A landmark but also a genuinely great album. Of course, the focal point is Zack de la Rocha's righteous fury and Tom Morello's magnificent and inventive riffing. On the other hand, the solos are just serviceable with some nice noise-inspired passages. The rhythm section is also low in originality, but very, VERY high on angry grooving, just like the compositions and song structures demand. Overall, a must have and indeed one of 1,001 albums (or less) you should hear before you die.
One of the truly seismic moments in music history. The man is not just a poet, he is a muse, or language itself. Things would get even better, though , and in a very short time.
A totally pleasant, energetic and fun album, but by no means essential or reference. Return-to-form albums have this catch, perception and context make them seem so much better than they actually are. In any case, rocking out to gritty Crazy Horse albums is a given and always a satisfactory experience.
Yes, the voice is broken, but what else would fit a broken, tortured person? There are artistic limitations or even failures as Billie cannot always hold the tune properly. In my view the sheer passion and heartbreak more than makes up for the objective issues.
What the fuck, I thought this was some late-to-the-party, unbearably hippie sap. And it is, but it is fucking awesome!
A modern mainstream masterpiece.
The logical culmination of Walker's solo endeavours at the time. Heavily orchestrated, drawing different genres under its baroque umbrella. And while there is the quite fair share of love songs, this is heavy stuff, with the usual death obsession minced with anti-war messages. The apex of the pop Walker, he would move to much weirder territory with equally impressive, but never so touching results.
This actually checks most of the boxes. Not ground-breaking but a quite refreshing blend of different genres; beautiful voices saying important staff; a clear and enticing concept bringing everything together. Just a little bit on the long side, could do with one or two less vignettes.
Textbook outlaw country, soaked in blood, crime, and heartbreak. Not entirely my cup of tea, but a well-executed and interesting album that does not overstay its welcome at 31 minutes.
The first true masterpiece in the incredible Stevie's spree, that started from... Signed, Sealed & Delivered? Where I'm Coming From? Music of My Mind? I vote for Where I'm Coming From that shifted its focus on additional themes other than love. It has some lesser songs but never really goes lower that really pleasant. Things would get even better, but that doesn't really lessen Talking Book's value. And it has at least two bona fide masterpieces in its track list.
The epitome of psych/freak music, with its good and bad. It sometimes becomes tedious but overall great jams to get lost into. It must have worked perfectly when everyone in the audience was stoned out of their minds!
Monumental in every respect. A true landmark of not only hip-hop but music in general. Indeed, the black CNN at the time!
Maddeningly uneven. The funkier numbers are golden, and Papa Was a Rolling Stone is of course one for the ages. The mellower number though verge dangerously close to sap.
Solid blues rock with some interesting but not that inventive jamming elements. It seriously suffers from is best songs being overplayed to death, but that's not the band's or the album's fault.
Things would get even more interesting (and completely out there in Sylvia's solo career) but this is a landmark of New Romantic / Synth. Captivating, dark yet lush and hyper-stylised music.
Not a masterpiece but clearly one of their best outputs post-Pet Sounds. It is to be expected of course, as many snippets or full songs are Smile-era products. There are also some serious misses here and there, with Student Demonstration Time being the most notorious.
Pretty fun and energetic album, with just hints of the songwriting prowess that would be later revealed.
OK, I listened to it before I died...
Just lovely, and exactly what it says it is. (The 2020 extended version has some noteworthy material but it makes it a not short album about love and that gets to my nerves)
The true beginning of two major, MAJOR forces on conscious, jazz-heavy hip hop. Still a little rough on select spots in comparison to, say, Moment of Truth, but it nevertheless hits all the spots on beats, delivery, and subject matter.
Don't let the revisionist reviews fool you, this is the essential pavement album and that has nothing to do with its relative quality to Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain or Wowee Zowee, they are pretty damn close. It's just that Slanted and Enchanted is everything indie in the 90s promised to be, and Stephen Malkmus is its prophet.
This is actually great for what it is, but what it is is a Christmas album, bound to be heard once or twice a year.
Nothing particularly wrong, it's just a bit Elvis-by-the-numbers.
