to put this on, and I can’t even imagine the kinds of looks you would get if you did so after being handed the aux, but I am scoring a half point higher than previous outings with the guy, so maybe I’m learning to appreciate?
Slipknot
2/5
2
I’ve never claimed to be the biggest metal fan, but there are definitely certain artists and albums of the genre that I appreciate. Hell, there’s even a song or two by Slipknot that I appreciate - but boy, this album was a lot for me, and I say that as someone who regularly attends punk shows.
Usually I hate when someone critiques an album as “all sounding the same” because, in my opinion, it’s lazy, and generally just means you’re not really giving it an honest listen, but I’ve listened to this thing three times and still couldn’t identify one song from another. Even the names all kind of blend together - I genuinely have no idea what drove 450 million Spotify users to the track Wait and Bleed and only 17 million to Me Inside. What’s really the difference?
Anyway, that all to say, going with a 2 on this one because I genuinely don’t think it’s bad. I can definitely see how a bigger metalhead would appreciate this, and there are even certain aspects I was able to appreciate - for example, the drumming on this is really solid. Hell, if I’m being honest, I probably wouldn’t mind hearing a song off this album mixed in the musical queue, but 50 straight minutes is just too much - and this is an album that’s apparently supposed to be closer to 60. I guess two songs were removed for copyright infringement issues(?), so I went out of my way to give them a listen on YouTube. And… it turns out they’re the best two on the album. Not by a particularly sizable margin, nor are they drastically different (surprise, surprise), but if I had to pick favorites, it would probably be those two.
The Magnetic Fields
3/5
3
Well, this album certainly delivers what it promises in the title. Fortunately, I quite enjoyed its sound - or sounds, I should probably say. There’s a lot of unique, clever, and diverse songwriting going on that seems to touch upon a multitude of genres, yet all are interconnected under the common theme of love and share a distinct sort of indie flair. I also really dug the dude’s voice as well - its deepness pairs nicely with the songs, and while a touch imperfect, I thought that added to the overall indie charm of the album. Though, the other featured singers were definitely welcome additions that helped keep things fresh.
However, no matter how you want to slice this album, it is 69 songs in 3 hours. I don’t care who you are, that kind of quantity quickly turns even the most enjoyable records into chores. I don’t know if they were just going for 69 because of the meme, but there’s absolutely no reason this couldn’t have been condensed down into like an hour-long album. There are some genuinely good songs here, but there’s also a lot of filler, and of that, there’s a lot that just kind of feel like half-baked ideas. Those, combined with the runtime, really seems to weaken the experience as a whole, which is a shame because I really feel like there is potential for greatness here buried somewhere. I respect the ambition, but imo albums shouldn’t be padded just because you have some extra material lying around - I mean, not even The Beatles could pull off a full double album without having to add a lot of BS. Quality over quantity always.
I don’t have the time or energy to dive into the individual songs here, so instead, I’ll just list out my favorites:
All My Little Words
The Book of Love (better than Peter Gabriel’s cover)
When My Boy Walks Down the Street
Papa Was a Rodeo (great country tune)
Yeah! Oh, Yeah!
Mike Ladd
2/5
2.5
I saw this album had a lot of negative reviews, so I was expecting it to be bad - but it’s fine? I mean, it’s certainly not great either, but it’s at least mostly inoffensive on the ears. Some of the beats are actually pretty solid in an ambient sort of way (I liked the opener in particular), though I do feel like they gradually get worse as the album goes on, to the point that I was a little annoyed by the time Red Eye to Jupiter rolled around. As far as lyrics go - well, they leave a lot to be desired. I have no idea what this dude was on about with The Animist when he started listing out what his names would be if he followed different religions, but the worst bar by far has to be the below from No.1 St:
“When I shave my head I look like Mr. Clean
But I never had an earring, I got an Oedipus complex
Which is as complex as a Serbian-Bosnian war rear reflex
Which is like a race of whites and blacks
Breaking love on a bit of bloody Rice Chex”
What?
As a matter of fact, I really have no idea what this is about as a whole. It seems to be doing some kind of sci-fi/post-apocalyptic thing, but it never quite feels like it fully commits to the bit. Is this supposed to be a concept album? Maybe some symbolism is just going over my head, but to me it seems like it’s lacking a sense of direction. It’s almost there atmosphere-wise, but once again, it just didn’t do quite enough with the tools it had at its disposal to really suck me in. There was also no reason this needed a 10-minute track on it.
Overall, just vanilla. Aside from the lyrics, it seems to do everything okay and nothing great.
Dolly Parton
2/5
2.5
This being a sort of supergroup composed of probably the three most iconic women of country music, I was expecting a lot more out of this album. Not that I’ve ever claimed to be the biggest fan of any of the three prior (sorry, all icons for sure, just not my thing), but I don’t feel like I’m hearing the best any of them have to offer here. Rather than building each other up, it feels more like a dilution of each’s sound, to a point of genericness. Don’t get me wrong, vocally this is fantastic, but songwriting-wise, there really isn’t anything here that stuck out to me or felt like anything I haven’t heard before - from albums released years before this one no less.
What should feel like a clash of titans ultimately doesn’t feel like anything special - which is really kind of a bummer. Supergroups are a really fun concept, so I kind of wish they had leaned a bit more into the fun factor instead of focusing so deeply on ballads.
I will say, the most enjoyable part of this album for me is the album cover. I mean absolutely no disrespect by this - all three are gorgeous women (even still today) - but the 80s were not kind upon them. Though, was it really kind upon anyone?
ZZ Top
3/5
3
Very mid classic rock album, but I’ll go with the higher side of “okay” just because of La Grange. Great rock track - everything else here is whatever. I will say, I thought ZZ Top was more of a hard rock band, but this was actually a lot more of a Southern, bluesy rock kind of thing - though, I don’t really feel like I gained anything with that insight. I’ve never been much of a fan of the group to begin with, and this didn’t do anything to change that. Hell, I may have actually liked this a bit more if it was heavier, as I thought a lot of what I heard here was kind of dull.
Outside of La Grange, the only highlight for me here was Jesus Just Left Chicago, but for primarily one reason - it sounds just like Ride On by AC/DC. Like, to the point that I think those boys from down under have some explaining to do. Fortunately for ZZ, Ride On does happen to fall in my upper tier of AC/DC songs (it’s Bon’s one career moment of vulnerability, and it’s beautiful), so I kind of enjoyed this one as well - though I think it lacks the edge or personality of AC/DC’s. Which, honestly, leads me to my major critique of this album and really ZZ Top as a whole - they just don’t seem to have any sort of distinctness or personality to their music that sets them apart from other classic rock artists of the era, at least for me. Like, when I think of ZZ Top, I think of one of those bands whose record you bought from the bargain bin at the record store just because of the name and then never ended up playing.
Still, it’s not bad, and it has La Grange on it, so it’s getting a 3 - or “tres calificación” if you will.
On a related note, speaking of recognizing the group’s name, ironically, I had two Mandela Effects that came up while I was listening to this album. Firstly, I apparently have always thought that the band’s name has two “P”s in it, to the point where I started off writing this review with a few instances of “ZZ Topp”. I have no idea why I thought that, but then it happened again when I learned the drummer is, in fact, not the lead singer of the band, which is another falsity I seemed to have had roaming about in the very back of my mind for most of my lifetime. I don’t know if someone was feeding me ZZ Top misinformation as a kid or if I just made a couple very random, inconsequential assumptions at some point, but if nothing else, I guess I’m thankful this album made the list for at least setting me straight on those two things.
Slayer
4/5
4
Before I even started listening to this album, one of the first things that stood out to me was its length. Like, I knew these guys were on the thrashier side of metal, but 10 songs in 28 minutes is full-on punk runtime territory. Apparently, even the guys in the band were kind of surprised when they saw the final timing themselves and debated if they needed to add more. Well, thank God they did not, because while I thoroughly enjoyed this album, I thought the runtime was perfect - it’s the definition of short, sweet, explosive, and to the point, and I don’t think it needed a second more.
Right off the bat, Angel of Death immediately makes you want to bang your head, break things, and then jump in the sickest mosh pit you’ve ever seen in your life. It sets up the vibe and tone of this album perfectly, and I have even more love for it because of its later sampled usage in She Watch Channel Zero?! by Public Enemy. (Give the song a listen if you’re not already familiar - it’s one of PE’s best). From there, that addictingly angsty, aggressive feeling really never subsides until the album ends, in this case with Raining Blood, a song I’m well familiar with thanks to both Guitar Hero III and virtually every haunted house waiting line. The two are far and away the best tracks here (also the two longest), and I think they’re utilized perfectly as bookends to the album. That to say, while I was familiar with both going into this, I wouldn’t have considered myself their biggest fan, but I really think hearing them within the context of this album helped me appreciate them a lot more - and really Slayer as a whole as well.
I don’t really have a ton to say on any of the other songs in particular, but what they lack in remarkability is made up for tenfold with the energy they keep alive and permeate. In the future, I definitely see this as the kind of album where I’d be more inclined to listen to the full thing rather than individual songs, and with that, I gotta say, as someone who’s not normally much of a metalhead, I think I may now be a newfound Slayer fan. And it’s good timing as well, considering I’ll be seeing this group headlining at Riot Fest in like two weeks. Extra excited now! Pray for me in the pit, folks.
Queen Latifah
3/5
3
I’ve seen a lot of comments referring to this album as being dated, and while I could have probably guessed this is a product of the late 80s/early 90s myself if I didn’t know any better, I still thought the production was really solid. I mean, I know we don’t really hear hip hop beats quite like these ones anymore nor have we for some time now, but honestly, I think that’s kind of a shame given how catchy and groovy they are here - if anything, I’d be more likely to classify this album as classic instead of dated.
That to say, while I enjoyed most of what I heard here, there wasn’t much in particular that stood out to me. The opener Dance For Me is, in fact, quite danceable and probably the best track here, and then Mama Gave Birth to Soul Children is an enjoyable follow-up (especially given the De La Soul feature), but from there, things start really running together. The next track on the album that stood out to me in any significant way me was Ladies First, which is one of the catchier tunes here and a solid feminist anthem, but the track that really ended up speaking to me was actually Evil that Men Do, especially the bar:
“A woman strives for a better life, but who the hell cares?
Because she's living on welfare
The government can't come up with a decent housing plan
So she's in no man's land
It's a sucker who tells you you're equal”
Preach!
But yeah, as a whole, this was good, but I think it could have been better with a bit more diversity in the beats and songwriting. It’s still a fun, groovy vibe for sure, but it doesn’t really create a super memorable listen, and as a result, this album dragged just a touch and felt a bit longer than its 50 minute runtime would suggest.
I will say, I was kind of surprised to see how few plays this has on Spotify given that Queen Latifah is like a household name. These days maybe she’s just more known for her acting career? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Marilyn Manson
3/5
3
Hoo boy, where to start with this guy. Controversial figure for sure (and for good reason), but I’ve gotta say, someone who I feel like 100% deserves to be on this list based on cultural impact alone. The dude is like the musical boogeyman, haunting parents and playgrounds alike with music alleged to damn one’s soul to hell for just listening - or at least that’s how I remember him growing up as young music fan myself, as if physical copies were some kind of occult totem not to be fucked with, held by the kinds of kids you were a little scared of but made friends with anyway just in the off chance they decide to shoot up the school. Nowadays, as someone who grew into a matured, informed music fan and not a God-fearing Christian conservative, I understand it’s mostly shock value. And for largely that reason, I find Marilyn Manson’s music mostly whatever - there are definitely a couple good songs to his name (The Beautiful People has been a part of my heavier playlists for some time now), but his schtick mostly just feels edge-lordy now, to the point where I probably would have found this album more cringe if it weren’t for its genuinely solid sense of musicianship and production. As I just learned in reviewing this now, much of that is thanks to Trent Reznor - I never realized the two had a working relationship, but his influence here is super noticeable once you’re aware of it, to the point that this almost kind of sounds like The Downward Spiral Part 2, down to this even being a concept album itself.
Unfortunately, I don’t think this works quite as well as The Downward Spiral. In my opinion, TDS works because it connects a lot of themes through diversity in songwriting and unity in messaging, and while this album starts strongly - to the point where I was almost considering giving a 4 early on - it ends pretty weakly with what feels like a lot of screaming, noise, and static. I get that that’s probably a deliberate choice being that I’m pretty sure the titular Antichrist Superstar is destroying the world at this point in the album’s loose narrative, but I still don’t think it results in a particularly enjoyable or listenable conclusion. It also makes this album feel overly long, to the point where I was ready for this to start wrapping up shortly after Kinderfeld.
The first handful of tracks are excellent (especially Tourniquet, my pleasant surprise here), but the rest of this is pretty skip-worthy. And that’s not to mention the slurs that are dropped all over this thing - once again, I get that’s probably the point, both from a shock value and narrative sense, but I still didn’t find it necessary, and I don’t think it will help this album age well (amongst a variety of other reasons). That to say, I still think this deserves a spot on the list for cultural impact alone, but this definitely isn’t becoming part of my musical rotation anytime soon.
Also, music aside, f this dude for his sexual crimes.
Ian Dury
2/5
2
Yeah, I don’t what the fuck this was. In some ways, it kind of reminded me of a British version of the Chuck E. Cheese house band (if they even have those - they probably have some dumb name like Oliver Cheesewell’s or something over there), but also, if all the fun, furry mascots were giant perverts. Keep your kids away from that place.
I digress, no idea what this was, but I didn’t find it very listenable. I guess some consider it to be a punk album given the time and place it was made (London, 1977) and due to some of its “colorful” lyrics, but I don’t really hear that, musically or spiritually. It doesn’t really seem to stand for or against anything in particular, but then again, I really have no idea what genre I would refer to this as instead.
There are few heavier tracks towards the end I think one could argue as bordering on punk territory, but regardless, while they’re definitely better than everything before them, they’re more tolerable than they are enjoyable. The best song here far and away is Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, but I guess it’s a bonus track that was included on reissues, so I can’t really count it. It also kind of reminds me of another song I can’t quite pinpoint - maybe Fame by David Bowie?
Ultimately, calling this one was a miss for me - no idea how or why it made this list. Rating leniently for being mostly inoffensive and short, but would rather listen to Ian Rubbish and the Bizzaros instead.
Traffic
1/5
1
Solid musicianship, but my God is this boring. Who’s responsible for this??
…
Of course it’s Steve Winwood.
I know I’ve voiced this opinion here before (and it’s probably a pretentious opinion at that), but no matter how technically proficient your music might be, if it has no sort of personality to it, it’s not going to pull me in. Give me something to grab onto, relate to, and just really feel in my soul - what am I supposed to feel with this? “Wow, nice arpeggio”? “Whoa, that V7b9#9#11b13 chord”? Even Winwood’s singing here sound like Stock Soft Rock Vocals #57.
I know there’s a place in music for this, and I know it has its fans, but it’s just not for me. Give me something that feels more like it's driven by emotion than it does science.
Slint
4/5
4
Coming off the heels of Traffic’s technical but soulless John Barleycorn Must Die, I feel like we couldn’t have gone further in the opposite direction, this being an album highly imperfect in sound and production but expressive and personal to a point of uncomfortability. To state the obvious, this is a DARK album, and it was the last from the group before the singer’s mental breakdown - though you probably could have guessed that as well just by listening.
As an emo and late 80s/early 90s alternative rock enthusiast, this album has been recommended to me a few times, and each time I listened to it, I didn’t get it. Like, it’s just a dude mumbling over a bunch of loud, barely in-tune guitar and bass notes? What am I looking for here exactly? It’s the kind of thing that reminds me music nerds are some of the most pretentious out there.
And yet, I’ve learned that I’m among those pretentious music nerds. Bear with me, but this album grew on me significantly in the four times I listened to it here - and I’m still not entirely sure why. In some ways, I think it’s how personal it feels - though the lyrics are often times vague (if you can even make them out), something about Brian McMahan’s delivery matches the soft/loud musical dynamics perfectly, giving off this anxious, depressing feeling that I’ve never really encountered anywhere else, and the more you immerse yourself into it, the more compelling it seems to become. There’s so much subtlety and nuance bubbling below the surface that I understand why it would take someone multiple listens to appreciate it - it certainly did for me.
Ultimately, I don't think there’s much I could say here to do the album justice, it’s just one of those things you just have to listen to to understand. It’s certainly one of the most unique things I’ve heard, and while probably not the kind of thing I see myself coming back to regularly, I can only imagine how hard it would hit on a dark, lonely night. At the end of the day, I think there’s a little bit of Spiderland in us all, it’s just whether we choose to embrace that or not.
Want to end this review with a shoutout to Steve Albini. Even though this album only sold a few thousand copies when it originally released and was immediately forgotten about, the guy is quoted as having said, “In 10 years it will be a landmark and you'll have to scramble to buy a copy then.” Slint certainly isn’t a household name, but I think its inclusion on this list (and its #29 all-time spot on rateyourmusic.com) speaks for itself.
Joanna Newsom
1/5
1.5
I really try to be mindful and open to new music that’s very much outside of my normal wheelhouse… but Jesus, what was this? Yoko Ono presents Snow White? As someone who has never been to a ren faire before, this may have single-handedly convinced me to keep it that way.
Ok, this album admittedly has a lot of lush instrumentation to it and is produced incredibly well. Hell, if it was an instrumental album, I actually may have mildly enjoyed it (how often do you hear me say that?) - but holy cow, I find Joanna’s vocals unbearable. Look, I’m normally one of the first pretentious a-holes to praise unconventional vocalists - I genuinely think there’s a unique sense of beauty and identity in imperfection - but my God, this made me want to pour bleach down my ears. Before anyone writes me off as having not given this a proper chance, I listened to this four times, each time dreading the next listen more than last.
I’ll give credit to this album for certainly being a unique release for 2006 and for the sense of tranquilness to its instrumentation, but it ain’t for me - feels more like a thing for theatre kids. Or Andy Samberg I guess.
Björk
2/5
2.5
There’s a lot of really cool instrumentation and production going on with this album, but for the most part, this just didn’t really speak to me. In fact, I found myself growing bored during my listen, which is apparently sacrilege given what people have to say about this album online - I’ve seen people describe it as having moved them to tears, redefined love, changed what music could be, and hell, it’s even the 20th highest rated album on rateyourmusic.com. Sorry, just not getting it. I mean, I can definitely see what would draw people to it and can acknowledge there’s quite a bit of musical ambition to be found here, but it’s not really imparting much upon me other than a passing “Neat.” Part of me wonders if I’m just listening in the wrong season - the wintery vibes here are very strong. For an album mostly about love and sex, I felt more prompted to go out and make a snowman.
I digress, not overly impressed, but willing to acknowledge that’s probably just a me thing.
David Ackles
1/5
1.5
Lmao my first reaction to seeing this album pop up was trying to figure out if the woman on the cover is one-legged or if she has her leg crossed, and the second-highest review on this site answered that question for me. Shoutout to that person.
Anyway, never heard of this dude, but it seems that he was going for some kind of Norman Rockwell-esque depiction of America with this in the form of what sounds like a musical penned by Billy Joel and sung by Frank Sinatra - and it’s awful. Like, Ballad of the Ship of State may be up there with the worst things I’ve ever heard. And yet, for as cheesy and overdramatic as the whole thing is, it still manages to come off as generally uninteresting - it’s almost like a Hallmark film, but without any of the goofy charm. I found myself sick of this one pretty quickly, so ending with a ten-minute number about Montana felt like a giant f-you.
I guess this dude is considered one of the greats who just never found his audience, but I’m just really not sure who his audience would be. For the most part, he just sounds like a lesser version of better artists from this era - if you’re someone who is more into musicals, maybe this would be up your alley. I’ll end this with a fun fact - this guy was apparently the opener for Elton John at his famous American live debut at the Troubadour in West Hollywood (great venue if you ever get a chance to go). That performance connected him with Bernie Taupin who would go on to produce this album, though, I’ve gotta say, knowing that has made me reconsider if Taupin was truly the secret weapon behind John’s music.
Welcome back to the list, Alex!
Prefab Sprout
3/5
3
You know, with the genre listed as “sophisti-pop”, I was kind of prepared to hate this, but it really wasn’t bad. It even starts with a fun, bouncy number in Faron Young that reminded me a bit of something that would come from my boys The Smiths, and while the rest of the album is very different from that first song, I really didn’t mind the change. I mean, yes, it’s mostly all slow, easy listening, ‘80s cheese from there, but as far as that kind of thing goes, I really feel like this was one of the better offerings.
For the most part, I found this album to be kind of a vibe, though admittedly, the front half is MUCH stronger than the first. The first four or five songs here in particular are a really solid series of tracks, whereas the back half didn’t have much I found remarkable. Though, if you really want to do yourself a favor, listen to some of the acoustic bonus tracks from the deluxe edition on Spotify. I honestly think the acoustic version of Appetite in particular was my favorite thing I heard across my whole listen, and probably the one song I’m most likely to save coming out of this. It’s got some great lyrics to it as well, though I couldn’t disagree more strongly with one in particular:
“Wishing she could call him ‘Heartache’
But it's not a boy's name”
Gotta say - guys may be able to hide that kind of thing better (or are just expected to be more guarded about it), but I’ve been around some pretty damn heartsick boys in my lifetime. Lord knows I’ve been one of them.
Really not the kind of thing I thought I would have liked at all, but I’m glad to have been exposed to it and proved wrong. While I don’t know if I’d call it any sort of all-time great, I’m not upset with its inclusion on this list.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
3.5
After a brutal stretch of albums, I can’t even begin to tell you how annoyed I was when I saw our 157th Neil Young album pop up, but this actually turned out to be a bit of a pleasant surprise. I don’t know if Mr. Young needs Crazy Horse behind him for me to find his music enjoyable or just more instrumentation in general to help mask his whiny, high-pitched, warbling voice, but I thought this was leagues better than his earlier solo stuff. The acoustic stuff worked for me, the transition to electric had me rocking, and the bookending of the two with My, My, Hey, Hey and Hey, Hey, My, My was the icing on the cake.
While I won’t claim to be the biggest fan of the aforementioned songs (Hell, I didn’t even realize the original recordings were live or that there were even two versions for that matter), they still hold somewhat of a special place in my heart. I have always loved the phrase “Out of the blue, into the black” - I don’t know if it originates here, but I most commonly associate it with Stephen King’s It, which credits the quote to Neil Young as a sort of introduction in its opening pages. As a big fan of both the novel and its movie adaptations (ironic as someone who hates clowns), the quote has always seemed to summarize the story perfectly to me. I also love the shoutout to Johnny Rotten (who most likely hates the song), especially being that the previous lyric “the king is gone but he’s not forgotten” seems to have foreshadowed his transition from punk royalty to right-wing nutjob. Finally, and probably most dearest to me, is the song’s connection to Kurt Cobain. Obviously that connection is an incredibly dark and tragic one, but it’s one that makes me feel commemorative for a once-in-a-lifetime musician that I hold near and dear to my heart, gone far too soon. One thing I actually learned in reading about this album is that Neil Young retired the song after Cobain’s death but was talked back into playing it by Krist and Dave themselves.
Anyway, I’m spending way too much of this talking about one (or I guess two) song(s), but maybe they are the cake for me here and the rest is the icing on the top. I know I’ve complained about this guy’s more folk-leaning stuff before, but something about the Horse With No Name-esque Mojave desert vibes to the acoustic stuff here helped sell it for me. Meanwhile, the electric stuff in the back half has this great, gritty rock energy to it, offering a nice counterbalance to the front. Supposedly the sound would even go on to become a major influence on grunge - my first instinct is to say that I don’t really hear it, but given the earlier Kurt Cobain connection I drew, maybe there’s more there than I realize.
Overall, a surprisingly solid album from Neil after quite a few stinkers. Think the dude is just better when he’s rocking out instead of trying to write piano ballads.
M.I.A.
2/5
2.5
I’m writing this review with intense COVID brain, so apologies for any incoherency.
Anyway, everyone knows Paper Planes is a certified classic, but I didn’t realize that M.I.A. had more to her credit than that. I guess this was a pretty critically acclaimed release though, with professional music critic/asshole Robert Christgau - a dude whose opinions seem to be on the Wikipedia page of quite possibly every album we’ve seen so far - even calling it the best album of the 21st century. Yeah, not hearing that.
I’ll certainly give the album credit for its unique beats, a lot which seem to have taken influence from the local music of various Eastern countries (African and South Asian especially), but the end result for me basically teeters back and forth between “decent” and “the most annoying thing I’ve ever heard in my life”. There’s definitely a certain charm to the music, especially as things kick off with Bamboo Banga, but it’s run pretty thin by somewhere around the time M.I.A. starts asking where you were in ‘92 (I was -5). Her take on Pixies with 20 Dollar is somewhat novel and something I have to touch upon as a fan, but it’s totally easy to miss - I didn’t even pick up on it until three or four listens in.
Fortunately, this thing is largely saved by Paper Planes. It’s an absolutely great pop track by all accounts, and while The Clash certainly deserve credit for it’s foundation, I can’t deny how great of a job M.I.A. did of building upon it (though Straight to Hell is also a certifiable banger). On paper, the gunshots and cash register sound effects feel like they should come off as corny, but the whole thing is so damn catchy that you can’t help but want to send your finger to the air in time with the bullets. Needless to say, far and away the highlight of the album, and its end placement almost feels genius in the sense that it gives you something to look forward to.
With one great song, a handful of decent ones, and quite a few stinkers, I think I’m going to land in the middle with my album rating here. I don’t know if she ever went on to do much after this, but I do know she torpedoed her career a bit with anti-vax rhetoric and a Donald Trump endorsement, so I’m not overly eager to check it out.
Antony and the Johnsons
2/5
2
I feel like this woman walked so Hozier could run. Anyway, much like Hozier’s music, this didn’t really speak to me at all. I suppose Anohni is a good singer and musician from an objective point of view, but her performance just feels soooooo overdramatic and saccharine to me. I get the impression that she’s probably the kind of person that takes herself and her art way too seriously, and that translates to me in the music, to the point where I’m kind of just annoyed listening to it.
The best parts of this album are far and away the guest features - Boy George, Rufus Wainwright (who I initially thought was Thom Yorke), and the man himself, Lou Reed. Each absolutely kills it on their respective song, but I gotta say, Lou Reed’s feature felt incredibly wasted. It’s a six-minute track and Lou was only given the first verse to sing? Who decided that? Not going to lie, it kind of killed the rest of the song for me.
