1001 Albums Summary

Meh—tedious head-bob fluff.

Worthwhile revisit. My daughter (born in 1986) has this one. Adele is a class act and has the talent and durability, at least so far, to enjoy her worthy success. I recently watched a documentary on Linda Ronstaht and it struck me that Adele’s vocal range, tonality and stylings are beautifully similar to Linda’s. Would it be a worthwhile project to have Adele rearrange the Ronstaht hits for a revival of interest in Linda’s work? Too often limited arranging and scrimpy budgets hindered the durability of the older artists’ songs. The sad ending of a career due to illness is a fate no one wants. Enjoyed the selection, thanks.

Nice choice—I have wanted to listen to her music and never made the time. Jazz singers make it sound so easy and natural. Sinatra had a three part documentary that did an excellent job of describing how long and hard he worked at his vocal stylings. Phrasing is key along with so much emotional control. Nina deserves to be on the list. Thanks.

Owned it. Millions of words have been written on Michael and his career. Wish he hadn’t done the icky plastic surgery obsession. Still creeps me out. Personally, I lived just east of Gary in South Bend, Indiana in the early sixties. As schoolchildren, would ride through the Gary area in school busses on our way to field trips in Chicago. The sky over the Gary area was rust red and felt like grapefruit juice spray— pure nitric and sulfuric acid in Gary’s air from untreated steel-making emissions. It’s a wonder anyone would have enough lung tissue left after living there (like the Jackson family) to pursue a vocal career. (I returned to Gary on a photographic field trip in 2012. The larger limestone buildings were still accessible, but barely, by then. I heard the town has finally demolished much of the downtown since). Back then, cars rusted from the top down, and aluminum-sided houses corroded from the acidic air pollution. Then there’s the case study of family life that the Jacksons had. In the entertainment business no less; another ton of words written. Sigh. The music from this album is still regularly rotated on radio. And “Thriller” is a Halloween staple. Still top-quality musical arrangements and Michael had unmistakably genuine talent. Too bad about the other icky stuff of his life. The fact that Jacksons lived anywhere near Gary at the time of pure acid air and thrived vocally is a minor miracle that seems overlooked in the millions of words others have written about Michael and his family. Definitely a worthy selection.

Listened to it twice. Actually not bad background listening. Def a big change from “Thriller” but a lot happened socially between the 1980s and early 2000s. I see from the reviews that opinions from those who were much younger than I at this time, are split on this album; and alt isn’t my era, but… There was versatility and a load of enthusiasm here. A lot happened to childhoods between mine (1950s-60s) and the kids born after the 1990s. If emotional responses to authority in the young is not reflected in art then it’s time to reboot the species. Glad to have listened—my brain feels more elastic already.

Got through it. They had a definite style and sound. I’m not the biggest fan, but liked several cuts. It may slide off this list someday, but they had some big hits.

Listened to it several times. Good to hear rock and roll evolve. Sometimes a good riff is just a good riff and not meaty enough for a longer piece, so it was a bold choice to keep some selections short. I read the Wikipedia entry on White Blood Cells to confirm my thought that it was sketchy and roughed-out sounding on purpose. While it’s not my era or grabbed me with a singular cut, they were compelling and had a distinct style. And confidence in their work.

Nice revisit. Dating myself here, but knew it was a 78 from the cover and old Capital logo. Time warp. Amazing how hard the musicians worked at the perfect sound given the relative harshness of their lives then. Jazz is easy sounding and a nightmare to sight-read on a score. These are the guys who invented and cemented it. Thanks for the chance to revisit the bravest of the early movement. Miles was unique.

Ewwwwwwwww. Def one of those love it/hate it selections. So much meh and obviously I’m on the hate it side. I listened to Rick Wakeman’s “The Six Wives of Henry VIII to remind myself of a what I consider a better album selection from that year.

Liked it—brash and confident. Can’t believe it’s nearly 30 years old!

Thank you for this one. I have always been haunted by “Every Major Dude Will Tell You” so it was a happy moment to revisit it. Had it on a playlist but must have been deleted or removed.

Didn’t grab me. Had high expectations from the wiki report. Not my taste I guess

Excellent vintage selection. Some real classics here.

