I know most of the songs on this album, but have never actually listened to it as an album. In fact, I don't know that I've ever listened to any proper album by Elvis.
"Blue Suede Shoes" is a dynamite album opener - the count-in and the energy really draw the listener in. It's hard not to boogie to this, even when sitting down.
Sequencing is a nice series of peaks and valleys in terms of quiet/loud and fast/slow - at least one side 1. I'm expecting side 2 to be more of the same.
I think The Minimalist Jug Band and Petunia have a far deeper Elvis influence in their vocal cadences than I'd ever truly realized before this.
I want to dislike Elvis's version of "Tutti Frutti" because it's not Little Richard, but I can't.
"I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)" may be my favourite song on this album. I don't know that I've heard it before now.
"Blue Moon" is definitely my least favourite song on the album.
Definitely one of those "I've done myself a disservice by not listening to this before" moments. One of the things I'm most looking forward to with this project is finally addressing some of these blind spots. Both The Jam and Paul Weller's solo stuff are things I've long been aware of but never really taken the dip on, save a compilation appearance or two from Weller that I don't recall disliking, but also never liked enough to push me deeper.
This album rips! I'm pretty sure 25 years ago me would have enjoyed this immensely as well. I didn't take any sort of listening notes since I was cooking for the family while I listened to it, but I absolutely loved it from start to finish and will definitely be revisiting it again, likely tracking down a vinyl copy and eventually dipping deeper into their catalogue.
The version on Stupify has the UK and original US track listing, which features "Billy Hunt" instead of "The Butterfly Collector." While I enjoyed the whole album immensely, I found myself particularly enjoying the back half of both sides the most, especially "'A' Bomb in Wardour Street" and "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight" to close out the album.
There's something about albums recorded by bands fraught with tension - more often than not they end up being shit, but once in awhile you get something like Abbey Road or Rumours.
"Come Together" is a fantastic opening salvo, and the immediate switch of gears into "Something" is a nice touch.
"Maxwell's Silver Hammer" is... "Maxwell's Silver Hammer." Not the finest moment in The Beatles catalogue, nor their history.
"Octopus's Garden" was one of my early favourites when I first started exploring the lads from Liverpool.
"I Want You (She's So Heavy)" is a BEAST! Billy Preston is an incredible addition to the group here.
"Here Comes The Sun" led to one of my favourite Nina Simone recordings.
"Golden Slumbers" is one of my favourite later life/deep cut discoveries.
Five-star album through and through. "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" can be forgiven for the fact that this album also brought us McLemore Avenue by Booker T & The M.G.'s and George Benson's The Other Side of Abbey Road.
I have a decent handful of friends who claim this as their favourite Bowie album. I've only listened to it a half dozen or so times and it has definitely not clicked into the favourite zone for me - which almost seems odd because it contains so many elements I love, but just doesn't come together to astound me. That's not to say I don't like the album, I definitely do like it, just not to the point of favourite territory. But my journey with Bowie has also been erratic, manic and very non-linear so I recognize there is a lot of context to the album that doesn't hit me the way it might ought to. I should definitely do a chronological pass-through of his catalogue at some point.
"Speed Of Life" definitely grabs my attention to open the album, and "Sound and Vision" would be in my top 20 Bowie songs, were I ever to take on such an endeavour. But really it's the second side that shines for me - even more so on this listen than ever before.
"Warszawa" reminds me a bit of some of my favourite Dead Can Dance, the cello in "Art Decade" is exquisite and I don't think I realized (or remembered) that the saxophone on this album was played by Bowie himself.
The album is still not rocketing to my top spot in the Bowie catalogue, but I love that it seems to be unfolding a bit more and more for me each time I visit it, which I plan to continue doing. I don't know if it's a good one or not, as the quality of the series can be hit or miss, but I reckon I'll grab myself a copy of the 33 1/3 book for Low at some point as I continue to dig deeper.
Pretty stoked to have this one come up in my rotation. I'm familiar with Earth, Wind & Fire as an entity and know the hits, but I've never actually done a deep dive. The only song I knew from this one going in was "Shining Star" - which isn't to say I hadn't heard any of the others - I'm sure I've heard more than a few, but not necessarily been aware or paying attention!
"That's the Way of the World" is some pretty epic groove...
"Shining Star" may be the big well-known single here, but "Happy Feelin'" is a gawd dayum jam! Pumping positivity with a funk workout - I could listen to this over and over again. And probably will for a bit once this album's over.
"All About Love (First Impression)" feels somewhat forgettable at first, but the spoken word breakdown pulled me all the way back in and the psychedelic outro is pretty damn tasty! A lot of times slow jams can take awhile for me to come around to, but this got me on board. And while I may be listening digitally right now, it's a great way to close a side.
...and "Yernin' Learnin'" is a great way to open a side! We've only just begun side two and I'm ready to dig deeper into the catalogue - something I should have done a long time ago already
"Reasons" may be the song least likely for me to throw on here, but I do love that it comes off as a slow jam love song and really isn't.
"AFRICANO," FUnK YEAH! Another one I could play all day and be mighty pleased.
"See the Light" is a nice little wind down to the whole affair. Especially the outro.
This is a very solid four-star album for me - it doesn't grab me the whole way through but it sure does for most of it, in so many great ways. Glad to finally have kickstarted a look into the Earth, Wind & Fire catalogue and definitely look forward to more.
Eddie Hazel.
Sure there's more to the album. But Eddie Hazel. Damn. If you can't feel the opening track in your bones, you might be dead already. He brings so much hot emotive fuzz to the proceedings. Whether it's true or not that he was told by George while very high to play as if he'd just been told his mother died, it's a great legend - and very believable. Whatever brought it out of him ought to be thanked.
"Can You Get to That" seems like a strange way to come out of that trip but it works! We started with the psychedelic, now we must have the FUNK. From here on out it's a solid mash of both. A perfect synthesis of mind melt and booty shake. Some major highlights of which include the spaced-out reverb-heavy echo of the drums on "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" and the hard rock onslaught of "Super Stupid." YMMV on "Wars of Armageddon" but it's a damn fine freak-out jam to close this peak P-Funk session.
No great revelation here - it's exactly the same-y aggro blues rock one would expect from an AC/DC album. This is probably the first time I've listened to a whole album of AC/DC since high school. It's not terrible. I don't need to turn it off or leave the room when it comes on or anything - it just ain't my cup of pickle juice. I'm not even invested enough to speak to any difference between Bon Scott era AC/DC and Brian Johnson era. I will say, the original Australian cover was cooler than this one.
