This is one of the greatest albums ever produced. For an explanation just * listen *

This album taught me something. There are two ways to look at 80's music. Either as "oh, THAT is very 80's" or "damn, they made some pretty good music in that era" In plainer English, music of any era is either FROM that era or more timeless, some even seems "fresh" for first time contemporary listeners no matter what the era. I felt like The Human League is very representative of that veering towards "dated by proxy" line. Most of their music would be great for an 80's themed party but kind of dated by today's standards. On the other hand they have a couple of classics that stand the test of time and overall are worth a listen to, even without the party!

Normally when II do this rating I feel obligated, as a critic, to use that sort of objective theory to justify my ratings. It makes sense for two reasons: One is that just saying "I liked/ disllked this" and just a number has little to no meaning to the reader, and two, there is value in learning about the artists and musicians and understanding their place in history as a part of being part of this human world and it is niice to know, if one diid not, about why and how a particualar musician might have a place (at what I call) the head table. With XX I have to admit it matters less the story and more how this band, this genre, these artists just touch my soul. Often this musiic is just pure emotion for me. I can't explain it, but perhaps sometimes that is OK too! Just like that kind of movie that you like for no apparent reason other than it feels just like a pleasure to watch, I love love LOVE this band!

Michael Jackson has been called "the King of pop" for a reason. Hiis catalog and depth speak for themselves long after his untimely death. I think if he had been alive today the music industry would be a bit different, that is how influencial he was. Thiis is not my favorite album of his, (probably Thriller), but it is well rounded and has some nice moments.

OK! Rare and unexpected thing here... I LOVE this stuff!! What? I cried, laughed, and had to stop everything else I was doing simply to listen to this piece of joy. I am not certain, but pretty sure that at one point in my life I might not have given Funkadelic a listen at all, via unseen judgement of genre or whatever. Yeah, the title (and title song) has an underlying sort of yuckiness to it. But that is a trick, a ruse, and it (and the title song) are magnificent! This is pure joy! The whole album.

It is understandable why this particular Fleetwood Mac album would be so highly rated as it is chock-full of great songs by a great band. I would not say it is their absolute best but it is "in the running" as it were.

I struggled with the inconsistent feel of the songs. Some chill, some dark, some funky... I don't think you need a particular thing that links the music to a particular sound or vibe per-se. It can be a goood thing or it can be kind of jarring in a way. There is nothing wrong with the band, but the disjointed feeling I got was not my vibe.

The Beatles are among the extremely rare "untouchables." All one need do is listen. They are timeless and a joy to listen to. With that I can only rate this album against others in their canon. If I consider the subjective "how many gems are on this album" I feel safe to rate this one four stars.

First of all, this album caught me off guard. More specifically Adele did. She really is rather magnificent. She makes beautiful music no doubt. Now for the other side of the coin... I have an issue sometimes with certain bands and musicians where i like or even love most of their music... but... listening to an album, song after song can get... repetitive. Adele has a very distinct voice and largely uses piano as an accompanying instrument. This makes her songs kind of start blending a bit, beautiful as they are individually. Still though, taken in bits, I will give her more attention.

Rush is one of my all time favorite bands and as such it is impossible for me to be fully objective. This album contains one of my favorite all time songs (A passage to Bangkok) as well so... This album seemed intended to be a progression from a dystopian future to an idealized rebellion. Like Star Wars with guitars. It is probably not their most accessible album but is a real gem for anyone already familiar with the trio.

I like trip hop and smooth jazz as a general thing, so this album musically is not far off my usual tastes. That being said I found myself just sort of listening to most of the songs and only occasionally really connecting emotionally to any. While I will pay more attention to Common and have been woken to a genre I have paid too little attention to, I would like to give other artists, even some who collaborated on this very album, a closer listen.

I like Steely Dan. Good band. Some real classics. The band made its mark at a time where music was astonishingly "good" and a tremendous amount of great music was produced. I always considered Steely Dan as "somewhere in that mix," neither at the top nor the bottom of that very talented and prolific pile. So... does this album stand out, above and beyond? It is well made, professional music and I must shout out to a few gems in the mix. Aside from those, it must have to be someones "thing" to really get into past "yeah, it is pretty good."

Metallica is no doubt the epitome of "metal." They "are" what metal is. Honestly it is not my favorite genre. Made slightly worse, I don't love that constant underlying guitar riff, rhythme or whatever, that underlies all their music and makes them distinctly metal, and Metallica. At any rate I am aware of their mastery of craft and they put it all out there for their fans each and every time, which is worth a star simply by appreciation. All that said -- if you are into metal or a student of genre, this is a "must hear" album and is worth the time.

Anyone who happens to know me understands that my musical tastes span a large range. They always have, thus I found it odd that I had never heard of Orange Juice. But there it is. I enjoy that they cross genre often and are never stuck in one place for long. The reggea beats, blues, jazz, even pop and funk intermix in really quite easy listening ways. With that said, I felt that no one song or style really blew me away. For me there were no hidden gems to be found or new favorites to be gained. Otherwise I enjoyed the album.

There are lots of ways to look at music critically. One is to consider whether it is era specific or "dated." Or, if it stands the test of time and is more or less "ageless." The Waterboys sound like a band from the 70's to me, they give off that kind of vibe. It is surprising than, that this album was from the late 80's. Now it must be known that the Waterboys have among their catalog a couple of real gems. Overall I feel like they are a little too niche for me. I can't decide where to place them. I don't have the nastalgia mind to rave about their cult/ folk status, so they become one of those "yeah, they are Ok." bands.

I can't rate the Beatles against the world because the Beatles are not liike any band before or after. They are THE band. Timeless, amazing, and untouchable. Listening and trying to figure out how they are the greatest band ever is actually an impossible task. They are "too simple" make it too easy... But here we are and there it is. I will thus rate this movie based on their own catalog, and II feel like they improved over time from this groundbreaking start.

I had heard quite a few of these songs over the years and really liked them. Mainly it was over the radio or out somwhere so I never knew who the artists were. I would easily give this band a 3.5 so I will round up and call it a four.

I had made myself a sort of scale with this five star system. I figure that any "normal" album should be at least a three. And over that would have to earn a bit more credit. However, under that and the album would have to have fundamental flaws that I couldn't get past. Todd Rundgren is definitely a good music producer. I think musically he might be just a bit to experimental. If I rate this three stars someone might say "OK, than rather normal then?" But it is not... really normal at all. It is, at its core, a little too weird.

