The man who could say it all with one note. A masterclass in live blues.
Classic Kate. Ethereal and somewhat complex backing under her very special voice.
A great demonstration of "where jazz meets blues". A good recording of some simply great tunes.
Would give 4 1/2 stars; this one only falls short compared to Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic.
After Rumours, the Mystery to Me I wasn't terribly impressed with the direction of Tusk.
Perhaps the tightest debut album ever - I remember watching Costello on SNL supporting the release.
Compared to Every Picture Tells a Story less than 12 months later this feels weak and unfocused.
On the strength of Sympathy for the Devil and Street Fightin' Man alone this is a strong album, and also feels like a apt bridge between their older country/blues/rock and their later refinements of their sound.
First exposure to Elliot Smith. Intriguing mix of XTC meets Gabriel Kahane, a la The Shins. The dynamic contrast of the whispery vocals over ear-catching changes (V/V usage, b3rdMajor, and parallel minors) pulls you in. The sameness of it all though was too much for me. I'll study Smith but not listen much.
An artistic height for the band - and I saw then in 75 promoting this album - but I long for the the first four album.
Good frantic 90’s bitpop. A happy listen but I prefer their later efforts.
I have a Bollywood fascination but never heard this before. Really well written and arranged -now to see the movie!
A favourite of mine: songwriting, arrangements, vocals - all great.Why not 5 stars? It’s a perfect collection of songs but lacks a higher-level vision (many will disagree…)
The point where Talking Heads started to fall into their own groove and decide what kind of band they would be. Eno is ever-present throughout.
I seriously dislike Kayne the persona but damn this is a great album. Clever, funny, introspective, real, and superb production. Credit where it's due ....
You can feel something special taking form but it's still embryonic at this point. Some flashes of those laid-back, folksy, gentle, cut your throat lyrics ....
Two years after My Aim is True, Armed Forces started to reveal the path that would lead to Brutal Youth some 15 years later. Some small misses here but overall a great album.
Raw and lively and very tight production. Lyrically complex but musically a bit too uniform.
Cowboy/hobo Woody Guthrie. Interesting but a lot of songs about bugs…?
In 91, we had NWA, Beastie Boys, Run DMC already rolling and Wu-Tang was only 2 years away. The public Enemy live shows were a blast but this recording doesn't do it for me.
Bowie + experiments = stunning! I loved this.
Two formulas, a few good tunes but it was wearing thin at this point.
meh - not my cup of tea but some interesting changes, melodies and vocal textures.Like the quality of her voice …
Still figuring out who they are; Burn's vocals are more confident now, the rhythm section is tighter, more forward and expressive, but the song writing is still hit and miss, and it's telling that the high point on the album is a cover.
I get (and remember) the importance of the album at the time and the fact that this opened the doors for NWA, Wu-Tang, Tupac, etc. but the sound and songs haven't aged well.
I’ve liked some other Arcade Fire tunes but this seems boring and all the same. I wondered at first if that was some brilliant social commentary on “The Suburbs”, but I think not.
90's trip-hop that's worth a close listen - took me a few tunes to start hearing the complexity in the writing and production. In the end, not enough to keep me interested or coming back.
The album has 1.5 great pop tunes (Karma and Church of...) but is filled out with a lot of song that Wham! cold have covered a bit better. Never a fan of this style of 80's pop ballads but a nice album.
I much prefer earlier Madonna, and American Pie is a crime. I do remember though how big this was when it came out and she was a rule breaker and pop visionary in her own way.
Smart, innovative psychedelic rock with layered and complex arrangements and production. Not my cup of tea but, as a musician, I'll go back and deconstruct some changes and harmonies in this album to figure out how they did that.
A wonderful turning point for REM due in large part to the production. While their previous sound was a tickle behind the ear (with under water vocals), this is a slap in the face and thank God! Not perfect but really fun and very listenable.
Fun enough and I remember this as a breath of fresh air when it came out. The sound and style remind me of Mika a few years after this release.
Very good album with some clear weaknesses. I was raised on Meddle and DSoTM so those are the ultimate Floyd for me.
