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Wed Nov 01 2023
Let's Get It On
Marvin Gaye
4
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Thu Nov 02 2023
Low
David Bowie
2
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Fri Nov 03 2023
Ten
Pearl Jam
5
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Sat Nov 04 2023
Songs Of Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen
1
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Sun Nov 05 2023
Band On The Run
Paul McCartney and Wings
3
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Tue Nov 07 2023
Metallica
Metallica
2
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Wed Nov 08 2023
Birth Of The Cool
Miles Davis
5
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Thu Nov 09 2023
Dr. Octagonecologyst
Dr. Octagon
4
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Fri Nov 10 2023
Dry
PJ Harvey
4
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Sat Nov 11 2023
Songs In The Key Of Life
Stevie Wonder
4
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Sun Nov 12 2023
Eliminator
ZZ Top
4
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Mon Nov 13 2023
Queen II
Queen
3
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Tue Nov 14 2023
The Suburbs
Arcade Fire
I liked Arcade Fire when "Funeral" first came out, but their style of overly-sincere, orchestral indie-pop got old real fast.
This one was a real slog. I'm glad it's over and look forward to avoiding Arcade Future from now on.
1
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Wed Nov 15 2023
Electric Music For The Mind And Body
Country Joe & The Fish
An album and artist very much "of its time". Nothing here sets this above any of the other bands of the day.
This would be fine background music for a VH1 documentary about The Summer of Love.
2
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Thu Nov 16 2023
The Real Thing
Faith No More
A groundbreaking album that helped push Alt Rock into the mainstream. Hard not to give it 5 stars, but "Angel Dust" was even better.
Punchy as hell, this album is often blamed for the rise of Rap-Metal, but they were much more than that. Thrash, Pop, Rap, Noise...It's all there.
Can't hear "Epic" without seeing that poor fish flopping around at the end of the video.
I was lucky enough to work with Roddy Bottum recently. If you like this, check out his latest band, Man On Man. I thought they were excellent.
4
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Fri Nov 17 2023
Follow The Leader
Korn
What the lyrics sound like to me: "Gobble, gobble, rabble, rabble, ummagumma, HATE MEEEEEEE!!!! Bunga lunga, wocka flocka, PAAAAIN!!!"
This is the kind of music that Faith No More is unfairly blamed for.
1
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Sat Nov 18 2023
Bat Out Of Hell
Meat Loaf
3
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Sun Nov 19 2023
Scum
Napalm Death
I kinda needed this. OG Grindcore.
This hits hard.
4
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Mon Nov 20 2023
Ingenue
k.d. lang
Clearly, K.D. Lang is talented both as a vocalist and a songwriter.
But this just wasn't my cup of lukewarm and flavorless tea.
2
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Tue Nov 21 2023
Frank
Amy Winehouse
3
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Wed Nov 22 2023
The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Velvet Underground
3
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Thu Nov 23 2023
Public Image: First Issue
Public Image Ltd.
4
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Fri Nov 24 2023
Picture Book
Simply Red
Pull out your pointy shoulder pads and pastel linen pants for this run-of-the-mill-mid-1980's-blue-eyed (and red-haired)-soul-synth-pop.
Could have been the soundtrack for a Jim Belushi and Gregory Hines buddy cop movie that includes a montage, a love scene, and a dance sequence.
2
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Mon Nov 27 2023
Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
Aww...C'mon! I call bullshit.
I have to question the validity of this list when we've had two Arcade Fire albums in two weeks, but nothing from Fugazi, The Minutemen, Dinosaur Jr., etc.
Do better, Album Generator.
Do Better.
1
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Tue Nov 28 2023
Surfer Rosa
Pixies
A great start.
4
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Wed Nov 29 2023
Dust
Screaming Trees
RIP Mark Lanegan...
This is some proto-grunge amazingness right here.
Another example of the need for a half-star. I know he did at least two more albums that were even better.
4
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Thu Nov 30 2023
The Blueprint
JAY Z
I'll never forget the day this album dropped. I gotta say it wasn't a good day.
While I recognize the cultural value of the album, I really doesn't mean much to me musically.
2
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Fri Dec 01 2023
Apocalypse Dudes
Turbonegro
Never listened to Turbonegro before this. Pretty good Punk Rock. Not as extreme as I expected.
4
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Sat Dec 02 2023
Sunday At The Village Vanguard
Bill Evans Trio
5
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Sun Dec 03 2023
Goo
Sonic Youth
I love, love, love, love this album.
Possibly the pinnacle of "Noise Rock"
4
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Mon Dec 04 2023
L'Eau Rouge
The Young Gods
This album made me want to punch a street mime, but not in a good way.
The parts that I liked were done to better effect by bands like Ministry, Wire, Front 242, and Skinny Puppy. I hope none of those albums were excluded from this list in order to include this one.
2
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Tue Dec 05 2023
Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand
3
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Wed Dec 06 2023
Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert)
Bob Dylan
I understand that Dylan can be divisive, and this is a document of Dylan at his most controversial period. Even his most devoted fans were divided at this point.
I think that it's Dylan at his very best.
