This was painful. Certainly the worst album I’ve heard to be put forward on a “best album ever” list.
This is the last album before the Beatles started to get really good. Still pretty weak though, so 3/5.
Pretty difficult album to rate. I thought I was headed to a 4.5 on some songs until some of the more avant-garde tracks knocked it back down. I settle on a 3.5, with 3 being the ultimate rating.
I liked this way too much for something that sounds like the musical equivalent of JNCO jeans with lyrics that read like those memes your unhappy/unsuccessful friends post on Facebook.
I’ll probably never listen to this again, but a Solid 3.
Probably a 3.5 more than a 3, but she doesn’t get the benefit of rounding up because she’s such a goober.
This is the reason I’m trudging through this project. This was a solid album that I’ve never heard of from an artist that I’ve never heard of. It’s a little dated, and some tracks are definitely stronger than others, but overall enjoyable!
This feels like something I am supposed to pretend to like more than I actually do. I appreciate the musicianship, but I’m not seeking this out again. 2.75 stars, so I round up to 3.
This was weird as hell, and I liked it! Reminds me of a strange fusion of George Harrison-penned Beatles tunes, a little Frank Zappa and Nico on the vocals.
I love Miskito Vultures but am not otherwise one to seek out Beck. This was pretty good though. I didn’t realize Sea Change came before this, and I like the mixture of a couple of Sea Change-style tunes with what Inusually think of as Beck’s style.
Still, the white guy rap thing is pretty tough.
3.5, rounding to 4 because it is a pretty solid effort.
I mean, if this isn’t the best album of all time, it’s pretty darn close.
I don’t seek out Metallica, but I thought this album was pretty good. The mix/production is really well done. It turns out that I know a lot of Metallica songs. I enjoyed this.
The cons are it is incredibly long and sounds very similar after awhile. 3.75 stars, so it’s a 4.
Good album. The interesting situation/dynamics tends to inflate the quality of the actual music, but it is still solid. Singing about incarceration and the death penalty to those folks at that time must’ve been something. This would never happen today. Historically, a 4-5. All in with the music, perhaps more of a 3.
This sounds like something Bilbo Baggins would enjoy. Not me, though.
I’m at about a 2.5, but I’m giving it a 2 because they didn’t even write the songs that were actually decent.
I’ve never “got” the Springsteen thing, and I still don’t after listening to this album. “I’m on Fire” was the only song that I even remotely cared for. “Working on the Highway” is one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard. This is just simple music with simple themed lyrics, which maybe is the point? I’m never going to be a “Boss” fan.
Good beats. Whimsical, unique and fun. Reminiscent of a simpler time. A bit too long. 3/5.
Why do I feel like this would be even worse if I understood the words? Okay background music while I worked, but I really wanted it to be over way before it was. Trying to employ a relative bell curve on this project, so this is going to be a 1 from me dawg. I was flirting with a 2 before Ragga Dog came on. Yikes.
Let’s get cool in the pool!
I love weird stuff like this. Very Zappa-esque. Had me cracking up at times.
Ultimately was glad it was only 36 minutes, but the current eating criminally underrates this.
4/5
The music is great, but I can’t get into the cheesy angsty lyrics. Some classics on here though and undeniably a classic album in its genre. 3.5/5 goes up to a 4.
Never been a fan of U2, but this album was even worse than I thought it would be.
I guess the hits are the hits for a reason. With the exception of I Am Waiting, the remainder of the non-singles are pretty much forgettable. 3 stars on the strength of the good ones alone.
Wow, I never listened to this album because I’m not a huge hip hop listener, though I definitely appreciate it in small doses and I like several OutKast albums. As I’m typing this I realize that I sound like an old person, but I’m too lazy to reframe it and at 42, maybe I’m old anyway.
I always assumed that I would prefer the Andre 3000 side of this album based on the Hey Ya single vs. The Way You Move (also a banger), based on the feel and prior OutKast output.
Well, the Big Boi side (Disc 1) is getting the edge from me. I think the Andre side was trying to be more experimental, non-rapping, but it just falls flat overall to me. There are definite highlights and it actually gets better in the second half, but the Big Boi side feels more cohesive, honest, stronger, and just a better overall listen.
Basically a solid 3/5. Can’t be a 2 and it can’t be a 4.
This would be awesome if I put this on while I was banging a girl named Debbie after I drank 10 Schlitz beers. Sadly, I just listened to it while I walked my dog, so 2/5.
It was probably very influential at the time, but it isn’t very good to listen to.
