Some of these are absolute classics, but a few really dragged the album down.
I liked the heavy handedness!
Other than Everybody's Talking and maybe the Dolphins, I really struggled to find anything memorable or interesting about this one. It does set a certain lethargic mood so I guess that's something
I'm surprised how well I liked this given my vague memories of Virtual Insanity. Funny hat man was not a cool thing to like in my corner of suburbia. This album has some solid grooves and likely the century's best use of didgeridoo in a funk song.
This was a favorite album of my mom's when I was a kid, so I've heard it countless times. I don't love everything on it, but there are some absolute classics. I'm not usually struck by lyrics, but Graceland and Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes are masterpieces in the way the poetry and music play together. Call Me Al is a certified banger even after playing it hundreds of times in basketball pep band. Easy 5 stars.
I thought there were examples of good lyrics and some genuinely catchy hooks (Doo Wop and Everything is Everything stick out), but the melody and songwriting just don't do anything for me. Vocal runs for days though.
Not my favorite by Miles, but a solid listen. I've never had a coke bender, but I imagine it feels like this sounds.
Catchy AF and holds up well. Absolutely wild how this made me feel old when it came out, and now it's old music for old millennials. Time comes for us all.
Tons of fun musical ideas, gathered from all over the spectrum, and assembled with humor. Probably I don't find any deep connection to anything here, but its influence is undeniable
I like the use of jazz and gospel in the mix, and the verse has some good moments, but it hasn't aged all that well IMO. The first track is the high point.
Sometimes a single great sing can elevate an otherwise boring album. Preacher Man is a pretty good song, but in this case I think he rest of the album is so boring and corny that it actually makes me like that song less.
I guess I can see how this was a standout at the time. I like the Iggy mix the best, but both have such a weird sound to me. The vocals sound way too clean and subdued for the rest of the musical context, and there's not much musically or lyrically to get excited about.
Just some solid 60s blue note jazz.
WTF this is just a blatant rip-off of Tenacious D's sound. Pretty sick tbh.
Can't deny the vocals, and Hello is a banger, but I'm just bored with the rest.
Great album. A classic for a reason.
David Byrne makes giant strides in giving musicians the artistic freedom to be weird as fuck, and I love him for it. Once in a Lifetime is perfect and kind of carries the rest of the album.
This one is still in regular rotation for me. Love it.
Weird for the sake of weird, which I can get behind. Kind of sounds like Beck if he came about in the age of Yes.
Somehow the algorithm gave me Holger Czukay yesterday followed immediately by Can today. I've never so much as heard of this genre before. I tend to love weird shit, but this even pushes my boundaries. I can hear the roots of so much music that I love here, and it's kind of like discovering that your parents had full and complex lives before you were ever born. I will say this album pairs poorly with a flourescently lit gym in 2024.
Never heard of these guys, and I will definitely come back to this one a few times. There are some drum and guitar runs here that remind me of Yes but with a more straightforward structure.
H I G H - N O T E - G R E A S E
Not the worst reggae I've ever heard.
Until now, I didn't know So Far was a compilation album, and after listening to this album that it pulls from, it makes sense. Teach Your Children Well, Helpless, and Woodstock are timeless, but so much of the rest of this album has not aged well IMO.
Nothing bad or offensive, but so boring I couldn't make it past track 5.
Willie has such an understated talent for delivery.
Light my Fire is a great track, especially the organ/guitar-led meandering jam in the middle. The rest of the album is a big meh from me, but maybe you had to be there. The mixing and balance between the band is excellent, with every part contributing without being too busy, but a lot of the songwriting just doesn't hit for me. I'm pretty sure The End was made up entirely on the spot and recorded in one take without any critical review.
In the Light is perfect.
I've never even heard of this band, and I'm honestly blown away that this is from 1993. I'll come back to this one.
Fellas, is it gay to like melody? But seriously even though there's not much interesting melody or progression, there's plenty of energy, talent, and catchy lyrics to make this a fun listen
I just can't with Randy Newman
How have I never listened to this before?
Paul's Boutique is objectively the better album, but this one gets a big nostalgia bonus from me.
I get that the shock is the point, and I know that this album is not written for me as someone who has not been through shit. I can respect it, but I don't connect to it. My Name Is and Rick Bottom are high points worth a listen at least.
Well executed but boring department store rock.
As a kid especially I was a huge fan of the great pop punk sellouts Green Day. Well, it turns out the kids at school were right about me being a poser, and it wasn't just because of my department store Airwalks. "Real" punk is just too hard for me to really enjoy. I'll give Black Flag points for making a funny and compelling album at least.
One of the better options for grouchy poetry singers, but I like Leonard Cohen better. There She Goes, My Beautiful World and Hiding All Away were highlights for me.
Such killer guitar sound and production. I've not listened to much of them before, but there's no denying the influence on lots of bands that got a lot more play..
What an incredible talent. Also, I never knew that Jeff Buckley's Lilac Wine was a cover!
