Lots of amen beat adjacent british electric music. Sorta industrial. Sirta samey. Tight A-rab singin indian chanting sometimes. Best 1,2, 10
Tight. Good 1st track
All like 3 minunte classics w/frank blackisms and guitar over driving bass with slightly off kilter beats
i yam what i yam
The kool keith freestyle was funnest (ddt) the rest slightly too intelligent too socially conscious to be too fun. Solid classic beats, sampled?
Not as many familiar as i would have thoight. Hard headed woman tight
clean. Jazz rock. pretty enjoyable
Fun. Weird. Probably pretty simplistic. We are the robots is catchy and the next one is almost baroque or renaissancy in melody.
Interesting. Francoanglaies. Cool songs harmonies keyboards builds kinda electronic, but still rock/indie. Bears further investigation
Mostly low key odelay with some gentle mellow gold ie slide geetar. Less interesting rapping and droney singing. Fine but nit as memorable as first two. Becks liked
Solid soul. Sang from a red and gold throne later when wheelchair bound led a church / cult similarly. 4 wives
tight, literally. Restrained. Moving in Stereo has that famous synth riff.
exactly what it needs to be. Tight, spare. Proud mary. Good golly miss molly, pretty themed. the unkowns are tight. Keep on chooglin still silly
Baroque pop good lurrcs not my favorite of his tho
Cool stuff. Title track had to be spliced from takes cuz so complicated apparently the bass player resorted to miming his parts on one occasion
Very acoustic not so jangly drive tight
Known quantity. Interesting jazz
Funner than jurassic 5 misogynist
Ok. Not groundbreaking lady art pop. Slow motion, the architect, i wish stand out on first listen
Masterful crossover metal. Tight. A little samey
Tight af. Darlene love is best. Hilarious spoken word from phil at end
Ok . Apparently bowie did most of it. Not enough lust for lifet
Stoner space rock. Samey and looong. Points for the chutzpah i guess
Tight, mellow but angry solid sorta minimilat priduction. Prefer to yonce
Questionable attributions at time nonetheless did own thing and it was new and spectacular. Good time bad times all time banger
Its fine. Baroque pop inspired but doesnt sound too different to any other pop eock. Interesting back story
So boringk. Presumably danceable but only cause so simple. Would make me embarrassed to be British.
Did not realize they were not one hit wondwrs. Solid white soul
Is what it is. Couple bangers
Its ok. Not quite the fusion jazz genius composer he is sometimes touted as. Not so tight composition and meandering feeling solos even if composed
Clicky with thom whines. That may be too harsh some tinteresting parts
Competent blues rock
Background music. Borink
The good protest stuff. Flava flav keeps from gettong to serious. Terminator x occasionally makes it dound like kettles boiling
Reasonable bowie. Quicksand all time banger
Classiqe. 4.5 would be a more accurate but can’t argue w/songs nor innovative
Yung art rock
Cool af some bangers. Tight when piano comes in, but the voice stuff is fun
Tight fuzzt rock. Not many solos? Raisan tight. Cure cover tight. Poledo long and annoying
Fun - only knew killler queen. Lots of old school rock and roll with parsi twist
Tight. Inner city holler!
Tight, catchy but not as much as maybe later stuff
Psychobilly! Wanted to like more than i did. Rockabilly influence pervasive enough in all punk to make it hard to differentiate. Still cool names and some songs get it done
The back to life we know and love is an acapella without that line. Fine for what it is
Man in black. Probably had to be there for san quentin reprise
Slight lennon but still lennon
Some bangers on this. Would that she could return to this eras energy
Sleazy, fun. Ignorant in the best way. Care taken in musicianship, and double entendres
Some all time bangers. Cool instrumentation, bomb ast percussion on cecilia specifically. Basic? Perhaps but still so consistently good. Bolivia represents
G funkt. Nate dogg and warren g. He dont love girls. Exactly right line of ignorant/clever to make rap classic
So tight. Housequake. Slept on. The croost
Anthraxt. So solid as to become cliche. Lostsa horns from terminator x
Weird. Innovative, but weird and a lil abrasive
Indie girl singularity- less indufferable than much of what followd
Tight. Big boi goes hard of course- i like church, war. Dre gets jazzy and silly she’s alive ( i think) has mf brushes! Draculas wedding tight day in the life tight. Liked roses better than i remembert
Would that they could go back to rocking this hard. M.o.r. Sounds an awful lot like a green day cut
Mid tier brit pop. Reminds me of pulp and stone roses just not as good. Still catch well crafted competently played
Garage psychedelia at its near apex. Bit much for a whole album
Expansive. Now maybe i csn pick gershwin out if songbook line ups. Gets a little samish and midtempo jailed. The lyricist brother was a rhyminal criminal ! So many puns and wild ast rhymes. Squawky gal from Milwaukee my fave. Succumba to the rhumba. S’exceptional ! Cheeky ast mfs
Interesting journey of the folkies. These cats lived ludicrous lives. Cool harmonies and tight wrecking crew? Backing. I think its big hal blaine on drums. CA dreaming strong non-tull case for flute rock
Pretty tight. Best part is the transition to the ID i ever get out of here but lots of the songs follow the live and let die model of jarring transitions between disparate ass parts. Even the slight stuff gets a holt of you like bluebird. Reminds you its still a mf beatle making this. Tight sax solos on a couple. Dum macine on picasso? 1985 a banger. Recorded in Lagos in part at least some interesting stories there
So good 1 2 blues punch on first side my generation with medley 2nd side substitute all era banger. Doesn’t even need future baba, fooled or 515 or o’er me to be so great. Once heard who live was a bit scary - this reinforces that idea. Notes: ive never got the magic bus thing. Still 5 stars easy
competent, dare say workmanlike rock. Young boy sounds like a low rent danzig though. One of the songs, I think love removal machine has got the start me up, ie worst stones song riff. Still they are masters of the stop/start either exiting or entering noise with the boom/crack 16ths. And low rent danzig is still on the danzig spectrum.
Had it all kept the energy of the opener, weird ass not quite fugue, round, march (I don't actually remember music terms) would have been a 5 easy. After catchy chamber pop that earns the name, not like the shadow puppets earlier, with some pseudo thom yorke caterwauling from our foppish boy.
Known quantity. Originals better than covers. Stax house band tight. Prefer live at Monterey- captures a bit more something
Fun enough. It’s got that broadway rock thing where the songcraft is immaculate but its a showtune despite all the rock and roll trappings.
More filler than i recalled. Rock and roll star sucks. Two showpieces live forever and supersonic ironically derive a lot of atmosphere from simple opening beats from a drummer i believe they fired for incompetence. Supersonic constantly hooks, bitch ast Nordic ‘hitmakers’ of today could learn. Hard to tell what is glorious ignorance and what is being British but lyrics are the best kind of ridiculous. As is pronunciations on cigarettes and alcohol
The trouble with house is its boring as just a listen. Reggae affectations dont reslly help. Probably tight if on molly at uk rave but thsts a low bar. The african language one was ok
This is a good one. Kinda like that first arcade fire for middle age. Follows the formula of "common people" - deeply sung/half spoken verse with simple bass and drums, soaring chorus. Malaise and shit. A week or two after listening again, have kinda been unable to remember specifics of songs. First half stronger. Have to be in the mood a little, unlike the common people album which puts you in the mood for itself.
Obviously still a great singer, but barring one or two songs this album could have been one long midtempo ballad with soaring vocals. Nothing new and nothing with the raison de etre of eg rolling in the deep
Makes a lot out of a little. Memphis shit.
Surprisingly formulsic. Half time-feeling 4/4, hetfield chugging, pentatonic wah or up and down s minor scale lead. Lyrics are all ominous fragments with implied subject. Eg twisting up your dreams, waits for foggy death, dying time! Kinda corny. However formula was probably bracing when first heard. Sanitarium has sick hook foreshadowing songwriting advances. Leper messiahs good , orion instrmental too. Theres a yardbirds like psychedelic riff on one of the back half songs. Sometimes the spoken word s are corny as shit, but the whispered damage inc is tight
Unexpectedly cool and polished. Clever lyrics. Not amazing singing but good personality. Was expecting much more abrasive. Favorite drum genre : white English attempting reggae see: watching the detectives. Standout grapevine. Solid bass too.
