626
Albums Rated
2.96
Average Rating
57%
Complete
463 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950s
Favorite Decade
Rock-and-roll
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
53
5-Star Albums
30
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Songs The Lord Taught Us
The Cramps
|
5 | 2.84 | +2.16 |
|
Kick Out The Jams (Live)
MC5
|
5 | 2.91 | +2.09 |
|
Tical
Method Man
|
5 | 2.94 | +2.06 |
|
Pelican West
Haircut 100
|
5 | 2.96 | +2.04 |
|
Get Rich Or Die Tryin'
50 Cent
|
5 | 3.04 | +1.96 |
|
Fishscale
Ghostface Killah
|
5 | 3.06 | +1.94 |
|
Pump
Aerosmith
|
5 | 3.11 | +1.89 |
|
Under Construction
Missy Elliott
|
5 | 3.14 | +1.86 |
|
The Undertones
The Undertones
|
5 | 3.26 | +1.74 |
|
1989
Taylor Swift
|
5 | 3.27 | +1.73 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ágætis Byrjun
Sigur Rós
|
1 | 3.37 | -2.37 |
|
Surf's Up
The Beach Boys
|
1 | 3.31 | -2.31 |
|
Teen Dream
Beach House
|
1 | 3.27 | -2.27 |
|
John Prine
John Prine
|
1 | 3.22 | -2.22 |
|
Queen Of Denmark
John Grant
|
1 | 3.13 | -2.13 |
|
Close To You
Carpenters
|
1 | 3.11 | -2.11 |
|
Pieces Of The Sky
Emmylou Harris
|
1 | 3.11 | -2.11 |
|
Chemtrails Over The Country Club
Lana Del Rey
|
1 | 3.05 | -2.05 |
|
Sometimes I Wish We Were An Eagle
Bill Callahan
|
1 | 3.03 | -2.03 |
|
Deserter's Songs
Mercury Rev
|
1 | 3.02 | -2.02 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 6 | 4.67 |
| Led Zeppelin | 5 | 4.4 |
| Black Sabbath | 2 | 5 |
| Beastie Boys | 2 | 5 |
| Nirvana | 2 | 5 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Slipknot | 2 | 1 |
| Emmylou Harris | 2 | 1.5 |
| Robert Wyatt | 2 | 1.5 |
| The Divine Comedy | 2 | 1.5 |
| Sonic Youth | 4 | 2 |
| Joni Mitchell | 3 | 2 |
| Kate Bush | 3 | 2 |
| Brian Eno | 4 | 2.25 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| The Beach Boys | 5, 1 |
| Taylor Swift | 2, 5 |
| Paul Simon | 5, 2 |
| Portishead | 2, 5 |
| Simon & Garfunkel | 5, 3, 2 |
5-Star Albums (53)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
David Bowie
2/5
While I'm not surprised to see a Bowie album crop up, I *am* surprised that it's an album from 2013. Sadly, this album feels like the work of an aging artist who's lost his edge. There wasn't a song on this album that caught my ear, and I have to imagine that there are at least 1001 albums out there better than this one. The fact that it's Bowie doesn't automatically mean it belongs on the list.
44 likes
Carpenters
1/5
My initial reaction upon seeing today's album: "Ugh, the Carpenters." Despite a deep desire to just skip it, I decided to embrace the spirit of this exercise and skimmed the album instead. My knee-jerk reaction was justified. This album should have been titled "Music for the Soulless."
I'm a white guy. I go out into the sun and I burn within approximately 8.3 seconds. And when the pain and suffering caused by my third-degree burns are over, I return to a mirror-like shade of white. No tanning involved in the process.
Despite that, this album is *way* too white for me. It's so white I need sunglasses to protect my eyes from the glare. It's whiter than an albino Mormon eating mayo on white bread in a snowstorm. It is the epitome of every "white people have no soul" stereotype. Tower of Power sang about people catching honky pox, and this album was surely the vector that infected Patient Zero. I literally listened to "Soul Vaccination" after skimming this album, just to be safe.
If you need proof of this album's violent blandness and mediocrity, look no further than their cover of the Beatles' "Help." They've turned an incredible song into saccharine schmaltz. It is an atrocity. A crime against humanity so abhorrent that they should have been tried at the Hague for it. It makes one wonder what the world might have looked like if Karen Carpenter had used her vocal talent for good instead of evil. Regardless of the answer, it's ultimately just a fantasy. The reality that cover--and the rest of the album--represents will haunt my dreams for the rest of my life.
13 likes
The Smiths
2/5
Most of the album was okay. "Barbarism Begins at Home" was surprisingly funky. But the title track is pure garbage.
We get it, Morrissey. You don't eat meat. Good for you. I'll see about getting you a medal. But saying meat eating is pointless and unnatural is objectively false (the point is sustenance and our incisors and canines are proof that it's natural). If you're going to shit-talk the meat industry as a whole, there are plenty of valid arguments to choose from. Bringing weak shit like "it's pointless and unnatural" would get you slaughtered in even the lowliest of middle school debate clubs.
Also, does riding around on that high horse everywhere you go constitute animal cruelty? I feel like it does. You gotta give that poor nag a break every now and then, dude.
Sincerely,
Someone who understands the criticisms of meat eating but loathes shittily-constructed arguments from pretentious douchecanoes.
(Let's call this a 2.5.)
7 likes
Beach House
1/5
Guess I woke up on the unforgiving side of the bed, because this Teen Dream was a bit of a nightmare. But it's as advertised; it's sung in the key of "maudlin teen." Personally, I'd rather listen to Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" on repeat than listen to this album again. It's a no from me, dawg.
7 likes
5/5
I know MC5 for one reason: the Presidents of the United States of America covered "Kick Out the Jams" on their debut album. The Presidents' version is far more polished, which is hardly surprising given how raw MC5's original is.
And that raw sound—which borders on amateurish at times—defines the entire album. But that's not criticism; it's what makes the album quintessential proto-punk. The fact that it was recorded live emphasizes the lack of polish and allows their personality to shine.
I was originally set to give this three stars, but then I listened to it again ... and again. And a little more. And it holds up. The track that stands out the most is "Motor City is Burning," not necessarily because it's better than the rest, but because it's the bluesy eye of the sonic storm, providing a stark contrast from the proto-punk chaos that surrounds it.
But I'm not seeing a throwaway track here. They're all solid. The album's loud and dirty and imperfect, and that feels just about perfect.
6 likes
1-Star Albums (30)
All Ratings
Black Sabbath
5/5
Gotta admit that while I'm familiar with the album's three most popular songs ("War Pigs," "Paranoid," and "Iron Man," obviously), I wasn't familiar with the album as a whole. Now that I've listened to it in its entirety, I can confidently say that it's about as solid as a rock album gets. It's hard to beat Ozzie's vocals and Iommi's guitar-playing prowess (and Butler and Ward aren't exactly slouches, either).
If I'd heard someone say, "Yeah, we're starting the album with an 8:00-minute-long song," I'd have thought they were crazy. Don't you usually throw something that long into the back end of the album to make sure you don't lose people right off the bat (huh-huh)? Not if you're Sabbath, and not if that song rocks as hard as "War Pigs" does. And then immediately following that up with "Paranoid," and "Iron Man" two songs after that? Fuggedaboudit. Those three tracks alone make this album well worth the price of admission.
"Rat Salad" is a throw-away track as far as I'm concerned, but the rest is top-notch, especially "Electric Funeral" and "Hands of Doom" (the latter of which I've officially fallen in love with). Old school metal doesn't really get better than this.
Pixies
4/5
Been meaning to explore the Pixies for years, and never gotten around to it. Before this, "Where Is My Mind?" (thanks, "Fight Club!") and "Here Comes Your Man" were essentially the only songs of theirs that I knew, and they're not exactly super-similar stylistically, so I wasn't sure what this album was going to sound like.
It's much rawer than I expected; it's easy to picture them banging these songs out in a garage. "Something About You" had a little ska flavor, which was a surprise, as was the fact that Kim Deal had the lead vocals on "Gigantic"--I thought she basically stuck to chorus/background vocals (until her Breeders days, obviously).
"Where Is My Mind?" feels like the standout track here (and not just because it's the only one I was familiar with), but "Gigantic" also got my attention, as did "Bone Machine," and I thought "Cactus" and "Tony's Theme" were an appropriately playful pair to follow the heavier "Where Is My Mind?" I could have done with a little less instrumental ramblings in the middle of "Vamos (Surfer Rosa)," but that didn't stop me from enjoying it.
Overall, I really enjoyed the album. Not sure how many of these songs will end up getting thrown into my regular rotation, but "Gigantic" will definitely be one of them.
The xx
2/5
I've never heard of The xx, so I had no clue what to expect from this album. I found the "Intro" pleasant enough. The guitar feels sorta '80s-ish in the vein of the Smiths' "How Soon Is Now?" or maybe something from U2. The fact that it's the most-streamed track on the album didn't bode well, though.
Turns out that concern was valid. The album has a seriously low-key sound, almost ambient at times. It didn't make much of an impression on me, other than making me wonder why there was little to no percussion throughout large swaths of it. Thankfully, the percussion wasn't MIA in "Heart Skipped a Beat," which might be the track that stood out most to me (apart from the intro). Or maybe it wasn't. It was like picking out the shade of beige that stands out the most from other shades of beige.
Gotta admit, I'm puzzled by the fact that this album was so well-received. It feels like the sort of unobtrusive music one would throw on just to fill some aural background space. I didn't hate it, but it's definitely not for me.
Travis
2/5
Much like The xx, I hadn't heard of these guys before. Or at least, not that I'm aware of. A song or three felt vaguely familiar, but that might be because they sound like Radiohead and Oasis got together and spawned a less talented baby.
There wasn't much here for me to latch onto. "As You Are" had a brief guitar solo that caught my ear, but that relative bright spot was quickly dispelled by the saccharine "Driftwood" and cheesy harmonizing of "The Last of the Laughter."
"Turn" seems to represent Travis in microcosm. They're competent musicians, but are lacking when it comes to lyrical prowess (singing "turn" over and over again isn't much of a chorus).
This feels like the kind of music that seems profound when you're young and just had your heart stomped on for the first time, but which loses its luster once you grow up a little and find far more talented musicians to listen to. My favorite part of the album was when it ended. I immediately listened to "Hand of Doom" as a palate cleanser.
The Clash
4/5
When I think of early punk, I think of four bands: the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, the Misfits, and the Clash. They all have different approaches to punk, and each band is the master of their particular variation. But I think the Clash created a broader sound that revealed punk's versatility.
"White Riot" is prototypical punk, a fast and dirty anti-establishment wall of sound that wouldn't feel out of place on a (or should I say "the only"?) Sex Pistols album. "Garageland" is similar thematically, but with a (comparatively) softer, more melodic tone reminiscent of the Ramones.
But the unmistakable influence of reggae and ska is what really sets them apart. "Police & Thieves" is a cover of a reggae song by Junior Murvin, and it's my favorite track on the album. Give the original a listen, and you'll get an appreciation for how the Clash stood reggae on its ear and created their own unique brand of punk. And while they did it, they paved the way for one of my other favorite punk bands, Rancid. No Clash, no Rancid. And I'm sure we can say the same for a host of other bands.
Arctic Monkeys
4/5
"Do I Wanna Know?" and "R U Mine?" are basically the only Arctic Monkeys songs I know, and every time I hear them, I think "I really need to look into these guys more." This album proves I should have followed that instinct before now.
Two things struck me right off the bat. First, the less polished, almost punk-like feel to many of the songs (no surprise, since the aforementioned songs I know are from their fifth album, "AM"). Second, the fact that Alex Turner's delivery reminds me of Matt Schultz from Cage the Elephant. But Cage came after the Arctic Monkeys, so I guess it's the other way around. Either way, I think it's the varying tempo of his singing--he'llrunabunchofwordstogether andthen slow ... things ... down. Can't say why, but I dig it, and the Sheffield accent adds a little something extra to the effect.
Thoroughly enjoyed this album, especially "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor." The "whoa whoa whoa dadadada..." bit in "Still Take You Home" bit could have sounded cheesy, but somehow doesn't, and "Mardy Bum" and "When the Sun Goes Down" were surprisingly playful.
Not sure I can give this a 5, but I'd give it a 4.5 if I could.
Fatboy Slim
3/5
It's been a while since I had him in regular rotation, but I love me some Fatboy Slim. Obviously, one's enjoyment of Fatboy Slim and similar big beat/electronic music is contingent upon one's ability to enjoy its repetitiveness. If you're cool with it, then this is a solid album; if not, its quality is irrelevant.
Other than "Right Here Right Now," "Rockafeller Skank," and "Praise You" (all classics), I was unfamiliar with most of this album. My favorite track I'd never heard was "Kalifornia," and "Gangster Trippin" was a pleasant surprise as well. The only real throwaway track was "Fucking in Heaven;" calling it sophomoric is probably kind.
Eels
2/5
I've heard of the Eels, but I'm not familiar with their stuff. In an odd coincidence, I *just* heard "Novocaine for the Soul" yesterday. I remember the opening lines catching my attention, but I can't say the same for the rest of the song. It's possible I heard it back when it came out, but if I did, it obviously didn't leave much of an impression.
The spoken word bits of the album remind me of Nada Surf's "Popular," which apparently came out a handful of months before this album, so that's an interesting bit of synchronicity.
"My Beloved Monster" has a whimsical charm and "Mental" isn't bad either, but the rest literally just blended into the background as I went about my morning. Feels like the answer to "What if Beck had less personality and was trying way too hard?"
It's a shame we can't give half-stars, because I liked this album more than the ones by The xx and Travis (both of which I gave two stars), but I can't bring myself to give it three stars. 2.5 stars feels about right.
Les Rythmes Digitales
3/5
Playing catch-up after a distracting weekend, so keeping this short.
Right off the bat, I'm seeing that most of the album is unavailable on Spotify, which is too bad. Kinda defeats the purpose of this exercise, but whattaya gonna do? What they did have was either fine to decent, but nothing really knocked my socks off. Giving it a generous 3, but it's probably closer to 2.5 stars.
D'Angelo
3/5
"Brown Sugar" is an all-time classic track; undeniably D'Angelo at his best. Sadly, the same can't be said for the album of the same name.
It's fine, but only three other tracks stand out, "Cruisin'," "Lady," and "Higher." "Cruisin'" is a Smokey Robinson cover, so of course it's good. So that really leaves three D'Angelo originals out of nine that caught my ear.
All that said, a mediocre album by D'Angelo's still a solid R&B album.
Beach House
1/5
Guess I woke up on the unforgiving side of the bed, because this Teen Dream was a bit of a nightmare. But it's as advertised; it's sung in the key of "maudlin teen." Personally, I'd rather listen to Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" on repeat than listen to this album again. It's a no from me, dawg.
Bobby Womack
3/5
While I'd heard of Womack before, this was the first time I'd actually listened to one of his albums. "The Poet" was apparently his thirteenth album, and I gotta admit, it feels like he was getting a little long in the tooth at this point in his career.
He's leaning hard on the force of his personality in this album, and his propensity for directly addressing the listener leaves him sounding like a lounge act at times. Not sure how many people other than Barry White can get away with that without sounding a little silly.
"Stand Up" was funky AF, though, and "If You Think You're Lonely Now" is a classic, although I have to admit that I prefer K-Ci's cover. Regardless, those songs get him two stars, and I'll give him one more for being an R&B OG.
Wild Beasts
1/5
I tried to give this album a fair shake, but this was rough. They should let Fleming handle the lead vocals alone, because yikes, Thorpe's vocals are awful. His falsetto is this album in microcosm: affected and cringey. The hardest of hard passes for me.
Duran Duran
4/5
Great album. Worth it just for "Rio," "Hungry Like the Wolf," and "Save a Prayer," but I was pleasantly surprised by the rest of the album, especially "New Religion," which was surprisingly funky. If you like new wave, then this album's for you (but you probably already knew that).
George Michael
2/5
I was disappointed with this album. "Freedom! '90" might just be George Michael's best song, and "Praying for Time" is fine, but the rest of the album left me unmoved. Sorry, George.
Madness
3/5
I'm sure I'm not alone when I say that "Our House" was the only song by Madness that I was familiar with before listening to this album. Given that small sample size, I wasn't sure what to expect, but it certainly wasn't a concept album.
Artistically speaking, it's an interesting album. I love the horns, the piano has an old-timey saloon feel to it that I appreciate, and the influence of reggae and ska is readily apparent (especially in "Tiptoes").
What's striking me as I listen to it is the change in tone that begins with "Our House." Before it, the album has a kind of "Sgt. Pepper's" meets "The Wall" weirdness to it, and it's got an almost dystopian vibe. The "Our House" pops in and blows that up. There's still a dark undercurrent to the album after that, but the sound is noticeably lighter.
As far as listenability is concerned, it's obvious why "Our House" was the song that got everyone's attention. It's the best song on the album, and the only one that makes sense outside of the context of the album, with the possible exception of the jazzy "Madness (Is All in the Mind)." Unsurprisingly, those are the only two singles released from the album.
"The Rise & Fall" was an interesting journey, and I'm glad I got a chance to listen to it, but I won't be adding any of these songs into my regular rotation. "Our House" will suffice for my Madness needs.
Jacques Brel
2/5
Not my bag. If I'm going to listen to something in a language I don't understand, it better be good enough to transcend language barriers, and this doesn't clear that bar for me. I'd rather listen to "Ça Plane Pour Moi" by Plastic Bertrand, or "Soy Yo" by Bomba Estéreo, or "Zaharila" by El Michels Affair and Piya Malik.
Roxy Music
4/5
I didn't give this the attention it deserved the first time around, so I skimmed through it again before writing this. My initial impressions were correct: Roxy Music is weird and wonderful.
Honestly, I was thrown from the get-go, trying to come up with some sort of context while listening to the first track, "Re-Make/Re-Model," and I finally landed on "the Stooges meets Talking Heads." Granted, the Talking Heads came came after Roxy Music, but Ferry's vocals have a David Byrne feel to them at times.
Things only got weirder and harder to categorize as the album continued, but this is clearly some high-level '70s rock, heavy on the glam. There's some fantastic guitar in here--and fantastic everything else, too. Discovering the Brian Eno was a part of the band at this time certainly explained some things.
There's a lot to process here, and I'm going to dive in again in the near future. I'm impressed.
The The
4/5
Another band I'm unfamiliar with. Love discovering new stuff. I'm finding that with unfamiliar bands, I'm reflexively comparing them to bands I am familiar with (a pretty common impulse, I'm sure).
The cover had me expecting punk, but I was way off. This album is '80s to the bone; my best comparison is INXS meets Oingo Boingo. They've got a full sound, with plenty of horns, some harmonica, and even the occasional violin (I think), all mixed with '80s staples like synthesizers and drum machines.
I dig it. My pile of new bands to explore continues to grow.
Ghostface Killah
5/5
LOVE me some Wu-Tang, and Ghostface might just be my favorite member. In a group with no lack of hip-hop titans, Ghostface still manages to grab the spotlight and throttle it like it stole something from him. The man's a poet, plain and simple.
"Supreme Clientele" gets a lot of attention (and rightfully so--it doesn't get much better than "Apollo Kids" and "Cher Chez La Ghost"), but "Fishscale" is my favorite Ghostface album. The skits are utterly skippable (ranging from the mildly amusing "Bad Mouth Kid" to the cringey "Heart Street Directions"), but basically every track is worthy of a place in my regular playlist rotation.
And it's no wonder. Not only is he a master storyteller, but his fellow Clan members back him up regularly on this album (most notably on "9 Milli Bros."), and the tracks are produced by hip-hop greats like Pete Rock, J Dilla, and MF DOOM. I could list my favorite tracks, but it'd basically just be two-thirds of the track list, minus the skits. That's how solid this album is.
Casual hip-hop fans might find this album a little inaccessible, but for those who appreciate the Wu-Tang style "Fishcale" is solid gold.
Beatles
4/5
I'm a huge Beatles fan, and as far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as a bad Beatles album. So when presented with a Beatles album in this context, the question boils down to "Does this album deserve four stars or five?"
In this case, it's four. The title track is obviously a classic, as is "Can't Buy Me Love," but there's much more to like here. "Tell Me Why" and "Any Time at All" are prototypical early Beatles, and "I'll Cry Instead" has a slight (but pleasant) country twang. Those who lean toward the McCartney side of the street will enjoy "And I Love Her" and "Things We Said Today, and Lennon fans may recognize "You Can't Do That" as a spiritual precursor to Lennon's "Jealous Man" (that latter of which is covered to perfection by Donny Hathaway, BTW).
I tend to every-so-slightly favor their later, more experimental stuff, but this is a fantastic album. An easy four stars.
