Super solids starting tracks on sides 1 and 2. Everything else, eh alright. Kind of the classic tracklist for American records: put the hits at the beginning of side 1 and 2. Paul Simon's whole catalog is like this, some of the most timeless songs ever and then just some forgettable and not unpleasant stuff.
Suck it, Sgt. Pepper! Can't hold a handle to this!
That's a classic rock block. A octuple shot of Bad Company. For real though, it is a pretty solid effort. I appreciate the softer moments, shows a more well-rounded version of the band than you get from classic rock radio. Which classic radio does a totally disservice to so many bands, reduced down to a couple surface-level hits from yesteryear. Maybe that's the problem with most classic rock stations, they aren't run by music nerds, people who want to hear songs like Bad Co.'s "Don't Let Me Down". Solid album, should have tuned those guitars before they did "Seagulls".
Very 2000s. Sometimes it sounds like the Strokes, other times John Mayer. Pretty solid and consistent. Yellow is sooo good!
I enjoyed this quite a bit! I didn't know Elvis is basically like Bruce Springsteen's dorkier cousin.
Great folky Beatles. Probs in my top 5 of favorites Beatles.
Love this! Raw, explorative and spastic guitar solos. Crunchy catchy riffs like Cinnamon Girl. Love Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, underated track. A few snoozer moments. But Cowgirl in the Sand and Down by the River Alone make this album a great listen.
High energy, English early punk. I like the sound of everything: the guitars, the drums, the angsty group vocals. This is what I think of when I think of true punk. Maybe a little one note for me for a bit though, I don't know if I can see myself returning to it. The Clash does this and also interjects more interesting and memorable songs and textures and magical genres.
Very enjoyable listen. Easy listening is not a genre I listen to a lot but this was pretty enjoyable. I mostly know Louis Prima as King Louis in the Jungle Book and from that Kids See Ghosts sample. I could see myself putting this on in the background for a nice casual listen.
Super solids starting tracks on sides 1 and 2. Everything else, eh alright. Kind of the classic tracklist for American records: put the hits at the beginning of side 1 and 2. Paul Simon's whole catalog is like this, some of the most timeless songs ever and then just some forgettable and not unpleasant stuff.
Not a fan. The 1980s are so weird, lol. That huge cavernous snare is the worst sounding the world to me. All the songs are long and drawn out. This singer is like Bruce Springsteen's emo cousin who loves to dance (in the dark, of course). I'd rather listen to The Cure or New Order if I want to dance or feel 80s emo sad.
While not as popular as the live at Folsom album, San Quentin is great in its own right. I particularly love the overdrive guitar tone and flourishes added to class Johnny Cash tunes. Wanted Man and San Quentin seem extra tough with it. The sped up version of some favorites isn't my favorite though.
Hmm, the album is nearly an hour long and the maybe 12 minutes that Scar Tissue, Other side, and the title track doesn't make up for the other 40+ minutes of flippity dippity sexual, California funky jams. Not a fan.
Beautiful voice and harmonies and guitars. A lot of people try to do this and Gillian Welch does it very well. This kind of music is more about the poetry of the words and sparse accompaniment, it's not my favorite sort of thing honestly. Very pleasant to listen to, but a sort of wallpaper music for many. It's so often the music people play in coffee shops while people talk over them, which bums me out.
Such a mixed bag of genres, as lots of mid/late 1960s albums were. Can't decide if they're a blues rock band, a twee jugband group, or pop music. Nothing here really sticks out. Feels like a contractually obligated album, not inspired at all.
Great Neil album! Raw, and unapologetic rock songs like Mellow My Mind, Come on Baby Let's Go Down Town, . ALBUQUERQUE, and the title track(s). The last album of the "ditch" trilogy and probably the best of it.
I love this album. Folky, rocky, country Americana. Like if the Beach Boys lived like recluses in a cabin in the Ozarks. So much heart and soul in this, I feel a spiritual connection through my Arkansas ancestry to Levon. HUGE tracks on this The Weight, I Shall Be Released, Wheels on Fire, We Can Talk About it Now, best version of Long Black Veil too. The Band is like the Henry David Thoreau of country music.
Now that's jazz, baby! This is what outer space sounds like.
I've always loved "This Is The Day". I was a little disappointed to discover it is more of an outlier on this album. Everything else is more rhythmic and techy sounds (AKA 80s). Not much favorite. I just keep getting reminded that the 1980s is my least favorite decade of music.
Great jazz/samba album! I think I prefer Getz/Gilberto just slightly more, but this is fantastic.
