Jesus Christmas this blew. Singers who canāt sing. Musicians who canāt play. Engineers & producers who canāt engineer & produce. And the worst example of a 60ās band that āthinks it has something to say ā.
Not my cup of tea. Didnāt like the voices, which were kind of all throaty altos, the music was dark & psychedelically heavy, with a lot of use of a 60ās style pedal for the guitars. Overall it just presented a dark, dated, gloomy vibe in my opinion.
Not my cup of tea. Songs arenāt catchy or tuneful for the most part, & itās kind of cold & depressing.
About what I expected ā meandering prog rock. A few catchy hooks here and there followed by endless, pointless, boring improvisational solos. Sadly, Iām just not a classic rock guy. I have now listened to three of the best albums of all time: Disraeli Gears, Station to Station & Fragile. Really didnāt have much use for any of them. Disraeli Gears was gloomy and dark and heavy, Station to Station was cold and emotionless, and Fragile is pointlessly meandering. I need some hooks and melody. I get it ā Iām not a particularly sophisticated listener.
I guess the world just keeps turning, & so do I. Iām old enough that all of these classic albums are of my time. But the world moves on, musical tastes change, as have mine. Thatās not to say that Iām up to date & love ātodayās musicā - I donāt. But my tastes have moved deeply into jazz & world music as Iāve aged. So listening to these old chestnuts, my attitude is āwow, theyāre dated. Some of itās ok, but most of it doesnāt speak to me anymoreā. This album is the same. Interesting for a single run through, but as a whole, not interesting enough to listen to again.
Never liked the Doors. They always seemed overly dramatic, self-absorbed & self-impressed. That said, this album was ok. Didnāt hate it as much as I figured I would. Wonāt listen again, but at least I can say I listened to it.
Good album. Fun to listen to every few years. Couple of truly classic songs, but again, with the overwhelming ubiquity of the classic rock format, you only need to hear them once every few years at this point. Something I wish they hadnāt done: I think itās great that they have a deep love of blues and country like a lot of British musicians do/did. But I just wish, as theyāre trying to shine light on these songs, and honor them, that Jagger would just sing them in his regular voice. When he tries to adopt a hillbilly twang, it moves the song into the realm of parody. And Iām not really sure that thatās what they were going for.
At last weāve gotten out of the classic rock rut & songs that've been so overplayed we never need to hear them again, no matter how earth-shaking in their original release. This list is called ā1001 Abums To Hear Before You Dieā, and so far Iād heard them all. This is the first one Iāve not heard before. Somebody else said it was really interesting to hear āBittersweet Symphonyā in context with all these other songs, and I completely agree. Also, sounds a little more current even though by now itās 25 years old than the other 40 to 50 year old tracks weāve been listening to. Donāt know that I will listen to it on repeat like some ref reviewers have said, but I had fun listening to it once all the way through. Do absolutely get the Oasis comparison though.
Other than the hits, Iām not a traditional U2 listener. Nothing against them, but I stopped āfollowingā bands years ago. So Iād never heard most of these songs. Really enjoyed them. This is the first album thatās been sent my way Iād listen to more than once.
Another listener put it as succinctly as I ever could: āExcellent background music, but not much that drives it into the foreground for me.ā The sad thing is I like this as much as a lot of the ātrueā classics that have come my way. Guess Iām just not that deep.
Like the poppy hits. Not nuts about the rest of it.
Pretty, beautiful album. Unfortunately, Iām not quite old enough to have listened to it when it first came out and to realize how revolutionary it sounded. So at this stage of the game, to me, it sounds like a lot of other baroque pop or chamber pop issues by dozens if not, hundreds of other artists. And I have to rely on historians to tell me that this was never ever done before and that when it came out peopleās jaws just fell on the floor. It really only works to be a jaw-dropping album if you were around when it first came out. I wasnāt
There was a time I considered myself ādeeplyā into music. I would listen to an album scores, if not hundreds, of times. I would pore over lyrics, obsess over phrasing, dissect every note, all in an effort to understand the ātruthā the artist was trying to impart. Sadly, those days are long behind me. Now, I use music to āsoundtrackā my life. So music is always playing, but in the background, usually to set a mood. I really donāt have the time or inclination to approach it any differently at this point. So viewed in this context, I liked this album fine. Iāve always enjoyed Dylanās crazy voice & weird phrasing & fun & cool lyrics & wordplay. But its historical impact was lost on me. I enjoyed it & it was a fun listen, but thatās about all. I get that an artist wants you to be moved in some way by their art, but saying it was āfunā is a damn sight better than saying you hated it, in my book. But possibly not from the artists view.
Not my cup of tea. Music kinda sounds all the same. I get punk was trying to do something different. But while listening to a musical revolution in progress, before it matures into whatever itās gonna be, may be riveting to some, and thatās fine. But for me itās too difficult. Itās like watching kids grow up - some people love children, but Iād a lot rather interact with the adult the child will grow into. Made it through 6 of the 37 songs on this ācollectors editionā Spotify gave me.
I donāt know why, but the Ramones have always reminded me of speeded up ā50s teeny-booper rock. Pretty repetitive & a bit boring, but I do appreciate that itās the founding of a genre. As someone else said, could be fun to have on in the background of a party. Glad I heard it, but wouldnāt listen to it again. Thereās a huge difference between āgoodā music & āinterestingā music, & every single person gets to decide what that is for themselves. When this album abruptly ended after 20-something minutes, everyone in the room said āHuh. That was interesting.ā
Jesus Christmas this blew. Singers who canāt sing. Musicians who canāt play. Engineers & producers who canāt engineer & produce. And the worst example of a 60ās band that āthinks it has something to say ā.
Really enjoyed this. A good mix of genres made listening fun.
Not my style. Never did appreciate the whole hardcore/grunge/sludge thing. Could never participate in the existential anger/angst the music offered. Just was never that disaffected. Made it through 2.5 songs.
Not available on Spotify