3/5
"Song 2" was the only Blur song I was familiar with before listening to this album, so my biggest exposure to Damon Albarn's music is his stuff with Gorillaz (which I enjoy quite a bit). I knew this album would be nothing like that stylistically, but I was expecting something similar with regard to creativity.
Instead, I got a middle-of-the-road pop rock album. If you'll forgive the pun, the entire album kinda blurred together, with the exception of "Advert" and maybe "Coping." It was fine, but I'm not in a rush to listen to it again. I'll stick with Gorillaz. Giving it a generous three stars.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4/5
Jazz is hit and miss with me. Some of it is enjoyably thematic and evocative (Duke Ellington's "Caravan" and Teddy Wilson's "Jungle Love" spring to mind), some of it is meandering, and some is just plan abstract. I prefer the former to the latter two.
Unfortunately for me, Brubek's "Time Out" leans toward the meandering. "Take Five" is rightfully a classic, and "Kathy's Waltz" had a jaunty energy that I enjoyed, but the rest of the album just doesn't push my buttons.
That said, the talent displayed on the album is undeniable, and I can't bring myself to give it any less than four stars, despite my personal jazz proclivities.
FKA twigs
4/5
There are flashes of brilliance on display here, but the adjective that most sums this album up is "overproduced." She's got a great voice, as is clearly going for an ethereal, trip-hoppy sound, and sometimes it works. "Two Weeks" is sultry fire, and "Video Girl" grabbed and maintained my attention; they were definitely my favorite songs on the album. "Lights On," "Hours," "Pendulum," and "Give Up" all have their moments, but there were times (especially during "Pendulum") when I wished she and her producers would just get out of their own way and let it rip.
This is a debut album, so I'm hoping that she's since learned to ditch some of the gimmicky aspects of it and trust her voice to carry more of the weight. Giving this three and a half stars for what's here, and another half star for the undeniable potential.
The Go-Go's
4/5
If one wanted to be reductive (and I do, because I'm feeling lazy this morning), one could say that the Go-Go's are the answer to the question "What if the Runaways were nice, wholesome girls?"
The Go-Go's straddle the line between new wave and pop rock, and do it with style. "Our Lips Are Sealed" is an undeniable classic, and "We Got the Beat" is arguably the best song they ever recorded. The rest of the tracks were unfamiliar to me, but "Skidmarks on My Heart" caught my ear because of the Dick Dale/Centurians-like guitar riffs.
Once again, I find myself wishing I could give half-stars, because three and a half feels right. But I've always loved Belinda Carlisle's voice, and they're a Hall of Fame band, so I'll round up to four.
Simon & Garfunkel
5/5
This album taught me that I know more Simon & Garfunkel songs than I thought I did; I just didn't know their titles. This isn't surprising, given how influential they were, and how they straddle the edge of my wheelhouse. This album exemplifies my ambivalence perfectly.
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" is a gorgeous song. It's also emblematic of the type of S&G song that I don't go out of my way to listen to. Too soft and melancholy for my tastes. I listen to music to feel things, and my natural serotonin deficiency means I've got plenty of endemic melancholy on my plate. No need to go looking for more.
And that's what separates the songs I favor on this album from the songs I don't. Give me uptempo S&G all day. "Cecelia" has been a favorite of mine for decades (and inspired my favorite Venn diagram: one circle represents people who are breaking my heart, the other people who are shaking my confidence daily. In the overlapping area: Cecelia, of course).
I also enjoyed "Keep the Customer Satisfied" and "Baby Driver." I've got to imagine that the latter is about as close to a Beach Boys song as S&G ever got. And I wouldn't I kick "Why Don't You Write Me" or "Bye Bye Love" out of bed.
The rest of the album isn't likely to end up on one of my playlists. But there's no denying the artistry here, and I just can't justify giving it anything but five stars.
Badly Drawn Boy
2/5
I tried to give this album a fair shake, but gave up after twelve tracks. The album oozes "'90s college rock," and not in a good way (yes, it was released in 2000, but there's always a stylistic lag when transitioning between decades). It appears that Damon Gough wrote all the songs and played a bum-ton of different instruments on the album, so he's clearly got talent, but his work isn't for me.
Bottom line: this album bored me, and that's never a good thing.
Killing Joke
2/5
First impression: these guys sound like the Anti-Nowhere League. Second impression: there's some good guitar and bass playing in here. Third impression: it all kinda runs together, and the vocals are often hard to understand. This feels like an album of unmet potential. 2.5 stars rounded down to 2.
Pulp
3/5
My immediate knee-jerk reaction was "meh, another so-so '90s Brit rock group." Thankfully, that first impression was incorrect. There's some quality music on here, much of it pointedly aimed at the frivolous and out of touch upper class.
"Common People" was the first song to get my attention (and is probably my favorite song on the album). The line "I took her to a supermarket" was what tipped me off to Pulp's sense of humor. They're theatrical and the album tackles a key inequity in the modern world, but they're not taking themselves too seriously, either. That's a combination I respect.
Sonically, they sound like sort of a precursor to The Killers, but they're not afraid to dip into whatever genre suits them. "Disco 2000" was obviously inspired by Laura Branigan's "Gloria"--it's not every band that says "Hey, let's do a disco track." But it fits the album and their self-aware sense of humor. Not sure how many of these tracks will end up in my rotation, but this was a surprisingly solid album.
Fleet Foxes
2/5
Is there talent here? Yes. Do I want to listen to more of their music? Nope.
4/5
I'm inclined to categorize this as Ramones-style punk. Less raw, more polished than, say, the Sex Pistols, and their has the late '50s-early '60s rock vibe that the Ramones' often has. Depending on the song, the lead vocals might be handled by Exene (whose banshee-like wailing is unmistakable) or John Doe (or even both), and they make for a good combo, giving their music more versatility than the average band.
But the standout aspect of their music is Billy Zoom's quick, clean, and precise guitar playing. Personally, I'd have liked to hear him get a little more time in the spotlight, but the results are pure rock n roll whether he gets it or not.
Standout tracks include "Universal Corner," "Some Other Time," and "Beyond and Back" (which has a pleasing rockabilly flavor to it), but the entire album's solid. I could happily listen to the entire album without skipping a track. I wouldn't go so far as to give it 5 stars, but 4.5 feels right.
The Byrds
3/5
A solid album that leans toward typical mid-'60s rock ("So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star," which has a nice bit of trumpet in it and "Have You Seen Her Face," which features some fine guitar playing) and more hippy-oriented fare ("Time Between" sounds like it could be a Grateful Dead track), with a little flirtation with the psychedelic thrown into the mix ("Thoughts & Words," & "Mind Gardens"). Not bad at all.
Carpenters
1/5
My initial reaction upon seeing today's album: "Ugh, the Carpenters." Despite a deep desire to just skip it, I decided to embrace the spirit of this exercise and skimmed the album instead. My knee-jerk reaction was justified. This album should have been titled "Music for the Soulless."
I'm a white guy. I go out into the sun and I burn within approximately 8.3 seconds. And when the pain and suffering caused by my third-degree burns are over, I return to a mirror-like shade of white. No tanning involved in the process.
Despite that, this album is *way* too white for me. It's so white I need sunglasses to protect my eyes from the glare. It's whiter than an albino Mormon eating mayo on white bread in a snowstorm. It is the epitome of every "white people have no soul" stereotype. Tower of Power sang about people catching honky pox, and this album was surely the vector that infected Patient Zero. I literally listened to "Soul Vaccination" after skimming this album, just to be safe.
If you need proof of this album's violent blandness and mediocrity, look no further than their cover of the Beatles' "Help." They've turned an incredible song into saccharine schmaltz. It is an atrocity. A crime against humanity so abhorrent that they should have been tried at the Hague for it. It makes one wonder what the world might have looked like if Karen Carpenter had used her vocal talent for good instead of evil. Regardless of the answer, it's ultimately just a fantasy. The reality that cover--and the rest of the album--represents will haunt my dreams for the rest of my life.
Ute Lemper
2/5
This isn't for me. These tracks sound like they're straight out of a musical and I'm just not a musical guy. Lemper has a fantastic voice, but I keep expecting to get accosted by giant anthropomorphic cats, and it's making me jumpy.
Peter Tosh
4/5
Classic reggae, especially "Legalize It." I've always thought that it was pretty savvy of him to speak Capitalism in the song: "Legalize it and I will advertise is." Nothing like appealing to the greed of those in power.
"Brand New Second Hand" was the only other track on this album that I was familiar with, but the entire album's solid. "Burial" is nice and funky, and "Why Must I Cry" has a pleasing little guitar solo in it. The only track I didn't particularly care for was "Igziabeher (Let Jah Be Praised)." Everything else was great.
Lana Del Rey
1/5
Yeah, nope.
Sinead O'Connor
2/5
Disappointed with this one. "Nothing Compares 2 U" is amazing (thanks in no small part to the guy who wrote it, the obscure musician known as Prince), but O'Connor's fantastic voice couldn't save an otherwise unmemorable album. Both stars are for Prince.
Suede
2/5
Thoroughly unremarkable.
The Avalanches
4/5
I actually own this album, and have always been impressed by the Avalanches' ability to create music using almost nothing but meticulously layer samples. It's almost an aural analog to pointillism. Very cool.
Barry Adamson
2/5
Seemed like this was going to be a decent album at first, but it quickly descended into a self-indulgent "art project." A look at Wiki shows me that "Something Wicked This Way Comes" was featured in David Lynch's "Lost Highway," and that pairing seems perfect: two guys who spend way too much energy trying to be different rather than just getting on with things and entertaining people.
5/5
I know MC5 for one reason: the Presidents of the United States of America covered "Kick Out the Jams" on their debut album. The Presidents' version is far more polished, which is hardly surprising given how raw MC5's original is.
And that raw sound—which borders on amateurish at times—defines the entire album. But that's not criticism; it's what makes the album quintessential proto-punk. The fact that it was recorded live emphasizes the lack of polish and allows their personality to shine.
I was originally set to give this three stars, but then I listened to it again ... and again. And a little more. And it holds up. The track that stands out the most is "Motor City is Burning," not necessarily because it's better than the rest, but because it's the bluesy eye of the sonic storm, providing a stark contrast from the proto-punk chaos that surrounds it.
But I'm not seeing a throwaway track here. They're all solid. The album's loud and dirty and imperfect, and that feels just about perfect.
The Doors
3/5
I've always been pretty indifferent to the Doors. Sure, Morrison's voice is distinctive, and they've got a few classic songs, but overall ... *shrug*
I was hoping that listening to this album would enlighten me, but my opinion remains unchanged. They're fine, but my life wouldn't be any different if they'd never cut an album.
The Undertones
5/5
Throw the Ramones, Sex Pistols, and Clash into a blender, add a dash of Bryan Ferry's vibrato, then blend away, and I'm pretty sure the resulting concoction will be the Undertones.
I don't know how this is the first time I've run across them, as this album is fantastic. This is top-notch old school punk*, and the last time I was this excited about a new (to me) band was when Roxy Music's debut album popped up a few weeks ago.
I found a 26-track version of the album on YouTube, and there's a lot to love here. It starts off strong with "Family Entertainment," and while "The Girls Don't Like It," I sure do. "Teenage Kicks," "Get Over You," "Listening in," "Emergency Cases" ... So many good tracks. And a special shout-out to "Mars Bars," which is quite funny.
Honestly, 26 tracks and I had no desire to skip any of them. That's the dream right there.
*Except for "True Confessions," which starts with the line "Don't look so surprised," which amused me because it *was* a surprise, and came out of left field with a Devo-like new wave flavor that caught me completely off guard.
David Bowie
2/5
While I'm not surprised to see a Bowie album crop up, I *am* surprised that it's an album from 2013. Sadly, this album feels like the work of an aging artist who's lost his edge. There wasn't a song on this album that caught my ear, and I have to imagine that there are at least 1001 albums out there better than this one. The fact that it's Bowie doesn't automatically mean it belongs on the list.
The Isley Brothers
4/5
I love me some '70s-style funk and soul, so this album was right up my alley. "That Lady" is a classic, but it was the only song on the album I was familiar with, minus the original versions of "Listen to the Music" and "Summer Breeze" (they do justice to the former and improve on the latter). My favorite track was "What it Comes Down to," which is '70s soul to the bone. Good stuff.
Foo Fighters
4/5
This entry exposes an inexplicable hole in my personal collection. I know the Foo Fighters. I enjoy their music. Yet, out of over 37 days worth of music on my computer, I have a grand total of three FF songs ("Big Me," "Everlong," and "Learn to Fly"). What the shit is that about? I can't explain it.
This album proves to me that I need to fill that gap. It's undeniably classic '90s rock. But what's truly mind-blowing to me is the fact that Dave Grohl wrote and recorded this entire album by himself (minus some of the guitar in "X-Static"). I knew he was a well-rounded musician, but that's exceedingly impressive.
With regard to the actual music, I think the album drags a little toward the end, but who cares? Given how good the album's good bits are and the fact that Grohl essentially did this by himself, this is an easy four stars (and a reminder that, seriously, I need to get some more damn Foo Fighters in my collection).
GZA
4/5
When it comes to the Wu-Tang Clan, GZA is the cool and calm master assassin. He rarely leaves the shadows, but when he does you can be sure that he's going to murder the mic, and won't break a sweat while he does it. They don't call him the Genius for nothing.
This album features RZA, GZA's cousin, in full control of the production (as well as lending his distinctive lyrical stylings on "4th Chamber"). RZA defined the Wu-Tang style: layered (often eerie) samples, and dialogue from kung fu films. Unfortunately, RZA's one flaw is putting long bits of dialogue at the beginning and/or end of tracks, rather than featuring them as between-track skits. Yes, they're an essential part of his work, but most of the time you just want to listen to the tracks, not wait through 1:19 of dialogue (as is necessary with the title track, "Liquid Swords").
Despite the lengthy dialogue, "Liquid Swords" is one of the strongest tracks on the album. Other highlights include "Gold," "Labels," and my personal favorite, "4th Chamber." (What can I say? I'm a sucker for Ghostface, and RZA's medieval beat is the perfect match for Ghostface's "Why is the sky blue? Why is water wet? Why did Judas rat to Romans while Jesus slept?")
An easy 4 stars, bordering on 4.5
The Jam
2/5
Meh. Nothing here really got my attention. It's fine. Don't love it, don't hate it. 2.5 stars.
The Prodigy
4/5
A lot of these songs are progressive, DJ-friendly tracks with long intros and outros so they can transition slowly between songs, but "DJ-friendly" often means less palatable for casual listeners. If you're willing to go with the flow, there's a lot to like here (see "Break & Enter," which has some truly fantastic bits in the middle). For the less patient, tracks like "Voodoo People" and "No Good (Start the Dance)" get to the point more quickly.
Other highlights include "Poison" (which reminded me that I really need to find a copy of the Pump Panel Reconstruction Remix of New Order's "Confusion," which many will recognize from the blood rave in "Blade"), "One Love," and "3 Kilos" (which sounds like the bastard child of "Low Rider" and an acid trip).
It's not as good as "Fat of the Land," but it's still a solid offering by the Prodigy.
The B-52's
4/5
I haven't explored their discography in a systematic way, but I love the B-52's so damn much. This isn't their strongest album, but "Planet Claire" and "Rock Lobster" alone are worth four stars. I assume we'll be seeing more of their albums in the future, and I look forward to it.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
"Block Rockin' Beats" and "Setting Sun" are classic big beat tracks, so I had high hopes for this album, but found it a bit underwhelming. Maybe I should give it another listen, but for now, I'm rounding up from 2.5 stars.
Doves
2/5
The larger the sample size, the stronger the evidence: I just don't like indie. Rounding down from 2.5 stars.
Beatles
5/5
Is "Rubber Soul" the best Beatles album? No, but it's still fantastic. This is the album where the Beatles start to get a little weird, and music as a whole has been better for it ever since.
You can hear the influence of their burgeoning flirtation with Eastern philosophy and music in "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)," which prominently features the sitar. "Nowhere Man" is a bit of a trip, and feels psychedelic-adjacent. "What Goes On" has the country twang that Ringo seems to favor (see also: "Act Naturally" and "Don't Pass Me By"), "Michelle" is classic understated McCartney, and "Think For Yourself" features Harrison's signature desire to shrug off this world's baser impulses and frivolities.
My favorite track of the album is "Girl," which is the perfect vehicle for Lennon's pathos. That tortured/obsessive intake of breath in the chorus—like a self-destructive man surrendering himself to the drug he knows could someday kill him—is peak Lennon. *chef's kiss*
"Rubber Soul" may not be their best album, but let's be clear: that's a high bar, so there's no shame in falling short of it. Falling short or not, it's fair to say that it's the beginning of their transcendence of the bands they emulated in their early days. From here on out, they were more than mere pop sensations that hit the scene in the right place at the right time. They were artists in their own right, and were beginning to shape the musical world—either because other artists wanted to be like them, or because they *didn't* want to be like them. Either way, the Beatles were now the musical benchmark.
My Bloody Valentine
2/5
Look up "overproduced" in the dictionary and I'm pretty sure you'll find a link to this album. It's a wall of sound that lyrics only occasionally burst through (and when they manage the feat, they're still nigh-incomprehensible). Maybe it'd work if it were stripped down and remastered ("Sometimes" seems salvageable), but as is, it's not for me. Feels like some serious hipster catnip, though. Giving this a generous 2 stars, rounded up from 1.5.
Roxy Music
4/5
I was introduced to Roxy Music when their debut album popped up a few weeks back, and it blew me away. I gave it a four at the time, but now I'm thinking I should have gone the whole five stars because while it's maybe a less well-rounded album than "Country Life," the songs I like are better.
Nonetheless, I can't see myself giving this fewer than four stars. "If It Takes All Night" is probably my favorite track, with "All I Want Is You" and "A Really Good Time" rounding out the top three (Or maybe "Out of the Blue" deserves to supplant one of them? Hard to say). What can I say, other than that Roxy Music's been the biggest gem 1001 Albums has introduced me to so far.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
"Born to Run"? "Thunder Road"? "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out"? All on the same album? You son of a bitch; I'm in.
The Smiths
2/5
The list of Smiths songs I like begins and ends with "How Soon Is Now?" Otherwise, they've never appealed to me, so went into this album with an open mind and and the hope that I was wrong about them.
Turns out I wasn't, really. "How Soon Is Now?" aside, I seem to prefer uptempo Smiths, so "Vicar in a Tutu" and "Frankly, Mr. Shankly" were okay. But "Uptempo Smiths" seems to be a rare creature, and I'm not sure what to do with the rest of the album.
Am I supposed to be taking lyrics like "And if a ten-ton truck kills the both of us..." seriously, or is there a comedic layer to it? I have no idea, but it it's the former then wow, dude, melodramatic much? I think it just boils down to the fact that I don't like Morrissey much. I don't think of him or the Smiths as goth, but he's definitely got that South Park goth kid gloomy navel-gazing vibe. I feel like he'd be exhausting to hang around. Find an antidepressant that works for you and buck up, my friend.
Gene Clark
2/5
Meh
Shack
2/5
No thanks.
Le Tigre
3/5
Had no idea what to expect with this one, but if I hadn't looked at its release date beforehand, I suspect I would have mistaken it for a punk and/or new wave album from the late-'80s (at least until they started singing about Rudy Giuliani, anyway).
The first track, "Deceptacon," knocked me on my ass. The instrumentation is pretty simple (which can be said about the majority of the album), but Kathleen Hanna's vocals are raw and forceful and just about perfect. It's easily my favorite track on the album, which, sadly, isn't as consistent as I'd hoped it would be. Despite that, I thoroughly enjoyed "The The Empty" and "Let's Run," and "Friendship Station" ain't bad either (it's got a great beat).
One thing's for sure: after enjoying Hanna's vocals so much I'm definitely going to give Bikini Kill a go, who I've heard of but never gotten around to checking out.
Emmylou Harris
1/5
My streak of not enjoying country continues...
Fugazi
2/5
I know of Fugazi, but never heard their music before this. My life would be unchanged if that remained true today.
2/5
For me, it takes something special to get over the language barrier. This didn't clear the bar.
Beastie Boys
5/5
Oh my God, that's some funky shit!
I didn't even need to listen to this album to give it five stars, but I did anyway, because it's not only a fantastic album, but a well-rounded one to boot. It's got classic tracks like "Sure Shot," "Sabotage," "Get It Together," and "Alright Hear This," plus some of their best instrumental stuff, like "Sabrosa," "Shambala," and "Transitions." And let's not forget <insert basically any other track here>.
It doesn't really get better than this.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
Nick Cave's one of those artists I've meant to check out but never gotten around to. The only song of his I really knew before this was "Red Right Hand," which is pretty cool, so I had high hopes for this album. It was not at all what I expected or wanted. Too slow and morose for my taste. Bummer.
