I’m usually not so much into music before the 80s. There are some exceptions. CCR is alright. I’ve probably heard a number of the songs on this album before but apart from Proud Mary nothing that stuck with me. Or maybe, it’s that I remember the Tina Turner version. What is this? Swamp Rock… Blusey Rock. Rock from the Bayou with Blues. I liked Proud Mary the most and Keep On Chooglin’ the least. That last one was too repetitive droney, getting on my nerves sounding. Maybe it works with drugs.

I know Tracy Chapman and I know this album. I thought I knew the whole album pretty well but the last three songs did not seem familiar at all. They don’t really do it for me. Funny enough those are the ones that are more run of the mill love song lyrics and not the poignant society critical songs as the other songs on the album. I do like her voice and most of her song writing. Apparently not enough that I kept up with the rest of her work. Sure, I know a couple more songs of hers, it just doesn’t do it enough for me, to want to listen to all her albums and I’m usually good after listening to a couple songs at a time. So, I just read that a white country guy covered her song ‘Fast Car’ aaaand it’s exactly how she sings it including the part about working in the supermarket as a checkout girl. It just sounds and feels wrong. Yeah, nope.

Woah, interesting! Never heard of DJ Shadow, I don’t think I ever listened to anything by him. Is it like Proggy HipHop? HipHoppy Electronica? MAD Genius soundscaping! I’m the 4th track in and it’s keeping my interest and not annoying me. So far ‘Building Steam With A Grain Of Salt’ is the track that stood out for me. Mmmmh, ‘Stem/Long Stem’ is yummy. … dang, I fell asleep. I was just really tired and this album really relaxing. Psst, I can relax/ fall asleep to the right kind of GrindCore Metal too. Anyhu, this was a sweet surprise and most welcome new discovery. I’ll gladly re-listen to it in a more fully conscious state of awareness. Loved it very hard! 🎶🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🎶

Meh Sure, everyone of a certain age group knows The Police and there’s two well known songs on this album that give an instant connect. The only other song that made my ears twitch was ‘Everyone Stares’. I have to admit that I really wasn’t much into listening to albums until this past year. Truthfully, I was expecting more and found it rather disappointingly bla and in parts too annoyingly repetitive. Someone told me recently that Sting isn’t a nice guy in the being a giant arrogant dicktwat kinda person. That soured him for me.

Another case where the album doesn’t really do it for me. It sounds like 60s Schlagermusik. Sure, I know ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ and ‘Can’t Buy Me Love. Don’t know the rest of the songs and don’t care much about them either. The one Beatles song that I’ve come to really love this past year is ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’. None of these songs on this album come anywhere close for me. I’ll add to it that I even prefer that song covered by others, like Girl In A Coma, more than by the Beatles. It’s just hype pop music of its time and that kind of boy band sound is way past its time for me.

Well that was a quickie… I have a ten minute walk to work and I (skip) listened to the album on the way one morning. Yeah, just not my tunes. And gosh, every single one about one or another way of love, getting it, keeping it, loosing it, finding it, crying about it. You get the picture. It’s just too much, like a 12 song long sugarshocksweet candy bar. Now I need something hardy, like some good growly grind core metal.

I never listened to a whole The Smith album before. I had a friend who was really into them. Through them I knew ‘Girlfriend In A Coma’. When I just checked through the Spotify discography, I didn’t even have that one liked but ‘A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours’. Very fun 80s song. Let me listen to see if I like any songs from this album. None really stood out majorly to me. I knew two more of the songs but nothing that swept me away. I do not mind Morrissey’s voice and I’m still good after 1-2 songs. They are all happy tunes sounding songs that have deeply sad, silly and Aggro lyrics. Does not really work for me. If I want to listen to songs about sad things I need them to also sound sad. Same with silly and Aggro.

I wanted to like this album, I didn’t.

Swing makes my brain itch. Not for me.

Never heard of them. Hmmmh, interesting. It’s harmonious and varied enough to keep me engaged and not it’s not annoying. There’s some parts with too many repetitions but I can stand it. I think, I like the last song on the album ‘Calendars and Clocks’ the most.

Nope… love the beat, can’t stand the whiney boy vocals.

I like a number of their well known songs like Sultans of Swing. But I don’t really need to listen to a whole album, at once, ever, at all.

Lala..lalalala..lala..lalalalaaaaa *expels air* it’s just so lala