5
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Thu Dec 07 2023
The Doors
The Doors
Not much to say. It's a classic album. Great stuff.
4
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Sat Dec 09 2023
A Hard Day's Night
Beatles
Low-hanging fruit right there.
The entire Beatles discography could easily end up on this list.
4
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Sun Dec 10 2023
Double Nickels On The Dime
Minutemen
More low-hanging fruit.
You already know I like this.
It's a killer album .
Four and one half stars.
4
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Mon Dec 11 2023
Trafalgar
Bee Gees
No, thank you.
1
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Tue Dec 12 2023
Heaven Or Las Vegas
Cocteau Twins
Better than I remember, but not really my jam.
2
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Wed Dec 13 2023
Document
R.E.M.
Before this, R.E.M. was just a college-radio band. Then, all of a sudden, you could understand what Michael Stipe was saying.
4
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Thu Dec 14 2023
Maverick A Strike
Finley Quaye
Better than most run-of-the-mill Reggae music. The Dub and Soul elements brighten it up a bit.
I can't find any credits for the additional musicians on the album. Did he play all the instruments himself?
That being said... it's still just Reggae.
"Reggae... It's a good song."
2
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Fri Dec 15 2023
Blood Sugar Sex Magik
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The last good Red Hot Chili Peppers album. I credit Rick Rubin for its almost-perfect production.
I was really into this when it first came out. I had even pre-ordered it from the shitty record store near campus, since I knew they weren't cool enough to carry it on their own.
But... about a hundred other killer albums were released around that time and BSSM was quickly left behind.
After this album, RHCP leaned hard into their proven formula, and it was all "Sex, California, Heroin, California, Sex, Heroin, Sex, California, Sex, Heroin, California, Heroin, California, Sex, Sex, California, Heroin, California, Sex, Heroin, Sex, California, Sex, Heroin, California, Heroin, California, Sex, Sex, California, Heroin, California, Sex, Heroin, Sex, California, Sex, Heroin, California, Heroin, California, Sex, Sex, California, Heroin, California, Sex, Heroin, Sex, California, Sex, Heroin, California, Heroin, California, Sex, [REPEAT FOR THIRTY YEARS] from there.
4
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Sat Dec 16 2023
Rio
Duran Duran
This thing's a hit machine, and rightly so.
John Taylor's bass playing alone is worth the price of admission...or Andy Hamilton's sax solo in the title track.
Great stuff.
4
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Sun Dec 17 2023
The Downward Spiral
Nine Inch Nails
In two measures, Trent Reznor re-established the "concept album."
Four and one-half stars.
Dinged one half-star because I liked the remix of this, "Further Down the Spiral" just a little bit more.
4
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Tue Dec 19 2023
Graceland
Paul Simon
A monumental album by an American treasure. Easy five stars.
5
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Wed Dec 20 2023
In It For The Money
Supergrass
First Part:
Some of these songs are alright ("Sometimes I Make You Sad", "Sitting Up Straight.") Unfortunately, most are forgettable Mid-to-Late-Nineties-Beatles-Loving-Brit-Pop/Rock. They are probably a very good live band, though (just guessing.)
Not sure it needs to be on this list and it certainly didn't need to be a double album.
Second Part:
Hey! This is pretty good! Just throw the first disc away and listen to the second one.
3
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Thu Dec 21 2023
Blur
Blur
One good song. The rest was okay-ish at best.
2
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Fri Dec 22 2023
Let's Get Killed
David Holmes
At first, I thought this was "The Pina Colada Song" guy. Turns out that's *Rupert* Holmes. Probably his brother or cousin or something.
Some interesting Trip-Hop elements here. I enjoy a lot of electronic music, but as a whole, this was not a big stand-out for me.
Two and one-half stars, marked up to a three because it was good background music while I was doing other things that required more attention.
3
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Sat Dec 23 2023
Fulfillingness' First Finale
Stevie Wonder
Another American treasure. Every song is solid.
4
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Sun Dec 24 2023
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
The Good, The Bad & The Queen
Less than the sum of its parts.
Two and one-half stars.
2
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Mon Dec 25 2023
This Is Hardcore
Pulp
Surprise, surprise...another Brit-Pop album.
A bit better than the others we've heard recently.
Bowie-esque, by way of Boomtown Rats.
This is why you don't let Doug pick all the music for a long road trip.
3
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Wed Dec 27 2023
Diamond Life
Sade
It's some fine 80's Smooth-Jazz-Pop.
Unfortunately, I had to hear this album, in its entirety, every damn day, for about six years. The hostess at a job I was at LOVED this album and felt the need to keep it going as house music at all times.
I never ever want to hear it again, thank you very much.
2
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Thu Dec 28 2023
Live!
Fela Kuti
I love the concept of Afrobeat music, but can't endure Fela Kuti for very long. The songs are repetitive and go on forever.
...And then there's a sixteen-minute drum solo.
2
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Sat Dec 30 2023
A Night At The Opera
Queen
Awesome album. Four and one-half stars.
Only loses a half-star because I like their "Jazz" album even more.
