Shaft
Isaac Hayes5/10 - 3/5 I was surprised to see a soundtrack come up. It sounds pretty good, but it does just end up being background music. I struggled to stay present and invested.
5/10 - 3/5 I was surprised to see a soundtrack come up. It sounds pretty good, but it does just end up being background music. I struggled to stay present and invested.
7.5/10 Great classic rock album. It's about kickin' ass and having a great time. Good vocals, really awesome guitar work. There are classics on it for a reason.
6.5/10 Great piano work, but all the songs were pretty slow, and a few sounded really similar. Overall good, but not my style.
5/10 Not my style, for sure. Decent songwriting, but pretty slow and repetitive.
9/10 - 5/5 Much more variety than the previous albums I got. Amazing instrumentation, along with surprises like castanets. Several top 100 songs and some I didn't know I knew. Great vocals and songwriting. A good album to really sit and listen to.
7/10 Very chill, moody, atmospheric. Slight Of Monsters & Men notes. Really like the vibe, just not a vibe I'd want all the time. Really well made. Sprinkles of interesting percussion.
7.5/10 - 4/5 Standout song: Come Back Baby. It has amazing energy, so fun. The Queen of Soul. Some recognizable classics on the album. Varied energy, some slow, 1 real bop (Come Back Baby).
The Undertones - The Undertones 6/10 - 3/5 Pretty repetitive. Many songs blur together, even though they're decent. Seems like The Ramones but not as good.
5/10 - 3/5 I was surprised to see a soundtrack come up. It sounds pretty good, but it does just end up being background music. I struggled to stay present and invested.
6.5/10 - 4/5 Pretty good thrash. I really enjoyed the variation inside of each song. Long, sprawling, different sounding sections. Despite that, some themes were more questionable, and the vocals didn't do anything for me.
8/10 - 4/5 Really fun! Probably the most fun album so far. Heard some songs that reminded me of Bowie and Queen, a little. That wild west song at the end is a jam. And Mr Blue Sky? Forget about it!
8/10 - 4/5 Golden Years is of course a slap. As is Stay. Very good mix of funk and rock. Some really mellow vibe-y songs as well, like the album closer. The opener is really interesting, I think it was in 4/5? Solid album.
6/10 - 3/5 Good flow, classic NY hip-hop. Every song sounds pretty similar, with no standouts. It has a good vibe with the martial arts vibe, but I'd never pick it first.
8.5/10 - 4/5 This was the first album that I really knew from this list. Super good listen, as always. Really interesting flow of energy, with even the slower songs having jamming sections. It was pioneering when it first came out, and holds up.
8.5/10 - 4/5 Most fun so far. Funky, exciting. It feels somewhere between glitzy NY and a hippie convent. I was surprised by the energy and electronic elements. The Pink Floyd cover is strange, but good.
6/10 - 3/5 Interesting mix of slow introspective songs and yee haw. Bragg is not a great singer. Some touching and fun moments, but nothing wowed.
5/10 - 3/5 Not really my vibe. I do appreciate all the effort that went into it, and it has a good vibe, but it's pretty slow and atmospheric.
7.5/10 - 4/5 Some amazing moments in this one, specifically the endings of the first 2 songs. Feels a little bloated as an album, but I love the overall vibe and amount of energy. Some good slow burns I didn't expect.
6.5/10 - 3/5 The subtle electronic elements were quite a nice surprise in this otherwise straightforward album. Bossa nova/samba isn't really my style, but this was decent. Few moments of energy, wish there were more.
8.5/10 - 4/5 Really like the album. I knew more songs than I thought I would. Four Sticks being in 5/4(?) is amazing. I love When The Levee Breaks. I didn't expect Led Zeppelin to get so swampy and heavy sounding.
8/10 - 4/5 Stellar bass. Very funky and creative lines. Overall, really clever album. It was really varied. I like these styles of voices more on straight up pop punk stuff, but it fit here. Great energy throughout, and cool pushing of boundaries.
7/10 - 4/5 Really pleasant listen. Very well made, soothing, lightly sensual. Not my usual style, but very enjoyable.
7.5/10 - 4/5 Crazy. Love the really unique rhythms and frantic switches in energy. Good, uncanny vocals, great screams. I've never heard anything like this album before that didn't come from SOAD.
7.5/10 - 4/5 Excellent harmonies. Really woodsy, warm vibe. This should be the soundtrack to the Wildwood movie. There were some great moments throughout.
