Fantastic pop album. You can still find some touches of early Velvet Underground flavor in the instrumentation and songwriting. It's bittersweet, mellow, and a shift from the vibes of VU's first two albums with the exception of the song The Murder Mystery which sounds like it is right of White Light/White Heat. Highlight tracks include What Goes On, Pale Blue Eyes, Beginning To See The Light, I'm Set Free, and the closer After Hours. This album really shows how good of a songwriter Lou Reed is and how diverse Velvet Underground can sound. Not my all-time favorite album of theirs, I would definitely rate VU & Nico higher. But it's a close race for the second spot between this one and WL/WH.
Great synthpop album. I am usually not such a big fan of synthpop, but this album felt different. Great production without the synths sounding tacky. Key tracks are; World In My Eyes, which could almost be a late talking heads song, Personal Jesus, just a great classic pop song, that guitar is just so driving and the production on it is so good, Enjoy the Silence, fantastic song where the guitar really adds to the vibe, superb writing and instrumentation, Policy Of Truth, another song where the guitar stands out and when the saxophone comes in, it just takes it to another level, Clean, a song where the bass stands out and a great closer.
This is an album you need to listen to LOUD. It is full of energy and has such a raw powerful sound (pun intended). There seem to be like 5 different mixes of this album, I chose the 50th anniversary remaster of the Bowie Mix. In this mix, there is more of a balance between the vocals, bass, and guitar which I like a lot. The first three tracks are probably my favorite from the album, full of energy, but can still slow down when needed. Iggy Pop's vocals are perfectly manic (see Penetration as a great example) and angry, but also so passionate and it really fits the vibe they were going for with the entire album. If you want to listen to this album, turn that dial up to 10, maybe 11!
Key tracks:
Search and Destroy, Gimme Danger, Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell, Raw Power
Such a great pop-rock album. Lindsey Buckingham's guitarwork is astounding and definitely one of the things that make this album so good. He really shines on songs like Second Hand News, an underrated track that is a great album opener where both the guitar and bass drive the song forward, Dreams, where the guitar swells up and down during the song, which is such a perfect pop song, and my favorite of his guitar-playing is probably on Never Going Back Again, such a cool sound and insane playing from Buckingham. The songwriting is great throughout the entire album and you can really feel the tension between both of the couples in the band that had broken up during the making of this album. This is probably what led to the heartfelt sound of this album and something like this will probably never be made ever. Please if you somehow haven't heard this album before, please do.
Standout Tracks: Second Hand News, Dreams, Never Going Back Again, Don't Stop, Go Your Own Way, The Chain
This might be one of the best-produced and mixed albums ever. This is a soul masterpiece with Wonder's songwriting shining throughout the album. There are several songs that bring up important issues in the society in which Wonder grew up. The best song on the album is definitely Living for the City and it is a prime example of how Wonder criticizes injustices that black people face in daily life. When the interlude begins, you get thrown into and get to hear how unjust life is/was for black people in the US. Some other key tracks are Too High, which features a funky synth bass and a fun harmonica solo, Golden Lady, which has a Jamerson-esque bassline and the rest of the instrumentation supports the song really well, Higher Ground, one of, if not, the funkiest song ever created.
The fact that Wonder played most of the instruments on this album just goes to show how good of a musician Wonder is.
Standout Tracks: Too High, Living for the City, Golden Lady, Higher Ground, Jesus Children of America, He's Misstra Know-It-All
Chill album with really good hooks and great production/beats. Very reminiscent of early Ye but without the Chipmunk Soul vibe. Maybe not so strange as he is credited as a producer. Highpoints: Kick, Push; The Instrumental, Daydream, Hurt Me Soul and American Terrorist.
Great folk/pop/rock album. The guitar playing really stands out as well as the layered vocal melodies which really adds to the stellar production value of this album. There are more upbeat songs like Marrakesh Express and then also beautiful slower songs like Guinnevere and Helplessly Hoping. Overall, a really fantastic folk album.
Standout tracks: Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, Guinnevere, Wooden Ships, Helplessly Hoping, Long Time Gone
It's a fine album, with good vocals. But j just don't find it interesting and actually quite boring. Standout tracks: Bye bye, love and I can't stop loving you