Anyway, I definitely wouldn’t call this album bad, but it’s really not my kind of thing.
The Bees
3/5
3
Not bad, not great, and not particularly memorable. I’m pretty sure this is the kind of thing the kids call “acid jazz”, meaning, this is probably a lot more enjoyable on drugs. Unfortunately, the only drugs I’m on right now are DayQuil/NyQuil as I power my way through COVID, and I don’t think those offer quite the same experience.
Anyway, I thought this was fine. There’s a nice enough sound to everything here, and each song comes across as unique, but despite that, there’s just nothing that really stood out to me across my listenings. I don’t have a favorite or a least favorite, and ultimately, I just don’t think there’s anything about this album that would compel me to listen again.
It’s a decent time, but I see why I’ve never heard of The Bees. Cool album cover though.
Taylor Swift
3/5
3
Holy high school, Batman. For as big as this album was, it’s crazy to think that sitting here ten years later, she’s somehow even bigger. In fact, at this point, she’s probably the biggest musician to have ever walked this Earth. I was nowhere near a state of being alive during the height of Beatlemania, but I have to imagine Swiftiemania is comparable, if not bigger - though probably just as insufferable. I’m very much over the cult of Taylor (as as I’m sure many others are as well), but I’d be lying if I said I don’t have a respect for her because of it - for as much trash as the vocal minority likes to pile on, she admittedly built her empire largely on her own with self-written hit tunes and acclaimed, re-recorded albums, proving no part of her success was ever a fluke. While I don’t personally care for some of her more recent actions, I do think Taylor is responsible for making singer-songwriters into pop stars, and I think both pop music and the listening world owe so much to her for it - Lord knows I’d rather listen to this than the mainstream hits of the 00s. It may not be a fair comparison given that this album is still relatively recent in the grand scheme of things, but as the years continue to pass, I really think that it will hold up much better than pop albums from the decade before (I mean, the world is already turning on Katy Perry).
Anyway, 1989. I don’t claim to be a Swiftie or any sort of expert on Taylor’s music for that matter, but if memory serves correctly, this is the album that pretty much erased any notion of her as a country starlet and cemented her as a certified pop icon - and it’s a pretty damn good pop album at that. I wouldn’t have ever admitted that when this album dropped my Senior year of high school, but sitting here now, I can’t deny that the production is incredibly solid and the songs are catchy - in many ways, I could see this as having set the benchmark for pop albums in the years that followed, even into today. Granted, it’s still not likely the kind of thing you’re about to see my cranking on my own volition anytime soon, but the first few tracks in particular are all great, to the point I almost wish I had a wedding coming up just so I could get drunk and jump around to them. Style in particular is a song I recognize as having heard many times before, but I quite enjoyed it here - if I had to name a favorite TSwift song going forward, it would probably be that one.
That to say, there are definitely songs here that I remember hating hearing ten years ago, and I can confidently say my feelings haven't changed much on them now - chief among them being Bad Blood and Shake It Off. I’ve always found the latter to be particularly annoying, to the point where I would probably be fine never hearing it again in my life. Also, I can never help but cringe at the lyric:
“Just think, while you've been gettin' down and out about the liars
And the dirty, dirty cheats of the world
You could've been gettin' down to this sick beat”
I do think Taylor’s a good songwriter, but that line wasn’t it. Things do pick back up a bit after those two tracks, but you also start reaching a point where the production starts to blend together and Taylor’s whole “ex-girlfriend” schtick starts to wear a bit thin - though Clean at least is a solid conclusion. It has a nice variance to it musically from the rest of the album, and lyrically, it reminded me of one of my favorite album closers of all time, God of Wine by Third Eye Blind.
That all to say, this still really isn’t my kind of thing, but I’m capable of admiring what it is - that being just a really good pop album, one arguably definitive of the era (no pun intended). There aren’t a lot of artists who stick the landing when genre-jumping, but Taylor landed it with both feet flat and hands held high in the air.
Gotta end my review with a shoutout to my friend and Swiftie, Sarah - yes, I gave another decent review to Taylor!!
Gang Of Four
4/5
4
Damaged Goods is an all-time classic that I’ve had saved on Spotify for some time now, but I actually didn’t care for the rest of this album the first time I heard it all the way through, probably several years ago now. Punk meets funk? What the hell is that? It feels like the kind of thing the Talking Heads capitalized on, a group that I can't stand.
Well, my taste has clearly evolved because I quite enjoyed my time with it here. The bass-forward sound of this album feels pretty unique, making it stand apart from other punk releases from this era (though I definitely hear some Wire in there), while also still managing to feel just as gritty and angry as some of the heaviest offerings of the genre. I absolutely loved the opener, Ether, in particular, which in many ways I feel like is probably the best exemplification of the groovy bass beat and raw energy mix that the album does so well. Every track here is really solid though, but Damaged Goods is still far and away the best, both in a musical and lyrical sense - in particular, I’ve always loved the line:
“Your kiss so sweet
Your sweat so sour
Sometimes I'm thinking that I love you
But I know it's only lust”
I think it’s commentary on capitalization and consumerism, but it works for me on a couple levels. As a whole, I will say I’m not entirely sure what exactly many of these songs are referring to topically given the largely metaphorical nature of each, but based off the album cover (which is awesome btw), I think they largely boil down to themes of exploitation for personal gain - which provides a pissed off energy that I can definitely rally behind.
Overall, really solid punk album, both in sound and spirit. I can definitely see how this would be influential on post-punk, though I think this may be one of those cases where the group who did it first were among the best to ever do it.
Drive-By Truckers
3/5
3.5
I really didn’t come into this thinking it would be the kind of thing I’d like, but hearing my dad blast Them Dirty Roses over the past year or so must have rubbed off on me to some capacity because I actually quite enjoyed this album - there’s a lot of really catchy, rocking music here.
At first, I did think it was weird how much of this is just kind of about Lynyrd Skynyrd, and in some ways, I still do (why would you focus your self-described “magnum opus” on another band?), but the arching narrative about the group starting growing on me across my listens. Granted, said narrative is pretty loosely tied together, but it is structured in ways that I thought were done well. In particular, I like how it kicks off with a sort of prologue about two high school kids found dead in a car crash and how Free Bird was still blasting by the time the ambulances arrived, leading into a story actually about the band - and Neil Young. I actually had no idea Ronnie and Neil had a friendship and mutual admiration despite their infamous callouts of each other, so I found the song just as informative as it is well-told and fun. After that, I sort of get lost in the plot, but the series of tracks that end the album - describing the fateful night of Skynyrd’s plane crash - is a great conclusion and send-off to the band this album inspired. Though, at the same time, I also think this could have maybe benefitted from a sort of epilogue track to bookend the opener and also just to not end on the note of the band’s death, but whatever, it still mostly works for me as-is.
However, there are definitely some quirks to this album that stuck out to me. I genuinely do think the band’s intentions here are mostly grounded, and I don’t remember the exact context behind each of these mentions, so take this with a grain of salt, but there’s definitely a “south will rise again” quip or two and some confederate flag imagery. The biggest thing for me though was, besides just name-dropping Lynyrd Skynyrd like 125 times (despite I guess having never seen them), George Wallace was mentioned a weirdly frequent number of times - most of those on tracks titled, “Three Great Alabama Icons” and simply, “Wallace”. Look, I know they call the guy out for his racist actions on the songs and even mentions that the dude’s in Hell now, but I still can’t help but feel there’s a small hint of admiration in there. And yes, I’m also aware the dude did some good in his last few years of office by renouncing his past racist views and actually putting black Americans in government positions, but calling him a “great” just doesn’t sit right with me, especially over someone like, say, MLK. Totally realizing I’m overanalyzing the track though and will move on from the topic… though since the song mentions Bear Bryant, I also gotta throw an “F Bama” out there. Tbh, I’m not old enough to know much about Bear, but Lord knows I root against the Roll Tide any time I see them on my TV - unless they’re playing the University of Michigan. F them first and foremost always.
Anyway, want to circle back to the positives - I really think just about every track here is enjoyable musically, though the first half as a whole in particular is far and away the best. While not bad, there’s a bit of fluff in the middle/back half that definitely could have been cut to help with the pacing, and honestly, I think my score here would have been even higher if they did. Though, I’ve gotta say, buried in that slump of the middle, the opening to Side 2 provided my favorite moment across my whole listen. There are a lot of great bands the guys give a shoutout to on Let There Be Rock, but I couldn’t help but smile when I realized what the song was building up to with the title. It was at the very mention of Bon Scott that I knew the album would go from good to great for my Dad, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t have nearly the same effect on me as well.
A couple questionable themes aside, I think this is really solid Southern rock - pare this down just a bit, and you may quite possibly have my favorite album of the genre. Either way, I gotta imagine this would be a fun show to see live.
Fishbone
3/5
3
Ska is such a goofy genre - the first thing I thought of was this Hard Times article:
https://thehardtimes.net/culture/trumpet-player-stuck-traffic-turns-shitty-ska-band-okay-punk-band/
Linking because it’s funny, no disrespect meant, but I do honestly have a bit of a hard time taking ska seriously at times. Don’t get me wrong, put one song on for me, I’m jamming, but put a full album on for me, I’m going to start questioning what I’m doing with my life. As a big fan of punk, something about the genre has always felt like some sort of weird cousin, the kind you’ll give a big hug to at reunions and around the holidays but will ignore their texts when they ask what you’re up to or if you have ten bucks.
Anyway, I’m getting the vibe that the reason this album is significant is because this is the moment ska became goofy. If not for this, I probably would have pointed to a group like Reel Big Fish, Mustard Plug, or Might Mighty Bosstones as being responsible for that - that’s the impression that I get (so sorry). However, these guys actually beat those groups by quite a few years. Granted, ska had already been around for decades in the form of reggae, rock bands like The Specials, and even existed concurrently in a more punk format with groups like Sublime and Operation Ivy (which I kind of prefer, frankly), but these guys in particular seemed to have brought the horns and energy that would go on to influence our suited friends of the late 90s - though also with a good dose of 80s cheese mixed in for good measure.
So, is that a good thing? I don’t know, I have mixed feelings. Like a lot of other ska, I find this album to be both fun and over the top. I really have a hard time saying how much I liked this, and honestly, I feel like my enjoyment could be very hit or miss depending on the time or place. My biggest complaint with this album is that it just doesn’t seem to have any one great or catchy or even really memorable song that stands out. Once again, it’s a fun energy, but I also kind of feel like I was just blasted in the face by horns for 40 minutes.
That all to say, unbeknownst to me until writing this very review, I’m apparently seeing these guys this very weekend at the NOFX final concert series in LA, so I’m fully prepared to eat crow about everything I said here and become a newly converted Fishbone fan!
Bad Brains
4/5
4.5
Arguably the second-greatest album from one of the all-time greatest punk bands. Many will point to Bad Brains’ self-titled debut as their magnum opus, an album that, if you’re not familiar, is basically like audible crack cocaine. Largely because of that, of all the bands to have inspired hardcore punk, I think it’s fair to point to Bad Brains as among the most seminal. So, I’m pretty sure that’s why this album gets shit - Lord knows whenever a punk band softens their sound in the slightest or cleans up their production, a bunch of mohawks and battle jackets are going to start labeling them sellouts. And honestly, that is a fair accusation in the case of a lot of punk bands, but not here in my opinion - this really feels like an evolution of the group’s sound that still manages to stay true to their roots. Hell, I think there’s even an argument to be made that this album is better than their debut - everyone remembers its bangers, but no one remembers the reggae interstitials that totally break up the flow.
Anyway, this album kicks off with an absolute bang with four of the best punk songs to ever come from the DC scene hitting you one-by-one in a row. Intro, well-named, does a great job of setting up the title track, and before you can even process what you’ve been thrown into, you’re hit with my personal favorite song on the album, House of Suffering. Thank you Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland for introducing me to the song - I really think it’s the band’s finest moment (The Bled’s cover from the game is decent but definitely inferior). The energy is incredible, but the song really goes from 10/10 to 11/10 when singer HR starts screaming out the lyrics like he’s in agony. If I had to point to my single favorite lyric delivery from any punk song, “And all the nations lying/While all our people crying” may be it. Mom, Dad, I found my Christmas karaoke song this year.
Re-Ignition is an incredible follow-up from there, but then the album ever so slightly slumps with Secret 77. As much as I decried the “sellout” label earlier, I have to admit the song is borderline poppy. And that’s what ultimately keeps this album juuuust outside of the 5 range for me - while I really like the rest of what it has to offer, it never seems to quite match the energy of the first four tracks. There are still some great moments for sure (I absolutely love Sacred Love), but nothing quite scratches the itch the beginning of this album gives you.
Still, through and through, fantastic album, and definitely a must-listen imo. In an effort of my own to keep the energy of this review going, here are three fun facts to cap things off:
1. The reason HR’s voice sounds distorted on Sacred Love isn’t because of a studio effect. He recorded the vocals over a prison phone while serving time for a marijuana charge.
2. Beastie Boys were huge fans of the band, to the point that the group inspired them to take on a “BB” name of their own. Bonus - Bad Brain’s name comes from a Ramones song.
3. HR is credited with having coined the term “moshing”. The term he actually came up with was “mashing”, but people misunderstood the word due to his accent, and moshing stuck.
Maxwell
3/5
3
Really thought this was going to be some sort of sequel to Maxwell’s Silver Hammer at first. Thank God this is not that.
Anyway, I kind of struggled with my review on this one. Is it groovy and smooth as all hell? Yes, yes it is. Does it feel like anything groundbreaking or that I haven’t heard before? No, no it does not. I’m not going to pretend like I’m any kind of expert on R&B, but I feel like the general sound of this album had already been done plenty by artists in years prior, such as R. Kelly, D’Angelo, Jodeci, Keith Sweat, hell, some of this stuff even sounds like Michael Jackson who was doing this kind of thing well over a decade prior.
Granted, the real question should probably be if Maxwell does it better than those guys… and my answer to that is, maybe? Once again, I like the groove to this, but I couldn’t point to any one moment that I think elevates this album above anything else I’ve heard from the genre. I suppose the production is pretty solid and doesn’t sound as “90s” as it certainly could, but that’s not really quite enough to sell me on it.
Call me a prude, but the fact your music is good for getting it on is not does not automatically make it an interesting or magical listen. Besides, I don’t think anyone has gone out of their way to put on an album for lovemaking probably since this came out in 1996.
Michael Jackson
3/5
3
Probably Michael Jackson’s most overrated album. After two very strong dance pop albums, this is the point where I feel MJ’s music starts to get a bit cheesy. With the success of Beat It, it seems the guy wanted to continue in that general direction and rebrand himself as a bit of a bad boy, and I find the whole attempt at it incredibly corny. Are we really supposed to believe the little kid responsible for ABC is some kind of edgy tough guy now? (Well, I guess he was doing some pretty unspeakable, illegal things, but not really what I’m referring to).
Whether it was his goal or not, nothing here really seems to match the energy of Beat It or has any sort of real edge to it, with the title track in particular having some of the most run-of-the-mill pop production and on the nose lyrics I’ve heard. Who’s bad? Show us, don’t just tell us, Michael. While not quite as egregious, songs like Speed Demon and Dirty Diana just feel like further attempts at proving his batitude that also fall mostly flat. And betwixt all of that, the album’s most wholesome song, Man in the Mirror, manages to come off equally as corny in the sense that it feels like too hard of an attempt to be a “change the world” type anthem. Especially knowing what we know about the guy now, the song seems incredibly ham-fisted.
However, I realize that, at its core, MJ was just after another successful pop album, and he mostly succeeds in that regard. While it certainly pales in comparison to Thriller and Off the Wall, I have to admit that the production here is about as clean and catchy as this era of pop gets. And contained within all the layers of nacho cheese are actually two of the best songs MJ’s career - The Way You Make Me Feel and Smooth Criminal. The Way You Make Me Feel has a really enjoyable, groovy beat to it, one that reminds me of lot of Michael’s earlier work and serves as a reminder of what the guy does best. As for Smooth Criminal - look, for as much shit as I gave the whole “bad boy” schtick, he actually kind of pulls it off here. Despite having no guitar on the track, it’s about as close as we get to matching the badass energy of Beat It, and the “Annie, are you okay?” chorus is nothing short of iconic. However, at the risk of damaging the entire credibility of this review and possibly my musical opinions as a whole, I have to say I prefer the Alien Ant Farm cover - the song just works so well with a heavier, faster energy.
This album certainly has its moments - enough for me to still rate decently - but in the grand cope of MJ’s catalog, this is an album I’m more likely to skip over than not.
Alanis Morissette
4/5
4
Appropriately, just after Michael Jackson’s Bad, we have Alanis’ breaking bad record - though in this case, it totally works for me. If only Uncle Joey knew what he had coming.
This album goes hard. While quite possibly the poppiest alternative rock album out there, the energy Alanis brings here puts this up there with the big boys in my humble opinion. This is a heartbroken, pissed off woman, and man, do you feel it - Taylor Swift, eat your heart out. While I’ve always been a fan of Alanis’ music, I genuinely didn’t realize how much great stuff she had outside of the hits - in fact, I don’t think there’s a single miss in about the first ⅔ of this album. With each subsequent song that came on, I genuinely found myself rocking out and thinking “Wow, another banger”. All I Really Want is an incredible opener that captures the energy of this album immediately, and it segues into what’s probably Alanis’ magnum opus, You Oughta Know. I don’t think there’s another breakup song out there quite as pissed off as this one, and it’s incredible - I couldn’t imagine being on the receiving end of this. There isn’t any metaphors or symbolism going on, Alanis just really thinks you oughta know how much more of a kinky, bad b*tch she is than her ex’s new girl, and I fucking believe it - you know this dude felt this one physically. As an added bonus, Dave Navarro plays guitar on the track and Flea on bass (no Taylor Hawkins yet - he didn’t join until the album’s tour).
From there, the album really doesn’t let you down for the next several songs. Right Through You, You Learn, and Head Over Feet were all favorites, but this particular listening reminded me of just how good Hand in My Pocket is. For some reason I had kind of written the song off as overplayed and overrated, but I added it back to my Spotify playlists pretty quickly after hearing it here. Great tune, and I love how she changes what she’s doing with her other hand with each chorus.
That all to say, this album could very nearly be a 5/5 from me, but it unfortunately hits a pretty drastic slump with Mary Jane that it never really picks back up from. The song isn’t bad, but it is the first one I would consider mediocre, and it leads into far and away the worst, most overrated track here. Yes, I hate Alanis’ biggest hit. Isn’t that ironic? For an album with an incredible energy to it, Ironic has the most generic coffee shop sound to it and some of the cheesiest lyrics imaginable. Also, I don’t think any of the examples she provides are actual examples of irony. I’ve heard it mentioned before that that was a deliberate creative choice in a sort of meta sense of irony, but I don’t know if I believe that. (Side note - did anyone else have to listen to the song in middle school when learning about irony in English class or was that just me?)
Still, damn good album despite its weak ending (though, I do love the lyric “I don't want to be your mother/I didn't carry you in my womb for nine months” on Not the Doctor). I’m very confused by the choice to end on another, incredibly similar sounding version of You Oughta Know. I assumed that was just a Spotify thing at first, but I guess that was an inclusion since the initial release of the album - though, Wake Up isn’t a particularly strong closer itself, so I guess I get it.
Overall, very, very good - what else can you expect from God herself?
The Shamen
2/5
2
This feels like a lite version of Pet Shop Boys, an artist that I’m not even the biggest fan of to begin with. Though, to PSB’s credit, for as grating as the result often is, you can tell they’re at least going for something interesting - I’m not sure what exactly this album is hoping to achieve or whom it's for. It’s like it’s too tame to be club music and yet too intense for casual listening. Not that I’ve got a ton of experience with the culture, but this feels like the lamest rave you could attend.
I’ve mentioned before that I’m not the biggest fan of electronic music, so there might be a bit of bias to this review, but I will say, I randomly decided to put on the SSX 3 video game soundtrack this past weekend. For those that didn’t grow up on PS2 extreme sports games, there’s a lot of electronica to be found within the franchise, and I’ve gotta say, what was included in that game had me grooving in my seat. I’m really not much of a club kid, but if you could find me a club that specializes in that kind of electronica, I certainly could be persuaded. Anyway, my point being - there wasn’t a single song on this album that got me even remotely close to a state like that. I’ll give it credit for at least not being as annoying as it certainly could be, but there’s just nothing here that’s interesting. The closest it comes is with Move Any Mountain, but after about the third time I heard it here, I was pretty over it.
Not the worst thing I’ve heard from the genre, but quite possibly the most forgettable.
Bob Dylan
3/5
3.5
You can definitely tell this came right after Highway 61 Revisited, being that Bob seems to have taken the full-band approach he toyed with on that album and ran with it here. It’s definitely an evolution of his sound, but I don’t really feel that it’s better - Highway 61 just comes off as much better balanced and paced in my opinion, but still, this album certainly isn’t bad.
I mean, it’s definitely his most diverse-sounding work I’ve heard - besides just folk, there’s blues, country, and even some rock to be found. While I wouldn’t exactly say he nails the landing with each attempt, at its worst, it’s still at least pretty decent in most cases. Lyrically, it’s a lot more romantic/hornier than his past work, to a degree that I didn’t even realize the guy was capable of, but it actually results in some of the best songs here (and quite possibly across his entire catalog) - for me, those being Visions of Johanna, Just Like a Woman, I Want You, and the powerful ballad, Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands. It’s not quite as strong of a song as Desolation Row in my opinion, but it is a very solid concluding track nonetheless.
While there are definitely some songs I liked more than others, there was really only one song that stood out to me as one I disliked - and I’m pretty sure it’s a bit of a hot take, so brace yourself if you’re like a 50+ music nerd, cause this’ll probably hurt. I just don’t get Rainy Day Women #12 & 35. Yes, I get it’s about weed, but it has the most annoying carnival-esque marching band backdrop to it. Knowing Dylan, it’s probably a purposeful juxtaposition, but I don’t think that makes the song any less corny. That said, the vast majority of the guy’s music has been something that has required time to grow on me, so it’s totally possible that’s the case here as well.
Overall, I think this is a mostly strong Dylan record, particularly in the lyrical department, I’m just not quite yet sold on hearing full accompaniment behind him. Though, considering my thoughts on The Band’s debut breakaway record from Dylan, maybe it’s just these guys I’m not particularly fond of.
Mariah Carey
2/5
2.5
The Queen of Christmas herself. For as overplayed as that one song is, I’d still honestly put it in the upper tier of holiday music - it’s just a fun, festive, catchy track. However, it never really occurred to me until this listening that I don’t think I’ve ever actually listened to Mariah Carey outside of that… aaaaand I don’t really feel like I was missing much. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure this hit pretty hard in 1997, but as someone born that year listening now, this just feels like a culmination of the R&B I remember hearing on the radio growing up - but not in a greatest hits kind of way, more in an amorphous, neutral blob sort of sense.
This album sounds fine, but it just doesn’t feel particularly distinct in any way, and as a result, I really couldn’t tell one song apart from another if I tried. I have no complaints to lodge, and I have no praise to give - I don’t even have anything to say about the Prince cover (though I’m sure my dad does). This is truly the most vanilla slice of the era I could imagine, and I say that with a heavy emphasis on “era” - with the limited knowledge I have of this album or Mariah for that matter, I could have easily pointed to the late ‘90s as to when this came out. I know there was quite a bit of this sound going on in the early ‘00s as well, so maybe MC deserves some credit for being ahead of the curve, but either way, this just feels like a dated style of music and production that came and went pretty quickly. No disrespect meant towards R&B - tbh, I wish we heard more of it on the radio today (The Weeknd is solid but monopolizing the market), so it really feels like we’re overdue for some innovation with the genre.
I don’t know if I can confidently argue that this shouldn’t be here, but I don’t think it’s held up quite as well as a lot of other albums on the list, and I certainly wouldn’t consider it to be a genre essential myself.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
3.5
So, if there’s one thing that this list has taught me, it’s that The Rolling Stones are actually more of a honky tonk country/blues band with the occasional rock composition scattered here and there - and it’s funny, you would have no idea that’s the case if you stuck to the group’s hits. That said, I can definitely see why nobody remembers the blues numbers - they’re not bad by any means, but they definitely pale in comparison to songs like Gimme Shelter and You Can’t Alway Get What You Want, the more conventional rock tracks here and far and away the album’s best moments. I mean, in fairness, it’s hard for most songs to hold a candle to Gimme Shelter, which is not only the best song The Rolling Stones ever put out but also one of best classic rock tracks ever written. I don’t think there’s any explanation or convincing necessary as to the song’s greatness, but I will say, Merry Clayton’s vocals on the track really escalate it to a point of perfection. If you pay close attention, her voice cracks on the third delivery of “murder”, and you can hear Mick Jagger give a “woo!” following it in the background - it’s a cool moment and something I listen for every time I hear the song now.
Anyway, it’s an all-time great song, but it immediately sets a very high bar for the rest of the album that it never quite reaches again. YCAGWYW comes the closest, but it’s still not quite the same level (Fun fact: The London Bach Choir, featured on the track, distanced themselves from it afterwards due to perceived drug references and the album’s title.) Now having a more extensive knowledge of The Rolling Stones’ discography, I find it interesting that the group has three albums in a row (Beggars Banquet, this one, and Sticky Fingers) that all seem to consist of the same general eight country/blues numbers and then like two rock megahits that would go on to define them. I respect the consistency, and while I would definitely say I’ve enjoyed listening to all three, I also feel like I’ve walked away each time totally forgetting about all bluesy stuff and left with an appreciation of the same songs I’ve already known by the guys for years now. I mean, I liked Let It Bleed, Midnight Rambler, and Country Honk here, but I’m just not sure they’re songs that are going to stick with me - especially being that Country Honk exists in a superior form with Honky Tonk Women.
Now that we’re five albums in with these guys, I think I’ve determined that, while I enjoy the group and their output, they just don’t have any one album that I would consider a great. They’re definitely all re-listenable, but I’m just not sure these guys have a masterpiece to their name.
