The Yes Album
YesAt least it wasn't Rush. I'll stand by that part of my review.
At least it wasn't Rush. I'll stand by that part of my review.
This might actually be a 4 Star, but it hit me on the right day and in the right mood. I want to be in a Riot Grrl band when I grow up.
When I started listening to this yesterday, it was a 3. Today, when I picked it up, I'm not sure if my mood was better, it was sunnier, because it was Friday or maybe the second half of the album is better... but it hit me more like a 4. Maybe tomorrow it will be a 3 again.
Thought it wouldn't hold up. But still really enjoyed it. That said, not sure if I enjoy it because it's great, or just because it was so formative for me.
Three or four songs that deserve 4 or 5 star rating. On an otherwise 2 star album.
Fun! First album I was previously unfamiliar with, though I'd heard the first song on an old Luaka Bop compilation CD I owned. Great energy and just enjoyable stuff
At least it wasn't Rush. I'll stand by that part of my review.
Considered giving it a 4, but couldn't find anything to knock it over. So, it earns a 5.
Read my essay, "Why I Know Channel Orange is Good, But Can't Quite Get Into It," now available from Penguin Classics.
Though bits feel more like filler, the great tracks are really great.
Good album that probably seemed better at the time, and could stand to be cut down to one disk.
I waffled between a 3 and a 4 on this. So, 3.5. But went 3 just based on my likelihood (or not) to revisit the album. Almost made me overcome my distrust of long, jam-y music.
Great album! Not a miss and doesn't overstay it's welcome!
Addicting album. Hearing these familiar songs live breathed new life into them. Also hard pressed to think of a better live album, you can sense the room and crowd in a way I'm not sure I've ever heard before.
Not as compelling as Cooke's album. His voice isn't particularly charismatic. But also acknowledge some amazing piano amd his place in music history. -1 star weird biographical ickiness.
The production is the star here. The songs I was already familiar with held up, but some of the other songs were definitely less memorable.
Felt like a bunch of half-realized B-sides for later Beatles albums.
Enjoyed it, but it almost mainly just made me wish I was listening to the White Stripes. I feel like maybe the artificial constraints of that band helped Jack produce better music.
Can definitely appreciate it's importance, and the conceit of the album feels pretty audacious for '62, but the big band sound and choir ladies will keep me from revisiting. Still Ray's voice is great.
I hope Debut or Post appear on this list somewhere, because I'd love to give Bjork 3 or 5 stars... but her later music just feels like sing-talking over ambient music.
Not doing it for me. Wonder if I would like it more if I understood Portuguese.
The last track overstayed its welcome, but most of the album is a pretty great. You can hear all the ways they influenced bands down the line.
Enjoyable. Not always the most memorable, but a good album I was happy to revisit.
An album with so many hits on it, it almost feels like a Greatest Hits album.
The story behind the album would have appealed to earl 20s me, but -while I appreciate difficult art- this just played like freeform bad spoken word alternated with rough draft later day Tom Waits.
There was probably a time when I would have given this a 5, half because of song quality and half because of the album's place in the hearts of my friend and family. But, knocking it a point for general Ryan Adams ickiness.
Y'know, I don't need any more albums by them. But this one is pretty perfect.
One of those albums that I wished I'd stumbled across when it first came out. I probably would have loved it. As is, I appreciate a lot, and some feels like a time capsule from that period.
I enjoyed this overall. I can see others complaints about feeling easy listening-esque, and agree some songs are overlong. But the overall vibe I like, and Lee Oskar's sound reminds me of my youth.
I really like this album. Though, like the XX, I sort of feel like this is the only album by this band I need. It scratches that itch.
Really uneven. I just don't get this lists obsession with the sprawling, double album sets that lean into bands worst tendencies.
I struggle with Bruce sometimes, because a lot of his stuff feels very "middle of the road" for me. But this really plays to his strengths.
I don't think I'd ever heard of Burke before, which is surprising since these songs were all as good as anything else I'd hear from this era and genre.
Probably seemed edgy and transgressive in its day, but just feels... quaint... now.
A lot of things about this felt like something I should enjoy more than I did.
Overall, quite enjoyable. Definitely some classics here, though a few of the songs Bob's like "then I went to school... where people though I'd be cool... but really I'm a fool... I need to steal the jewel..." and it feels like he's just sort of making it up as he goes.
I listen to so much solo Byrne stuff or greatest hits/live albums by Talking Heads that it's been a while since I listened to a studio album all the way through. Makes me want to revisit their discography chronologically.
I don't know if this the "best" Beatles album, but its the one I have the most nostalgia for. My parents had this on vinyl, and Trav and I would put it on frequently because of the iconic, colorful cover and the connection to the animate Yellow Submarine movie.