Okee Dokee... I am aware of the Doors. I don't live under a rock or somehow missed the memo. (I saw the film). Plus, I am "old enough" to have heard the Doors on the radio back iin the day. For some reason over the last few decades they have not gotten a heck of a lot of airplay, and I am really not into "oldies" stations. Listening "fresh" to this album is a real mind blower. This album is over 50 years old. And it is, as it was, amazing! This is a "must listen" in my not always humble opinion.

I try not to evaluate music, or fllm or any sort of art with too much of a critical eye on the artist. For example, I don't like Tom Cruise, but i respect his acting and commitment to his roles. Thus, I don't judge his movies as any lesser because of his personality outside that realm. I never liked Sinead O'Connor. I feel like she never had any solid agenda or platform of advocacy. Like she just hates on everyone and everything and blamed her life on everyone else. The flip flopping and drama just left me uninterested in her at all, thus I don't typically bother with her music. Now, with that said, she was surrounded by good musicians and has a good strong singing voice. The album is overlong but varied enough to not be boring.

I was waiting for this. I actually really like Muse, but actually didn't "know" Muse or make the connection to who made that song, etc. So while I like their sound and some of their songs, I had no idea who the band itself was. It was a nice discovery to put a name to music I always liked. I have to be careful in this rating becuase my subjective mood is in an odd space lately... (more negative than positive) and I am veering towards a "meh" attitude to the overall album. But! It IS music I have always favored, and my mood will change. So by way of promoting the band and their style of music...

Michael Jackson has been called "the King of pop" for a reason. Hiis catalog and depth speak for themselves long after his untimely death. I think if he had been alive today the music industry would be a bit different, that is how influencial he was. Thiis is not my favorite album of his, (probably Thriller), but it is well rounded and has some nice moments.

Yes. I will be buying this album next trip to the record store.

The Charlatans are an unfortunate band. They are lively and fun, overall quite entertaining and good, but they emerged at a time when lots of similar bands were doing similar things and they end up being one of those "Oh yeah! I have heard of them" bands. There is nothing wrong with them or their musicianship, yet there is nothing musically speaking, that makes them stand out in a list of lots of good musicians and bands that showed up on the scene around the same time.

1978. For some reason this time period in music history was amazing. Punk, rock, alternative... it was all changing, molding, becoming everything it is today. Now we have stuff like trip-hop jazz techno fusion and everything and anything musically one can imagine. All thanks to these daring musicians in the 70's willing to push the envelope. The problem with The Only Ones is that they were not the only ones, and they were not reallly groundbreaking or particular in the massive crowd of musicians breaking new ground at the time. Made worse, the lead singer, maybe a wonderful human being (IDK) sounds like he is on drugs most of the time and often the jazzy fusion bits sound like noise. Unfortunately there are so many bands on the essential listening list from this time period that this album winds up pretty far down the list...

This whole week has been filled with solid, good musicians. However, and as it is for Cat Stevens, there are lots of solid, good musicans out there. As a singer songwriter, Stevens has a MASSIVE dose of competition. They all have room at the table and there are a couple of wonderful songs on this album that are worthy of his place there. However the table is rather long and he is down there among them. As good and professional as he is it still only gets him to a "yeah, he is Ok." place.

Here we have a curious case. I have been around since the beginning when Radiohead was topping the alternative pop charts with "fake plastic trees" and the like. I followed them throught the "groundbreaking" Kid A album, and now for something completely different here. Now for the difficult part: if you are a Radiohead fan all of this progression is amazing and innovative and ... cool! But, if you do not know Radiohead, this album, (just like Kid A actually) will lose some audience via its unusual quality. For example what genre is it really? Or the fact that Radiohead is very much still Radiohead on this album but only if you "know" the band. I think this album will be very polarizing in ratings.

I personally like Afro-centric beats. I knew of it from before Paul Simon brought it mainstream in "Graceland." There is something raw and emotional in it that makes it timeless and peaceful. I did struggle a bit with the language barrier in some songs, because in some the lyrics seemed so important. But otherwise I don't think it matters as you let the music in.

Rap is connected to hip hop which is connected to trip hop which connects to house which connects to techno and all of them intermix here and there. I like the beats and if the lyrics are clever I am in. This album gves us little treats with the "skit" sections, of which I love the one with the foul mouthed kid... I laughed out loud quite a bit and rather enjoyed this album.

I try to see the good in all music. I suppose Sparks is a niche band and had a place somewhere wedged iinto that rock opera 70's thing. I struggled with good rock opera as I easily get bored with too much of one singer or style of music and rock operas have a tendancy to be a bit long. Not to say that I don't really like some rock operas. Just not all rock operas and unfortunately, this is not one of them...

I never had an "old soul" so I never quite understood the whole "nothin' better than classic rock" attitude. (The one that thinks everything else sucks after X decade). So I use a wary eye when people get nearly offensive in the way they insist on only listening to "classic rock" and wear the faded tee shirts to prove thier allegience. However, just like any tourist spot is such for a reason (like it really is breathtaking), bands like The Who prove to be pretty darn remarkable. So forgetting all the cud chewing and just hearing why The Who is so important to not just aging rockers, but to music and its continued influence today one gets the sense that sure, there are great bands being formed every day, but we might pay attention to those who broke the ground before us.

There is no genre that I would ever deny outright. I have notiiced over my lifietime that every time I decide I don't like X genre, that I like something in it. This includes southern rock. In fact, it even includes several songs by The Band itself. However, southern rock is not among my favorite genres and outside a few outlying songs I am not really a fan. This album could metaphorically sum up my interest in the genre. Most of it is "meh" to me and a couple songs prop it up.

The National remiinded me of Death cab for cutie. Kinda downbeat and EMO. I love DCab. I definitely like The National and this is a find for me. I was not totally on board with a solid album of downbeat, but that is more a product of the timing and liiving in a place with months and months of dark grey "beep" weather. So I will put them in my EMO playlist and yeah...

Ok. I am not gonna lie. With Iggy Pop I really don't care if his music is my thing or not. I do truly LOVE some of his songs and a couple are on this album, but it is actually the person himself I just love Iggy Pop, such an awsome, flawed, storied human being... and for that alone, outside anything about his influence on punk rock and iimportance within the music world and blah blah blah, he is important to me for a lot of philosophical reasons... Thus, like some people and Keanu Reeves (which i also get!!) I see Iggy Pop and I thumbs up!