Unremarkable. Not a lot of rapping. The black is beautiful stuff veers a little corny in this presentation vs 70s stuff or solange. Like the singing, kids choirs etc.
Just cause Radiohead makes more interesting clicks and instrumental/vocal whines than you or I might doesn’t mean it was an entirely worthwhile effort. Just listen to big karlheinz stockhausen. At its best with driving bass and occasional hooks. Idioteque is pretty tight though. These boys need to get back to blaming it on a black star where they belong
Songcraft and singcraft at an apex. Love call abd response, especially contradictory eg ‘don’t think twice!’ Mf Paul McCartney,(these boys dueling!) Vincent price, evh. On cursory relisten only the lady song remotely skippable.
Solid leads from stills. Interesting stuff always surprising how experimental folks were in the 60s re song structure relative to your kids today with their math rock/black midis. Far and away best songs to Mr Young, ol’ Neil. Learning to fly is like his ur track. Not sure I’ve ever heard it but could fill in Melodie’s on muscle memory. Broken arrow a masterpiece of wistful weirdness
Hard to separate from middle school nostalgia. These guys take a lot of shit, and rightly so. The social commentary and mental health introspection are on the nose and cheesy. However. Very catchy vocal and instrumental hooks, and a lot of energy. Dexter's voice is right, and the oohs and Oh's and ohwaye-o-os are pretty fucking cool. And really to compare to a 90s album that I would have thought deeper at the time - "I'm not a trendy asshole" is essentially same lyric as "fret for your lattes," "wearing vans 501s" from Tools Aenima, and equally catchy. Though granted much simpler and 4/4er. The closest thing to a novelty song, Bad Habit (I would guess everyone in my middle school could still belt out the breakdown from memory) in looking at LA driving culture presaged our current driving state of the union: Assume you are sharing the road with a bunch of fats who are packing heat, and are paranoid, angry, and eager to shoot.
I like this. The production is very solid, adding industrial and live instrumentation in ways that do not really sound dated. Rono Tse's contribution sounds interesting : Angle Grinder, Tire Rims, Chains, Break Drums, Electronic Springs, Sheet Metal & Steel Drums. The lyrics are something. See David Bennuns takedown in the Quietus - he makes some fair points vis a vis on the nose, listing, and telling not showing, and sometimes there is hilariously dry narration. However there's some good word shit going on here. ie: bail out the banks, loan art to the churches - satanic reverses; methadone metronome etc. And longstanding theory of myself and my brother - all genres, but particularly hip hop are at their best when no one's to smart or clever for their own good. And theres some of that glorious ignorance here. Plus this Bennun guy has (d)evolved to some unsubtle takes on say - Israel/Palestine. Its like watching the soul drain out of Roger Ebert on his revisit of the graduate "actually "plastics" was great advice." Whereas I find it like revisiting RATM, which in my fat young republican days I would have thought went pretty hard, but was hopelessly naive. Now along with the disposable heroes, it is evident more and more on many things that they were just right.
Sometimes I worry that I'm too stingy or too loose with the 5'ers. Then there's something like this, which, like pornography, you know when you see it. Absolutely spectacular - breathy bluntstone, electric piano argent, a bit less of their guitar/drummer, who are very effective when they come in, and wild soaring, contrapuntal vocals soaring in and out. Cool ass complex arrangements and song structures. Rose for emily is basically a more complicated eleanor rigby. Changes is a typhoon of a sad take on Creams I feel free. Time of the season of course and epoch defining banger. THis will be our year transcending simple blues base. Words are good too - ie world war one core - butchers tale, setting up a good template for Tom Verlaines later lyrical explorations from the front with the absolutely brutal: And I have seen a friend of mine, Hang on a wire like some rag toy And in the heat the flies come down And cover up the boy Yeesh. This one brings out the boomer in me- who is creating music this out there now, with such good song structure underlying? Who is following up on these innovations. You kids and your Gizzard Lizards could never...
Very good. I started out thinking he reminded me a lot of Julian Lage and just then he started the Lage-ian move of grunting along semimusically. Can be distracting from both of them, but the performance is so good can't blame them. Like Lage this is jazz I can wrap my head around, feel frisson with etc. Not sure what it is - structural elements- simplicity? Surely Miles Davis and some others have the thematic build to great moments and tension and release that I hear here but I'm just too dumb to recognize it?
Its not bad. Title track is good. Maybe a little drum machiney? and some indian type droning stuff for innovation to americana. Apparently she wrote most of it. Guy clark helped with one! Surprise dave matthews! Jai f'ait tu is pretty good.
Tried so hard for this not to be background music to me. Mostly unsuccesfully. The bowed bass and guitar parts are cool. The rest of it is obviously very good, and of course with a quiet hinting title probably not trying to go too hard. Still after the Koln concerts I had been hoping to find the same pleasure in music I could get from that among the other jazz greats, and just couldn't on this one. Surely a me problem.
4 for innovation - though yung boi mostly just sung ray charles and lil richard worse, with affectations he probably borrowed somewhere else. Still blueprint for rock and roll can be found here and scotty moore and chet atkins (! news to me!) laid down some hot fucking guitar. Cool cover too.
Pretty good. Who's that lady a classic. Love the call and response. Ernie apparently was watching Hendrix a lot when he played with the boyz in the early 60s and it shows some hot psychedelic (not over/misusing this as so often seen) guitar leads here.
OK. More weird short but still plodding and simple isntrumentals than I would have expected. Cool use of drum machines, otherwise, sounds like the Cure - just not songs I know nor that have stuck with me.
Well it's smooth, and the bass playing is immaculate. Some fun nerdcentric lyrics. But, overall, I'd classify it as low effort soul/rb. Not a lot of dynamic change, nor the tortured luv singing that algreen or Mr. Gaye, or David Ruffin would bring. Just kinda amelodic high pitched lines that seem like they could interchange songs without much trouble. Modern (in my adult life) R and B feels like it hasn't been exciting since the heyday of he who shall not be named. I would love to be proven wrong.
Wutangish production from the RZA still sounds good as hell. I must finally get around to giving their catalog its due listenting. Retro and fresh all at once. Pretty good rapping for my tastes and finds that balance of stupid and smart that makes for all the best rap albums. Example ignorant/clever lyrics: Alaikum as-salaam, drops bombs like Qur'an The ism helps to stimulate my pugilism I bust rhymes like jism Impregnate the rhythm with the wisdom
This one's cool. Like a proto Rick Rubin american Johnny cash rehabilitation before that was a thing. Her voice is rough, and suits the material perfectly. Excellent snarl and bitterness when needed, or world weary sadness on the ballad of... one. New wavish and punk influenced and likely influencing. I remember her and that distinctive voice from metallica in the late 90s? I thought I remembered her from REM around the same time, but turns out that was Patti Smith on E-bow the letter. Bitching cover too.
Is exactly what it is. Every now and then you can hear the disco funk that Dave Grohl was so inspired by. I like the other stuff better than the famous family one.
There's a great Jack White interview where he claims to not trust anyone who likes the Beatles. Fair point (he also makes it about zeppelin, which is a little more questionable) - I see revisionists/poseurs all the time claim the Beatles are overrated, or they just don't get them but charitably at best they are doing it for attention, or at worst are missing some fundaments in their ability to appreciate music, cause these boys in their prime are something else. Always compare any post 60s album described as innovative/diverse to this or the white album and it will likely come up short or be a retread of something these boys already did. Prefigured short attention spans of the tik tok era with the 1 minute songs stitched together. Everypones firing on all cylinders. Bitching ringo drum lines. I even like silver hammer and octupuses garden.