Unless the latter two-thirds of the album is just "Revolution 9" redux for an hour and a half I can already safely agree with those who claim this is the best solo Beatle album
Took me three sessions to get through this one due to life and kids. Basically one record each session (but streamed because I don't have this one). Going in, I wondered if the length of it may be detrimental at all, but it most certainly isn't. Front to back this thing is packed with absolute goodness - and I don't believe that's the bias of George being my favourite Beatle speaking. The man could write amazing songs. Shame on Paul and John for shunning them, but also yay for us - because this got put out into the world. Not a wasted moment on here. "It's Johnny's Birthday" may be a bit of a lark, but it's short enough that it doesn't grow tiresome. And the Apple Jams after two discs of great songs may well be my favourite part of the album. Five stars; must acquire.
Vrooooooooom
What an absolutely dynamite debut - not only did Missy step into our worlds fully formed as an untouchable emcee, but the back end and beats Timbaland brought to the party sounded like absolutely nothing we'd heard at the time. His work with Ginuwine and Aaliyah before this really perked a lot of heads right up ("Pony" is still an absolute beast of a track!) but Supa Dupa Fly really elevated the game.
Beyond the futuristic soundscapes Timbaland had laid down, we witnessed the dawn of a GOAT with this one. Puchlines, hooks and hits - Missy's got 'em all and always has. AND THOSE VIDEOS!!! G'damn. I don't believe Missy's ever made a bad album, and this one here is not even my favourite by a mile, but its importance can't be overstated. Right out the gate with Busta Rhymes's intro drawing us into the proceedings, we know we are in for something special. Missy touched down in the era of the hypersexualized vixen and eschewed the whole thing for her thing, while not shunning folks like Lil' Kim who shows up on "Hit Em wit da Hee". She changed the seen and visual perception of the so-called femcee for the better.
"The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" is obviously the most known and recognized song with its trash bag outfit and Ann Peeble's sample. An afrofuturist delight rooted strongly in the past.
"They Don't Wanna Fuck wit Me" may well be one of the sickest beats in all of 1997!
"Pass da Blunt" pays homage to Musical Youth's "Pass the Dutchie" and is the second of only two samples, interpolations or remixes featured on the production here.
"Friendly Skies" features Ginuwine and has a nice little nod to his own Timbaland-produced "Pony" pop up in the beat.
Missy's ability to sing and ride with R&B while also ripping straight bars as a GOAT hip hop emcee really help blast this album, and her whole catalogue, really, to a whole 'nother level. All these years later it's a lot more common for folks to switch gears so well and easy but that wasn't anywhere near as common in '97.
"Don't Be Commin' (In My Face)" is much better than your juvenile snickers would ever suggest!
"Izzy Izzy Ahh" is fuggin' TASTY! Way better than being buried on the back end of an album might ever suggest. Understandable why it wouldn't be considered single material in '97, but is probably my favourite track on the whole album.
"Gettaway" is another slick melding of off-kilter beat and flow unlike anything really heard at the time.
Bus-a-Bus back to close things out is a nice touch.
Been a hot minute since I've played this album in its entirety. And that's ridiculous because it still slaps hard!
My Miles sweet spot starts about a decade after this, but I do very much enjoy dipping into his older stuff from time to time. This and Kind of Blue are the two first Miles albums I ever heard and the ones I'm still most likely to reach for if I'm looking for chill, early Miles - except when taking the time to visit the ones I've not heard yet. "Moon Dreams" and "Boplicity" are my favourites from this set.
An absolute classic. Start to finish.
Yeah, I still don't love it.
There are some brilliant moments for sure, but it feels forced with none of the magic of their first three or the audacity of Idlewild. At least Speakerboxxx/The Love Below outright owned the schism. "B.O.B." and "Gasoline Dreams" are absolute bangers though! And the reason I give it a 3 instead of a 2.5.
*YAWN*
This has been doing absolutely nothing for me.
Hilariously, The Carpenters are a favourite of my mom's as well, so she's 1 and 1 in this challenge so far - Harrison was a win, Carpenters were not.
This feels like cream of wheat for the ears.
1/5
Another one of my mom's all-time favourites, and an album I've known to be beloved by many for a very long time.
This morning was my first time listening and I can see what the fuss is all about. A great way to start the day - good voice, good vibes, good times!
I wouldn't be surprised if my rating goes up on this with some revisiting
Holy fuck.
What have I been doing with my life that I haven't listened to this before now? This is exactly what I want out of psychedelic blues rock. A whole side dedicated to an absolute killer rendition of "Who Do You Love?" Yes please! I am now looking for the Pure Pleasure pressing of this as soon as I'm done my vinyl diet.
Okay, here we go!
I think this is the first time I've listened to a complete Gn'R album; my relationship with the band has always been complicated. For starters, they were verboten in my household, by decree of my mother, growing up (joining Snoop Doggy Dogg, MC Eiht and The Beavis and Butt-Head Experience.) An even bigger factor is likely the fact that I think Axl Rose is an absolute idiot! I also vacillate frequently between whether I love his voice or hate it. 😂
Regardless of my thoughts or feelings on Axl or his voice, he and it suit the music here very well and the music is mostly pretty friggin' awesome. Sleazy as all get out, but awesome. This album feels pretty much exactly how I would picture L.A. in the mid-80s - the real L.A. not the made-for-TV L.A. The violence, the grime, the sex, the drugs and the rock n' roll. I can see why my mother found this so alarming - I'm sure she came to it through extra-glorified media fearmongering too, which also tracks given the era.
The album is definitely not without its cringy moments, but all in all, I enjoyed it far more than I expected I would.
PJ Harvey is someone whose catalogue I've been meaning to explore more, being only familiar with a handful of songs and soundtrack/compilation appearances - and most of those falling well before this release. So here we go...
Fun facts: It was released on my 31st birthday and won the Mercury Prize.
This definitely sounds different than whatever sound my memory associates with PJ Harvey, although it seems from reading the Wikipedia entry for the album that it isn't just me. I'm digging it though. "The Glorious Land" is an especially great song! Highlight for the first third for me for sure.
"Written on the Forehead" is super cool!
I feel like further listens to this will be deeply rewarded, but even on a first slightly distracted passthrough it's a great album painting a portrait of England not dripping in blue-blooded finery or jingoism. I'm too exhausted to add much, or any, poignant insight. But I'm happy to have finally dipped further into PJ Harvey's world and look forward to spending more time with this album, and beyond.
I listened to this in the truck at work today. Twice. I very rarely listen to the same album back to back and it's even more rare for me to do so at work, but this was another one of those "what the fuck have I been doing with my life?!" moments! Certainly, I've long been aware of The Pogues legacy and them being loved by many musicians and friends that I dig, but I've never done the dive before today. Foolishness! This is my second favourite discovery of the project so far.