One of my favorite albums of all time is Paul Simon's Graceland. It uses this band and I have loved this sort of sound ever since. With that saiid, the one thing that that album has that this one does not is instrumentals and drum beats. I had a hard time with just the vocals after a while, it is not something I am keen on, despite the emotional aspects and purity of it. Nevertheless, a remarkable group and a genre that could use a bit more mainstream exposure (if for a bit more instrumental backing).

This album is in two parts. I suppose Leonard Cohen is in two parts. One, a musician and the second, a poet. He mixes the two so seamlessly that it is easy to forget that he is a poet and a deep thinker and his words have impact, merely listening without focus on his music as such. But then something happens and you start to listen. Really listen... By turning his back on the devil he also has to turn his back on an angel... and then that last song... after one simply listens to melancholy strings and he reflects on his life and that one thing... Yeah, it could be a three star "musical" album or what it really is, a devastating and beautiful poetic story of life.

I mean this is the fountain it all stems from. The holy grail of Foo magic. The Foo Fighters have always been there along with me... So yeah, in fact "Hell Yeah!" of course this is an essential album!

I have always liked The Red Hot Chili Peppers and am kind of proud of them for still being around and putting out good stuff. I was, in fact, surprised when this album came out and it was to such a high level, as many of the bands from back in the day kinda settle on "Ok" or stop producing at all. Definititely should be on a "listen to this" list for most people interested in any genre really, as it has elements of lots of different stuff and never gets out of control.

I have had friends over the years that do not share my musical tastes. I can get past those that choose to ignore whole genres like techno or chant, but have a harder time with those that "hate X band." How can you hate a band? But I came to realize that it was often because they didn't like some political aspect or personal reason. But then there are those that simply don't like a band and it is nearly always because they don't like the singer's voice. I love (for example) Rush and Tom Petty. Both of which friends of mine have sited they don't like because they don't like the singers. I still question "every song?" But than again... I never could quite get into Neil Young. Lyrics are fine, band is fine... I think it is his voice actually. I just don't get anything emotional out of it. So I suppose I need to "get it" with my friends and know I too have this reasoning...

I recently spoke of how I like Afrocentric sound, but struggled without any instrumentals and just the a cappella thing. I can like it but after a while it gets like (IDK) boring or something. Now we have the whole package in Fela Kuti, but even more so, we have Ginger Baker. Some pasty white guy that shows up in Nigeria and just crushes the percussions ... legend! I will look for this amazing album at my local record store because I want to here it on my home stereo now...

Again, Neil Young. His voice probably does harmonize well with this group, and the others, for ME, have appealing voices. So it is a step better overall than Young's titled album. However, it still features his voice often enough for me to find it a bit of a grind at times. I know that I am stepping on the toes of those that worship at the throne of Neil Young. I have my bands and their detractors as well. But it doesn't invalidate my feelings, nor theirs by me choosing a line. I really like Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Not so much Young. It is what it is...

Thin Lizzy is another of those "good" basic bands that cover the entiire "core" of music, particularly within genre. In other words, Thin Lizzy is a hard rock, all in, put it out there 70's rock band. It doesn't take much research to realize that there were a LOT of bands like this, always has been, always will be. They are entertaining, "cool" and will have an overall generic appeal with a few hardcore fans. I suppose they also suffer from being around at a time when lots of amazing bands were around vying for air time. Nevertheless, they are solidly entertaining and good fun.

Once again with the "pile" syndrome. A couple of times now I have considered this phenomenon. It is when there is nothing particularly bad about a band or musician, but that for whatever reason they sort of find themselves in a "pile" of somewhat similarly genred and well placed alternatives. Bonniie Raitt has some shining moments and uniqueness that puts her closer to the front of the line, but ultimately... meh.

Well, I suppose we all have our limits. I honestly wanted to like this band, they had those moments where they almost seemed quite brilliant, but each and every time they went into some experimental off key or weird mixy thing that threw everything off. I was like "you had this!" why did you throw your voice off like that? What did you do with that amazing riff? Why do you feel the need to be so Brooklyn hippy?

I get the historic value of this album. But my groove is a bit more polished, more "into the future" than this. The issue for me is it is no "longer" 70's funk, and not "yet" true trip hop electronica. It is something in between. It reminds me of those early fusions between rock and hip hop that really endied up not quite committed to either. Some bands crush ther debut album and never quite reach that glory again, some bands grow better and better. I have the feeling that even though Coldcut became other bands and stuff, that collectively they got better than this. (Although it is humorous and does do "something" different.

I would call this a rock opera. It is a story or a jouney of sorts that taken collectively has a greater meaning. Looking at it this way, it is no doubt one of the greatest rock operas of all time. Taken as individual songs, it so happens to also be one of the greatest albums of all time and shows the absolute mastery of the musicians craft throughout. This is considered an important part of rock history and an important album in that history. And ... It ought to be!

The Who is a band I have always liked. The problem with "like" is it is not "love." I am not a fan-girl. Just I like them, I will generally tune in if something of theirs happens to be on the radio or in a store somewhere. The biggest problem here though, is not with liking or loving or a willingness to listen. It is that I am 100% sure if someone were there, in Leeds, this would have been an absolute life memory. But with no visuals but an album cover and crappy speakers... the (likely epic) 2 hour runtime just became a chore... So this amazing and worthy show by an A class band just doesn't translate well in our watered down digital age. At any rate, great band, poured their hearts out for their fans... Yeah!

Wow. The energy, the truth in what is said... the sad fact that it is even more important today than even then... The only thing lackiing now-a-days from then is maybe the underlying hope, or the idea that this is it, now we take our rightful place at the table. And in 2024 we are all ass backwards and this album probably couldn't even get made (and not at all be mainstream). Plus a major shout out to the humor it has and the just plain fun it is. I think it illustrates how you can be serious and angry and silly on the same album. Maybe we need a dose of "don't be so f*ing serious all the time" which we seemed to balance better back in the day.

I forgot about Devo a little. I grew up with them in a sense, but they didn't seem particularly prolific so I would be like "oh, that's a pretty good song" and then a sometimes long pause. So Devo, while I like them, and this album is so fun, are one of those "Oh yeah, those guys are pretty good" bands. I also happen to like the genre and it it is naturally easy for me to enjoy. So while I really kind of like this, and would suggest it. It would have to, just like in the "old days" occur to me to think "Oh yeah, Devo..." and say "they are pretty good, yeah."