Ash
2/5
What is it about '90s Britpop that bores me so much? Maybe it's just its utter mediocrity? I can't say for sure, but every time I hear it my mind immediately shuts off.
Maybe it's a defense mechanism. Maybe I should harness this phenomenon for good. When my anger or anxiety starts to get the better of me, I can just throw on some Ash or Suede and let the banality wash it all away. It's worth a shot.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
I feel like I'm supposed to like Joni Mitchell, but I just don't. I guess that means I need to continue my emotional education.
Iron Butterfly
3/5
I guess I now know why "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" is the only Iron Butterfly song I know. The rest of the album is fine, but unremarkable. It's certainly far less remarkable than the 17-minute (!!) "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" (all praise the radio edit!). This gets two stars for being serviceable Doors-style psychedelic rock, and another for (the shorter version of) the classic "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida."
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
This is a solid punkish/garage rock album most notable for Karen O's distinctive vocals, but three tracks stand head and shoulders above the others: "Date with the Night," "Black Tongue," and "Maps."
The latter is likely their most well-known track, as it charted in the US. That said, it sticks out like a sore thumb on the album—stylistically, it's more polished and ... I don't want to say "tame," so let's go with "accessible" instead (hence it hitting the charts). It's a fantastic song, but the rest of the album's wilder in comparison, which is likely to disappoint more pop-oriented music fans.
"Black Tongue" is more representative of the album as a whole, and a joy for those who love the rawer sound. Karen O's in fine vocal form, and the instrumentation is simple and a touch dirty.
While I can't pick out a song I don't like, but I wish there was another song or two that I outright loved. It wouldn't have hurt for them to have thrown "Bang" (from their debut EP) onto the album, just to give it a little more kick. But that's quibbling. This is a great album.
The Beach Boys
5/5
Whenever a publication makes a "Greatest Albums of All Times" list, "Pet Sounds" is inevitably in the mix, and it getting picked #1 isn't unusual. I've listened to it before, but didn't really get what all the fuss was about, so I dove into the Wiki page for context as I listened to it. And then I listened to it a couple more times.
And you know what? I wouldn't go so far as to call it the best album ever, but it *is* excellent. Judging the album as a cohesive whole rather than just a bunch of songs slapped together on the same hunk of vinyl helped (and that's what we're doing here, right?). And getting some of the background from Wikipedia helped contextualize it.
As for individual songs, "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "Sloop John B," and "God Only Knows" were my preexisting favorites, but new favorites include "That's Not Me," "I'm Waiting for the Day," "I Know There's an Answer," and "Here Today." I definitely slept on this album, but no more! These pets make great music.
Don McLean
2/5
Folk has always been hit and miss with me, and it's more miss than hit. I've never particularly cared for "American Pie" (the song), so I didn't have high hopes here. My (lack of) expectations were justified.
The best I can say about this album is that if it didn't exist, we wouldn't have Weird Al's "The Saga Begins." That'd be a damn shame, so thanks for the assist, Don.
The Beach Boys
1/5
Feels like this album's title should be "The Beach Boys Try To Be The Beatles." Spoiler alert: they do a poor job of it.
According to Wiki, "Surf's Up addresses environmental, social, and health concerns more than the group's previous releases. This was at the behest of newly recruited co-manager Jack Rieley, who strove to revamp the group's image and restore their public reputation following the dismal reception to their recent albums and tours. His initiatives included a promotional campaign with the tagline 'it's now safe to listen to the Beach Boys...'"
And that's exactly what this album sounds like: a management-driven attempt to rebrand themselves and remind everyone that "Hey, man, we're still hip and relevant!" There isn't a single song on this album that I'm even remotely tempted to listen to again. I'm embarrassed for them.
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
2/5
It was okay.
The Verve
3/5
A week after giving '90s Britpop shit, I get a Britpop album I actually enjoy. Maybe it's because this feels a little more rock 'n' roll than the others I've gotten thus far? Maybe it's the fact that the album's full of legitimate existential musings rather than treacly, angst-ridden love songs? I honestly don't know.
One thing I do know is that "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is a fantastic song. It's Britpop done right, and one of the defining tracks of the '90s from any genre. At the time of its release, it was played, overplayed, then overplayed some more, and while my interest in adding it to my playlists may have waxed and waned over the years, I enjoy it thoroughly every time I hear it.
As for the rest of the album, the biggest surprise for me was "The Drugs Don't Work." I first ran across the song on Ben Harper's "Live from Mars" album, and thought it was one of his own songs. Discovering it on this album was definitely another point in the Verve's favor.
The rest of the album didn't exactly knock my socks off, but I think I need to give it another listen or two. It appears that Richard Ashcroft is a talented songwriter, and I suspect I'll find more to enjoy if I pay closer attention. Gonna give this three stars, but I wouldn't be surprised if I listen to it some more and end up thinking it should have been four.
David Bowie
3/5
I was familiar with the song "Heroes" before this, but the rest of the album was new to me. The instrumental tracks are what really grabbed my attention.
Despite preceding the movie by a good five years, "Sense of Doubt" wouldn't feel out of place on the "Blade Runner" soundtrack, and "Neuköln" is equally moody and dark. Sandwiched between them is "Moss Garden," which has an ambient, meditative vibe to it (reinforced by Bowie's use of the koto). Interestingly, the track begins and ends with what sounds to my ears like rocket engines. Apparently the track "V-2 Schneider" is about Kraftwork's co-founder, but surely it's not a coincidence that the V-2 rocket was the first ballistic missile. It's almost as if the "Moss Garden" is a tranquil getaway from the dystopian locations the surrounding tracks represent. You hop on a rocket, get a little peace in the moss garden, then it's back on the rocket to return to the hellscape from whence you came.
As for the rest of the album, there's artistry there (as one would expect from Bowie), but I don't see myself listening to anything other than "Heroes" with any kind of regularity.
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
Solid psychedelic rock. The highlight of the album is Barry Melton's guitar playing. I'm surprised I've never heard of him (or the band as a whole). Gets a littler weirder than I'd prefer at times, but that's par for the course with psychedelic stuff.
XTC
2/5
Not my style.
Van Halen
5/5
First things first: Van Halen was never the same after He Who Shall Not Drive 55 replaced David Lee Roth. For further information, please refer to Nerf Herder's "Van Halen."
Now that that's out of the way, anyone with at least one working earhole should recognize the greatness of this album. Not only are "Jump," "Panama," and "Hot for Teacher" my three favorite Van Halen songs, but they're seminal '80s rock tracks, period. All on the same album. They're worth 4.5 stars themselves, and we can just round up the rest of the way to five on general principle.
Funkadelic
3/5
I was expecting to love this, but I merely liked it. Gets a little too weird and meandering at times for my taste. But they're still incredible.
Joy Division
3/5
I was pleased to see this album crop up, as Joy Division is one of those bands that, every time someone mentions them, I think "I really need to check them out." But then I never get around to it, and the cycle begins again.
I was *really* hoping to have my noggin blown by this album, but it just wasn't. It appears I'm not too into Ian Curtis' vocals, which sound a bit flat to my ears. None of the songs really jumped out at me, with the possible exception of "New Dawn Fades" and "Interzone," the latter of which features vocals by bassist Peter Hook instead of Curtis. In fact, the only thing that truly caught my attention was Hook's bass playing, which I found intriguingly unpredictable. (Oh, and the album cover, which is a classic.)
I don't know. Maybe I'll appreciate it more if I give the album another listen or two, but I'm not in a rush to do so.
Femi Kuti
3/5
I didn't dislike this, but this might be the first time I listened to an album and thought the tracks were too long. All of them. Apart from a 30-second intro to one song, the shortest track was 5:59. Most of them were over 8:30. Like I said, I didn't dislike this, but I didn't like it enough for the track length to not wear on me.
Mudhoney
2/5
Utterly unremarkable.
Ministry
1/5
Screaming backed by noise. Never understood the appeal of this type of music. Cool album cover, though.
Sonic Youth
2/5
I'm just not feeling this album.
Before starting this 1001 Albums experiment, I believed that rock took a nose-dive in the '00s and never adequately corrected itself. I'm beginning to think that (in my eyes, anyway) rock's decline was more gradual, and started in the '90s. There's plenty of rock from that decade that I like (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Rage, etc.), but it sure seems like most of the '90s rock albums we've gotten so far have underwhelmed me.
Maybe I was too busy listening to hip-hop and R&B in the '90s. Or maybe I was listening to more hip-hop and R&B because rock was starting to bore me. Can't say for sure, but either way, this album just ain't lighting up that oh-so-important dopamine pathway.
Lauryn Hill
5/5
What do you do after you and the Fugees make "The Score," one of the best hip-hop albums of the '90s? If you're Lauryn Hill, you make one of the best albums of the '90s of any genre.
The trinity of "Doo Wop (That Thing)," her cover of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You," and "Everything Is Everything" got most of the attention at the time—and for good reason—but this album's solid as a rock.
Want gorgeous tracks about love gone wrong? Then "Ex-Factor," "When It Hurts So Bad," and "I Used to Love Him" will scratch that itch. Or maybe you'd prefer to shut out the rest of the world and curl up with D'Angelo on "Nothing Even Matters." Or get nostalgic with "Every Ghetto, Every City," which has a delicious Stevie Wonder flavor thanks to its prominently featured clavinet.
Introspection, faith, social commentary ... this album's got it all. There may be a few tracks I regularly skip, but I'd hardly be in agony if I was "forced" to listen to the album in its entirety. It's both regrettable and fitting that this was her only solo album; she has a mind and a voice worth listening to, but this album sets an impossibly high bar.
Sarah Vaughan
3/5
The great thing about live performances is they give you a better feel for the performer's personality. This was an intriguing album in that respect. I especially enjoyed the bit where she goofed a little during "Willow Weep for Me"—she acknowledged it, got a few laughs, and kept rolling, totally unfazed. Good stuff.
A Tribe Called Quest
5/5
While most of the hip-hop world was hopping on board the gangsta rap train, the Tribe blazed off in another direction—a lighter, jazz-inflected Afrocentrism that was unconcerned with gangs and gats.
I had "The Low End Theory" on cassette as a kid, but missed out on this one. I was familiar with "Bonita Applebaum" and "Can I Kick It?", but the rest of this album was new to me. Unsurprisingly, their debut album is as fantastic as one might expect, with Q-Tip's lyrical prowess in particular shining brightly at every turn.
This isn't quite as good as "The Low End Theory," but I'm giving it 5 stars nonetheless.
Nas
4/5
Whenever someone's discussing the all-time greatest MCs, Nas is invariably in the mix, and it ain't hard to tell why. He's not my #1, but his wordplay is solid and his delivery is quick and nimble.
There's some overlap here with West Coast gangsta rap, but much of it is superficial. It's not so much gang-related braggadocio as it is an honest representation of the stark realities of living in the rougher areas of NYC in the '90s—which happens to include drugs and violence. It's classic East Coast hip-hop, and as far as the West Coast is concerned, much closer in spirit to Tupac's more introspective work than, say, Snoop's "Doggystyle."
Liz Phair
3/5
This isn't really my thing, but Phair has a strong voice (metaphorically speaking)—smart, confident, mischievously funny, and justifiably sick of our male-dominated society's shit. The three-song stretch of "Mesmerizing," "Fuck & Run," and "Girls! Girls! Girls!" was my favorite, and "Flower" had me cracking up.
Drive Like Jehu
1/5
You know the scene in "Scott Pilgrim" with Crash & the Boys, where it takes six seconds for them to introduce "I'm So Sad, So Very, Very Sad," and that intro is longer than the actual song, which is only a four-count on the drums followed by the words "So sad" sung over two notes on the guitar and bass? This is sorta the opposite of that. Drive Like Jehu just scream "Do You Compute" for seven minutes, or "Rome Plows" for 5:45. Same level of lyrical content and complexity as Crash, but they take infinitely longer to perform it. And it's a small sample size, but I'm pretty sure Crash & the Boys are better musicians.
I gave up halfway through the nearly 9.5-minute-long fourth track. Music may not be a race, but I've got shit to do, man. Like watch "Scott Pilgrim" for the umpteenth time.
MGMT
3/5
Prior to this popping up, I was familiar with the three singles off of this album. "Time to Pretend" and "Kids" are decent, and I genuinely love "Electric Feel." I was hoping to find more to enjoy on this album, but upon giving it a listen it became clear why there weren't more than three singles—the rest of the tracks aren't particularly interesting. At best, they're mediocre; at worst, they feel like a couple of guys trying too hard to be profound. If "Electric Feel" is any indication, they'd be better served dropping the pretense and concentrating on making slightly weird, deliciously funky jams.
Beck
2/5
Not all sea changes are positive, and this album—probably my least favorite Beck album—is evidence of that. Beck is at his best when unbridled, and this is too restrained for my taste. My time's much better spent listening to "Odelay" or, my personal favorite, "Midnite Vultures."
ZZ Top
4/5
When it comes to bluesy Southern rock, it doesn't get much better than ZZ Top. "Eliminator" will always have a special place in my heart, but "Tres Hombres" is a solid album, and features my favorite ZZ Top track: "La Grange."
The rest of the album was new to me, but it didn't disappoint. I particularly enjoyed the opening trio of songs, "Waiting for the Bus," "Jesus Just Left Chicago," and "Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers." I don't *love* every track, but if someone slapped the record on and "forced" me to listen to it, I certainly wouldn't be begging for them to skip any tracks. Billy Gibbons' guitar playing alone makes the album worthwhile.
Machito
3/5
This is my kind of jazz; concise, uptempo, and heavy on brass and percussion. I don't generally care for the long-winded, improvisational, "it's the notes they don't play" sort of jazz, so this was a refreshing deviation from that style. No single track truly stood out, which is why it gets 3 stars instead of 4, but if someone threw this on I'd happily listen to it in its entirety (especially if some tropical drinks were part of the equation).
Parliament
5/5
We got Funkadelic's "One Nation Under a Groove" recently, and I was a little disappointed by it. Apparently I prefer Parliament? Not sure, as the distinction's never been clear to me, and it appears the line between the two has eroded over time.
Regardless, this was the funk I was looking for. Dr. Dre is clearly a fan of the album, since he sampled at least two of the tracks, most notably "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" on "Let Me Ride." And while it's undeniably part of G-funk's DNA, the album is properly funky in its own right. "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" alone makes this album worth a listen, but it's funk all the way down. I'd probably give this 4.5 stars if I could, but I'm rounding up to 5 because why the funk would I round down?
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Enjoyed this immensely, especially "Uncomplicated," "Tokyo Storm Warning," and "Blue Chair" (but I wish I knew WTF the blue chair is).
Wilco
2/5
Not my bag.
Elis Regina
2/5
Even without the language barrier, this isn't for me.
The Temptations
3/5
Good but not great. "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" is an all-time classic (although I'll take the 7-minute single version over the nearly 12-minute album version, thanks), "Funky Music Sho Nuff Turns Me On" is properly funky, and the rest of the album was serviceable.
50 Cent
5/5
Classic album. There are some skippable tracks—"Blood Hound" (although I like Young Buck, who sounds like a wee baby on this track) and "Back Down" are my least favorite—but I don't outright dislike any of them. Got this on CD when it came out, and I could pop it in and listen to it from start to finish—which I did many times.
I took a look at the numbers for this album on Spotify, and unsurprisingly, "In da Club," "P.I.M.P.", and "21 Questions" are the most-played, and understandably so. But I was shocked to see that "Gotta Make It to Heaven" was the *least*-played track. Megahertz produced the shit out of it, and 50 ... well, in his own words: "You ain't got to tell me / you feeling this shit / Because I hear what I'm saying / I know I'm killing this shit." And he ain't lying; it's my second favorite track after "P.I.M.P."
Norah Jones
3/5
Not something I'd listen to often, but decent if I'm in the mood for it. She's got a great voice.
Sonic Youth
2/5
After listening to this and "Dirty" in the last few weeks, I've come to the conclusion that I'm not a Sonic Youth fan.
Jane's Addiction
4/5
It's a little uneven (mostly on the back end), but this is a great album. "Been Caught Stealing" is an all-time great track and is worth three stars by itself. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed four of the first five tracks (especially "Sorry!" and not including "Obvious").
Things get a little weird after that. "Three Days," "Then She Did" and "Of Course" are about 26 minutes combined, which is about half of the album. If I'm going to listen to a 7+ minute song regularly it's gotta be amazing, and they don't clear that bar. The closest to do so is "Of Course," which has a Jewish fiddle thing going on that I enjoy (reminds me a bit of Green Day's "Misery). And the lyrics about his older brother making him hit himself in the face is likely to get a chuckle from brothers everywhere.
TLDR; there's a lot to like here, even if I don't necessarily want to listen to some of the tracks regularly.
George Michael
4/5
We got "Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1" a while back and I was disappointed by it. I guess that's because all my favorite George Michael songs are on "Faith." Great album.
Aerosmith
5/5
Classic album, classic cover. Right up there with my other favorite Aerosmith album, "Get a Grip." "Love in an Elevator," "Janie's Got a Gun," "The Other Side," and "What It Takes" are all greatest hits material—which is why they're all on "Big Ones."
LCD Soundsystem
4/5
I checked out their album "This Is Happening" after finding a truly sublime mashup of "Dance Yrself Clean" and Big Boi's "Shutterbugg" (called "Shutterbug Yrslf, by DJ Lobsterdust for anyone wanting to track it down), and was disappointed by what I found. I was expecting similar disappointment here. Much to my surprise, I thoroughly enjoyed this album. I don't now if it caught me in the right mood or what, but I ended up listening to it multiple times.
The top track for me was "American Dream," which hit me in an existential angst-y sweet spot—chock full o' disillusionment with modern life mixed with futile self-destructive flailing. That's kinda my brand (if not musically, then certainly in real life). "Tonite" also pushed the right buttons, and, along with "Other Voices," gives off a 21st century Talking Heads vibe (which I swear was a conclusion I came to before reading my fellow group member's review, who made a similar comparison). They're not as good as the Talking Heads, but this album's got a similar sort of nuance and flavor. I dig it.
De La Soul
4/5
Fantastic
Donald Fagen
2/5
This is some seriously dorky shit. This album answers the question "What if Billy Joel wasn't even edgy enough to call himself a downtown man?"
N.W.A.
5/5
One of the greatest hip-hop albums ever made, and its influence is still strong today.
John Martyn
3/5
Not great, but gonna round up from 2.5 stars.
Missy Elliott
5/5
Fire from start to finish. Missy is such an underrated MC.
Green Day
4/5
Sadly, the title track's even more relevant now than it was back then.
Supergrass
3/5
A pleasant surprise. Can't quite give it 4 stars, but I'd give it 3.5.
Alice Cooper
2/5
I wanted to like this more.
Boards of Canada
2/5
I recently watched "Beyond the Black Rainbow" and "Mandy" by filmmaker Panos Cosmatos after seeing the trippy "Cabinet of Curiosities" episode, "The Viewing." They've all got a synth-heavy, late-'70s/early '80s vibe, and much of this album would fit remarkably well in any of them—so well that I was compelled to investigate whether anyone in the band was involved with those projects (they weren't).
Sadly, what works for eerie, moody films doesn't work so well for general listening. There's some interesting stuff in here, especially if you want to zonk out and pretend you're back in 1980, but overall this didn't do much for me.
Nina Simone
2/5
I've got nothing but respect for Nina, but this didn't do it for me.
Astor Piazzolla
2/5
I have been transported back to an off-strip Las Vegas lounge circa 1963. I don't care for it.
Brian Eno
3/5
I'm more familiar with Eno based on reputation than his actual work (apart from his stint with Roxy Music), so my only expectations here were simple: this album was going to be weird. It was indeed weird. Didn't love it; didn't hate it. Probably an album I'll want to revisit again at some point.
The Slits
2/5
The instrumentation's fine, but I found the vocals exceptionally underwhelming.
The Pogues
2/5
Never hopped on the Celtic bandwagon, and it appears that won't be changing anytime soon. This just isn't something I'd actively seek out.
The Prodigy
5/5
This was an instant classic, and it's the Prodigy at their best. I'm not a huge fan of the final track, "Fuel My Fire," but I don't hate it, either. Everything else is brilliant, especially "Mind Fields," "Narayan," and my personal favorite, "Diesel Power," (which features the underappreciated Kool Keith). Absolutely love this album.
Taylor Swift
2/5
Confession time: Taylor Swift is one of my guilty pleasures, and while her albums are pretty hit and miss (with a higher-than-ideal proportion of misses) I genuinely enjoy "1989." Sadly, this is not "1989." She seems to be going back to her country roots a bit here, and with the exception of "Willow" and "Ivy," the album's pretty bland and uninteresting (and those two exceptions mostly get by on their earworm-y hooks). I also didn't care for the countrified male vocals when they popped up.