Suede
4/5
4
So, this is the second time we’ve had these guys on the list, which came as a bit of a surprise to me being that I had never heard of them prior to their first inclusion. And then, thinking back to that album, I remembered how boring, melodramatic, and pretentious of a listen it was, so I prepared myself for a bit of a slog with this - and boy was I wrong about this one. Where the hell was this energy on Dog Man Star? Granted, there’s a lot of dramatic BS on this one as well, but it does so with such a perfect balance of heavy rock energy and dreamy, hazy ambience that I never once minded it. Hell, even lyrically this worked for me - while not particularly deep, the delivery of lines such as “You're a water sign, I'm an air sign” on Sleeping Pills and “Have you ever tried it that way?” on Pantomime Horse fit so well within the songs that I found myself singing along on subsequent listens.
In reading about these guys, everyone seems to claim the group wears their influences on their sleeves, with elements of The Smiths, David Bowie, and a dash of T Rex supposedly to be found in just about every song here - and I don’t quite hear it myself. I mean, the group’s name is directly taken from a Morrissey song (Suedehead), but these guys seem to have more of a heavier, distortion kind of thing going on than The Smiths ever did. I can admittedly hear a touch of glam rock in this which would be more in line with early Bowie and T Rex, but it still mostly feels like its own thing, maybe borrowing from other alternative rock bands of the era if anything. Though, I guess the frontman is known for his flamboyant, sexually ambiguous persona (hence the album cover), so I guess he was borrowing from Moz and Ziggy in that aspect.
Anyway, very good album - I genuinely liked every song here. After the first listen or two, it occurred to me that I was having a hard time remembering specific songs and that most of them blended together, but ultimately, I think this is a situation where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. There’s this incredible energy permeated with each and every track that makes this a delight to listen to even if there isn’t an easily pointable standout (though I do think subsequent listens help with that aspect, to the point that I’m now slowly developing favorites). I’ve said before that Oasis was really the only band to pull off Britpop, but it seems that for one album, so did Suede - before it seemingly got to their heads.
2/5
2.5
Yeah, I’m not getting the hype behind this one. Granted, I’m not a huge prog rock guy, but I can certainly admit there are some cool offerings from the genre - they’re just not on this album. Nothing here wowed me in any way; it just felt overly long and complex for the sake of being overly long and complex. I do appreciate the fact that the first two songs seem to break off into segments to help with the pacing, but there wasn’t any one chunk in particular that felt unlike anything else I’ve heard from Yes - which is three albums at this point, and this one doesn’t even have Roundabout on it.
It’s kind of like pizza - if you were presented with an X-Large pie containing every topping known to man on it, would you really opt to eat that over a simple, well-done medium pepperoni? Cause to me, that sounds like an over-indulgent mess, but I’m sure it would have its takers, just as this album does here.
The bright side of this album is that it gave me a further appreciation of punk rock. You don’t hear any of the bullshit in that genre you do here - it’s straight-to-the-point, all killer no filler. While I definitely wouldn’t say this album is bad, it just didn’t succeed in pulling me in at any point across my listening to it. At the risk of getting my music nerd card taken away (jk that thing’s been long revoked), I would probably opt to listen to Owner of a Lonely Heart over anything found here.
Stan Getz
2/5
2.5
Two American jazz musicians went down South, borrowed a newfound genre from the locals to bring back to the States, and did it as okay as possible. Come on guys, where’s the excitement here? I’m not really sure what their mission was with this album, but it left me without really feeling anything - it just kind of existed around me for the duration of my listening. It almost felt like I was sitting in a waiting room or on hold to speak with customer service, which is kind of a shame given how much fun samba music is known to be.
Don’t have much else to say on this one - this is a really forgettable listen.
Ryan Adams
2/5
2
F this clown. Seven women have come forward about this guy promising to advance their musical careers in return for romantic/sexual favors - and while I wish that upon nobody, in a karmic twist of fate, it resulted in Motion Sickness by Phoebe Bridgers, which is not only a fantastic callout track aimed towards both Adams’ predatory behavior and manhood, but also his “protégé’s” biggest hit (with over 4x as many Spotify plays as Adams’ top song - a cover of Wonderwall lmao). Seriously, go listen to Phoebe Bridgers over this - anything she has is better than what you can find here.
Anyway, that said, I’m here to dissect music, not just call out inappropriate behavior, so as far as this album goes… I mean, what the hell is this? Alternative country? Who is this for? Christian dads on the Fourth of July? It’s far from the most objectionable thing I’ve heard, but that almost comes across as a sort of weakness in this case - the music here just feels too safe. At the same time, it also feels like it’s trying too hard to have a folk or Americana spin to it, especially given the album cover and all the songs that mention specific American locations, but despite all of that, it ultimately never really feels like he’s saying anything of note on any particular track.
At best, I would call this decent background music, but its length would probably keep this out of the realm of casually listening for me - and that’s not to mention there are supposed to be FIVE additional tracks on this. I guess his label cut and packaged them separately in a move Adams described as “fucking my fans over”, but I think someone over at Lost Highway was actually doing us all a favor (spoiler alert: they’re nothing special).
The Pogues
4/5
4.5
An easy 4.5 album for me that’s probably a conditional 5/5 - seriously, you aren’t properly appreciating this album until you listen on St. Patrick’s Day with a beer in hand.
That to say, I really didn’t care much for this album the first time I heard it. From what I knew about The Pogues going in, I was expecting a punk record - I mean, the group even allegedly formed after attending a Ramones concert. Yet, there’s nothing here that’s particularly heavy, fast, or even really all that gritty for that matter (besides maybe Shane MacGowan’s vocals… or teeth). As far as first impressions went, this just felt like the kind of thing that comes to mind when you think of Irish drinking tunes (aka general Irish music). But, I think once you know that and embrace it, you really start to appreciate what The Pogues do with it here, which, sitting here now, is probably the best I’ve heard it done.
A handful of these tracks are takes on more traditional Irish folk tunes, and while I love the spin they apply to each, in particular, I especially love how they had bassist Cait O’Riordan - the only female in the group - take on the vocals for I’m a Man You Don’t Meet Every Day (her work on this album here would also result in a 16-year relationship with producer Elvis Costello). While I’m not going to pretend I’m any kind of expert on traditional Celtic tunes, I can’t help but admire her take on it. And, with A Pair of Brown Eyes, it’s perfectly sandwiched between two of the most fun, energetic tracks found here in Wild Cats of Kilkenny and Sally MacLennane - if these two tracks don’t make you want to raise your glass and dance around the pub, I don’t know what will. However, my favorite track here has to be the opener, The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn - I absolutely love how slowly it starts before bringing in the action and energy the rest of the record provides, a moment that I always imagine is meant to be paired with a shot of Jameson before putting down a pint of ale.
While it doesn’t quite reach levels of perfection for me (at least not on most days of the year), I can’t help but find this record all kinds of fun. I think of good times and slurry, joyful memories with your mates - as someone who’s never been to Ireland, I think this album may have convinced me to go more than anything else. Eurotrip 2025??
RIP Shane MacGowan - thanks for the music, buddy, I’ll pour one out for you in Dublin soon.
Bobby Womack
3/5
3.5
Never heard of the guy, but damn is his music funky, fresh, and sexy. Apparently he was Sam Cooke’s guitarist which explains a lot, though he infamously went on to marry the dude’s widow shortly after his death in a move that turned a lot of his audience against him. And then, if that wasn’t controversial enough, he later cheated on said wife with her and Sam’s daughter, culminating in her pulling a gun on his ass and opening fire (unlike his former bandmate, Bobby walked away with only a graze).
Anyway, not saying this is a great guy, but it’s a shame his music isn’t more known - it really seems that he took the fiery, romantic fervor of Sam Cooke’s music and evolved it with the times, resulting in a really solid 80s R&B record that I feel holds up a lot better than a lot of similar albums from this time. Hell, even some after - something about this just feels kind of timeless, especially compared to a lot of 90s R&B. I think a lot of that is owed to the production, something that was also apparently handled by Mr. Womack. It really seems like the dude had natural musical ability, I guess he just didn’t have quite the same star power as Sam.
Can’t say this is the kind of thing that blew my mind or that I fell head over heels in love with, but I can say this was a pretty grooving 40 minutes. I liked just about every song I heard, though If You Think You’re Lonely Now is far and away the highlight (based on the Spotify play count, it seems most would agree with me in that regard). However, what I think I most appreciate is the fact that this album feels genuinely romantic without feeling oversexualized or gratuitous, which I think gives it a lot of replay value in my eyes over many other R&B records.
Will definitely have to check out more of this guy’s stuff!
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
3/5
3
Iiiiit’s a jazz album! Look, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m completely uncultured in this area of music, but I’m trying. However, despite my best attempts here (I listened to this like five times over the course of three days), I still just don’t get it. By no means would I say it’s something that I dislike (it definitely would not have gotten five plays out of me if so), but it just doesn’t speak to me in any particular way.
I saw a lot of acclaim surrounding this album in my background research, but I have no idea what it has or does that other jazz albums don’t - hell, in some ways it even felt safer than some of the other jazz I’ve heard. To its credit, that also means there wasn’t any kind of annoying bullshit going on at any point, but the highest praise I can give this album was that it was acceptable background music. I would even go as far as to say it’s decent music to get work done to, but at the end of the day, if your music makes me think of work, it’s probably not something I’m kind to be overly fond of.
This is the kind of thing that, when played at a dinner party or bar, makes me question if I’m with my kind of crowd - though, my type of bar typically involves bathrooms with shattered mirrors, broken toilets, and stickers/graffiti covering every inch of the wall, so do with that what you will.
Billy Bragg
3/5
3
The concept of this album is cool - Woody Guthrie’s daughter took a collection of her father’s lyrics that never found their way into his music and asked both Billy Bragg and Wilco to finish them, each with their own contemporary styles. In execution, this feels kind of lopsided to me - and heavily in Wilco’s direction. I don’t know much about Bragg, nor do I have anything against him, but I couldn’t really bring myself to give a crap about most of his stuff here. It seems he went fully in a country direction with Guthrie’s work, whereas Wilco seems to have captured the independent, folksy nature of his music much better - or at the very least, I just thought Wilco did a better job with the songwriting here (I also really dig Jeff Tweedy’s voice).
California Stars is far and away the best song here by a mile, though Hoodoo Voodoo, One by One, and to Bragg’s credit, Eisler on the Go were all favorites as well (I really dig the Western vibes on that last one). I also had a bit of a soft spot for Hesitating Beauty, but I think that’s mostly because it reminded me a bit of Another Travelin’ Song by Bright Eyes. And then there’s Christ For President - look, I get what Guthrie was going for, but that one probably should have been left in the unused pile. I just don’t feel the track has held up super well, and it doesn't really seem to fit in with the rest of the album.
Overall, a net decent. Something about the album makes it feel longer than its 50-minute runtime would suggest, but I still think there are enough enjoyable moments to be found (mostly from Wilco), to keep this in the “good” category for me.
Giant Sand
2/5
2
Behind on my reviews, but the last few days have called for punk rock and Rage Against the Machine - especially yesterday.
Anyway, I’ve never heard of Giant Sand, but it seems that the frontman is a big Lou Reed fan. I mean, he’s basically doing an impression of the guy on just about every track here, but in this case, without the matching musical ability behind it. I respect the guy for at least trying to do his own thing musically so it doesn’t sound fully copycat, but I found most of this kind of boring. The only track I thought was decent was Satellite, which bears a similar name to one of Lou Reed’s most iconic songs because of course it does. Once again, it’s very different from Lou’s work from a musical perspective, but in this case, I actually appreciated how it had a bit of a rawer, heavier sound to it as compared to most of the other lame piano and acoustic stuff found here.
Overall, pretty forgettable album in my books, and one that drags on far too long. Ironically though, if you do end up listening to the Deluxe Edition on Spotify, a lot of the bonus tracks are actually pretty solid - no idea why that wasn’t just the album instead.
Oh, and Fuck Trump and anyone who voted for him. I don't know how anyone of sane, rational mind can witness the words and actions of the man from the past eight years and think he’s suitable to run a country. What a joke and absolute embarrassment for America. In the words of Rage’s Zack de la Rocha (who himself was quoting MLK):
“How long? Not long, because what you reap is what you sow.”
Beck
4/5
4
I’m not the biggest fan of Beck’s music, so I wasn’t expecting a ton going into this given that I previously rated his more popular albums pretty modestly, but I actually think this is my newfound favorite of his. Granted, it’s not drastically different from what I’ve heard from him in the past - it’s still the same brand of white boy rap - but this really feels like a collection of songs containing his best takes on it.
The highlight for sure is the opener, E-Pro, which has a great energy and insanely catchy chorus to it (that allegedly samples So What’Cha Want by Beastie Boys, but I don’t hear it). It’s the kind of the song that makes you feel like the coolest guy in the room when you’re walking around listening to it. And not far behind it are Girl, Black Tambourine, and Go It Alone, which are also all super catchy tracks by their own merits, though especially that last one, which also happens to feature Jack White on bass - a fact that totally tracks in hindsight. I mean, come on, tell me it doesn’t sound like a borderline White Stripes song. And even the three tracks leading up to that one - Hell Yes (featuring Christina Ricci on guest vocals), Broken Drum (a touching tribute to Elliot Smith), and Scarecrow (no fun fact on this one, sorry) - are all really solid as well.
As probably goes without saying, I enjoyed most everything here, though I will say, the three songs that end the album are probably the weakest. The Western-style guitar work on Farewell Ride is kind of cool I suppose, but it marks the start of a sort of decline in the album that it never picks back up from. Still, there’s nothing to be found in these closing moments that ruins the experience or really even disrupts the flow for that matter, so I have no major complaints.
Overall, really good, well-paced album. While I’ve never considered myself much of a Beck fan, I definitely see myself listening to this one again. Hell, maybe I’m just a contrarian, but this is THE Beck release as far as I’m concerned.
New Order
3/5
3.5
I quite enjoy a lot of New Order’s earlier stuff, but it seems this album marks them heading in more of an electronic, dance pop direction - which is not exactly my preferred genre of music, but I still feel like this has just enough of that familiar, New Order charm to it that it’s still mostly enjoyable. I mean, there’s nothing here that supersedes songs like Blue Monday, Bizarre Love Triangle, or my personal favorite, Age of Consent, but overall, everything here is mostly solid (it probably helps that I’m a big fan of Bernard Sumner’s voice). Though, at the risk of being THAT guy, I did tend to enjoy the stuff here that had more of a bassy, synth hook to it reminiscent of their earlier work, with Guilty Partner probably being my favorite track on the album (no idea how that’s the least streamed song on Spotify).
Don’t have a ton much else to say on this beyond that. Definitely not my favorite New Order album, nor is it even probably Top 3, but it’s still mostly enjoyable - from what I’ve gathered about the group, I don’t really think you can go wrong with most anything they have. I do think there’s missing a sort of song here that defines the album or really stands out on its own, but as a whole, it’s at least a consistent album that doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Isaac Hayes
2/5
2.5
This is one of the weirder inclusions we’ve had on the list so far in that it’s a film soundtrack. Not that that itself is a problem per se - I mean, so is Purple Rain - but this album feels much more like film score, meaning, it’s mostly instrumental stuff that sounds like it was meant to play in the background of movie scenes. So, as someone who’s never seen Shaft, it makes this album hard to rate. Does this album work? Idk, it’s hard to gauge given that the intention and creative force behind most of the music was to accompany the film. Don’t get me wrong, listening isolated is fine, but without context, it also just feels like a lot of nothing. The Theme track is at least pretty good, but conversely, there’s no reason Do Your Thing needed to be as long as it is - it just feels like the same thing looping over and over for twenty minutes. If you want to hear something of the same length that’s much better, go give The Decline by NOFX a listen - it’s certainly topical given the current state of affairs in America. Hell, maybe everyone should go out and give that song a listen right now.
Not exactly sure how to rate this one, so I’m just going to land in the middle. Will definitely revisit if I ever do end up watching Shaft.
Mekons
2/5
2.5
Boy, and I thought Shaft threw me for a loop - I have no idea what to make of this. Punk meets violins? Though, I even have a hard time classifying this as punk - the singer definitely encapsulates that British hooligan energy with the vocals, but musically, it’s almost new wave-y? Once again, no idea what I’d call this, but for the most part though, it’s just pretty strange. As far as listenability goes, I really feel like it varies song to song - at best, there’s a couple decent tracks to be found, at worst, it’s annoying as all hell. At the same time, a lot of this also kind of blends together, so I’m having trouble pointing to specific highlights. I think Hard to Be Human Again and Last Dance were my favorites? I will say, the woman talking on Psycho Cupid helped the track stand out, but for the most part, something about it just took me back to a film class I took in college (Sans Soleil anyone?) And while I didn’t really care for the closer, Lost Highway, something about it kind of reminded me of Dirty Old Town by The Pogues (Interestingly, I think both are covers as well).
I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about this one, but I think it nets out at an “okay” from me. While the state of the country definitely has me wanting to listen to some punk stuff right now, I don’t think this is what I’m looking for.
Emmylou Harris
3/5
3.5
I wasn’t expecting much given that this is a later career release from a popular 70s country star in the Y2Kountry era, but she was actually kind of cooking here. I mean, whenever you see an artist some 30 years into their career attempt to modernize their sound, it feels like 9 out of 10 times they fall flat on their faces in the process. Hell, production aside, just being able to maintain the same quality of songwriting that many years down the line seems to be a feat for most artists, and yet Emmylou Harris manages to pull it off pretty well here. I’m not saying this is an amazing album by any means, but as someone who was never the biggest fan of hers to begin with (when not paired with Conor Oberst that is), to compare the quality of this to Pieces of the Sky I think is saying something.
One of my biggest complaints about Pieces of the Sky was that only one song was actually written by Emmylou, but 17 releases later, it seems that she was finally ready to tackle an entire album’s worth (except for one song, ironically). I have no idea why she wasn’t able to summon the confidence or creativity to do so until now, but the wait paid off - the storytelling here is among some of the best I’ve heard in country music. Red Dirt Girl in particular is a strong, though tragic telling of a young Southern wife’s descent into depression and addiction, and Bang the Drum Slowly, a track dedicated to her father, is a touching inclusion as well. Aside from storytelling, there’s also a very strong sense of catchiness here as well, especially for an album that borders on folk music, with The Pearl, Michelangelo, and One Big Love (the one track here not written by her) all being ones that stuck with me after my listening. The duet on My Antonia also provided for an enjoyable listen, even with Dave Matthews being the male vocalist. I’m really not a fan at all of the guy’s band, but it seems Emmylou’s music helps with my tolerability of the guy immensely.
That all to say, everything I didn’t list above is pretty forgettable - which, when you look at the tracklist, is half of what this album offers. For that reason, I struggled a bit with my rating on this one, but I think to list the other half of the album as highlights is saying something as well. While I’m not rushing out to put any songs in my Spotify playlists (at least not yet), I think this is a strong country album that would get another play out of me.
Bert Jansch
3/5
3.5
Never heard of the guy, but I found this to be a perfectly pleasant listen. This is a style of UK folk music I’ve learned to appreciate largely in part to Nick Drake’s work, an artist that, after hearing this, I have to imagine was largely inspired by Bert Jansch. There are a lot of similarities between the two’s music that definitely helped me appreciate this, though ultimately, this guy’s stuff doesn’t have quite the same sense of identity to it that Nick’s does - or that iconic deep, delicate voice.
Not much else to say on this one. This isn’t a particularly commentable listen, but there’s a certain calming vibe throughout, and no song felt like it outstayed its welcome - not even the instrumentals. I think this is a good accompanying piece to Nick Drake’s small but mighty body of work, and I could definitely see myself given a re-listen on a certain kind of night.
The White Stripes
3/5
3.5
I’ve always considered The White Stripes to be more of a garage rock kind of band, so this album came to me as kind of a surprise. It’s by far the most diverse offering I’ve heard from the group, but I found that to be both kind of a benefit and detriment to the overall experience. It’s definitely interesting and fun, but it also kind of feels all over the place and inconsistent - a lot of the stuff here feels more like proof of concepts than it does fully fleshed out songs. Still, I had a mostly fun time with this album, with My Doorbell, Take, Take, Take, and Blue Orchid being my favorites (shoutout to Guitar Hero 5). I’m not really sure what was up with the whole Rita Hayworth thing though - if you focus in on the lyrics, she’s mentioned on like half the songs here. With that being the case, it almost feels like they were going for some sort of concept album, but if so, it’s so loosely tied together that the idea falls apart pretty quickly. Though, I will say, this sent me down a little bit of a Rita Hayworth deep dive, where I learned the actress was actually born Margarita Carmen Cansino, of Spanish heritage. I guess that name was determined to be too “exotic” for a film career though, so she adopted Rita Hayworth to give off more of a homegrown American image - gotta love the entertainment industry. At least it led to a great novella and film.
I digress, I don’t really feel like this album is the definitive White Stripes experience, nor do I even really think this contains any of their all-time best songs, but I do think it’s a fun, different addition to their catalogue for sure. While I’m not the biggest fan of the band, this at least proved to me the duo isn’t quite as one-note as I thought.
Skepta
2/5
2.5
Not sure if this is inappropriate to say, but there’s something I find so amusing about British rap. I didn’t realize there was much of a scene over there, and I don’t think much of it, if any, really found its way over to us Yanks. This may just be my own ignorance of the genre showing, but there’s something about the accent that feels so prominent and so goofy in their rap music that I almost find it distracting just trying to listen.
Anyway, that novelty is probably the most positive thing I have to say about this album. Not that this was bad by any means, but for the most part, I found it to be a pretty generic rap album, accent notwithstanding. Most of this blends together, and while some tracks border on enjoyable, just as much borders on annoying. There’s not really a ton interesting going on in the lyrical department either, though the bar “Real talk, you ain't best MC in the country/And if you don't like it then fuck me/Not literally, but fuck me” on the title track stood out to me across my listens. I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be humorous, but I enjoyed it. As for the interstitials/skits, I really don’t think they did anything to add to the album in any meaningful way, and for the most part, I found them more of a flowbreaker than anything - granted, maybe that’s just because I couldn’t tell what they were saying half the time.
If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be That’s Not Me, which admittedly has a pretty cool beat to it, but I’m not sure it’s the kind of thing I see myself revisiting. The only other song that stood out to me was Man, but that’s just because the backing instrumental loop on the track sounded incredibly familiar to me - and as it turns out, it comes from Regular John by Queens of the Stone Age off their self-titled debut, an album previously on this list. I really enjoy the original QOTSA song, but unfortunately, I don’t really love what Skepta did with it here - I found the sample more annoying than anything.
Overall, just okay. Feel like this is one I’m going to quickly forget about.
Sonic Youth
3/5
3.5
“Oh and you know what? I bought another Sonic Youth album and it sucked... it's just noise!”
I watched Juno for the first time recently, and, at the risk of spoilers, that’s what Elliot Page’s character had to say about Jason Bateman’s favorite band after an uncomfortable, emotional moment between the two. Funnily, “a bunch of noise” is the exact phrasing I used about our previous Sonic Youth album on this list, Sister, though I gotta disagree with Juno in that it sucks. To quote that review again, “That noise is my kind of noise, dammit,” and that still very much applies to this album here.
I mean, in a lot of ways this reminds me a LOT of Sister, hence the same rating. There are some absolute bangers to be found here, including 100% and Sugar Kane, and also some great messaging as well, especially on the songs Swimsuit Issue and Youth Against Fascism (the latter of which I really wanted to quote given the current political situation in America, but there isn’t a damn lyric in the song that isn’t applicable). Raw, guitar-driven rock paired with progressive, anti-authoritarian lyrics will never be uncool to me, and outside of your more straightforward punk bands, Sonic Youth may exemplify that the best.
That to say, there’s something about both albums I’ve now heard from the band that doesn’t seem to offer any clear sense of identity to each besides just “Sonic Youth”, especially given the amount of filler that feels mixed in as well. This definitely flows well, and it certainly delivers on what the band is known for, but I’m really having a hard time remembering like half the songs here looking at them now. Also, I’m all for gritty vocals, but something about Kim Gordon’s delivery here started to wear on me just a bit by the end.
Overall, it’s still generally the kind of thing I like, so I can mostly forgive its flaws, but I think I’d be more likely to cherry pick songs from this to re-listen to over the full thing.
Mott The Hoople
3/5
3
Funny, I just quoted Juno in my last review what with Jason Bateman’s character introducing her to Sonic Youth in the film, and this is the band she plays for him in return.
Anyway, I’m on Team Jason over here. This isn’t bad, but man, if I thought Iggy Pop’s early solo albums were heavily Bowie-inspired, I don’t even know what to call this. Like, if I don’t know any better, I would think this is a cover band dedicated to the Ziggy Stardust glam rock era of his career. I’m well aware that a tie already existed between the two with Bowie writing the group’s biggest hit, All The Young Dudes, but I didn’t realize the guys basically resorted to copying him on subsequent releases.
With that being the case, as a big Bowie fan, I generally liked this, but how highly can you rate something that feels very second-rate and derivative of a better artist? A three, I suppose, in this case. And that’s not even to mention the guy they were imitating would go on to have a very long and continuously evolving career comprising a large, diverse discography filled with venture and reinvention at every step, and… these guys did not. For what this is at face value, I enjoyed the general sound, but the only songs that I would say I really enjoyed in particular were All the Way from Memphis and Ballad of Mott the Hoople, though the latter one mostly because it was the one song that actually sounded like something different - like another artist in this case, Bob Dylan (with a splash of Conor Oberst mixed in for good measure).
The best thing I can say about this album is that it could be considered a good accompanying piece to Bowie’s already vast catalogue, but I think you’re better off listening to anything he has over this (Okay, okay, maybe not Never Let Me Down… we don’t talk about that one).
Final thoughts - can we talk about these guys’ album titles? They have albums called “Mott”, “The Hoople”, and “Mott the Hoople”. What the hell is that? At least Led Zeppelin gave us numbers and Weezer gave us colors to help differentiate.
Randy Newman
3/5
3
My dad prepared me for this album, but even still, as someone almost exclusively familiar with Randy Newman within the context of Toy Story, the first song on this album was pretty shocking. Yes, I get the song is a sort of satire and making fun of the titular rednecks, but I really can’t imagine cranking the song again in any sort of context. Like, you definitely couldn’t be like “Yo, hand me the aux” and then put this on without judgment being cast on you by everyone around - unless you are just a group of racist rednecks and missed the point of the song.