I was hoping this would happen. This album of the day thing. I had three wishes: discovering something new, Re-discovering something from the past, and making me more aware of music and genre, etc. in general. The last one is an automatic and I enjoy that aspect of this project quite a lot. The first one has, and will continue, to happen as a natural result of listening to random albums every day. The middle one, the re-introduction to something I had (sort of) forgotten is most special. Echo and the Bunnymen is a great band, I love this style and the gritty feel and always was a big fan. They just happened to slip off my radar even while going on Joy Division binges. (which I feel they share genre with). So this "re-discovery" is super appreciated and wonderful!

I think this is so atmospheric and fun that it wins a lot of votes. Of course that is all music needs to do if it wants to. This is not about angst or edgy or dark, it is hopeful and lively, even with some of the darker themes. I can't think of any reason this should not be on a list of must listen to albums actually.

I LOVE this. I was raised in USA. The French scene there, especially back in the day, was very niche and not largely present. I heard this music on college radio and loved it, but had no idea who it was, where it came from, nada. So now all these years latter have a name with a face with music I love! Great!

I quite liked this kind of ambient quirky world music album. It is easy to listen to, definitely an artist I will consider listening to more, yes. This album is "good." Not to be mean or undervalue the album in any way, the only thing it "suffers" in a very lightly held sense, is that it doesn't have anything in particular that other albums in world music or ambient music don't have. So, it almost feels like those late 70's rock band albums that get kind of lost in the crowd, but (!) Not quite! And that makes all the difference.

At risk of sounding like a broken record, AND underwhelming a good album, I have to say the singer songwriter genre has a lot of great musicians in it, and I love the genre. But because of both those facts I have had to come up with a different way to rate their music. I have settled on an emotional connection, a feeling of closeness with the artists and how their music makes me feel. While I liked this album I didn't feel much of a connection to it (the last song worked!) but overall I felt like "yeah, they are Ok." and not OMG!

Tom Waits. I am perfectly divided with Tom Waits. I LOVE sometimes, and I can't listen at all other times.... I think one must be "in the mood" and not just jump into Tom Waits (at all, let alone an album). Yet Tom Waits is very very special. That is a fact that I will not ever ignore. Nobody else is or ever will be Tom Waits and that is something intangible, priceless... The only negative in this album is it lacks that story telling element that puts Tom Waits into an entirely different class of his own, which I would suggest is a "must do" on a lifes bucket list.

Wow. Should have known about DJ Shadow. Don't know why I didn't, but TBH, better late than never! Another good find by the 1001albumsgenerator. So yeah, shout out there. This genre skates on "my" tastes and is easy for me to like. Instead of one or two songs that crush it for me, I kinda feel like the whole album has a consistently high vibe and definitely will pay more attention to DJ Shadow's work (from whenever).

This might be an unfair rating. Music being a kind of "photograph" of life reminds us of times and places when we "first heard it" or the like. This is no nastalgia per se. It is actually a sort of fact of the human brain. So it is not a "wish to return" or a desire for today to be "like then" (although looking at today's world...) Anyhow, it is more like a feeling like "The Offsping were always cool, always there to kick in the adrenalin, when times turned towards the fun... and for that I throw out any "hard scientific objective" critiicism and just go with my gut.

I have always liked the Kinks and have an album of theirs as it is. This one is from WAY before I tuned in to them, and serves to make me think of how underrated I myself have made them. I have a couple of late 70's early 80's albums, but this is their third and it is from 1966 (no wonder the Beatles feel to it). It makes me kind of feel bad for not paying more attention. Well, better late than never!

This is annoying. Why? Because I like Simple Minds more than say... Metallica, but this site gave me the definitive Metallica album to rate. I am trying to be realistic. This album is not Simple Minds best. It is Ok. But a LOT of bands were around putting out good stuff and look at those numbers, they are not random, they are 1981 - 1984. Golden years in 80's music. So I get stuck with my profile saying I prefer "metal" to "indy" but they have me rate one of the greatest metal albums of all time and then have me rate obscure indy titles or so so albums from otherwise great bands... Kind of annoying.

I am normally "just Ok" with country music. It does, in all honesty, now a days at least, have to do with the political conservatism and MAGA bullshit that I find frankly offensive. But I see that Kacey Musgraves stirs the pot and is not playing that game. Good. She is also rather good at what she does and the music is never redundant or boring and I actually really enjoyed it. I will pay more attention to her from now on, country (sort of) or not.

I never quite knew about this band. I have, over many years and snippets of radiio and such, heard several of their songs, but never did I have a name to the music, nor listen to multiple songs (in a row) by this band. I have now, and I was right blown away by it! These guys are amazing!

Early REM is more or less among my all time favorite music. It is not nastalgiic, it doesn't make me "go back" or wish for times of old, it makes me feel present right now; it is hard to explain... I often describe it as raw, like "real" what one would experience in a small club on a Tuesday night at some ski resort. "Wow, this band is actually pretty good... what are they called again? They could get big..." This music wakes me up in a way, I get the feeling of potential energy, like the band itself, of course REM DID get big, but for us all, individually, we too "could get big" and this music reminds me of that feeling...

This threw me back to the actual movie and the whole movement to claim space in a racist environment. I think of the energy in the ghetto hero and the real inspiration behind it. The music is perfect and has the same tonal value. It is nice to hear the soundtrack complete as opposed to just during the film. I had not realized it was a soundtrack in itself. It is definitely cool.

This album is super weird. It moves from outright creep city to sublime. It moves from jarringly experimental to satisfying groove... I went back and forth on my feelings and thoughts about it practically every other song. Is it good? I think it has enough in it to recommend a listen, but one must be wary that it is... not necessarily an easy album to get through directly. On balance I suppose I "almost" kind of like it, and maybe, just maybe if I am in the right sort of mood I might like the creepy bits...

Wow. In todays English I will say "This shit is DOPE!" Even in more normal speak, this is the real deal as far as deep amazing funk is concerned. I love this album... yet another find here that I will seek out in my local record store... Yes!

This album is exactly like Metallica's album I reviewed here some time ago. The truth iis that this album IS punk. It defines it and is core to it in every way. This is the Ramones. This is ... important on every level in defining and understanding the punk era and genre. In fact, the only real difference between the core metal band's core metal album is that while I am "just OK" with metal as a genre personally, I LOVE punk and all it encompasses, so there is that!

