Deserter's Songs
Mercury RevThe most forgettable album I think I've ever listened to. But then, if there was one more forgettable than this one, how would I know?
The most forgettable album I think I've ever listened to. But then, if there was one more forgettable than this one, how would I know?
Shleep is kinda shlitty.
2.5*
4.5*, but I can't quite round up to 5. America and Mrs. Robinson are, of course, excellent. Great cover of Hazy Shade, too. Maybe my favorite version. Several other songs I hadn't heard before that were quite good, too. But Voices of Old People, while it might be poignant, isn't something I want to listen to very often. Punky's Dilemma seems a bit silly, too.
Big band's enjoyable, Ella's an excellent singer, but not a fan of the lyrics for the most part. Showtunes aren't my jam.
Pretty good.
Love it! Fiona's awesome and this is an amazing debut album, especially given her age at the time.
Classic. Some of his best, most popular work.
Meh. Not my cup of synthesizer tea. I think they're good if you like this sort of music, though.
Great background music. Upbeat. I enjoyed it.
This is an amazing album. That's enough of a review, I think. You should definitely listen to it.
I can tell that this is good music. But I don't like it. I don't hate it either. I can't see a day where I'll think, "Man, I sure could listen to some Leonard Cohen! How about Songs of Love and Hate?!" People view and use music for different ends. I don't see myself ever wanting to use music for whatever you use Leonard Cohen for.
I did not enjoy this album. Heavy 80's style synthesizers are still not my jam, 40+ years later. I didn't enjoy either of the covers. Maybe this is considered a great album because it was somehow new for the time?
Instrumentation is fun. Might go so far as to say funky. The lyrics are a bit lacking for most of it, but that's probably not the point w/George. Really wish you could do half stars. This would be a 3.5 for me.
Fun. Quite different than music I normally listen to.
Reading a bit about Suede on Wikipedia and the critics kinda nailed this one, I'd say. Overblown and pretentious. Not bad, necessarily, but I feel no need to listen to it again.
If you like Aretha, you'll like this one. Solid album. No complaints.
It was good. He's got a good voice. Overall, enjoyable listen.
I do not like this album. It seems to be far too experimental for me to see much merit in it. Don't enjoy his voice, the lyrics are hard to decipher at all most of the time and it's mostly just keyboard tones and noises. Luckily, it was only 1/2 hour.
Boo. Some clever rhymes, but overall lyrics are kinda dumb. Also, the whole "sex packets" concept album thing is wacky and dumb, too. 2* based on the strength of Humpty Dance and some catchy music here and there.
Decent rock album. Enjoyed more than just Song #2.
No real standouts aside from the radio releases. It's not bad, overall.
Awful. I can just see their smug, annoying. college avant-garde art collective faces when the released this shite onto an unsuspecting public. I would happily punch any one of the Residents in the face for this atrocity of an album. It's unfortunate that you can't give zero stars or negative stars. The world is a worse place for having this album in it.
Fun music.
Meh. I can see how it was influential, given the times, etc. But I just don't dig it much.
Thinking about other music from this era, this was a markedly different sound. Love the sax!
Strong performance by one of the all-time greats.
A good friend said it best, that this album was “fiercely okay. An intense beige.”
Started off rather ordinary before veering towards amusing, interesting, and entertaining.
Good singer, too much early 80's synthesizer. Overall, it's pretty OK.
I enjoyed it much more than I was expecting. Good singer, solid songs, overall. Enjoyed Jump in to the Fire, in particular. Can't justify only 3*, but 4 seems a little too high. 3.5 would be perfect. I'm going with 4.
It's OK.
It sure is a jazz album.
Yay. A jazz album.
This would be another great candidate for 3.5*. I enjoyed it and it's got several strong tracks on it. No complaints, really. Good representative of the genre.
This further reinforces that I'd like Bob's songs more if he had someone else sing them. I'm a lyrics guy and I find it hard to pay attention to them with his voice singing them. The music's good, the singing bad.
If you like guitar rock, this album is for you. Great lyrics, singing, instrumentation, arrangement. Very clean sounding guitars. Love the whole album.
Not bad. Don't love the singer. If I liked him more, I,d give it another star.