That out of the way, I actually enjoyed this album more than I thought I would. I’m not someone who usually listens to a lot of piano-based artists outside of Elton John, but questionable lyrics aside, I thought there was a nice vibe to just about everything here, and aside from the whole Southern everyman concept, I kind of liked the whole “heartbroken drunk” thing he had going on as well. My favorite songs here were probably Birmingham, Marie, and Louisiana 1927, though I didn’t think anything here was bad - Every Man a King was kind of campy in a carnival sort of sense, but it still worked within the context of the album and didn’t outstay its welcome.
Overall, decent album that was pleasant enough to listen to, but it didn’t blow me away by any means, and song #1 is probably going to dissuade me from putting this on again anytime in the near future. I get the messaging, and I’m with you brother, but there’s other ways of going about that still enables your music to be listenable around other people.
William Orbit
2/5
2.5
More chill, ambient electronic stuff. I didn’t really have much familiarity with this type of music going into this list, and while I’m glad to have been exposed to some new stuff, I can’t say that the albums I’ve heard thus far have really rocked my world in any sort of meaningful way. The best attempt so far was probably Air’s Moon Safari, but outside of that, a lot of this stuff has kind of blended together for me.
In the case of this album, I actually thought it started quite strongly with Water From a Vine Leaf, making me think that I might be in for a bit of a surprisingly enjoyable listen, but from there, it just sort of incrementally devolves in musicality, to the point that it feels like you’re listening to ambient noise at the end with a vague sense of musicianship to it. I can’t say that it ever turned into a sort of thing that annoyed me, but it did slowly lose my interest as it went on and never successfully gained it back.
I feel like if this is the kind of music you want to make, your album really needs to have a sense of atmosphere and structure to it, and this didn’t give me that - this just ended up feeling like non-purposeful ambient noise for the most part. Maybe I’m being too harsh - I get that this sort of thing provides for a relaxing backdrop for some - but it doesn’t do much for me. It’s not bad by any means, but I have a hard time rating something this forgettable that highly.
Grateful Dead
1/5
1
New year, same old Grateful Dead BS. The second I saw that this consists of seven songs in 73 minutes, I knew this was going to be grueling.
I’ll give it this, compared to American Beauty, this isn’t so much country music for hippies as it is jam rock for hippies which, honestly, is actually much more in line with what I expected from The Grateful Dead - and I mean that in the worst possible way. Like, imagine paying money to go to this show just to watch a dude pluck at a guitar for like 30 minutes straight. I guess that must be why the group is associated with psychedelic drugs because I couldn’t imagine making it through this sober.
Fortunately, once you make it through the borderline painful slog that is Dark Star (admittedly easier said than done), the series of songs that follow have a bit more musicality to them, but man, those runtimes don’t get much shorter. There’s just not really a ton interesting going to justify the lengths anywhere here - even if you’re able to derive an enjoyable moment out of any given track, the feeling is long gone by the time those 15 minutes are up. I will say, I did get a bit of a kick out of hearing Turn on Your Love Light, but that was mostly because I’m familiar with the song in the form of The Blues Brothers’ cover from the 2000 film - say what you want about the movie, but its corresponding soundtrack is much better than anything you can find here (shoutout to Will for letting me rip that CD like a decade ago). Besides, anything positive I have to say about the track (or anything else here for that matter) is completely counterbalanced by the fact that these guys made me listen to feedback for 8 minutes straight at the end (which equates to roughly 11% of your total listening if you’re curious).
In summary, these guys suck. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - I’m totally willing to concede that maybe I just need to see the band live and/or be on acid to “get it”, but there’s nothing I’ve heard from the group at this point that makes me feel particularly incentivized to try it out.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
3/5
3
Never heard of this band, but apparently it's a supergroup made up of various British rock icons, including Damon Albarn of Blur/Gorillaz, Paul Simonon of The Clash, and Simon Tong of The Verve. The drummer, Tony Allen, is also apparently pretty famous within the context of the Afrobeat, but I can’t say I’m familiar with the name or any of his work.
So, knowing that, I went into this album with some pretty high expectations, but it ultimately just boils down to a second-rate Gorillaz album - this isn’t so much a culmination of musical greats as it is a Damon Albarn side project with some buddies. Like, why go out of your way to recruit someone like Paul Simonon when half of these tracks don’t even sound like they feature bass on them?
That to say, this isn’t bad. I thought this provided a decent listen overall, but there wasn’t much that stood out to me. The highlights are the opening and closing tracks, History Song and The Good, The Bad and the Queen, respectively, but most everything in between ran together. The biggest standout beyond those was probably 80s Life, but that’s mostly just because I’m pretty sure it borrows the chord progression of Can’t Help Falling in Love - it’s all I could hear when I was listening to the song.
If you’re a bigger Gorillaz fan than myself, I can see how you would like this. If you find them mostly okay like I do, you’ll probably find this mostly okay as well. Either way, while it’s a fun project on paper, this is far from the best any of these guys have to offer.
Eric Clapton
2/5
2
Eric Clapton, a man who owes his entire career to black musicians and yet has spent a good chunk of it throwing around racist remarks and slurs without even a hint of irony. Dude quite literally even covers a song by a black group here and still went on to deliver his infamous “Keep Britain White” rant just two years later.
I digress, for all his faults, Eric Clapton is a really solid guitarist… but you wouldn’t know it by listening to this album. Like, I know if I’m listening to Clapton, I’m expecting to hear some shredding, or at least impressive guitar work in some form, and that never really happens here. That’s not to say that I believe artists should stay in one lane, but I’m not really sure what the guy was setting out for with the change in direction on this album. I didn’t find it particularly interesting, nor did I really think it had anything to say - this just feels like soft rock of the softest kind.
The best song here is probably the opener, Motherless Children, but it goes downhill pretty quickly from there. While I’m not a fan of the song I Shot the Sheriff in any form, nor am I really a fan of Bob Marley’s music at all for that matter, I can at least admit the Wailers’ version has a certain energy to it that Clapton’s lacks - which really seems to be a recurring theme across this album.
Take my review with a grain of salt given that I’ve never really been the biggest fan of Clapton’s music (and even less so of his personality and beliefs), but I don’t think I could be convinced this is his best work.
Dinosaur Jr.
3/5
3.5
The second that I saw a lot of reviews complaining about this album being a lot of noise, I had a feeling it was going to be something that I’d like. Granted, I’ve also enjoyed most things I’ve heard by Dinosaur Jr. in the past, so I went into this pretty positively predisposed.
Sure enough, right off the bat, I really, really enjoyed the first track on the album, Freak Scene. It’s a catchy track that manages to feel both fun and raw, while also being accompanied by some solid lyrics to boot. I really enjoyed J Mascis’ vocal delivery on the track as well, which had a talk-sing dynamic to it that reminded me a bit of Pavement. The song pretty quickly went into my Liked Songs playlist on Spotify, and I was surprised to learn right after that my boys in blink-182 have a cover of the song that was recorded for their first demo - though, if you find this album unlistenable, then prepare yourself for that recording.
However, beyond Freak Scene, the album seems to slowly devolve both in a sense of memorable songwriting and overall listenability, to the point that Don’t had me nodding my head and sympathizing with all the detractors who called this album pure noise, especially considering it’s the longest song here. (Though fun note - blink-182’s third demo, Buddha, also ended with a song called Don’t. Maybe they’re bigger fans of the band than I realized?) I digress, I really don’t see myself seeking out the song ever again for any reason.
That all to say, while largely unmemorable, the album as a whole still generally had an enjoyable enough of an alt rock vibe to it that no song (aside from Don’t) would ever feel unwelcome in the shuffle, especially when put between artists like Sonic Youth, Pixies, and the aforementioned Pavement. I could see myself maybe giving this a full listen again, but if so, I can tell you one thing, it’s not going to be through my frayed Apple earbuds at the gym. Headphone warning for anyone out there yet to give this a listen - you better have yourself a nice pair, or you’ll have random intervals of feedback fired straight into your eardrums at high velocity while trying to do front squats.
But then again, that’s rock n roll, baby.
Moby Grape
3/5
3
Well, this has officially been the hardest album on this list to track down so far - I even had trouble finding a complete version of the album on YouTube. I did finally find that though courtesy of an obscure Youtube channel entitled 1001 Albums Journey - is that one of you guys or gals or nons here? Shoutout to you if so.
Supposedly a lot of that has to do with the group’s manager, Matthew Katz (also manager of Jefferson Airplane), who essentially scooped up all the rights to the band’s music and imagery out from under the noses and has been incredibly restrictive of their usage ever since, an act that has apparently limited the success of the band to a pretty significant degree. So, maybe that’s why I’ve never heard of these guys, but in my opinion, they partially have themselves to blame, between both unremarkable songwriting and the dumbass name that is “Moby Grape”.
That’s not to say that I think this album is bad, because it isn’t, but it very much feels like a slice of the era without anything going for it that sets it apart from its contemporaries. Can you tell me one thing that this album does uniquely? I certainly can’t. I do think that this album overall skews toward the better end of this sort of sound, but only by so much. Also, what was up with the runtimes here? I appreciate these guys not dragging anything out, but half of these songs feel like unfinished thoughts - there’s quite a few that don’t hit the two-minute mark, and one that doesn’t even hit one-minute. And it’s not like these are interludes either, they just feel like songs that they ran out of ideas for halfway through. That all to say, my personal favorite songs here were Hey Grandma, 8:05, Omaha, and Indifference, but really, I think those are just the only ones I can recall looking back on now.
In summary, decent album, but nothing special. Matthew Katz aside, I see why this group’s legacy has been lost a bit to time.
PJ Harvey
4/5
4
This being now our third PJ Harvey album to show up on this list, I thought I knew what we were in for by this point, but man, my expectations could not have been more wrong. Where the hell has this angst been?? This is like an even more pissed off Jagged Little Pill, something that I didn’t even realize was humanly possible.
Much of that is owed to Steve Albini’s production, who also happens to be responsible for some of my all-time favorite albums, including In Utero by Nirvana, Surfer Rosa by Pixies, and 24 Hour Revenge Therapy by Jawbreaker, and someone whom my respect for seems to go up with every subsequent release of his I hear - it really feels like everything the guy touched is gold. He just has a way of capturing the raw spirit of an artist in his production so perfectly with no extra bullshit tacked on, and yet somehow without it sounding like a complete mess as well. In many ways it’s like listening to the artist live, but in a way that makes me feel like I’m genuinely up there in the front row instead of just hearing it secondhand. I don’t know how he does it, but I’ve gotta say, as someone who had no particular inclination toward PJ Harvey’s music before, this made me want to go out and see her live in concert.
Now, I have to give the most credit here to Harvey herself, because without her songwriting, this album obviously wouldn’t exist in any capacity, and one of my favorite things she does with said songwriting is the buildup within each song. For the most part, nothing really comes out of the gates swinging; instead, it draws you in with subtle, gritty riffs that are plenty catchy by their own merits but also hint at an explosion of fury to come - and when that explosion does finally come, it’s a rush. This album pulls that kind of thing multiple times, and I never once got tired of it or found it any less satisfying. That energy, paired with pointed lyrics at exes, chronicles of mental fragility, and feminist statements about sexuality and dominance, really results in a solid album through and through.
That all to say, for as much as I liked the songwriting and production, admittedly, a lot of the stuff here generally sounds pretty similar. Aside for Man-Size Sextet, the album is just a touch one-note, but fortunately, it does that one note pretty damn well. Rid of Me, Missed, and Rub ‘Til It Bleeds were favorites, though, while I wouldn’t say there were any misses here, the Bob Dylan cover felt just a touch confusing and out of place to me. Also, I thought it was interesting this album has a song called Dry, and her previous album, titled Dry, did not - a bit of a Led Zeppelin Houses of the Holy situation, I guess.
Definitely the best work of PJ’s I’ve heard by far, though I respect that she didn’t try to stick to this one sound on her subsequent releases, nor do I think that would have worked out for her long-term. Still, massive respect for pulling in Steve Albini to work with her for at least this one outing - I would not have guessed homegirl had that in common with some of my favorites.
John Prine
3/5
3.5
Pretty good! Not bad. I can’t complain. (Get it?)
I didn’t really know much about John Prine going into this other than the fact he’s a pretty esteemed country/folk artist, but my homeboy Conor Oberst once dedicated a song to a then-sickly Prine at a show of his I saw back in 2019 (he went on to pass the next year). If Conor Oberst has good things to say about you, you’re alright in my eyes, so I went into this with a pretty open mind.
Well, I can definitely understand Conor’s admiration for the guy - while I wouldn’t go as far as to say the two sound similar, Prine is a master storyteller with his songwriting, and I can see the influence on Conor’s work with Bright Eyes and beyond. Whether it be the heroin-addicted Vietnam vet Sam Stone, a lonely, old Montgomery woman dreaming of escape, or separated lovers Donald and Lydia, I thought there was a lot to dig into within each song here, and as a whole, the observations heard throughout made the guy seem incredibly wise beyond his years. However, on a topical level, my personal favorite has to be Your Flag Decal Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore - it’s about Vietnam, but man, is it sadly applicable to all the MAGA idiots running around today advocating for a “Christian Nation” while putting predators and criminals in power and preaching a philosophy of “Deport thy neighbor”. What would Jesus do? Not this shit. (On a lighter note, my favorite song across the board was probably Pretty Good - for a folksy album, the song is pretty damn catchy.)
Still, for as much as I admire the lyricism found here, it only does so much to save the actual music, which leaves just a bit to be desired. There’s a sort of “plain” sound to most of this that isn’t bad by any means, but it was enough to hold me back from being able to get super into this. Prine has definitely commanded some respect out of me though, so this definitely won’t be my last outing with his catalogue.
Peter Frampton
4/5
4
First off 1001 albums, it’s not “Frampton Comes Alive”, it’s “Frampton Comes Alive!”. Homeboy EARNED that exclamation mark.
My first ever impression of this album, and what I still think of today whenever I hear it, was through Homestar Runner (where my other 2000s kids at?) Someone wrote Strong Bad an email asking for advice on making out (as one did), explaining that the whole “Peter Frampton thing” was not getting her any action, to which Strong Bad replied, “Well, Kissless, you’re going about it all wrong. Frampton’s not going to loosen anybody’s lips”. So why did everyone and their mother own a copy of this album? Isn’t that the whole point of Baby, I Love Your Way? I even have a copy of this friggin’ album sitting in my vinyl collection, and I have no idea how it got there - is this thing just an unexplained parasite that has plagued suburban, middle-class homes for decades?
Or, the alternative is that this is just a good album. Despite that, it seems that this has become popular to hate on in recent years, to the point that it’s almost a meme. Say what you will, that it’s lame because our parents liked it or that 2 or 3 songs carry the whole thing, but in my personal experience, whenever I rummage through my albums and find myself somehow shocked yet again that I actually own a copy of this damn thing, 3 out of 4 times I end up putting it on and having a good time with it. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I think it’s totally fair to say Show Me the Way, Baby, I Love Your Way, and Do You Feel Like We Do are standouts among the rest, but I’m not really sure what’s to dislike about anything else you hear. As someone prone to shit on soft rock, I’ve always found this to be nothing but a pleasant listen. And you know what? The talkbox is cool as hell. There, I said it. I really only have one complaint to lodge towards this and it’s the cover Jumping Jack Flash - the song totally lacks the energy of the original and it hurts it dearly. Also, hearing the breaks representing the moment you’re supposed to get up and change the disc over is a little annoying on Spotify, but I guess I can’t fault them for not planning ahead in that regard.
So, yeah, for once in my life, I’m going to side with the boomers here. I was a little surprised to see how few play counts this has on Spotify for as popular as this album once was, but I guess everyone must be a little burned out from it. Who knows, maybe this will be the kind of thing Gen Alpha will call a hidden gem someday.
Sparks
3/5
3.5
Fun fact - I used to be coworkers with the former drummer of this band. Not during this era of their career though.
My actual introduction to this band, however, was through my cousin Emily (shoutout!) She hosted a party at one point or another unofficially titled Kimono My House, inspired by this album, which prompted me to go and check Sparks out.
Sitting here years later, I can confidently say that I still have no idea what the hell to make of this group. Give them a Google if you haven’t already - the band consists primarily of two brothers, one being the most flamboyant, androgynous glam rocker you could imagine, and the other straight-up having the looks and demeanor of a mortician… and yes, their music is just about as goofy as you would expect from a combination like that.
However, I think I like it? It’s weird, my mileage seemed to vary with each listen. The first two tracks are both really solid (This Town especially), but half the time I seemed to enjoy my subsequent listen all the way through, and the other half of the time I started growing annoyed somewhere in the middle (which isn’t good for a 36-minute album).
So, that made this album really hard for me to rate - I’m going to land on 3.5 for the time being, but I honestly think this could be higher or lower for me depending on my mood. I’ll give it this - it’s definitely one of the more unique albums I’ve heard so far on this list.
Killing Joke
3/5
3.5
I always thought Killing Joke were more of a new wave group, though I also only really knew them for their song Eighties, and that’s just because of the whole Come As You Are lawsuit (despite the fact these guys totally stole the riff from Life Goes On by The Damned first).
As it turns out, these guys are really more of a punk outfit with a bit of industrial influence mixed in for good measure. That to say, I do also hear quite a bit of a Damned sort of sound in there as well, a group that has always toed the line between new wave and punk, so the new wave label is still probably fair - though that just also further leads me to believe that Eighties was indeed a ripoff itself.
All in all though, I enjoyed everything I heard for the most part. I recognized Requiem (I think Foo Fighters covered it at some point?), and that ended up being my favorite track from my listening, but I didn’t think anything here was bad - though, a lot of it does run together. Also, based on what I had read about the group beforehand, I was excited to hear some pretty radical, left-leaning political diatribes as well, but I never quite got that. Granted, I also couldn’t really understand the singer most of the time, so that was likely a major contributing factor, but then again, groups that throw around lawsuits typically aren’t very punk.
Overall, an enjoyable, but not overly remarkable album - it’s not quite a call to action for this punk.
Public Enemy
4/5
4.5
Holy shit, it’s the Duke’s Mayo Bowl guy!
Public Enemy is one of those groups that I really enjoy and admire, but for some reason I don’t go out of my way to listen to them nearly as often as I should. I mean, after all, their ideologies and aggression line up pretty damn exactly with what I like in my punk. And as for their music - well, this was a great reminder that that’s damn good too.
There’s just something about the pairing of Chuck D and Flavor Flav that works so well for me. Chuck has a flow and a bite to him unlike any other rapper I’ve heard - it’s a kind of captivating fury that can’t help but command your attention whenever you’re listening. And then there’s Flav, who’s like the world’s best hype man - he doesn’t come off quite as radicalized as Chuck, but man, does he seem like the kind of guy you want at your party (dude’s also a musical prodigy who can play like fifteen different instruments). In some ways the two feel like polar opposites, yet they balance each other out perfectly in the music in a way that makes the tracks feel both empowering and fun.
And man, is this thing filled to the brim with some of their best, including, but not limited to, Don’t Believe the Hype, Rebel Without a Pause, and Bring the Noise (though I’m admittedly a bit more partial to the version with Anthrax). Far and away though, my personal favorite track here has always been She Watch Channel Zero?! The Slayer sample is insane (to the point I would say it’s arguably utilized better than in Angel of Death itself), and it results in the most unique-sounding track this has to offer. That kind of leads to my nitpicks with this album though, being that, while the production of this album is fantastic and, in my opinion, better than Fear of a Black Planet, it’s much less varied. And while I wouldn’t go as far as to say that’s a bad thing, I do feel like the whole high-pitched tea kettle noise this thing has going on grows just a tad tiresome by the end.
Still, for the most part, I would say everything is executed about as well as it can be, and I thoroughly enjoyed each of my listenings. One last thought, and one thing I forgot to include in my NWA review but surprisingly ended up being just as applicable here, was the amount of Beastie Boys samples - as much I love them boys, I really wouldn’t have thought they would have that kind of cred in the hardcore rap scene. Good on them, I guess.
Despite my minor gripes, this album is a rap essential, and in my personal opinion, one of probably a handful or so to fuse music and politics perfectly (also looking at Rage Against the Machine and Dead Kennedys).
Kraftwerk
3/5
3.5
Another album from our German electronic pioneer friends. I thought Trans-Europe Express was okay-to-decent, and I expected worse out of this given the first track is 22 minutes - over half the album’s total runtime.
But… I actually really liked Autobahn? I think, for quite possibly the first time in this list, I have to say, the longest song on the album (one 340% longer than the second-longest track) is by far the best. Despite not being the kind of thing I’m normally into, there’s something about the track that I found really damn catchy, to the point that I never really found myself minding the long-ass runtime. Hell, after I finished the album, I even found myself singing “Aut-aut-aut-aut-autobahn” to myself. As far as electronic music goes, I would have to say that it's gotta be up there with some of the best - which is pretty crazy considering I think this was also like the first electronic song ever.
As for the rest of this album… meh. The middle three tracks are, at best, mildly enjoyable, and at worst, inoffensive, but overall, very forgettable, and that last track, Morgenspaziergang (which I guess means “Morning Walk”), is pretty damn annoying between the beeping and that flute, something I know will tank this album’s rating in my dad’s book. I don’t know what kind of morning walks these guys are taking, but I certainly don’t want to be on those.
I almost gave this three, but when I thought about it, with the title track’s runtime, I actually really liked half of this album, so I think that bumps it up .5 stars in my book. It also was apparently a big inspiration for Bowie’s experimental/industrial era in the ‘70s, a period that gave us some of his best work, “Heroes” among them, so if nothing else, that cements this as at least a 3.5 in my eyes.
The Boo Radleys
3/5
3
I don’t really feel like I have a ton of strong feelings on this album. I saw this described somewhere as shoegaze, a genre I’m normally a pretty big fan of, and while I feel like it sort of is in some ways, mostly I would say it’s not? Which, honestly, is kind of a generalization regarding my feelings on this album as a whole - it’s almost something, whatever that something may be, it never quite reaches it. I’ve also seen some people hail this album as being pretty diverse, but once again, while I wouldn’t outright disagree with that statement, I’ve certainly heard much more diverse-sounding albums than this one.
For every decent song, there’s one equally as annoying, and there’s no reason there needed to be 17 in total - though, it’s interesting that, despite that lengthy runtime, it still never seems to establish a solid sense of identity. Regardless, there are some enjoyable moments to be found, with Wish I Was Skinny, Rodney King, and Lazarus being a few choice selections, though far and away the best song here is Barney (...And Me). If there’s any appreciation I’m walking away with, it’s probably coming from that song. That, and the dude’s vocals - there’s a soft, tender quality to them I dug and that reminded me quite a bit of Elliott Smith in some places.
Overall, I would describe this album as more good than it is bad, but it’s still a mostly unremarkable experience. Barney might find itself joining my Spotify shuffle at some point, but outside of that, I don’t think there’s much this album has for me.
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
3.5
I know I’m not really breaking any new ground here, but this is probably the weakest of Henrix’s three albums. I admittedly owe a re-listen to Electric Ladyland (and I’m sure I will before this list is done), but coming off the heels of their debut, this just doesn’t seem to have the same raw energy or punch to it that that does - or all the classics contained within for that matter.
Still, there are some great songs here, with Spanish Castle Magic being one of my personal favorites from The Experience across their entire catalogue. It’s funny, I originally discovered the song through the first Guitar Hero game, where they, for whatever reason, decided to make the song an instrumental. Regardless, I still always liked and played the track, and so I was pretty mind-blown to learn years later that vocals are indeed supposed to accompany it - which improves it a lot in my opinion. Castles Made of Sand is another top-tier Hendrix song for me as well, and it probably contains what I would consider the best lyrics of his entire discography - it always gives me a bit of existential thought, but I think mostly in a good way.
Outside of those two, I don’t really have a ton of praise to throw around. Little Wing is pretty good, but I never quite got all the hype surrounding it - it’s definitely far from what I consider among the group’s best, especially being that it almost feels like it’s over before it even starts. I also used to like the song If 6 Was 9, but conversely, it felt a bit too long to me here - not sure if I’m used to a shorter, single version? The rest of this is pretty middling, though I was surprised to see that another member of the band had a penned song with a vocal lead on the album. It’s not particularly great - if anything, it’s mostly a reminder of what Jimi has that separates him from every other artist of the era - but as far as that sort of inclusion goes, it could certainly be a lot worse.
That all to say, you can’t deny Hendrix is truly a one-of-a-kind artist, and I think this proves that even his lesser offerings are still pretty good. While this doesn’t quite capture the greatness of his other records, there’s nothing bad to be found, and I enjoyed my time with it here.
The United States Of America
2/5
2
Well, this isn’t a searchable band name at all. I came into this all excited to hear Peaches and Lump, but nope, wrong, much worse band. Cool ass album cover though, I’ll give it that.
Anyway, I did manage to read that this album is allegedly a symbol of 1960s counterculture what with it mostly being a satirization of contemporary America (hence the name), so I was pretty jazzed to hear some punk-esc diatribes regarding the failings of our government, a topic sadly probably even more relevant in 2025. And maybe that is all buried in there, but… seriously, what the fuck is this? I have nothing against psychedelia, but holy cow, these hippies must have had a hell of a bad trip - and then tried to make us all experience it as well. Nope, no sir, not me, get me off this ride.
I don’t even know where to begin with this because, truthfully, I’m not even sure I’ve fully recovered from it yet. For the most part, everything just kind of flows together, because acid trip, I guess? There aren’t really any strong moments to be found as there are just kind of things that happen. Like, there’s some carnival music, some flute action, hell, half the time it sounded overmodulated… idk man, idk.
So, with that, I went ahead and listened to this thing again like four or five times. Given its nature, that kind of makes me feel a bit like a drug addict, but I actually think my appreciation went up just a touch because of it. The American Metaphysical Circus actually won me over as an opening track in time, and I even grew somewhat fond of I Won’t Leave My Wooden Wife For You, Sugar, goofy as it is. Though, I would describe it as goofy in a way meaning that I enjoyed hearing it within the context of this album but wouldn’t ever seek it out on its own again.
Regardless of any mild appreciation developed, this album is just kind of weird, and mostly not in a good way - I think I’ll stick with my punk rock to get my political angst out.