Like with Keanu Reeves, when I see Iggy Pop, I upvote. This is early stuff, raw and a bit ambiguous in message. Lots of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll going on here. But it has one element that I always like, whether it is a singer-songwriter, a jazz fusion band, or a hardcore punk drug fueled mosh fest... it is "real." They are right there present with their audience, interactive and special. There is a lot to love here, and less to gloss over than might be usual for (what I listened to) which was a sprawling multii-hour 29 track long show. The fact I never got bored or turned away once is telling...

Okee Dokee... The Slits... ... Yup. Gotta' nope out on this one... For my tastes it is too... weird maybe? It isn't like I wasted my time or was not entertained or it has no value musically in my opinion, it is more to do with finding no place to settle... the singer outright screams sometimes, the music is... kinda jarring often... lyrically it is sometimes funny and sometimes saying something but often kind of garbled and jumbled and I suppose meant to be social critical fun... But yeah, sorry... just too weird.

I often say, on reviewing an album, about how it is good, fine, well done, BUT: yeah, it iis among the many and doesn't stand out per se and meh... Now I could technically say something similar about Sabres of Paradise... except that they are not quite "among the many." Not really. They seemed to me, song after song, to be just a step up from the greater crowd, hinting at something in there that gives them a spot at the head table. I will put them on my playlist and go through their catalog to see how I feel after that, but with this single album, things are looking pretty good.

I once heard a person claim that they didn't like Shakespeare because his work was "cliche.' " Granted we have seen ten thousand renditions of Romeo and Juliet, but considering HE WAS THE FIRST (!) he can't be working with cliche's. Everyone else can (possibly). Marvin Gaye's album has that underlying "OMG! Does that actually work?" feel to it. Even if he cannot be cliche' as an original swooner, the swooniness of it feels like it tries too hard, like it is part of the date night script. Perhaps it is just a tad too "same message" for the contemporary audience. If someone puts this album on in the background of a nice dinner I might think "that is just a little cringe..." But otherwise it is quite smooth and songs taken individually may well be "all that."

Funny how I don't love Billy Corgan's voice yet still find this to be both one of the best bands ever, and this album just great. It could have to do with how I like "whole" bands, and not just individual singers first. Not that I don't love singer/ songwriters and all that, but I appreciate that the background musicians have a name, and in the Pumpkin's case, they matter by contribution and are part of a whole that is wonderful.

First of all, II beliieve that Stevie Wonder has a place on any sort of 1001 album before you die list. It is good to know who Stevie Wonder is and the culture and history around his coming to fame. With that said, he has that soft voice and easy style that is shared by many a fine musician. The jazzy insrumentals are also highly professional and seen in many spaces. I personally find a female voice accompanying a jazz background to be more fulfilling than a male, but this is not a criticism of thiis music in any way. The issue may come down to one of two choices: Do you buy into the life story/ hype of Stevie Wonder as a legend, or do you listen to this album and rate it in an open and honest way? I choose the latter.

Odd how the person responsible for one of the most famous songs of all time "fits" in a way with that song. See, American Pie (clearly so well known that the albun is named after that one song) is telling. It is an overlong song and it doesn't pull any punches as to its goal of being a sad song meant to be so. The entire album feels like this and I can't help feel somewhat manipulated, like I am intentionally trying to search up EMO before EMO was a thing... It is never a problem to seek out sad songs, listen to them, write them, perform them... but should I be compelled to go out and buy an album full of them? I can't fault McLean for being great at the one song at a time thing, but unless you are really in the mood, maybe not listen to an entire album at once?

Hmm... I never got into K.D. Lang and now I understand why. I find her perfect as in capital P perfect for the role of lounge, jazz singer. And on occasion, beautifully, she does just that. But... But. For the most part she went with country western and rolled with it. Now. For me there are three styles of vocals in country music. The sultry, sexy, deeply country voice (swooner voice), the lively, also deeply country, twangy, no apologies hardcore "Nashville" style, OR, the "Taylor Swift sometimes does a country song" Pop/ country mixer voice. Great. Where does K.D. Lang fit into all this? Yeah, she doesn't. She is a jazz singer who for some reason went country but ... I just don't feel the vibe. Anyhow, she is "professional" and has a solid voice so sure...

I did not come into this album blind. I came into this album expecting a trudge fest. Not my favorite genre, thinking it iis going for the gansta' thing with the explicit content... I did not get what I expected. Yup, it iis explicit, but somehow it makes it WAY more genuine, more real and honest. I felt this music, like a connection to its deeper meaning and all that mumbo jumbo. Instead of looking at how much time was left or how many more songs I had to trudge through, I felt like I would have been fine to hear more, although it ended well, in a heartfelt way that only further made me really really like this...

Once again with an ironclad CANON album. This is not only a must hear, but it is also socially very relevant, perhaps even moreso today than it was originally. It was brave then, now I don't even think anyone would dare be brave enough to put the truth out there quite like this... It is a shame really, and they did it with an extreme presence of mind that makes it as humorous as it is honest. This album was brilliant the day it came out and it still is. Hell yeah!

I now see that I have a love/ hate relationship with Nine Inch Nails. The passion and depth of his angst have been a beacon with his music and the gritty rawness is always amazing. But it starts to feel hopeless, bleak, like damn dude, lighten up... But it doesn't. I love industrial music (for reasons I don't understand) but it is not necessarily dark and ominous. This is. Under the right circumstances I can really embrace this, I really do like it a lot, and always have. It is like a great movie that nobody can favorite because it would be way too emotionally taxing. Great does not equate love in these cases. I think we need to take Nine Inch Nails in smaller doses than a full on album all at once..

Almost the opposite of Trent Resnor's Nine Inch Nails dreadfest, this is much lighter and tongue in cheek funny. It does suffer from beng almost too simple musically, only saved by the "actually decent" voice of the singer and the clever laugh out loud lyrics. I don't think I would go as far as to call this a must hear album, but it IS a lot of fun!