4
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Sun Dec 31 2023
Music From Big Pink
The Band
4
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Tue Jan 02 2024
The Age Of The Understatement
The Last Shadow Puppets
I wasn't aware of this band/project/album until now.
The 60's Retro-Chic vibe is interesting for a bit, but I doubt I'll ever feel a need to listen to it again.
I'll give it an extra half-star so it doesn't seem as though I dislike ALL Brit-Pop.
Can we just get "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?" out of the way already and then leave the genre alone for a while?
2
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Wed Jan 03 2024
The Healer
John Lee Hooker
This was the prototype for T-Bone Burnett's entire career as a producer. Take an aged music icon and have them record with popular musicians of the time. Then just wait for the critical praise and Emmys to fall from the sky.
John Lee Hooker was much more than this, but it wan an effective way to introduce him to a younger generation.
3
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Thu Jan 04 2024
Metal Box
Public Image Ltd.
This album is fine...I like it...But it doesn't belong on this list. The first PiL record pretty much covered it. Two and one-half stars.
This spot should have gone to Pere Ubu's "The Modern Dance."
It's an equal or better early Punk/Post-Punk/New Wave/No Wave album. You might not like it, but you'd have to acknowledge that it's a more "important" recording.
2
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Fri Jan 05 2024
Otis Blue/Otis Redding Sings Soul
Otis Redding
Flawless.
Five and one-half stars.
5
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Sat Jan 06 2024
If You Can Believe Your Eyes & Ears
The Mamas & The Papas
Pretty groovy!
A subversive call to the Flower Children, wrapped in lush vocal harmonies.
Also notable for the presence of "The Wrecking Crew", the studio musicians who actually played the music.
4
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Sun Jan 07 2024
Paul Simon
Paul Simon
4
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Mon Jan 08 2024
Time Out Of Mind
Bob Dylan
A fine Dylan album, especially for his late-period works.
But, I don't think it is "essential" listening.
3
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Tue Jan 09 2024
Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
Just a really fun album.
4
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Wed Jan 10 2024
Strange Cargo III
William Orbit
Influential, but not essential.
I would have preferred something by The Chemical Brothers, The Crystal Method, The Orb, or even Moby.
3
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Thu Jan 11 2024
Porcupine
Echo And The Bunnymen
The okayest early-80's-British-post-punk/new wave band ever.
3
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Fri Jan 12 2024
Buena Vista Social Club
Buena Vista Social Club
Another fine album ruined for me by the restaurant industry. I had to hear music from this album every day for many years, even though we didn't serve any Cuban food.
On the upside, it always makes me think of the Cuban scenes in "The Godfather Part 2", which is a favorite of mine.
2
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Sat Jan 13 2024
The Köln Concert
Keith Jarrett
This is the best-selling solo jazz album ever?!?
Over an hour of aimless noodling in the middle registers of the piano. It literally goes nowhere.
Wake me up when it's over.
1
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Sun Jan 14 2024
No Other
Gene Clark
3
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Mon Jan 15 2024
Chore of Enchantment
Giant Sand
Kind of interesting, but I doubt that I will feel a need to listen to it again. There are plenty of other Giant Sand albums out there that may be just as good or better.
Two and one-half stars, plus an extra half-star for the guest appearance of Juliana Hatfield.
3
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Tue Jan 16 2024
Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang Clan
4
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Wed Jan 17 2024
Horses
Patti Smith
Influential, important, and essential, "Horses" broke new ground in myriad ways. Lacking any hit songs, this album should be consumed whole.
Four and one-half stars.
4
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Thu Jan 18 2024
Meat Is Murder
The Smiths
I'd really like to hear this album again without Morrissey's vocals. I just don't like his voice at all.
Johnny Marr, on the other hand, is an incredible guitarist. His jangly, chorus-drenched Rickenbacker tone is unmistakable and often imitated. The rest of the band swings pretty hard, as well.
Two and one-half stars, dinged one half-star because Morrissey is and always has been an outspoken Anglo-centric asshole. (Insert "Bigmouth Strikes Again" joke here.) I hope that Moz, Van Morrisson, and Eric Clapton all choke on their toast and beans at whatever "UK whites-only" parties they attend.
3
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Sat Jan 20 2024
War
U2
An excellent album from a time before their inflated sense of self-importance ruined their later works.
4
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Sun Jan 21 2024
Heartattack And Vine
Tom Waits
It's okay. Better than I remember, but I'm just not a Tom Waits fan.
It's musically competent, but in the end just comes across as schtick to me.
Two and one-half stars, with the added half-star because I do enjoy seeing Tom Waits when he makes cameo appearances in movies.
2
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Mon Jan 22 2024
The Gilded Palace Of Sin
The Flying Burrito Brothers
3
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Tue Jan 23 2024
Imagine
John Lennon
Oooh... John's angry. Angry at his ex-bandmates (especially Paul), angry at society, angry at his contemporaries (even while copying his perceived frenemies, The Rolling Stones), even at little angry at Yoko.
Don't worry, John. Pretty soon Harry Nilsson will call you up and make it all better with a few years worth of drugs and alcohol.
