Listened on vinyl. 9.5/10. A few songs that seem more like filler than anything else, but nothing I need to skip and a lot of fantastic songs throughout. I Want You is probably my favorite Beatles song ever. I like how everything flows together on the B side. Sun King is an obvious nod to Albatross from Fleetwood Mac.
Come Together - 9.5/10
Something - 8.5/10
Maxwell's - 4.5/10
Oh! Darling - 7.5/10
Octopus's Garden - 6/10
I Want You - 10/10
Here Comes The Sun - 9/10
Because - 8.5/10
You Never Give - 6.5/10
Sun King - 7/10
Mean Mr. Mustard - 5.5/10
Polythene Pam - 5.5/10
She Came In - 7.5/10
Golden Slumbers - 6.5/10
Carry That Weight - 7.5/10
The End - 6/10
Her Majesty - 10/10
7.5/10. Might be better if I understood Icelandic. Or it might be worse. Beautiful atmosphere though.
I had no idea that Tribe Called Quest sampled Sueño. That was the first thing that really piqued my interest here. Everything else here was good, and Groovin'is a jam, but nothing really stands out. 6/10
I need to get real high and listen to this with headphones in the dark, but it still kicked ass sober. If you can handle Geddy Lee's voice, and you like prog rock, then this album should float your boat. 8.5/10
Really fun album! Added several songs to my "liked" list. 8/10
"Space Ritual as a whole is loud, messy, simultaneously pretentious, and gloriously dumb." -user p_q on RateYourMusic.com, 3/11/2019
This is like trucker music from space. Like Deep Purple ate way too much acid. Lemmy's bass drives this shit straight to the moon. Simultaneously cheesy and kick ass. Like combining LSD and speed. Brainstorm might be the highlight for me, but there were a lot of good moments if not songs. 7.5/10.
Listened on vinyl. Some killer sax solos. Nice mix of funky jams and ballads. Solid album. 3.5/5
Straight forward, inoffensive, if not rather boring, dad rock. All competently and appropriately played. Good enough, it just doesn't really have anything making it great. It gets a slight bump for being so short, and a bump for the classic rock radio nostalgia (how did this record get so much airplay?). 5.5/10
Guitar-centric dad rock with hooks for days. I could grill the fuck out of some burgers to this. I can't wait to pick my kid up from school while I blast the shit out of this through the blown out speakers in our minivan. Epic 70s rock. Did I mention that there are 2 lead guitars!? TWO LEAD GUITARS!! (Insert sick pick slide here)
4.5/5
Liked Was There Anything... the best. Streets of Your Town was catchy and opened strong, but got a bit samey and repetitive quickly. The rest was pleasant enough, but a bit unmemorable.
Great album. The Kinks had an incredibly consistent (and prolific) output for nearly a decade. 18 albums from 1965 to 1975. A couple duds in there, but from Face to Face (1966) through Muswell Hillbillies (1971), they were unstoppable. Every album is fantastic (excluding the soundtrack to Percy in 1971).
This is arguably their best and gives any of the Beatles' albums a run for their money. Victoria and Shangri-La are the standouts, but all of the tracks are great. 9/10.
Wtf did I just listen to? Seems to really be an album of a specific time and scene. I preferred the songs that were more subtle in their inclusion of the dance in dance-rock. Bob's Yer Uncle is the first time I've had to skip a song among the 20 or so albums I've reviewed so far. The lyrics are dumb AF, and the supposed hit, Step On, is... interesting. Not really good. I could see myself enjoying this a lot more at 14. Doesn't hold up at all. 4/10, mostly for some occasionally cool guitar.
Good for reggae, but unless I'm smoking doobies or lounging at the beach, then reggae is boring as hell. Slightly less boring live. Fine for background music, but not much else. Obviously Legalize It is THE stoner anthem. Some other "Ketchy" songs on here too, but still mostly fades to the background. If I happen to be in a reggae mood, this is one I would reach for, but that's a rare occasion. 6/10 (mostly for being so iconic).
I guess I'm a Duran Duran fan now. So much 80s happening here, but it still holds up pretty well. I can't imagine it without the incredibly digital sounding drums. 8/10.
So good. Dark. Raining fish. He even develops a lisp for one song. 4.5/5
Great album.
Mick Ronson's work on guitar is great throughout.
Ch-ch-ch-changes!! Life on Mars!
Oh Pretty Things is good too.
The album would be better without Fill Your Heart.
Andy Warhol is cool. That guitar line is nifty.
The Bewlay Brothers ends the album on a high note.
