1001 Albums Journey

This is not a bad album. On a technical level, what they are doing takes immense amount of skill and you can tell that all musicians involved are virtuosos in their own right. On the question of how enjoyable it is, it is unbridled creativity, a storm of brutal sound that can also be quite intriguing at times, like an LSD-infused dadaist poetry slam. But I won't be listening to it regularly, I imagine. It is TOUGH to get through. The best use for this album is as a palate-cleanser. It doesn't matter what you were listening to before, Napalm Death or Mariah Carey, Iron Maiden or Stevie Wonder - by the end of this album, your brain will have thoroughly reset and by any chance, you won't even remember how you got here. But it's going to be an uncomfortable 80 minutes until then.

it just kinda went along in the background in its own flow. nothing I would write home about, but also nothing I would actively turn off.

One of the essential 80s romantic albums, with slightly melancholic undertones and that certain touch of neon. Close your eyes to this and you will see inner city streetlights and neon signs flashing by, hear the rustle of dimly-blue-lit satin sheets in a bedroom illuminated by a skyline through flowing white curtains. You get the picture. This album does too. Smooth Operator is an undisputable 80s classic. Pretty strong, considering it's Sade's debut.

Country in its sunday finest, with quite a few choice performances. it's really good but it didn't linger in my mind for too long

nothing violent, no femmes. i feel as cheated as the coverphoto kid whom they told there would be cute animals on the other side of that window.

It put a smile upon my face. Essential early 00s british alternative. It's melancholy on a disc.

nothing that breaks the mold, but something you can put on in the background without worrying too much about it

Going into this, I knew it was hyped as 2pac's best and one of the most influental albums of Hip Hop. And in all honesty, I was underwhelmed. While the production is well-done and some songs stay in your head for a little while, none of it is truly the deep "pouring his soul out" that you would hope. Lyrics often fall flat apart from a few wellcrafted moments, and I do not think I'd be listening to it again any time soon.

Bowie's final work, a literal farewell-gift with so much to discover on it in only 6 tracks. Apart from the point that he managed to reinvent his music on his 26th(!!!) album and still stays true to the "Bowie"-feel, the backing musicians which are all jazz virtuosos in their own right really pull this one together. Especially Donny McCaslin and Mark Guiliana are always worth a listen and I only came across them when hearing Blackstar for the first time. It is a complicated and deep record and I wouldn't call it easy listening, but it flows together really well, which is quite the feat considering the complexity of the individual tracks. The overall message is simple "I'll be dead soon, it is how it is, let me get to grasps with it and also put it into words that will help you all understand even if you miss me." And DAMN was he right. It's a masterpiece, especially considering the catalogue of Bowie.

Miles has all the tools in his hand, all his favorite collaborators waiting on his command and following his movements. And it just does not work out. It doesn't find harmony in any sense for more than a few seconds at a time. It simply doesn't vibe. 2* for effort and the few pockets of hope.

The lyrics are at times debatable. Snoop carries a LOT of this album in that regard. But THE PRODUCTION. Jeez. These are the crispest beats of the 90s, hands down. You could write entire dissertations in music theory about the finer arts of sampling on this beast, and people went ahead and did that. If you try to explain hip hop as a genre, as a movement, as a timeline, you can not pass up on the Chronic.

When someone ever asks you "What the hell is New Wave?", you go ahead and hand them this album. It's that simple.

It is not an unbelievable breakthrough in anything, not the "omg album of the year / decade". It is, however, emotional. And that's something that E makes you feel quite instantaneously and will keep you glued to your headphones to for the whole runtime. It is 90s "woe me and my aching heart thinking of missed connections, phantasizing myself into RomCom main-character situations and feeling the melancholy drip through the ceiling of my Toyota Camry on the college parking lot" in a highly distilled bottle.

* It's slipknot, yes it will be hard&heavy, lyrics will deal with selfloathing, the failure of society, mental issues, and a lot of agression throughout. This album has to follow on their massive success Vol3:The Subliminal Verses 4 years earlier, while still delivering something new to keep inventing themselves. Vol3 had pushed them somewhat more visible towards the mainstream at that point and also influenced their songwriting to a certain degree from what it seems on AHIG. You can find callbacks to Vol3 in the special edition, with the Track 14, Vermillion Pt.2 remix, but other than that the base disc it is an hour of angry fresh fun. Few songs on this album truly stand out and linger for a while, but it all comes together nicely. Guitar, Bass and Drum work on this album are pristine, and it is the last album that Paul Gray took part in before passing in 2010, RiP. It is also the last full release album with Joey Jordison on the drums, and after listening to it again it seems like a fine send-off and something they both had a lot of fun and space to creatively explore on. Snuff is on another level, an excursion towards the more calm songwriting that parts of the band do in their project Stone Sour, but still finding a way back to the core of what makes Slipknot Slipknot. It might first remind you of Vermillion Pt1&2 on Vol3, but then goes into a more open space and unfolds brilliantly. It is distinctly different and in a good way. If you always thought "oh, Slipknot, isnt that the angry mask people constantly screaming and being loud?", this is a track that should show you a more "digestible" version while still keeping with the theme they usually follow. Honorable mentions: Sulfur, Psychosocial, All Hope is Gone. Best on the album: see above, Snuff. 8.5/10. It's not their best, and not the album I would show anyone as the definitive Slipknot record, but it is very good.

I always have a fable for essential 80s, and this hits a nice note, but never breaks through to be truly extravagant. I could listen to it all day on loop though.

It's a classic. One of the defining records of the 90s.