Perfect on its own way especially considering the backstory of circumstances leading up to the concert. Couldn't listen to this every day but when I do listen - wow!
You can clearly hear the Stones sound but I found the collection of covers a bit boring.
OK Computer was peak for me. This just sounds like a rambling mess with hints of music.
Always found The Doors incredibly hit-n-miss. A few era-defining masterpieces, and a lot of wasted tape... Didn't care much for this one.
Wow - this popped up on my list the day before she passed away. Always loved the Queen and there are some great tunes on this.
Solid overall but lacking some dynamics in the arangements.
Fast, hard, angry and stupid - what a great album. Really a breath of fresh air when it came out. Used to see these guys live at CBGB when I was 16.
Loved! the earliest albums: Boy, October, and War. Appreciated the evolutions after that, mostly, but after Achtung Baby! everything feels too formulaic and predictable.
Incredible though interestingly not my #1 Miles album. Still, it was an r/evolution that continues to influence.
Wonderfully weird time signatures on some really great tunes. Very listenable.
Fun enough but I prefer a harder edge.
Fun and freaky, just like the man himself. I have more preferred lps but good overall.
This is the reason I signed up. Never heard Bragg before but was shocked by the depth and breadth of this one.
Fair, but there was so much more interesting hip ho and rap going on in 1990 ...
Fun, very listenable, art-dance-noise-punk mix.
OK but I much prefer the later hard-funk stuff.
Meh - electro-dance that was fresh when it came out but hasn't aged well, and not my thing anyway.
Very solid debut album. Songwriting and arrangements on point, and Earle’s delivery is perfect toungue-in-cheek tragedy. Not my style per se but I appreciate it nonetheless.
Excellent 2nd outing with Scott Litt producing. The previous album, Document, changed everything for me and REM, and this is a good next step. Nice to hear the mandolins again :-)
A revelation. This album is intense and raw and real. The writing, the arrangements and productions, and Buckley’s delivery make this an experience to be savoured.
Nice grooves, relaxed Lo-Fi production but all the tracks are a bit the same, and there isn't a lot of rhythmic, melodic, or harmonic development.
Techno-trance and boring at that. I just couldn’t get into this and that’s really rare for me.
Complicated noise without the redeeming values of melody or harmony. There was so much more happening in ‘94!
One of my favorites with a few B-side gems like Tea in the Sahara.
Lively, Lo-Fi, garage band jam but not my cup of tea.
One of my favourites and part of the soundtrack to a lot of my teens.
For something I don’t enjoy and won’t listen to again, I found this interesting.
The sound they were looking for is coming into focus now and would, in my opinion be perfected on the next studio album (OK, Computer).
Not my favourite by Lamar, I prefer more R&B grooves, but this is listenable and lyrically interesting.
While the songs all sound kind of the same, I like the sounds. Good guitar parts and accents, harmonically interesting, decent production.
Surpassingly good. As a Wu-Tang fan I checked out the solo work of members and this rates well.
Banger! amongst bangers. Classic, rough and growly, and lovely.
I remember this at the time as being shockingly raw and real. I was more of an NWA fan but RZA and the crew brought something immediate and street-ugly to the game.
Never really listened to JAY Z, won't after this. Feels watered down compared to NWA, Wu-Tang, Nas, etc.
A stellar collection of songs. I have a slight preference for the Live versions of these but great nonetheless.
Fun, fun album and I sung along to far too many of these!
Very tight grooves here - especially impressive given the sampling technology available then.
Mixed feelings on this. 60's and 70's Dylan were huge for me but this sounds tired. A few good tunes but inexplicably the album starts with two really uninteresting songs.
Infinitely listenable - power pop at its finest!
Wow. Never heard of this guy before but I'm loving this album.
My youth calling…. Not yet perfect but what a debut!
Interesting - especially the quality of the girl singer’s voice, but only just interesting.
Solid but a bit the same throughout. Some standout tunes though.
Fun, cool and really well produced.
A pleasant surprise but not consistent enough throughout.