More corny than anything. I do like Suspicious Minds, but most of the rest feels like bad Vegas music.
Not what I thought it was going to be. Less garage, more baroque. Actually, good overall, but won't be a new favorite.
Waffled between a 3 and 4 star on this. Overall a 4 star album with a couple of 2 or 3 star songs. But, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.
Stop with the double-long, 60s & 70s rock, double disk jam session albums already!! I know nothing about Deep Purple, but this doesn't make me want to know more. Just give us a good studio album, list makers.
Fine, but would probably have preferred to listen to Dookie, if only for nostaglia.
One of those albums that is hard to disentangle from a period in my life. It might not be perfect, and it might not even be their best album but it still gets a 5.
Not what I expected and enjoyed it more than expected. Nice proto-Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs sound.
The vocals and harmonies were fine for what they were. But, not really my thing, and just way too much creepy "old man seducing teen girls" energy for my liking.
Not sure what I expected, but this was better than what I expected. More of an album, and not just some singles and filler.
I liked this one considerably more than the previous Lennon album in this mix. Almost gave it a 4, as it felt more fully realized and had several songs I liked quite a bit.
I'm sure this was a major technical achievement at the time, but still can't shake the feeling it's a good album buried under layers of midway carnival sounds.
Enjoyed this, but almost wanted to enjoy it more. The louder and more punk it was, they stronger the songs. When it slowed it lost me a bit.
Outside of "I Want to Be Adored," this album felt decidedly middle-of-the-road. Completely fine, but not sure why Brits are so obsessed with it.
Not bad, just not my thing. Appreciate thst they were doing some sort of early 80s social justice on a few songs, even if the results are oof. Rad cover, though.
Most of this is charmingly low-fi sounding, a few of the songs I wish were longer and more fleshed out, and others were just sort of grating.
Fine. I probably would have given one of his next 2 albums a 4 star rating, but this lacks the stand out tracks that push it beyond drum and bass background music.
I was expecting more straightforward late 70s/early 80s rock/metal... and this was definitely weirder and more interesting than that. Still, just shy of 3 stars in my book.
I'm sure it's good, but jazz like this always feels like one of those Magic Eye pictures where I'm either missing something or the rest of the world is pulling a fast one on me.
If I'm listening to Christmas music, this is the sort of music I prefer: Upbeat, secular, and mid-century. Tons of recognizable songs from other Christmas mixes here, so pretty 5-stsr record... though I'm subtracting a star for Spector, y'know, killing someone.
Maybe if I was writing a sci-fi novel, this might make some interesting inspirational background music. But, on it's own it plays more like an interesting experiment than actual music.
Not so much bad... just I think I fail to understand *why* this is on the list. Just feels really unexceptional.
Almost gave this a 4. But really a 3 star album with a few tracks I liked more. Feels like very much a product of its time, right down to the Dave Matthews duet.
Solid and enjoyable. Almost 4 stars.
A good reminder that I don't dislike jazz broadly, and that I just struggle with stuff that's a little more free-flow and improvisational. This gets "background music-y" at time, but good background music; and enjoyable.
This is one of those 3-star ratings where about half the songs are 4's and half are 2's. On the quieter, more country-folk songs, I appreciate her singing, but on others it's just an overwhelming vibrato-fest.
Thought this would be more glam rock (confusing them with LA Guns), so happy to hear something more akin to New York punk.
Really excellent, but I would have to listen to this more and live with it more to give it a true 5-star rating. Still, I'm giving it an aspirational 5-stars as sort of a message to the 1001 Songs App Gods to give us more albums like this.
Initially felt like this might be a 4-star, but it slips to 3-star territory by the end. Understand how it might have some historic importance for Bowie fans, but he has better albums.
The second half of this album was better than the first; but while it's evenly good overall, it rarely rises to great.
Feels like the soundtrack for an unreleased Wes Anderson film. VsguelynEuropean, sometimes twee, sometimes folks, sometimes just feeling like some classic rock song you somehow missed.
Russ almost gave it a 5, I also almost want to give it a 5. So, I will, and Russ amd I can average out to giving it a 4.5. Great album overall.
I love Mezzanine, but haven't really listened to this album. I can appreciate it's historical place in music, but much more uneven as a result.
The singles I already knew were OK. And "Tiger" is so dumb it's fun. But a lot of forgettable mediocrity beyond that.
The singles still definitely punch above their weight, but the whole album is good fun.
I like the feel of this album, and it's obvious influence and place in history. But, at times it also just fades into the background.