Good album, though.
4
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Wed Jan 24 2024
Nilsson Schmilsson
Harry Nilsson
It's a pretty ok record. I like "Jump Into the Fire" a lot.
3
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Thu Jan 25 2024
Abraxas
Santana
It's a fine album.
No other notes.
3
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Fri Jan 26 2024
Time Out
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
I love, love, love this album.
There isn't a single wring note.
5
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Tue Jan 30 2024
Van Halen
Van Halen
It's difficult to not use superlatives when describing this record...best debut album, most important guitar solo, best frontman, etc.
Appropriate for a band formerly called "Mammoth", everything about this album is huge. Eddie's guitar tone, the soaring choruses, Alex's drum kit, it's all bigger than the sum of its parts.
Few albums have had as much influence as this one.
5
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Wed Jan 31 2024
Bossanova
Pixies
Probably my least favorite of the albums with the original lineup. Still a very good album, but lacking the hooks of the others. This is probably due to the pressures and challenges they encountered while recording it.
I can definitely hear where the influence came from when Kurt Cobain called Nirvana a "Pixies cover band."
Three and one-half stars. Dinged one half-star for not producing a "hit song."
3
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Thu Feb 01 2024
The Sensual World
Kate Bush
I liked "Love and Anger" (hello, David Gilmour!)
Unfortunately, the rest of it just didn't hold my attention.
I imagine that we will see "Hounds of Love" at some point, and I will feel the exact same way.
2
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Fri Feb 02 2024
Axis: Bold As Love
Jimi Hendrix
It's impossible to overstate the influence of Jimi Hendrix. There isn't much that can be said about him that hasn't been said before.
The only unfortunate part is that his bandmates don't get more recognition. Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell deserve a great deal of credit for their contributions to the sound of the earlier Hendrix albums.
Fun Fact: Hendrix was discovered by his soon-to-be Manager, Chas Chandler, at the Greenwich Village nightclub, Cafe Wha?
Cafe Wha? was founded and owned at the time by Manny Roth, uncle of Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth.
5
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Sun Feb 04 2024
Scott 4
Scott Walker
The absolute polar opposite of Van Halen.
This makes me think of Neil Diamond, and I don't like anything about that.
One and one-half stars. The phantom half-star is because I like his song, "30 Century Man", which is unfortunately not on this album.
1
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Mon Feb 05 2024
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
Also in the running for "Greatest Debut Album."
Right out of the gate, The Stones established themselves as a top-drawer cover band. Not just wearing their influences on their sleeves, they wore them on their faces. Behind that mask was the more rough-hewn answer to the innocence of The Beatles. Street wise and lean, The Stones didn't just want to hold your hand, they wanted more... much more.
Under the leadership of Brian Jones, they weren't afraid to broadcast their admiration for "Black Music." This made them infinitely more badass (and frightening) than their contemporaries who shied away from the direct connection.
Four and one-half stars. Only knocked down a half-star because I enjoy their late-60's, early 70's so much more.
4
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Tue Feb 06 2024
Appetite For Destruction
Guns N' Roses
Wow...yet another candidate for "Greatest Debut Album." This thing was unstoppable when I was seventeen. Listened to it every day after school and twice on Sundays.
Arguably the pinnacle of 80's hard rock. Grunge was right around the corner and the "Hair Metal" music that had dominated the decade didn't have a chance to get any better than this. The "Sex, Drugs, and Rock n Roll" ethos was laid bare and committed to vinyl for one last time on "Appetite."
No subtlety here. G'n'R brings the REAL grit. They aren't singing about being on top of the game or kickin' it with your friends on a warm summer night. This is about survival, baby. Poverty, Heroin, Porn, Death...this album's got it all.
"Appetite" also hits all the corners musically. More punk than the Berkely-trained shredders that dominated the scene, G'n'R also appealed to the classic rockers. Slash's minor pentatonic solos were more rooted in the Blues than the Classical masters that most Metal guitarists of the time revered.
"Appetite for Destruction" is the music that worried more than just the pearl-clutchers. A whole generation was about ready to give up on society and join Guns N' Roses' leather and denim army. This is the sound of exhausted children screaming one last time for attention. After that, Gen-X was more than happy to crawl under the carpe,t or...the... uhhh something..mmm Y'know what?...Never mind .
....whatever.
5
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Wed Feb 07 2024
We're Only In It For The Money
The Mothers Of Invention
A Zappa haiku (for Jimi):
I am into the
idea of Frank Zappa.
But I don't like this.
1
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Thu Feb 08 2024
Sunshine Superman
Donovan
Outside of "Sunshine Superman" and "Season of the Witch", this album is pretty much a "Meh..." for me.
2
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Fri Feb 09 2024
Bitches Brew
Miles Davis
The most popular of Miles' "Big Three" fusion albums. Along with "Sketches of Spain" and "A Tribute to Jack Johnson", he turned the jazz world on its ear and turned off a lot off fans.
The lineup of backing musicians on this album is a "who's who" of modern jazz fusion. Many of them went on to form Weather Report, which enjoyed great success in the 70's.