Better than i expected. Still a teenager singing about teen shit, but i prefer olivia rodrigos take. Sometimes clever and catchy though. I guess on the list cause of antonoffs production taking over the world, impression i had without looking into it was sophomore slump. Antonoff was better when he was fun. Aim and ignite era. Puns son!
Well sung, cool drums and world percussion, but this gets a five cause of the allman leads. And the part in layla where they’re like: ‘hoo hoo hoo!’ They dont overdo it but when the lead guitars duel/ intertwine its pretty fucking amazing
A me problem that comes up in jazz as well as jam bands: i cant follow the plot, climaxes tension of the solos. It just sounds like noodling. Especially noticeable on dark star. The rest actually has some tight arrangements and transitions evident in st steven to elevens. Not a me problem : the singing is not great. And i love limited voices in rock eg mick bob tom verlaine. Its tight when he yells in death mercy though. They slways pick tight songs but Reverend Gary Davis and the other originals generally do it better. Feedback hilariously just that, no cobain esque explosion at end. Farewell hymn is a nice touch
Must have been thrilling to discover Dylan in real time with this one. First album's fine and all but this one lays the groundwork for the soon to ensue verbal torrents (hard rain) absurdism/pop culture/great (wo)men/historical references (pretty much every song), sappy vs biting love stuff ( girl north country, don't think twice, corrina) , just biting stuff, contrarian and anticontrarian all at once (masters of war, oxford town). Guitar playing is masterful - simple but endless variation on themes, creative chording, rhythms etc. Singing is next level good, less potentially grating than some stuff in immediate future. Minimal harmonica.
Some titanic rock and roll here. Trademark Young weirdness, and lots of native american (or for him first nations - but regardless, what about them?) themes. Powderfinger is at a literature level of narrative, with that protogrunge crazy horse backings and solos where neil elevates shit, rather than the bashing that he can sometimes devolve into. Would have been very interesting had skynyrd gotten this one. hey hey my my and vice versa. perhaps the most elegant and fitting bookends of any album. Hard to find a job!
I try not to think in terms of genre too much, but I have this opinion about punk: "Bodies" could have been the only punk song ever, and the genre would be just as good and important. What a blast; makes everyone uncomfortable - false end into fuck it all to fucker, fucking brat! I feel similarly about no shelter by RATM ( ie it could have been their only song and accomplished everything they went for). Regardless the rest of the album has some hooks, and lines, and sneering attitude and importance and all that shit, but 5 * for bodies.
Pretty tight. Zevon later played with these guys and I seem to recall they were jerks from his bio? Maybe not. I knew their harmonies were a big influence on the beatles, but this makes it evident they influenced them a lot more than that in terms of song choice and song structure. Harmonies are great though. Love Hurts!
Half of the songs are "funk" double entendres, the other half are about playing funk music, and the 10% of the 110% is the supercalifragelisticexpitalipsycidelicbootyliscious word play weirdo george p ramblings. Pretty fucking tight. Amazing guitar by kid funkadelic. Fun beats, fun call and response, silly ass but fun lyrics
Actually fun, which is not always the case for these british electronic mfs - unlike say Mylo, or the Beta Band, young boy's got hooks, and energy - like the Prodigy. Some nostalgia - I seem to remember the Rockafeller skank from a soccer video game in HS? Only downside is praise you is annoying, but catchy, and sticks.
Like Cazales run of movies in a similar time frame, or Eddie Murphies comedy in the early 80s - it doesn't make sense that that much talent and energy can congregate in one person. Not only is every aspect immaculate but he made a whole ass double album after making multiple world-changing albums just before. Sir Duke is pure Joy. Saturn is hilarious. So much funk, but so much musical movement. Easter eggs: Coolio, wild wild west, probably some more I just didn't quite catch. If this doesn't do it for you, there is no hope.
Certainly a historic document, I'm not a hip hop head and I recognize a lot of the samples. The drumming is top notch. A little one note.
Solid beats and rhymes from a guy I'd never heard of. Associated with gangstarr. This one won my heart with the prophet track in which he battles his nemesis "Mr. Ignorance." Finds that perfect balance of dumb and clever.
Riff rock. Competent. Boarders on butt rock occasionally, but hey, they were creating this sound, not derivative. I always hear ritchie blackmore is more than just smoke on the water, but this album did not convince me. Does get better toward the middle/end. And the high pitched singing on Child in Time is pretty tight.
This one's awesome. Starts with the classic tearjerker, and was worried that it would get a little maudlin, but then it cracks in with traveling man, and a twist i did not see coming. Man, T. swift might have a little musical sophistication on her but geez these lyrics are so much better than the piffle she's putting out in the last decade- God to cuckolding to down home corn pone - it's all good!
Before they head got up they ass. Height of their powers, pushing their limits. I always wonder if they even thought about Mike Scott and big music (Like did willie and waylon think about david allan coe?) or just made a prime example with the drums in the stairwell. Like all the best rock and roll : they have a little violence little peace little wistfulness, little sex, little Jesus.
Before they head got up they ass. It's innovative enough to create catchy songs with structure and climax and tension and shit, no need for the faux innovation that made their later years dreary. Always struck me as innovative music for people who don't listen to innovative music. There are some dirty good songs on this one, good hooks, and good lyrics. J. Greenwood still gets to pull weird solos and riffs off. If only they stuck with this line of thinking.
Ahhhh shit. Swampers and Aretha at the height of their powers. Love some Roger Hawkins drumming, some Spooner keys. Apparently Clapton and Cissy Houston too? Whoever did the high pitched note at the back of "Ain't no Way" earned it a five right there. Also the hollering on "Good to me."
More of a unit and more a sense of dread? than their others. I was not really aware of the hot streak these boys had. Lotsa flava, and Terminator x goes easy on the horns. Ice Cube! Eddie Murphy! All their albums serve as a historic document to count the late era fat republican talking point (something along the lines of race relations were getting better until obama and wokeness and identity politics created BLM and CRT just to mess with the nation). Of course nothing new under the sun, but the fats don't have the processing power - maybe if they listen to enough Chuck D they'll catch the woke? 5 for fight the power and 911 is a joke. Muthafuck Elvis and John Wayne!
Good. 80s synth all over the place. I've heard the hypersexual stuff was a put on - gets to be a bit much. Undeniable genius and all but this one didn't excite me too much. 4 for the prince airlines and lady cab driver, and hippy call outs.
There was a period in the earlier 2000s where it became fashionable to shit on the Doors. Fortunately the winds of change have shifted and all and goddamn the blues, flamenco, classical, jazz juxtaposition is just so good. On revisit even ones I didnt' care for in past, like backdoor man hit hard. Sure Morrison was a bit of a ridiculous cat, and pretentious, but he wrote some really really good lyrics. Song structure is immaculite. Krieger contributions are otherworldly good. Stumbling in the neon groves!
Just kinda meanders. The moon june song has some lyrics, structure and ok soloing. Re: the opening track - it is interesing to see all these prog bands creating "innovative!" noise and 30 years before radiohead deconstructed rock and roll or whatever
Fine. I remember when the pitchfork crowd was loving on these guys, and didn't really get it then. Sadly still do not get it now. Its competent music. Dancing choose, stork n owl, dlz and lovers day are ok. Almost points off for non-musical silence (ok John cage) but maybe get it back for the french spoken word (ok Serge Gainsbourg)
Fine. More energy and hooks than say - leftfield or similarly ignorant english electronics. Rapping is a bit dated. Singing dated too, but in the good sense. Interesting back story and art ambitions on these guys. Still pretentious ass move taking down the original for some remix. Ok George Lucas.