4.5/5
I thought I liked Devo (De-Evolution of Man)... this album is made me reassess that. I think I like the idea of Devo kore than I like the music. Still, this must have been a pretty eye opening album in 1978. Props for that. Uncontrollable Urge is likely the only song that I'll seek out again though. Gut Feeling was another highlight I guess. Shrivel Up ended on a slightly higher, but incredibly weird, note. Most of the songs ranged from forgettable to tolerable. I'm sure it was an important album for the progression of music, but it doesn't hold up. 5/10.
I struggled to process this one. It grew on me a bit after repeated listens. They had moments of NIN, The Cure, Suede - all bands I like - but I couldn't quite get into this. It was all decent to good. Very consistent. But there was something missing for me. Maybe they were just too British. The longer spoken word stuff was really the only thing I can point to that I didn't like, but even that was still tolerable. 6/10 for me.
Another band that I didn't know I liked. Add this one to the list! So many good songs on this album. All killer, no filler. As they say.
I think Tattooed Love Boys might be my fave, but Brass In Pocket and Precious stood out too. I need to give this a few more listens, and I'll be happy to do so.
4.5/5
Amazing until it hits Girlfriend. That one is alright, but I wanted to skip the next 3. Stuck it out, and it ended on a higher note with Burn This Disco Out. If the whole thing was like the first 5 songs, this would be a 9/10 album. As it is, it's like 6.5/10. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough is the obvious highlight.
I have 5 Funkadelic albums on vinyl, and this isn't one of them. Of all the good ones to pick, I don't know why they chose this in their 1001 list. It is one of the least Funkadelic albums in their catalog. It is a good funk album, but it is mostly missing the psychedelic funk rock element that made them so good in the early 70s. Not that there isn't some decent guitar parts, but the absence of Eddie Hazel is conspicuous to say the least. This is more of a funk soul record. A good one, but not what I'm expecting when I pick up a Funkadelic album. The groove is still excellent throughout and Bootsy lays down some nasty bass lines. The title track was good, but a little long. Always gotta love replacing fuck with funk though. Just for the funk of it. The highlight for me was the live rehashing of Maggot Brain. Even without Eddie, this version is excellent. A bit more succinct and less spaced out than the original.
If this was under another band name, I'd probably rank it higher. For a Funkadelic album, I'll say 6.5/10.
Fantastic album. The songwriting, vocals, and Sneaky Pete's pedal steel playing are impeccable. Love the fuzz on the pedal steel. A country-rock gem, but as a whole, it's a little too country to make it a personal favorite of mine. I still really enjoy it though, and the more I listen to it, the more I appreciate it. Christine's Tune, Sin City, and Hot Burrito #1 were the standouts for me. 8/10.
This is a desert island album for me. Not because I'd want to listen to it for the rest of my life, but because you could fuck a coconut to this, and it would be consensual and probably the best sex you ever had. I'm only like 3.5% gay, and I'd fuck Maxwell to this. Christ, at 3:06 of "The Suite Theme" he just exhales forcefully into the mic. This dude must be paying child support around the world. I heard that at the end of his shows they release 50k Plan B pills from the ceiling like balloons.
Stuart Matthewman (of Sade) is all over this, and it shows. If you want similar (but also more interesting and varied) music that replaces sex themes with love themes, and replaces a sexy male with a sexy female, then reach for Sade. If you want to fuck something, reach for Maxwell (although, Sade works for that too). I much prefer Sade over this in casual listening (Sade is awesome), but this accomplishes what it set out to do perfectly. It just gets stale by the end.
7.5/10
I do not like this Sam I am. I do not like this shitty album. Some of the songs start out well enough, but always suck no later than halfway through. 1 point for being different, 1 point for cool starts to songs, and 1 point for Iggy Pop. 3/10
This is Kool. I'd heard Kool Thing before and liked it. The rest isn't quite as good, but it's close. I could definitely listen to this some more. 7.5/10.
Rhe beats and production are great. Jay Z's rhymes, while I can't always relate, are great. I like his style. Eminem is a good feature on Renegade. 7/10.
I don't want to like this because I feel like only a pretentious music snob would like this just to prove they are smarter than everyone else. They "get it" and you don't.
Well, I don't "get it" either, but somehow this "music" tickles my ADD infected brain just right. I listened to this 3 times, and it somehow got better each time. It somehow has a calming effect on me. I feel like I could sleep to this twisted shit. The only part I didn't like was when the kid yells "mama." That's probably just because I have PTSD from having a toddler.