I personally LOVE this album and especially enjoy Davis' live recordings from this era. But, I can totally understand why others may not.
Easy five star album for me.
5
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Sat Feb 10 2024
Funeral
Arcade Fire
Dear Mr. Dimery,
We get it. You like Arcade Fire. It's your book and you can do what you want with it.
But, of all the recordings made in the past 74 years, you felt the need to include no less than THREE Arcade Fire albums? Even AF themselves probably don't think they are that important. And I'm guessing that they are some real pretentious, self-absorbed fucks.
Do better, Bob.
Do better.
One half-star. Bumped up from a zero because I once pretended to like this album to impress a girl. It worked and I never had to listen to it again.
1
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Sun Feb 11 2024
Freak Out!
The Mothers Of Invention
Made it through four songs, then gave up.
1
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Mon Feb 12 2024
Hearts And Bones
Paul Simon
More great songwriting, singing, and playing by an American treasure. This list probably includes several more of Paul Simon's assorted works. Most would agree that "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and (my favorite) "Still Crazy After All These Years" could easily be included. It's not like he made many (if any) "bad" albums.
Four and one-half stars. Dinged a half-star for the occasional flourishes of cheesy 80's production (drum machines, synths, and shred guitar solos) that make it sound a bit dated.
4
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Tue Feb 13 2024
Revolver
Beatles
"The One Where The Beatles Discover Drugs"
One of their best albums. Easy five stars.
5
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Wed Feb 14 2024
American Gothic
David Ackles
WTF is this garbage? I can think of 10,000 albums that must be heard ahead of this one.
Judging from the streaming numbers, a great many people have been allowed to die without ever listening to this album.
About halfway through, I became jealous of those people.
Zero stars.
1
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Sat Feb 17 2024
Raising Hell
Run-D.M.C.
After three decades, the lyrics, phrasing, and production come across as dated. This album's influence, however, cannot be overstated. Run-D.M.C. had already begun mixing electronic beats with Hard Rock samples on their previous albums, but their collaboration with Aerosmith on "Walk This Way" dropped Hip-Hop into the laps of White folks who would have dismissed any sort of Rap music otherwise. Thanks to the success of Run-D.M.C., we got Rick Rubin, The Beastie Boys, Rage Against the Machine, etc.
Four stars, dropped by one half-star because without this album, we wouldn't have ever had to meet Kid Rock or any of the shitty Rap Metal acts of the 90's and 2000's.
4
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Sun Feb 18 2024
Cafe Bleu
The Style Council
I'm a big fan of some of the musicians on this album (Paul Weller, Tracey Thorn, Ben Watt), but this is a mess of the worst of the 80's. The "Style" that their name references was out of date within five years of its release.
The Rap on "A Gospel" is especially cheesy. The jazzy bits are fine, but derivative and unworthy of being on this list. The British Blue-Eyed Soul songs are very similar to plenty of other 80's records (i.e. the Simply Red album that was covered earlier on this list) and don't need any further exploration.
One and one-half stars. The extra half star is a gift because I really like The Jam and Everything But the Girl. Unfortunately, this album sounds nothing like either of them.
1
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Mon Feb 19 2024
Tusk
Fleetwood Mac
This album sounds like a million bucks.
...And it's worth every penny. It's impossible to separate the music from the situations that surrounded its production. Every indulgence, argument, excess, and drug-fueled emotion is meticulously committed to each recorded note.
Did it need to be a double-album? There is no simple Yes or No. Sure, there are some clunky tracks. But even they have moments of shimmering brilliance. This is Fleetwood Mac with all members' egos at maximum power. They were essentially making solo albums together and everyone had to have their fair share of real estate on the record. Hell, Stevie doesn't even get a lead vocal until the fourth song.
This isn't the hit machine that "Rumours" was. It didn't need to be. This was their "White Album". The Mac were already rich and powerful enough to get weird for a little bit. A marching band? Sure! Why not?
*SSSSnnnnnoooorrrttt*
Four and one-half stars. Reduced by one half-star because it's Fleetwood Mac's fault that I have dated too many women named "Rhiannon".
Just kidding... it's because the album is just a little too long.
4
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Tue Feb 20 2024
1999
Prince
It's great...but not "Purple Rain" great.
4
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Thu Feb 22 2024
Permission to Land
The Darkness
Sure, The Darkness is a fun, 80's-Hair-Metal throwback band with one semi-hit song, but I'd hardly call this album a necessity. The music is typical for the genre and Justin Hawkins' Tiny Tim-like falsetto voice can be grating after a while. Let's face it...this only a bit better than contemporary flash-in-the-pan Hard Rock acts like Jet or Buckcherry.
I do recommend Hawkins' podcast, "Justin Hawkins Rides Again". He's quite smart and incredibly funny. I doubt, however, that even he would include this album on this list.
Two and one-half stars. The bonus half-star is for the naked female flight attendant on the album cover. Certainly better to look at than the actual band.