"The Wild Cats of Kilkenny" is stone-cold brilliant. A 6 out of 5 surrounded by 4s and 5s. Their covers of "Dirty Old Town" and "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" are equally incredible, but truly there's nary a misstep on this album. The A-Side is staked with MacGowan originals while the B-Side is just stacked!
Turns out the version I played twice is the extended 2005 reissue, which included a pair of "Dirty Old Town" B-Sides bookending the four songs released on the wonderfully titled Poguetry in Motion EP - even these were strong songs with "Body of an American" and "Rainy Night in Soho" being particular standouts.
This one will be getting lots of play for a while now, and is going on my vinyl wantlist pronto!
Another unfamiliar one. I've never really known the difference between Deerhunter, Deerhoof and Deer Tick, and have probably confused one for another along the way when their names do come up, which seems to be frequently enough. I'm midway through my second listen of the evening on this one, and while I'm enjoying it a bit more than the first time it's still not doing a whole heck of a lot for me. But that seems to happen with a lot of Indie darlings for me - it's part of why I just avoided so many for so long, but I've been pushing myself to dig a little deeper and have found some gems along the way - but this one just isn't for me.
Yes! This was the first Everything But The Girl album I ever listened to and I still absolutely love it through and through. I don't even recall why I chose to play it in the back at work back in my HMV days, but on a whim I did and I've been glad ever since. Extra nice to have this one come up now as their latest single was by far my most listened-to song of January, and I still can't get enough.
The opening trio of songs wins me over and draws me right in. "Wrong" and "Single" are probably my two favourite songs on the album. The only stumble for me is "The Heart Remains a Child" - I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. Makes the album more of a 4.5 for me than an outright 5.
Part of the Peak-Stevie years, and not even my favourite of the lot!
First time actually listening to this album. Knew a couple of songs going in, but the only full Faith No More album I've ever properly listened to is Angel Dust - while a handful of the songs I know best are actually from King for a Day... Fool for a Lifetime. I really dig Mike Patton but have listened to a surprisingly small amount of his vast body of work. It seems kind of a shame, but also means I get to keep enjoying new discoveries for a while longer.
I definitely think I dig later FNM more than this one but will be listening to it more for sure. Which isn't to say I dislike it by any means, I just feel like things got better once Patton and the band had a bit more time together. Given that the music for this was already recorded and Patton basically wrote and recorded his parts over it in under two weeks after having just joined the band at barely two decades of age, I'd say that this is actually a damn fine album.
Another one I've never listened to but know lots of people who've loved it. Britpop's never been a huge go-to for me, so it makes sense as to why I missed it. I enjoyed the first half much more than I expected - "M62 Song" reminded me massively of King Crimson's "Moonchild" but then things kinda flagged in the back half for me. I would definitely consider giving it another chance sometime.
That was gruelling.
First thing first: this album is at least half an hour too long.
Second thing second (and maybe most important): this is just an "okay" rap album.
Third thing third: this album hasn't aged well. (Kanye himself has aged LESS well.)
Lastly (kind of): it's ludicrous that Ludacris was probably paid good money for a bad feature.
I remember hearing so much hype for this album for the year or so between its release and me picking a copy of the CD to see what the fuss was about. And even that dozen and a half years ago I did not understand why people were raving about it so much. It's not that great. It's not horrible either, but I think it's quite unspectacular. There are a couple of good hooks, a solid handful of sweet beats and all the requisite and expected features of the era, but Kanye's emceeing isn't revolutionary or particularly exciting and his lyrics ain't really that deep.
I came into this prepared to eat crow and maybe find out I'd been wrong about my assessment of this back in '05 and really did my best to set aside my feelings about present-day Kanye while listening, but I still just can't fuck with it.
This is a great palate cleanser after the Kanye album and pairs well with the group project as far as fully-formed and fantastic debuts that stand the test of time. An 80s album that doesn't sound like the 80s. A birthing ground for neo-soul. Smooth without being saccharine. Beyond tasteful: it's delicious.
One of the reasons I love this project and this site is the encouragement to revisit stuff like this, as well as the exposure to so many other sounds that this time around I feel my ears and my brain were much more ready and on board for this. For the first (second and third) time ever I've very much enjoyed this album. I don't know that I'm gonna rush out and buy myself a copy tomorrow or anything, but I also no longer think it doesn't need to be on my shelf. I may not be one of the cool kids yet, but at least they're less likely to stuff me in a garbage can! (I've also pretty much always been twice their size, so it would be very hard for the cool kids to even be able to stuff me in a garbage can if they wanted to!)
I'm looking forward to seeing how this newfound enjoyment carries over to other albums in their catalogue.
Excited to revisit this one - for whatever reason I haven't really done so since the first year or so after its release - the only Portishead album I don't know through and through.
I remember this being jarring for some when it came out - the scope of sounds is definitely much broader than their earlier releases. That said, it's friggin' brilliant! I don't know whether their entire catalogue made this list or not, but it certainly deserves to - they didn't miss. Beth Gibbons voice is majesty in and of itself, but the soundscapes Geoff Barrow and Adrian Utley provide her to move it through are rich and engrossing. "Silence," "Nylon Smile" and "We Carry On" were particular favourites for me on this one
I've never listened to this one before. I remember the cover for Boy from Michigan being quite striking when it came out, but I don't recall whether I listened to it or only previewed a few tracks and decided not to. Either way, going into this fairly blind and unfamiliar other than that blip.
The first half of the first song gives me big FJM vibes. Not just the Honeybear aspect. It felt almost like three songs by the end.
The beginning of the second song is still giving me FJM vibes...
"Chicken Bones" is awesome!
Goddamn, "Jesus Hates Faggots" is a visceral tune.
It's deeply evident that this is an album that will reward multiple listens. I'm quite taken with it and looking forward to going into those further listens to see where this shakes out in the long run. This one comes in for me at a very strong 4, likely to creep up to a 4.5 or higher with future listens.
Only knowing the big two singles off this one, I wasn't sure what to expect and despite loving the singles was worried I'd hate it. Far from hating it though, it's a very solid rock n' roll album. Solid semi-sleaze.
"Walk This Way" is, was and always will be an absolute BEAST. And it only got better when they remade it with Run-DMC!