The production and overall sound is great, but it wears thin after even one song, making for a very boring album.
I love this album. Bob Dylan's lyrics are bizarre and hilarious and touching, somehow without making any sense at all when viewed directly. Is impressionism a thing in poetry? Stuck Inside of Mobile will always be my favorite
This is so different from everything else I know by Beck, and it's cool to hear his breadth. It strikes up a very sleepy, introspective mood, and doesn't really drift from that. If that's where you're head is when you listen, I can see the appeal, but it doesn't really land for me now as being particularly memorable.
This was some goofy shit.
I don't know man, I just can't get into this.
Great album. It's interesting to read about the critical reaction at the time and the negative reaction to the electronics and structure, since to me this album feels much more like one of Miles' earlier albums like Kind of Blue or Birth of the Cool. I'd understand that reaction on Bitches Brew for example. Maybe I feel that way just based on the mood and not any actual theory? This is an easy listen, but with plenty of variety to stay interesting.
Nirvana had some brilliant stuff, including on this album, but I don't really get into to their punk-forward scream tracks. I get why they get to be genre- and era-defining, with all the sarcasm and disdain for commercial success. This album is a high 3 for me carried by All Apologies, Heart Shaped Box, and nostalgia.
By far the best use of throat singing in a nineties electronic album
Pretty generic 80s punk
Love this album. Favorite tracks: Broken Drum and Hell Yes
Probably Aerosmith 's best work, for what that's worth.
Brave enough to rhyme "the whole world's goin' crazee" with "crazee crazee crazee crazee crazee"
The formula works
Very talented musicians, but the songwriting feels soulless, like a hastily manufactured money grab
Incredible talent, but not a lot of soul in the album outside of Layla. Still a solid listen, but not one I'll come back to.
Respectable but not my thing
A literal bop
There are some good songs here (Strange Brew, Sunshine of Your Love, SWLABR), but the bad ones (World of Pain, Blue Condition) are truly awful. Clapton may be an excellent blues guitarist, but there's some bit of authenticity or soul he's missing for me.
Neil Young's work benefits so much from the musical input of CSN, but this is still a solid album, mainly for its poetry.
If Mona Lisa Saperstein wrote music for Nora Jones
Reading the wiki description, it's interesting what passed for a "soft edge" in 1994 grunge culture. This is a great album though, and as a non-hardcore softy I appreciate the effort to dumb it down for us dirty casuals.
Why is this on here?
There is nothing tighter than a Basie horn section, and they do it while absolutely dripping with style and dynamic range. Favorite track is Splanky, but it's a tough choice.
Each component of this band is technically great, but I struggle to find any magic in the final product. Most songs sound the same and didn't really stick with me at all
This album sounds so dated now that it's hard for me to give it a fair listen and get past the corny sound. I'm not going to come back to this, but I'm not mad about it
Truly awful
Never listened to this before, and I'm blown away that this sound was around in 84. They would sound perfectly in place a full decade later.
Lou Reed is such a a weird combination of brilliance and mediocrity. Walk on the Wild Side is hilarious and catchy and weirdly poignant, and a lot of the other songwriting is charming. Lou Reed is at times an objectively terrible singer, but there are times when he delivers something great.
I love instrumental jazz but struggle so much to get into jazz vocals. I do love the surprises and imperfections that come with the live recording, and Sarah seems like a genuine talent but I have to deduct half a star for the gratuitous vibrato.
Sounds like some lame British kids struggling to replicate the authenticity of blues greats. There's not much technically wrong, and you can't blame them for trying and missing the mark, but I have no interest in listening to this one again. I'm glad for whatever extent this effort shaped the stones into the band they would become.
Living for the city is a good track that I've never heard before but the rest of this was not super memorable.
This is miles better than Nevermind, but nobody tell Billy Corgan because we need his angst for sustenance.
Much more R&B vibes than I expected. She's definitely talented, but just not my thing.
The absolute queen of whispery drama pop. This is definitely a pop album, but there was some depth that surprised me. Liability is vulnerable and endearing and was a highlight. Plus Green Light is a certified banger.
What a cool album. Chaotic and lighthearted and still musically interesting; this sounds like the best parts of the aughts indie hipster boom.
This is music that makes the it feel like the musician's joy comes so easily.
Classic album though not a frequent listen for me. I know the hardcore fans didn't love the heavily produced sound, but I think it suits their style extremely well. They are the big budget action movie of rock music.
Listen, I can navel gaze to the weirdest shit with the best of them, but this is rough.
Guess I'm a buckaroo, too. Extra star for writing my favorite Ray Charles song, Crying Time. 4.5/5
This is hilarious and chaotic and wonderful. Why is it not on Spotify??? The female vocal on Cuckoo really sent it to another level
The best thing 80s rock had to give us was to serve as a foil for 90s grunge and alt rock bands to contrast themselves against. This gets a bonus start for Sweet Child being a genuinely good song with fantastic guitar, but otherwise this is a wasteland.