2
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Fri Feb 23 2024
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
Wow... is thing all over the place or what? It never seems to stick with a single genre for any length of time, even going so far as to add odd elements in the middle of a song. They certainly aren't shy about signaling their influences or occasionally just straight-up copying them.
As a whole, it's a fine, fun Dance-Pop album.
But, did we really need a Bee-Gees-style Disco cover of "Comfortably Numb"?
Yeah... I didn't think so, either.
2
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Sat Feb 24 2024
Either Or
Elliott Smith
4
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Sun Feb 25 2024
Calenture
The Triffids
This...is...just...plain...terrible.
If you want Mid-80's-New Romantic music, listen to ABC or Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. If you want underground Australian music, listen to Smudge or The Church. If you want a horrible, unfulfilling experience, listen to "Calenture" by The Triffids.
Can I give negative stars? I feel as though I am owed something because I endured this album. Mr. Dimery, I will accept PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, CashApp, or FB Messenger for immediate payment of no less than $30.
1
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Mon Feb 26 2024
Ctrl
SZA
3
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Tue Feb 27 2024
Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
The Flaming Lips
Years ago, Chuck Klosterman wrote a fantastic essay about bands that are neither overrated nor underrated, but are rated exactly as they should be. The Flaming Lips fit squarely into this category.
This album is very good. Virtually everyone regards it as being very good.
That's it.
4
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Wed Feb 28 2024
Pretzel Logic
Steely Dan
Not my favorite Steely Dan album, but it's pretty good. Nothing surprising here.
Three and one-half-ish stars, I guess.
3
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Thu Feb 29 2024
For Your Pleasure
Roxy Music
The music is pretty good, but Bryan Ferry's over-the-top vocal gymnastics have aways gotten on my nerves. If he just sang it straight, this would be an excellent Glam-slash-proto-New Wave album. Instead, I sounds pretty hokey.
Two and one-half stars, gaining a half-star because Bryan Ferry does seem like a really cool dude, goofy vocals aside.
2
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Fri Mar 01 2024
Clandestino
Manu Chao
A literal "World Music" album that doesn't have the feel of a typical World Music album. The songs are fresh and joyful without being cloying. Even the protest songs are danceable.
I'll take this over any Reggae album any day of the week.
4
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Sat Mar 02 2024
The Number Of The Beast
Iron Maiden
4
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Tue Mar 05 2024
Bad
Michael Jackson
Michael at the peak of his powers. His Kingdom of Pop had bloodlessly conquered the world. As the capstone to his trilogy of albums with Quincy Jones, this thing dropped MTV and radio hits like breadcrumbs.
And then things got real weird.
Four stars. Not a five because I liked his earlier work much more, and I was always more of a Prince guy, anyway.
4
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Wed Mar 06 2024
Vanishing Point
Primal Scream
It was okay. I liked the psychedelic instrumental parts. Not as much the vocals.
3
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Thu Mar 07 2024
american dream
LCD Soundsystem
Another band that is rated exactly as they should be. LCD Soundsystem is universally acclaimed as being very, very, good.
This isn't my favorite album of theirs. I prefer the dance-y stuff.
Would be four stars, but gets kicked down a half-star since I learned that James Murphy has a Producer credit on Arcade Fire's "Reflektor" album.
Booo!!!
4
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Fri Mar 08 2024
The Undertones
The Undertones
4
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Sat Mar 09 2024
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin
4
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Sun Mar 10 2024
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
I didn't like this album at all when it first came out. I actually gave it away to a friend after only a couple listens. My opinion has only lightened at bit since then.
It's not just "Nirvana Lite" or an example of the emerging Rock scene that included Candlebox and the dreaded Nickleback. It's a Dave Grohl solo album that provided the seed for what would arguably become the biggest Hard Rock band on the planet.
A "Radio-Friendly Unit Shifter", indeed.
2
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Mon Mar 11 2024
Elastica
Elastica
Just okay. There was a bunch of female-driven-Alt-Rock in the early to mid-90's that was better.
I hope we get to review Hole's "Live Through This" at some point. ...Or "Simpatico" by Velocity Girl. ...Or "The Burdens of Being Upright" by Tracy Bonham ...Or "Jagged Little Pill" ... so many better choices.
2
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Tue Mar 12 2024
Led Zeppelin IV
Led Zeppelin
Well, obviously...
There isn't a moment on this album that hasn't been examined forwards and (literally) backwards to always reach the same conclusion. It's great.
That said, it's still not even in my Top 3 Favorite Zep albums.
4
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Wed Mar 13 2024
American IV: The Man Comes Around
Johnny Cash
3
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Thu Mar 14 2024
L.A. Woman
The Doors
4
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Fri Mar 15 2024
When I Was Born For The 7th Time
Cornershop
"Brimful of Ashsa" is a three-chord earworm. The rest of it was pretty forgettable.
2
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Sat Mar 16 2024
Melodrama
Lorde
It's a really good album.
I thought Lorde's first album, "Pure Heroine", was great. But there's something about Jack Antonoff's co-writing/production on this one that just rubs me a little bit the wrong way. He makes bangers, for sure. I just think that his influence over amazing female Pop artists makes them all sound the same. "Hard Feelings/Loveless" could easily have been a Taylor Swift jam. Other tracks wouldn't have been out of place on a Lana Del Rey album.