Pixies
4/5
4
As someone who adores the Pixies, I was admittedly a little surprised to see that this album made the list. The group has two or three albums I would probably give a perfect 5/5 (the ones preceding this), and this is not one of them. In fact, I would probably even go as far as to say that Bossanova is my least favorite from the group’s OG run. Overall, this comes across to me as the most mainstream, radio-friendly offering of their catalogue thus far, and while it still contains solid songwriting and some of the group’s iconic quirks, it never quite fully commits to being weird - and I think we can all agree the Pixies are their best when they’re at their weirdest.
That all out of the way, this album still certainly contains some bangers, with Velouria being what I would consider an all-time classic from the group, and Rock Music, Is She Weird, and Down to the Well all being really solid inclusions as well. Despite my earlier nitpicks on the overall sound, I do still genuinely think just about every song here is pretty good, though there is one miss for me - Stormy Weather. I’ve always found the track kind of cheesy, to the point where I might quite possibly list it as my least favorite of theirs (again, just from this era - post-reunion Pixies gave us a lot of crap).
For all the knocks I just gave at this, I still think this is a really enjoyable album. As someone who loves the group, I guess I just felt the need to explain what holds this back from being a perfect 5. That original five-album run (counting Pilgrim) was straight fire, and the fact that a ⅘ is as low as I’m willing to go on any release from it is really saying something. I’ll be seeing these guys again for the fourth time this summer (first time with the new gal), and I could not be more excited. I’m dragging a buddy along as well who’s only familiar with Where Is My Mind? - let’s hope we have a convert on our hands.
Fugazi
5/5
5
I always forget that Fugazi is fronted by two dudes. For some reason, it always just brings Ian MacKaye to mind for me - which is weird given that I’m a fan of Guy Picciotto’s former band, Rites of Spring. Additionally, I didn’t realize how recent of a band they are - this is technically their debut, and it came out in 1990. I guess because I associate the guys with Minor Threat and Rites of Spring, respectively, I just kind of assumed this was more of an early 80s project as well.
And yet, despite coming after what’s largely considered the golden age of punk rock by quite a few years and also just being on the cusp of grunge taking over the world, these two guys served up quite possibly one of the most punk albums I’ve ever heard. While I enjoy Minor Threat, I find their music just a touch preachy at times, but I really feel like this project finds a perfect balance of what I like in my punk between energy and messaging - maybe that’s a result of the dual-fronted nature of the band, idk. And while I shouldn’t factor this into my review, I can’t even begin to explain how much I respect the group’s punk ethos off the stage as well. In particular, they were known for refusing to play any show that charged more than $5 for admission, trying to keep their stage available to all. It’s such a selfless, anti-capitalistic, community-driven sentiment that I can’t help but feel my respect for the band go up tenfold because of it - especially in light of a world now where Ticketmaster fucks a lot of diehard fans out of seeing their favorite artists. (Greed!)
Anyway, diving into this album, Repeater - great name. My initials thoughts were “Oh, okay, like a gun, I guess”, thinking it was kind of lame, but per MacKaye, it’s actually referring to the cyclical nature of things like greed, violence, sexuality, privacy, drug abuse and death across all of human history (it’s also a slight nod to The Beatles’ Revolver, but looking past that). Song-wise, I really thought everything here just fucking ripped. This was a great gym album, but honestly, I even found myself getting amped up to this while putting friggin’ data into Airtable for work (yes, I’ve sold out to the corporate machine as well). Admittedly, a lot of this does kind of flow together, but with an energy like this, I never once took issue with that. I did walk away with some favorites, those being Merchandise, Blueprint, and Shut the Door, but I see this thing more likely being a full re-listen from me when revisiting in the near future.
I wasn’t always planning to give this a 5, but there have been few times on this list thus far I have found myself wanting an album to go on even longer after it was done, and this has been one of those times. The angsty mood punk rock brings just can’t be beat, and this provides that exceptionally. Gotta go with the 5 here.
Final note - these guys have the coolest live concert photo ever. I was going to try and link it here, but I just kept finding Instagram and Twitter posts, so fuck that, and besides, the link would probably inevitably die anyway. Instead, I implore you to image search “Fugazi basketball hoop”. Dad, this sticker better still be up on the fridge.
Devendra Banhart
2/5
2.5
Coming off Fugazi, this felt a bit like whiplash - or maybe whatever the opposite of that is. But man, what a 2004 album - you can definitely tell this came from the indie folk, coffee shop kind of thing popular then (I think the kids call it “twee”?) In particular, this evoked thoughts of The Shins, Sufjan Stevens, and - dare I say even my precious Bright Eyes, at least at times? Unfortunately, this just feels like a mostly inferior product compared to those guys. The songs are mostly pleasant, but largely unmemorable, and man, was I bored by the end - which is a pretty bad sign if your album is only 42 minutes long and largely consists of songs that average around 2.5 minutes. Devendra at least has a voice that I kind of dug, but there wasn’t much about the music or songwriting that really interested me in particular.
Songs that stuck out to me:
This Is The Way - A pleasing opening to the album, though that may just be a result of fatigue having not set in yet.
Tit Smoking in The Temple of Artesan Mimicry - Mostly for the title. Though, once that caught my eye, I couldn’t help but notice the backing guitar is one single note being played over and over the entire song which kind of ruined it for me. Also, I think he misspelled “artisan”?
Todo Los Dolores - The restart and laughter made me think of the version of Elvis’ Pocketful of Rainbow from the Jerry Maguire soundtrack, my favorite song by the guy and arguably the superior version. This song - not that. I did kind of like the way he pronounced “Peter Pan” though.
Will is My Friend - <3
I really don’t think anything here was actually that bad, and honestly, I would probably be apt to rate any one song here higher if I heard it on its own, but as an album, there was just a bit too much of this in succession. Sorry Devendra, think I’m going for my boys listed above instead when I’m feeling a twee mood. (Did I use that correctly?)
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
2
I don’t really know a ton about Captain Beefheart, though I do know he’s allegedly an avant-garde sort of musician courtesy of Frank Zappa’s circle of cronies and that him and his so-called Magic Band are responsible for Trout Mask Replica - an album I’m admittedly not super well-versed in but that gives off the impression it’s the kind of thing music nerds would refer to as “challenging” when what they really mean is “unlistenable”. I’ll reserve my judgment until I give it a proper listen (and I’m sure I will before this list is through), but I say that all to say I was very, very surprised with how accessible this album ended up being.
Though, it’s still not particularly good.
While there have been quite a few albums on this list thus far that have grown on me with repeat listenings, this ended up being one I found myself hating more and more each subsequent time through. You definitely hear traces of what’s to come with Beefheart’s later, more experimental work, but it doesn’t result in anything overly remarkable or enjoyable here, and compounded with the lo-fi recording style of the era, some of this stuff is flat-out grating. Like, holy shit, Electricity was borderline painful. If that’s a sign of things to come with Trout Mask Replica, God help us all.
Thankfully, most of the stuff here isn’t THAT bad, with the vast majority of it sounding like pretty standard 60s rock fare, though there are two bright spots that elevate this above a 1 for me - one of those being Yellow Brick Road, which is probably the catchiest track to be found (I also admittedly have a bit of a soft spot for the Wizard of Oz), and the other being Plastic Factory, which is just a fun blues number, like the kind you would expect to hear walking into a saloon. I wouldn’t go as far as to say they’re two songs I’m itching to listen to again per se, but they at least stuck out to me.
Overall, not great, and it doesn’t make me particularly excited to listen to TMR. Still, considering I am one of said music nerds with more pretentious takes than I’d care to admit, there’s probably a scarily decent chance I end up referring to it as challenging as well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Kings of Leon
3/5
3
Kind of surprised to see this album made the list. I’ve always thought Kings of Leon were a decent, but mostly middling 2000s radio rock band, and to be honest, this album did very little to change my opinion.
I will say, the first few songs on this album are excellent, with Sex on Fire being a song in particular that I’ve always enjoyed. At the risk of making my weirdest/most Oedipal comment on this site to date, my mom’s a big fan of the song as well, so a part of me always thinks about her whenever I hear it despite the subject matter. Before that though, a couple pleasant surprises for me were the opening two tracks, Closer and Crawl, which I found both excellent as well. Unfortunately, right after that trio comes my least favorite song by the group, Use Somebody. I was really surprised to see that the song had significantly less Spotify plays than Sex on Fire because I feel like I remember hearing this song EVERYWHERE, like for years. Hell, even still today. And I’ve never really been a fan of it - it’s not drastically different from anything else by Kings, but something about it has always just felt like radio fodder of the most formulaic kind. It’s not terrible, but it’s way too vanilla in my opinion to get anywhere near the amount of airplay it got.
Unfortunately, after that, the album really never picks back up from there, instead continuing to serve up the exact kind of thing I expected from the group, though Notion in particular felt really familiar to me - I don’t know if it got some airplay back in the day, but it was probably my favorite of the back half. 17 made me raise an eyebrow, but with the vague lyrics, I’m going to give the guys the benefit of the doubt and hope that it’s more of a sympathetic look at a troubled teenager than it is anything sinister.
Outside of that, I found this album pretty plain and forgettable. Still, the first few tracks are pretty fire (pun intended), so I’ll go with a 3.
The Crusaders
3/5
3
Holy shit, Beverly Hills and not a car to be seen, aside from the one unloading - how late is the Street Life keeping these guys up?
Anyway, I saw this album was listed as jazz, and I would say that’s mostly accurate, but at times this almost felt more like R&B, especially with the title track. And as it so happens, the title track was far and away the track that I enjoyed the most - it may be long and repetitive, but man, is it groovy. The 11-minute runtime really didn’t bother me as much as I thought I would, but if it’s not your bag, there’s a 4-minute version of the song that exists that was done for Tarantino’s Jackie Brown.
Beyond Street Life, the album evolves into more and more of a proper jazz album, which I honestly didn’t mind at first, but it quickly starts feeling like the same kind of thing over and over again, to the point that I found myself checking in on my progress during each listen sometime around when The Hustler kicked in - not good if your album is only 39 minutes long.
Still, I can’t say that I flat-out disliked anything, and the first couple of tracks even had me in a bit of a groove, so I would call this decent, though not super memorable for the most part.
Tim Buckley
3/5
3.5
Goodbye Spartans and hello offseason. Sigh.
Anyway, this is our third outing with Buckley Sr., and I’ve gotta say, I feel like my appreciation for the guy goes up just ever so slightly with each subsequent album of his I hear. My initial impression from Happy Sad was one of pretentiousness, like that Tim considers himself the kind of guy that can get away with writing a lot of weirdly horny, boring music due to his “deepness”, but over time, I’ve started developing a bit of sympathy for the guy as a troubled and overall underappreciated singer/songwriter. Don’t get me wrong, there’s definitely some weirdly horny stuff here as well - Knight-Errant in particular was a big eyebrow raise for me (I don’t ever want to hear Tim sing about his “lady’s chambers” ever again) - but I actually think this album probably contains some of his best works I’ve heard so far.
While I wouldn’t say anything immediately won me over, nor would I go as far as to call anything here a masterpiece, after a few listens, there were a handful of tracks I did grow to appreciate, including No Man Can Find the War, Pleasant Street, and the incredibly beautiful Once I Was. However, my personal favorite by far was I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain, a song supposedly written about his estranged wife and son, Jeff, and was later covered by Jeff at a tribute show long after his father’s death. It’s a great song on its own, but there’s something I find particularly cathartic about it having that knowledge.
So, while I wouldn’t call this album amazing, I did grow to enjoy it a fair bit. The only song I really disliked was Knight-Errant, and beyond that, I think my only other complaint would be that the title track is a bit too long - though I respect the ambition behind it. It does seem that Buckley Sr. is winning me over a bit though - who knows, maybe album #4 will hit that 4 for me.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
2
Hey kids, do ya like prog rock? No? What about extended electric organ solos? No?? What about a giant f*cking weaponized armadillo?
Honestly, I’m not really sure what to make of this album. The cover is just about the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen, and the seven-part song associated with it is flat-out egregious - and about six parts longer than it needed to be. If there was any hint of self-awareness surrounding this whole concept, I feel like it could almost work, but the fact that the band really seems to unironically be touting the half-tank, half-armadillo abomination that is Tarkus as as a serious and profound metaphor for war almost makes this laughable to me. Or, at least it would, if my ears weren’t constantly being barraged by piercing electric organ and keys.
While I don’t hate the genre, I’ve mentioned before that I’m not the biggest fan of prog rock, and this seems to encapsulate what oftentimes turns me away from it - self-indulgent overcomplication just for the sake of it. Like, it’s cool and all you have a seven-part concept piece to your name, but is it really any good? Tarkus is not in my personal opinion - it’s an annoying slog.
The rest of this album is just kind of whatever and mostly forgettable - at least these guys knew to keep things mostly short after subjecting you to that 20-minute opener. I can’t say I really have any complaints with what they offer, though the random reference to the Holocaust in the middle was a little jarring. However, we live in a day and age where reminders of the atrocities feel sadly necessary, so I can’t say I have a problem with it.
Not the worst thing I’ve heard, but not really up my alley at all.
KISS
4/5
4.5
Public opinion has largely turned around on KISS somewhat recently, and I totally get why. As time has gone on, KISS have largely revealed themselves as being more of a corporate shill than a rock group, and combined with oversexualized lyrics and stage presence, the band hasn’t held up particularly well in the current day and age. While I’ve grown out of KISS a bit myself as I’ve gotten older, I have to admit, for all their faults, they managed to achieve party rock excellence with one album in particular - and this is that album. When it comes to musical taste, to each their own, but I genuinely have a hard time understanding how someone couldn’t have fun with this.
Now, normally I’m not prone to go track-by-track with my reviews, but as someone who grew up listening to KISS (and this album), I feel like I have a bit to say on each song here:
Detroit Rock City - How can you be from Michigan and not like this song? I’ve never seen KISS live (nor do I have a particularly strong desire to do so), but as someone who used to frequent shows there, I’ve seen the song covered multiple times. In some ways it almost feels like a rite of passage for a major band to perform the song in the Motor City.
King of the Night Time World - Not the strongest song on the album, but a fun segue between two of the better ones.
God of Thunder - My favorite KISS song when I was a kid. Actually, probably one of the first songs I can recall hearing. Period. Gene exchanging vocals with the young child on the track is such a cool, unique production choice, and I can’t say I’ve ever really heard anything like it since. Fun fact: Paul Stanley wrote and wanted to perform the song, but producer Bob Ezrin decided it was a better fit for Gene. He wasn’t wrong.
Great Expectations - The worst song on the album. Also probably the grossest. Still, not bad, but it’s never really grabbed me.
Flaming Youth - I think it’s pretty easy for a “parents just don’t understand” type of song to come off as cringe, especially coming from guys who were like my age here, but I think this one is pretty good. Definitely maintains the energy of the album.
Sweet Pain - KISS’ most underrated song. No idea how this is like the least-played song on Spotify - the chorus is catchy as all hell. Honestly, one of the KISS songs I’m still apt to put on and listen to today.
Shout It Out Loud - This whole album is a lot of fun, but this one especially has always felt like a party of a track, the kind that makes me think of good times with good people. Also, the start of a fantastic closing trio of tracks.
Beth - Not my personal favorite KISS song, but indisputably their magnum opus - and to think it came from Peter Criss. It’s the type of song you think would come off sappy with everything going on around it, but it’s genuinely such a beautiful, earnest love song that it almost makes the rest of this album feel cheesy in comparison. It’s likely going to be the one song that’ll sit with you the most after walking away from this, and so it’s absolutely crazy that these guys originally hid it on a B-Side (blaming a jealous Paul and Gene for that one). Anecdotally, it’s also part of a running joke I have with some friends after I was drunk and kept trying to play it at a bachelor party.
Do You Love Me - My favorite KISS song. Much more importantly, my cousin Nate’s favorite KISS song, and one of his all-time favorites in general. I wasn’t as close with him in my older years, but I think of him now whenever I hear the song. He was probably the greatest musician in the family, a bloodline I like to think is in part responsible for the music fan I am today. Miss ya, bud.
Not going to comment on Rock ‘N’ Roll Party since it’s not really a song, but overall, very good album through and through. Also, not quite as sexual as I was expecting - I mean, you have Great Expectations and Sweet Pain, but honestly, I’ve heard worse from Tim Buckley.
Still, not quite a 5/5 for me as KISS isn’t really a 5/5 band for me anymore, but this album will always hold a special place in my heart - even if Gene Simmons is out there pulling BS like trying to make people pay HIM to be his personal assistant.
Beyoncé
2/5
2.5
This is one of those albums I have trouble rating because, while I recognize it’s incredibly well-produced and that Beyoncé is an insanely talented singer/performer, it just does very little for me. Which, honestly, is kind of how I’ve always felt about Bey’s music - it’s not bad, but I’m not sure what drives so many people to it. There’s certainly a bit of R&B groove to it (especially here), but for the most part, it just feels formulaic - which is definitely what you don’t want on an album that’s supposed to be intimate and personal. Like, all I really got out of this is that Beyoncé and Jay-Z have a very active, healthy sex life (good on them, honestly). I know the album is supposed to represent sexual liberation for both Bey and women alike, an ambition I respect and that I think she pulls off pretty tastefully for the most part, but the concept started growing a little thin for about the same time the music did, which was somewhere in the middle. Pretty Hurts and Drunk in Love were both decent songs to start off with, but when Drake popped in to completely ruin Mine, I was mostly checked out for the rest of this album. I thought the Frank Ocean song might at least save things, and while his feature is certainly solid, musically I found Superpower to be the most annoying on the album. However, I did think the closing track dedicated to her daughter was a really nice note to end on. I mean, also a touch weird given the subject matter of just about every other song here, but sweet nonetheless.
A net “okay” from me all-around, mostly because I feel unaffected by this, but I will say, the bonus tracks damn near spoiled the whole thing for me. Kanye West jump scare alert - dude pretty much massacres the best song on the album with his remix.
Small Faces
3/5
3
I saw someone describe this as psychedelic rock meets Monty Python, and they were not wrong. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing, I’m not entirely sure - I felt my opinion flip flop on this multiple times throughout my listenings. Like, my first time through I thought this was goofy, my second time I found it charming, my third time I found it annoying, and by my fourth listen, I found myself feeling all of the above.
For the most part, the first half of this album is okay, but mostly unremarkable. I didn’t dislike what I heard, but nothing about it really grabbed me either - with the exception being the closing track of the side, Lazy Sunday. Lazy Sunday (sadly no relation to the Lonely Island song) was the one song on this album my opinion flip flopped on the most. Sitting here now, I’ve gotta say, I think the song has earned my appreciation. It’s silly as all hell, but it is so in a sort of theatrical way that’s catchy in the most British way imaginable. Like, if it was a bit funnier, it’s the sort of thing I could imagine coming from the Monty Python gang. I have a feeling my Dad will hate the song, and if that’s the case, get ready, it’s about to get queued up in future Mario Kart sessions (MK8 - I ain’t shelling out $500+ for World).
And now for something completely different.
If you didn’t like Lazy Sunday, you are not going to like the rest of this album. Side 2 follows a fairy tale about a young boy named Happiness Stan who seeks out the other half of the moon after seeing it in half-phase and is interspersed with narration providing exposition. Now, I got that information off of Wikipedia - I couldn’t tell you if that’s really true or not because dude is so British that I couldn’t understand a word he said. That to say, I really didn’t hate it. The narration didn’t break up the flow as much as I thought it would, and while I didn’t know what was going on, I still found it kind of a vibe… I think?
The jury’s still out on exactly how I feel about this album, but I can certainly say it was a unique experience for sure. It’s the kind of thing I feel like I could enjoy or hate depending on my mood when listening… or perhaps level of sobriety. I’m struggling with a rating because of that, but a 3 feels pretty safe for the time being.
Eagles
2/5
2.5
Before starting this list, I had never realized how much of a country group the Eagles actually are given that the majority of their hits skew more in a rock direction, but the country influence here is felt heavily, resulting in an album that Wikipedia classifies, appropriately, as “country rock”. Unfortunately, as is the case with just about everything else I’ve heard from the Eagles, it doesn’t result in particularly interesting music - it lacks both the edge of rock and the storytelling of country, leaving you with a lot of really bland, unmemorable songwriting.
Just like Hotel California, this album kicks off with an actually pretty solid track from the group, Take It Easy in this instance, and then proceeds to never do anything interesting ever again. I’m pretty sure Witchy Woman and Peaceful Easy Feeling were both pretty big hits as well, but they didn’t do a thing for me here. Honestly, the only two tracks that really stuck out to me at all after the opener were Earlybird because of its annoying bird noises and Most of Us Are Sad for its cheese - though it’s certainly relatable living in 2025 America.
Supposedly the producer of this album, who had previously worked with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin, initially turned down the group after hearing them, only changing his mind after they worked on their harmonies, which is an energy I can certainly get behind. I have no idea how these guys made it so big and even less of an idea how their Greatest Hits album became the third-best selling ever, especially considering three of its ten songs came from this and there’s no Hotel California. I mean, it’s certainly not bad music, but it’s not my cup of tea.
Meat Puppets
3/5
3.5
I saw someone online describe this as sounding like “a half-drunk cover band playing the greatest album ever made, in a tiny, mostly vacant lounge at 1am,” and my God, is that accurate. It’s messy as hell and the singer can’t sing worth a damn, but man, does it have DIY, punk charm to it. THIS is how country and rock should be blended, Eagles, take note.
Now, I feel like it’s impossible to talk about this album without mentioning Nirvana. Odds are, unless you’re truly an older indiehead, your first time hearing the Meat Puppets was via MTV Unplugged in New York, where Kurt and Co. covered three songs from this particular album - Plateau, Oh, Me, and Lake of Fire - alongside the actual band themselves (forever and always a bro move in my eyes). I’ve always thought Kurt had a knack for highlighting obscure bands with unconventional, raw talent (see: his Top 50 albums list), and these guys are no exception.
Though, if I’m being honest… the Nirvana versions of these songs are better. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy them in their original form here - there’s admittedly a small sense of rudimentary quality to them, but for the most part, the energy and personality they carry sets them apart as works of their own. There’s certainly a place in my musical catalog for them, though Lake of Fire is one of those songs that always takes me back to a specific place and time - Walmart, 2020. As I was out grocery shopping for myself the first time during the pandemic, masked up, following the guiding arrows on the floor, trying to stay as far away from everyone as I possibly could, and without single cleaning supply or roll of toilet paper to be found, this song shuffled on in my earbuds, and I honestly don’t think there’s any other song that could have captured the moment better. For a sec there, I wondered if I was in Hell.
Still, regardless of which version you’re listening to, Lake of Fire is a great song, as are Plateau and Oh, Me. As for the rest of this album… pretty decent. Kurt definitely went with the best three songs this has to offer, but there’s a degree of enjoyment to be had with most everything here. For the second review in a row, this was way more of a country album than I would have anticipated, though in this instance, I thought the fusion of it was really cool and well-done (I guess it’s called cowpunk?) While no track quite hit me like the big three did, I did think
Aurora Borealis was a cool instrumental to come out of Plateau with, and there was something about Lost that reminded me of Another Travelin’ Song by Bright Eyes. If you make me think of Bright Eyes, you’re probably doing something right.
Can’t say I quite fell in love with this, but as a Nirvana fan, I’m definitely happy to have explored the group’s catalog a little bit more.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
2/5
2.5
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n39897a9hNk
Funny, after having two albums in a row that surprised me with their country influence, we have one that surprised me with how country it ISN’T. Not that I thought CSN were a full-on country group per se, but I guess I was expecting a bit more twang than what we got - which was more like a second-rate Simon & Garfunkel album.
Yeah, I’m not really getting the hype surrounding this one. The harmonies are great and all, but I didn’t really find anything about the songwriting overly interesting. Like, as someone who typically writes far more than anyone asked for, I’m left without much to say. For the most part, no song really stuck out to me more than another, but ironically, my least favorite is apparently the group’s most popular, Helplessly Hoping. Not for any strong reason exactly, but I hated the lyric:
“They are one person
They are two alone
They are three together
They are for each other”
I’m not even entirely sure why if I'm being honest, but it kind of pissed me off a little bit each time I heard it.
Still, not an album that I would call bad or that I hated, but one that really did nothing for me in my listening. If I wanted this kind of sound, I would much rather listen to Simon & Garfunkel instead.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
2/5
2
Look, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not particularly cultured in music from non-English speaking countries, and that there’s probably a lot of great stuff out there to discover if I continue to explore… but this ain’t it for me, dawg. Though, to NFAK’s credit, it did grow on me somewhat over the course of my listenings. During my first listen, at the gym, I thought it was annoying, and I was over it probably less than a minute in. Listening to it during work, I found it to be okay background music, and sitting here now after an additional listen, I can admit there’s a degree of fun to this.
Still, a lot of these tracks sound kind of the same, and most feel overly long. If you listen to the version of this album that’s on Spotify - Love and Devotion - it’s actually a combination of two separate albums put together, Love Songs and Devotional Songs, respectively. I personally didn’t find a striking difference between the two, but for some reason that I can’t explain, I want to say I liked Love Songs just a touch more. Overall though, a bit too much of this one sound, which definitely started to wear on me.
One of the things I’ve seen people praise about this guy is the emotion and intensity in his voice (dude could apparently go full send for several hours), and while I hear what they mean, I have a hard time connecting with it. That’s definitely the language barrier, but as one of those pretentious a-holes that connects with lyrics, it made this album somewhat of a challenge for me. I guess that’s more of a “me” problem though - if you look at the list of artists this guy supposedly inspired, it’s kind of crazy: Mick Jagger, Peter Gabriel, Eddie Vedder, and Red Hot Chili Peppers just to name a few. Hell, Jeff Buckley even referred to my guy as his “Elvis”.
Not my Elvis, nor am I probably likely to return this album, but no regrets in opening my mind a bit. Maybe I’ll understand it the next time I’m in Pakistan.
The Byrds
3/5
3
Another Byrds album, and one that immediately follows one we previously had on this list. Did we really need both? Though, while not drastically different, I did like this one a bit more than Fifth Dimension. It’s a little less psychedelic and a little more straightforward classic rock, resulting in some perfectly listenable songs. Not great songs, mind you, but listenable. Well, except for Mind Gardens - seems like David Crosby was having a John Lennon moment there.
I think my biggest problem with The Byrds so far has been that they really don’t seem to have an identity of their own. Like, everything I’ve heard from the group so far has felt like a very generic slice of the era, and in the rare instance they have an above-average song, it’s always a cover - My Back Pages in this album’s case (originally by Bob Dylan). Hell, the group’s biggest hit, Mr. Tambourine Man, is also a Dylan cover. Do these guys have nothing to say for themselves? On second thought, if stuff like Mind Gardens are the result of that, maybe sticking to covers is for the best.
