Common Themes: Frank Ocean brings personal and intimate vocals to this album. Shorter "intermission" songs provide a short break from longer tracks. Reminded me of Adult Swim commercials in between shows. Latter half of the album discusses themes of love and being loved, once again intimate and sensual in a way. I wonder how Blonde innovates upon this formula.
Mediocrity was all I got out of Steely Dan's Pretzel Logic. Nothing here stands out as spectacular or interesting. Lacks a common theme or story to explore on further listens. Very representative of 70's sound, whatever that might mean to someone who wasn't around then. After listening I turned on some Doobie Brothers on and heard some proper 70's tunes. This just lacks emotion and interesting themes. Pretzel Logic didn't necessarily age well for new audiences. With that being said nothing is bad here, but certainly nothing here that's going on my playlist. Coming off the incredible Channel Orange, this is a bit disappointing.
After reading the bio for this album I was excited but after listening I'm not too sure why this is considered one of the best albums of all time. It was a good album but something about the sound wasn't doing it for me. Bob Dylan has an interesting singing style but the lyrics don't come together the best. I do appreciate the important of the lyrics here, its definitely trying to say something that could be uncovered after several listens. It's interesting how this might have sounded amazing to older generations but for me the appeal isn't really there. Maybe the story that its trying to tell doesn't relate as strongly to me as more modern albums do. Musical trends do vary with time and realizing this was made in 1965 tells me that this was made for a different time and generation, a time capsule if you will.
This album was quite the pleasant surprise. I had of course heard of this album before but I can see now why it is such a famous work. It starts strong with More Than a Feeling and that track along with Peace of Mind and Foreplay / Long Time were my personal favorites off the album. The latter half was still good but that beginning really starts things off strong and is hard to beat. Hitch a Ride and Something About You were a strong end to this album. Boston really combines a variety of instrumentation in a way that is interesting. Acoustic and Electric guitars are used which creates a very distinct sound. Along with the lead vocals the sound of this album is quite unique and recognizable. Definitely a classic rock album that I plan to revisit in the future.
I am quite glad to have discovered this album from Paul Simon who is someone I had never heard of before as the folk scene is not one I was previously invested in. This album was quite pleasant sounding with acoustic guitar taking over as the main instrument here. These songs were simple but unique elements in each song kept things interesting. Each song felt different from the last and Simon is obviously trying to tell a story of some kind which is something I always appreciate in an album. I see myself coming back to this one.
Prince is someone I had never actually previously listened to. That might change after my listen of this rather long album, Sign O' The Times. Every single song on this track list is different from the last. Every piece is creative and feels like Prince was really trying to play around with the sounds to get it just right. It is nice to see an artist just do what they want with their album and from what I read it would appear that this was created primarily by Prince himself. It's a shame that most of these songs were not on any radio stations I listen to and most of these might go unrecognized by general audiences. I look forward to hearing other albums from him and his so called "revolution."
Quite the roller-coaster from start to finish. A very personal album from the lyrics. My personal favorites off of this album were Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 2, Mother, Young Lust, Hey You, In the Flesh, and Run Like Hell. I currently listen to "The Trial" which is a very different piece from the rest. One thing I noticed about this album is how connected each of the songs are many of them fading into one another. It creates one cohesive piece which is quite unique. This album is really supposed to be listened to as a whole despite its daunting 1 hour 20 minute length. Albums aren't usually this long which made me a bit impatient towards the end but I won't hold my impatient tendencies against it. This is something quite special.
This one is a bit divisive. Even though songs like Wonderwall and Champagne Supernova are absolute classics, I did not find myself enjoying much besides those. Part of it has to do with the mixing/production on this album. I found the sound to be a bit harsh and too loud especially on sections with heavy electric guitar usage. The guitar in this album honestly annoyed me and I don't think Oasis does the instrument well at all. The best moments of the album are during the slower calmer songs like the ones mentioned above and the track "Don't Look Back in Anger." I remember how popular this one was and the songs get plenty of time on radio even nowadays so that might have fatigued me. Even though I've never listened to this whole album the sound is familiar to me. Honestly have to say that this album was irritating to listen too and is honestly overrated. I'm glad I listened to it as it is an important album from what I've heard and read but I didn't really enjoy it. But a few songs did enter my playlist so I'll give it a 3/5.
Don’t have much to say about this one, didn’t get through the whole things because I really didn’t like it but I didn’t hate it either, a unique sound that had me pretty neutral throughout honestly.
Classic alternative rock album. I don't have much to say it is simply excellent. The lyrics are quite personal and raw in a way with beautiful vocals and instrumentation to compliment. In fact most of these songs were already on my playlist before even listening. The album is well known for a reason and I feel that audiences can greatly relate to the struggles Morissette discusses in her lyrics.