I'm pretty sure I can say without exaggeration that I've listened to this damn near once a week for the past couple of years. Alice in Chains wasn't my favourite of the Seattle bands in real-time, but over the subsequent years they've become my most listened-to by far, and the only thing they put out that I've listened to more than this is the Jar of Flies EP. This album is as beautiful as it is harrowing as it is heavy. "Rooster" is an all-timer and "Would?" has always been one of my other favourite Alice in Chains songs (Thanks Singles soundtrack!) but "Junkhead" has been doing its best to catch up to it over the past year or two. I don't believe I could ever get tired of this album.
As much as Pieces of a Man gets possibly the most recognition from Gil Scott-Heron's catalogue, Winter in America is, to me, his absolute best.
This definitely got played a lot in-store when I worked at HMV around the time of its release, but I don't know that I ever took time to listen to it outside of background music during work that was frequently interrupted by customers. I've also not seen the movie or read the book, so I don't have more layers to my experience with this today. It's a lovely album. Pretty much exactly what I would expect from Air scoring a film. Except for the final piece, which was less expected during my listen but awesome - especially as an album closer.
Wilco is one of those bands that on paper I should absolutely love, but I just haven't clicked with them that way. I don't dislike them, but I also don't like them enough to seek them out all that much. I remember hearing "Outtasite (Outta Mind)" on the radio a bit, and I'm pretty sure I had it on a CMJ New Music Monthly CD or some similar comp. They have some songs I quite enjoy for sure but that's about it. This is a solid album, if not a bit long.
Elvis Costello is one of those artists I listen to quite infrequently and wonder every time I do why I don't listen to him more. I've enjoyed damn near everything of his I've ever heard, yet I've never owned any of his albums on LP or CD (digitally the only one I've ever owned is the one with The Roots, because The Roots.) This is a cover-to-cover banger through and through. Infusing power pop with a solid dose of new wave, punk rock and whip-smart lyrics makes for a timeless ass-rocker here.
First time listening to a full album by The Stooges. Obviously very familiar with "I Wanna Be Your Dog" - heck, I even re-wrote it as "I Wanna Be Your Doug" a bunch of years ago for my friend Doug Koyama who was an absolute stalwart of the B.C. summer festival scene, and is one of the best damn huggers I've ever met.
Listening to "We Will Fall" now and it's nothing at all like I expected anything on this album to sound. The slow dirge of this is absolutely awesome!
Yeah, this is fucking awesome. 100%. I want more!
My introduction to this album was hearing "Heresy" on the post-midnight Sunday program on my local rock radio station sometime around '95 and being absolutely floored. (I discovered Marilyn Manson around the same time thanks to the same program playing "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" and finding it so delightfully creepy - but even prior to his latest controversies the past couple of years, he didn't hold the longevity for me that NIN has managed to) The song was so HEAVY. So Angry. So blasphemous. It was awesome! I got myself a copy of the album a few weeks later and until Antichrist Superstar was released nearly a year later, it was by far the heaviest album I owned. I regret not grabbing a copy last time my local had this in on wax. Stone cold classic.
Hard to go wrong with Muddy Waters. This is just absolutely solid blues. Not sure I agree with the sentiments about Florida expressed herein, but that takes absolutely nothing away from the album.
Absolutely unfuckwitable.
Another familiar band name whose music I'm entirely unfamiliar with. I had high hopes for it, especially with a couple of my favourite Trad. songs appearing herein. But when all was said and done I wasn't wowed or inspired. Mostly I just wished I hadn't ended the Jason Isbell marathon I'd begun the day with. It was listenable enough, just not something I think I'd listen to much.
This just isn't for me. Took three attempts to get through this in its entirety. Post-punk seems to be a genre that continues to vex me - it seems like one I'd enjoy a lot more, but I only seem to like a fraction of the stuff I ever check out. I'll keep trying though. I recognize that Mark E. Smith and The Fall have been incredibly influential, but it does not spark joy for me.
For some reason I found myself reluctant to finally listen to this one, but I don't really know why. Could have been life stuff and a busy new release week, I guess. Either way, I did finally listen to it and very much enjoyed it. First time listening to anything by Elbow, though I'm sure I've probably heard a song or two along the way without realizing it. "Grounds for Divorce" was my favourite song on the first pass, but I really enjoyed the whole album quite a bit and am sure further listens will only increase that enjoyment.
This is actually my first time listening to this one. Two songs in and I'm really digging it so far. Kinda hate the cover though!
Goofy cover aside, this is a great album. Quite a statement after a decade off from releasing albums and out of the public eye. I'm looking forward to more time with this one.
Perfectly inoffensive and listenable. I don't love it but, more importantly, I don't hate it.
I've never really been much of a fan of The Who but I had a Pearl Jam bootleg back in high school with a cover of "Baba O'Riley" on it. A couple of years later this album came up in a 3 CDs for $10, or some such, deal so I picked it up and actually listened to it quite a lot in my early twenties. It's a very solid album. "The Song is Over" and "Behind Blue Eyes" are both songs I find myself humming inside my head at random moments through the years, but I don't necessarily seek them out. "Baba O'Riley" still rips and always will!
I recognize the band name. Oh! And I recognize the first song!! The second song reminds me of the first song. The third song really reminds me of the first song. The fourth song sounds familiar, I think I've heard this one before too. It also reminds me of the first song. Song five sounds different - definitely the same band. The back half of the album feels a little more varied while also feeling very cohesive in its sound. The instrumental jam to shut things down at the end is quite a nice touch. I actually enjoyed this one quite a bit, but don't know how much I'd feel called toward frequent listens.
This. Changed. Everything.
Personally, I was a couple of years late to the party. Living in pre-internet suburban western Canada with no other friends who were really into hip-hop meant I wasn't yet ahead of the curve. I'd seen their name around a bit but it was a track on The Jerky Boys soundtrack that served as my introduction to the Clan. As a result of that song I already had Ol' Dirty Bastard's solo album by the time I finally copped a copy of Enter the Wu-Tang in the summer of '95. I loved the wild-out weirdness of ODB, but the clan united was a goddamn force! Nuthing ta f wit, indeed. The lo-fi dark grimy beats were a far cry from the g-funk sound that otherwise dominated my hip-hop CDs at the time. So tasty. And the full Clan spitting unstoppable, untoppable bars over top was just over the top. I don't remember listening to anything else for the first week or two I had this. I just kept playin' it, and playin' it, and playin' it, and playin' it... Absorbing all the voices, figuring out who was who and how their flows all came together so damn well.
Hell, the first couple of times I ever went on the internet shortly after copping this, I spent most of my time digging deeper into the Wu and marvelling at their industry takeover that allowed for each solo member to sign with a different label than the group itself, spreading their fingers through most of the major label hip-pie.