Waffled between 2 and 3 stars. After listening to it several times now, I do appreciate some of it. But, too often they wade off into what feels like self-indulgent jam-prog territory.
Even though I've listened to this album dozens of times, it's raw density makes it always feel new.
Still showcases the strength of her voice, even if the early-2000s-style production isn't as arresting as her other albums more throwback style.
One of the few Beatles albums I don't think I've ever owned in any format. But still recognize every song.
Gillian's voice is great, and the songs are largely pretty, even if none of them really jumped out at me.
High and lows. Frank's voice is great, but most songs faded into the background.
One of those albums where the story and vibe of it might be cooler than any individual song. Great listen.
Probably actually a 3.5 star. The first half is notably stronger (4-5 star songs) than the second half (2-3 star songs). But, I rounded up because it's ultimately totally listenable.
A few of his songs I know amd enjoy, but a lot of stuff that ends up sort of as background noise.
"Our House" is still a great song, but too much of this is trying too hard to be wacky.
Maybe like "Surrender" better (or at least more familiar with it), but this is still one of the great albums of this time period/style.
Not offensively bad... just why? Did the guy who made this list know someone in the band? Just no context as to why this would be included.
"Break Down" and "American Girl" are the obvious standouts. The rest is middle of the road Petty. Though I do appreciate it feels looser and less produced than some layer stuff.
I'm not Rolling Stones expert, but this mid-60s to early-70s era Stones is the period I enjoy the most. This album feels looser and less refined, in a way that is sometime charming/exciting and sometime just flabby.
Maybe actually a 2, but giving it a 3. Fluctuated between interesting and annoying... often within the same song. Worked best when it landed somewhere between Blur and trip-hop, but too often felt to try-hard zany.
Impossible to be objective. Too formative of an album. Glad to it holds up and continues to scorch earth.
Like a 4.5. Mainly giving it a 4 because as much as I love it, I love a few of her other albums more, so I need that wiggle room. Such a strong first album.
I can appreciate the poignancy of an album about aging and mortality that was released right before the artist's death. And the album has a vibe. Unfortunately, there is a sameness across the songs that made it hard to get too lost in it.
Not bad, just maybe too... schmaltzy... for my tastes.
Almost a 1 star. Just self indulgent feeling. Some nice elements, but just blown apart by languid, unfocused song structures.
Some cool sounding bits, but ultimately feels like background music if you aren't dancing. Maybe a good fit for playing while doing a Cyberpunk RPG.
Nostalgia and some classic songs buoy this album through the lesser tracks and cringey skits.
I'm more familiar with some of their later albums, but not arguing that this has some great songs on it to.
The upbeat, danceable songs are great. The slower love songs... less so.
Solid start, but lost me around the same time they started sampling Leer jet engines.
I actually like the sound of a lot of these song, individually. It harkens to older music without feeling like a shtick. Together though, they get a little samey on the tail end, and I'm perplexed about why it's included on the list.
"Respect" is a strong 5, but the rest of the album doesn't quite reach that level.
Manages to be a lot of the things that made 80's music great, while not feeling overly dated. Would be interested to see Peter and David Byrne talk, I feel like there's a lot of overlap in their sensibilities.
The Crow Soundtrack... now that was a good album. This, not so much.
Breezy bossa nova that gets hijacked every 4th or 5th song by a marching band, carnival or a duet with a 6-year-old and causes it to flirt with 2 star territory.
A couple of missteps at the beginning and end of the album, with a bunch of great songs in the middle.
"Send My Love" is a genuinely great song, and a few of the other singles hold up. But, there's a melodramatic sameness to a lot of the rest of it, that keeps the album from being better than average.
Definitely some classics here, and some great energy. But also doesn't really rise beyond feeling like I'm listening to the soundtrack of a period piece like Stand By Me.
Half the tracks we too cold and electronic, and half were too loose and lo-fi. Really a Daddy Bear/Momma Bear situation with no Baby Bear in sight.
I tend to almost see early Beatles and late Beatles as two different bands (which is amazing since they were really only a band for about a decade); and tend to prefer later Beatles because they are most interesting and weird. But, there is no arguing that early Beatles could construct whole albums full of pop songs that are so infectious that theyate all niw basically hard-baked into our collective brain.
The singles hold up, and a few of the songs I wasn't familiar with feel like Off-The-Wall era Jackson making a cameo on a N.E.R.D. track, which isn't a bad thing. It's like a concept album where the concept is hooking up with someone at a club.
All of Fela's stuff is great. Just high energy, and fun! Zombie is a distinctive song, but the rest blurs together... though not in a particularly bad way.
Not sure what I was expecting, based on the album cover but sort of backgroundy jazz music wasn't it. Not bad, just not something that resonates particularly.