Impossible to separate this from being the formative album of my youth and musical taste. Really good. Mr. Cobain was a generational talent, and took the influences of the pixies, beatles, daniel johnson, et al and made something truly new and cohesive. Novoselic bass ranges from punk 8ths to genuinely slinky. Grohls drums are era-defining. I respect Mr. Vigs production: clean, but in the good sense- for all the imitators, nothing sounds like this - awash, underwater (matches cover) in chorus - wide range of songs, screams, wild solos yet all belong completely to the album. All songs are distinctly memorable - you could quote pretty much any lyric, or describe : acoustic four chords, acoustic two chords, starts off with the youngbloods, he goes yeah ay ee ee yeah!, starts off with slinky bass, monkey see monkey do - amonaway!, and anyone paying attention will remember. Cannot say that about many of the albums on this list. Sell the kids for food!
Another formative one. Wild that Jimi had so much guitar in him, but also a pretty impressive songwriter, composer, studio wizard. Lyrics can tend toward ... i dunno cheesy is not the right word, but whatever it is it is the best sort of that. Guitar and drums (mitch mitchell criminally overlooked drummer) are amazing, and bass keeps up. Hell noel even wrote a song. Amazing song structures - its wild that "innovators" later through today still havent really developed on ideas he was coming up with just messing around. If you have never in your life gotten chills on the solo to axis it is cause you have no soul. Sing on brother, play on drummer
Listened to this by good fortune on the way to mountain view arkansas where they just kind of hang out and play this stuff on the town square most evenings. Kind of a greatest hits of bluegrass and classic nashville country with a lot of the original artists. Interesting shop talk interspersed - i dunno if that was on the preremastered album. Anyway its fun to hear but I don't think anyone would consider these the definitive versions of the songs. Both sides now is a nice touch, and stands out just cause it was composed by big joni and not a country standard.
Serviceable rock. Heard a lot of sex on fire and its a decent track. I like the one with the bells.
Still not sure what acid jazz is - but feels like an apt descriptor among many I've seen for this. Good, but didn't stick for me this go round. Revolution 1993 sustains some pretty incredible energy throughout. Awesome drumming on this and throughout.
Pretty good. Unified albums, memorable music memorable lyrics. At times he leans into the whole goth thing a bit much (especially for his age!?) but say what you will about the tenets of goth, at least its an aesthetic. The brown apes pretty wild as is the title track of the second.
Good. I was aware of her and heard criminal back when it came out, but I was a teenager into louder stuff, and not all that interested. Genuine chamber pop (a term like psychedelic or polyrhythm that gets thrown around a lot here without necessarily applying). Cool variety of dance influenced to acoustic sort of stuff. Pretty mature songwriting and recordings especially given IIRC she wrote a lot of it in her teens. Apparently she just gets better, looking forward to it if any of thats on the list, if not will seek it out. Don't sleep to dream.
The UK and american track lists are confusing. I listened to the hour long american remaster with bonus tracks this time, but I've probably heard all the versions at some point or another. So good. The man wrote amazing and diverse, catchy, innovative, songs - with some pretty decent lyrics. nerds will forever go on about how he didn't invent stuff like feedback. Irrelevant, he crystallized the experiments of the decade on the guitar into perfect pop songs. Some of these approach the mountain stream that axis conjures up with mitchells cascading drums and hendrix's watery guitar. Some just go really hard. Tritones! Have you ever been experienced? Well I have - let me prove it to you g - 4(6)--(6)-(6)-(6)4--2h4(6)-4p2-
Amazing the divide between this and public enemy. I used to mix these guys up all the time, but the difference is stark - Run DMC is firmly in the old school. Sillier by a lot, but still with social concsiousness, other rap standards. The back and forth rapping feels almost clunky sometimes! Though sillier - it is a lot of fun! and give this a thought. The next time someone’s teaching why don’t you get taught?
Decent songs, pretty good melody's, rocks pretty hard toward the end. Good soloing. Overlong than a mug, and nothing to explain its remarkable and noncharacteristic popularity for young PF. Hair? Talkbox?
Goes harder than anything before, and arguable after - sure others are faster or more distorted, but this has a hardness that is more difficult to quantify. Listened to the Iggy mix - unclear what the difference is from Bowie and from the original. Still remember getting introduced to Search and Destroy (what an opener) through The Life Aquatic. Love the dingy piano in Raw Power. No one's learned how to do what they did - despite 50 years to do so.
First existential crisis on the list. Four or five? The back half does kinda fade out, but the songs on the first half are something else. Amazing that they managed to blueprint this with big Fela Kuti, and come up with this, which really only gives away the african influence to my ears on the great curve. Great call and response. There might actually be real polyrhythms on this (usually just music journalist's take on more than one percussionist), though I don't have enough of an ear to tell. Belew solos! Not my beautiful wife! The world moves on a womans hips/The world moves and it swivels and bops!
Exuberant, and I would argue this and James Brown get funkier than say funkadelic, just by virtue of the tightness. Some folks still aren't listening to everyday people and it shows. Sex machine mebbe a little long.
This is tight. Hits harder than more ignorant UK electronics such as the beta band. Or maybe I just prefer trip hop to house. But, real songs, with real beats. Nice weird light my fire cover. I drink on a daily basis though it seldom cools my temper. It never cools my temper.
I assume a slice of english life. Not overproduced by any means. A little oompah - ish. I suppose that is the "music hall" influence, whatever the hell that is. Still death of a clown, fantastic, and situation vacant, love me til the sun shines go hard like some of that protometal kinks of yore. This is the one with waterloo sunset, a should be universally acknowledged banger.
Lots of townsend singing. Lots of the rolling-hill-sounding who : orchestral guitar chords - driving bass, and those eternally rolling toms. Anyone who gets on Keith Moon cause he didn't really do beats just doesn't get it. Some songs a little twee or uncomfortable, but hey, points for the chutzpah. I see the millions.
Memphis shit. And NY shit I guess. Greasy ass drums show how funky one can make a soft slow beat. Restrained singing. More poppier than I would have expected. First few tracks go the hardest.
Pretty tight, nice melodies, not too annoying singing. Less abrasive than their early stuff. Some all time classics of course. One was Cat Steven's though. Prancin!
Is it a five for gram parsons tortured songs/singing? The harmonies? "Sneeky" Pete's nickname and pedal steel? the barbituate/cannabis nudie suit? The sawtooth organ that swells at just the right moment? Possibly the definitive "dark end" take (memphis shit!)? Wheels? You'll never know. Not afraid to ride or die, but 31st floor notwithstanding, your gold plated door won't keep out the Lords burning rain!
Young boys took the girl group structure/beats (particularly young hal blaine's be my baby) put some fuzzed out yet quiet guitars over it, in the 80s fashion, reminds me of psychedelic furs/big country etc ( I have no idea the timeline of these acts) and created something that sounds like nothing else, and sounds pretty damn cool. Not a 5 cause that's pretty much all they did.
More 4/4 rock than "something else by the kinks." I did not realize how many albums and good ones they had. All told more of a unit than Tommy, something to be said for economical storytelling. Great hook on victoria, good licks from dave.
Kinda a lesser pixies. Like the full sound and the instrumentals and the weird track lengths, but criminal underuse of kim deal. And the songs just aren't as interesting as we know young boy is capable of. Velouria I'd heard before, and it's the best.
One of my late discoveries, wonder if it would have impacted me the same had I discovered it from this list. Gets a five for the gloriously horny, weird, chaotic nomadic revery breakdown. But all these songs while hipster folk of their time manage to transcend into american standards. His voice is thin and fragile, but somehow powerful and perfect. I've tried his other stuff, but nothings matched. My only quibble is death to everyone which on my naive read is just recycling my least favorite philosophical trope: that the fact that life ends is what gives it meaning. Fuck that noise, I've got plenty of meaning in life without it ending, and I've got a lot more than 1001 albums to listen to literally and metaphorically. All the city's on me. Nip nap, it's all a trap!
Cool ass debut. Almost 5 starts just for the "america awake" breakdown of spiders on Conan. Worth looking up if you haven't seen it. Serj can really sing, and the metal vocals are tastefully used with moderation, which entire genres could learn from. Tight as drums. The kombucha mushroom people, sitting around all day!