Now, nearly three decades later, knowing the album backward and forward, skits and all, and having deciphered nearly all of the samples, this still stands as an absolute beast of an album. The hunger of the Clan in its youth is still palpable, and very few debuts since can hold a candle to this.
Let your feet stomp.
Yeah, this is a thing. It's ubiquitous and it certainly did a lot to make electronic music a little more mainstream. I think the biggest positive for the album is that it introduced Vera Hall to a much larger audience - however the majority of that audience probably still has no idea who Vera Hall is!
The music is fine enough that I can't write off the entire album simply because Moby can be an insufferable twat
I didn't particularly love Arcade Fire before the controversy and have even less of a reason to bother trying now. That said, this was the album of theirs I found myself most interested in. I've lived, worked, and travelled with many Arcade Fire fans through the years, so I've heard their music quite a bit for a band I could never get into. I never actively disliked them either at least. But something about the morning-after vibes of this one always felt more enjoyable for me than largely indifference toward the others.
Yes is a band I want to like more than I do, but something just doesn't seem to hit all the way for me. I enjoy them well enough, but something just doesn't strike me as much as I'd think it should. "And You and I" is the highlight on this one for me, but it's not going to make any favourite songs list I may ever put together. Certainly, this album isn't one I would reach for very often either, but I'd enjoy it well enough if it's on.
This is another one I felt some resistance toward - I think because of negative associations with one or two big fans of this album long in the past. Turns out I rather enjoyed it. Not so much that I'm going to rush out and buy it, but enough that I'd happily consider giving it some more attention at some point. The rhythm section in particular was much more interesting than what I (wrongly) expected of the era and the locale. I think Ian Brown is a bit of a knob and the arrogance of some of the lyrics sure doesn't help in overlooking or moving away from that, but he's also pretty good at what he does. This one may eventually move up for me
All-timer. One of the single greatest and most fully formed debuts ever. Sorely in need of a repress. This album deserves every bit of near-universal acclaim it receives.
Another band I've long felt I should enjoy much more than I do but have just never clicked with. As I mentioned discussing an album in the other thread earlier today, when it comes to Joy Division I can appreciate what's going on far more than I enjoy it. I understand their importance and why people are so into and inspired by them, but I would only listen to them for a project like this, or if somebody else puts it on. I do enjoy the bass sound on this album quite a bit though!
Undeniable classic. From lyrics to beats to the cultural impact, this will forever remain an all-timer.
Rest in Power Phife Dawg.
Only half of this is actually available on Stupify, and I couldn't very easily find an alternative source for the full release, but based on what I heard I can comfortably give this a 4/5 I very very much enjoyed it. I really need to dig into more Bollywood stuff, as I absolutely love a lot of what I've heard but I also really don't know shit!
This whole album reminded me of a few different buskers I encountered lifetimes ago at Granville Skytrain station in Vancouver as I came and went from the downtown core - not particularly horrid, but off-kilter in so many ways. The Skytrain station buskers were made more interesting, however, by the perpetual smell of piss and commuters. I have very little interest in ever revisiting this.
Quite frankly, boring. The "doo doo doo doo doo"s at the end of "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" are great, and the guitar/effect on "Pre-Road Downs" is pretty cool but that's about all that really stood out for me. The rest was certainly listenable and inoffensive but didn't do much for me.
I get that there is some intense history to this, but I found it an irritating listen. It actually knocked my Grump-O-Meter from standard surly to amplified.
I won't begrudge others their enjoyment of this, but I found very little myself.
Brilliant album by a brilliant man. A truly superb swan song.
I don't know that I've actually listened to any of their albums properly but I've always been much more into Buffalo Springfield than CSN(Y) with whatever exposure I've had to each (in the case of Buffalo Springfield it was mostly the CD copy of Retrospective that I had back in high school.) This album starts really strong but then dips into the mostly okay/good category before closing quite strong as well. It's no surprise to me that two of my three favourite tracks were written by Neil Young and make for great album bookends. Richie Furay's "A Child's Claim to Fame" is my other favourite here.
While I've listened to the title track countless times, as well as a couple of the other singles here, this is the first time I've listened to any Britney Spears album in full, and I imagine it will be the last time for this one. I've got love for Britney herself, but less for most of these songs. Besides that tinges of discomfort brought about by lines like "hit me, baby, one more time" and "sometimes I run, sometimes I hide, sometimes I'm scared of you" I have a really hard time taking songs about deep love and intense heartbreak seriously when they're being sung by a teenager who has doubtfully experienced much, or any, of either. But such is the pop machine and, obviously, the formula works. Max Martin's music by numbers and the corporate buyers that snap it up have certainly made a cultural impact.
As for the music itself, "Soda Pop" is a horrid attempt at blending bubblegum Britney with contemporary reggae sounds, "Sometimes" suffers from some unsettling lyrics and "I Will Still Love You" is a wee bit vomit-inducing but I was pleasantly surprised by the cover of "The Beat Goes On."
"...Baby One More Time" is an absolute belter. "(You Drive Me) Crazy" doesn't reach the same stratosphere but is a perfectly enjoyable pop song.
The rest of the album was quite a bit of "whatever."
I had outright never even heard of this band before it came up. And I thought I was pretty up on my early UK and NY punk!
I don't have a lot of specific thoughts about this album other than it's right in the wheelhouse of some of my absolute favourite punk. I will be revisiting this one for sure!
My first time listening to a full Beach House album and this is exactly one of those not turning the radio off but not turning it up albums for me. It was fine, but nothing particularly stood out for me. Other than my wife being utterly convinced it was some secret weird Vampire Weekend album. From the two or three Beach House songs I'd ever sampled before this is pretty much exactly how I expected this one to go. Other than my wife's Vampire Weekend bit.
I love it. I'm not really familiar with any NEU! material that came later, but this seems like a perfect ending to their original trilogy of albums with the A side expanding on what was and the B side showcasing what could/might be. The proto-punk of "Hero" seems jarring at first but it's anchored in its depths by a groove that feels quite at place with all that came before. The whole album still gets better every time for me. There are a couple of brief vocals I find myself at odds with on the A-side, otherwise, this is nearly a perfect album for me.
Another one I've never even heard of! Fun.
Right out the gate it doesn't sound like anything I expected at all. While associated with the punk scene the power pop and psychedelia elements are definitely much more prevalent so far. I'm pretty into this.
I wonder if Gordon Gano was a fan of these guys. The vocals on "Breaking Down" definitely remind me of Violent Femmes. "City of Fun" too - which also feels the most punk anything has sounded thus far on the album as well. Oh yeah, the bit of freakout at the end of "City of Fun" also reminds me of the Femmes. These guys must be an influence.