I don't know if or when I'll listen to this again, but I liked it. 7.5/10
As far as I can remember, this is the first time over listened to this whole album, at least intentionally. I was a little bored at times, but I think if I heard just about any track on here in isolation, I'd probably be interested in hearing more. 7.5/10
I absolutely love this. I can smell the smoke, taste the whiskey, and feel the dank air in the dingy basement lounge. His charisma is palpable. Love the jazzy arrangements, and the players on this are impeccable. The stories and jokes make it feel like he is the resident musician at this divey jazz club. I don't really have any criticisms of this album, but it's still not a perfect 10 for me. 9/10 rounded to 5 stars.
1st listen:
1. Smile Please: has some interesting vocal arrangements, but that's about it.
2. Heaven Is 10 Zillion: starts out awesome, but the religious nonsense is really making me hate it.
3. Too Shy to Say: has some emotive vocals, but please don't make me listen again.
4. Boogie On Reggae Woman: thank you. This track is what I'm here for. Killer groove.
5. Creepin': good enough but forgettable.
6. You Haven't Done Nothin': definitely has some "Superstitious" vibes. Not sure which song came first, but this song is another welcome relief on this album.
7. It Ain't No Use: downgrade from the last track, but keeps the vibe going pretty well.
8. They Won't Go: more sappy bullshit. Stevie voice is great, but this is not what I want to hear.
9. Bird of Beauty: better than the last track but still boring and forgettable.
10. Please Don't Go: going out with a whimper. More crap.
2nd listen:
1. Smile Please: grew in me a bit. I could listen to this but won't be requesting it. 6/10
2. Heaven Is 10 Zillion: this would be an awesome song if the lyrics weren't a bunch of cliche spiritual crap. 5.5/10
3. Too Shy to Say: SKIP. 2/10
4. Boogie On Reggae Woman: Pure bliss after tracks 1-3. 8.5/10.
5. Creepin': skip after 1 minute. 4/10
6. You Haven't Done Nothin': refreshing to get the funk back. 7.5/10
7. It Ain't No Use: Grew on me. Likable but won't be making any of my playlists. 6.5/10
8. They Won't Go: SKIP. 2/10
9. Bird of Beauty: SKIP. 4/10
10. Please Don't Go: SKIP. 2/10
5/10
1. Lonesome Day - emo dad rock?
2. Into the Fire - some nice dobro and then it goes down hill from there. Jesus rock? Super original. Not. Boring and gross.
3. Waiting on a Sunny Day - I don't know. It's kinda catchy I guess, but the general vibe has been captured 10 million times. Maybe I'm not in the right mindset for Springsteen right now. Or maybe I just don't like his music. Might not make it through this.
4. Nothing Man - need a break. Will return. The break helped a little. Jumped back into this song and thought, this isn't so bad, and then quickly forgot that I was listening to music.
5. Ugh. This is a slog. Were they really struggling to find 1001 albums? Did I really need to hear this before I die? If I die tomorrow, I'm gonna be pissed that this was the last album I heard. I want to go back and rate Death in Vegas. At least that was somewhat interesting.
Oh, look at that, we're on 6 already. Eh. A little better. Still boring.
7. Whoa! Is this a Sting album? Bruce Stingsteen? I'm not convinced Bruce's voice works for this, but it's the most interesting song so far. By a mile. This definitely works for me.
8. Ok. Some serious pop rock radio vibes. I don't hate it so far.
I couldn't do it. 1 hour and 12 minutes of this shit. Dan Cranford said I didn't need to torture myself anymore. Thanks Mr. Cranford (aka Utah Skinny).
1.5/10.
Really good album. Even the student demonstration song grew on me on 2nd listen through. Really liked Long Promised Road, Take a Load Off Your Feet, and especially Looking at Tomorrow. So many other good songs. The student riot song and tree songs are the only 2 that I could take or leave. 8.5/10
Tried a few times. When I was able to tune in, I liked what I heard, but I wasn't able to stay engaged. I liked the jazzy bits mixed in with the folk. I suspect the lyrics were good, but I can never pay attention to those. I still liked the atmosphere. Need to listen more closely. 6/10.
This album is so 1990. Obviously, Groove is in Your Heart is a jam. Build the Bridge is cool too. This album just doesn't hold up well over time. Still a fun throwback though. 5/10.
Anout as good as disco gets, but still disco. 5.5/10.
Kinda like a 70s Ween with better vocals (sorry Gene). Like Ween, these guys cover about 25 different genres, and they do it all really well. The difference is that Ween feels like more of an hommage, and 10cc feels more like a parody.