TLDR; this album's further evidence that I prefer her more pop-oriented stuff. (Also, holy shit, "1989" is eight years old. I am old.)
Curtis Mayfield
3/5
Good stuff. I'd give it 3.5 stars if I could.
Destiny's Child
3/5
There are some classic tracks here, most notably "Independent Women Part I," "Survivor," and "Bootylicious." That said, those are the first three tracks, and there's a LOT of filler after that. And does anyone else find it mildly ironic that "Nasty Girl" is the track after "Bootylicious," or is it just me?
Sly & The Family Stone
5/5
Love me some Sly et al., and this album didn't disappoint. "I Want to Take You Higher" might be my second-favorite Sly song (the first being "If You Want Me to Stay"), and "Everyday People" is arguably their most well-known. There's plenty more to like here, and it feels a little ahead of its time. The album sounds (to my mind) like it's straight out of the mid-'70s rather than 1969.
I'd probably go with a 4.5 if I could, but I can't, so I might as well round up for Sly & Co's general awesomeness.
Kendrick Lamar
4/5
On the one hand, there's not a lot here that I'd listen to repeatedly. The production is a bit chaotic, which I don't care for. On the other hand, Lamar's lyrics and flow are incredible. This one earns four stars for the artistry, even if it's not an album I'm likely to listen to much.
Michael Kiwanuka
3/5
I think this falls into the "artful but not really my thing" category. Might give it another listen at some point.
2/5
I've actually seen Dylan in concert and thoroughly enjoyed it, but this isn't doing it for me.
The Doors
3/5
Not a huge Doors fan, but this was decent.
Beatles
4/5
Given what they went on to achieve, it's easy to forget that the Beatles basically started off as a glorified cover band. Nearly half of this album is comprised of covers, and I'm totally fine with that for two reasons:
1). Their talent shines through regardless of whose songs they're singing.
2). They've got great taste in music.
I'm especially fond of their versions of "Please Mr. Postman" and "Roll Over Beethoven," but let's not forget their original stuff. "All My Loving" is the stands above the rest, but there's not a bad song in the bunch. This album's one you can simply throw on and listen to from start to finish without worrying about throwaway tracks.
Kate Bush
2/5
TIL that Kate Bush is pretty friggin' weird. I respect her willingness to let her freak flag fly, but it appears her music's not really my bag.
T. Rex
3/5
Solid glam fun.
Massive Attack
3/5
Not something I'm likely to throw on on a whim, but not bad if I'm in the mood for it.
The Chemical Brothers
4/5
Starts strong, but loses some of its luster on the backstretch. Still top-notch big beat goodness, though.
Morrissey
3/5
Better than I expected. Maybe I've let the fact that I find Morrissey insufferable color my opinion of his music. Might have to go back and listen to some Smiths again.
Terence Trent D'Arby
2/5
He's got a great voice, but other than "Wishing Well," "Sign Your Name," and his cover of Smokey Robinson's "Who's Lovin' You," this album didn't do it for me.
Bob Dylan
4/5
I wasn't sure what I was going to get with this one. I like Dylan well enough, but we got his "Live 1966" album recently and it wasn't great—a lethargic performance that was so nasal it was like he was doing a bad impersonation of himself.
But this was the Bob Dylan I was looking for, far more lively than "Live 1966," with a healthy helping of blues. "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" is deliciously bluesy, and "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" is a classic bit of silliness that's probably familiar to anyone who's ever been within 20 feet of a stoner. Then we've got Dylan staples like "Visions of Johanna," "I Want You," and "Just Like a Woman." I love me some harmonica, but he hits it a *little* hard on this album, especially on "Pledging My Time." Other than that, the only complaint I have is that it's a little long at 72+ minutes. As good as he can be, I prefer Dylan in smaller doses.
Willie Nelson
2/5
Well, I was not expecting a cover album, so this was a bit of a surprise. I wish I could say it was a pleasant surprise, but "On the Sunny Side of the Street" was the only track that really caught my ear, apart from "Georgia on My Mind." Sadly, the latter did so because it couldn't hold a candle to Ray Charles' version (but that's not a knock on Willie specifically—no one sings that song like Ray).
I wanted to like this album, as I respect Willie as a person, but if this album's any indication, it appears his music just isn't my thing. Just too countrified for my taste.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
Aretha's the Queen of Soul, and if you can't figure out why after listening to this album then you're probably a lost cause. Not only is it solid from start to finish, but it's got two of my Top 4 Aretha songs, "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" and (my personal favorite) "Baby, Baby, Baby" (the other two songs being "Chain of Fools" and the "Blues Brothers" version of "Think"). An easy 5 stars.
Metallica
3/5
There's no questioning that Metallica rocks, but their propensity for long instrumental breaks starts feeling self-indulgent pretty quickly. "Dyers Eve" is the *shortest* track at 5:14, and with the exception of "Harvester of Sorrow," the rest of the songs are no shorter than 6:45 (and two songs clock in at just under 9:50). But hey, this album's got "One" on it, which gets my vote for the most depressing music video ever, so yay?
Bottom line: this album's good, but I would have enjoyed it more if they'd rocked approximately 1-5 minutes less on each song.
Blur
3/5
I'd completely forgotten about "Girls & Boys," which I thoroughly enjoy, but it's far better than the rest of the album, which is just okay. I enjoyed "Clover Over Dover"—it's fun to say and I love me some harpsichord—and "Lot 105" has a campy '60s game show vibe to it, but it's barely over a minute long, which is a damn shame.
I think it's safe to say that when it comes to Damon Albarn, I greatly prefer the Gorillaz over Blur.
Rocket From The Crypt
3/5
I'm not sure if the lyrics are washed out by the music because that's just how they like it or because the lyrics aren't terribly good. Either way, it's kind of annoying. Still, the instrumentation's decent and the brass gives them a nice, full sound. Giving them a generous 3 stars.
Cheap Trick
3/5
Didn't knock my socks off, but it improves as the concert progresses. There are definitely worse ways to spend 45 minutes than listening to Cheap Trick.
David Bowie
2/5
Way too much dissonance for my taste. It too often sounds like the type of jazz where each instrument seems to be playing a different song. I'm starting to wonder if I respect Bowie as an artist more than I actually like a lot of his work. Guess I'll find out as more of his album's crop up (as I can only assume they will).
Public Enemy
5/5
An undeniably brilliant album filled with justifiable anger and frustration tempered with a hopefulness rooted in confidence and righteousness. Released less than a month and a half before "Straight Outta Compton" (which that should give everyone a clear picture of how things were going for Black Americans back in '88), its message is far more relevant than one would have hoped after 30+ years.
Haircut 100
5/5
I would have sworn that I'd never heard of these guys, but "Favourite Shirts (Boy Meets Girl)" sounded awfully familiar, and I definitely knew "Love Plus One." So that was a surprise. The bigger surprise: I fucking LOVE this album. It's new wave perfection, full of funky basslines, sexy sax, and the sort of overtly British vocals that somehow feel necessary for new wave to be *just* right. (Maybe because Duran Duran is inextricably linked to new wave in my mind? I don't know.) Regardless, this album was a delightfully upbeat surprise, and I enjoyed it from start to finish.
Robert Wyatt
1/5
WTAF is this? WHY is this? Who was this made for, other than the artist himself?
The answers to these questions are irrelevant. This album is genuinely unlistenable, and the only list it truly belongs on is "1001 Albums That Make You Wish You Were Dead." I couldn't even make it through an entire song; the best I could manage was a skim of the album. It is my fervent hope that I can purge this abomination from my memory banks and never waste another millisecond thinking about it. Life's too short to waste on terrible music.
Simon & Garfunkel
3/5
"Mrs. Robinson" is one of S&G's best songs, but I found this album too folky for my taste. The first half was a real snoozefest, and I was set to give this two stars, but the last handful of songs has me rounding up to a generous three. The album held one surprise, though: I had no idea "A Hazy Shade of Winter" was an S&G song—I only knew the Bangles version before this (which I quite enjoy).
Brian Eno
2/5
As advertised, this was very much ambient, and wouldn't feel out of place at the airport (or maybe as an airline’s hold music). Unfortunately, that's not really what I'm looking for when I listen to music.
I know Eno's a musical genius and all that, but these tracks seemed repetitive and without much variation, and “1/1” seemed to be just an x-second/minute-long patch that was simply repeated over and over for nearly 17.5 minutes (and I swear there's a slightly-tweaked snippet of "Frère Jacques" in there).
This isn't something I'd ever listen to purposefully, but it might be good to throw on for a massage or yoga class. Or hey, throw it into a video game. Some of this stuff reminds me of Russell Shaw's soundtrack to "Fable," which has a genuinely fantastic ambient track called "Summer Fields." In fact, Eno's "2/1" sorta reminds me of Shaw's "Fresco Dome" (sorta). Personally, I'd rather listen to the "Fable" soundtrack.
Lightning Bolt
2/5
Starting my morning with this, and I just can't. Wiki lists this album as "noise rock," and it's a fitting term. This is noise, with vocals that are barely audible, let alone decipherable. If you ever thought to yourself "Hey, I wonder what it would sound like if the noise a 56k modem makes became sentient and made an album?", then you now have your answer.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
It's official. I don't like Joni Mitchell. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.
Madonna
2/5
I'm sure many Madonna fans will disagree, but I'm of the opinion that you could cut her career off at her 1990 single "Vogue" and not miss any of her essential tracks. Taken a step further, 1990's "The Immaculate Collection" is the perfect encapsulation of Madonna at her best, and fulfills all of my Madonna listening needs. There may be a smattering of post-'90 tracks that I enjoy, but I can't think of a single one I'd miss if it suddenly ceased to exist. In short, '80s Madonna is the best Madonna.
Given that, it shouldn't be surprising that this gets a low rating from me. The title track is fine, and "Frozen" is fine, too, but not even William Orbit's intriguing house-influenced production gets me into the groove like her earlier stuff does.
Leftfield
3/5
Not bad. It comes with the usual pitfalls of electronic music (namely lengthy and repetitive tracks), so it's something I'd need to be in the mood for, but given the right circumstances this is a solid album.
The Mothers Of Invention
4/5
I came into this with preconceived notions, specifically Frank Zappa = weirdo, and while that take isn't exactly wrong, I'd always thought he was a weirdness for weirdness's sake kinda guy.
With that in mind, I was a little dismissive of this album at first. In retrospect, there were plenty of clues in the first three tracks, but it wasn't until "Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder" (a pitch-perfect send-up of doo-wop with an admittedly cringey faux-Mexican accent that crops up in another track or two) that I realized "Oh shit, this isn't just weird, it's satire. This is the counterculture letting its freak flag fly."
With that little epiphany came a new appreciation for what I was listening to. There's still a bum-ton of weirdness, especially in tracks like "Help, I'm a Rock!" and "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet," but it's (usually) accompanied by pointed commentary on life in America in the '60s (much of it still relevant today, sadly). It's sorta like Spinal Tap (in the non-meta sense), but the Mothers of Invention are in on the joke rather than the butt of it. Kinda brilliant.
The Byrds
3/5
The Byrds are a solid, unchallenging rock band in the mold of the early- to mid-'60s, and this album's a perfect encapsulation of that. Lots of songs that are fine and often make you tap your foot, but unlikely to really stick with you. The one exception to this is "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better," which is my favorite Byrds song. It's not going to change anyone's life, but it's good enough to feel like it could be a cover of an early Beatles track.
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
I enjoy the Mamas and the Papas in general, and "California Dreamin'" is inarguably great, but the rest of the album's less remarkable. They lose points for breaking my cardinal rule of covers: if you're going to cover a song, make sure it's as good or better than the original. Nearly half the album is comprised of covers (five out of twelve), most notably "I Call Your Name," "Do You Wanna Dance," and "Spanish Harlem," and none of them clear that bar. That said, they've all got great voices and I don't dislike anything here. This is a three-star album if ever I saw one.
Pixies
4/5
I enjoyed this from start to finish. What I find fascinating is the contrast between most of the album—raw, unpolished, with at least slightly distorted vocals—and "Here Comes Your Man." Next to songs like "Debaser" and "Tame," it sticks out like a sore thumb, all polished and radio-friendly. Personally, it's a sore thumb I enjoy, but it's especially interesting because I feel like "Where Is My Mind?" was also a bit of an outlier. Maybe each album has one? I don't know, but after listening to their first two albums I can definitely say that I'm a fan, regardless of fingers and their relative soreness.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
I guess we start this one with the question, "Which version, the one from the UK or the one from the US?" When it comes to the Beatles, the answer's easy: the UK version is gospel. But it appears that the US version takes precedence here, as it's the one on both Spotify and the Rolling Stones' YouTube channel. (Is this regional? No idea.) This means three fewer tracks, including the loss of "Mother's Little Helper," but we get "Paint It Black" in exchange, so that feels like a fair trade.
Regardless of the version, this album has two all-time great Stones songs ("Under My Thumb" and "Paint It Black" or "Mother's Little Helper"), while the rest are decent but not particularly mind-blowing. This might get a 3.5-star rating if it were possible, but I can't give it a four, so three it is.
(Also, we've been doing this for 158 days now, and this is the first Stones album? I know it's random, but dang, that's a long time. And I'm STILL waiting for AC/DC and Led Zeppelin to make an appearance. Gimme!)
Neu!
2/5
None for me, thanks. Way too boring and repetitive.
Sufjan Stevens
2/5
I wish I could find the proper words to express why this album rubbed me the wrong way, but I can't—potentially because Stevens used all the words for song titles like "The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience but You're Going to Have to Leave Now, or, 'I Have Fought the Big Knives and Will Continue to Fight Them Until They Are Off Our Lands!'" and "To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament, and It Involves Tube Socks, a Paper Airplane, and Twenty-Two Able-Bodied Men."
If those titles elicit an eye roll from you, then there's a decent chance you'll find his music similarly tiresome. It's not all bad; there are some great musical arrangements, with strings and woodwinds and some brass peppered in. But the lyrics (and eye roll-inducing song titles) that accompany the music often feel like they're coming from a newly-minted college student home for the holidays and eager to show off their expanded consciousness—a bit pompous and somehow simultaneously self-aware and oblivious at the same time. I guess I can see why some people might be into that, but it's all just a bit much for my taste.
The Beau Brummels
2/5
A weird blend of country, folk, and psychedelia that failed to move me.
Keith Jarrett
4/5
Love me some good piano, and this is definitely that.
Cypress Hill
3/5
While this has some classic tracks (most notably "How I Could Just Kill a Man" and "Hand on the Pump"), the rest of the album's a little too uneven to justify four stars. I'd give it 3.5 if I could.
Various Artists
4/5
It's hard to go wrong with Phil Spector (unless you're Lana Clarkson, I guess), especially when helming an album featuring talent like the Ronettes and Darlene Love. This album is chock full o' classics; the Crystals and the Ronettes offer up what I consider to be the definitive versions of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and "Sleigh Ride," respectively, and Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" is my second favorite Christmas song of all time.
The only song missing from this album is Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," and given the fact that Phil Spector isn't a time traveler, the omission is forgivable. If there's a better Christmas album out there, I've yet to come across it.
Boston
4/5
Their debut album, and Boston kills it right out of the gate with two timeless rock classics, "More Than a Feeling" and "Peace of Mind," plus the underrated "Smokin'." The rest of the album is solid '70s-style guitar rock, and I'm always down for that.
Dwight Yoakam
2/5
I don't really listen to country, but this wasn't too bad. Some of the songs featured an accordion player that gave the music a bit of a Mexican flavor, which I appreciated, but for the most part this was just country that didn't make me want to stab out my ears (which is a compliment). Can't give it three stars, but let's call it 2.5.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
Reminds me of the Black Keys, but not nearly as good.
Iggy Pop
3/5
Two things immediately sprang to mind when I started this album. First, it was nothing like the Stooges, which was a surprise. Second, I was getting some serious David Bowie vibes from Iggy's vocals.
I checked out Wiki, and it turns out there's a good reason for that: Bowie was deeply involved with the production of this album, writing most of the instrumentation and playing many of the instruments involved. This is almost as much a Bowie album as it is an Iggy album. (Bowie even "covered" (can you cover a song you helped write?) "China Girl" a handful of years later (and did it better).)
Sadly, a Bowie album wasn't what I was hoping for. I wanted the visceral, unhinged Iggy, like him screaming "Looooooooord! Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! Aaaah!" at the beginning of "T.V. Eye." (Side note: I took a music class that covered early classical all the way up to contemporary music, and the professor started one of our late-semester classes with that song. Blew. My. Mind. I didn't know what the fuck I was listening to, but I immediately knew that I loved it.)
Would I have enjoyed it more if I'd known about the Bowie connection beforehand? Hard to say. But judging from this album, I probably prefer Stooges Iggy to Solo Iggy. That said, it's Iggy and Bowie, so I can't justify anything less than three stars.
Screaming Trees
3/5
Serviceable but not terribly inspiring mid-'90s grunge/alternative. Apparently in a good mood today, so rounding up from 2.5.
R.E.M.
3/5
I'd forgotten that R.E.M. was even around back in '83. This is a decent debut, but not quite up to the standard they'd eventually set.
Joni Mitchell
2/5
We've had two of Joni's albums already, and I disliked them both. I don't see that changing with album #3, so this is officially the first album I'm skipping altogether. I'll give her two stars because apparently there are people out there who know what they're talking about who think she's great. Different strokes, I guess...
Lynyrd Skynyrd
4/5
Ask me to name a Southern rock back, and the first name I'll come up with is Lynyrd Skynyrd. Ask me to name some Skynyrd songs, and I'll go with "Sweet Home Alabama," "Free Bird," and "Gimme Three Steps." If pressed further, I'd add "Tuesday's Gone" and "Simple Man" to the list.
The fact that four of those fives songs are on this album ("...Alabama" being the odd one out) tells you all you really need to know. If '70s rock from a band featuring approximately 8.3 guitarists sounds up your alley, then you're in luck. Get this album and rock the fuck out.
The Monkees
2/5
An album by a '60s novelty act without any of their notable hits? I am disappoint. On the bright side, the throwaway track "Zilch" was sampled on one of my favorite Del the Funky Homosapien tracks, "Mistadobalina," so at least there's some future greatness derived from a snippet of this album.
Gang Starr
4/5
Gang Starr's one of those duos that is so damn good, but never got much mainstream recognition. It's a bit of a head-scratcher for me. DJ Premiere is one of the best DJ-slash-producers in the business, and Guru was an amazing lyricist and had such a great voice (RIP). Between the jazz-inflected music and Guru's evocative, thought-provoking lyrics, one would think they'd have gotten more attention.
Maybe their stuff is just a bit advanced for casual hip-hop fans? It's certainly more subtle than the gangsta rap that was starting to take hold of the industry in the late '80s/early '90s, although one would think the lack of misogyny that was so prevalent in gangsta rap would be a mark in its favor. *shrug*
Regardless, this album's fantastic from start to finish. I'm vacillating between giving it four or five stars, and I suppose that if I'm not 100% sure then it's probably four. Or 4.5. But great beats, great lyrics, and a positive message throughout ... this is quality stuff.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
FINALLY! I've been waiting *checks history* 175 (!) days for a Zeppelin album to crop up. "III" isn't my favorite, but that's like saying "Help" isn't my favorite Beatles album; regardless, it's still fucking fantastic.
That said, I'm not as familiar with Zeppelin as I am with the Beatles. I've got a multi-disc box set that's been my main source of Zeppelin experience, so seeing which tracks are on which album will be fun, as should getting acquainted with the tracks that didn't make it into the set (or ones that were in it, but I overlooked).
"III" has its share of classics, most notably "Immigrant Song," "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp," and "Tangerine" (and "Gallows Pole," and "Since I've Been Loving You," and...), but I was unfamiliar with "Out on the Tiles," which I quite enjoyed, as well as "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper". This is a solid album, especially if you're a fan of Jimmy Page (which I am; he's my second favorite Jimmy, second only to Jimi Hendrix). "Hats Off..." has especially sweet, bluesy work by Page.
Bottom line: it's fuckin' Zeppelin, man. You can't go wrong.
Björk
3/5
Unusual, as expected. This isn't an album I'd listen to often, but it was an interesting experience and I respect Bjork as an artist. Might as well give it a 3.
Marty Robbins
2/5
Old school country fetishizing the Old West? Pass.
James Taylor
2/5
Thanks to this album, my days of finding James Taylor aggressively uncool have come to a middle. I'm giving him two stars instead of one because someone has to make music suitably bland for elevators and lobbies, and he fills that role with aplomb.
Nick Drake
3/5
Like many people my age, my introduction to Nick Drake was a VW commercial. And while I think advertising in general is superficial and manipulative (and even kinda evil at times), it's actually about as artful as a commercial can get. It's a sweet little vignette, and the wistful accompaniment of Drake's "Pink Moon" is what makes it work. (I can't believe I'm praising a commercial, but here we are. Hell hath frozen over.)