I do like Manu Chao but Proxima Estacion is a much better album than this. Meh.
Pretty interesting album, but not really my thing.
1 or 2 songs is okay, but a full album of this music is a real slog. Didn’t really enjoy this music.
I kind of dug the album, which was a surprise. The gratuitous use of the N-word on the first track is so bad though. Without the first track, this honestly might have been a very surprising 4.
I get that rap has come a long way since this was released, but the irony of the line "Your rhymes are so cheesy, you found them in a mouse trap" being on THIS album is thicker than, well, Mr. Goodbar's "python." Keep on "rockin' the party like jumper cables" Mr. Cool J.
This is the lamest rap album I've ever heard.
When you’ve heard the hits a thousand times it is hard to put yourself back in the mind frame to appreciate just how good the music is. Great album. Samba Pa Ti pushes it from a 3.5 to a 4.
This was a good album that I’d never heard before. 3.75/5.
The actual album is not available on streaming services. I think I dodged a euro-techno bullet here.
All I remember is KLF UH-HUH UH-HUH UH-HUH.
This was awesome. I’ve tried to get into Frank Zappa in the past and it hasn’t really worked out. This is the album I needed to hear. Can’t quite give it a 5, but it’s a very, very solid 4.
I wanted to like this, but I just don’t. Every song sounded exactly the same to me. With a little Wikipedia research, I found out that this is later in her career when she had some drug/health problems. Makes sense.
Wow, this album really, really sucks!
It never quite regains the momentum from its first 6 tracks, but this is still a fantastic album. It’s true that it is indulgent, overly dramatic, pretentious and all of those other things the other reviews say, but that’s what makes it such a great rock album. I never spent much time on the 2nd disc back when I used to listen to this album, but it was fun to listen to after many years. A rare 5/5 from me.
I’ve had a few albums that sounded kind of like this style, and I think I’m just not a fan on this style of 80s music. I think it is the excessive reverb/chorus on the guitars and the drums that sound like those terrible electronic pad drum kits. It isn’t terrible, but I’m not into it. 2/5.
Great hip hop album. Love the jazz influences. It still sounds fresh even now.
Take it Easy is one of the Eagles songs that I really like, but this album generally peaks there. The album is ok, but not stellar.
I never heard this, but recognized a few songs. Good album!
I’m not a huge listener of this era/genre, but this album is pretty great. There’s a couple of clunkers in Its so Easy (especially) and Out ta Get me, but the hit rate is pretty high. Welcome to the Jungle is on the short list of greatest album openers.
This did not age well. Corny.
Does anyone else hate it when you just desperately want an album to end, it seems like it is going on forever, and then you realize that you are 3-4 songs deep in the “alternative version” or “bonus tracks” on Spotify? Man, I hate that.
Ok, look. I’ve learned that I’m just not a fan of “post punk” as part of this project. Just the term itself annoys me. Punk still existed and still exists.
Anyway, this was better than the other Echo and the Bunnymen album (Crocodiles). It’s criminal that they gave me less than a week since the last one, though. 2/5.
I’m a little torn on this album. I like the hypnotic drums, the guitar tone and the generally chill vibe. However, it’s very similar sounding throughout and eventually just gets to be too long of an album to actively listen to. I might put it on in the background in the future, but most likely not. I’m glad to have heard this though.
Kind of surprised by this album since I only know of UB40’s annoying popular hits. I had very low expectations, which were exceeded. Still, in a world where I can satisfy my reggae needs with seemingly endless Bob Marley music, I don’t really have a need for this album in my life. It was interesting to hear though.
I knew this album and had it pegged for a 4 star review ahead of time. But the. I realized that I legitimately like every song on this album. Just a great album. 5/5.
One thing I am doing in this project is reading along with the lyrics when I can on Spotify. So, today I learned that Stray Cat Blues is creepy as hell.
This is a solid album but it goes on way too long. It’s clear that the Beatles underutilized George’s songwriting talents. Probably why he had so much material.
I struggle on 3 vs. 4, but it’s going to be a 4 from me because George is my favorite beatle.
A common reaction to this experiment for me is: “holy shit, people listen to this music” followed by “holy shit, people who would undertake an experiment like this list actually revere this!”
This album just sounds like alternating between power chords, cartoonish falsetto, cartoonish noises, all packaged into nu-metal. Nahhhhhhhhhhhhh.
I hated this yesterday morning and then I put the remainder of the album on when I was a bit drunk in the evening and was feeling it.
So, context dependent I guess. It was interesting to listen to, anyway.