"I love my mother but I wouldn't wanna have sex with her!" = gold.
The more I hear the more I'm convinced the Femmes are deeply influenced by these guys.
Alright, I know I'll be listening to this one a bunch more - it's jumping up on the want-to-buy list now. This is fuggin' awesome!
This one I have heard of but had never listened to before tonight. I can definitely see how it's been an influential album for so many, but on a first listen it's definitely in "wouldn't turn it up but wouldn't turn it off" territory for me. I feel like I want to like this one more than I do, so I'll certainly give it another go or two, but for now it's just fine.
Another one that is quite beloved but not by me. Rather bores me for the most part. But I do really love "Son of a Preacher Man" - go figure!
Perfectly listenable but doesn't thrill me. Another "won't turn it off but won't turn it up" album.
I actually listened to 90% of this last week when it came up, but never got back to it until today and then started from the beginning again. One of the things I've enjoyed about this project is that it's helping correct some of my blind spots when it comes to classic punk. Before drawing this, I'd only known Germs by reputation and due to Pat Smear playing with Nirvana in their later days. This was my first (and second) time listening and I loved it. Took a bit of time to get accustomed to Darby Crash's vocals but the music kept me riveted enough to keep my interest in the meanwhile - the bass sound throughout, in particular. Definitely see myself resisting this one! 4/5
"The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" was released as a single a couple of weeks after I turned 14 and was my introduction to Morrissey. I did not like it. It became the only Morrissey song to chart in the US, which by extension meant it got a lot of play in Canada as well so I heard it a lot and liked it less each time. I dislike it even further now.
"Hold on to Your Friends" was released a few months later and it did very little for me. I didn't dislike it as actively as I did the previous single, but I had pretty much zero interest in it. I found it generally boring and Morrissey sounded incredibly self-absorbed. These lousy first impressions led to me not even bothering to give The Smiths much of a chance when my best friend started to get into their music a few years later. I believe my response was something to the effect of, "Oh, is this that sadsack The More You Ignore Me idiot? Not interested!"
A plus side of these negative first impressions has been that as it became increasingly obvious that Morrissey is a racist sanctimonious cock stain with fascist leanings I didn't face the heartbreak or turmoil some of my friends did around his legacy and music - particularly with The Smiths, whom I do look forward to finally giving a fair shake during the course of this project.
As for Vauxhall and I, I'm fine if I never hear it again. It still sounds boring and self-absorbed.
This is great driving music!
I absolutely loved this. I generally dig a lot of punk and have been a lot more hit and miss with post-punk, but this one really tickles me in great ways! I love how much is going on throughout the songs and album, but how cohesive it remains. I can see how some may find the vocals a bit abrasive but they work for me. The rhythm section slays throughout and there are some really fun harmonies. On initial listen I generally dig the lyrical content as well.
Love it!
"Go West" is the first Pet Shop Boys song I recall knowing was a Pet Shop Boys song, though I'm sure I heard earlier ones and was unaware at the time. They are a band I seldom seek out and have nearly never owned anything by but am absolutely thrilled whenever they come on. It's hard to be in a bad mood listening to Pet Shop Boys! "Yesterday When I Was Mad" was a big highlight for me this listen.
It was a few years after-the-fact when I first listened to this one but it deserves every single bit of praise it gets. An all-timer.
As far as I know, this is my first time listening to an entire album by ZZ Top. It's pretty much exactly what I'd expect from a whole album of ZZ Top - it sounds like ZZ Top. Funny that they're a band I never really got into very much because I do very much enjoy their sound. I quite enjoyed this - especially in the work truck with the windows down on a sunny day! "TV Dinners" was the one moment on the album that felt unexpected.
I've been meaning to give The National another shot for a while now, so this worked out nicely in that regard. Unfortunately, I still don't get why they seem so beloved. Fine enough stuff, but it never really grabbed me at all. "Runaway" seemed vaguely familiar and would be the closest I had to a favourite song on here. Otherwise, it felt pretty unremarkable.
First time listening to a Crowded House album - I remember them having a video that got somewhat regular play on MuchMusic in the first half of the 90s but I can't for the life of me remember what the song was. Otherwise, they were mostly on my radar due to the Finns and Eddie Vedder doing a bunch of stuff together. That all said, I was shocked right out the gate with "Chocolate Cake" as I distinctly remember the song but haven't heard it in damn near thirty years and don't know that I ever realized at all that it was Crowded House! Way cool. Definitely my favourite song on here. My first listen didn't blow me away by any means, but definitely opened an invitation to further listening - I enjoyed it enough that I want to hear it again and perhaps dig a little deeper into their catalogue.
First, the label's inversion of the artwork was and always will be bullshit. This is not just the proper cover but the better cover. And a better indication of what you're about to get. Which is absolute madcap genius and blazing satire. This is my absolute favourite Zappa album, easy. Brilliant takedowns of hippies, right-wingers and the LAPD. There is a lot going on throughout and some of the transitions and oddities will likely drive many folks a bit bonkers, but I think it just makes the whole thing all the more brilliant.
It's brilliant. And we all know it.
I think I'd rather listen to Morrissey than listen to this again.
Very delightful stuff! Never hits the over-the-top exotica vibes in its explorations and remains a great listen any time of day.
Sadly, beyond the CHIC influence, this one did little for me.
It's content was misunderstood and misconstrued a lot - even by its creators for a time but this remains an absolute steadfast classic.
I can appreciate what they're going for here, but it just didn't do it for me. The vocals in particular I found to be quite abrasive.
It's been a LOT of years since I listened to this the few times I have before today, and even then I was far removed from the actual time of its release which may have lost some impact for me. I very much dig the themes they've approached on this album but I think, for the most part, they've been done better elsewhere. It's an enjoyable listen, but not a life-changing one. Other than "One" - which is an all-timer song for me. But the album version always leaves me longing for the video version with the bits from Johnny Got His Gun spliced in. That version destroys me every time.
This is one of those funny little anomalies that occur from time to time - it's an album I absolutely love and adore but I have never once owned a physical copy of it on any medium. Which sometimes leads to longer spells than usual between listens. The downside to this is only that it's kind of ridiculous I've never owned a copy. The upside to this is I feel like I get to rediscover the album once or twice a year - and every time it brings me so much joy. This album has aged well - I'm certain I enjoy it more now than I did when it came out. Lush vibes that feel sophisticated and pleasurable the whole way through. "Sexy Boy" is my jam, and would absolutely be my entrance music if I were a wrestler.
More great Zappa!
Being a mostly instrumental affair, this one is perfect for people who can't handle the wit or can't stand the zaniness. Fantastic compositions that welcome many listens.
