1001 Albums Summary

Girl next door aesthetics applied to the female diva stylistic. Female Jeff Buckley vocals, set back by the unimaginative musical backdrop. Probably influential, since everything that came after it sounds exactly the same. Shame, since all the Billies, Marinas, St. Vincents of today really watered down the style, despite the higher production value.

A culturally loaded album locked in 60s USA. From a folk and blues standpoint, it holds water, yet you can't shake off the feeling of missing the joke most of the time.

To define the 90s, some were grasping at hard rock's ballads only to achieve a tacky fad, other tried replicating the original punk feel, almost border-lining on being parodic. The Smashing Pumpkins had a different approach. With fuzz guitars and soft spoken lyrics, they deliberately created an angst simulation machine. Rather than romanticizing the past in wailing verses or screaming at the top of your lungs to berate it, accept it since it's part of you after all. It's rare to find an album that rocks so hard without making you feel cathartic. Guess that's what they call alternative.