It seems a little bit like 10cc thinks they are more clever and funnier than they really are. A bit pretentious at times, but I still really enjoyed it. I need to do a deep dive into the lyrics to really get in on the joke, but I love how they combine, and sometimes abruptly change genres. 6.5/10
This didn't need to be made, and I didn't need to hear it before I died.
Mostly feels like Metallica playing while an orchestra is also playing. There's no real interplay between them. Some cool moments, but... meh. Maybe if it was made in '89.
5/10
Probably my favorite solo Beatles album. The first 4 tracks start this off beautifully, and it hardly lets you down from there. I dig the Apple Jams side too. 8/10
Aside from the big hits, there's a bit of filler and it's a little samey by the end, but there are no skips and enough hits to keep you invested until the end. 8/10
Gorgeous album. Kind of a lot to take in at once. Not sure it's something I'd want to listen to all the way through often. 8/10.
I liked this but thought it was a bit boring overall. I felt like the songs bust kind of meandered around in existence with no real purpose or direction. Cool concept with fun moments, but I don't think I'll be coming back to it anytime soon. 5.5/10
Liked most of it well enough.
Great album. A little less rocking than I remembered. Very much centered around folk. I think his voice works better on more rocking stuff, but this is still a very good album. Stellar cast of musicians, especially Ron Wood and Ian McLagan.
7/10
I think Traffic was pretty much a Steve Winwood solo project at this point. Thankfully, Stevie is pretty damn proficient at his craft. He even plays most of the instruments here with the general exception being Jim Capaldi on drums. Love the 2 opening tracks. Really the only critique is Stevie's lead guitar playing (I think it was on Empty Pages). It does the job, but I can't help but think it could be better. 7.5/10
I feel like I need to really give this a deeper listen based on the context in which this album was made. Still enjoyed it for the most part. Hard not to think that most people give this one some extra points for being his last. 7/10
There are 5 guitarists credited on track 2... can you pick them all out?
This is a fantastic album. I enjoyed every bit of it. Funky soul deliciousness.
9/10.
Love it. Loved the weepy violin. 8/10
Solid album all the way through. With a couple standouts. Liked the last half the best. 7/10
I thought I liked Nine Inch Nails more than this. I didn't listen to them much outside of their hits. Most of this is just muddied with too much going on and poor mixing. The production sucks. I thought my headphones were fucked up when I put this on. Hey, let's have 23 "instruments", and crank them all to 11. Then we'll turn the vocals down to 5. That was probably smart actually because most of the lyrics sound like a 14 year old wrote them.
I still can't help but get nostalgic when Closer comes on. A Warm Place was by far the best track. Beautiful ambient piece without any vocals to ruin it. 9/10 for that track. Obviously, Hurt is another one to pull from the wreckage here. I can't for the life of me figure out why this album is so beloved by anyone outside of depressed teens. It's not unlistenable, but it's also not good. I was pretty relieved when it was over.
5/10
This album kicks ass! Love it. Cosmic Dancer is 10/10. Mambo Sun and Jeepster are 9.5/10. The rest are all just a notch below. Monolith gets an honorable mention too. So good. 9.5/10.
So many killer songs on here. Really only a few filler tracks, which is rare for a double LP. 9.5/10
I feel like this one will keep growing on me. It's going on my playlist, but so far the only 2 that stood out were Burst and Shot by Both Sides. 6.5/10
This 90s stuff always gets me. Reminds me of simpler times I think. This was a fun one. It won't make my favorites list, but I'll probably revisit it from time to time. 6.5/10
A true classic. Love the guitar tone and great riffage throughout. Not a bad tune on the album. I forgot how good it is. 8.5/10
Killer album. Summertime gets me rock hard. 8.5/10
Awesome album. I only knew Novocaine going into it. 8.5/10
First heard The Strand on Westworld. Great song. The Bogus Man was great too. The rest were all pretty damn good. Maybe 1 or 2 that were just meh. His vibrato is a little much sometimes, but when he isn't doing that I love his voice with this music. 8/10
If this doesn't tickle your testes then I don't know what will. You might want to get tested for low-T. Good news is, a dose of AC/DC injected into your ears twice a day for two weeks is the cure.
The most majestic and quintessential of 80s folk-rock. This defined an era. I want to do cocaine, lift weights, drive fast, and kick ass when I listen to this. Basically, exactly how I imagine the 80s. 8/10
This was a cool album. Way ahead of its time, but it definitely feels like it's been done better by now. Probably with a lot less effort put in too, for better or worse. Still enjoyed it pretty thoroughly. 7/10