Fun. Weird. I like the early bjorkisms, and the B-52 esque male counterpoint. Deus is a highlight, and the icelandic ones. Deus deus!
Derivative and all, but like keith richards who they borrow from liberally its about the competence and the feel. Solo's aren't quite to ol keefs level, but the rhythm is slinky open chord shit, and is very tight. And they just have good songs, and even give a rendering of one that otis owned without making it feel inessential. White soul singing is competent. Pretty much all the songs I recognized (missing remedy, a tight one) are on this album as well making it a powerhouse. Hey little thing let me light your candle.
I've really only heard pink moon the song. I like it, but the album has been influential enough that the first half almost felt trite now and a little samey with the droning open chords and mid range kinda adynamic singing. Starting with parasite it picks up and I really like the penultimate 3.
Very of it's time. Clapton gets a lot of hilarious hate for being a goober, and for the clear overpraise of his guitar playing. That's all reasonable, but the boy still did Cream (with some heavy hitting help!), and the geetar here is energetic and shows a true love for the source material. The doughy englishman take on some of these songs veers between embarrassing, hilarious, innappropriate, and somehow pretty cool. I.e sometimes they're singing songs about MS penitentaries, or trying straightforward delta blues or ray charles covers they have no business with, but then they put the day tripper riff in or come up with something new cause of these very limitations, and its kinda nice .
His voice is something. Usually a cool choice, sometimes just weird. A little heavy on the boogie woogie adjacent backing, but diverse lyrics, from horny, to smartass political to smart ass antireligous, to ironically? religious lyrics. Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo!
Hipster folk. It's fine.
They were so unbelievably good. Cool guests (killer mike! - this album would be a 10 out of five if they included his other feature on their greatest work: the whole world), rip gangsta boo (memphis shit), ceelo ( I imagine this is the closest we'll get to a goodie mob appearance on this list, but what do y'all even know about the dirty south anyway?). Anyway even the sketches are somewhat interesting and don't overstay their welcome. Great production. Great rapping. Good advice, like being careful about taking your hoe to the cheesecake factory. It's a good album, but gets a 5 just for BOB. And of course not the advice we want, but that we all need: don't pull the thang out, unless you plan to bang. Bob your head!
Tight ass tone, never to be recreated from the half down wah at george martins Caribbean studio. Brought in a ringer for the drums. Walk of life, title track, and of course money for nothing all bonafide classics, even if the organ is annoying on walk. Solid guitar work as always from big M. K. That's the way you do it
I'm pretty sure I've never heard any of these songs. Remarkable that this album hides out as it does. Also hilarious - very dark fantasy centric, to a nerd-asst level seldom seen pre D and D, which I think it was. Anyway all the queen ingredients and bombast are present, Brian May's guitar, immaculate songcraft, sweeping harmonies, stadium drums etc etc.
More squiggly arpeggio reliant than the man machine, which I liked better. Simultaneously pretentious and silly yet pretty fun lyrics, pseudophilosophical man in the mirror stuff. We are the showroom dummies! Never saw it that way, but now that you mention it, mein german friend...
This is pretty cool. Nice and weird music, nice and weird lyrics - I've tried to get into roxy music before, but this hit better than they ever did. Not gonna be a regular play, but I'm glad I heard it.
Wife noted that Adele took some notes on the more ballady numbers, and I'm afraid this can't be unheard. Man between him and chuck berry, I dunno - who is the true king and father of rock and roll? The philosophers can hash that one out. Wish recording technology at that point had caught up to whatever far distant future he was pulling this in from. 5 for long tall sally and the many 'whoo's that so captured Paul McCartney, and you know, the importance. Claimed he had the misery but he's having lots of fun. Better duck back down the alley
Ok, Lots better than In Rock. More swagger, more swing. I heard a lot more fancy guitar work from young mssr Blackmore. Lots of tremolo, maybe some tapping? Masters of riff rock.
In a college drawing 101 class we would play CDs while we drew. Usually the teacher's, sometimes student contributions. 'I believe in a thing called love' played on a student mix-CD, and after it ended a taciturn latino kid who always wore a dodgers cap, and who was rumored to be in a cult-like church walked across the whole large ass studio, not saying a word as we all watched, also silent, and hit repeat on the boombox. We all (fairly diverse crowd of yung'ns, first generation hippie teacher, architecture and other serious students who had to be there, arty weird kids, and misfits like me taking it for fun) immediately knew and acknowledged that this was the only correct course in that moment. What a song. These boys (like the oft-maligned kid rock in his salad days) understand rock and roll. Catchy melody, energy, and singing that is fun to sing along with. The guitar is neither innovative nor virtuosic, but they sell it (solos get objectively better if you call them, and have a guitar drop into your hands in the video). The falsetto is ridiculous but perfect. I'd heard and like some of the other songs, and really the entire album catches the right balance of perfectly dumb and perfectly fun. Guitar!
Hilarious that the whole Elvis Costello is an important artist phase of music journalism passed so many of you kids by. Weird one to nitpick on, he sings plays and writes really well. I (US born and raised) was introduced to him by my dad in HS and developed a taste. not sure what you chuckleheads are up to crying about him being on the list so many times. That said, this ones mostly just OK. I want you is an ominous asst atmospheric crusher though.
Ah divorce, good times for all. Pretty BDE - or the opposite? move to make an album like this. Unfortunately the raw funk and motown of better years was becoming the discofied string section (synthed!) monstrosity of late 70s early 80s soundtrack funk by now, so it's more interesting than pleasurable. Attorney Fees? What a joke, I need a smoke...
Take me down to the PolEEEECE! There's a few more ghost notes in the drumming than when he was with meg, but the backbone of the beats is still pretty simple, in the best of ways. But geez just do another stripes album. SOmetimes the solos sound like me myself dicking around with a new synthguitar sound. While it breaks no ground from the stripes or raconteurs, it is Jack White, a generational talent, and is fun neoblues/rock. It's a tough task it seems figuring out what relatively contemporary (last 20 years) stuff is gonna stick.
my roomate used to blast these guys constantly, was disappointed spies (a silly, but fun song) was not on this one. Anyway clocks is a pretty good song. Scientist, politik, not bad. I used to do the mazzy star slide part from fade on my bands version of green eyes. It sounds less mazzyish hearing cold play actually do it. Whatever they are dorks, but the albums pretty good.
They've got a sound and they execute it competently. A week out nothing really sticks. Love vigilantes, and all the little guitar riffs are nice.
Perhaps overusing the ride? Nah this one's ok - and has some fucking vigor and swing, unlike my favorite whipping boys the beta band or mylo. Still, if you're gonna do instrumental, vary it up a little bit or it becomes background music.
A contender for the best bob. He was of course drawing on tradition for all of this, but it all came out so wholly new. Love the apocalyptic 2nd half, love the angry driving first half. Love the captain arab saga in the middle. Still relevant too re: our good friends the supreme court I walked by a Guernsey cow Who directed me down To the Bowery slums Where people carried signs around Saying, "Ban the bums"
Dang. Ginger and Jack are forces of nature. Clapton never did better. Sure sure racist twat and all, but goddamn the solos and fills on this are good. Love the tightness, love the blues, love the psychedelia and surrealism. Coming to me with that soulfull look on your FAAAaaaaAAAAaaaaace. Coming looking like you never ever done one wrong thing...
"It's been a long night and I hate the fucking eagles." My take is not the Dude's but I get it. Edgeless, overpolished corporate country bitchrock. Still. take it easy's a good song, the harmonies, banjo and the meisner singing on take the devil are all pretty tight.
This does a lot of stuff competently, and it is a unified work despite the disparate genres. Unfortunately the common thread is it sounds just like these boys doing metal, electronica, folk etc. The singing is not good nor is it a bad singer like mick jagger making awesome music within his limitations. Nice puns. Hard to figure out which track listing is remotely the album vs the DVD video vs the special edition ad nauseum.