"Today I learned..." Today I learned that even bands I really like are not that interesting "in a row." For a long time I would hear an Arcade Fire song and think "I really like this" but ultimately not follow them too closely for some reason. This has repeated over many years with me and Arcade Fire. Today I learned why. I can, and often do, come across an Arcade Fire song in a random playlist or out and about and think "thiis song is great, I love this band!" But now that I have listened to an entire album... see, individually they are great. But they have a too similar sound across songs, too similar theme across the whole album, and even share lyrics between songs in one case... I believe it was an experiment to make different feelings with the same lyrics but it didn't quite work OR both songs failed to deliver whatever the underlying message was meant to be... I love this band... one song at a time!

Iron Butterfly has an unfortunate situation. They were big when the biggest bands in recent history were emerging. This makes them "somewhat" down the list of bands in the time period, which, by default, makes them get less air play even today. So... while they are "really quite good" they are only really known by most for "that one song" which, happens to be ... unbelievably amazing, especially with the drum solo part in place and not the radio cut. It is hard for bands today for the same reasons of saturation and markets, so it is nice to give a listen to the roots of metal, so yeah, definitely worth the listen.

Sarah Vaughan is a great example of a person finding their niche. She has a wonderful "jazz" voice. Her music is like how jazz should sound. It is too bad I am so poor with knowing the genre. Sometimes I listen to jazz music all day long, but never really connect names and faces and bands. Nevertheless this is really top knotch!

II have said now probably in as many reviews as I have done here, that I have a wildly eclectiic music taste, and while I do have my go to favorites, I can listen (and enjoy) most genres. Reggae is no different, although it does that thing that specific genres do to me naturally, and make me visualize a scene where I might be listening live, or simply place me in a kind of narrative I connect with the music. Reggae and especially Bob Marley's style, smooth and mature, make me want to chill out and walk barefoot in a tropical forest, just off the beach and sit around getting high with a few like minded strangers that become forever friends wiithout a thought about it. And that is a really nice thought I think...

This is a hard review for me because the genre the Cocteau Twins operates in is my main go to. So there are two things to consider. I have a huge pool of artists floating around to consider, and most of them I view as having "this song" or "that song" I really love, and don't dig deep into their playlists. Also, those I have dug deep on are really quite special to me for whatever reason and I have been swimming in their pools for a long time. I have been viewing the Cocteau Twins mainly from the first pool, and LOVE a few of their songs. On the other hand, after a full album listen, I can see that I could get into this band enough to maybe consider putting them into my first pool after all. It may take a bit of a deeper plunge is all.

The Doors, The Beatles, Pink Floyd... certain bands are part of the musical canon of the 20th century and always will be. If one stops and considers time and place AND the natural abilities of these people it becomes truly remarkable and sensible that they remain so beloved. The Doors must have blown peoples minds when this came out. Of course it would be controversiial, it is almost brutal in its openness. But wow, thiis really truly is a corker!

Thank You "One album a Day" (1001albumgenerator.com). Sometimes word of mouth and the youtube algorythm miss something. I almost alway need a second listen to really get sold on an album. Very rarely, I think I can count on just my fingers, has an album shown up and I just crush the like button on. LCD Soundsystem is literally everything I like in music wrapped in a neat, tight package. I am gobsmacked that I never heard them before, not even a single in fact. But that does not matter, as yesterday, I was introduced by this website... I love love love this stuff!

Honestly, even if old school rock is not my go to genre, the fact of the matter is that this remains, and stands the test of time, taste, trends, and even after having heard each of these songs a billion times, this is one of the greatest rock and roll albums of all time and will remain so forever. It is hard to imagine what it must have been like to hear this for the first time when it came out.

The Rolling Stones are what I call an "elite" band. They are among a very few that have been around forever and never fail to be steady and put out good to sometimes great music. I also like Mick Jagger's voice and... and... I have had a lifelong fascination with the way the band lives their lives. They always stuck together and the crazy Club 54 lifestyles and just a life really lived, and they play on! Amaze...

Okee Dokee... So yesterday I listened to The Rolling Stones. Today I listened to this. Unfortunate timing? Not my favoriite genre? IDK. For some reason I felt like it is all "OK," but couldn't wrap my head around why it would be one of the 1001 album must hears? This project has been wonderful, eye opening, interesting, and even these questionable choices give a certain pleasure in the discovery. With this album... it isn't good or bad, it just... like "is." For example, it is like as if we were on a road trip and stopped at some restaurant/ club and they were playing in the background and someone would say, "hey, these guys are pretty good. How is your cheesburger?"

This album is probably one of those that is relegated to the second table at the wedding. I hear both Eric Clapton and Leonard Cohen in the music which is a great thing! On the other hand I can opt to listen to either of those musicians directly and kind of skip the middleman. It isn't so much that it is "like" something else as much as it doesn't have enough unqueness on its own to be distinct from something else...

EDM, electronica, cyber-punk, techno... synthwave and its assorted sub-genres... it is ALL in large part grandfathered by Gary Numan. This album is from 1979 (!) The overall consistency and lyrical timelessness of this album is amazing. (Also) even though I have not dusted off my Gary Numan CD's in a while... I actually HAVE Gary Numan CD's to begin with!

Oh, this is really quite lovely. Honestly one of the first times I was like "oh no, here we go" and was super pleasantly surprised. This is really nice music and I have them now favorited and will listen more to this new age(y) spiritual folk band. The male leads voice reminds me of Smashing Pumpkins in a way. Nice.

There is no doubt Amy Winehouse had talent. Her lyrics are very specific and laced with "after-sight is 20/20" wisdom of her untimely demise. She had that strong jazzy voice and it fit her song qualities well. I am angry with those around her who were enablers and profited from her state of being. I am angry that those closest to her were not able to say "you've gotta' step off this crazy train." And, I am angry with her. Just as I am with so many bright shining stars that take their own lives (intentionally or not). And... I am angry with a system that overvalues worth by dedicaton to work, skills, or financial success and undervalues mental health entirely. Oh but she died young (!) PR gold! Somebody "wins" ...

Interestingly enough, after coming off the Amy Winehouse album, I am seeing a certain "why" in how I feel about certain music and musicians. It isn't like this is "bad" (consider Amy Winehouse, not "bad" either). It is just that it is targeting a certain demographic, and not a big sweeping one, but an addict down one your luck one or, in this case, a life long done you down low and you gotta' just accept your lot in life... But for those who don't buy it, The bottle does not empty itself. You can't leave a place if you don't get up and go. I don't feel the life sucks then you die thing so much. Taking responsibility is not the same thing as resigning to ones fate (which is never set in stone). So while it is Ok, even decent, I can't really cry over any of it personally.