7/10 - 4/5 Really interesting nugget of history! Didn't expect a lesson with this album. Really experimental, really fun. Proto everything, like people have said. Extremely experimental for the 60s. It sort of fell off on the last third, though. The bonus songs could have been left off.
7.5/10 - 4/5 Somewhat a better (imo) version of what Billie Eilish is doing. Really soft, but with good energy moments throughout. Great listen, solid down-the-middle pop.
4/10 - 2/5 I like how experimental they are, especially for the 60s. I just don't like how it sounds. Abrasive and annoying at times. Real clown vibe. I didn't get used to the sound until the 7th song. Fun elements of percussion and more jungle sounding Brazilian elements, with some really very loud guitar noodling on top. Not particularly my jam.
7/10 - 3/5 The intro to Section 43 sounds like Tool. The comic references were really interesting, but didn't really fit. I liked the 60s sound to it, but it wasn't great. Slight elements of Beatles, Stones, and The Doors, but just not as good as any of them.
7/10 - 3/5 I only knew 1 or 2 songs going into this album, so I expected a lot more energy. The female singer's voice kicks ass. Seriously underutilized. Comin' Back To Me sounds like Bob Dylan, which I didn't expect. Overall, a little more of a snoozer than I expected.
7.5/10 - 4/5 Excellent bass, wow. I didn't expect that with trip-hop! Cool listen, great vibe. Some songs felt a little long and meandering, though. All the vocals were really good.
8.5/10 - 4/5 Didn't expect songs that you'd want to do the twist to. Much boppier than I expected. Great Southern rock! Such good guitar work, and John Fogerty's voice could stop a train.
8.5/10 - 4/5 Such a pioneer. I knew several songs going in, and I like that the album sits in its own lane. Excellent blend of occasionally country-leaning folk and electronic hip hop. The mellower and moody songs didn't bring the album down. They helped set the tone and genre.
7/10 - 3/5 I liked how this album sounds, but the songs are longer than they need to be. It felt repetitive. I'd assume that's mostly because of the genre, which I'm not super familiar with.
5/10 - 2/5 This was a skim for me. Not a fan of the not-really-singing, not a fan of the generally mellow sound. Just wasn't it.
8/10 - 4/5 Sounds like the Stones, Radiohead, U2, Bjork (vaguely instrumentally), hip hop, horns, violin, slide guitar. Amazing creativity, doesn't sound derivative. Unfortunately falls off and feels less experimental towards the last 3rd.
7.5/10 - 3/5 I had heard this album before, and it didn't really stick with me. It was better than I remember, but just so long.
7/10 - 3/5 Liked the sound, but I didn't listen to the whole thing. I've been waiting on a banger album and this just wasn't it.
7.5/10 - 3/5 There are some absolute hits here, for sure. It's a very well constructed album, too. But besides the hits, it's a little mellow for my tastes.
8/10 - 4/5 Great short album. Really good style, tight instrumentation. And Bobby's voice works so well for this style. Consise album with no room for filler, and a pretty fun listen.
7.5/10 - 4/5 I listened to this one while really focused on a project. I enjoyed it, but it didn't really stick with me. May need to revisit it sometime. I like the experimentation and overall sound! But I believe I'd like Kid A or OK Computer more.
6.5/10 - 3/5 It's alright. After the hit that was Come On Eileen, they really went in a weird direction. Too much talking and rambling, not enough energy or MUSIC, really.
7/10 - 3/5 Title track is awesome, a little too long. The rest of the album is similar to the most mid Billy Joel/Elton John (if he wore a biker jacket) experience imaginable.
8/10 - 4/5 Much creepier and artier than I expected. Love the prog elements that made their way in. Really solid theme and cohesive sound throughout.
7/10 - 3/5 Pretty cool experiment with a symphony! I didn't like Hetfield's voice live as much on recordings (he had trained in baritone singing before, so it was less gritty and more operatic). And 2 hours? If I was in the audience, sure. But listening just didn't hit the same.
6/10 - 3/5 Skimmed it, it was just not my style.
8/10 - 4/5 Pretty solid early rock. Good sound, fun influences. I knew more songs than I thought I would.
8/10 - 4/5 Didn't love a lot of the content, but the skits were interesting (bordering on fun). What got me was the SOUND. These are some amazing instrumentals, and some iconic songs. The second to last song has a fantastic instrumental. Wow.
7.5/10 - 3/5 Mellow acoustic indie new wave. Not great, not horrible. I did like the sound, but so many similar bands did it so much better.