Like the logical/responsible song, which I'm pretty sure is these guys, there are hints at greatness and the melodies/riffs hint that they are going to go somewhere awesome any moment, but they never do.
Can see the REM, etc influence. Pretty catchy, the lyrical absurdity feels a little much, I think Robyn learned to tone it down later as a solo act. Still sounds like it could just as easily have been released last year as 1980. My favorite song was wey wey ep eh hole or whatever, which shows up on spotify despite not being on many editions of the album, so it stays 3.
Oh man, I guess if a singles band creates enough epochal singles they get to be an album band. Unbelievably good. Shame their live act and comradery didnt match the quality of the songs.
So cool. Apparently recorded in a day. Interesting in that you can see all the influence and history and still see them doing something entirely new. I like the big/merge/into eachother tracks.
Dance rock. It's ok. I like the weird horny one. bob's yer uncle?
Cool enough. Byrnes voice is a little thin yet, they don't quite create the soundscapes nor scale the heights they do elsewhere.
Fun stuff. Lots of swagger to Stewart, Wood, Bassist, et al.
It's alright. There's a little energy to it. I like the rock revival 10 years prior with the strokes and the white stripes etc better tho.
One of those albums that was innovative and influential, and still holds up and still goes hard. I thought the egg man bass was cymande for a while, but I guess it's superfly? The rappings really good too, unlike Run-DMC's album I got on this list on which I feel I could easily pull of the swapped words/lines without rehearsing, theres a lotta complex interplay. Perfect mixture of dumb and clever. More stories than JD's got Salinger.
Fine. Nothing too essential. Would be good to dance to. Appreciate the instrumentation. Always fun to listen for the grohl influences in disco.
Van the man. Caravan and Bring it on Home are my favorites. Not all of my favorites are on there, but goof though he became, he's a hell of a singer, songwriter, and showman. I like the new caledonia orchestra, strings and horns are where its at. Night shoit!
I remember this one being a huge deal for a while among the kinda nerds I roll with. I did not get it thena and still don't. There are some nice poignant-ass hooks/lines - ie: all my dreams are only wishes, or what was I thinking when I let go of you. Some decent lyrics and melody, but the radiohead level "innovation" ie noise just serves to distract, and homeboy's voice is just ok.
Damn near a five just for that fuzz bass break into WhoooaaaaOOOOAAAAH on sabotage, arguably the only rap rock song that ever needed to exist. Cue some of the nutjobs on here whining about how a rap group from brooklyn, named the Beastie Boys,"yells too much." Jesus. Hits like Rod Carew. Interesting music, violin, tibetan chants, but not as fun or as cool as Paul's Boutique.
Pretty tight. Would have got a five if it had had Ohio like I thought it did. I like stills guitar work, and neils, the harmonies are crystalline, and a pretty common observation but neils are the best songs. Like the garcia pedal steel on teach your children. Dig the CSN songs too but to a lesser degree. very much products of their time, while neil manages to make even Kent state timeless around the same time frame.
Its fine. Backwater was pretty good. Young boy should have stuck to rock and roll instead of going all ambient. Good to get these, roxy music, Eno, Genesis, Peter Gabriel are huge blind spots of mine, and lots of people seem to think they are important. Not convinced on Eno, but they're pretty fun albums so far.
It is cool how much beck can do. I prefer the James Brown imitations, and the musical collages though. While competent the market on acoustic guitars and heartbreak is long saturated.
Pretty tight. Maps is a perfect song. The beep boop guitar, tom grooves, and Karen's singing work together to range between a unique sound with coherence, and limitation otherwise.
Cool to hear a great singer with orchestral backing. Different times. Not my favorite batch of his songs, but cool title.
Love Fela. Tony Allen is a contender for greatest drummer across time and genre. This all follows the Fela formula - extended groove, improved electric piano and brass, lyrics ranging from jokes to sociopolitical stuff, but you gotta wait for them. Its a hell of a formula, and the layers his African James Brown backing provide more than justifies the repetition. Not sure how valuable ol Gingers contribution was - but kudos for coming to learn off Tony Allen, and for promoting these guys!
This ones interesting. Maybe what I thought fleet foxes should be with the orchestral pop. He does it better with clever, sometimes too clever, lyrics.
He recycles a few lines from NWA, the production sounds pretty dre-ish despite apparently being the bomb squad and Dre's cousin. Lotsa misogyny, casual violence. But - some true strong words on social conscience here and once again serves as rebuttal to the fat conservatives of today who like to dream a world where race relations were hunky dory or getting better from the 80s forward. Really proves how instrumental cube was to NWA. I only found out embarrassingly late that he was writing pretty much everyone's lyrics.
What a motherfucker of an album. Boy's got couplets, stanzas, bars whatever the kids are calling them. And yeah I hear the "music to slit wrists by" criticism, but its more complicated - so long marianne is pretty triumphant for a break up song - it turns almost to a military march. Love his singing uses its limitations, and shows the same raw edge as his lyrics on Teachers and the gloriously unhinged outro to One of Us. Musically beautiful too - even when its just guitar bass and voice it creates momentum and menace. And there are perfect touches all over - strings, mandolin?, pan pipes, choir. It all combines with his pseudoflamenco cadences and pseudopiano fingerpicking to create something pretty amazing.
Memphis Shit. Very cool. Power of Love demonstrates that though he was imitating bluesmen, gospel singers, his take on it became his own thing. The memphis boys are a good backing. The hiccups, and stutters and repeats are effective, young boy was a stylist. Love the spoken word bits. Shame about Tom Parkers weird ass managment of him. King is dead, long live the King.
Listened loud on vinyl to flex in my own sad little head on the anti Elvis chuckleheads you find here. Cool story (did this while at a day job punching cards at a makeup company I think). Cool sound. Interestingly the record I have contains watching the detectives, although apparently this was a single only at first? Nevertheless, one of my favorite drum parts - if the UK really knew what was up this skittery noise would be the basis of jungle/drum and bass variants. WTD aside, lots of poetic anger about wage slaving, unhappy marriage settling, sexual repression, semi original sin (what do we call Cain's transgression anyway) etc. It's a good album.
Interesting more than good per se. Heard some touches that remind of in utero an albini adjacent work I'm much more familiar with. Drum machine really works with what they are doing.
So cool - these guys (probably mostly polly styrene) had an ethos, a vision, a style! Singing in what I think of as Johnny Rotten delivery - often sadly imitated by punks to come but she and he were pretty much originating it as far as I can tell. Love the aesthetics, the themes, the saxophone, and the songs have pretty solid hooks.
Well at least at this point they had more edge than I vaguely associated them with later. I approve of working horns and hendrix inspired noodling into rock, but mostly fades into background. I thought peter cetera came from genesis, but genesis and chicago are bands I'm probably gonna continue to know little and care less about even after this project.
Effective rock and roll. I'm not sure I can tell the difference between singer eras. Songs on this are pretty memorable, especially coming out from under the tragic loss of a lead singer. As these boys do: lotsa double entendre and simple yet swinging drum beats, with excellent riffs and rhythm guitar from Malcom who I did not recall had tragically died with dementia...
Funner than the ignorant mylo/beta band contingent. A little less interesting than pauls boutique say in the sampling realm, I like the psychotherapy one, and really anything with lyrical content. More energy than aforementioned electronics but still kinda fades to background. Just did a crossword to occupy my mind during the last few songs.
Noise rock. Like the old saw about jazz, I am not ever sure if it is good. How do they know when they are done? These guys are interesting enough - locked in tight drums and bass with real riffs, and some beats and structure. I respect instrument mods, and this guy does a cello tuned bass with a Banjo string! Anyway, its not without talent, but like Mark Rothko or something - I could probably do this.
competent pop rock from a band I've never heard of, and am fairly certain I've never heard. Will ahve to revisit to form a final opinion, but this is a solid one for the list to reveal.
really don't care for reggae but with this guy its almost sui generi. Love the stutters, the repeats in the singing, the lopsided bass and drums. Good stuff.