Commercials aside, this was my first time diving into one of Drake's albums, and I'd hoped to find more to enjoy, and I did, sorta. Apart from a little piano in the title track, it's just Drake and his guitar, and that's not bad in small doses, but when it's an entire album it all ends up sounding rather similar. The stripped down nature of the album is to blame, especially his vocals. His delivery is nearly identical on every song—soft and understated (at times to fault).
This album's nice if you want something to blend into the background while you do other stuff, or are trying to coax a kid to sleep (I'd imagine), but it's not something I'd reach for if I wanted to actively and attentively listen to music (minus the title track, which is fantastic).
Throwing Muses
2/5
Didn't care for the vocals or the lyrics.
Bebel Gilberto
2/5
This kind of stuff always makes me feel like I'm in a lounge in the '60s, and I keep looking for Austin Powers but he never shows up. Very disappointing.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
4/5
Elvis Costello was one of those artists that I'd experienced piecemeal until starting this exercise. I knew "Alison" and "Watching the Detectives" and a handful of others (including his infamous 1977 audible on SNL, when he broke into "Radio Radio" after being explicitly told not to play it), but that was about it. In other words, I knew him well enough to respect him, but that's about as far as it went.
I was excited when his "Blood & Chocolate" album cropped up a while back, and, unsurprisingly, I enjoyed it thoroughly. This is better, a solid enjoy-it-from-start-to-finish album. He's a great lyricist (often tackling serious issues, yet keeping the songs from feeling like lectures), and the album's got a rich, full sound (I especially enjoyed Bruce Thomas on the bass and Steve Nieve on keyboards).
As with "Blood & Chocolate," I ended up listening to this album twice, just to get a better feel for the album as a whole and to suss out the songs I particularly enjoyed (including—but not limited to—"Senior Service," "Oliver's Army," and "Two Little Hitlers"). It's clear that Costello's thoroughly up my alley, and I look forward to more of his albums appearing on this list. This isn't quite a 5, but let's call it 4.5.
Janis Joplin
5/5
Got shit to do, so keeping this short: Janis Joplins had an amazing voice and this album is fantastic. Brava.
Depeche Mode
2/5
I was set to really enjoy this, but it was a disappointment. Hoping that I'll enjoy the next album of theirs that crops up more.
Steve Earle
2/5
Call me crazy, but when I queued up an album called "Guitar Town," I expected to hear some impressive guitar playin'. That is not what I got, but I did get country music, which is always a tough sell for me. <insert '90s-era Hercules "Disappointed!" .gif here>
David Bowie
3/5
Both the title track and "Fame" are fantastic (they're definitely in my Bowie top 10, and maybe even top 5), but once again I find myself underwhelmed by a Bowie album. As I've said before, I appreciate the artistry involved, but I'm not in a hurry to give this another listen (the aforementioned two tracks aside, of course).
I feel like a philistine. I shall now retire to my closet, don my hair shirt, and begin the ritual mortification of the flesh as penance for this blasphemy.
Thundercat
2/5
I ... don't know what to do with this. It seems like something I'd like on paper, but it's a little too surreal for my taste. Or abstract? Or both? Whatever it is, it's weird, and not in a way that releases that sweet, sweet dopamine. Thundercat certainly gets points for creativity and originality, though. Let's call it 2.5 stars.
David Bowie
3/5
This is our 188th album, the fifth Bowie album we've gotten, and the second in three days. No disrespect, but I'm ready for a break (or should I say "ch-ch-ch-ch-changes?"). STILL haven't gotten an AC/DC album. Or any of the Jacksons. Or Weird Al (he better be on this list). Or Prince! C'mon, algorithm. Hook a honky up with some different all-time greats.
Motörhead
3/5
This is a solid hard rock-going-on-metal album, but the only song that truly sticks out for me is the title track. That said, "Ace of Spades" is one of the greatest hard rock songs ever, so I feel like that earns the album a 3.5.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
2/5
Didn't love it, didn't hate it. Definitely didn't push the right buttons for me.
King Crimson
2/5
I think it's safe to say that prog rock isn't my jam. Much like this album's title, the genre feels like it's trying too hard to differentiate itself from popular music (a term I use generally, not in reference to pop specifically), and it usually ends up coming off as pretentious to my ears. There are interesting bits scattered throughout these overlong tracks, but I mostly found myself somewhere along the spectrum of indifferent to actively rolling my eyes.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
I should have paid closer attention while listening to this, so I'll have to revisit it. For now, it gets a 3.
The Killers
4/5
I don't typically enjoy indie rock, but I quite like "Mr. Brightside" and "Somebody Told Me," so I wasn't sure how this one was going shake out. I was pleased to find that I liked this album quite a bit, even, ironically, the track "Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll." Got to this a little late in the day for a second listen, but I'll definitely revisit this soon.
Todd Rundgren
2/5
Up until today, the only Rundgren song I could name was "Bang the Drum All Day," which I quite enjoy. But if this album is any indication, I suspect that "Bang the Drum..." is a bit of an outlier in his catalogue. There's no denying that this album has artistic value, but the fact that my favorite part was the medley covering '60s R&B/soul songs sums up my feelings pretty well. This isn't for me.
Pet Shop Boys
2/5
This one took me by surprise; I wasn't expecting something so dance-oriented. Regardless, I didn't particularly care for it. Didn't hate it, didn't love it. Giving it a 2, but let's call it a 2.5.
Beatles
5/5
I wrote some notes and then apparently I forgot to save them, so I'll make this quick: I love this album. It's one of the five Beatles albums that I might call my favorite depending on the day and my mood. "Rubber Soul" was a paradigm shift for the Beatles, but I think this album's where they really hit their artistic stride. Eleventy-five stars.
Miriam Makeba
3/5
I'm guessing I'm not the only one who'd heard "The Click Song" before this, but the rest of the album was new to me. Not something I'd ever throw on myself, but I wouldn't mind if it was playing.
The Smiths
2/5
Most of the album was okay. "Barbarism Begins at Home" was surprisingly funky. But the title track is pure garbage.
We get it, Morrissey. You don't eat meat. Good for you. I'll see about getting you a medal. But saying meat eating is pointless and unnatural is objectively false (the point is sustenance and our incisors and canines are proof that it's natural). If you're going to shit-talk the meat industry as a whole, there are plenty of valid arguments to choose from. Bringing weak shit like "it's pointless and unnatural" would get you slaughtered in even the lowliest of middle school debate clubs.
Also, does riding around on that high horse everywhere you go constitute animal cruelty? I feel like it does. You gotta give that poor nag a break every now and then, dude.
Sincerely,
Someone who understands the criticisms of meat eating but loathes shittily-constructed arguments from pretentious douchecanoes.
(Let's call this a 2.5.)
Sade
3/5
Not my usual fare, but it's hard to go wrong with Sade. She's got a fantastic voice, and "Smooth Operator" is a classic.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
Hard to go wrong with Stevie, especially when he's playing the clavinet, which might just be the funkiest instrument ever created. "Superstition" is probably my favorite song by Stevie, but some of this album's a touch soft-spoken for my taste. That only dings it down to a four, though. This is good stuff.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
This album is further evidence that prog rock isn't my thing.
Leonard Cohen
2/5
All the cool kids seem to like Cohen, but hard as I try, I just can't get into him. Guess I'm not cool.
System Of A Down
4/5
Eminem
4/5
Suede
2/5
Talvin Singh
3/5
Trying way too hard at times, but there's some interesting stuff in here. Rounded up from 2.5.
Billy Joel
3/5
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Fantastic.
Little Simz
3/5
Surprisingly good. Especially enjoyed "Offence" and "101 FM." Let's call it a 3.5.
Janelle Monáe
5/5
Before today, my familiarity with Janelle Monáe was limited. I enjoyed her in "Hidden Figures" and "Glass Onion," and I *love* "Make Me Feel" (the best Prince song Prince never wrote), but other than that I just had the vague idea that she was kinda weird (in a good way). So when this popped up I figured that, if nothing else, it'd at least be interesting.
My first thought upon seeing the cover was "Hey, that sorta reminds me of the poster for 'Metropolis.'" Turns out that's what she was going for, as a visit to Wiki informed me that this album is parts 2 and 3 of her Metropolis concept series (the first part being her EP "Metropolis"). Very cool. I hadn't even listened to a single note, but we were already off to a good start.
I fired the album up and saw that the first track is titled "Suite II Overture." Despite that, I was surprised to hear that it was literally orchestral music. Awesome. I love an artist with broad tastes, and as I progressed through the album it became clear that her musical sensibilities are broad indeed. So much so that it was tough to classify just what the hell I was listening to. But fuck classification: all that needs be said is this album's a work of art. It's bold and eclectic and gloriously idiosyncratic, and the further into the album I got the surer I was that I was listening to genuine greatness.
And just when I thought I couldn't be any more impressed, she blew me away by seamlessly throwing some of Debussy's "Clair de Lune"—one of my all-time favorite pieces of classical music—into "Say You'll Go." Transcendent. Game over. Mic drop. Standing O.
It's rare that I come across new music that takes me by surprise and leaves me vibrating with childlike excitement, but "The ArchAndroid" did just that. It's nearly 70 minutes long, but I listened to it, listened to it again, listened to "Metropolis," then bought both and listened to this album a third time. Ms. Monáe has herself a new fan.
Dusty Springfield
3/5
Dusty has a great voice, but the song selection on this album leaves something to be desired.
R.E.M.
4/5
I'm not super familiar with R.E.M.'s discography, but if this isn't their best album it's certainly close. "Everybody Hurts" and "Man on the Moon" are certainly familiar to anyone alive during the '90s (when R.E.M. was downright inescapable), but "The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight" and "Drive" are "Best of..." material as well. This album's also got "Nightswimming," half of what I always think of as R.E.M.'s unofficial "Night & Day" combo (the other being "Daysleeper" from their album "Up"). I wasn't previously familiar with "New Orleans Instrumental No. 1," but it's a mellow bit of fun, too. Add all this to the fact that the rest of the album is no worse than "sure, I don't mind listening to this," I'd say this is a solid 4. Good stuff.
Pretenders
2/5
I was surprised to find that, "Brass in Pocket" aside, this album didn't do much for me. Maybe I'll enjoy their later stuff more.
Kacey Musgraves
2/5
I'm sure this is fine if you're into this kind of thing. I'm not.
Beatles
5/5
What's not to love here? (If you say "Octopus's Garden" I've got three words for you: "haters gonna hate." It's a jaunty song that's fun to sing along to, and it pairs exceptionally well with "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" on the album "Love," which you should definitely check out if you haven't already.)
I'll admit that "Sun King" is probably a throwaway track, and the medley on the back end of the album might leave casual fans scratching their heads a bit, but c'mon. "Something;" "Come Together;" "Maxwell's Silver Hammer;" "Because;" and my favorite of the bunch, "Oh, Darling!" This is all top-notch shit. It's probably not my favorite Beatles album, but it's easily top 5 and unquestionably 5 stars.
Elastica
3/5
Hey, a Britpop album I actually enjoyed. I've always loved "Connection," but I'm not sure I can give this a 4. Let's call it a 3.5.
Happy Mondays
2/5
This did nothing for me.
2Pac
4/5
This isn't Tupac's best work, but the man was a true wordsmith. His rhymes and delivery seem so effortless, and his work has far more depth than some give him credit for. "Dear Mama" is a perfect example of that depth. Rounding up from 3.5 on this one.
David Holmes
2/5
I've listened to a lot of instrumental music over the years, including multiple flavors of electronica (trance, house, old school techno, etc.). As a result, repetitiveness isn't an outright dealbreaker for me, but holy cow, that repetition should build to something. There should be some variations on the main theme. It shouldn't just be the same 8-second snippet repeated over and over ad nauseam, and that's what I felt I was getting with far too much of this album. Aimless, pointless repetition with minimal embellishment. It's a shame, because many of these tracks have solid foundations; Holmes simply didn't build much on top of them.
Queen
4/5
Classic album. I think it goes without saying that "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song for the ages. Can't quite give this a 5, but I'd give it a 4.5 if I could.
Depeche Mode
4/5
"Personal Jesus," "Enjoy the Silence," and "Policy of Truth" all on the same album? Yes, please. The rest of the tracks aren't as good, but that's a high bar to clear, so I won't hold it against them.
Buck Owens
3/5
Liked this more than I expected to. Giving it a generous 3.
Björk
4/5
Bjork's a trip, man. Can't say I'd listen to this on the regular, but it's hard not to respect her steadfast refusal to adhere to the norms of the recording industry. Bjork's gonna Bjork, and I dig it.
Air
3/5
This was fine, but my favorite part of the album is the cover. This entry has me wondering if there are other film scores on the list. I can think of oodles that are better than this—off the top of my head, films with better soundtracks include any of the LotR films, Fight Club, Spirited Away, The Prisoner of Azkaban, Edward Scissorhands ... I could keep going, but I won't. Here's hoping we get some of those at some point.
Green Day
5/5
I'd forgotten that "Longview," "Welcome to Paradise, "Basket Case," and "When I Come Around" were all on the same album. Those alone are worth a four-star grade, and the quality of the rest of the album bumps it up to an easy 5. This isn't just one of the best punk albums of the '90s (the only one I can think of that comes close is Rancid's "...And Out Come the Wolves," although I'm sure there are others), but one of the best album's of the '90s of any genre.
Solange
4/5
My first run-in with Solange was on SNL, where she performed "Cranes in the Sky" and "Don't Touch My Hair." She impressed the hell out of me, and "Cranes in the Sky" will forever be in my regular rotation. I'm pleased to see that I enjoyed this album as much as her SNL appearance. It's clear that she's not just Beyoncé's sister, but an artist in her own right.
The Electric Prunes
3/5
About what I expected from a mid-to-late-'60s psychedelic rock album.
Garbage
4/5
Garbage is one of those inexplicable holes in my music collection; I don't own so much as a single mp3 of theirs, which is just bizarre. I really need to do something about that.
Venom
3/5
Venom's a competent band—Dunn in particular does some solid shredding—but the Satanic schtick wears thin pretty quickly. Maybe it was edgy at the time, but it feels corny to my 2023 ears.
What struck me most about this album was the track "Teacher's Pet." The beginning of the song felt so similar to Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" that I have to wonder if VH was inspired by it. But then a couple of minutes in it takes a hard left turn and gets surprisingly bluesy, which I don't recall any of the other tracks doing.
This might be an album I have to give another listen. They've got sort of a Satanic Motorhead vibe, and I suspect that if I can get past the hokey Christian-bating I might just enjoy it more.
The Who
2/5
The only track on this album I was familiar with before today was "Pinball Wizard," and it appears I wasn't missing much. Maybe my bad mood is coloring my opinion, but while listening I mostly vacillated between boredom and actively wishing I was listening to something else.
I like The Who. I like "Pinball Wizard." But I don't like "Tommy."
Patti Smith
3/5
This was interesting. It's certainly a creative album, and Smith's got a great voice, which is why I was a little disappointed by how much of the album was closer to spoken word poetry than actual singing. Nevertheless, the album certainly belongs on the list, and I suspect I'll be seeing more of her, which I'm totally okay with.
John Lennon
3/5
I'm a huge Beatles fan, but I've always been of the opinion that the band was greater than the sum of its parts. This album hasn't changed that opinion. It's not bad, but there's something missing without the others to temper Lennon's sensibilities.
"Jealous Guy" is my favorite song on the album, but unfortunately for Lennon, it took Donny Hathaway to really give it the oomph it needed; Lennon's version (especially when accompanied by the music video) is kinda dorky in comparison.
The other Beatles are sorely missed here. That's no knock to Lennon—I'd say the same for any of their solo efforts.
The Cardigans
4/5
I was lucky enough to go to Europe during the summer between my junior and senior years of high school, and Sweden was where I spent the majority of the trip. Then I got home and soon afterwards this album dropped, "Lovefool" was everywhere thanks to being on the "Romeo + Juliet" soundtrack, and I found myself with a timely new Swedish obsession: Nina Persson and the Cardigans.
Their penchant for xylophones gives them a lounge-y feel at times, and Nina's voice is sweet as any confection, but don't underestimate this band. There's an undercurrent of darkness in their music that counterbalances the superficial cheerfulness. That's a very Scandinavian quality, now that I think about it—they're gregarious and friendly, but get enough mead in them and they'll grab an axe and bust some heads.
Revisiting this album was a fantastic way to start my weekend. The nostalgia factor has me wanting to give it a 5, but I don't think it quite meets that standard. Let's call it a 4.5 for this kooky masterpiece. (And if you enjoyed this, be sure to check out "Carnival," their track from the "Austin Powers" soundtrack. Quality stuff.)
Elton John
4/5
Most of this album was new to me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a little hit-and-miss in the middle, which is why I can't give it a 5, but this is a solid album and I've definitely got some new songs to add to my regular rotation.
Paul Simon
5/5
A fantastic album. Between the Cajun/Creole/zydeco vibe on songs like "Gumboots" and "That Was Your Mother," and the contributions from African artists like Ladysmith Black Mambazo and the Gaza Sisters on "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes," "Homeless," and "I Know What I Know," it's a true multicultural treat.
Herbie Hancock
3/5
On the bright side, this album can be super funky. On the not-so-bright side, it can meander just as much as jazz stereotypically does. Overall, I enjoyed it.
4/5
How was this the first time I've listened to a Devo album? I can't say, but one thing I'm sure of is I've been missing out. So much wasted time...
Dolly Parton
2/5
They've got lovely voices, but the music they make ain't for me.
PJ Harvey
4/5
I was familiar with PJ Harvey due to "Down by the Water" (which I enjoy), but this was my first time listening to an entire album of hers. This is much rawer and more guitar-heavy than "Down by the Water." It legit rocks, and I dig it. I'm impressed. 4.5 stars.
Pink Floyd
3/5
I get why this is on the list, but I've never much cared for "Another Brick in the Wall," and it appears I feel the same way about the album as a whole. But hey, at least it's better than the Who's "Tommy."
I'll give it 2 stars for not entirely sucking and another for its historical value.
The Kinks
2/5
This feels like an off-brand version of the Beatles (especially "Lazy Old Sun"). Not terribly impressed.
Lou Reed
2/5
Pretty sure I only knew two Lou Reed songs before this. I've never particularly cared for "Walk on the Wild Side," and I actively dislike "Perfect Day" (at least in part because Hollywood uses it ironically during scenes of chaos and destruction so fucking much it makes me want to scream), but I was hoping an entire album of Lou Reed would change my perception of him. It did not. Is it just me or is he kind of dorky? I don't know, but this isn't for me.
The Fall
2/5
I'm not entirely sure what this is, but I'm sure that I don't care for it.
Bad Company
3/5
"Can't Get Enough" and "Bad Company" are definite classics, but the rest of the album's not quite good enough to earn 4 stars. Call it 3.5.
Britney Spears
2/5
My reaction upon seeing this album pop up: "*sigh* Okay, here we go..."
Knee-jerk reaction aside, I tried to give this a fair shake, but it went about as expected. The album peaked at"(You Drive Me) Crazy," which was track 2 (it's never a good thing when your best two tracks on your album are the first two). It was all downhill from there, with perhaps a small speed bump at "Thinkin' About You."
No disrespect to Britney (she's never been a favorite of mine, but she's a decent singer, a better dancer, and seems like a nice person), but this album couldn't overcome the fact that it's a conglomeration of uninspired R&B-inflected pop songs written expressly to appeal to teenage girls. I suspect more of her albums will crop up, and they'll at least be better than this one.
Frank Sinatra
2/5
I just don't seem to enjoy bossa nova (which is surprisingly well-represented on this list). But hey, this'll be my go-to if I ever time travel back to 1968 and want to seduce women I meet in airport bars.
The Stooges
5/5
"T.V. Eye" is one of my favorite rock tracks of all time, but I wasn't familiar with the rest of the album. I'm stoked to discover that its energy matches that of "T.V. Eye." This album's primal, raw, and a bit unhinged. Iggy's screaming, the guitar's wailing, and the drums are banging, and I love all of it. This is proto-punk perfection.
Digital Underground
4/5
Classic album. I had it on cassette back in the day, and this was a fun trip back in time. "The Humpty Dance" is legendary, but there's plenty more to like here. "Freaks of the Industry" and "Doowutchyalike" are particularly memorable, and "Underwater Rimes" is a silly track that's always reminded me of Kip Addotta's pun-filled "Wet Dream." And that's one of the thing's that sets the Underground apart from most hip-hop acts; in an age where gangsta rap was starting to take hold of the industry, they weren't afraid to ditch the bravado, slap on a giant fake nose, and get goofy with it. Gotta love it.