Hopefully, the lukewarm response to Lorde's subsequent recording, "Solar Power", will lead her to dump Jack and move on.
That said, "Green Light" fucking slaps. Three and one-half stars.
4
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Sun Mar 17 2024
Parallel Lines
Blondie
Great album. Awesome album cover.
4
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Mon Mar 18 2024
Joan Baez
Joan Baez
If you strip away those high, shrill vocals, there's some really solid acoustic guitar work and melodic interpretation here.
But that voice... I just can't... It's so high, and so very, very shrill.
After over thirty years of listening to "I Know You Rider" via the Grateful Dead, Joan Baez' version is painfully disappointing.
2
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Tue Mar 19 2024
Dummy
Portishead
Great album. This one brought Trip-Hop to the mainstream.
I liked the "Live at Roseland" album better, though.
4
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Wed Mar 20 2024
Melody A.M.
Röyksopp
Suffers from having to follow Portishead's "Dummy".
Some of these tracks have a solid groove and are almost club-worthy. Most of them are too ambient to be Trip-Hop, and too funky to be Ambient. Without any tension or urgency, it just sort of meanders without any resolution. I guess that's probably the point.
Two and one-half stars.
2
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Thu Mar 21 2024
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
I'm not usually a big fan of Neil Young. His high, screechy voice get on my nerves. But I do like the Crazy Horse stuff.
3
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Sat Mar 23 2024
Purple Rain
Prince
No commentary needed here. This is objectively one of the very best albums of all time.
Absolutely perfect.
Ten and one-half purple stars.
5
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Sun Mar 24 2024
Survivor
Destiny's Child
This album is 100% guaranteed to make women dance together in groups and sing along.
3
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Mon Mar 25 2024
xx
The xx
3
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Tue Mar 26 2024
Blackstar
David Bowie
I avoided listening to this for a long time. Not exactly sure why. Maybe I thought it would be too depressing, or maybe I was already burned out on Bowie and didn't want to force myself to enjoy it.
Turns out this is an excellent album. One hell of a swan song.
4
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Wed Mar 27 2024
Back to Mystery City
Hanoi Rocks
Underrated and underappreciated. This influenced so much of what I listened to in the mid-to-late-Eighties. Listening to it now, it's a shame I didn't listen to more Hanoi Rocks back then. I would have been a much better-informed Hair Metal fanatic.
4
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Fri Mar 29 2024
Junkyard
The Birthday Party
I know that I'm supposed to like Nick Cave. He's a critical darling and many of my friends with similar musical taste think he's the bees knees.
Unfortunately, his brand of Southern Gothic music just never landed with me. I had hoped that listening to this earlier, punkier work of his might help me see the appeal.
It didn't
2
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Sat Mar 30 2024
Court And Spark
Joni Mitchell
I only recently started listening to Joni Mitchell, and have discovered that I really like her work. The band is outstanding, although I prefer the later lineup with the amazing Jaco Pastorius on bass, and Pat Matheny and Larry Carlton trading off on guitar.
4
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Sun Mar 31 2024
Pieces Of The Sky
Emmylou Harris
3
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Tue Apr 02 2024
Led Zeppelin III
Led Zeppelin
This is one of my top three favorite Led Zeppelin albums (the other two being "Physical Graffiti" and "Houses of the Holy").
A new direction of the band, "III" shows new influences from outside of American Blues music. The lush, rural, and ancient setting of Bron-Yr-Aur cottage in Wales clearly had an impact on the songwriting. Having once been to the area, I could clearly understand where the lean toward traditional acoustic music came from. The songs that were written at the time, but left off the album reflect this even further (notably "Hey, Hey, What Can I Do", which was released as the B-side to "Immigrant Song").
Four and one-half stars. A half-star is lost because of "Hats Off to (Roy) Harper". That song kinda sucks.
5
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Wed Apr 03 2024
Destroyer
KISS
3
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Thu Apr 04 2024
The Colour Of Spring
Talk Talk
This album has no business on this list. It doesn't even have their hits (all both of them). Even guest appearances by Steve Winwood and Robbie McIntosh can't liven up this snoozefest.
The most interesting thing this band ever did was being named Talk Talk, with a song called "Talk Talk" on an album titled "Talk Talk". The result? "Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk". But that isn't even this album!
No stars.
1
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Fri Apr 05 2024
Rid Of Me
PJ Harvey
As much a product of its Producer as the Artist, this can be a tough listen. Steve Albini's fingerprints are all over this album. PJ Harvey certainly did more accessible work, but this album was the angsty, seething record that made her a Gen-X superstar.
4
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Sun Apr 07 2024
Blunderbuss
Jack White
It's a good album and Jack White is a national treasure. Unfortunately, nothing he does will ever have the impact of those early White Stripes records.
3
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Mon Apr 08 2024
Cloud Nine
The Temptations
4
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Wed Apr 10 2024
Fisherman's Blues
The Waterboys
Grandfather of the Sons of Mumford.