Yeah, it's just boring and soulless to me. Big anthemic ballads with so little variety in timbre and tone. It's like a sterile, edgeless Amy Winehouse without the nod to vintage Wall of Sound music. I'm never impressed by virtuosity or super amazing vocals. Music isn't a sporting event. "Look how many notes I can fit into this phase" "Look how long I hold this note". These radio singles were HUGE when they came out though.
I have a soft spot for 70s white bread suburban pop music. I usually go for the Carpenters, but this is also pretty enjoyable.
So long, so sexual. Prince makes Robert Plant look elementary with his insane level of sexual groans and innuendos. The music just doesn't do it for me. Also why did this album come out in the 1980s?
Pretty decent glam rockers with some oddities. The harmonies are pretty cool. Weird that Freddy doesn't sing every song, like the goofy song about loving your car. It's pretty alright, nothing I'd listen to all the time. Two stars, one for Bohemian Rhapsody and another for You're My Best Friend
Very funky and poppy. Crazy guitar playing and catchy tunes. Way better than 1999 in my opinion, for which I misjudged my view on Prince. This album is pretty darn solid!
Pretty fun but very long. It's interesting how rap flows evolve over time. You can definitely tell a 2000s rap flow from older and newer eras. Pretty sure this album was huge at the time. Miss Jackson is iconic of course. Killer Mike of Run the Jewels is on here. Not sure why this thing is so long though.
Suck it, Sgt. Pepper! Can't hold a handle to this!
It's not unpleasant, it's just weird. An acoustic album by a giant 1980s pop iconic. Maybe it kind of hinted at the resurgence of acoustic guitars in 1990s music? It's not really worth another listen in my opinion. Eh.
Iconic, pivotal 2000s psych rock album that broke into the mainstream. So happy this psych rock revival occured to break through all the butt rock of that time period. This album was sort of a gateway to other things for me, I respect it but it's not something I'm listening to on the regular. However, had I been 18 when this came out, it would have been what Lonerism is to me.
I know is regarded as their best, it's a bit too sterile sounding for me, especially the tone of the bass. I prefer early Dan like Can't Buy a Thrill or Count Down to Ecstasy. I do like Big Black Cow and Peg, Michael McDonald's falsetto on the latter is transcendent!
Londonfornication. America gets RHCP, I guess Britain had Blur? Lol It's like a 1990s Village Green Preservation Society in someways, quirky and very British. "I like Radiohead but I'm also a goofy MFer" oh do we have the band for you. The 90s were weird man lol. It's not awful, why is it almost an hour though?
Nice production with nods to 1960s R&B and soul music. Her vocals and sassy and full of swagger. Songs are fun and poppy, nothing overstays it's welcome. The more I listen to all these albums, the more it solidifies how important runtime is. This album is the perfect length at 36 minutes. Why do so many albums go on for nearly an hour?
Their harmonies are great, but it's kind of a one trick pony. By the final quarter of the album I'm not sure if I've heard distinct songs or just one long piece of music because all the songs have the same tempo, instrumentation, and harmonies. It's blends very well, but almost too well. Can an album be too cohesive?
Samples, rap-rock, this album was very lovely to hip-hop (as far as Wikipedia is concerned). I'm sure it sounded like these guys were from outer space, how cool to hear these guys in the 1980s!
Feels like I'm listening to an extended version of the Matrix Soundtrack. I remember when STOMP was huge.
Aerosmith carried the torch of horny, bluesy rock from Led Zeppelin. Sweet Emotion is pretty great.
'I can't stand the sound of the Velvet Underground, I can't stand that sound the second time around"
This album rocks! I love the understated blues, rock. They do a lot more than a lot of their contemporaries of that era of rock. ZZ Top and Thin Lizzy do a very similar interpretation of the blues and also injecting some rock to it. They really have some interesting grooves and jams on this.
Pretty solid female fronted 90s power pop, pop punk rock. Reminds me of Slater Kinney a bit.
Cool little short spurts of heavy metal madness. I love the guitar playing and the instrumentals in general. However the cadence of the vocals does really play in that charicature of nonsensical dog woofing metal vocals.
Great record! I'll admit it's the first full Joni album I've listened to! So good! Nice blend of folky, jazzy, singer songwriter songs.
Willie sings the classics. A lot of songwriters eventually do records like this. Great songwriters appreciate other great songwriters. An enjoyable laid back easy listen, nothing that jumps out at me as amazing but nothing that offends either.
I like that it's a concept album/medley thing of originals, traditional folk songs, and even a random hymn. The brevity of tracks is neat and plays into the theme. It may be a tad one note in my opinion though.
Love this album! Great renditions of Bacharach and Beatle tunes. Soft and tender songs when sing by Karen would make a heart of stone melt. Great arrangements by Richard. It may be a little corny at times, very white bread, but I'm eating the whole loaf! Even ends with a cool jazz oddessy thing!