Black Sabbath
5/5
"Paranoid" was the first album we got when we started this, and I gave it a 5. I see no reason to give this album a lesser score. Metal doesn't get much better than this.
Living Colour
4/5
Pretty darn good rock 'n' roll.
Ray Charles
4/5
Time spent listening to Ray is always time well spent.
Nirvana
5/5
This album was huge when it was released, and it really holds up. Definitely my favorite of the Unplugged performances, and it was a fitting way to celebrate Cobain after his death earlier that year (even if the celebration was bittersweet).
Aphex Twin
3/5
This was fine, I suppose. I had a moment of amusement when I recognized "Ageispolis," which was sampled by Die Antwoord on "Ugly Boy," but I found this album a little puzzling. I felt like it was too ambient to command my attention, yet had too much of a beat to be truly ambient. I guess I'm rounding up from 2.5 stars.
Sonic Youth
2/5
I found this tedious. Definitely not my style.
The Stranglers
3/5
Unusual, but not bad.
Laura Nyro
3/5
It's a low bar, but I liked this more than Joni Mitchell. Rounding up from 2.5.
Solomon Burke
5/5
This was my introduction to Solomon Burke, and holy crap, I wish it'd come much sooner. This was fantastic.
The Blue Nile
2/5
No thanks.
Steely Dan
3/5
Steely Dan, the band I can never quite place. I like "Do It Again" and "Reelin' in the Years," but I always seem to think the former is by Santana and the latter is a Doobie Brothers song. Maybe now I'll remember them correctly. Rounding up from 2.5.
OutKast
4/5
Classic.
The Triffids
2/5
Oof. Unremarkable musicianship, mediocre lyrics, and cheesy vocals. Nope.
Nirvana
5/5
A legendary album. "Endless, Nameless" is the only skippable track, which they obviously knew since they only included it as a hidden track tacked onto "Something in the Way." The rest of the album is superb.
Bruce Springsteen
2/5
This album is vastly inferior to "Born to Run." "Open All Night" was the only track that perked up my ears. Other than that, I found this album as boredom-inducing as a drive through the actual state of Nebraska.
Steely Dan
2/5
Our second Steely Dan album in less than a week, eh? Okay then...
Right off the bat, I had to check and make sure I had the correct song queued up, and yep, I sure did. And now I know that Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz sampled the opening snippet of "Black Cow" for their song "Deja Vu (Uptown Baby)". I prefer the latter track (that opening bit is as funky as "Black Cow" gets, so kudos on separating the wheat from the chaff on that one, guys).
I also prefer the De La Soul song "Eye Know (The Know It All Mix)" over "Peg," which it sampled. Two quality hip-hop samples from one Steely Dan album. Who'da thunk it?
Unfortunately, the familiar sampled bits were the highlights of the album for me. The rest of it was too soft rock for my taste. Or perhaps I should say "yacht rock," a brilliantly descriptive term I was just reminded of. This definitely feels like rich wypipo on a boat music.
The Divine Comedy
1/5
Hard pass.
Alice Cooper
3/5
"School's Out" is a classic track, but I was surprised to find I didn't enjoy the rest of the album as much as I'd have expected. Rounding up from 2.5.
Elvis Presley
3/5
It wasn't until this album cropped up that I realized the cover of the Clash's "London Calling" was an homage to this album cover, so that was a fun discovery.
As for the music itself, it's a solid mid-'50s rock album. Didn't knock my socks off, but it certainly didn't step on my blue suede shoes. Gonna call this a 3.5.
John Prine
1/5
I now feel bad for giving the Divine Comedy's album a 1 last week, because this was far worse. I tapped out in the middle of the fourth song.
DJ Shadow
3/5
Much of this is a little too jazzy and/or abstract for my taste, but I'm a huge fan of "Organ Donor." I highly recommend checking out the "Extended Overhaul" version of the track, 'cause it's dope as fuuuuuuuuuuuuck.
Bad Brains
3/5
Not bad, but other than "Re-Ignition" and the odd guitar riff, nothing really stood out for me.
Wire
3/5
Didn't love it, didn't hate it. The only thing that stood out here was the guitar riff from "Three Girl Rhumba," which Elastica borrowed for their song, "Connection." Other than that, it was middle-of-the-road old school punk.
Prince
4/5
Prince is a music god, and this album has one of my favorite songs of all time, "Little Red Corvette." BUT, this album highlights the only issue I have with Prince: the dude has a propensity for overlong songs. Out of 11 tracks, there are only two songs (!) that clock in at less than 5:00. That's nuts. Other than that, this album's fantastic. Wish I'd seen Prince in concert before he died. *sad trombone*
Megadeth
4/5
I liked this far more than expected. Bands like Megadeth are right on the edge of what I enjoy; I love hard rock (AC/DC is one of my favorite bands) and love me some quality guitar playing, but metal often crosses the line from enjoyable badassery to unpleasant dissonance with grating vocals closer to growling or screaming than singing.
Knowing Megadeth by reputation only (and the odd album cover), I fully expected "Rust in Peace" to fall into the latter group, but I was pleased to discover that it just squeaked in on the right side of that line. I found Marty Friedman's guitar solos particularly enjoyable (especially the ones on "Poison was the Cure" and "Tornado of Souls"). That dude can fucking shred.
All told, this was precisely the kind of pleasant surprise I always hope to discover when listening to my album of the day. 🤘🤘
Tricky
3/5
Not bad, but I may not have given it the attention it deserves. It probably warrants another listen.
What DID get my full attention was the track "Hell Is Round the Corner," which sent me down a rabbit hole. I immediately recognized the sample used as one Portishead had also used, and after a quick minute looking through my collection, I found the proper track, "Glory Box" (a great song, but I actually prefer the Mudflap Mix, which I encourage everyone to check out). A bit later I remembered that Alessia Cara's "Here" used the same sample, so I got me to the Wiki and discovered that "Ike's Rap II" by Isaac Hayes was the track they'd all sampled.
I thought that was the end of it, but while I was (night) dreaming last night, I remembered another track with a similar sound. I couldn't quite remember the details, but thought it might be "Daydreaming" by I Monster, which got me to the lyrics: something about sleeping among the flowers or something. And that reminded me of Lupe Fiasco, who sampled THAT track. Some google-fu later, I came to the end of the rabbit hole: the song was 1969's "Daydream" by the Wallace Collection, which was then covered by the Gunter Kallman Choir, then sampled by I Monster in "Daydream in Blue" (I hadn't quite remembered the name right, probably because...), which was subsequently sampled by Lupe Fiasco in "Daydreamin," all of which was a separate branch of the "Daydream" genetic line from Isaac Hayes' track and all the songs that sampled his.
Phew! Rabbit holes. Gotta love 'em.
Genesis
3/5
I think this might be my first time listening to Peter Gabriel's Genesis, and if this album's any indication, I think I prefer the Phil Collins version of the group. This was all a bit overdone for my taste; even the album's title feels like it's trying too hard. There were some poetic lyrics and such, but it was all just a bit much. Rounding up from 2.5 out of respect for Gabriel and Collins.
Van Morrison
3/5
I think "Madame George" encapsulates my feelings about this album well. It's got a nice, full sound and evocative lyrics sung in Van's unmistakeable voice, but it's too damn long. At no point in my life have I ever said "Man, you know what I'd like to do? Listen to a 10 minute-long song." (Okay, that's not entirely true; I've got a 16 minute version of "Rhapsody in Blue" that's pretty awesome, but that's the exception to the rule). On its own, sure, it's fine. But when I listen to music I listen to multiple songs (as pretty much everyone does), and I like the experience to flow. Get much longer than 5-6 minutes and things start to drag.
And yet I enjoyed the song and the album, even if they overstayed their welcome a bit. Enjoyment-wise, they were both a net positive thanks to Van's lyrics and delivery. This album isn't something I'd queue up with regularity, but I threw "Sweet Thing" and "The Way Young Lovers Do" into my 1001 Albums playlist on Spotify. And yeah, "Madame George," too.
John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers
4/5
Great bluesy album. Can't really go wrong with Clapton (at least with regard to guitar playing).
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Supergrass
3/5
Metallica
3/5
Score for the song "Master of Puppets": 4.5.
Score for the rest of the album: 3.
Christine and the Queens
3/5
Liked this more than I expected to. Kinda reminded me of Broods at times.
Everything But The Girl
4/5
Definitely something I have to be in the mood for. Luckily, I was indeed in the mood, and I enjoyed this quite a bit.
Buffalo Springfield
2/5
The most interesting thing about this album was finding out that Neil Young and Stephen Stills were in Buffalo Springfield. That was news to me. Other than that, the track "Good Time Boy" was the only thing that grabbed my attention.
SZA
4/5
Great voice, personal lyrics, and interesting production. This was quite good.
Portishead
2/5
I was excited when I saw today's album was Portishead, but this was disappointing. I prefer their stuff from the '90s.
Violent Femmes
4/5
Great album with some classic songs. This was actually my first time listening to the entire album, and there were some pleasant surprises, most notably the delightful twang of the acoustic bass on tracks like "Please Do Not Go." Good stuff.
ABBA
2/5
Seems like everyone hates disco, but I'm not one of those people. That said, I didn't love this album. "Dancing Queen" is a classic, but the rest of the album runs the gamut from fine and blah.
The Icarus Line
3/5
Solid mid-'00s rock (which is fairly rare, in my experience).
The Jesus And Mary Chain
3/5
This was okay. Definitely better than a 2, so 3 stars it is, I suppose.
Peter Gabriel
4/5
Ask me to name Peter Gabriel songs, and the first that come to mind are going to be "Sledgehammer," "Big Time," "In Your Eyes," and "Shock the Monkey." The first three are all on this album. Nuff said.
Orbital
3/5
I was familiar with "Halcyon and On and On" before this, although I don't remember why. Probably on a compilation album I had back in the day. "Lush 3-2" wasn't bad, and "Remind" sounds so much like late-'90s/early-'00s trance that it must have influenced those later artists.
Other than those tracks, the album underwhelmed, but it seems safe to say it was influential, so I'll round up from 2.5.
The Kinks
3/5
This album was okay. Took me a minute to realize why "Picture Book" seemed so familiar: Green Day snagged that guitar riff for their song "Warning." "Sitting by the Riverside" almost sounds like a McCartney track, especially the old-timey-sounding piano bits. Not for the first time, I get the feeling the Kinks are sorta riding the Beatles coattails. Going to round up from 2.5.
Cee Lo Green
4/5
I expected kooky and eclectic, and I got that. I didn't expect this album to be quite as good as it was. Cee-Lo really shows off his versatility on this album. I'd give it a 4.5 if I could.
Teenage Fanclub
3/5
Not actively bad, but not actively good, either. I guess I'll be nice and give this a 3.
Beyoncé
3/5
Good, but didn't wow me.
Tom Waits
4/5
I know Shane loves him some Tom Waits, but I've never been much of a fan. I've listened to a song here and a song there, but just never been able to get into him. The only song of his in my collection is "Goin' Out West," which just happens to be on this album.
After listening to the album in its entirety, I've come to appreciate him a bit more. It seems I favor his bluesier stuff, like "Dirt in the Ground," "Jesus Gonna Be Here Soon," and "Murder in the Red Barn" over his kookier stuff like "All Stripped Down" or songs like "Whistle Down the Wind," which is kinda ballad-y, I guess? The exception here seems to be "In the Colosseum," which is definitely on the kooky side of the spectrum, yet still does it for me.
One thing's for sure: the guy can tell a story. His lyrics are unique and evocative. I'll need to make time to give this album another listen. As it stands, I feel like this is a 3.5, but I think I'll round up to 4 out of respect for his total disregard for music industry conventions. Gotta respect that.
Traffic
2/5
There were a few funky tracks that I enjoyed: "Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring," "Feelin' Alright?", and "Means to an End." Other than that, meh. Call it 2.5
Can
2/5
None for me, thanks.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
This was a mixed bag for me. I prefer Funky Stevie to Stevie Soft-Side, so I thoroughly enjoyed "Boogie on Reggae Woman" and "You Haven't Done Nothin'," the latter of which *might* be my favorite Stevie song (it's definitely top 3). The rest of the album left me wishing he'd bring back the funk, though.
CHIC
2/5
Five stars for "Good Times" (although I prefer the shorter radio edit), and two stars for the rest.
Judas Priest
4/5
Breakin' the law! Breakin' the law! 🤘 🤘
Before this, "Breaking the Law" and "Pain & Pleasure" were the only two Judas Priest songs I knew. Glad that's no longer the case. This was good stuff.
Burning Spear
2/5
I like reggae, but didn't particularly care for this. Not entirely sure why, but the fact that the lyrics were often incomprehensible was probably a big part of it.
Fugees
5/5
A seminal '90s album. I practically wore this CD out back in the day. The singles are excellent, and I'm also especially fond of "How Many Mics" and "Zealots," but the entire album is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. It's a shame that the skits are tacked onto the ends of the songs rather than being separate track, but that's my only complaint.
The Crusaders
2/5
Wiki lists this album as jazz-funk, which sounded okay. Sadly, the jazz-to-funk ratio was a little high for my taste. This sounds like elevator music for a building that's slightly funkier than average.
Robbie Williams
2/5
Mediocre.
Pantera
1/5
My knee-jerk reaction when I saw Pantera crop up: "Ugh." But I had the same reaction when Megadeth's "Rust in Peace" appeared, only to be pleasantly surprised by it. Maybe this would be a similar experience.
The first track on the album is "Mouth for War," and I was once again pleasantly surprised. Solid drums, great guitar ... maybe I'll like this after all.
Aaaaand then Anselmo's vocals kicked in and my fleeting optimism was bashed into a thousand pieces. I just can't listen to this kind of stuff. It's just yelling. Or growling. Or both.
But if you were to ask me what I thought incels, school shooters, and white supremacists listened to, this would be it. I'm not implying the band (or the majority of their fans) share those views, but this just sounds like toxic masculinity in musical form. I can't even think when shit like this is playing. It's way too aggro, which is a shame, because the instrumentals are solid.
This gets 4 stars for the instrumentals and negative infinity for the vocals. HARD pass.
Elton John
3/5
Not bad. Definitely not as good as "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," though.
Dire Straits
3/5
Love "Sultans of Swing." The rest is decent. Call it 3.5.
Kate Bush
2/5
This is our second Kate Bush album, and it appears she's not for me.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
This was okay, but nothing really grabbed my attention here.
Moby
3/5
Not bad, but not quite a 4, so let's say 3.5.
PJ Harvey
4/5
I was a little worried about this album at first. I'd enjoyed her first album, "Dry," quit a bit, and high hopes for this one, but "Rid of Me" starts off a bit uneven. The first half is just okay, but thankfully it really revs up after "Man-Size Sextet" (my least favorite track). I don't think I enjoyed this quite as much as "Dry," but it's still a solid album.
Skepta
3/5
I always find Brit-hop interesting. It's unquestionably a different beast than American hip-hop, most noticeably with regard to production. It's usually simpler, relying more heavily on synthesizers and 808s. Done well, there's an elegance to the simplicity (see Dizzee Rascal's "Fix Up, Look Sharp," which admittedly is more sample than drum machine, but the simplicity is there). Done poorly, the tracks can sound dated, as if someone borrowed the backing track from a late-'80s 8-bit video game (and not a cool one).
The other aspect of Brit-hop that interests me is the slang. We and the Brits both speak English, but it's a different lexical world over there, and I find the resulting turns of phrase intriguing. Perhaps more than any other music genre, hip-hop is poetry, and what is poetry other than finding unique and unexpected ways of saying something? To my American ears, Brit-hop lyrics have value based on that novelty alone, even if *what* they're saying is essentially rehashed '90s gangsta rap.
And that's what much of this album sounds like, unfortunately—well-trodden thematic ground with a British twist. To an American listener, the most familiar-sounding tracks are liable to be "Ladies Hit Squad" thanks to A$AP Nast's Drake-like delivery (which is overrated but very much American—despite Drake being Canadian) and "Numbers," which, unsurprisingly, is the track with the best production thanks to Pharrell's involvement (see previous comments about elegant simplicity). Sounding American shouldn't be the goal, so that's not an issue. But the production and thematic content needs work. All that said, I didn't hate this. Call it a 3.5.
Sleater-Kinney
3/5
Wasn't wowed by this, but I might have to give it a closer listen at some point.
Bob Marley & The Wailers
4/5
Good stuff. Ironically, the one song from this album I was familiar with, "No Woman, No Cry," was one of my least favorite tracks on the album. I'm used to the live version on Marley's "Legend" album, which is definitely superior to the original. But no true complaints here. I enjoyed this thoroughly.
Van Morrison
4/5
We got "Astral Weeks" a while back, and there's a marked difference in tone between that album and this one (Morrison's second and third albums, respectively). "Astral Weeks" certainly has artistic value, but it contains a number of long, meandering tracks that don't lend themselves to casual listening.
"Moondance" addresses those issues with shorter, more accessible songs while retaining the evocative lyrics and Morrison's unmistakable voice. Honestly, the more I listen to him, the more I respect him as a lyricist. The dude's a storyteller, and his fantastic voice just adds to the charm. I don't think any single track on this album knocked my socks off, but they're all quite good. Let's call it a 4.5.
New Order
3/5
This didn't really do it for me, but it's certainly better than a ton of albums I've given 2-star ratings, so I'll give it a 3.
David Bowie
3/5
This was fine. Starting to think Bowie's more hit and miss for me than outright iconic.
Tito Puente
3/5
Not something I'd listen to regularly, but if I walked into a bar and this was playing, I'd think "Hey, this is pretty cool." One thing's for sure: mambo >>>> bossa nova.
Slayer
2/5
Meh. I can't put my finger on the exact reason(s) why, but this rubs me the wrong way. It feels more like noise than music.
ABBA
2/5
Yawn.
Aerosmith
3/5
"Sweet Emotion" is undeniably excellent, but the rest of the album's just okay. Aerosmith's one of those rare groups that actually got better over the decades. I definitely prefer their stuff from the '80s and '90s.
Spacemen 3
1/5
Snooooooooore
3/5
When War gets it right, they're fantastic. I love "Cisco Kid;" it's easily one of my favorite songs by the group. Unfortunately, they get a little long-winded at times—there are three(!) songs over 8:30, and two of them are over 10:00. Not super stoked about that. I suspect that their greatest hits album is probably sufficient for my needs, but even with the overlong tracks, I can't justify giving them anything lower than three stars.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Fantastic. You can't go wrong with Zeppelin.
Mercury Rev
1/5
I skipped through the first three songs before throwing in the towel. Life's too short to listen to this album.
Sigur Rós
1/5
Ten tracks clocking in at a total of just under 72 minutes. Woof.
Arrested Development
4/5
Classic.
For anyone scratching their heads about the version of "People Everyday" on this album, the more well-known version is the Metamorphosis mix from the "People Everyday" single.
Jorge Ben Jor
3/5
Surprisingly funky.
The Who
3/5
Decent album. "My Generation" is a classic, as is "The Kids Are Alright." 3.5 stars.
Sex Pistols
5/5
For me, the Holy Trinity of Punk is the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, and the Clash, so I was stoked to see this album appear. It's one of my all-time favorite punk albums (maybe even my #1 pick), and perfectly epitomizes the sub-genre of punk dedicated to anarchic, self-destructive misanthropy. Fuck them, fuck you, and while we're at it, fuck me, too. There's an intriguing sort of freedom in that kind of attitude (as ultimately unsustainable as it may be).
My favorite three songs on the album are head and shoulders above the rest (and above most of punk in general): "Holidays in the Sun," "God Save the Queen," and "Anarchy in the U.K." Even if those were the only three songs they'd ever made, I'd still say they belonged in the upper echelons of punk. "Bodies," "No Feelings," and "E.M.I." are a tier below those three, and then the rest of the album's a mixture of decent to so-so. But the good bits are so good that I can't give this anything less than five stars.
Frank Zappa
3/5
Not something I'd just throw on—it's jam band-like meanderings don't always maintain my interest—but it's decent background music. And while "The Gumbo Variations" clocked in at a hefty 12:53, which I generally find far longer than ideal, it featured the funkiest violin I think I've ever heard.
TLDR; Zappa's weird and so was this, but it wasn't bad.
George Jones
2/5
My favorite aspect of this album was how short it was.
Jamiroquai
3/5
It's funk. It's disco. It's soul. It's Jamiroquai, and I'm always down. I hadn't heard this album, but it ain't too shabby. 3.5 stars.
Metallica
4/5
Orchestra-aided rock is almost always a win, in my experience. I kinda wish it wasn't a live concert, though. I ain't listening to hear the crowd sing, James!
Talking Heads
4/5
Love the Talking Heads, and "Psycho Killer" is an undeniable classic. The rest of the album doesn't measure up to that level, but it's the Talking Heads, so that still means the album's better than most. Rounding up from 3.5.