I’m being a bit harsh - most everything here is decent, but nothing is great. Outside of the Dylan cover, my favorite song was probably So You Want to Be a Rock ‘N’ Roll Star, even though it’s apparently a shot at the Monkees - sorry Byrds, manufactured or not, the Monkees had much better music than you guys ever did.
Overall, this one didn’t annoy me as much as past outings, but it’s largely just as forgettable.
Malcolm McLaren
3/5
3.5
I’m well familiar with Malcolm McLaren as a fashion designer and manager of the Sex Pistols, a group he assembled to help sell his clothing. However, I did not know that the guy had albums of his own to his name, but as I probably should have guessed, the name on the front is about the only connection he has with the actual music here. Once again, he commissioned other people to do the work for him, but in this instance, he just straight-up took all of the credit, leaving a majority of the African performers on this album completely uncredited. It’s a pretty bad look, and while it did largely help lead to the popularization of hip hop music in the UK, it also feels incredibly exploitative and left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.
Still, to the actual musicians’ credit (not Malcolm’s), a lot of the stuff here is really good. There’s something about 80s hip hop that’s so damn fun, and the first few tracks here are no exception - though, during my first listen of Buffalo Gals, all I kept thinking to myself was, “This can’t be what I think it is.” Sure enough, it is. Yes, Eminem sampled this specific song for Without Me. Considering the track involves Em acknowledging how his success is owed to black music, it makes you wonder if maybe there’s something there.
I digress, the deeper you get into the album, the more it seems to transition into - for lack of a better word - world music, African-leaning especially, and, as someone who admittedly knows very little about the genres heard, I really liked most of it. Once again, everything had a fun energy to it - while the circumstances surrounding this album are unfortunate, I can’t deny that it sounds like the performers are really enjoying themselves, and that translates in the music. There’s definitely some stuff mixed in that feels a bit like filler, but nothing I found unenjoyable. I even kind of liked the radio DJ dude who popped in between songs, though it was a touch much by the end.
All in all, solid, fun, album - just wish it was the product of actual artists and not a businessman.
Cee Lo Green
3/5
3
F this sexual predator and piece of shit.
That out of the way, I begrudgingly admit to liking most things I’ve heard by CeeLo. I know a lot of people have trouble with his voice, but I’ve always kind of dug it - it’s super distinct and works really well with the brand of soul he puts out. Fuck/Forget You (pick your poison) and Crazy are both classics, and there’s even a cover of Violent Femmes’ Gone Daddy Gone he has with Gnarls that I’ve always liked as well - but man, nothing on this album feels like his A-game in comparison.
For the most part, it’s still pretty decent, but there also isn’t anything here that really stands out as particularly great, which makes an 18-track album like this feel somewhat bloated. There’s definitely some stuff that could have been cut, with Childz Play feeling like the most obvious example (sounded like dude was rapping over an Itchy & Scratchy cartoon minus the gratuitously fun cartoon violence), but honestly, even then I’m not sure how much that would have fixed things. It definitely would have felt less padded, but something about this album also felt really unstructured to me, almost like there was no real flow from one song to the next. In fact, the only time I really found myself in a groove was around the time things started wrapping up with the tracks Sometimes and Let’s Stay Together.
For as much shit as my dad will toss on Sometimes for its flute usage, the instrumentation worked for me paired with the beats and insightful lyrics - though, the highlight of the song (and probably album) for me was the delivery of “Brother I'm eating” as timed with the cutout of the music. Honestly, I have no idea why I got so much enjoyment out of that, but I found myself looking forward to it with each listen. As for Let’s Stay Together, I found it to be a really solid R&B track with an enjoyable feature from Pharrell that… also references Oasis? I refuse to believe that homeboy isn’t with his delivery of “Live foreeeeeeever”.
Anyway, IS CeeLo Green the Soul Machine? Nah, probably not. At least, he’s certainly no Marvin Gaye. The dude has his hits, but I’m not sure he’s a back catalog kind of guy. He’s also a predator, so do with that what you will.
Orbital
1/5
1.5
My first listen to this album came right on the heels of a massive Spotify outage, so when I initially heard the first song, I assumed there must be something still wrong with the platform. Nope, as it turns out, it really is just two minutes of a dude repeating “Where time becomes a loop”.
Somehow, the album doesn’t get much better from there. I genuinely try to keep an open mind with every new entry on this list, but as someone who isn’t really into club techno, this gave me nothing new to appreciate about the genre at all. Most of these songs are annoying, too long, and just assaulting on the senses, and not in a fun, punk rock kind of way that gets you amped up - pissed off maybe, but not in a way that I think was intended. I was constantly having to throttle the volume down on this while listening, not just for my benefit, but also my neighbors', and as a result, I was over this pretty quickly.
There’s one bright spot on this album, if you can even call it that (“dimly lit” may be more accurate), and that’s Halcyon + On + On. It’s certainly not great by any means, but it’s by far the most tolerable track, and I’d even go as far as to admit that it has a bit of an angelic, ethereal quality that might work for me at the right time and place - however, today was not that.
Appropriately, this album is also commonly referred to as “The Brown Album”, presumably because it’s shit. Maybe it’s fun if you’re in the club and on molly, but I don’t see this becoming a part of my Wednesday musical rotation anytime soon. Also, wtf is on the album cover? Are those kidneys??
Drive Like Jehu
4/5
4
Holy shit, 525 albums in, and we finally got an emo album! This list has seriously been lacking, so I can only imagine we’re about to see some Rites of Spring, Jawbreaker, and Sunny Day Real Estate coming down the pipeline soon.
As for Drive Like Jehu, admittedly, I didn’t really know a ton about them going into this, but they couldn’t have popped up at a better time after having just seen Jimmy Eat World this past weekend (amazing show btw). As I learned from their chapter in the emo chronicle, Sellout (amazing book btw), Jimmy Eat World were huge fans of this band, and ultimately recruited drummer Mark Trombino to produce the majority of their albums, including what I would personally consider their magnum opus, Clarity.
Now, this album is quite different from Clarity. In particular, it’s much louder, angrier, and, at times, discordant - and I love it. In some ways, it reminded me of Fugazi. I realize that saying so probably makes me a bit of hypocrite after having just used the phrase “assaulting on the senses” pejoratively in my previous review, but this hits me in a totally different way. Unlike Orbital, these guys seem to be actually saying something, and even if you can’t discern exactly what that is from the lyrics, you can feel it in the performance - in many ways, its imperfection is its charm. This is exactly the kind of shit I love hearing live at my local LA dive bar.
I was a little apprehensive when I saw some of the runtimes, but the longer songs on this album ended up being my favorites, with Do You Compute, Luau, and Sinews being three highlights for me. I liked everything I heard though, with my only real complaints here being that a lot of the songs sound pretty similar and that there seems to lack any one with a real hook to it, but if I’m being honest, despite that, this is the kind of shit I could listen to all day. It’s not quite what I would consider a masterpiece, but it’s something I would happily add to the musical rotation.
Also, it turns out Mark Trambino owns a donut shop in LA, featuring such treats as the “Jimmy Eat Swirl” and “Bacon-182”. Will definitely have to go check it out this weekend.
https://www.donutfriend.com/about-us
Metallica
3/5
3
These fuckers really made a song out of the witch’s castle guard chant from the Wizard of Oz.
Anway, Metallica is a band I used to not be able to stand, primarily for their general “jugjug JUG, jugjug JUG” sound, but it’s grown on me a bit as I’ve gotten older. Still, this album reminded me of what I didn’t like about them when I was younger - while the jugjug sound is fine, it’s really all this has going on. Like, every song here sounds more or less the same, and most go on wayyyyy too long. Even the band themselves admitted that they overdid it a bit on the length, which is why they no longer play any of these songs live except for One.
Speaking of One, best song on the album by far. I would say that’s by default given it’s the only one (npi) that sounds drastically different, but that feels like it would undermine how good the opening actually is. It really is a beautiful song… so it’s such a shame they change it up halfway through just to do the same jugjug thing they do on EVERY other song here. (Admittedly, I fail the introduction of that section every time in Guitar Hero, so I probably have some unresolved conflict there).
I also feel like the general sameness of this album is largely due to the production. It’s no St. Anger by any means, but I challenge you to listen for the bass on any one song. Don’t hear it? That’s because, despite having a full-fledged bassist in the lineup to replace Cliff, they pretty much muted all of his parts. Or more specifically, at James’ and Lars’ request, “Take the bass down so you can just hear it, and then once you've done that, take it down a further three dBs.” No idea why they were such dicks to Jason Newsted, or why they didn’t just fire him if they didn’t enjoy his performance, but they kept him around to “play” on their next three studio albums as well, so it doesn’t seem to be for a lack of effort.
I talked a lot of shit, but for the most part, I think this album is fine. Metallica has grown on me enough that I still found this decent despite its flaws, but as someone still working to explore their discography, I feel like I can confidently say that this one isn’t my favorite.
Joe Ely
2/5
2
This list has opened my mind up to some country music, but this really didn’t do it for me at all. It had more backing instrumentation to it than I was expecting, resulting in a sound that almost bordered on rock at times, but I think that was actually to the album’s detriment - it largely came off to me as feeling overproduced. I think I like my country music a bit more stripped back, and this is not that. At the very least, it should have some sort of interesting songwriting to grab me, and once again, this does not contain that either. Wtf is a Cornbread Moon? Boxcars at least made me think of Boxcar by Jawbreaker, and the opening reminded me of A Horse with No Name by America, but it was ultimately nowhere near as good as either of those tracks. The religious song sucked, and don’t even get me started on Fingernails… I physically cringed imagining the dude’s long, dirty-ass fingernails hitting the piano keys. This is also coming from a chronic nailbiter, so do with that what you will.
Ultimately going with a 2 being that I didn’t find this outright terrible - this is one of those albums that I would say falls more under the “not for me” category than it does the objectionably “bad” category. Still, as someone who has Nashville as a bucket list destination, this is the exact kind of honky tonk I’d like to avoid.
Lucinda Williams
3/5
3.5
I wasn’t thrilled to see back-to-back country albums on this list, especially after not feeling the tonk of Joe Ely’s so-called Masquerade at all, but this came as a bit of a surprise - this is MUCH more of what I want out of my country music. All of the extra BS found on Honky Tonk Masquerade is absent here, and you’re left with more of a stripped back, bare bones, straightforward country album. I mean, yes, the production is still very clean (perhaps cleaner than I would like at times, though shoutout to Steve Earle), and there's for sure a degree of pop sensibility, but something about Lucinda’s presentation feels very personal and vulnerable, which I think allowed me to grab onto this more than I normally would. And man, did I dig her voice - I think some people have a problem with it, but for me its imperfections added to the overall self-expressive charm.
I liked just about every song here, but what ultimately holds me back from giving this a higher rating is the lack of variety for its length. As much as I would like to say it’s the kind of thing where the overall sound and vibe established is good enough for that not to matter, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t checking in on my progress somewhere around Metal Firecracker pretty consistently each time through. The best songs to be found here are definitely in the front half, though I was pretty happy to hear a cameo from my homegirl Emmylou Harris on Greenville, which very well may have saved this album from otherwise losing me around that point.
Still, as someone who doesn’t claim to be the biggest fan of country music, I thought this was pretty good. Definitely something I’ll be revisiting again when I’m in the mood to feel like a heartbroken Southern woman.
Baaba Maal
2/5
2
I don’t like the term “world music” because, well, all music is world music. The way it’s typically used feels like an anglocentric term that generalizes an incredibly vast, diverse scope of genres that span the entire globe as simply “non-English”, almost as if they’re a lesser product or an afterthought compared to anything you can find stateside, across the pond, or, to a lesser extent, from the Great White North (sorry Canucks, if it’s between the three, you’re sitting firmly in third, though I’ll give you all credit for Alanis and Crash Test Dummies).
That being said, I’d be lying if I said I don’t share the same difficulties with so-called “world music” that many others do… it’s just hard for me to grab on to something that I can’t really understand. I’ll be the first to admit that’s entirely a product of my own ignorance surrounding foreign language, but it’s unfortunately a barrier for me nonetheless. Obviously there’s much more expression to be found within music than just what the singer is saying - instrumentals exist for a reason - but lyrics resonate heavily with me, so you’re really going to have to make me feel your “voice” in your performance if you want it to strike me the same way as some of my favorites.
And this… does not. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun. Hell, I’ll say this, if there’s one thing English-speaking countries suck at, it’s fun music - no matter how enjoyable some of our stuff may be, you can tell that we don’t know how to have a good time like the rest of the world does. But in this case, it’s just not really an interesting kind of fun. Nothing about this album felt particularly groundbreaking or really all that remarkable in any way, and as a result, it reeeeally started to drag on about halfway through.
Overall, really more of a net “mid” for me, but the length pushes this just into the realm of “dislike”. I certainly owe more of this genre (Fula) a listen, but I’m not sure Baaba Maal is it for me. Shoutout to his work on the Black Panther score though - maybe I owe that a relisten to help bridge the gap.
The Libertines
3/5
3
The Wikipedia page for this album describes it as “particularly biographical of the relationship between frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty”, and I thought that was pretty neat - how often do you see bands fronted by a couple, let alone a gay couple? And I went right on thinking that even after listening multiple times because - Holy Britain, Batman - I could not tell you a damn thing that’s said anywhere here. Is it romantic? I don’t know, presumably. As it turns out, no, no it’s not. The two dudes were not, in fact, romantically involved, nor have they ever been, Wikipedia was simply referring to their platonic and working relationship. Oops. Though, to be fair, look up like any picture of the two - as of this writing, the group’s primary Spotify profile picture shows them seemingly inches away from shoving their tongues down each other’s throats. I think my confusion was somewhat grounded.
I digress, this album was kind of a mess… but I also kind of liked it for that reason. As mentioned, it’s British to the point of borderline incoherency, which isn’t helped by the fact that the guys can’t really sing all that well either, and yet there’s just enough of a sense of drunken hooliganism to it all that I found it oddly charming. There were songs here that I found quite annoying at first, like Don’t Be Shy and Music When the Lights Go Out, that ended up growing on me upon subsequent re-listens.
That said, this album’s biggest strength is also its biggest weakness - there’s certainly charm to be found in its messiness but not really a ton of catch. Like, some of these songs almost seem to make it a point to be as uncatchy as possible. Maybe that’s just a part of its garage and punk influence, but it doesn’t really lend itself to a ton of replayability, especially considering the lack of clear messaging or direction. Speaking of punk influence, I was pretty surprised to see that this was produced by Mick Jones of The Clash, as I didn’t really find that it translated into the music in any meaningful way. I mean, I guess it does feel like Barât and Doherty were going for a bit of Jones-Strummer dynamic of their own, but if so, this is like the Walmart-brand version of that in comparison.
Despite its flaws, there’s just something about this album that I kinda liked. Maybe it’s a situation where I like its energy more than its actual music, I don’t know, but I’m walking away feeling positive about it. Though, apparently the BBC once ranked this as the #3 most overrated album of all-time, right behind Nirvana’s Nevermind and Coldplay’s X&Y, which is absolutely mind-boggling to me - not necessarily because I disagree, but because I have no idea how it even ended up on a list like that with those artists.
Johnny Cash
3/5
3.5
This album is a little hard for me to rate because I feel like what it represents is greater than what it actually is - that being, a late-career cover album with adaptations that range from phenomenal to mediocre. But the true magic of this album lies in the context - this isn’t so much a collection of “Johnny Cash Plays His Favorites!” as it is a carefully curated set of songs that speak to the mindset of the Man in Black in his final days, and it’s incredibly powerful at times. There are themes of self-reflection, regret, love, and loss that tie the otherwise miscellaneous assortment of songs together, and chief among them far and away is Hurt. There’s not much to say about the song that hasn’t already been said, but I also don’t really think I need to try - it speaks for itself. As much as I love the original version of the song, it’s hard to argue with Trent Reznor when even he himself claimed the song was no longer his own - though, I guess that didn’t happen until after he saw the music video (before that, he supposedly said it felt like Johnny Cash was “f***ing his girlfriend”). If you haven’t seen the video (probably unlikely if you’re a music fan but still putting this out there), it’s a must-watch, though prepare for an emotional sucker punch straight to the gut.
Outside of Hurt, my two favorites were the opener, The Man Comes Around, and the cover of Sting’s I Hung My Head (way better than the original), but beyond those… I found a lot of the songs here kind of middling. The covers of Bridge Over Troubled Water and Personal Jesus weren’t bad, and there’s a certain novelty to hearing Johnny Cash’s take on them, but I didn’t think either was as good as the original (though I am embarrassed to say that this is how I found out they’ve been saying “Reach out, touch faith” and not “Reach out, touch me” this whole time). A lot of the back half is pretty forgettable, especially the more traditional stuff like Danny Boy, which leads me to almost wanting to say that some of the stuff here could have been cut without much lost. Given that this was the guy’s last album and all (at least released while he was still alive), I’m not sure I have myself fully sold on that, but I think there’s an argument to be made that this could have been a more cohesive emotional experience with some trimming.
However, that said, this album absolutely sticks the landing and then some with its closer. One thing I kept finding myself thinking while listening was “Why the hell is Hurt the second track? That absolutely should have been the closer,” but We’ll Meet Again turned out to be about as good an alternative as I could have hoped for. For as impactful as Hurt may be, it’s ultimately a song about regret and shame, and choosing to end on a note of hope instead was probably the right call, especially with a track as classic as this one (Does anybody here remember Vera Lynn? Remember how she said that we would meet again some sunny day?). Also, the Fallout fan in me appreciated that he retained the opening from the Ink Spots’ cover of the song - you know, the one from every single one of their other songs.
An emotional roller coaster of an album, but not the best collection of music I’ve heard. I feel like my rating could go a bit in either direction depending on how much value I want to place into each aspect, but for the purposes of this review, a 3.5 seems fair.
Queen
3/5
3.5
It feels appropriate to kick off Pride month with a Queen album, and what a Queen album at that. For as much as the term “rock opera” is thrown around, I don’t think there’s any other group that’s done it quite like this - while Queen has certainly always had their quirks, this is when they really started to get weird with it, and it makes for a really fun, unique listen.
That said, I don’t feel like I love this album as much as I’d like to. It’s enjoyable, with a certain goofy vibe to it that feels like it could lift the lowest of spirits, but at the same time, it also just feels like it lacks great tracks. There are for sure a few that I’ll get to, but stuff like Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon, Seaside Rendezvous, Sweet Lady, and Good Company just don’t come off to me as feeling particularly strong or replayable. They do fit within the context of the album, so you could argue that they serve their purpose, but I also feel like they give off more of a feeling of “filler” than I personally would like. And then on the other hand, you also have flashier, but terrible songs like I’m In Love With My Car and You’re My Best Friend. Honestly, I don’t hate Roger Taylor’s ode to his car as much as I think a lot of bigger Queen fans do, but it for sure has “token Ringo song” energy to it, to the point where the band themselves even thought the song was a joke when he first played it for them. However, my hot take - You’re My Best Friend is much worse (the John Deacon written song on the album in this case). For an album that broke the mold in many ways, YMBF feels like an incredibly safe, generic pop song from the era, especially paired with its very unremarkable, uncreative lyrics. I’m all for full-on band collaboration, but when the two guys saw what Mercury and May were cooking with this particular album, perhaps they should have stepped back.
Those out of the way, l do want to shine a light on the handful of great songs found here - Death on Two Legs is a great opener and one of my favorites by the group in general, though my time with the album here actually introduced me to a couple of new favorites in the form of ‘39 and The Prophet’s Song. ‘39 is apparently Brian May’s take on a pirate shanty, but in this case, about space sailors who’ve returned to Earth after some Interstellar shit went down only to find 100 years have passed and everyone they know and love is dead. Not exactly a light topic, but it tracks for the astrophysicist. The Prophet’s Song, on the other hand, feels like a cross between Bohemian Rhapsody and something off of Queen II, my personal favorite album from the group. It just almost grows annoying with the “now I know” section, but it being Freddie Mercury, it works for me - not sure I would say the same if it were coming from anyone else. Love of My Life is a beautiful song that will always make me think of the Taylor Hawkins Tribute Show in LA (performed by May and dedicated to Mercury), and then, obviously, you have Bohemian Rhapsody itself, which is basically the finale to this album. Look, it's obviously great, but man, I am so sick of this song. Like, I could go another five years without having to hear it again and be okay with that. That said, for the purposes of this review, I feel like I have to detach myself a bit from personal experience to really focus on what the song is - and that is a musical masterpiece. It takes a certain kind of mind to come up with this kind of song, and to say that Freddie Mercury was anything short of musical genius and rock icon just based on this track alone feels like sacrilege. For us overplayed as it may be, can you name any other song that has had TWO renaissances like the Wayne’s World and Bohemian Rhapsody films provided this? I certainly can’t. And Lord knows we’ll probably experience another in 15 years or so.
So, I guess that’s all to say that I think this is a very unique, memorable album with great moments, but it just has a bit too much (or perhaps even a lack) of things that holds this back from true greatness. Still, I think what this does most importantly is serve as a reminder that Freddie Mercury was truly one of a kind, and his music and memory will live on forever.
Solomon Burke
3/5
3
I’ve never heard of Solomon Burke, but I’ve now seen a few reviewers stress both him and this album as important pieces of musical history for their role in shaping soul music. Considering when this came out, I can’t say that I disagree, but I also can’t help but wonder if he’s being given perhaps a bit too much credit considering James Brown and Sam Cooke had already been doing this kind of thing for a couple of years now. Hell, Sam Cooke even had an album literally entitled “Mr. Soul” that came out a year prior. That’s not to say this album is unenjoyable or unimportant by any means, but overall it just doesn’t feel quite as significant or all that captivating to me as compared to the albums we’ve heard from JB & SC on this list. Granted, theirs were both live albums, so that may have played a factor - maybe I just need to hear my guy Sol perform live to get it as well, but unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like he has any from this era.
Still, this certainly has that classic soul sound to it we all know and love, but in this case it’s just associated with a disjointed assortment of good, but not great tracks. You start on a high note with Cry to Me, which is probably the best song here and also one that I’m pretty sure I’ve heard at some point or another, but things quickly get pretty middling from there. It never turned into anything that I disliked, but it also never really turned into anything that I found remarkable either. I did dig the backing vocalists that were featured on a lot of the songs, especially the one in particular that had the call and “Dum Dum” response kind of thing going on, but I couldn’t point you to which track that was now if I tried.
Not something I would call great or important myself, but it’s certainly not bad.
Pentangle
2/5
2.5
I like a lot of UK music, and generally speaking, I try to keep an open mind to anything I hear, but this feels very much like the kind of thing that the Brits would hail as “brilliant” while us Americans squint our eyes and try to make sense of it. I suppose it’s basically the album equivalent of Better Man in that regard.
That’s not to say I thought this was bad. In many ways, it reminded a lot of Fairport Convention, but if they had more of a “psychedelic ren faire” sort of vibe to them. Appropriately, I had pretty much the same reaction to this that I did to the actual ren faire I went to about a month ago, being, I’m glad that I experienced it, but I don’t think I need to again.
I have mixed feelings about the sound overall, but ultimately I would call this an inferior version of what Fairport Convention was also currently doing, with Unhalfbricking even coming out the very same year. Hell, both groups even have similarly sounding female vocalists, and while I didn’t mind Jacqui McShee, she never really captivated me like Sandy Denny does on the aforementioned FC record. (Also, she was never featured on a Led Zeppelin song to my knowledge, so she has that going against her too.) What Pentangle DOES have is Bert Jansch, a dude whose solo album I rated somewhat highly, but what I heard there didn’t seem to translate through on this album to me in any meaningful way.
Ultimately, this is one of those albums I wouldn’t say that I disliked, but I found to be most of a non-presence while listening, and any good aspect that’s to be found here is something I feel like you could find a better version of elsewhere. At some point I’ve heard it mentioned that the curator of this list is British, and I can’t help but wonder if that bias is showing through here.
Ali Farka Touré
2/5
2.5
This is our second outing with Ali on this list, and my opinion is largely unchanged from the first time around - incredibly impressive guitar work, but the songs are too long and repetitive. I liked the sound of just about everything I heard, but each track grew old about halfway through, resulting in this album feeling like a bit of a slog towards the end.
That said, I was really impressed with the production on this album. For being over 30 years old, no part of this felt outdated in any way, and the guitars have this great, crisp sound to them that does Farke’s music a lot of favors. That’s probably the most positive thing I can say about this though - while I admire the guy’s guitar work, I just don’t think it’s implemented into great or memorable songwriting, at least not here.
Not bad, but would benefit greatly from a bit of trimming - no song here really felt like it needed to be 5+ minutes. Also, Sega had nothing to do with the blue hedgehog (or maybe it did idk I don’t speak Fula).
The Fall
3/5
3.5
I previously referred to The Fall as sounding like “karaoke from a guy who’s about to be cut off at the pub”, and I still stand by that here - but in the case of this particular album, it worked for me. The more conventional punk sound does huge favors for that kind of performance, and while it tends to border more on drunken ramblings than it does any kind of charged commentary, a part of me was still like “Go off, Mark!” with each song.
Yeah, a lot of the stuff in the middle sort of blends together, especially considering the loose structure and same general Homestar Runner-esque keyboard patterns that are paired with most tracks, but when you keep things short and catchy like this does, it’s pretty hard not to enjoy yourself at least somewhat, incoherent as it might be. I can’t say that I listened to the full 2.5 hour deluxe edition of the album found on Spotify, but I thought that the 11 track, 38 minute run from the original release was perfect. This isn’t really the kind of thing that feels like it needs to be longer than that (hence my hesitation with the deluxe edition), though ironically, my favorite songs ended up being two of the longest ones, Frightened and Music Scene, the opener and closer, respectively.
This probably isn’t the kind of thing I personally would call a must-listen, a masterpiece, or even really all that important aside from being among the earlier post-punk albums, but I found it enjoyable - and sometimes, that’s all music needs to be.