Dang, those harmonies!! No Beatles w/o those. This album is really great, especially for an album from 1960 when pop music albums were mostly fodder with a few hot singles. The blatant sexism is a little backwards lol "girls are made to love?!" Lol overall quite solid though!
Punk baby! This is true punk to me, no distortion just manic guitar playing and snarled vocals about how society sucks.
Just solid, good (not spectacular) rock n roll. I wish AC/DC was as flashy as hard rock ever got. I feel like the rock trends in the 1980s I really don't care for. AC/DC to me feels like the last simplistic power chord, hard rock band before hair metal and cornball antics ruled the day. I'll listen to AC/DC over any hair band from the 80s.
R.E.M. feels like U2's edgier, younger brother that went to art school. Still has the feel of 80s/90s rock band. This album starts off super strong and ends strong as well. Loses its way a bit in the middle, but songs like Drive, Everybody Hurts, Sidewinders Sleep Tonight, Man on the Moon, and Night swimming are enough to make me feel it's overall pretty darn solid.
It's alright. Some organ tones just sound a bit cheesy and goofy. It's not a bad listen but feels like Booker T. And the MGs doing jazz, which would be okay at best.
It's nice, good moody music, with some great hits.. I think emo music from this phase is just really long and drawn out.
After the Gold Rush may be as good, maybe better than Harvest in my mind. Rocky, folky, country this album is in my top 10 for sure.
Such a fun and funky, percussive group of songs discussing societal disfunction. First time listening to a Talking Heads album, and I automatically get why people say this album is a classic.
1970s country is peak for me, the 80s is country music in decline. I actually don't mind Dwight, he picked up with Buck Owens left off in many ways. This album is alright, it has a few his but a lot of middle of the road stuff.
Eh, it sounds sort of like This Year's Model but more tired and trying to hard. I'm sure Costello die-hards love it, but I am not one of them. This Year's Model is enough for me.
Nice instrumentals, good background listen. I know instrumentals were very popular in the early 60s. It's a tad cartoony at times with the organ being the lead instrument.
This was the first Beatles album I bought. I thought "Anytime At All" was so good. It's a pretty okay Beatles album, has some hits, some filler folky songs as well. It's neat to hear them transition from straight pop to a folkier sound.
Indie easy-listening. Enjoyable background music, nothing really sticks out. Nothing is great, but nothing is unenjoyable.
Randy Newman's songs are the music equivalent of a cartoon in the New Yorker. A slight sketch with political or social commentary that makes you go "hmm." They're all witty but sometimes they lack a fully fleshed out feel. Enjoyable but not fully satisfying in my opinion. Some topics he covered are probably a little poor in taste for a white man to sing about.
Fantastic, Changes! Life on Mars! Pretty Things! Kooks! Queen Bitch! Love love love this album. Bowie's best, and that's saying a lot!
A lot of Christmas albums are just not that good, but this one is solid all the way through. Spector does a great job of combining his distinct sound and 1960s modern flair to Christmas classics. It's what the Beach Boys wanted to do with their album, maybe.
(see notes for Sailing Away). Witty, slightly humourous poke at racism and southerners.
Great album! Very neat guitar playing and fun vocal melodies. The full backing band adds a nice additional layer absent from Pink Moon. That said, I prefer Pink Moon, but this album is still great!
That's a classic rock block. A octuple shot of Bad Company. For real though, it is a pretty solid effort. I appreciate the softer moments, shows a more well-rounded version of the band than you get from classic rock radio. Which classic radio does a totally disservice to so many bands, reduced down to a couple surface-level hits from yesteryear. Maybe that's the problem with most classic rock stations, they aren't run by music nerds, people who want to hear songs like Bad Co.'s "Don't Let Me Down". Solid album, should have tuned those guitars before they did "Seagulls".
The crown jewel of the Ditch Trilogy. Essential NY that shows Neil's darker and more disturbed side. Maybe one too many slow ramblers one after another to make it 5 stars.
He's the king, baby. Enjoyable, not unpleasant. White people's versions of Little Richard songs always seem so goofy and soulless, lol.
I'm gonna give it 5 out of 5. So What? Call me a Freeloader, but I truly believe some classic albums click with you instantly and you understand the reason they're revered. I would stand by this album until I was Blue in then Green in the face. All Blues even! I would Sketch up an argument for it's place in the pantheon of jazz classics any day.
Not my favorite. Feels like a poorly constructed Talking Heads album. The two big hits are buried in the middle, odd choice.
Hey Elton, we need an album's worth of songs to follow Tiny Dancer. OK. Tiny Dancer so good, it's the first track and from there it feels like they arranged the album from best to worst tracks. Levon is pretty good, Razor Face is alright, but there is no reason to flip to side 2.