808 State
2/5
Too techno for my taste. I prefer my EDM to be more house/trance, and while there's definitely some house in here (especially in "Pacific 707"), there's too much of an 8-bit MIDI vibe. I often felt like I was trapped in a NES game. Let's call it a 2.5.
Stan Getz
2/5
FFS, another bossa nova album? No. I refuse. Giving it a 2 and moving on.
Fleetwood Mac
2/5
I was wondering when we'd get a Fleetwood Mac album. I've never been a fan, but I want to give them a fair shake, so here we go...
Right off the bat, I see I'm going to be fighting an uphill battle. Not stoked that this is a double album, and starting it with "Over & Over" is nuts. This track's got "buried in the middle of the album when your audience feels too invested to turn it off" written all over it. One would think they'd want to pull in the audience with a track with a quicker tempo and more personality.
It appears the entire first side of the first album was similarly lethargic. "Sara" is the closest thing to interesting, and unsurprisingly, it's the first Stevie Nicks song. Still not great, though. Moving on to side two...
...Which wasn't really any better. But hey, things at least picked up a bit on side three and side four.
Well, it looks like if there's a Fleetwood album that's going to change my opinion of them, this isn't it. I was pleasantly surprised by "Tusk," which was very familiar to me, at least in part. My high school marching band played it quite a bit; I had no idea it was a Fleetwood Mac song, but the inclusion of the USC marching band on the track was inspired. Other than that, the only thing I truly enjoyed was lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham. Sadly, there weren't a ton of uptempo tracks on this album, so he didn't get much time in the spotlight, which seems like a waste of his talent. I'll give this a 2.5.
The Gun Club
2/5
Some of this is pretty good, but Pierce is a little too comfortable dropping N-bombs. The fact that they're used from the perspective of racists and Black men doesn't make it more acceptable. 3.5 for the music, -2 for the unfortunate lyrical choices.
Fairport Convention
2/5
Not my thing.
Pink Floyd
2/5
Once again, I find that I'm just not that into Pink Floyd.
Thelonious Monk
2/5
Not something I'd actively seek out, but I don't mind it if it's on in the background. 2.5 stars.
Iggy Pop
4/5
"Lust for Life" and "The Passenger" are my two favorite non-Stooges Iggy songs, so this album's a win for me regardless of the quality of the rest of it. The fact that it's solid just makes things even more satisfying.
Emmylou Harris
2/5
No thank you.
Simon & Garfunkel
2/5
Maybe I was in the wrong mood for this album today, but I didn't care for it.
New York Dolls
3/5
Not bad, but was hoping for better.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
4/5
You can't go wrong with Janis.
Big Black
2/5
Duke Ellington
3/5
I find this type of jazz highly preferable to the "it's the notes they *don't* play" sort of jazz. I like structure and melody. This isn't my favorite Ellington stuff—I'm not going to go out of my way to listen to this album again—but I'm perfectly happy to have it playing in the background. I prefer more bite-sized junks like "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)," "Prelude to a Kiss," and my all-time favorite, "Caravan." (Seriously, give this a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n28qRrRGJ1M. The audio quality isn't great, but the song itself is fantastic.)
Drive-By Truckers
3/5
Certainly not something I'm in a hurry to listen to again, but it was more interesting than I expected it to be. There's certainly some solid guitar playing on here. Going to round up from 2.5.
Neneh Cherry
2/5
"Buffalo Stance" is a classic, but it appears there's a reason I only know one of her songs: the rest of the album isn't great (and at times it's outright cheesy).
Elbow
2/5
Not my thing.
The Libertines
2/5
*Shrug* 2.5 stars.
Todd Rundgren
2/5
I didn't have the willpower to listen to 90 minutes of Todd Rundgren, so I'll give it a 2 and move on.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Good stuff. The cover of "The Night Time Is the Right Time" was a surprising and enjoyable way to wrap up the album.
Grizzly Bear
2/5
"Two Weeks" isn't bad, which is probably why I've run across it in some TV shows, but the rest of the album didn't do it for me.
The Adverts
3/5
Didn't wow me, but it was fine.
Bill Evans Trio
3/5
This was fine.
R.E.M.
3/5
"It's the End of the World..." and "The One I Love" are great tracks. The rest of the album's decent. Call it 3.5.
The Incredible String Band
1/5
No
U2
3/5
Not much of a U2 fan, but "New Year's Day" and especially "Sunday Bloody Sunday" are noteworthy tracks. Other than that, the album was fine. I guess I'll round up from 2.5.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
Better than I thought it'd be.
Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
2/5
Not my thing, but I didn't hate it. 2.5 stars.
The Byrds
2/5
I had no idea the Byrds went country. Interesting choice.
James Brown
4/5
I enjoy James Brown, but was unfamiliar with everything on this album, likely because this was relatively early in his career. Unsurprisingly, I thoroughly enjoyed this fantastic blend of doo-wop-inflected R&B and soul.
And given the profusion of long-winded albums chock full of overlong tracks that we've gotten over the year we've been doing this, I never thought I'd say this: this album was too short. I don't need 90 minutes of Todd Rundgren, but I'd like more than 30 minutes of James Brown.
Funkadelic
4/5
I was already familiar with the title track (which features some fantastic guitar), but the rest of this album was new to me. I enjoyed it, so I guess I'll round up from 3.5.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
3/5
Didn't hate it. Rounding up from 2.5.
Fats Domino
4/5
Classic '50s rock & roll. Good stuff.
Pink Floyd
3/5
This was definitely Pink Floyd. 2.5 stars.
Blondie
3/5
I love "One Way or Another" and "Heart of Glass," so I was hoping to love the rest of the album as well. Sadly, although I enjoyed it well enough, it didn't exactly wow me. The only other tracks that really grabbed my attention were "Sunday Girl" and "I'm Gonna Love You Too." Still, there are plenty of worse albums out there. 3.5 stars.
Kanye West
3/5
Kanye's megalomania is on full display on this album, and it's thoroughly off-putting. It brings to mind some lyrics from Ice Cube's "No Vaseline": "Ayy, yo, Dre, stick to producing." Swap out "Ye" for "Dre" and that sums up my feelings on Kanye. Great producer, okay rapper whose albums provide steadily decreasing enjoyment. I'll round up from 2.5.
Amy Winehouse
5/5
I *love* this album. Non-fans will remember it for "Rehab," but it doesn't even crack my top 5 songs on the album. Her voice is amazing and the production is top-notch. I love the late 50's/early '60s girl group vibe; the backup singers on "Me & Mr. Jones" are a particularly satisfying blend of homage and self-aware humor (imagining the Ronnettes singing "No Slick Riiiiick" never fails to bring a smile to my face). And speaking of humor, "Addicted" is a weed appreciation song like no other.
When I listen to the album in its entirety, I *might* skip "Love Is a Losing Game" or "Wake Up Alone," but they're hardly bad songs. And the rest of the album is solid as a rock.
If you haven't already, I highly recommend checking out the deluxe version of this album, which features (among other tracks) a slower version of "Valerie" recorded live on BBC 1's "Live Lounge" (as opposed to the snappier option from Mark Ronson's "Version" album), and a cover of the Specials' "Hey Little Rich Girl" that she absolutely *murders*.
This is an easy 5 stars.
Marvin Gaye
4/5
Solid '70s soul. The only song I was familiar with was the title track, and while none of the others were as good, I'm not going to hold it against them for failing to clear that very high bar.
Adele
3/5
Adele has an amazing voice, and yet the album starts to feel repetitive after a while. Not at all bad, but didn't quite hit the mark for me. 3.5 stars.
The Modern Lovers
3/5
Not bad, but nothing here really stood out for me.
Frank Sinatra
3/5
I enjoy some Sinatra from time to time, but this album's not really my thing. Still, he's got a great voice, and I enjoyed the musical arrangements. Outside of movies and live ballets/symphonies/etc, you don't get much orchestra-oriented music these days.
Jeff Beck
4/5
This was my introduction to Jeff Beck, and apparently I've been missing out. My first thought was "Whoa, this guy sounds like Rod Stewart!" A quick trip to Wiki revealed that it *is* Rod Stewart on vocals, and that Beck's the lead guitarist. They make for a solid combination. Two thumbs up.
The Velvet Underground
2/5
Not my thing. Not really a Lou Reed fan, so not a shocker. Call it 2.5.
Nick Drake
3/5
Drake's too melancholy for my taste, but I respect him. I wouldn't seek out anything on this album, but it was pleasant enough to have on in the background.
Cat Stevens
3/5
Apparently when I was an infant, I wouldn't go to sleep unless my parents put Cat Stevens on. Whether that's a mark for or against his music is debatable, but I enjoyed this album well enough. "Hard Headed Woman" and especially "Wild World" are classics, and while the rest of the album didn't wow me, it was enjoyable to have on in the background.
Stephen Stills
3/5
This was okay. "Love the One You're With" is the most well-known track on the album, but "Go Back Home" was my favorite. Apparently Clapton was on lead guitar on that track, and he slays it. Hendrix is my favorite guitarist, and he was on lead guitar for the previous track, "Old Times Good Times," but Clapton outdid him on this album (although to be fair, it feels like Jimi reined in his style a bit so he didn't stand out too much). The rest of the album was fine.
Dusty Springfield
4/5
*Love* "Song of a Preacher Man," and "Don't Forget About Me" (a song I was previously unfamiliar with) is top-notch. The rest of the album was decent, so I'll round up from 3.5.
Stevie Wonder
4/5
"Higher Ground" is one of Stevie's best, and "Living for the City" is classic as well. Rounding up from 3.5.
Yes
2/5
This album is further evidence that prog rock is not my jam.
G. Love & Special Sauce
4/5
This takes me back. "Baby's Got Sauce," "Cold Beverages," "Rhyme for the Summertime"... So much to love here.
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
Like pretty much everyone my age, I'm exceedingly familiar with "Closer" and "Hurt," and enjoy them both, but I've never been much of a NIN fan ... until relatively recently. I had an ex who was a huge fan, but I never gave them much thought. My wife is also a huge fan, and we ended up going to see them in concert a handful of years ago. Needless to say, I realized I'd been missing out. I've since spent more time familiarizing myself with Reznor's catalogue, and while I don't think it gets better than "Pretty Hate Machine," "The Downward Spiral" is a fantastic album.
Anita Baker
2/5
A little too easy-listening for me.
Madonna
2/5
"Music" is fine. The rest of the album didn't do much for me. As noted previously, anything post-Vogue just doesn't hit the sweet spot for me.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
We've now gotten "Led Zeppelin I" through "III," plus "Physical Graffiti," and this one's my favorite of the bunch. I've always been partial to "Ramble On" (OG LotR reference FTW!), "Whole Lotta Love" is quintessential Zeppelin, and "Heartbreaker" and "Living Loving Maid (She's Just a Woman)" is one of the best one-two punches in rock history. This is an easy 5 stars.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
Better than I remember it being.
Mariah Carey
3/5
Love "Honey" and "Breakdown," but wasn't overly enamored with the rest of the album. Rounding up from 2.5.
Gorillaz
4/5
This album blew me away when it first came out, and it holds up. Blur was all well and good, but Gorillaz allowed Damon Albarn to stretch his creative wings, and it never hurts to have Del the Funky Homosapien on the roster. "Clint Eastwood" is the track most people will recognize, but "Rock the House" is my favorite of the bunch; I love the '70s game show vibe, and the track prominently features Del, so what's not to love?
Giving this 4 stars, but it's closer to 4.5, I think.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
3/5
"Proud Mary" is the obvious standout here, but the rest of the album's solid swamp rock. Let's call it 3.5.
Cornershop
3/5
This was okay. Rounding up from 2.5.
Brian Eno
2/5
Not my thing.
The Roots
4/5
I was considering giving this a 5, but it got a bit uneven towards the end (right around the time "Water" turns into a noisy mess). Nevertheless, it's the Roots, which means time spent listening is time well spent.
The Clash
4/5
Classic album with a legendary cover. It's well-rounded, but there are only four songs on it that are in my regular rotation. There are 19 tracks on the album, which isn't a great ratio, so I can't quite justify giving it a 5.
Animal Collective
3/5
I feel like I'd enjoy this album if I was tripping or *super* stoned, so I'll round up from 2.5.
Brian Eno
2/5
I'm starting to think that Eno outside of his Roxy Music days isn't really my thing.
R.E.M.
3/5
"Stand" and "Orange Crush" are personal favorites, but the rest of the album doesn't clear the bar they set. Still, R.E.M. is pretty solid background music.
Aerosmith
3/5
Not Aerosmith's best (not sure if I've heard any of these songs before), but not bad.
John Martyn
2/5
There were times when this album made me think "Nick Drake might have sounded like this if he hadn't been crippled by depression," but I wasn't into it.
Kate Bush
2/5
Bush writes and arranges her own songs and clearly has zero desire to fall in line with music industry conventions and expectations, all of which I respect and admire. She's undeniably a talented artist, and I understand why people enjoy her work, but it appears I'm not one of those people.
Doves
2/5
Okay background music.
The Rolling Stones
4/5
"Sympathy for the Devil" is one of the greatest rock songs of all time, and unsurprisingly, the rest of the album doesn't clear the very high bar it sets. That said, it's a solid album with nary a throwaway track. Surprisingly bluesy and country, I quite enjoyed this album.
Tears For Fears
4/5
"Shout," "Everybody Wants to Rule the World," and "Head over Heels" are all quintessential '80s songs that I thoroughly enjoy. The rest of the album wasn't as good, but rounding up from 3.5.
Air
3/5
"La femme d'argent" and "Talisman" were pretty good, and the rest made good background music. 3.5.
The Band
3/5
Love "The Weight;" the rest was fine.
The Who
4/5
This is the best album by the Who that we've gotten thus far. "Baba O'Riley" is my favorite song of theirs, and "Bargain," "Behind Blue Eyes," and "Won't Get Fooled Again" are classics (although the latter overstays its welcome a bit). I suspect this'll end up being my favorite Who album.
Soul II Soul
2/5
This seems like something I'd like on paper, but in reality I didn't care for it. The original album didn't even include the good version of "Back to Life," although it looks like subsequent releases have included it. Smart move. Rounding up from 1.5.
Weather Report
2/5
Holy synthesizer, Batman!
Method Man
5/5
Holy crap. I love Method Man every time he shows up on a Wu-Tang-related album, I've got "Blackout" and "Blackout 2" (his albums with Redman), and I've seen "How High" more times than I can count ... or remember. Despite that, I hadn't listened to even one of his solo albums until today.
I expected good things, but I was unprepared for just how excellent this album is. It's hard to find a much smoother lyricist than Meth, and he doesn't disappoint on this album. Production-wise, my first impression is that this is some of RZA's best work—right up there with "36 Chambers." RZA's signature kung fu film samples create moody, musical landscapes that Meth nimbly battles through without a missed step. This album is top-notch kung fu.
Serge Gainsbourg
3/5
Despite the language barrier, I enjoyed this more than I expected to. There's some good guitar playing in there.
Quicksilver Messenger Service
2/5
This was okay, but not really feeling it.
Slipknot
1/5
I tried, but I couldn't make it through the first song. The hardest of hard passes.
Sparks
2/5
I now know that this exists.
Simply Red
2/5
I'm familiar with Simply Red thanks to "Holding Back the Years," which I like well enough, but I was a little surprised to find that the rest of the album didn't really do anything for me.
Rod Stewart
3/5
Love me some "Maggie May," and the rest of the album was decent, even if some of the songs felt a little overlong. Call it 3.5 stars.
Cowboy Junkies
3/5
I'm not big on country, but I enjoyed the Junkies' moody, bluesy take on the genre more than most country acts. Margo Timmins' voice compliments their style, and the pinnacle of that combination is undoubtedly "Sweet Jane," which is absolutely transcendent. We'll call this a 3.5.
Arcade Fire
2/5
I found this tedious, but I'll round up from 1.5.
The Allman Brothers Band
3/5
I like the Allman Brothers just fine, but 22+ minutes of "Whipping Post" is a bit absurd. This is definitely one of those albums I'd never listen to, but would have enjoyed if I'd been there.
The Bees
3/5
This had some chill '70s vibes, and vacillated between bad kooky and decent kooky. It's not something I'm in a hurry to listen to again, but I guess I'll round up from 2.5.
Blue Cheer
3/5
Considering this was released at the beginning of 1968, these guys are rocking pretty hard. 3.5 stars.
Stereo MC's
3/5
Love the title track in '92, and still love it today. The rest of the album's aight.
The Go-Betweens
2/5
I don't know, man. This is pretty dorky.
Billy Bragg
3/5
Not really my thing, but interesting.
The Style Council
2/5
The first track, "Mick's Blessings," is a short one at 1:15, but I enjoyed it and I was optimistic about the album. Sadly, it's my favorite 1:15; the rest didn't do much for me.
Tim Buckley
2/5
This ran the gamut from decent to meh to outright weird (I'm sorry, did he just sing about licking between someone's toes?). 2.5 stars.
fIREHOSE
2/5
Meh.
B.B. King
4/5
I prefer the studio versions of these songs, but that didn't stop me from enjoying this album. Good stuff.
Portishead
5/5
If there's a better trip hop album out there, I haven't come across it. It's got three of my four favorite Portishead songs, "Sour Times," "Numb," and "Glory Box" (the fourth being "Only You"), although I suppose we could make it three out of five, since I prefer the Mudflap Mix version of "Glory Box." And it's not like "Wandering Star," "Pedestal," or "Biscuits" are slouches.
No matter how you slice it, this is quality stuff. Gonna round up from 4.5.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
4/5
This is my kind of jazz.
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
Not my thing.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
As far as I'm concerned, Jimi's the greatest guitar player of all time. I'm always happy to listen to him do his thing, and this album's got so much of his best stuff on it it's practically a greatest hits album. The differences between the UK and US releases are interesting. The US version is missing "Red House," one of my favorite Hendrix tracks, but the UK version is missing "Purple Haze," "Hey Joe," and "The Wind Cries Mary," so the US version gets my vote as the superior option. That said, it looks like they've expanded both versions to 17-track albums that fill the gaps, so at this point it doesn't really matter. Regardless, this is top-notch rock.
Randy Newman
2/5
"Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)" is pretty good, but the rest didn't do much for me.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
4/5
Classic old school rock & roll. What's not to like?
Malcolm McLaren
3/5
This was an interesting mix of hip-hop and African music, with a touch of Latin flavor and, shockingly, some square dancing. Listened to it on YouTube and it played some of his other stuff once the album was finished, and it appears that combining different genres is McLaren's thing. He's done some funky reinterpretations of classical music, with his takes on Carmen and Blue Danube being the standouts. Might have to do some more exploration of his work.
Jeff Buckley
2/5
I enjoyed "Lover, You Should've Come Over," but that's about it.
Justin Timberlake
3/5
Love "Señorita," "Cry Me a River," and "Rock Your Body," and while the rest of the album's a little uneven, it's hard to fail when you've got Timbaland and the Neptunes producing. 3.5 stars.
Hot Chip
2/5
This was okay, but it's not for me. 2.5 stars.
Super Furry Animals
3/5
I might have liked this? I'm still not sure, but it was interesting. At times, it felt like what the Gorillaz might sound like without the hip-hop influence. I might have to revisit this one.
Ms. Dynamite
2/5
Mediocre.
Echo And The Bunnymen
2/5
Not doing it for me.
Pentangle
1/5
Woof. This was rough. I ended up skipping through tracks, and that was more than enough.
The Disposable Heroes Of Hiphoprisy
2/5
Public Enemy Lite. 2.5 stars.
The White Stripes
3/5
Not bad, but I'm a little surprised this is on the list. I haven't listened to all of their albums, but I've yet to hear one that was better than their debut, which seems like representation enough for a list like this.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
2/5
I just don't like Neil Young.
Peter Gabriel
3/5
Didn't love it, didn't hate it.
Bob Dylan
3/5
Fine
Pere Ubu
2/5
Meh.
I'm pretty indifferent about U2. "Beautiful Day" is decent; the rest I could take or leave. 2.5 stars.
Chicago
3/5
The only song on this album that I was previously familiar with was "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?", which I've always found amusing. Guy walks up to Robert Lamm and asks him what time it is, and Lamm gets all philosophical: "Like, does anybody REALLY know what time it is, man? Think about it." I imagine the guy's reply being something along the lines of "Sounds like whatever you just smoked is top-notch, but I just wanted to know if I'm late for my dental appointment."
Anyway, this was much funkier than expected. My only complaint is that many of the tracks are overlong. I'll have to go back and listen, but I feel like "Poem 58" would have worked as two different tracks (think Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker" and "Living Loving Maid"), in which case I would prefer "Poem 59" (aka the latter, funkier half of "58").
Regardless, we've hit a stretch of albums that haven't really done it for me, and this was the best one in a while. Let's call it a 3.5.