It was alright? I didn't like some some song, but most weren't bad. His singing changes quite a bit from song to song. Liked the music, though, for the most part.
The most forgettable album I think I've ever listened to. But then, if there was one more forgettable than this one, how would I know?
Better than I thought it would be.
Outstanding! Probably the best grunge album every produced.
I liked this album quite a bit. This is another one where 3.5 stars would be perfect.
Not bad. Some standouts, but a fair amount of ho-hum songs.
Classic.
Bad album. Lyrics are dumb and amazingly repetitive. Underlying music is simple and unimaginative. I know I'm not a fan of the genre, but come on! There's better rap/hip-hop out there for sure.
Solid album. Enjoyed it.
Meh. Not bad. Liked it better than most rap/hip-hop I've heard.
Possibly the wimpiest album I've ever heard.
Pretty good. Another candidate for 3.5*.
Lots of 80's synth. Annie Lennox is a great singer. Sweet Dreams is the clear standout for me.
This was pretty OK.
It was OK. Felt a little dated, but inoffensive. Decent background music.
Seems like a good representative of its genre. Sexy time music!
I'd never listened to Abraxas, but I love the old Greatest Hits album. So it turns out I'd already listened to most of this album. What a wonderful album. Couldn't be happier.
Excellent album by an excellent band.
I, on the other hand, AM angry enough at the world to enjoy the hell out of this. It's a perfect example of the genre. I'm not always in the mood for speed metal, but when I am, Vulgar Display is at the top of my list.
Solid, classic, rock album.
Considering the reviews this album got by lots of folks, I'm clearly missing something. It's not bad and I can see that Jeff had talent, but it just doesn't blow up my skirt much.
Don't really dig Leonard's jam. Seems talented, but it's just not my flavor.
It's good and I can see why a lot of people love this album. I'd like it more if it was shorter and it rocked a bit more. Maybe 20-30% more? Another good candidate for 3.5 stars.
Pretty good. I liked the variety. Didn't dislike most of the rap, which is saying something for me. Another great candidate for 3.5*. Rounding up with this one, for a change.
Fiercely mediocre at first, mildly annoying by the time you're done with it. He's a decent enough singer, but his lyrics are kinda bad and odd. "The dragon of disgust"? Plus, his scataly-boppity-do nonsense at the end of a bunch of songs just sucks.
It was pretty decent. I can actually see what they're talking about regarding this band's influence on later bands. They seem like they would have fit better into the late 60's than early 80's.
I mean, it's good if you like Morrissey's singing. I can only handle so much of it.
Rough. I know a lot of people like him, but MAN, those vocals. Couple songs I sorta liked. But the arglebargle is nearly unlistenable.
Not bad, but all the songs sound pretty much the same.
Better than I was expecting.
It's long, French, repetitive and has a wide variety of beeps and boops.
Pretty meh. Can't quite give it a 2. Good candidate for 2.5, though.
It's fine.
Pleasant voice. All the songs sound sorta similar, though.
This was an enjoyable listen. She's got a great voice and the music's varied, well produced and played.
Excellent rock album. Love the heavy 70's organ sound.
It was pretty OK.
It's not bad. I bet it's a fun live show, though.
I've never been a huge Aerosmith fan. This isn't bad, kinda like Rats in the Cellar. I'd give it 3.5 if it was an option.
Didn't really care for it. Dumb band name, too.
I like the Talking Heads more the older I get. But this one was not my favorite. Still good, but didn't love it.
Very meh. This band sounded like they were actively doing drugs while recording the album.
Personally, I dance to forget. It would seem I've been away from Classic Rock radio stations long enough to appreciate this. Probably the first time I've ever listened on headphones, too. The Eagles catch a lot of flack, but this is a solid album. Particularly enjoy the Joe Walsh guitar.
It was fine.
I liked it. I like big band jazz way better than the smaller scale style. Again, wish there were 1/2 stars. This would be 3.5 for me.
I liked it. 3.5 stars.
Meh. I think she's probably good at what she does, but I don't love what she does. Songs all sound quite similar. Don't love her singing style. I was ready for the album to be over before it actually was. 2.5
It's worth 5 stars just for the Boxer. The last verse of which is one of the best verses ever written. I'd never listened to this entire album, just half of it from the Greatest Hits album. All killer, no filler.