One of ‘The Albums Everyone Had’. Can’t believe it’s as old as it is. Still killer rock. Hope some younger folks get blown away by it from your project.

Listened to it—not my taste or era but appreciated the overall expression.

I’ve seen Yes in concert several times—they toured constantly in the 1970s. Quite the experience. So I’m a fan and of course, enjoyed this selection. Thanks. Not surprised by the negative reviews—prog can be pretentious and over-the-top sounding. No one kind of music suits everyone, and that’s a good thing.

Enjoyed the selection. Makes me wonder if younger listeners aren’t tired of these 1970s albums. Loved that the cover art was composed of Polaroid images—a very versatile and cool film that isn’t made anymore, sadly.

I listened to it. Liked the music better than the rap. I had a hard time understanding the words, especially when there’s competing sounds and voices. Overall, I liked the variety and scope of most of the selections. From reading the other reviews, the Fugees have a dedicated fan base and I appreciate that.

Totally new group to me and I like dance music, so thanks! I was busy in the 90s so I missed this. Glad you chose it. I enjoyed the retro sound; yes, the vocalist sounds a great deal like Stevie Wonder accompanied by the big brass sound of Chicago. Lots of energy here. The music kept this old lady hustling. Not sure what’s going on with the big buffalo head…Political statement or just funky fashion, but hey, glad I listened.

Seemed more like ambient music—no selections really stood out.

Listening to this album prompted me to do something I’d not done before—listen to their first eight albums in the order they were released. Glad I did. While Green wasn’t my fav album, it gave me a better understanding of their intentions to keep changing and staying creative and challenged by their music. (Loved how they swapped instruments. Thanks for the Wiki link btw, it always helps.) They had great staying power and really tried hard to keep their music fresh. Didn’t realize they’d been around since 1980. Impressive volume of work. Gotta love this band and the artistry behind their music.

Wasn’t familiar with Elbow—glad I listened.

Found it morose and failed to hold my interest.

Listened to this after listening to The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd. Not a bad choice. Radiohead held their own. Glad I went back and checked this one out.

Kept losing my attention but it filled time. Good background music.

I enjoyed this album and already had selection of theirs on one of my playlists.

Never listened to this album and was unfamiliar with the backstory—glad to know it now. Thanks.

Very ambitious young woman with loads of talent. Hope she has staying power—she seems to have a lot of support. I’m too far past my ability to keep up with the dizzying array of niche artists that populate the music scene now, but I liked her stamina and grit. Glad I listened—I wish her success in her career and personal relationships.

Listened to it several times, then checked out her first album. Quite an ambitious artist. Liked her energy and creativity. She definitely spent part of her life in war zones. International influences are obvious in her music. I will try to check out her later albums as well.

Listened to it—wanted to like it more than I actually did. Definitely had an international sound going but just didn’t catch my attention or affection that well.

I had just relistened to this a month ago. Always soothing to my soul.

Wasn’t a huge fan at the time—still not.

Listened to this and a few other albums by Captain Beefheart. A few songs hold up. This was a group that hard-core rock and roll enthusiasts listened to. They didn’t get a lot of rotation on the big mainstream radio stations back then, but so few alt groups got air time when you heard, maybe, 8 songs per hour. And those eight songs were mostly bubble gum rock. Glad to see people discovering Beefheart—and liking his music—in the listener reviews.

Listened to it several times—easy to understand why they are so popular. Enjoyed the variety and playlisted a song.

Really enjoyed this one

This was the style of popular music Rock and Roll rebelled against. I turned 21 in the early 70s so bars that played Samba music were usually full of newly divorced men in full mid-life crises mode who fancied comb-overs and polyester leisure suits, and drove convertible sports cars. The place always reeked of English Leather or British Sterling cologne. To us, this was the music of the horrifically aging and uncool generation. Now, it’s a music style—but it’s heavily laden with awful (but funny) generational memories for me. It was hard to be objective, so let’s call it a 3/5.

Great rock and roll. Knew a few of their songs from radio, but never heard this collection. Glad I listened to the album several times.

Listened to it, but can’t get into rap. I tried though.

Listened to it—good ambient music. More melodic than a lot of the early electronic music I heard back in the 70s. Interesting suggestion—surprised it made it on this list, but hey, it’s supposed to broaden our musical exposure, and this one certainly did.