Super Furry Animals
2/5
2.5
The more Britpop I listen to, the more I realize I have no f’ing clue what this genre actually is. The popular acts like Oasis and Blur would have you believe it’s simply British ‘90s alternative rock, with a bit more pop sensibility and cheerful disposition to it than the outgoing grunge movement in America, but lesser-known artists we’ve seen on this list like Suede, The Coral, and now these guys have really left me scratching my head. Like, if I didn’t have this site and Wikipedia to label the genre, I would have no idea what to call this - it’s not really rock, it’s not really pop, it just kind of… is. Given its place on this list, I have no doubt some critics probably hailed it as some brilliant form of cross-genre fusion, but to me, it felt less like that and more like a disorganized mess of sound.
The only song here that I thought was somewhat catchy or remarkable was Something 4 the Weekend, but even then, I wouldn’t go as far as to call it great (there was also something about it that reminded me of Please Do Not Go by the Violent Femmes, though I can’t exactly explain why that is). Though I’ll give the group this - just after being disappointed that Ali Farka Touré’s song Sega was not about Sonic, these guys gave me a song about Super Mario. Or, at least, I’m fairly certain they did - the lyrics are kinda vague, but they mention a “shell suit” and “[playing] so hard he's got blisters on his fingers”, so I’m just going to assume he’s the topic at hand.
I didn’t dislike this, but overall, I just found it sort of confusing and messy in the most British way possible. Mixed in all the chaos, there were moments that I enjoyed - some that even reminded me of Gorillaz - but mostly this felt like a collage of unmethodical noise in the background. Once again, this is another inclusion I’m going to chalk up to the list curator’s British bias.
Hanoi Rocks
2/5
2
This band sounded really familiar to me, though I’m not sure exactly why because I certainly don’t recognize any of their songs. In looking them up, it turns out it was the drummer for this band that Vince Neil killed in his drunk driving accident. I’m not positive if that's the reason I know the name, but in any case, F Vince Neil.
That said, in listening to this album, I have to say this is one of the most confusing inclusions to me so far. It’s not terrible by any means, but I’ve seen no real sort of acclaim surrounding it, and I don’t feel like I’m hearing anything all that special myself. Granted, I’m not the biggest hair metal fan normally, but by the genre’s standards, this felt incredibly tame. The songwriting isn’t the worst I’ve heard, but there also aren’t really a ton of hooks, catch, or edge to be found, nor is there really any substance in the lyrics. A lot of this comes off as cheesy, or in the case of Lick Summer Love - the token sexually explicit song seemingly required on every album of this era - pretty cringe.
If this is your thing, that’s great, but personally, I have no idea what someone would get out of this album. For all the gripes I’ve lodged at hair bands, “boring” has not been one used until I heard this.
The Soft Boys
3/5
3.5
I’ve seen a lot of people refer to this album as the bridge between classic rock and indie rock, and I can totally hear that. Like, if you took REM, combined them with a group like The Byrds, then threw in a dash of early David Bowie for good measure, this is the album you would end up with. So, it makes a lot of sense that REM, did in fact, name this group as a major influence, and knowing that, you can’t help but notice that so many elements of their sound are found here, though admittedly in a sort of primitive state.
As someone who likes quite a bit of REM’s stuff, I quite liked what I heard here. Still, the degree it borders on conventional classic rock holds it back from greatness, especially with how much it wears its own influences on its sleeve at times (Positive Vibrations? Really?), but overall, this is an enjoyable album that doesn’t outstay its welcome, and I think there’s certainly an argument to be made regarding its importance on the decade ahead, despite how bad it flopped upon initial release. I liked just about every song here, some more than others (Old Pervert was a little questionable), but I Wanna Destroy You, Insanely Jealous of You, and the title track were my favorites. I even liked the bonus tracks included on Spotify as well, with He’s a Reptile, Strange, and Where are the Prawns being songs that stood out to me as well.
While I wouldn’t say I’m walking away in love with this album or The Soft Boys, I will say that this is exactly what I was hoping for with this list - being introduced to lesser-known, but influential artists that I end up liking myself. Good pull, Mr. Dimery - I’m even willing to overlook the fact that one of these guys is responsible for Katrina and The Waves’ Walking on Sunshine.
Girls Against Boys
3/5
3.5
I wasn’t really sure what to expect out of this album with the genre listed as “post-hardcore”. Like, I barely know what classifies as post-punk half the time, is this just New Order, but mosh-able?
Turns out, yeah, it sort of is. It’s heavy, but catchy; melodic, but grungy (certainly a product of 1993). Hell, there even seemed to be some early traces of post-grunge and nu metal in there that I really wanted to hate but couldn’t bring myself to. So, I guess that’s to say I found this to be a pretty good album. I really dug the overall ambience created within the production, though, at the same time, it’s also very same-y, to the point where I didn’t even realize songs had switched over half the time - which isn’t helped by the general lack of substance in the lyrics. Like, yes, you could argue that this flows well, but there’s just not really a ton of twists and turns to keep the ride exciting. That said, I did walk away with a few favorite tracks, those being In Like Flynn, Rockets are Red, and Learned It, though I couldn’t really tell you why exactly I like them more - I think their choruses might be a bit more catchy?
I’m not exactly sure why this album made this list (unless it truly is because of its influence on post-grunge and nu metal, in which case I’m forcing myself to resist from docking it points), but I had an enjoyable time with it. I can’t say this made me into a huge Girls Against Boys fan, but they’ve probably earned themself a spot or two in the musical rotation.
Beastie Boys
5/5
5
On paper, it feels like this album had no business being as successful as it was. Three white boys injecting frat bro energy into a genre predominantly comprised of black musicians seems like a recipe for becoming laughing stocks of the entire musical world, and yet, not only did they manage to pull it off without landing flat on their faces, but it kickstarted a decades-spanning, multi-award-winning career beloved and respected by many a music fan. As someone born long after this album dropped, I can only wonder if anyone saw that on the horizon at the time.
I mean, this album is fantastic, but it’s also by far their most gimmicky and one-dimensional - had they stuck with this kind of thing on future albums, I’m sure the schtick would have grown old fast, but in this 44-minute package, it’s done perfectly. In many ways, I’m sure that’s owed to Rick Rubin’s production, but you can’t deny that the songwriting across the board is fun, catchy, and oftentimes quite creative. For as overplayed as Fight For Your Right and No Sleep Till Brooklyn are, they’re songs that I still enjoy hearing every single time that they come on and that I know every word to. Yes, they’re cheesy as all hell, but there’s something about The Beasties' energy, chemistry, and perhaps degree of self-awareness that make them totally work - and those are just a small taste of what this album has to offer. Rhymin and Stealin is an all-time classic with an incredible sample to back it up, and something about it today always makes me think of my dad - hell, I’m pretty sure I knew half the lyrics to this album before I even reached my teenage years because of him. The New Style is another great track with an all-time breakdown (everyone raises an eyebrow at the “underage girls” bar, but if you look at the line before it, I’m pretty sure they’re calling out Jimmy Page), as is She’s Crafty right after it (hey look yet another Led Zeppelin sample - I sense a common theme). To be honest, there’s just not a bad song here, though I will say I’ve always found Paul Revere to be a little overrated. I know it’s a fan favorite, but it just never stood out to me especially - though “I did it like this, I did it like that/I did it with a wiffleball bat” lives in my head rent-free more often than I’d like to admit (thanks again, Dad). And obviously, yes, Girls hasn’t held up super well, catchy as it may be. I like to think it’s satire (as is Fight For Your Right, allegedly, per MCA), but it likely may have very well been just a product of the bro characterization the Boys were pigeonholed into on this album. Not saying it’s an excuse, but I think their subsequent works prove they were much more than that.
Which, really, is why I really struggle with my rating on this. As good as it is, it’s really their later works that really proved their musicianship - quite immediately, in fact, with the album that followed this, Paul’s Boutique. And yet, you can’t deny just how fun this record is and how much it influenced the musical world around it - despite arguably co-opting hip-hop, I’ve been surprised to learn with this list how many other groups went on to sample this very album, including N.W.A. and Public Enemy. Guess the Boys had some serious respect in the game, even back then.
F it. Going with the 5. I had a blast revisiting this album, and it brought back a lot of great memories. Call my rating heavily biased if you want, but going back and looking at a lot of my past 4 or even 4.5-star albums, I’d much rather listen to this - if I’m not already singing it in karaoke with my boy Evan.
Kick it!
Richard Thompson
3/5
3
Apparently this is the lead guitarist and songwriter of Fairport Convention with his wife. I’ve liked some of the Fairport Convention stuff we’ve heard on this list, but I think their music is carried heavily by singer Sandy Denny. Not that Richard (or his wife) are bad singers, but their voices certainly don’t captivate me like hers does - nor does really any of their music here.
Still, I found most of this decent, though there’s not really anything that’s particularly great or standout either. It also has that ren faire-esque sort of quality to it that a lot of British folk groups from this era seem to have that I’m not overly fond of. In this particular instance, there’s a certain charm to the alternating male/female vocals, and the songwriting borders on catchy at times with When I Get To the Border and the title track, but overall it ultimately seems to boil down to a same-y amalgamation of Richard’s past work with FC and their contemporaries.
Not bad, but probably not the kind of thing I would go out of my way to revisit. While I’ve certainly heard worse versions of this kind of sound, I’ve certainly also heard better. That said, I feel like this could be a vibe if heard live in a British pub. Hell, I may have that opportunity soon.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
2
Had a few thoughts on this album, then I read what it’s about, so I’ll keep this brief. I don’t wish the loss of a child upon anyone. I can’t imagine what Nick must have been going through while writing and recording this album, and I really hope it helped him achieve a sense of catharsis that I’m sure he so desperately needed. I’m also happy for him to see that this received mass critical acclaim, though I’m sure that means very little to him in the grander scheme of things.
I can’t say this album really spoke to me personally, but I’m probably very fortunate in that regard. That said, I do think there’s something quite profound about the longest two tracks here, Ghosteen and Hollywood. Ghosteen encapsulates all the emotions of this album quite effectively in a 12-minute suite (probably why it’s the title track), and then Hollywood serves as a sort of epilogue from there, with the repeated lyric, “And I'm just waiting now, for my time to come” being an absolute gut punch knowing the context of this album. It’s the kind of sentiment you wish upon nobody, but you can’t help but sympathize with coming from someone in his shoes.
I have to imagine for many, Cave included, this is a very situational listen, and in those moments, I hope this helps those that need it.
Fats Domino
3/5
3
This is the kind of thing I can’t imagine anyone listening to and not enjoying. There was something about the first wave of rock and roll that had so much charm and spirit to it - or at least it did before white people got to it. I say that semi-jokingly as an Elvis fan, but music like this is an important reminder that rock and roll lived and breathed long before the King’s hips hit Ed Sullivan.
I enjoyed every track here, and, at 27 minutes, it certainly never outstayed its welcome, but if I’m being honest, most of this runs together. Blueberry Hill and Blue Monday (disappointingly not the precursor to New Order’s 1983 hit) were probably my two favorites tracks, but it’s all kind of the same from there. Fortunately, the good vibes make up for it, but a bit more diversity in sound and songwriting likely would have made this more of a remarkable listen. Also, I know that it was 1956 and that I shouldn’t judge from a modern lens, but I have the same issue with this that I do a lot of other albums from this era, in that it feels disorganized, like no thought was put into the order or flow of songs at all. Which almost certainly was the case - after all, most albums at the time were just assortments of whatever stuff the artist had floating around - but I also think it’s fair to expect some level of consideration.
I digress, I would call this enjoyable music, but not a great album. That said, as an artist, Fats Domino’s importance and influence can’t be understated - any self-respecting rock fan owes it to themselves to give his stuff a listen.
Orbital
2/5
2.5
Seriously, these guys made it on this list TWICE? And as if to spite me for making fun of the kidneys on their previous album cover, they went ahead and straight-up put a phallus on this one (please tell me you all see this too and that I’m not just having a weird Freudian moment).
Anyway, I actually thought this was better than their poop album, but more so because it’s inoffensive rather than it is really any good. It seems that Orbital went in more of an ambient direction this time around than they did a club-oriented one, and while they certainly didn’t do anything wondrous with that, it does offer the smallest hint of a vibe at times. Like, the opener, Forever, had me feeling like I was sitting at the main menu of a 2000s racing game - for a second there, it was like I was a ten-year old kid again. That’s really the most positive thing I can say about this album though - the rest of this is just unremarkable, uninteresting techno. Are We Here? Idk, I’m pretty checked out.
Fortunately, nothing here is grating except for Quality Seconds, which they thankfully kept to under 90 of (though none of which were quality), but overall, this is the kind of thing I found myself forgetting I was listening to while working and I’ll likely have entirely forgotten about in a week’s time.
Cowboy Junkies
3/5
3
This is one of those situations where I liked the general sound of what I heard but found a full, 52-minutes’ worth of it to be WAY too much. I say that as someone who typically enjoys a good moody-feeling album, and while I do genuinely think singer Margo Timmins’ voice pairs nicely with the music in that regard, aside from the acapella opener, every song here sounds like it’s doing the exact same thing, resulting in a listen that feels much longer than it should. That said, I do think the cover of Velvet Underground’s Sweet Jane is a highlight and likely why I’m scoring this on the higher side of “okay”. Blue Moon isn’t bad either, but it’s the kind of cover that just makes me want to go back and listen to the original (or Elvis’ in this case) instead. I’m not exactly sure what they did to pay their respects in “revisiting” it here, but whatever it is, it certainly doesn’t do anything to add to the song in any meaningful way.
This feels like the kind of album made to be paired with a quiet evening and a glass of wine, but I really can’t say my initial listens have compelled me to try that out. We love our Northern neighbors (and I’m certainly jealous of their healthcare right now as I type this with a broken wrist), but Alanis this is not. Hell, this isn’t even Crash Test Dummies. Better than Nickelback though. Ultimately, probably too subtle for its own good.
The Charlatans
3/5
3
Yet another ‘90s British band I’ve never heard of with an incredibly mid effort. I’ve mentioned the list curator’s British bias before, so I won’t harp on that, but I’m genuinely unsure why this album made it on. It isn’t bad, but it is generic alternative rock without a ton of personality or style to it - and when there is some personal flair to be found, it’s mostly just the lead singer’s attempt at doing a Bob Dylan impression. Mr. Zimmerman was apparently a huge influence on the band when they were composing this album, to the point where they named two songs here after his: North Country Boy, which is supposedly a response to Girl from the North Country, and You’re a Big Girl Now, which is verbatim a title from Blood on the Tracks - and no, it’s not a cover (though it is one of the better songs here).
As for the rest of this album… meh. It sounds fine, but it also isn’t overly remarkable or enjoyable. I’m not normally a huge instrumental guy, but I did actually kind of dig the two here and thought they helped with the flow of the album. Supposedly they were only included as a sort of homage to their keyboardist who passed during the album’s production (the Rob of Rob’s Theme), but it seems like my guy was cooking behind the scenes - maybe he would have gone on to have a George Harrison sort of reputation had he lived a little longer.
We love our across the pond neighbors (I’m once again jealous of a fellow first world country’s healthcare as I continue typing with a broken wrist), but Oasis this is not. Hell, this isn’t even The Verve. Better than Radiohead though.
The Divine Comedy
2/5
2
Oh God, not this dude again. Much earlier on this list, my first impression of this guy was that he’s an overdramatic Sinatra wannabe, and now, 500 albums later, my opinion hasn’t changed at all - this album just feels pompous, pretentious, and theatrical to a point of being borderline insufferable. You can tell there’s some Morrissey and Prince influence buried in here with the sort of delivery and mysterious romantic frontman persona Neil Hannon attempts to give off, but he has none of the charm or personality in comparison - or the lyrical ability. I mentioned this in my last review as well, but holy cow, some of these lyrics are AWFUL. Fortunately, I didn’t clock anything this time around as bad as "If you were a horse/I'd clean the crap out of your stable/And never once complain", but there is a weird recurring horse motif to be found here as well, both with the final track title and the lyric, “You deserve to be horse-whipped/But I've no horse, that joke's so shit” on Through a Long & Sleepless Night. Seriously dude, wtf’s with the horse thing? And that’s not even the worst line on that song - shortly before that, he charms you with, “It's four o'clock and all's not well/In my private circle of hell/I contemplate my navel hair/And slowly slide into despair”. Just… gross.
That all said, I’m actually rating this one just a touch higher than A Short Album About Love. It’s been a while, but I seem to remember that one being pretty boring musically. I can’t say that I loved the music or squeaky clean production on this album either, but it at least feels like it’s trying to be interesting at times - with a different lead singer and lyricist, perhaps I’d like this a little bit more. As is, I don’t see myself coming back… to this or probably anything else The Divine Comedy might have.
Laura Nyro
2/5
2.5
I’ll give it this - for being released in 1968, this album has incredible production to it that makes it feel years ahead of its time, especially considering how weirdly high quality the cover photo is as well. Like, if yesterday you told me this was the cover to Billie Eilish’s new single, I might believe it for a sec. Are we sure Laura Nyro isn’t a time traveler?
And yet, for all its polish, like others have mentioned, this just sounds like a Carole King album. For many people I’m sure that’s a great thing, but for me, I have all the same gripes with this that I did Tapestry - middle-of-the-road, inoffensive, safe, uninteresting, devoid of personality, take your pick. Considering this came first, I’ll give her kudos for the clear influence that she had on Carole and many others I’m sure, but this just doesn’t interest me. I can’t say I thought anything I heard here was bad, but as someone who has started taking morning walks as of lately, this really made me feel the full duration of my neighborhood loop - and this album really isn’t even that long.
Everything sounds mostly the same, so I don’t have much to comment on song-wise. I had a weird gripe with the song Emmie for, despite its title, only using “Emily” in its lyrics, but I guess it does shift over at some point, and I just never noticed in my four listens. Think that goes to say a lot about my experience with this album.
I really try to give everything a fair shake on this list, but this did not grab me at all.
CHIC
3/5
3.5
You know, it embarrasses me to say, but despite being well familiar with both Good Times and Rapper’s Delight, it never occurred to me until this listening that The Sugarhill Gang were sampling Chic the whole time. It seems obvious in hindsight, but I’m not kidding when I say this was a major revelation had during my morning walk.
Rapper’s Delight is a fantastic song, and so is its original form, Good Times - in a lot of ways, they feel like two sides of the same, groovy coin. I’ve said before that I’m not much of a disco fan, but I have no idea how someone couldn’t get down to a track like this - as cheesy as it is to say, it’s the exact kind of thing that makes you want to get up from your desk and start dancing around the room. Your coworkers might judge you, but hey, that’s the power of music. Despite running over 8 minutes long, it never once feels like it oversteps or loses steam in any way (unlike the extended version of Rapper’s Delight), and it’s missed once it’s over… especially considering the song after it, A Warm Summer Night. I said it before with C'est Chic, and I’ll say it again here - I just can’t get into the slower R&B tracks from the group. They’re not terrible, but they’re also not overly interesting and feel a bit like vibe killers given the groove surrounding them.
So, this results in some highs and lows on the album for me, but ultimately nothing comes close to the high of Good Times. My Feet Keep Dancing and My Forbidden Lover are also both excellent, but they don’t quite scratch the same itch for me that the opener does. Still, generally enjoyable album. I went back and forth a few times if this really earned that extra half star, but hey, if you have me dancing around my apartment during work, you’re probably doing something right (shoutout to wfh saving me from the judgment of my peers).
The Byrds
3/5
3
Throughout this entire list, I’ve been told that The Byrds are a sort of proto-psychedelic band, and I’m finally just now hearing it with this album… which is ironic considering the country/folk vibes given off by the cover. Granted, I’m pretty sure the horse is only there as a jab at ex-Byrd David Crosby, despite what the other members have had to say over the years - it feels pretty damn deliberate to me.
I digress, I’ll finally concede that The Byrds have a psychedelic sound to them here… but is it a sound that was really all that formative for the genre? Surrealistic Pillow, Are You Experienced, and The Door’s debut were all already a year old at this point, and Donovan already had a few albums under his belt. Also, these guys ditched this exact sound not even a year later with their followup and actual country album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. I know The Byrds had been around a hot minute themselves at this point, but I can’t help but wonder if their influence on the genre is perhaps a touch overblown.
That said, I thought the overall sound of this album was enjoyable, and in particular, I liked how most songs flowed into the next. Still, this suffers the same problem for me that all of their other albums do, in that no one song in particular feels like a standout or really all that remarkable in any way. Given this is more of a psychedelic album, you could argue that’s not the point, you’re just supposed to unplug and enjoy the ride, but I found this ride pretty tame - if we were going based off the Cedar Point scale, I guess this would be like the gondola that takes you over the park.
Maybe I’m just a little too young to understand their importance, but I don’t really think The Byrds are for me. They’re not bad, but I think you can find the same sounds captured on their records in better forms from other artists, some I’d be willing to concede they probably influenced.
Crowded House
2/5
2
The name Crowded House sounded really familiar to me, but I couldn’t seem to place a song by them - and after listening to this album, I can see why. Holy cow, is this music plain. Like, I don’t think I could come up with safer-sounding radio rock music if I tried. It’s certainly far from the most offensive sounding thing I’ve heard on this list, but man, was I bored. And wtf are some of these lyrics?
“I saw Elvis Presley walk out of a Seven Eleven
And a woman gave birth to a baby and then bowled 257
The excess of fat on your American bones
Will cushion the impact as you sink like a stone”
Part of me wants to give points for creativity, but at the same time, it’s also just kind of nonsense. I’m not really sure what they were trying to say on any given song here, if anything at all. Not that I was really expecting an album entitled Woodface to impart any kind of profound or lasting message, but I just don’t think there’s much substance in either the music or lyrics. Honestly, my favorite moment was the hidden track, I’m Still Here - it’s like the one time these guys actually woke up and put some energy into their music, and it’s the very last minute of the album.
From a technical perspective, I think the album is fine, but from a musical one, I just don’t find it interesting - can’t imagine your house is going to be too crowded if you put this on. Or, judging by the hundreds of millions of Spotify plays, maybe it will, what do I know?
Incubus
3/5
3.5
Ngl, this album probably has no place being on this list, but I’m pleasantly surprised to see it nonetheless. I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Incubus (shoutout to the Pandora game with Will), and while I probably wouldn’t call them massively influential or a must-listen band myself, I think they have a handful of good songs. Turns out, a few of them are found here.
Yep, the hits are all bangers. Drive is admittedly a bit overplayed, but I still usually tend to enjoy it whenever I hear it, and Stellar and Pardon Me are two songs that rarely fail to amp me up, the catchy bolts of energy they are. That said, a lot of the deeper cuts here are really solid as well, with Privilege, I Miss You, and Out From Under all being favorites. Hell, I even dug the instrumental, Battlestar Scralatchica, a song that I think highlights the uniqueness of this album, in that it’s rock music with a DJ turntable twist. I was a little surprised to see the genre listed as nu metal, as I’ve always kind of thought of Incubus as more of a generic ‘90s alternative rock group, but the more I listened to this, the more apt that label felt.
Enjoyable listen, but I walked away from this with the same general sentiment I had going in - Incubus are good, but not any kind of all-time greats. The sound and production are solid, and songwriting oftentimes catchy, but if it weren’t for the hits, I think this album would largely blend together. Tbh, it nearly does as is.
Fun fact I learned though - this album was recorded in my neighborhood. I actually walked past the studio as I was listening without even realizing it. It also happens to be the same studio Linkin Park recorded all of their albums in, including Hybrid Theory. Never realized I was next to a place of musical history.
5/5
5
Late nights spent playing Halo with Will. Driving around in Colin’s white minivan. Performing Wonderwall at the collage concert. My old house on Union. The last truly free summer vacation of my teenage years. I have so many memories and emotions attached to this album that I truly don’t even know where to begin - and how appropriate to see it pop up here now in the midst of Oasis Live ‘25. If there’s anything these past couple months have taught me, it’s that Oasis aren’t just a band that defined my adolescence, they’re one that continue to define my life. I mean, I just bought a f***ing overpriced bucket hat from their LA popup for chrissakes.
I don’t even really remember how this album first ended up in my hands (I think it had something to do with Some Might Say being in Guitar Hero: World Tour), but I do remember it speaking to me almost immediately after acquiring it - so much so that I pretty much forced it on my friend group, who thankfully all felt very similarly that I did (Will especially), to the point that the songs here became defining high school anthems for us all. And man, what a collection of songs. Not a single skip. Not a single flaw. No notes. This is about as good as Britpop gets, if not music in general. I have a million things I could say about each individual song here, but attempting to do so feels in vain - my favorite Stephen King quote to mind:
“The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them - words shrink things that seem limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they're brought out.”
So, instead, I’ll just say that Oasis crushed them on their reunion tour, creating not only a very memorable show, but a moment that feels like it’s brought my relationship with Oasis full circle in a lot of ways. I still can’t quite believe the enthusiasm I’ve seen now both in London and Los Angeles surrounding the brothers’ reunion - for a band over 30 years old and broken up for about half of that, you would really think Jesus returned to Earth. The energy I felt from the band and audience alike is unparalleled, like being a part of something much bigger than myself. It’s a good time to be an Oasis fan - hopefully I’ll be able to score one of those Adidas collabs one day.
Music is a powerful thing, man. Old photos and home videos offer a lot of nostalgia, but the closest we’ll ever get to time travel is the feeling an old song can give you. I listen to this, and I can almost feel what it was like to be 15 again. I think of people, I think of places, I think I moments… I guess I think of a lot of things, but without fail, I always smile.
Radiohead
3/5
3.5
Well, well, well, if it isn’t Mr. Computer himself. It was only a matter of time before this showed up - and what a timely appearance given its dystopian themes (though really, when doesn’t it feel dystopian in America?)
But man, I am so so sick of hearing about this album. The way critics and terminally online music nerds talk about it (and Radiohead in general for that matter) would have you believe that the group invented dystopianism or whiny falsetto vocals. It’s lowkey put a damper on the way I feel about Radiohead as a whole, to the point that I’m almost annoyed now whenever I hear one of their songs played. That said, I do think this album is objectively good, I just don’t think it’s a masterpiece or even Radiohead’s best album for that matter.
Across the board, I’ll certainly give credit to the ambience and production - it’s a pretty consistent, airtight package in sound, tone, and theme, and there’s really no one song I would call bad or out of place. Hell, I’d even go as far as to say the hits here are really good. Karma Police is arguably one of Radiohead’s best tracks, and I’ve always enjoyed the way it crescendos at the end especially. Similarly, No Surprises is a well-crafted, minimalist tune that manages to paint depression in such a way that feels beautiful, tranquil, and sad all at once.