Whether by coincidence or matrix, this site has given me essentially three singer songwriters in a row. Amy Winehouse being a talented trainwreck, John Prine is all about the downtrodden country "my pickup truck broke down and my wife left and I don't have the money for booze..." sort of feel. Neither are in any way bad musically and they have thier places to be sure, but now we have James Taylor! This is what singer/ songwriter is all about. Life without total angst or total hardship. Just about normal people living and getting thrown those curveballs that sometimes graze and sometimes hurt bad. But there remains a hope in his work and a depth that is hard to obtain.

I am on the fence here. I was not personally a big fan of the main singer but found, especially at certain moments, the instrumentals to be really good. Maybe in a way I felt like I didn't have the interest to put a lot of attention into it overall, but at the same time couldn't say it was particularly bad or of any sort of poor quality. Whether it ought be on a list of must hear albums is questionable. This, of course, is always qualfied by the idea that it stands alone and has no special historical value attached. In those cases the essential listenng idea changes. In this case I was not really interested enough to see if Fairpoint Convention has any historical significance. A couple of songs I felt were rather strong. Otherwise...

This is a very good album by a very good band. I was there when it dropped and was, as everyone else, rather blown away by it. It has aged well, although the late Chris Cornell actually got even better (!) and in a sense Soundgarden was overshadowed by this. Nevertheless, a major player back in the day and still worthy, extremely worthy to own this album.

If one where to ask me to define "lounge" music as I see it, it is like jazz but not quite, contemporary without poppiness... Relaxiing but not background, joyful but not new-age. ... ... OR (!) I could just point to this album and say "yeah, lounge is like... just listen to this." Because this IS lounge at it's best and core. This is so nice and relaxing and fundamentally what we listen to music for in the first place. It doesn't matter if many don't understand the lyrics. You just listen and chill. This is very easy to listen to and really deserves to be on this list of must hear albums!

I fully believe that the Gorillaz must be polarizing. Some people must not get them at all, and others, like me, are big fans. I think it would be essential to be good with all things electronic and move towards trip hop and move towards electo-pop without finding it all to jarring. For me it works. For others, IDK? This is one of those albums that I find very satisfying and it shows the absolute huge range this band can operate in. The only reason I will not give this album five stars is because I don't know if it is my favorite album of theirs. I will have to spend the time determining which one is, or not... But this is really good stuff people!

I have a special relationship with Joy Division. I never am able to place it exactly. But of all the bands and music and styles I love and like and listen to, few particular bands or musicians affect me quite the same as Joy Division. I feel the music more than groove with it. There are only a small handful of bands that affect me like this: where I have to kind of stop what I am doing and just feel the vibe. It is like reading a good book or poem or viewing special art, and for a moment the world kind of stops and you just exist with this connection with the artist(s). There are individual songs that do this, but rarely a band, or album that does. But here it is.

For me the Klaxons fit that group I speak of that gets relegated to the corner table while better and stronger bands headline. It isn't that they are particulary bad or uninteresting. It is more to do with they are not specifically good or directly interesting. I would put this band in that pool where you question whether the allbum is a "must listen" or kind of a "yeah, I've heard of them..."

Coldplay is a great band. Not only that but I had an opportunity to listen up close to a concert and they are really good at the live shows. They put themselves out there and it shows. I think this is a very good representation of them if someone were to be introduced. I think I would rate a greatest hits album probably five stars and a "regular" album well...

It took me a while to think about this album. It was not bad or anything even close really. It is quite good actually. Of course it is "supposed to be" although in this case that does not hurt my thinking about it. I think maybe what it is is that while a couple of songs were indeed outstanding, I kind of felt like "yeah, this is Ok." I was never bored but I didn't feel the need for any volume raising or double takes. (with a shout out to the opening song).

I stand corrected. I had assumed (as I am not a huge "classic rock" fan) that Led Zeppelin IV was the cat's meow for this band. Nope. Turns out that (as I said, not a huge fan of the genre) pretty much Led Zeppelin is one of the best bands in existence and their catalog extends WAY past the "oldies" radio station playlist. Wow! Just WOW! This band IS seriously amazing... I think of some "supergroups" that emerge now and then, that perfect collision of great musicians coming together. But as great as most of the supergroups are, they are largely expected to be so and built on purpose for that effect. I think Led Zeppelin just "happened" naturally and that makes all the difference.

I can't give this a rating based on any science, historical, or cultural significance or any logical reasoning. Why? Because for whatever reason, I have a pure love for Massive Attack, the genre, the groove, the vibe... This is not their best album (in a way) but it still falls under that "Oh, you didn't really like this? Welp... That's too bad because to me it is awesome and needs no defending." Most of the time when listening to an album of the day there is a distinct change between "my" playlist and whatever it was I was listening to and I have two common reactions: "Oh, it is over already" or "thank goodness that is finally done." This album is among the few where I didn't even notice when it ended and my playlist began.

Jamie XX is one of my favorite DJ's. In fact I have a couple of his songs in my best ever list. This album has some wavering at first between electro-pop and even a K-pop feel until it finds its deeper groove -- and when it does (!). I think the idea of "unleashing" Jamie's production is the key to The XX's strength. The other musicians are good on their own, but really brought out into the more electronica deeper vibe by Jamie. I think they might have suffered from a too "poppy" sound if not for that marriage. But of course there was, and is that blending, and there are a couple of corkers on this album because of it.

I have occasionally wondered what happened to U2. They were one of the biggest names all through the 80's and had hit after hit. Joshua Tree is a great great album with no misses. Yet today they are just not known much at all. So I read about it and did some research and it turns out that the always somewhat political band I guess kind of took it too far somehow and lost favor. This is not the first case I have first hand knowledge of where a band gets political or too big for ther Egos and the like. It really really is too bad in this case becuase they are, musically a great band. They were the real deal and should be a true legacy band. Nevertheless, regarding albums, anyone recommending or listening to this album can't do wrong by it and will most certainly find themselves wondering "who ARE these guys!?!"

I bought this album when it came out and liked it a great deal. Still do it turns out. Remarkably if one takes it at face value it speaks a bit of gen X angst. If one digs deeper it reflects on how the gen X "whatever" was not so far off as it seems we cannot politically move forward. I hope for a day when the meanings and lyrics of this album will be novel and odd, but truth be told, just like with NWA, unfortunately it is more relevant than ever...