This music makes me feel...nothing at all. I recognize it as instruments playing notes in rhythm, but it has the emotional weight of a feather. And it's double album?!? Gimme a break, already.
Buncha generic, boring, Bob Dylan wannabes.
1
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Thu Apr 11 2024
The Fat Of The Land
The Prodigy
Mid-to-late-90's Big Beat music is kinda my jam. This is on the heavier end, blending Punk elements into a form that made this one a hit.
4
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Fri Apr 12 2024
Aja
Steely Dan
"Steely Dan?!?... That's cocaine music!!!"
-C. Wilson
To my ears, it's a masterpiece. Becker and Fagan spent months grinding through some of the very best session musicians while blasting key bumps in the control room. The result is one of the most smoothed-out and divisive albums ever. Polished clean of any imperfection, it's impossible to point to any one flaw. Logically, then, it is a "perfect" album.
The word "cynical" is used often to describe the lyrics. By wrapping them in a Jazz-Pop package, the words leave a sour aftertaste that many find understandably off-putting. I think it adds complexity, like a fine California Chardonnay at its peak.
5
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Sat Apr 13 2024
So
Peter Gabriel
Nice to hear this one again. It's been quite a while (except for "Sledgehammer", which we all hear at least once a month, without even noticing it.)
Three-and-three-quarter stars. Bumped down just a smidge for overuse of the Fairlight synthesizer. Once you hear it, you hear it all over this thing.
4
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Sun Apr 14 2024
So Much For The City
The Thrills
Nothing thrilling here. Pretty middle-of-the-road Adult-Oriented-Rock. Not sure what could be so essential about it.
I wonder if they ever toured with The Waterboys. That would be a double-bill I'd be happy to skip.
Loses a half-star for having more references to California than an average Red Hot Chili Peppers album.
2
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Mon Apr 15 2024
Boy In Da Corner
Dizzee Rascal
Today I learned that Dizzee Rascal's brand of Progressive Rap is called "Grime". I think I like Grime.
4
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Wed Apr 17 2024
Treasure
Cocteau Twins
4
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Thu Apr 18 2024
Music For The Jilted Generation
The Prodigy
Not sure we need two Prodigy albums on this list. "The Fat of the Land" was plenty. They are both good Electronica albums, but this slot should have gone to another contemporary electronic artist.
Two and one-half stars. It undeservedly loses a half-star because the "random" album generator gave us both Prodigy albums within one week.
2
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Sat Apr 20 2024
It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back
Public Enemy
Love the Slayer sample on "She Watch Channel Zero?!"
5
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Mon Apr 22 2024
Bayou Country
Creedence Clearwater Revival
All the "Big Lebowski" stuff aside, this is a hands-down classic.
4
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Tue Apr 23 2024
Physical Graffiti
Led Zeppelin
Another of my top-three Zep albums (c'mon, "Houses of the Holy", where y'at?)
Packed to the gills with every riff, howl, and fill that the could fit, "Physical Graffiti" represents Led Zeppelin at it's most excessive. That is, if you don't count the subsequent live album, "The Song Remains the Same" (AKA "The Song Goes on Too Long.")
Did it need to be a double album? Yep. Sure did. These guys were Rock Gods and, at least in their own eyes, every note was manna from heaven...or Valhalla..or their private jet.
5
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Wed Apr 24 2024
Ellington at Newport
Duke Ellington
4
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Fri Apr 26 2024
Sulk
The Associates
Wow... this is terrible. Possibly the worst album in this project so far. I tried to give it some credit for being so early in the Post-Punk/New Wave/New Romantic movement, but I just cant. It's bad, no matter how you approach it.
Negative infinity stars.
1
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Sat Apr 27 2024
Brilliant Corners
Thelonious Monk
I personally love Monk, but understand why others find his music difficult. People who don't like Jazz look to his music and say "Just play the right notes!" His style embraces chaos and resolution in equal measures and the end result is beautiful.
5
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Sun Apr 28 2024
Lost In The Dream
The War On Drugs
This album could be used to calibrate the machine that determines the exact middle of the road.
2
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Tue Apr 30 2024
Reggatta De Blanc
The Police
I'm a huge Police fan and believe that all of their albums are Five-Star winners. Each member is a master of his craft and the songs are airtight. Even the "weird" tracks (usually the ones penned by Andy Summers or Stewart Copeland) have great merit and are worthy of album space.
Lyrically, no one can turn a phrase like Sting. Copeland's World Music-influenced drumming style is unique and immediately distinctive. Summers came to the group as a veteran of the Art/Prog-Rock scene and elevated their sound beyond any typical Post-Punk power trio.
Also...they may have been CIA plants manufactured by the government to infiltrate youth culture, if you like to believe that sort of thing.
5
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Wed May 01 2024
Green Onions
Booker T. & The MG's
4
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Thu May 02 2024
Fever Ray
Fever Ray
This album has some interesting, artsy-fartsy bits. Most of it is sparse and weird. This spot on the list would have been better served with a mid-career Bjork record.
2