2.5*
It's good. But all the tracks are pretty similar sounding. Prefer Graceland, I've got to say.
Seems like a movie soundtrack more than a music album. I didn't mind it.
Shleep is kinda shlitty.
I know it's revolutionary for the time. But in the present...meh.
It's competent rock music. I neither love nor hate it.
Top-tier beeps and boops. I think it's excellent dance music. Is it brilliant from a song-writing or musicianship perspective? Nope.
I did not enjoy this album.
Clearly talented. I'd give it 2.5 if I could.
The only reason I'm giving this 4* is Norwegian Wood. There are some decent songs aside from that, but nothing that rises to 4 for me. I get that it was very influential at the time, etc. etc. But damn, Norwegian Wood is a good song.
Comically bad album.
That was a real trip for biscuits and now we're all wet, daddio. Not only am I not sophisticated enough to enjoy all this jazzy skittly-boppin', but I'm somewhat self-conscious of the fact that I don't get/like it. 2.5*, but giving it three so I don't seem like such a square.
Not my bag, really. Where my fucking dominos at
A fine album. 3.5, if it were an option.
It's something. That's for sure.
Excellent lyricist. I'd like his work even more if he were a better singer or had a good singer do that singing for him. Still, overall enjoyable experience for me.
Solid album. Not my favorite. Much like the other Oasis album.
3.5* and I might have gone 4 if I'd listened to it more.
Been a long time since I've listened to the entire album. It's still great.
Worth 4* for Born to Run itself, don't love the rest of the album enough to bump it up to 5*, but it'd be a 4.5* for me, were that an option.
Nope
I do enjoy the ska.
Solid 80's pop rock. Rio and Hungry were definitely the right singles to pick from the album.
Winter is an excellent song. I like her singing on this better than some of her subsequent work. 3.5*
Meh.
At this moment, you should be with us, feeling like we do. . . Great album. Three Days is one of my all time favorite songs. Most of the others are great, too.
Kinda dull. 2.5*
Yay drugs?
I believe I got this album right around when it came out on cassette tape. Must have been about 10 or 11 at the time and loved it. Haven't listened to the entire album in decades, I'd wager. I still love it.
Competent dance music.
Now I truly understand why folks hated hippies in the 60's. If there was a good singer amongst this merrily annoying band of Scots, I might have given this 3*s. But nope! 2 it is. Fight me.
Chamber pop as a genre is kinda new to me. I think it's got promise. This guy, though. I actually laughed out loud at some of his lyrics. Maybe I was supposed to, though?
Tempted to give it 4*, just for Take It Easy, but I'm going to go with 3.5*.
OK, then started to get mildly irritating to keep listening to the whole album. 2.5* is about right.
Much like Jazz as a genre, I don't think I'm cool and/or sophisticated enough to get Radiohead. I like a couple of their songs from other albums and they're clearly talented. Maybe some day I'll get it and join the ranks of. . . Radioheaders?
I didn't hate it.
Good, but not as good as Bridge.
I think I'd like Radiohead up to 20% more if Thom would try to sing better more often. I just don't like his singing style, which makes me not even think about attempting to pay attention to his lyrics.
I liked this, particularly Culture Wars. I can't quite bring myself to give it 4*. 3.5*.
Weak 3*. It felt like a very long album.
This is pretty good. Enjoyed it more than I expected.
It's weird, but I don't hate it.
I was familiar with several of the tracks, but I enjoyed the rest of them, too.
Some of my favorites on one of their best albums. 4.5*, but I have to round up for this one.
Definitely liked some of the songs. I bet this sort of jazz is really fun live.
Good stuff.
I read only a little about lo-fi music. New thing to me that I don't believe I enjoy, if these guys are representative of the genre. There were some bits here and there that I sorta liked. At times, I heard hints of early Beatles. But mostly, I think I'd like them if they'd just try harder to be better musicians. 2.5 if it was an option, but rounding up to 3 as I wasn't consistently irritated by their music.
Karen's voice is just lovely, no doubt about it. Very clean, talented arrangements. But it's just kinda boring overall to me. If I'm ever in the mood to drink a conservative amount of wine with a reasonable amount of friends at a scenic location with pleasant weather, I'll probably pop this album on in the background.