Not their song but hanging on the telephone is an amazing opener, and sets the stage with some pretty impressive energy. Also tight song structure throughout with themes being hinted at then delivered, each song with a clear A B A' or C bits like its classical. Harry's voice is perfectly glassy and cold but not without passion. Five for the woahooWhoa -a - Ohh-oh on hanging.
These boys had an aesthetic that was their own, musically and all less interesting trappings eg cars and beards and two steps. Memphis shit! (Ardent studios). Cool recording history - Ol Billy Gibs got into bpm drum machines and moog bass etc. Kinda left the other boys hanging. Songs are tight, well produced, best is Sharp Dressed Man. High 3, almost four for effort, but the other songs aren't as good, and La Grange, and maybe tush are their best.
Cool that it exists. The best parts are when Ray cuts loose with the jazzy or bluesy piano, but ultimately the arrangements are a little too polished or something
Reminds me of the fleet foxes. Ingredients are all there, but somehow the beats aren't hit. It's kinda catchy, cool instrumentation, real lyrics etc, but even after a double listen I couldn't make it work for me. Tried to write the review a week after and couldn't remember, listened again and nothing stuck.
A very cool project. Been a minute since I listened, but remember quite a bit of diversity. Respect the ambition.
Has all the ones I know, and they're decent tracks. Apparently they've another album on this though. I didn't even known they had another album period. Whatever they've got a style and it works ok, does get a lil grating at album length though.
Solid album. Ms Lauren Hill, like the Y in CSNY, is making all the real contributions. It kinda sounds like wyclef jean was always corny, with shakira shakira level contributions. Lotsa 90's nostalgia - Judge Ito gets a call out! The beast is a pretty good track.
Barely remember this perhaps two weeks out. Kinda wispy singing and unfinished music that walks the line between ethereal and boring.
Maybe cause it's been so influential, and imitated it sounds like not much special. Apparently there was a lot of tuning and guitar playing innovation, but a lot of it just sounds like... maybe weezer? power chords.
Definitely understated. It's nice. Duets always a cool touch. Like the reverby guitar riffs (apparently just practice amp setting). Real lyrics, all about love. Mellower than I'm usually in the mood for.
Tight. Southern Man is a phenomenal song to rage too. The rest of it has nice weird rockers and weird soft stuff, very much on brand. I like when you dance, don't let it bring out down, only love... But. Southern man. Mr Young a master of the d minor blazer. Not like the d major (controversial?) Sweet home. When will you pay them back? - folks, who think they are serious people, will dance all around themselves to say why it's not a legitimate question, or why it's not young's to ask. It is a legitimate question, but I've done the south extensively and expect those greasy cocksucker sons of slavers will never answer.
In addition to the pretty awesome gimmicks this album lays down a sound that shows up throughout the 90s in the formative albums of my youth, nirvana to weezer to green day to mounds of the lesser stuff too. Love the silly singing, the catchy bops and melodies (later punks could take a lesson or two), ridiculous lyrics, and holy shit, open an album with the blitzkrieg bop, and the rest just happens I assume.
I hear this is not the LDR that should be on her, but who knows. It's ok, there are real songs under all the occasionally annoying vocal affectation. I like the opener just cause its kinda storytelling with some cool choices/focus
Sounds exactly like someone only ever heard the Byrd's take on Mr. Tambourine man and Goodbye Hello by tim buckley. Turns out this was released in July 67, and GH by timbu was released in august 67 so likely just some remarkable convergent evolution. Good songs, I like the 9 pound hammer cover a lot too. And yeah just vaguely 2 degree away from dylanesque and primary buckleyesque, but on their own terms.
Ambitious. I respect the hell out of making a weird polished pop album with bergman references, and many wilder topics. I like the spanish guitar, the horns. Songs don't land that hard though.
Not sure why Cobain was so derisive on this band, specifically more than a feeling when he made smells like teen spirit. It is impressive, and one could argue, punk, that some guy made this in his basement. The delp vocals do soar and I love the held high notes into a solo. Foreplay I've heard before and it always sounds like it is going into something much cooler than what it does. In the hall of the mountain king adjacent, not sure how that works. Everything else finds a four chord sort of riff, puts a solo with a lot of mordenting in it and chugs along. Its all good without ever being great.
Another formative one. Albini's (RIP) production is on point. And man such lyrics and hooks, which with such a powerhouse rhythm section makes Nirvana stand out still, despite prior overexposures. Lot's of great lines, apparently lyrics were a bit of an afterthought for young boy, but man he came up with some memorable bits. Always in that sweet spot of relatable vs specific. And man, not my observation but the tortured screaming in Scentless hits harder than any nerd future subdivision of metal ever would. Come back as fire, burn all the liars
Competent enough. Sits in a weird blues pop zone not many do? So respect I guess for that. Hiatt song naturally the strongest, she does good with his stuff.
So many folks whose taste I respect rate this highly. I can sing and dance along and all but I think I missed whatever age window I needed to catch this in. Listened multiple times to try to make it hit harder. Did he or jack white start doing this weird singing first. Better call the po-LEEEEECE!
This is pretty good. Her voice is a weak point, but she makes it work like all the best-worst rock singers do. Prince puts some very recognizable fingerprints on his, but all the songs go personal familial catholic, and are still extended and danceable without outwearing their welcome. The title track is a monster pop song.
Known quantities are the strongest, but they are strong.
He and Taupin were/are forces, and at the height of their powers here. No single song strong enough to push to 5 like madman or rocket man but a lot of good songs.
Album I've heard about, and of course seen a lot of the cover somehow (wonder why) but never actually dug into roxy music other than on occasional underwhelming youtube top of the pops exploration. I also though big brian eno was more involved with these boys but i guess he was just keyboard and left before this album. Anyway its kinda pointless. A John Cale song (fear is man's best friend I think) came on after, and before I realized the album had ended I was thinking they'd suddenly gotten good in the weird way I hoped they'd be. Alas, despite awesome things like having an oboist they never make songs worth it.
Haha this really kinda sucks. I had a favorable impression of NERD from the only album I'd ever heard by them, and still quote rhyming on top of a cop car all the time, apropos of no appropriate situation. I respect that they learned instruments or whatever, but it starts boring and only the weird fishing vignette, and a couple more catchy ones at the end save this from a one.
I may have learned that a band called slade was behind cum on feel the noize, but still defaulted to thinking it was twisted sister most days. So this was pretty much all new to me as a thing that existed. I'd heard one of the songs though. These guys are ridiculous in the best way - like the darkness. Silly spellings. Slow songs are best on this one, but respect the partying attitude.
Its's ok. Very much fragments, and though he was getting clean this feels like I can only imaging coming down off cocaine does. Not sure I want instrumentals from this guy, whose whole lyric containing songs are pretty good. Still some cool moments. Better than the idiot.
remarkable unity despite being recorded everywhere - ardent studios even (memphis shit!). Cool experimentation without losing sight of the fact that it is masters of their craft doing what they do. RP has a lot of the gurgles. Classic rock radio used to overplay a couple of these, but its been a minute, and that reverse/pre echo in whole lotta love is still the coolest production trick ever, even if it was as is the legend a happy accident. Cool robert plant gurgles, and the theft is less egregious than the first album.
I liked it better than the sound of silver, maybe just cause it feels like a middle aged manifesto, and I'm uncomfortably close to fitting that demographic. Still, fun, but not as earthshattering as some folks try to act like this cat is.
Amazing that he managed to create grunge, when he's mostly a country folky, and just built on those. Rocks harder than I realized he still could in the 90s, and while he is neither a virtuosic singer nor guitarist he is effective and he is a virtuosic songwriter, even if he love and theft's the occasional melody - IE my back pages is pretty straightforwardly lifted on this one, who knows where bob lifted it. Other interesting neil take - ambulance blues was apparently off some british folkies numbetr.