A solid follow-up to Songs of Leonard Cohen. I don't think it holds up quite as high as a whole album, but it does happen to kick off with one of Leonard's finest and best-known songs. Decidedly more stripped back in its production, the album continues to show Cohen's strength as a writer, though one of my favourite moments on it happens to be Leonard's cover of Anna Marly's anti-fascist anthem "La Complainte du partisan" - a gorgeous and powerful song. The back half of the album doesn't feel as strong as the front but it's still quality.
I had a big Doors phase in my twenties but it's been a while since I've really dove in much, so this was a nice one to have come up. Not my favourite of the lot, but features a couple of my favourite tunes. Which sounds a lot like my notes for Songs From a Room - in fact I could mostly just cut and paste a lot of them because this one too has a killer Hard Rock Cafe side and then loses a bit of that steam on the Morrison Hotel side. All in all, a solid return to blues rock form after getting a little more symphonic and experimental on the previous album.
First time listening to a Steely Dan album - time to see what all the fuss is about.
The groove out the gate certainly caught my attention, but things never really carried my excitement from there - except maybe the occasional moment of recognizing a sample or two I've known forever but heard in its original context. I would definitely enjoy this album more if it were strictly instrumental - the vocals really do nothing for me. And even as an instrumental album I wouldn't love it, I would simply enjoy it more than I enjoyed this as is. The music is very obviously well-played but it's far too cream-of-wheat for me.
No question about the greatness of this one. It's not my personal favourite of his albums, but I'd venture so far as to say it's the greatest of his albums. And Prince has no shortage of great albums to choose from.
A couple of monstrously amazing songs on this one, of course, and most of the rest are really damn good too but it just never quite hits as a whole album for me as much as I want it to every time. Very close, but not quite.
I wasn't sure I'd heard of these guys but then I recognized "Our House." All in all, though, I was underwhelmed.
I need to spend some more time with this album. I wanted to like it more than I did at first listen. I didn't dislike it, but I feel like more time might do me some good here. "Time of the Season" is incredible though.
I never really gave these guys a chance when this came out because "Bittersweet Symphony" was SO overplayed I just decided that the band and everything they did pissed me off. Nuance wasn't always a huge part of my teenage music criticism!
Anyway, it's fine enough fare if a tad too long. Some nice symphonic bits here and there. "Bittersweet Symphony" IS actually a pretty good song when you're not hearing it every damn where you turn.
Hadn't heard of this one before but it sure made for a good follow-up after starting the day with The Jesus and Mary Chain's 'Psychocandy.'
I feel like I spent a good portion of my life thinking shoegaze was something different than what it is, which has opened up a wonderful world of late discovery for me recently. Quite dug this one and imagine I'll spend more time with sooner than later.
I don't Britpop a lot but when I do, it's usually 'Parklife.' This was the only Britpop album I ever really got into - though I never actually owned a copy but I did borrow friends' copies a few times. The first few times I heard "Girls & Boys" I wasn't sure if I loved it or hated it, but ultimately I decided I loved it. Then "Parklife" completely won me over - this stuff felt unlike anything else my young teenage ears had heard. Yet none of the other Britpop I heard around the same time did a lot for me, so I never really explored the genre all that much. And Blur sort of fell off for me a bit when "Song 2" became the most annoyingly overplayed song ever for a time. I've been meaning to do a full catalog exploration of their stuff for a while now, and this just reminds me that I should.
I can appreciate what they were going for with this in terms of scope and trying something new. I applaud the risk-taking that made this album possible on many levels. That said, it did very little for me.
It's icky/provocative sure, but it's also a pretty incredible piece that has inspired much further greatness.
I don't really gravitate toward vocal jazz all that much outside of Nina Simone. I can appreciate it (and do!), but I don't seek it out too often save for specific settings or company. I don't know that I've ever listened to more than the odd song here and there from Sarah Vaughan before this but this was quite a delight. Her rapport with the audience, in particular, is a treat; it feels very casual while also feeling like a formal show - a perfect atmosphere for something like this. And her voice is top notch - it's obviously no mistake that she's considered one of the greats.
This is a fucking great album! I was familiar with the big two singles, of course, but from start to finish this is just fantastic. "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" may be overplayed and joked about too often, but it's just a beastly good tune. I think the final two songs are my favourite, but I feel like my favourites may dance around this album with every listen.
Also, I don't know how it took me this long in my life to make the connection that R.E.M. and The Tragically Hip are like poetry rock cousins. It definitely would have been interesting to have Stipe and Downie collaborate.
It's been damn near 20 years since I listened to this, which is particularly wild when considering the fact that it was probably the most anticipated album of my teenage years/early 20s. Thanks to the internet and RealPlayer I heard the Slim Shady EP right around the time Em got signed by Dre - nobody in my suburban corner of Canada had any idea what was coming yet, but I was all in. Hell, for about six months, thanks to either Tripod or Geocities, I hosted one of the first few Eminem fansites on the internet - scouring for any tidbits I could find and present. When The Slim Shady LP finally dropped, it was everything I hoped for and more (almost too much more with how ubiquitous "My Name Is" became so quickly!) Nineteen-year-old me could not get enough.
Now 43-year-old me is revisiting it for the first time in a couple of decades and, honestly, I still think it's absolutely brilliant. I have much less of an interest in extreme shock value these days and a far lower threshold for some of the homophobic and misogynistic language used herein but I can't deny the genius at work here. The album is brilliantly crafted and Eminem's emcee skills are absolutely undeniable over and above the shock value of the content; his flows, lyrics, and ability to work a persona were near completely unparalleled at the time. The material from The Slim Shady EP was already proven to anybody who heard it, and the new tunes continued to take the Slim Shady persona to the next level, which garnered exactly the kinds of reactions one would expect when working shock and spectacle so hard - particularly when playing a persona that blurs the line between real and imaginary.
Probably the most controversial track on the album was also my greatest disappointment with the album... "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" finds Eminem on an imaginary road trip with his infant daughter Hailie to dispose of her mother's corpse. The song was re-recorded from its original version on the EP (there called "Just the Two of Us") with a new beat and the addition of the real Hailie's voice. The inclusion of Hailie's voice unsurprisingly angered her mother and made the world at large even more uncomfortable with an already unsettling song - a lightning rod for those railing against the album upon release. My personal upset with the song didn't stem from discomfort around violence against women since I could stomach it as the gross twisted fantasy that it was (having long since experienced my own horror stories with the mother of one of my children, I feel like I understand the need for a catharsis like this even more than I ever did back then - even if my current desire to listen to something like this is quite minimal) - I was far more upset about the fact that the new beat was dark and ominous, which gave away the song too soon. The original had a very happy beat that made the deeply dark lyrics hit even harder.