The music is actually fine. The lyrics are just trash. So glad I'll never have to listen to it again.
Some really good stuff on this one. I'd like most of the songs with the chorus better without the chorus. Some of the songs he chose to cover have some pretty corny lyrics, too, but those were probably typical of the time and genre. I'd probably like it better if it was a single album of just the stongest material. All told, still excellent.
It's decent; couple good ones. I like the bass line in the beginning of Picasso's Last Words. 3.5*
It was fine. Not my thing.
At times, I was thinking 4 stars, but 3.5 is as high as I can go, I think. I don't love his singing most of the time. I do enjoy the music, though, for the most part. I could see this band growing on me w/repeat listens.
Come for the can-banging, stay for the drills! This was different, I'll give it that. Some of the sounds were genuinely unpleasant to listen to, as in ear pain. But I sorta, maybe enjoyed some of the -dubs at the end of the album. With all that said, though. I think 2 is the best I could do. If I could pick and choose tracks, maybe I could get to 3. But that's not the world we live in. We must listen to these albums. In their entirety.
I don't love the lyrics or her singing. Some of it's pretty repetitive, too. Music's fine, though.
Good stuff. Several stand-out tracks. Bruce uses more vibrato than I'd like at times, but a great metal singer, for sure. If I go back and listen to it more, I'm sure it will grow on me.
Classic. One of my favorite Zep albums.
It was OK. Sort of a cross b/w the Cure and U2, but not as good as either.
Good stuff for the most part. Voodoo Chile (Slight Return) may be the coolest song ever recorded.
It was fine.
I liked the music, but the lyrics were sorta gross, comical or just strange at various points. I think he's probably a good singer when he's not trying to sound like a blues man.
Meh.
I'd give it 3.5 if it were an option.
Not my jam, daddio. Most of the songs sound pretty similar. I know her voice is supposed to be top-notch, but I don't love the singing style. I'm probably just unsophisticated.
For the most part, not a huge fan of her singing, in spite of her clear talent. I did enjoy a couple songs, though.
The more I listen to Elvis and the older I get, the more I like him.
3.5*. Pleasant voice enjoyed some of the music. A bit too jammy for me, though.
Wow. Almost entirely hits. I don't think I've ever heard the whole album before.
I liked it better than most punk I've heard. But that's not much of an endorsement from me.
3.5*
2.5* and didn't get rounded up.
It was OK.
4.5* and I can't quite bring myself to round up to 5. Good stuff, great Grapevine cover.
Not quite sure what to make of Randy. He's got some good lyrics. Easy enough to listen to his music.
I like QOTSA and this album, but wouldn't have picked it for their representative album. Solid first album, though, and I think it would grow on me with repeated listens. 3.5*.
Not my thing.
I liked it at times. Gets a bit cacophonous for me at other times. Enjoyed it more than a lot of jazz I've listened to on this project.
Very hit or miss for me. A few I liked, most I didn't.
Not bad. Another band that I think is probably fairly talented, but I don't really dig what they're doing. Good background music, sort of "atmospheric" most of the time. Singer sounds Dylan-esque at times, which isn't really a compliment from my perspective.
4.5* - Don't love Jimi's singing or lyrics all the time. While he's undeniably a game-changing guitarist, I think Mitch and Noel deserve more credit. Some of their instrumental only portions of songs just sound great together.
Meh.
If this album was just Tainted Love and Where Did Our Love Go?, I'd be rating it solid 4*s. Maybe even 4.5. But they also wrote their own songs and, subsequently, performed them. So that brings us down to a 3* rating (3.5*probably due to TL and WDOLG). It was all so very 80's. But Sex Dwarf is probably the best song ever written, so yeah. 3.5* Final Score.
Layla's undeniably a great song. Rest of the album is pretty good, if a bit "jammy" for my taste.
That one part in the song where he said, "Borogoroga waagaja!" Man! It really hit me in the feels. Such tender restraint. And then there was that other song where they all thrashed on their instruments for a minute or so, melodically. Just wow! Jesus Christ. This is why Animal isn't the lead singer in Electric Mayhem.
Rounding up to a 4, but it's pretty close anyway.