Primal Scream
2/5
No thanks.
The Monks
3/5
Not great, but not bad.
Adam & The Ants
2/5
I'd hoped to enjoy this more. 2.5 stars.
LL Cool J
4/5
Not the best LL album, but the title track is arguably his best, and "Around the Way Girl" is among his best. I'll round up from 3.5 stars.
The Offspring
4/5
In "Pantera Fans in Love," Nerf Herders sings "I wish we'd never heard of the Offspring," which I always thought was a bit of a cheap shot. All due respect to Nerf Herder, but I wish I'd never heard of Pantera. Personally, I'd rather listen to all the Offspring albums back-to-back than listen to a single Pantera song.
This album in particular is a solid offering of '90s punk(-ish) rock. It includes at least four tracks worthy of a greatest hits album, and after a quick trip to the Wiki, I've found that "Gotta Get Away," "Come Out and Play (Keep 'Em Separated)," and "Self Esteem" actually are on their greatest hits album. Why "Bad Habit" isn't included is a head-scratcher. Maybe the road rage theme is considered in poor taste? If so, it seems like a weak reason to keep the song off the album; it might be my favorite track on "Smash."
As for the rest of the album, it's all solid Offspring fare. Some I like more than others, but none of them compel me to jump for the "Skip" button. That's more than I can say for the majority of albums by any artist, and certainly for anything by Pantera.
Tangerine Dream
2/5
This sounds like it could have been the soundtrack to a trippy '70s sci-fi movie, or a more recent film with a retro vibe, like "Beyond the Black Rainbow." It's not something I'd generally listen to, but I imagine it'd be quite the experience after taking some psychedelics. 2.5 stars.
Death In Vegas
2/5
Background music. 2.5 stars.
Fairport Convention
2/5
I'm guessing this would be pretty dope if I liked British folk rock, but I don't.
Sebadoh
2/5
Mediocre '90s rock.
Marvin Gaye
3/5
Not bad, but not great. Sorry, Marvin.
Gene Clark
2/5
Not my thing.
UB40
3/5
Nothing here really stood out other than the cover of "Strange Fruit," but (macabre subject matter aside) the album was pleasant enough.
Sister Sledge
3/5
"He's the Greatest Dancer" and "We Are Family" are legendary disco tracks. The rest was okay. 5 stars for the former, 3 for the latter.
Public Enemy
4/5
Hard to go wrong with PE.
Supertramp
2/5
Meh.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
Not really my thing, but it was okay.
Fatboy Slim
4/5
Solid big beat goodness. Hard to go wrong with Fatboy Slim.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
2/5
I thoroughly enjoy "Spinning Wheel," and "You've Made Me So Very Happy" isn't bad, but the rest of the album wasn't for me.
Pulp
3/5
Better than most Britpop I've come across.
Peter Frampton
3/5
Frampton's not really my thing, but this was fine.
Pere Ubu
2/5
We got Pere Ubu's album "The Modern Dance" a while back, and my take was "meh." Nothing on this album's changed my mind. A lot of it was just noise, or off-key sorta-singing. No thank you.
Madonna
4/5
The title track, "Express Yourself," and "Cherish" are among Madonna's best songs. And how did I not know about "Love Song" with Prince?! Crazy. Easy four stars.
John Grant
1/5
Man, I've got better ways to spend a Saturday than listening to this.
Germs
4/5
I wish the lyrics were a little more intelligible, but I love the energy of this album. To my ears, this is pitch perfect punk.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
4/5
I enjoyed well enough this the first time I listened to it, so I listened to it again and I enjoyed it even more. Harvey's delivery and (judging from the album cover) sense of style obviously influenced AC/DC. Good stuff.
Brian Wilson
4/5
My first impression was this was a poor man's "Sgt. Pepper's." While I'm not sure that's inaccurate, I gave it a second listen and enjoyed it more. It can be relentlessly cheerful, but hey, the album's called "Smile," so that tracks. Ultimately, I'm a sucker for harmonizing and this album's got it in spades, so I think I'll round up from 3.5 stars.
Hookworms
2/5
Wasn't feeling this.
Beastie Boys
5/5
Legendary album. 'Nuff said.
Morrissey
1/5
The Germans seem to have a word for everything, so I wonder if they have a word for "someone you find so obnoxious that you're tempted to disagree with them even when they're saying something you completely agree with." If so, that's the word I'd use to describe Morrissey. He's kind of the worst.
John Cale
2/5
No thanks.
Neil Young
2/5
Yep, still don't like Neil Young.
Slipknot
1/5
This album's called "All Hope Is Gone," which is apt, since it's probably playing on a loop in Hell. Hot garbage. No thanks.
Kanye West
5/5
Early Kanye is the best Kanye. His ego was still ginormous, but he was hustling 24/7 and didn't take anything for granted. I firmly believe he's a better producer than he is a rapper, but he's firing on all cylinders in both categories on this album. Add in guest stars like Jay-Z, Talib Kweli, and Mos Def, and you've got as solid an album as you're going to find.
Crowded House
2/5
Meh.
The Boo Radleys
2/5
Calling this mediocre might be generous.
U2
3/5
U2's never been a favorite of mine, but it's hard to dislike an album with "Even Better Than the Real Thing," "One," and "Mysterious Ways" on it. I'm not sure what my favorite U2 song is, but the latter is definitely in the conversation. The rest of the album's decent enough, so let's call this 3.5 stars.
Kraftwerk
3/5
Not really my thing, but not bad. I can see how this would have been influential to the artists of the time. There's definitely new wave roots in here.
AC/DC
3/5
The title track gets 6 out of 5 stars. The rest of the album's solid hard rock, but not terribly remarkable. 3.5 stars.
The Louvin Brothers
2/5
This was okay, I suppose, but definitely not my thing. Let's call it 2.5 stars.
Big Star
2/5
Hey, this has the song from "That '70s Show." I knew Cheap Trick performed it for the show, so I'd always assumed it was one of their songs. Finding it here was a pleasant surprise. The rest of the album was...interesting. 2.5 stars.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
This is clearly a favorite album of hip-hop legends. I've heard samples of the first two songs in tracks from the Wu-Tang Clan, MF DOOM, and Public Enemy, to name only a few. The latter two tracks weren't as strong, though. 3.5 stars.
Oasis
4/5
Are these guys insane for thinking they're better than the Beatles? Absolutely. But this is a solid album, and about as good as Britpop gets, I'd wager.
Saint Etienne
3/5
Wasn't super into this, but didn't really dislike it, either. Fine for background music.
Gang Of Four
4/5
Kinda loved this. Giving it four stars, but I suspect repeat listens may bump it up to a 4.5 or 5.
1/5
Nope. Ain't nobody got time for this.
Hole
5/5
Rock solid album. More thematic depth than I was expecting, great '90s-style alt rock sound, and Love's vocals are delightfully raw. This was a pleasant surprise. Not 100% sure it quite deserves a 5, but I'm giving it one anyway.
Muddy Waters
5/5
This album's worth it just for "Mannish Boy." Two thumbs up.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
Pretty sure they could have pared this down to one disc, but any album with "Tonight, Tonight," "Zero," "Bullet with Butterfly Wings," and "1979" gets no fewer than four stars.
Hanoi Rocks
3/5
On the fence about this one, but leaning toward liking it.
5/5
I don't think there's an album out there that had a bigger impact on me than "Sgt. Pepper." Someone let me borrow it when I was about 13, and it blew my damn mind. I knew about and enjoyed the Beatles before this, of course, but was mostly familiar with their earlier, poppier stuff. I had no idea what a concept album was, and had no idea what was going on with this album. Did they record it in front of a live audience? Was there video of this benefit for Mr. Kite? And who the shit was Billy Shears? I didn't have any answers to those questions at the time, but one thing was immediately clear: I was listening to genius at work.
My opinion hasn't changed in the intervening years. This album is always in the conversation when people discuss the greatest album ever, and rightfully so. It's a masterpiece, all the way down to the cover. Throw in the cultural context of the time and its impact on contemporary and future musicians, and it's hard for me to justify putting this album anywhere except at the peak of the mountain.
The Psychedelic Furs
3/5
Not bad, but not great.
Billie Holiday
3/5
This is the kind of music I have to be in the mood for to really enjoy, but it's hard to go wrong with Billie. 3.5 stars.
Turbonegro
2/5
Decent rock-style instrumentals mixed with mediocre pop punk-style vocals. 2.5 stars.
Napalm Death
1/5
Yeah, no.
Incubus
4/5
This takes me back. It's not an album (or genre) I revisit much these days, but there was a time when I'd throw this on and listen to the entire album without skipping a track. Sure, "Battlestar Scralatchtica" is a bit of a throwaway track, but it's not terrible, and the rest of the album's pretty solid.
Public Image Ltd.
1/5
So tedious I gave up after skipping through a handful of tracks.
Michael Jackson
5/5
An easy five-star rating. It doesn't get much more iconic than this.
Meat Puppets
3/5
This was a mixed bag, but let's call it a three.
The Cramps
5/5
Oh man, I love this. Never heard of psychobilly before, but it sounds like rockabilly meets the Misfits, and I dig it. I love me some dirty, surf rock/rockabilly-style guitar, and this album's got it in spades.
There isn't a weak link in this particular chain. Their cover of "Strychnine" by the Sonics isn't as good as the original, but that song's about as close to perfect as it gets, so it's hard to blame the Cramps for not clearing that high bar. I see myself listening to this album many more times in the near future, and I'll definitely be delving further into their discography.
The Young Gods
2/5
Not my thing.
Holger Czukay
2/5
This is an album that exists, and now I know that.
John Coltrane
3/5
Not something I'd listen to, but it was fine as background music.
3/5
Decent early-'80s new wave.
3/5
There were parts of this I liked. There were others I strongly disliked. Going to round up from 2.5.
Spiritualized
2/5
Only if I’m baked. 2.5 stars.
Maxwell
3/5
This was fine, but nothing really stood out other than "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)."
The Youngbloods
2/5
Too easy listening for my taste.
The Young Rascals
3/5
The title track is fantastic. The rest is decent.
The Divine Comedy
2/5
I am indifferent.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
4/5
I was wondering when this album was going to pop up. Captain Beefheart can get kinda weird (see "Abba Zaba"), which is probably why I associate him with Zappa—despite the fact that Zappa's weirdness is on another level. But Beefheart's also got some great blues-influenced stuff (like the album's first track, "Sure 'Nuff 'n Yes I Do"). One thing's for sure: he does his own thing. This is probably a 3.5, but I'm going to round up for once.
Lenny Kravitz
3/5
Solid 3.5 stars.
Belle & Sebastian
2/5
I’m going to let my inner 12-year-old out just long enough to say that my favorite aspect of this album is the bewbs on the cover. Other than that, *snore*.
Bill Callahan
1/5
Oh wow, no.
Neil Young
2/5
A couple of these tracks weren't bad, which was a pleasant surprise. Most of it's not for me, though. 2.5 stars.
The Cure
3/5
Moody and broody, just like one would expect from the Cure. 3.5 stars.
Slade
3/5
Not bad. It occurred to me that Holder sounds a bit like Janis Joplin at times, so I was amused when their cover of Joplin's "Move Over" started playing. Apparently he's well aware of the vocal similarity. 3.5 stars.
Eminem
4/5
A watershed hip-hop album. Good stuff. 4.5 stars.
Hole
3/5
Not as good as "Live Through This," but still pretty good. The title track's one of my favorite Hole songs. 3.5 stars.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
4/5
I'm not intimately familiar with RHCP's discography, but I can't imagine they've got an album that tops this one. So much to love here (including the criminally underrated "The Greeting Song").
Django Django
3/5
Nothing really stuck out here, but it was pleasant enough.
The Shamen
3/5
Not something I'd go out of my way to listen to, but fine for background music.
The 13th Floor Elevators
3/5
This was okay.
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
2/5
This was fine at first, but it got old pretty quickly. Way too much twangin’ for me.
Björk
3/5
"Human Behavior" is a classic. The rest of the album's decent, but didn't blow my mind. Let's call it 3.5 stars.
Lambchop
1/5
Genuinely bad. Couldn't even make it through three songs.
Julian Cope
2/5
Meh. Some of these songs have a serious wannabe-Doors vibe to them.
T. Rex
3/5
It doesn't have a stand-out banger like "20th Century Boy," but this is still a solid glam rock offering. 3.5 stars.
Dennis Wilson
2/5
This was okay. 2.5 stars.
Sly & The Family Stone
4/5
What a funky way to start the day! Thoroughly enjoyed this.
The Verve
3/5
This was fine.
Nick Drake
3/5
Far more upbeat than I was expecting. 3.5 stars.
Arcade Fire
2/5
I know this is a huge album for a lot of people, but it does nothing for me.
Robert Wyatt
2/5
Didn’t care for this.
Hawkwind
2/5
Too far out for me, man.
The Mothers Of Invention
2/5
I preferred “Freak Out.”
Elvis Presley
4/5
Great stuff. More of an old school R&B vibe than I was expecting.
Tortoise
1/5
Pass. 1.5 stars.
Jethro Tull
2/5
Not really my thing, but parts of it were okay. 2.5 stars.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Classic Bruce. "Glory Days" is probably my favorite Springsteen track. 3.5 stars.
The Birthday Party
2/5
This flirts with territory I enjoy, but never quite enters it.
Soft Cell
4/5
Interesting that Soft Cell's only known for "Tainted Love" (don't misunderstand; the extended version is one of my favorite '80s tracks), because this feels like a seminal new wave album and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Love the synth-heavy sound that (partially) defined the '80s. I don't know if "Sex Dwarf" would fly these days ("Sex Little Person?"), but apart from "Tainted Love," it was the stand-out track for me. The entire album's solid, though. Good stuff.
The Cure
5/5
I'm haven't really given the Cure's discography a thorough examination, so I'm speaking from limited experience, but this feels like Peak Cure to me. I'll be revisiting this soon.
Magazine
2/5
Didn't push the right buttons for me. 2.5 stars.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Yep, this is definitely a Springsteen album. It covers well-trodden ground, so there aren't any surprises here. Personally, I think Old School Springsteen is better than Old Springsteen.
Eric Clapton
3/5
It was fine, but I expected to enjoy it more.
Shuggie Otis
3/5
The title track was a funky surprise, and a few others were decent, but much of the slower stuff wasn't good for much more than background music. Still, I feel like the good outweighed the not-so-good.
Paul Simon
2/5
This didn't do it for me. Too easy listening for my taste.
The Velvet Underground
2/5
Too much meandering for my taste.
The Police
4/5
Pretty darn good.
Paul McCartney and Wings
2/5
I love the Beatles, but their post-Beatles ventures didn't do much for me. They truly were greater than the sum of their parts. 2.5 stars.
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
2/5
I keep trying to imagine paying hard-earned money to see this concert and walking out of it thinking it was money well spent, and I just can't do it. My favorite thing about this album was the fact that it's only thirty-eight minutes long. Sure, it felt like eternity, but it could have been longer.
Grant Lee Buffalo
2/5
Meh.
Sonic Youth
2/5
This is the fourth Sonic Youth album we've gotten, and yep, not a fan.
Bert Jansch
2/5
Zzzzzzzzzz...*snort* Wha? Oh, is it over? I seem to have fallen asleep.
Mott The Hoople
3/5
Not bad.
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
1/5
Couldn't get through this. Hard pass.
Little Richard
5/5
Fantastic old school rock & roll.
Sisters Of Mercy
3/5
Not something I'll be in a hurry to revisit, but not bad.
Massive Attack
3/5
Maybe I didn't give this the proper amount of attention, but nothing stood out on this album. That said, it's still good trip-hop.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
"Today" and "Disarm" are the obvious standouts, but this is solid all around.
Van Halen
4/5
One hell of a debut album. 4.5 stars.
Pixies
3/5
Not bad, but hardly their best work.
Morrissey
4/5
What? A Morrissey album that I actively enjoyed? Can that be right? Did essential pathways in my brain change while I wasn't looking? Do I now need to revisit the previous albums we've listened to? You'll have to excuse me while I question my entire existence.
Dagmar Krause
1/5
I heard enough in the first minute to know this ain't for me. Not gonna waste my time with the rest.
George Harrison
3/5
Not bad at all. 3.5 stars.
Rage Against The Machine
5/5
Legendary.
Television
3/5
Didn't love it, didn't hate it.
Richard Thompson
2/5
The title track's the only one that really caught my ear. 2.5 stars.
Fleetwood Mac
4/5
Never been much of a Fleetwood Mac fan, but this was pretty good.
The Residents
3/5
This is some seriously kooky stuff—like Dr. Demento and Primus on the brown acid. There's something strangely compelling about it, but I'm not sure I enjoyed it. I'll round up from 2.5 for at least creating some interesting soundscapes.
Charles Mingus
3/5
Not something I'm likely to actively listen to, but it was fine in the background.
Ray Charles
4/5
Can't go wrong with Ray, even when he's covering country and Western songs.
Antony and the Johnsons
1/5
Didn't care for this at all.
Deerhunter
2/5
So much meh. 1.5 stars.
Tori Amos
2/5
Not my bag.
Ramones
5/5
The album that inspired a generation of punks to take rock & roll back to basics. Fantastic stuff.
Kanye West
3/5
This was the last Kanye album I paid attention to. It's not bad, and I'm a big fan of "All of the Lights," but his act's definitely starting to get stale. 3.5 stars.
Louis Prima
5/5
King Louis indeed. I could listen to him all day and never get tired of him. All the stars.
k.d. lang
2/5
Great voice, and I enjoyed this more than I expected to, but not my thing. 2.5 stars.
Genesis
2/5
I was unfamiliar with Peter Gabriel's version of Genesis before starting this challenge. It appears I'm not much of a fan. Definitely enjoy the Phil Collins era more.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Not a bad track on the album. "Stairway to Heaven" is overrated, but still a classic, and "When the Levee Breaks" is one of my favorite Zeppelin tracks.
Dr. Octagon
3/5
Love Kool Keith, but this isn’t his best work. Still good though. Somewhere between 3 and 3.5 stars.
Orange Juice
2/5
This was okay. A few tracks I liked, but the rest were just so-so. 2.5 stars.
Yes
2/5
If this challenge has taught me anything, it's that I thoroughly dislike prog rock. I'll be nice and round up from 1.5, since I don't loathe this quite as much as, say, Slipknot, so giving them the same rating feels wrong.
Shivkumar Sharma
2/5
I was hoping to like this more. 2.5 stars.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five
4/5
Definitely dated, but still solid early hip-hop and electro. A fantastic way to kill 37 minutes.
Adele
4/5
Not particularly in the mood for this today, but she's got a great voice and it's a solid album.
Kings of Leon
2/5
Don't know why, but these guys annoy the bejesus out of me.
Michael Jackson
4/5
Half of this album is filler, but the other half is so damn good that it's hard to care. Still, can't quite give it a 5, so we'll go with 4.5 stars.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4/5
A solid debut by Petty et al. "American Girl" will always be one of his best tracks.
Tracy Chapman
3/5
The Band
3/5
2.5 stars
Taylor Swift
5/5
The best pop album in recent memory, and the one that made me begrudgingly admit Taylor's the reigning queen of pop. She just speaks to my inner 14-year-old girl, dude.
Raekwon
4/5
Classic offering from Raekwon and the Clan. 4.5 stars.
Einstürzende Neubauten
2/5
Not my thing.
The Waterboys
2/5
Dexys Midnight Runners
4/5
"Come on Eileen" is a classic, and I was pleasantly surprised by the rest of the album.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
2/5
I enjoyed "Safe as Milk" well enough, but this didn't do a thing for me. I am disappoint.
The Afghan Whigs
2/5
2.5 stars
New Order
3/5
Didn't love it, didn't hate it.
Super Furry Animals
2/5
Fails to distinguish itself from 99% of the other Britpop albums I've ever listened to.
Fiona Apple
2/5
Tedious
John Lennon
4/5
Love the Beatles, but their solo stuff is pretty hit and miss. This was the former.
Waylon Jennings
2/5
Better than expected, but I didn't expect much. 2.5 stars.
Sam Cooke
4/5
Not bad at all.
Manu Chao
2/5
Not for me. 2.5 stars.
Coldplay
3/5
I liked this album more when I was younger, but there's some decent stuff on here.
Grateful Dead
2/5
I like "Truckin'," and "Ripple" is okay, but I'm pretty indifferent about the rest. 2.5 stars.
a-ha
2/5
Welp, I see why a-ha were a one-hit wonder. 5 stars for "Take on Me" and its legendary video, 2 stars for the rest.
Stevie Wonder
3/5
"Sir Duke" and "I Wish" are among my favorite Stevie songs, but most of these tracks aren't my thing.
The Black Keys
4/5
Love me some Black Keys.