This is weird in the good sense and fun. More on the nose catchy than say the scott walkers that inspired it (I've only heard 4, on this list) and shadow puppets that it inspired. I like the ambition of just doing stuff like this, although everything that has been called chamber pop thus far has not really earned the coolness that this name suggests. Inexplicable some of the low reviews of this, there is a share of egregiously boring stuff on this list, but this ain't it.
Point off for recording at the scene of the murders? though I guess he repented. There are some pretty great songs on this, and very cool innovations in sound. Hurt and closer, march of the pigs all time bangers
Hi kids. He references NIN, who I got yesterday. Synergy. There's more art in some of my 5 rated, but he's got as much talent as any of them. THere are always lines that make you notice them. The sick soul of white america and the horror that comes with it is the theme, and it has only become more observant somehow in retrospect. Nice bouncy production from young dre, at his best around here.
whole vibe going on. Love that we get some canuck gibberish at the end. Cools story, cools songs, but almost too cool, too laid back. Nice harmonica and other instrumental touches.
Hmmm, I think I've seen that young boys have been removed from later editions of the book. I can remember in real time as an adult when these guys were the saviors/flag carriers of rock or something, but even then that rang hollow to me. WOuld ordinarily be a 3 but relative to the last two I can't
Nice country/acoustic blues on this one. Sympathy for the devil is so good it beggars belief (Banquet notwithstanding) . Love keith's stereotypical ability ot make the cliched sound vital. What's a poor boy to do? Did I hear a fiddle somewhere?
Back to back stones. In my ignorant youth, both this and beggers banquet would have felt like singles bands albums, ie i liked sympathy for the devil, paint it black, but as age and discernment are creeping in can see clearly the supra-american country music competence in beggars, (better country to come), and blues and innovation competence in aftermath, shit even ol' B. Jones had some tight contributions on this one.
Pretty enjoyable jazz. I like the spanish touches, and the conceit of structuring it as a ballet, which I am told rather than knew - ie how tf is a ballet structured?
This is cool. The rockabilly influences much more pronounced than say - the cramps, and the singing and lyrics are far and away better than the rest of the LA crew who were just yelling about depression and aggression. I only know this cause I just watched the decline of western civilizaiton on Prime. Anyway, some real poetryand harmony to be had.
I like the album as education conceit. Still can't wrap my head around indian classical, and I even took tabla lessons in a different life.
The best are the spoken word protesty ones, which I guess he was getting away from at this time, the sung stuff is not sung all that well and kinda corny but the instrumentation and heart are alright.
Not sure we needed this and San Quentin. That said, this is the better of the two. More interaction with the audience, than I recall, no san quentin reprise. Man June's singing sounds kinda dated on Jackson. Did Glen Sherley's song at the end that's a good wikipedia deep dive, and introduced me to spade cooley, a wild and horrific story there.
I like the slide and other guitar work on some. But man, it is sleepy. All jazz and jazz adjacent musicians of the last couple decades should be put on Charlie Parker's drug regimen, and get some mf pep in their tunes.
Another one of these late period records on the list where the contemporary praise doesn't quite live up to the current reality. That said, as far as broadly defined jam bandish stuff this was more catchy and structured, with some decent melody and playing. Kinda what all the kids today think their king gizzards are doing, but the ozzies lack a je ne sais quoi that these boys have, even if not much of it.
I like the choppy rhythms of drum and bass/jungle whatever other subgenres of britronica are based on chopping up and reassembling the amen beat or whatever. Not sure how one dances to it. Apparently his son knifed somebody!? Classic pom ignorance. Anyway the choppy stuffs fun, but there are too many beatless interludes and the whole damn thing, at least what's on spotify and appears to correlate with the wiki track list, is too damn long.
What an unbelievable opener, cult fires all the cylinders, and fires them hard, whatever that may mean. One of the greatest songs of all time, easily. Cool riff, cool solo, cool lyrics, cool structure ( try drumming along with the 4-3 bits) Love the metal adjacent fun rock of the rest of it. Fuck landlords. Mick played the harmonica!? I am going to have to explore these fellows more deeply but I have known that for a while .
A rarity in that the double feels entirely earned. Its got an aesthetic. Chamberlain is truly a great drummer. The adolescence of it all is intentional, and works well with that voice, which in other contexts gets pretty annoying, but works here, and we can see why Iha's not the singer. Some more D'arcy backing vocals would have been cool, but really the production is rock solid and everything across a very broad variety of styles sounds pretty amazing. All the songs have reason to exist, a trait lacking in most albums, even most albums on this list.
Exactly what we're here for. I knew king louie of course, had heard brian setzers jump jive and, but had no idea, about this. So many pasta references. So silly and chaotic. Not on the album but felicia capice is a gem.
Thoughtful, jangly rock and roll. I'd never heard of these guys, and I've seen some loooow ratings, which are inexplicable.
Very known quantity, Wilco much more tolerable in this context and they still had that Jay guy. Natalie Merchant always a cool feature. Really a cool collaborative effort taking big Woody's stuff and making something really beautiful out of it. Christ for president, please.
Man I had to go to you tube, not spotify and I don't remember much, just competent but not spectacular rock.
Her affectations can be a bit much but ms Joplin was a force of nature, and the holding company provides an appropriately raucous bluesy background. Ball and chain at Monterey with her feet slapping in the sandals next to an inflatable pencil and mama cass's mind blown remains a contender for greatest rock moment. Rock you and sock it to you, unironically.
There's just some good guitar playing on this and everyone else is competent in a way we don't get to see too much outside of studio musicians touring with a star. An acquaintance saw him play and said is thumb was the fastest moving thing she ever saw. Good hooks. Sultans is a titanic song: story, capturing a feeling, climactic solo, come on!
Ha Morrissey gets some hate, probably rightfully so, but man he manages to be so sincere with such overly dramatic nonsense and has hooks for fucking days. You're the one for me, fatty!
Post hardcore, hardcore, whatever, definitions are dumb, genres are dumb. I guess it's ok but nothing sticks out.
Hoooooly shit. Literally? These boiz are living on another plane than the rest of us. Tonsured heads gimmick, 6 string banjo, every instrument a rhythm instrument, ludicrous horny antiwar lyrics from a bunch of post discharge germany stationed army men all years before any of this would ever happen again. Showmanship and innovation. If you can't see this is a 5 you may as well give up.
Hm. Like the radiohead of their time. Portentious ass motherfuckers with a lot of talent, but not quite enough to support their pretension or to earn the right to not just deliver some tight rock and roll that they have proven they are capable of. Shine on has an interesting story, and sid fucking showed up even, but it just kinda sounds like their keyboardist just got the first pitch wheel in the world for christmas. Roy harper an interesting cat, and the title track is powerful good, but the record company bad shit just like 'money' is some plodding ass moralizing.
That thundercat guy should listen to this more. I know he already had, but big Curtis manages to actually vary up his melodies and tell interesting stories, and the bass while simpler goes soooo much harder. Pauls boutique sample - full circle!
Its not bad. And I imagine so influential that it sounds old hat, but I'm pretty sure no one was doing this kind of stuff late 80s early 90s.
Fun enough.
I had no idea this existed. Misses the complex ass vocal harmonies one expects, but I guess big BW was down for the count at this point. Anyway, interesting to see them do the socially aware stuff, and take down the fun a bit.
Some really solid swan song stuff here. The lyrics are consistently pretty good, he can barely sing anymore, but the talk sing works, well produced, hopefully serves as an f u to all the chuckleheads who are bothered by his singing on earlier records.
Fun. Love Oasis hating on this one. Not home to their all time bangers however.
Misleading, I think his son? may have done a remake? Anyway the spotify is a different Sharma, and listed as 2012. You tube had it. I love the aspect of indian classical music that relates to time of day, but I have not gotten anywhere near the ability to interpret or recognize say a dawn raga. Cool concept though, and enough western style guitar to keep my brain somewhat oriented.