Good old rowdy rock

Listened to it several times—enjoyed the energy

A classic

Managed to listen to it—I noticed it was another love or hate selection. I think it sounds like a group of talented lads going thru a sordid phase. Decidedly meh.

Never heard the entire album before—put me to sleep. Guess I’m not a huge fan, but classic “dad rock”.

Wasn’t a fan then and not a fan now.

A classic—heard most of this from the kids’ rooms while they were in high school. Glad to revisit—thanks and happy it made the list.

Listened to it while busy—was great background music. A few cuts were good to workout to. It didn’t get on my nerves or sound horribly outdated to me.

A bit dated—Good ambience listening, but not a grabber of a selection for me.

All new to me—pleasantly surprised by it. A few songs drafted, but overall glad to have listened to it.

Liked it

More notable for its locale. Old time country music just was never my thing, but a nod to the grit it took to get this project done. Johnny led a rowdy life.

Amazing how good it still sounds. Rock and roll pioneers who are still at it in their geezerhood. It’s an incredibly hard life that only looks easy. Mick is a brilliant survivor.

Wanted to like it more than I did.

Not a fan.

Started strong—good energy; I really liked the drum work. Found my attention wandering for the last half.

I was never a big Bowie fan, but enjoyed the collection. Thanks.

Listened to it. Won’t again, but I’ve endured worse. Got a bit repetitive but that’s grunge rock.

Another one of Those Albums Everyone Had. I own it still. Loved it then and still do.

I currently live in Memphis—he’s still huge here. Wish he had stuck to the music and dumped the awful movie career. He was type-cast in those awful 1960s movies which were a damning indictment of how Black Listing talented writers/directors/artists in the movie and television business made a big stinking mess of movies made for the mass (lily white bread) audience…As decided upon by white talentless businessmen. Absolutely detailed Elvis’ musical talents. Too bad he got himself literally worked to death for a dead-end career in Vegas. That so cheapened his ability and natural talent. Enjoyed the listen. His voice was really chirpy at that age. I did visit Graceland and my sense of him was that he truly was a decent person who tried to do the right thing. If he had just fired the manager, canned the movie aspirations and spent his late 30s into 40s back here and between Memphis/Nashville/New Orleans working strictly on music with the especially talented musicians from our area—it might have been a better life that suited his character and background.

I liked it. His voice and style are unmistakable, which is something today. It may slide off this list as newer talents emerge, but he is a credible artist. Seems to work hard at his musicianship and writing.

Enjoyed the memories. Wish radio DJs would have played more of these cuts than just “Rock and Roll Star”. And I’ve heard “Tambourine Man” a few hundred times more than necessary. Thanks for this one.

Had never heard of this one or the musicians—very pleased with the listen. Actually playlisted it and would never heard of it without this experience. Just the right tempo and style to get this old girl off the couch and moving around. Really steams me to hear folks ‘my age’ complain about ‘music these days’ when no effort is made to crank the radio dial past the Oldies channels. Kill me now… I may not care for all of these albums, but listening to them is broadening my brain instead of grouching my disposition and I thank you for that.

Isaac Hayes and Marvin Gaye were great voices of soul early on. Easy to forget younger listeners know Isaac from his work outside of his artistry as a soul singer. We lost Marvin way too young. Never listened to this at the time, but I had Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On. Enjoyed the listen—doesn’t sound dated at all!

Another one of Those Albums Everyone Had. I’d forgotten it’s a double. Pink Floyd has held their own and managed to be respected by each generation since. Just heard the Memphis Symphony Orchestra do their own arrangement of Dark Side of the Moon—blew away the concert hall with a huge assembly of orchestra members. Fifty years later and Pink Floyd can still kick it.

She has a haunting quality about her voice. It’s a shame she got scapegoated for her pushback against pervert priests. Personal preference here though—I wasn’t a fan then and still not. I can never envision her smiling, happy or vibrant. But she had a unique voice and talent. Glad to at least have listened to her album.

Really enjoyed this one. Had heard a few of these songs but never the album. Heard a lot of Pink Floyd influence in some of their slow intros. Thanks for putting this on the list—it deserves to be there.

Listened—not a big fan and it just didn’t grab my attention.