As for the rest of this album? A lot of good, not a lot of great. The unconventional structure of Paranoid Android is cool and all, but it’s never really grabbed me in any sort of meaningful way, nor has much of the remaining tracklist for that matter. For an album partially intended as a commentary on the state of the world, it doesn’t really feel like Thom is saying much on any particular song or offering as much insight as he would lead you to believe. He even referred to Fitter Happier as “the most upsetting thing I've ever written" and said it was "liberating" to give the words to a neutral-sounding computer voice. Like, chill, dude, you put a checklist into the Siri of 1997.
Overall, this is a cool-sounding album, and admittedly one of Radiohead’s better offerings, but it’s unfortunately just as pretentious and overrated as just about everything else they have is. I can acknowledge the group is talented and has gone through an impressive musical evolution, but something about it just doesn’t quite click with me.
Koffi Olomide
2/5
2
The best thing I can say about this album is that it made me think of being on a cruise ship. If I were in that scenario and had a piña colada in hand, I might like this a little more. As is, I found it overly long and repetitive. Like, very repetitive - am I crazy, or did this guy do the whole “who say??” thing on like every other song here? I gave him the benefit of the doubt that he wasn’t saying something more vulgar, but I guess he is actually saying “Poussez”. Per Google, that’s French for “push”, so it seems to be innocuous, but man, is it really jarring hearing it constantly as an English speaker.
There’s always a bit of a barrier for me with albums from non-English speakers, and this gave me nothing to grab onto musically. I guess I’m happy to have been exposed to a new genre at least (kwassa kwassa in this case), but I’d be lying if I said it sounds unlike anything I’ve heard before. It certainly isn’t terrible, but it’s certainly not great either - it’s basically glorified background music. For as upbeat as it is, it’s kind of wild how much of a total snoozefest it turns into very quickly.
Also, turns out Koffi is a sexual predator as well, so F this dude.
New Order
3/5
3.5
New Order is one of those groups whose music I generally enjoy, but I would say only have a handful of great songs - and this album pretty much exemplifies that, with Love Vigilantes being the only song here that I would call great. That said, the rest of this album still mostly succeeds in establishing that sort of new-wavey, danceable, bass-driven sound the group does so well, and while it doesn’t provide a ton of noteworthy moments, it did provide me with a listening experience that I enjoyed each time through. There are some songs stronger than others, in this case The Perfect Kiss, Sunrise, and Elegia all being ones that stood out to me a touch more, with that last one feeling especially poignant knowing it’s a tribute to their late Joy Division bandmate, Ian Curtis. I’m not normally someone super into instrumentals, but the direction with it here did a great job of imparting a sense of catharsis and eulogization without any words feeling necessary - given it’s the most streamed song on the album, it seems most would agree with me in that regard.
However, on that note, one thing that kind of surprised me in reading what others had to say about this album was the lambasting of Bernard Sumner’s vocals. I’ve always enjoyed the guy as a singer personally, but in re-listening to this album with that context, I can admit he’s a little out of tune a couple of times toward the end, like on Sub-culture and Face Up in particular, but idk, it’s never grating by any means, and if anything, I think it adds to the personality of the music. I guess I can see how someone might not enjoy it though.
I’m happy to have been exposed to some new stuff from these guys, but my initial sentiment on New Order remains the same after listening to this. That said, I am hoping for a Power, Corruption, and Lies appearance on this list - if I had to point to what I would consider their best album, it’s definitely that one, and their best song, no contest, is Age of Consent. However, considering the track record with some of the selections, I’m not holding my breath.
Neil Young
2/5
2
Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me, another Neil Young album? For those keeping score at home, this is now our 6th outing with Mr. Young (7th if you count Buffalo Springfield), and if Harvest eventually shows up (which it assuredly will), that means we’ll have had a sequence of FIVE back-to-back releases of his that ultimately made it on this list. The only other artists I can think of that also accomplished this feat are The Beatles and Radiohead, both of which I also consider largely overrated, but I can at least admit there’s some musical evolution to be found across their five-album spans. What’s to be found here that you couldn’t also get out of Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere? Drunken sadness?
Alright, I’ll dial it back a notch because supposedly this album represents the grief Neil experienced after the loss of two close friends to drugs, and I wish that upon nobody. I hope this helped him achieve a sense of closure and peace, but if I’m being honest, it just didn’t translate to anything meaningful for me personally in my listening. And if I’m being super honest, I thought this album starts out absolutely terribly with a stretch of songs that sound like the worst open mic performance you’ve ever heard at your local pub. Yes, even worse than the two dudes I’ve seen at my hometown spot who played along to pre-recorded Phil Collins songs all night. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again - I think there’s a lot of personality and even beauty to be found in imperfect, yet impassioned vocals, but generally speaking, Neil’s performance doesn’t make me feel anything except annoyance (though his later stuff with Crazy Horse is a bit of a different story).
Fortunately, this album has a jolt of life put into it out of nowhere starting with the track Come on Baby Let’s Go Downtown, but that energy seems to slowly drain away until you’re left listening to the exact same song that opened the album all over again. I’m all about bookending an album with a reprise if it’s done well, but Tonight’s the Night was not it for me.
Appropriately, I’m going with the exact same rating I’ve given every other release in his aforementioned five-album run so far - a 2. I wouldn’t refer to anything from Neil’s body of work as one of the worst things I’ve heard, but I just don’t get it, man.
Jamiroquai
2/5
2.5
All I really knew about Jamiroquai going into this is that the main guy wears funny hats and that everyone in the ‘90s went absolute apeshit over their Virtual Insanity music video for whatever reason. With just that knowledge, I guess I thought they were more of an R&B or hip hop group or something in that vein, but they’re really more of a jazz-funk fusion - or “acid jazz” I believe as the kids call it.
As someone who enjoys funk but not jazz quite as much, perhaps that explains my middle-of-the-road rating here, but ultimately, something about this just felt kinda soulless to me. Don’t get me wrong, the production is great, and the songwriting certainly isn’t bad (I guess there’s even quite a bit of social commentary to be found should you dive into the lyrics), but at the same time, this mostly just felt like a commercial ‘90s record. There’s nothing to be found here that I would call bad, but for funk music, nothing really got me into a groove either. If you take a look at some of the artists that were supposedly influences on these guys - like Herbie Hancock and Sly Stone - I can’t help but feel this music feels just a bit more inauthentic in comparison. Though, to my knowledge, I can’t say any of those guys ever used a didgeridoo in their music, so Jamiroquai have that going for them.
I do respect frontman Jay Kay’s activism and believe him to be authentic as a person and performer, but I just never felt sold on this album. I certainly could have felt a lot more bored than I did given how long some of the tracks are, but for the most part, this was kind of a non-presence. No high points, no low points - just sort of background music for my day.
Though another fun fact for you all - want to know where they got their name from? Because I was curious. It’s a combination of “Jam” and “Iroquois” - but spelled and pronounced differently for whatever reason.
Ryan Adams
3/5
3
Really, another album from this predator and groomer? Dude really even tried to rope me in with an opener involving an argument regarding Morrissey, and… well, it kinda worked. Yes, Bona Drag is indeed a collection of Moz’ early singles, therefore Suedehead appeared both on that and Viva Hate. The rare point to Adams there.
Okay, I hate to say it, but this is actually a much better album than Gold. It definitely has much less of a vanilla taste to it than that album had… but my God, is Adams trying SO hard to be Bob Dylan here. Yet somehow, his half-assed emulations actually resulted in a lot of the better songs here, with the actual first song on the album, To Be Young (Is to Be Sad, Is to Be High), probably being my favorite. That said, there’s a prevailing sense of inauthenticity and overindulgence to be found that really holds this back from greatness - like, you can tell on any given song here how hot shit this dude thinks he is. It even kind of made me hate the opener in retrospect, which ultimately reads like the guy was trying to show off his superior knowledge of music before you can even get into any of his own.
All in all, I actually think this is a pretty good album if you can get past Adams’ actions and ego, which I understand everyone’s mileage may vary with. While a touch long, it’s hit over miss more often than not. Hell, I even found a couple of these songs stuck in my head after I finished listening, but ultimately, for all the aforementioned reasons, this boils down to about a 3 for me. Phoebe Bridgers is still way better - go listen to Stranger in the Alps or Punisher instead.
Christine and the Queens
2/5
2.5
French pop music - not so different from our own. In this album’s case, so much so that I couldn’t tell you anything that it does any better or really any differently than the kind of stuff that’s been on American radio rotation within the past ten years or so. I mean, there’s admittedly a bit of an ‘80s flair to it here, but I feel like that’s been the trend in pop music as of lately and by no means limited to this album - unless this did it first? (F***, 2018 was nearly 8 years ago).
Either way, regardless of whatever influence this may or may not have had, for me, it was just a serviceable pop album - though clearly Rahim Redcar had many influences of his own while recording this, with Michael Jackson being an artist that came to mind heavily throughout my listening. However, those inspired tracks usually ended up being the ones that I enjoyed more - I mean, it’s kind of hard to go wrong trying to emulate the King of Pop. Goya Soda in particular was probably my favorite of the bunch, but come on, is it not borderline Wanna Be Startin’ Something?
I’m sure most are aware, but the version on streaming is actually the same album twice, once in English, once in French. Now, normally I have a harder time attaching myself to songs written in foreign languages, but I actually thought the French version was a bit better. I don’t really have any good reason for that to be honest - I guess it felt like it flowed better and that Rahim was putting a bit more into it with his native tongue. Also, it’s not like there was really a ton of substance in the lyrics anyway besides the occasional agnostic rumination.
All in all, pretty mid. Not the worst pop music I’ve heard, but certainly not the best either (certainly better than most of the early 2000s radio play though).
The B-52's
4/5
4
Catchy, goofy, surf rock that never takes itself too seriously - how could anyone not like this? Oh, right, that was me. To be fair, the only song I knew by these guys and gals for the longest time (and I’m sure many others as well) was Love Shack… and I still kinda hate that song. I’m sorry, but it’s one of the biggest slices of ‘80s cheese out there, and I’m not someone who processes dairy very well.
However, after being exposed to the song Rock Lobster (I think it was in Just Dance or something like that), I’ve grown to appreciate the rest of the group’s discography, so I was actually pretty excited to see this pop up on the list - and I was not disappointed! Everything about this album is just fun - musically, it strikes this perfect balance of having both a punk edge to it while also being perfectly danceable, and vocally, each member has their own distinct sound to them while also having chemistry with the others (though special shoutout to Fred Schneider in particular - gotta be one of the most recognizable voices in music). The only real critique I think you could throw at this album is the lyrics (there’s a moon in the sky… called the moon), but I think it’s readily apparent how deliberately kitschy they’re supposed to be.
I really liked every song on this, though the front half is certainly more stacked. I loved Planet Claire, loved 52 Girls, loved Dance This Mess Around, but Rock Lobster is still the best of the pack for me. I think it highlights everything the group does well with its surf riffs and vocal dynamics, though I have always especially appreciated how it has this aggressive buildup to it despite being a song about crustaceans and beach parties.
The album loses a little bit of steam from there, but there are still some very good tracks ahead with Lava and 6060-842. Downtown was also a nice treat for me as someone who loves the Petula Clark original (thanks Lost), but… I’d be lying if I said I thought this was a great take on it. Still, there are certainly worse ways this could have ended.
This was definitely a welcome treat after the last stretch of albums on our list. The more B-52s I listen to, the more I realize Love Shack doesn’t define them and that they’re actually a very talented group. I’m happy to have been exposed to some new stuff from them here.
Pulp
3/5
3.5
After (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, this may be the most well-timed album on this list so far. My review is a bit late, but just two weeks ago, I couldn’t have told you a single song by Pulp nor much else about them besides the fact that they’re a ‘90s Britpop band. Then, as it so happened, they were the openers for LCD Soundsystem at their Hollywood Bowl shows, another group that I’ve grown to love because of this list and whose tickets I had been toying with buying for months. They were pricey, and I didn’t (and still don’t) really love the venue, but my boss talked me into it - and I’m so glad she did. LCD Soundsystem were great of course, but Pulp but on a damn good show of their own, especially for being an opening act and a group that I had no familiarity with prior (I think they may have technically been a co-headliner, but they went on first, so I think the point still stands). In particular, their closing with Common People has become one of my favorite concert moments of all-time. For those unfamiliar with the Bowl, it tends to attract an older crowd who like to sit during their shows, but by the end of these guys’ and gal’s set, I swear everyone was up and dancing around - even the senior couple in front of us. For a Thursday show, what a hell of a fun night.
Enter Different Class. Common People had been playing on a loop in my head non-stop since the end of the concert, so the first thing I did when I saw this pop up was check if it’s on here - and you bet your ass it is. As is Mis-Shapes, Disco 2000, F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E., and Sorted for E’s & Wizz, all songs they also performed live as a part of their set. I truly don’t know if I would have liked this album quite as much had I not heard a good chunk of it then, but it was definitely enjoyable hearing them all again here.
All in all, I really like the vibe of this album. It’s incredibly overdramatic and a little horny (as was their live show - my guy Jarvis made huge deal out of catching a grape in his mouth), but more so in an endearingly goofy way than a pretentious one, and I found the experience mostly fun as a whole. However, I do think the schtick starts to wear a touch thin towards the end, and while I wouldn’t refer to any of these songs as bad, they're certainly not all bangers either, with the two closing tracks in particular feeling like weaker offerings. The group certainly seemed to make good picks for their live show, as those tracks still all ended up being my favorites after listening to this (though I’ll also give a shoutout to Underwear). Though, maybe I just need to hear the rest of these live to truly get them as well.
So, a 3.5 it is for now, though, that’s the same rating I initially gave Sound of Silver, an album that’s probably now closer to 4.5 for me, so whose to say this won’t go up higher for me in time too? Common People certainly isn’t leaving my shuffle anytime soon.
As is tradition, going to end this one with a fun fact I learned from Wikipedia:
The cover to this album is an actual wedding photo. The groom apparently had a friend in the music industry who he wanted to do photography for his big day but couldn’t due to obligations with Pulp. However, the band decided they wanted to use a photo of everyday people for their next album cover, so he suggested said buddy’s wedding, and that’s what they ended up going with - though with cardboard cutouts of the members mixed in for good measure.
Astrud Gilberto
3/5
3.5
For an album titled “Beach Samba”, samba only felt hinted at, and beach vibes required a large stretch of the imagination. That said, I actually kinda dug this. I don’t really have a strong reason why I did in particular, but something about the vibe of this record felt very warm and welcoming, kind of like a visit back home, and I thought Astrud’s soft, tender voice paired incredibly well with the music. Considering the length of most of the songs, it almost felt like a breath of fresh air washing over you. However, in that same vein, most of these are over before you really have a chance to grab onto them, to the point where it’s near impossible to point to favorites. Fortunately, I don’t think the album really needs to be viewed in that light, as the sort of stream of consciousness it has going on more than makes up for it. There’s really nothing here to dislike - the duet on You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice was even cute enough to excuse the shitty harmony the two have going on.
I wouldn’t go as far as to say I loved this, but it has a charm and short enough duration to it that I think warrants re-listening. Definitely the kind of thing that’s inspired me to check out more of her work.
3/5
3
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but The Kinks have a lot of songs I like, though wouldn’t necessarily say that I love, and what I would consider a better collection of hits than albums. Yet, it seems that they do, indeed, have quite a few critically acclaimed releases - and I just don’t really get it. Like, this is fine, but is it really a must-listen? Is it really doing anything I haven’t heard from the group prior? Granted, in this instance, it’s supposed to be a sort of concept album following the fictional character of Arthur Morgan (no, not that Arthur Morgan), intended to accompany some kind of film or television show that never ended up getting made, but I don’t really feel any sort of cohesiveness or structure here at all, in narrative or in musicality. Is there supposed to be a plot? Even if not, I couldn’t tell you a damn thing about the character of Arthur Morgan if I tried, even after listening to this four times through, so maybe it is the cowboy for all I know (Dammit, Dutch!) I’m pretty sure Some Mother’s Son is supposed to be about war, so maybe he’s a veteran?
I digress, as far as the music goes, this is about as on brand as I would have expected from The Kinks. Less garage rock-y, proto-punk than I would have liked, but as I’ve come to learn from this list, the group grew a bit more Beatles-y, baroque in the late ‘60s. It’s not a bad thing, but I think it results in a lot of unremarkable, though listenable tunes. Only two songs really stuck out to me as highlights here, Victoria and Shangri-La, with the latter being one that I would go as far as to say quickly ranked amongst my favorites from the group. Unfortunately, if you’re doing an album play, you have to slog through Australia to get to it. (Anecdotally, I briefly questioned if the song accompanied the Call of Duty: Black Ops Shangri-La trailer, but I guess that was The Lion Sleeps Tonight).
As a whole, this is fine, and it doesn’t wear out its welcome, but I’ve also certainly heard much better, more commentable albums - I don’t think I would go out of my way to re-listen.
The Triffids
2/5
2
Before I get into my review, I want to point out that this was produced by Gil Norton. Other works from Gil Norton include:
Pixies - Doolittle
Echo & The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain
Foo Fighters - The Colour and the Shape
Jimmy Eat World - Futures
All albums I love… so what happened here? There’s no sense of edge or lush instrumentation to be found anywhere - it’s just generic ‘80s adult contemporary. Except, it doesn’t seem like this was popular in the ‘80s either. How did this end up here?
The most positive thing I can say about this album is that the Irish instrumentation was enjoyable, but those moments were few and far between and only felt hinted at at best. I was also going to give The Triffids shit for being an Australian band trying to sound like an Irish one, but I guess they had relocated to the UK a few years before this released, so it’s somewhat justified. Instead, I’ll give them shit for not fusing the two cultures musically as well as AC/DC did on It’s The Long Way to the Top.
As far as the negatives go, I don’t have much to say on that front either, but that’s really because this album is just kind of an unremarkable nothingburger. It borders on new wave just enough where you can almost get a taste of the sound, but you’re ultimately left unsatiated and wanting more. It’s even kind of reminiscent of Echo at times, but moreso a low-cal, sugar-free, off-brand version of the Bunnymen.
Far from the most offensive music I’ve heard in style or substance, but I was snoozing pretty early on. I’m glad it was only uphill for my guy Gil from here - I’ll just assume this was an early project he took on to support his still fledgling career.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
3.5
I’ve always had a soft spot for Simon & Garfunkel just as I have the movie The Graduate, though I don’t really remember which inspired me to appreciate the other first. Regardless, this is post-Graduate S&G and the end of the road for their partnership (aside from a brief reunion in the ‘80s), so it stands on its own in a lot of ways. For that reason, I think people tend to over-romanticize this album just a tad - don’t get me wrong, it’s very good, but I don’t think it’s their best combined effort. I can get behind the title track being considered the group’s definitive swan song, but the rest of this album is all over the place. It’s not an outright bad thing, as it puts a lot of diverse songwriting on display, but it also just kind of lacks a sense of organization or flow. Fortunately, the quality of the songwriting makes up for that in a lot of ways, but it’s something that stood out to me nonetheless.
Still, the boys sound as good as ever, and there’s no shortage of great songs in the mix, with The Only Living Boy in New York, So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright, Baby Driver (loved the classic ‘50s rock n roll sound here), and their signature track, The Boxer, all being favorites of mine in these listenings. I admittedly found Cecilia kind of annoying, but I can see how it could be considered a precursor to Graceland in some ways. Also, while I do appreciate Bridge Over Troubled Water, hearing it always evokes memories of 8th grade choir, and I cringe just a touch thinking of our performance of it then. Obviously, that’s a personal issue; objectively, it’s a great song.
Above all, another quality release from a duo with no real misses in my opinion, but I still think Bookends is the superior album.
American Music Club
3/5
3
Something about the singer of this band really reminded me of Matt Berninger of The National. Hell, even lyrically and thematically this felt reminiscent of the group - I guess this is like their folksy, alt-country equivalents.
That said, this didn’t grab me quite like The National’s music does, and I don’t really have a strong reason as to why - this just feels sort of lacking in comparison. Like, each song is pretty good, but I feel like it’s almost immediately forgotten as soon as it’s over, which leaves me without much to say here. In some ways, I could get behind an argument that this kind of thing is the natural evolution of Bob Dylan’s style of music, but it doesn’t contain quite the same charm for me. There’s some sort of charm here for sure, but it’s not a very strong or distinct one - but I guess what else can you expect from a group that goes by “American Music Club”?
TL;DR Pleasant, but forgettable. The best part was the guy’s voice.
Though I’ve gotta say, one of my listenings to this was at nighttime during a heavy rain, and I’ve gotta say, based on my limited time with this album, that is almost certainly the best way to experience it. I almost bumped up a half point because of it, but after listening again the next day… nah.
Fleetwood Mac
3/5
3
This is one of those albums that you knew was going to show up on this list sooner or later, and there are certainly no arguments from me on its inclusion… but at the same time, I’d be lying if I said that it’s a personal favorite of my own. Don’t get me wrong, having four megahits the size of these contained all on one release is an incredibly impressive feat, but I just can’t say they’re songs that I love personally - with the exception, of course, being Go Your Own Way. I know this whole album is about the clusterf**** going on behind the scenes surrounding the band members’ romantic relationships with each other, but Go Your Own Way has always been the one track that’s really spoken to me about relationships. Like, if you’ve never shed a tear while listening to the song after having your heart broken, have you really lived? For me, it’s undoubtedly one of the two best songs by the group, the other being Landslide (not on this album, unfortunately). But as for Dreams, Don’t Stop, and The Chain… I think they’re fine songs, and certainly not flawed in any way, but they’re also not something I would go out of my way to listen to. And if I’m being petty, the “thunder only happens when it's raining” lyric on Dreams has always kind of bugged me. Like, I know artistic license and yada yada, but it’s not a true statement in the slightest.
As for the rest of this album… blah. Once again, there’s nothing bad to be found, but it did make me question if the four megahits are doing all the heavy lifting regarding the acclaim surrounding this album. I felt nothing about most, though I did raise an eyebrow at Oh Daddy, and You Make Loving Fun reminded me a bit of Trampled Under Foot - a song I would consider like C-tier Led Zeppelin, so do with that what you will.
Through and through, this album is fine, and I have no real complaints. I do think you would have to be out of your gourd to say it’s objectionably bad, but it’s just not a piece of art that speaks strongly to me for the most part. Go Your Own Way is doing some heavy lifting on my 3 rating here.
Dennis Wilson
3/5
3
I always mix these brothers up. Is this Wilson the godfather of emo, Charlie Manson’s bestie, or the one that was just kind of there? Ah, the Manson Beach Boy. Cool, cool.
Anyways, I feel like I wrote off The Beach Boys for a good chunk of my life as this goofy, gimmicky pop rock group that made a living writing songs about surfing, and it’s really only been in my more recent years that I’ve learned the group grew to have a lot more complexity to them than I had previously given them credit for. I’m sure I’ll get into that more later on with this list, but that’s to say, for an album that’s titled “Pacific Ocean Blue” and written by a Beach Boy, there wasn’t a hint of surfing or even beach vibes at all to be found. In fact, this album was borderline haunting at times, especially on tracks like Thoughts of You… and it mostly worked for me. The production on this is fantastic and comes across as very grandiose and theatrical without ever really feeling overdramatic, almost like it’s surrounding you at times. If I didn’t know any better, I would have guessed this came from the emo Beach Boy (though that’s not to say Dennis didn’t have his own fair share of problems). And just as importantly, his voice pairs incredibly well with the music - it has this unique sort of gravely sound to it that I really liked, though something about it kept reminding of another vocalist I couldn’t quite put my finger on. After a few listens, I’m thinking Peter Criss of KISS? Though, if you listen to the full 2 CD Deluxe Legacy Edition of this on Spotify (which features an entire separate album of his that I’m not factoring into my review), you’re greeted with a version of Holy Man as performed by Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters (and Alanis Morrissette) fame, and there are some striking similarities between the two of their voices as well. Guess it’s just something about rock drummers ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Regardless, I thought this album was pretty good overall, and I can’t say I thought it was lacking in any way, but I also didn’t really feel like it needed to keep going or that I needed to pay any one song an immediate revisit. While very nice-sounding, there aren’t really a ton of highlights, so this album is just kind of vibes at best. That said, I’ll take this over Surfin’ USA any day, and I definitely feel more compelled to check out the Boys’ later work than I was previously. This also sent me down a deep dive into the Dennis Wilson/Charles Manson saga, so it has that going for it too. Did you know that Dennis inadvertently introduced Manson to the Tate home? I didn’t. RIP bud, it wasn’t your fault - hope you found peace.
The Sugarcubes
3/5
3
Before she was Björk, she was… well, Björk Guðmundsdóttir (no idea how to pronounce that, don’t ask), and a member of what seems to be the Icelandic version of The B-52s. Björk and her bandmate Einar definitely have a dynamic to them that feels heavily reminiscent of that of Kate Pierson and Fred Schneider’s, except in this case, the leading lady completely steals the show. While Einar certainly has a voice I would describe as about as unique as Schneider’s, it lacks any of the charm, and I mostly just found myself annoyed whenever he jumped in - if he was the only vocalist on this album, I would have given it a much lower rating.
That said, the songwriting leaves a bit to be desired as well. I don’t want to spend my whole review comparing the two groups, but the personality to this album is extremely lacking as compared to the The B-52s’ debut (though tbf most albums pale in comparison in that regard), and most of the songs don’t seem to have a ton of remarkable traits about them. Don’t get me wrong, they all sound pleasant enough, and in some ways, I even prefer them to some of Björk’s later theatrical, over-indulgent stuff (I said what I said), but they mostly blend together and leave me without much to stay. Supposedly my guy Einar was even once described as the first punk in Iceland, and I gotta say, I’m not picking up on any of that so-called edge here. Maybe a bit on Sick For Toys, even if I couldn’t tell you what the hell that means if I tried - it makes for a cool hook though. However, the best song by far is Birthday, which seems to be the general consensus with this album. I guess it’s the only song here that got any American radio airplay, and I can see why considering it’s definitely the biggest earworm.
Not much else to say on this one - it’s one of those albums that hints at greatness to come (at least for one of the members here), but in and of itself isn’t all that spectacular. Though, what’s up with the album cover? Is that left stick figure packing two of what I think he has??