I fell off the Eminem train around the release of The Eminem Show. His first couple of major releases really hit right for where I was at in life, but I became far less interested shortly thereafter. I've remained a believer that Eminem is a top-tier emcee, whether I'm interested in listening to him or not. In particular, I think he was the absolute best at background adlibs on his studio albums - so often those are some of the more genius moments in his songs. I think Eminem outdid himself on The Marshall Mathers LP, which is a pretty stellar feat after having blown up so big with this one. I really doubt I'll revisit this one very often outside of projects like this or an occasional burst of nostalgia, but I still think it's an incredible album even if I'm not so interested these days. I'm pretty glad I got to spend some time with it today.
A beloved album that I've tried a few times now to come around to (the attempts have typically been 5-10 years apart) and I just can't get into it the way so many do. I feel like I can academically understand why it is so beloved and how groundbreaking it was but in the end, I'm just not feeling it. I do love "Sloop John B" though.
Absolutely essential krautrock masterpiece.
Absolutely unparalleled, and not even Prince's best album.
This album came into my world because Saul Williams toured with The Mars Volta and I was thoroughly obsessed with anything he touched or orbited at the time. This sonic bombardment was nothing like I had heard before, but I loved it. And still do. I've never gone too deep on the rest of their catalog (or even heard half their albums at all, I think) but this is an album I come back to frequently - especially when I have the opportunity to play it very loud.
I'll admit, I wasn't too stoked to draw this one given how much I disliked Brian Wilson and didn't vibe with Pet Sounds but was pleasantly surprised with this one. There were a few songs that didn't land for me but all in all, I enjoyed it. "Dreamer" was my favourite.
A masterclass in live blues. Hell, live performance in general. Incredible stuff.
"The clock's ticking, I just count the hours" - 8 minutes into this 1h 8min long album I'm counting down the hour... I wasn't looking forward to this, and I'm still not. But I'm in it...
If this led to anybody checking out King Crimson who hadn't previously done so, that's probably going to be the most positive attribute of this album for me...
Oooof! "Monster" might just feature the weakest Jay-Z verse I've ever heard. That was painful.
"Runaway" is about 9 minutes too long and has one of the dumbest hooks I've ever heard.
Oh! Nevermind. This vocoder/autotune re-write of "Iron Man" for the hook of "Hell of a Life" is much worse!
Alright, in order to inject some positivity into these proceedings I will fall back to where I commonly wind up when it comes to discussions around Kanye - there is some fantastic production here. I think Kanye is a solid producer. Not the best; not legendary; solid. But as an emcee, I feel like his spectrum reduces to something between decent and horrifically wack - more often than not the latter end of that. Perhaps the incredible array of guest appearances on this album distracts many from the fact this is self-indulgent and not that good, aside from a bunch of the beats.
Syd!
This is the Pink Floyd album I would recommend to people who don't like Pink Floyd. Under Syd's leadership, they made some fantastic psychedelic rock and pop, and this album sounds nothing like any of the albums that came after. Bookended by two of my absolute favourite Floyd Songs, this is a great album. "Interstellar Overdrive" is mood dependent for me - sometimes I can't get enough of it, and sometimes I very much can.
Never listened to Silver Jews before this and definitely plan to listen to more after this.
I very much enjoyed this one - there are some fantastic lyrical turns throughout!
It's funny that "Perfection" is the track that keeps this from having an absolutely flawless Side A. That said, it's not flawed enough to lower the rating. To me, this album is Run-DMC's finest. "Dumb Girl" hasn't aged well, but this is still a certified classic.
Oh, a Stevie Wonder album released between '71 and '76? Easy answer: certified classic.
When I first pulled this I thought it was a very perplexing choice - it features none of their MAJOR singles and was, until very recently, their final album. Finally getting to it this morning, I think I can see why it's included here - it definitely feels like a more mature album than their previous disco-pop outings. It's still very much an ABBA album but it feels like there is more substance and complexity here - the militarism critique of "Soldiers" is not something I would expect from ABBA, so that's pretty cool.
I unintentionally listened to the extended version and my favourite song of the outing doesn't actually appear on the original release but as a B-side to the "The Day Before You Came" single. "Cassandra" explores the Cassandra metaphor and may well be my favourite ABBA tune, which I never knew existed before this morning!
Never even remotely heard of this one before! But the Wikipedia genre tags of industrial rock, dark cabaret, and symphonic metal certainly caught my attention. The first track is a slow burn that had me feeling like I'd been duped for a few minutes, but once the album gets going it goes. Bowie, The Edge, and Mike Patton all cite The Young Gods and their sample-based approach to music as an inspiration. After listening, and reminding myself a few times that this was released in 1989, I can see why - this is super cool stuff. I'm not well-versed in the history of industrial music to know what else was going on around this time, but it certainly sounds to me like this was probably ahead of its time. Some parts definitely sound aged by now, but a lot of it stands up pretty well. Will definitely be revisiting this one!
I don't think I've ever listened to The Kinks outside of radio play or media placement before this. They're one of those bands I've been "sort of" aware of for a while. I knew of this specific album's existence due to it being an early volume in the 33 1/3 book series and now I've some more reason to seek that one out - this is fabulous stuff! Very enjoyable first listens - twice back-to-back! "Do You Remember Walter" is my favourite song right out of the gate, but there were no songs I didn't enjoy!
I like their first album more, but this is still incredible and essential. I've done myself a disservice not giving The Stooges a proper listen before this year.
Pretty much a perfect pop-rock album. I frequently make the mistake of thinking it a key album of the 80s but, of course, it pre-dates the 80s - which speaks even more highly of its achievement, I think, in setting a strong tone for many other releases that followed it. It's not an album I turn to very often, but every time I do I'm reminded that it's just so damn good!
If someone were to ask if I like Beck, I would say yes but I realize I've listened to less than half of his albums by this point - this was a first listen to this one, which I now is beloved by many. I feel like this might be a great listen while driving alone in the dark. It's very well crafted and well produced but didn't really do a whole heck of a lot for me. At least at this time - I wouldn't hesitate to give it another go or two as well.
Here's another one of those bands I've circled around for years but never properly listened to, and that's a damn shame. This is really fun stuff. Another album I'll definitely be revisiting often and another catalogue I'll have to explore further...
This was a pleasant surprise - I enjoyed it FAR more than I expected I would! Not so much that I'm going to rush out and buy myself a copy, but enough that I would most certainly listen to it again. "The Sun Always Shines on TV" is pretty damn great.