4.5*, but I can't quite round up to 5. America and Mrs. Robinson are, of course, excellent. Great cover of Hazy Shade, too. Maybe my favorite version. Several other songs I hadn't heard before that were quite good, too. But Voices of Old People, while it might be poignant, isn't something I want to listen to very often. Punky's Dilemma seems a bit silly, too.
Actually pretty good pop. Recognized a couple songs from my youth, which is always fun when you've almost forgotten them. Some good instrumental work, too, the bass in particular caught my interest on several tracks. 3.5*
Didn't care for it. Really struggling to decide if it's 2 or 3 stars. 2.5 is my real rating.
Peak 90's alternative Meh.
Yeah, this is a 5* album. Especially impressive given that it's her debut.
I enjoyed it.
More solid CCR. While I understand the urge to write a song about chooglin' after using it in one song, I think maintaining the mystery of what, in fact, it means to choogle would have been the smarter play.
Holy shit this is a good album.
I'll give it 4 just because of its gargantuan status. Some good stuff, but some of it sounds quite dated. I think Michael himself summed it up: You're a vegetable, ow!
It's fine.
It was fine. I'd probably rate it a 2.5, but it's not irritating enough to get just 2.
I'm sure I've said this before, but I'd like his stuff better if he didn't sing most of it. Plus, this seemed pretty meh, overall.
I kinda wanted to like this more. But I like different flavors of angry music than this. Not big into the screaming argle bargle vocals for any bands. 2.5, but in this case, I can't round up. There were too many irritating songs for a 3*.
I didn't like this album, particularly. I generally only like the song Are You Gonna Go My Way? by Lenny. I find his lyrics to be fairly uninspired and repetitive. Don't much care for his singing, either. But I didn't find it to be an irritating album, so it gets 3.
It was fine. Probably good for its time. Simple rhymes and lots of 'em.
Pretty good. I'd rate it 3.5, but rounding up to 4, given how many 3's I've had of late and won't lump this in with them. He's a competent singer, but I don't love his vocals. That's the main thing holding him back. Seems like a lesser version of Jack Bruce, vocally. Solid music, though.
It was fine.
It's fun, inoffensive music. Great background music for dancin' your way around the house doing some light housework. 3.5*
Can't say I enjoyed it, particularly. But he seems to be good at what he's doing.
I like Bob. I'm thinking 3.5*, which I will round to 4.
It was interesting. Not irritating.
One of the best metal albums ever.
Maybe 3.5*? I mostly liked it.
It was fine.
Not bad, musically sounded a bit like early U2.
Good stuff. Fell in Love with a Girl and We are Going to be Friends are both excellent little tunes.
This was OK. I bet if you like Indian music, this is pretty revolutionary.
It's fine. Probably very good for the time.
3.5* Much like their 2nd album, couple standouts and the rest is pretty decent. They have a cool groove, I overall.
It was kinda fun.
It's good dance music. Album's too long, though.
All the songs sounded pretty much the same. Very meh.
I know it's heretical, but I don't love Nina's singing that much. There are times when she sounds amazing, but taken as a whole, it's just not for me. Not a knock on her talent, which is obvious. Just another talented person that doesn't appeal to me in particular that much. End of disclaimer.
Good dance music, I suppose.
I seem to like about 10% of Zappa's work.
Very fun.
Probably my favorite Metallica album. It's just got that extra level of thrash.
3.5* rounded up to 4*. I don't love the Who, but certainly respect their outsized impact on rock. Particularly for this being their debut from 1966 AND it having My Generation and The Ox, it's impressive. The Ox is just a banger. I think I came to realize that the main reason I don't love the Who is Daltrey's voice. I like it in some songs, mostly later in their career, but not universally across their catalog. Also, I really like The Ox, in case I didn't mention it.
Clearly, Nick had some talent, both as a performer and song-writer. But it's just so bland to me.
Songwriting's fine. Music and musicianship is pretty good. Lyrics and singing are boring to me. Overall result is fiercely bland.
Fun music, but don't like the singer for most of songs. Worked on a couple very well, but not on most for me. 3.5*
4.5* Mostly bangers, but not quite enough to push it to a full 5*'s, unfortunately. So much talent in this band.
Not bad. Lovely voice. Would be interesting to hear her sing real words.