I actually liked this more than I thought I would. I like a lit of their songs individually, but was worried that a whole album of them would be a bit... much. But there was more variety of sound than I expected that kept it interesting.
Like this more than I thought I would, overall. Though I knocked it a star because of some wince-worthy homophobic and sexist moments.
There is something about that whole album that feels like "children's music for adults." Lyrics like "F. U. C. K. Is that how you spell friend?" Songs about loading kids into balloon and harvest time. I can hang with sincerity and songs about paganism... but this just was a bridge too far.
If I liked the whole album as much as I liked the three singles I was familiar with, I'd have given this a 4.
Since this was his first "live concert in a jail" album, I thought I'd like it more than San Quentin. But, instead I think is seemed less novel and thrilling
Feels like another "Oh, the person who made this list is British" entry. Nothing bad, bit also an album that I'd never seen heard of. Solid, but unexceptional.
The first song is a 20+ minute sci-fi story about a guy finding a guitar in a cave based on a story by Ayn Rand. So, yeah, I'm out. If you removed the vocal from this album it might be a 3.
This might actually be a 4 Star, but it hit me on the right day and in the right mood. I want to be in a Riot Grrl band when I grow up.
Just shy of 5 stars. Most of it is excellent with just a few points it slips to feeling to background-y.
I wanted this to be a 5, but there are a few songs that drag and make it less than perfect. Still, I love it for Nostalgia alone.
Love the sound and vibe of this. And, obviously, the skill is amazing. But still manages to largely feel like very good background music.
It's raining and windy out, but this album still makes it feel light and Springy out.
First time listening to the whole album. Wasn't sure what to expect. More varied and interesting than I would have predicted, but still nothing that really elevated it beyond the high-quality middle-of-the-road.
It would be hard to name and album that was more foundational to my music tastes and Fandom. So, for that reason alone it gets a 5 despite some overplayed singles.
Almost just a 3. I was surprised how much of it just washed over me without making much of an impression. But, none of its was bad.
The bookending title tracks are just self-indulgent feeling. But, the middle tracks let me imagine a version of the band I almost might like.
I understand the appeal, and this could be a 3 star rating if the lyrics weren't so dumb.
I feel like there is a loose breeziness to this album that it makes easy to listen to, but also hard to latch on to. The reviews talk about it's pessimism, but it comes off more as winsome to me.
Thought I'd like this more than I did, based on "Take Another Little Piece of My Heart" but most of me didn't grab me nearly as firmly.
My enjoyment of this album really underscores what a shame it is that Marley's music has been high-jacked as the soundtrack for every college stoner.
Well meaning, with a few good moments, but as someone in my late 40s, a lot of the "truth bombs" just come off as obvious. Maybe if I was younger.
I love "Loveless" so surprised that I loved this less. It's all the same elements, but they just don't feel like they hang together right. Feels like a B-sides and outtakes album.
12 minutes of this 34inute album are "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" and that's exactly how it feels.
Cheesy, disco fun that strays into just cheesy disco (sans fun) from time to time. The more upbeat songs definitely work better.
I know that being shocking, misanthropic and indulging in the unbounded id is sort of the whole point of this album, but listening to it now, as a 48-year-old it's just sort of exhausting. Especially with so much of it directed toward women. Still he is an amazing lyricist and there are a lot of moments where he is self-deprecating and/or winks knowingly at the camera that help mellow an otherwise bitter pill.
Enjoyable overall, though the last song (which might be amazing live) overstayed it's welcome.
While I was a little underwhelmed with her other album, this is the fully-realized one and pretty great all the way through.
When I started listening to this yesterday, it was a 3. Today, when I picked it up, I'm not sure if my mood was better, it was sunnier, because it was Friday or maybe the second half of the album is better... but it hit me more like a 4. Maybe tomorrow it will be a 3 again.
Dumb, pop-punk that's catchy and obnoxious in equal amounts. The singles largely hold up, the other songs hold their own.
This one would likely be a 5 star, if I had been exposed to the whole album earlier in life. Still cool to listen to it now and see it's influence in hindsight.
A lot of it felt very backgroundy, and reminded me of Sega Genesis games. I could picture Sonic running along to Pacific 202 easily. The dorky vocal lines almost tipped the scale into the negative territory for me. But, I'm feeling generous.
Her voice and the music are both nice, but nothing grabbed me in a way that deserved more than 3 stars.
Maybe a 3, but felt like I had to pick a side on this divisive album. Started out making confused and being a little put off by it; but when I stopped thinking of it as a Bjork album, and instead started thinking of it as a weird Icelandic punk album from before Iceland was cool, my opinion 180-ed on it.