Aerosmith is a hard band for me. I know that they are above the fold and are an A-list band. They ARE great. I just... am kind of indifferent towards them. Like "yeah, they are Ok... That song is pretty great, and that one..." But they don't as a whole drive my in any particular way. I don't seek them out or think I will buy this album. And I am not sure why? They have a good range, they are never boring. They have theiir own sound and it is definitely good... I guess sometimes it is just how it goes.

This is a unique review. I believe I would rate this band higher, in fact, I think I am likely to, once I hear them more and get into them. See, with TV on the Radio, I never even heard a single song of theirs by accident somewhere along the way! So, while I am intrigued and interested in both their style and sound, I am painfully unfamiliar with their work. That means that since this is the very first time I ever heard them, I don't know quite what to think yet. I have a feeling someday I would revisit this review and go a bit higher. But for now I will play it safe and call them a strong worthy band.

This is actually prretty great. I am definitely a punk fan and this fits right in there as it should. I am surprised sometimes by how many bands and musicians I never heard of. This band also has a bonus of having a sound that could have been made yesterday for some reason. Genres like punk don't necessarily age as some others might as it is, and many of the themes are still hanging in the air today. The hard part here is that while it is varied and interesting, the lead singers super strong voice, by default, kind of makes the songs blend together sometimes. I found myself semi-consciously looking at how many songs were left as I began getting antsy towards the end. Nevertheless! Worthy and interestiing, especially if you are into anything punk or want to hear a non auto tuned voice for a while!

I always liked Oasis and was around when they hit it big, then fell off the apple cart by the lead singer becoming an ego-maniac and they kind of got cancelled before it became a thing. Nevertheless I actually do think they are a good band and while not "as big as the Beatles" (which is what the lead singer decided to declare...) They are hit-makers. This album is no different and has a few great and memorable songs. Thus while this album is a very good "must listen" for this project, I am on the fence as to whether I feel bad they are not "known" too much today or whether they should have eaten a bit of humble pie and kept going.

Doing reviews has certain traps. i am a long term film critic and have a deep, objectively sensible system in place to reduce bias and increase overall consistency. With music it is more seat of the pants but I still try to be objective as possible. This is why, for instance, while I don't even like Metallica all that much, I gave their album a high rating in knowing it is canon and deserviing (although personally that was the first and last time in a LONG time that I listened to them). Thus someone scanning my ratings might think I really like classic rock or metal but I actually don't favor either really. I personally like the Talking Heads and the alternative genre more. Yet this album suffers a certain fate that many do: It sits among others that while all unique in their own way, is not a particular "must listen" if one is not a superfan. They grew as a band from here and it was fun to listen to, but it feels like a band in development album.

Mudhoney gives me an old school small club raw feel that I can't explain outside of a good vibe feeling, mellow, groove with the music sort of apres-ski sort of thing. They also have a strong punk vibe and a good alt-fun without a big ego sort of feeling. Notice that this band is, for me, all about feeling, and not so much about stellar "forever" music. I think some bands are destned for this sort of role. I don't want to sound mean by saying "almost famous" but it is not mean because they have that "cool" everyone is going to like them even if they are not in the spotlight vibe and seem to perfectly fine with that. Truth be told my comment effects the actually famous worse, as they are marketed as so amazing and awesome and the next best thing but burn out quickly, while bands like Mudhoney will always be worth a listen.

Hmm... Living Colour. I have always thought Living Colour was awesome. They are a great band. Perhaps now and then a song seems to go a bit retro, but for the most part time has not dulled their edges. I do wonder (without bothering to research it right now) what actually happened to them? They were an exciting new thing for a while, and the songs here reflect that, but they are not exactly a household name anymore? Huh. Anyhow, this album, and band overall, is well well worth the time to give a listen to.

This is one of those reviews where I can't let my personal ttastes override any sense of historic value. I am aware that KC was an innovative and early pioneer of PROG rock, one of my favorite genres, and that they are musically solid. But I can't, and never really could, get "into" KC. Just not my thing. If I gave them a three star "decent/ good" rating it would have to only rely on what I feel history would overall demand, not really what I feel myself, and honestly, I think that those who have not heard them before or for those who don't remember their sound, MEH. I could have skipped it.

When I was a teenager a lot of my eclectic style was being helped by my dad. He listened to rock, country, pop, jazz, and a healthy dose of folk/ singer songwriter stuff. He liked some of the stuff I listened to and I liked quite a bit of the stuff he did. One day an "oldy" came on the radio and the DJ made a deal of it. My dad said "I was around when this song came out. It sucked then, and it still sucks." The song in question was not a good song, I don't even remember what it was. Then my dad added something: "Just because a song is a 'classic' or an oldy or whatever, that does not make it automatically good." When I listened to this album, as a person who likes jazz and blues and this sort of genre, I had the feeling that it was... Ok. Nothing blew me away, I never paused and said "yeah, there it is." I am sure it is fine or whatever; but that is the problem. I won't remember it specifically and I don't want to need a companion booklet to understand why it is supposed to be great.

Of course I have "heard" Elvis. I know the memes and the cultural phenomena and the whole thing. What I didn't do was grow up in that era, or know his catalog of music. I do like his movies, but I am not sure I paid full attention to the music. So my musical exposure to Elvis is often limited to snippets and soundbites heard "in the wild" or in pieces in movies and the like. Listening to a full album I am astonished by his range, in his voice and style-wise. His lyrics range from playful to tragic and they don't have that all too common pretense to BE sad songs. He makes it easy and when this album ended and my playlist started (automatically as it is) I was somewhat disappointed not to hear a few more "Elvis songs."

There were three things going through my mind while listening to this. One was "this was WHEN!?!" Two was "this guy really poured himself out for his audience," and three was "this is a rare gem." I wish they had allowed the recording to cover a bit more of the audience and his interactions to make it all the more personalized, but still just to be able to hear this piece of history is really something special. This happened before I was born and still I feel like it is an essential listen for today's music lovers. It is truly timeless.

The Beach Boy's are a tough band for me to rate. I feel like they are up and down with me. Sometimes I sense the strong visual California surf vibe and sometimes ... I guess I will say it is "less fun?" I love that they sing about the environment, I love that they are original and competent. I think maybe that they are a band that got to the head table by being quite specific and niche. Like if they dared stray too far off their strongest vibe they would be second best. Some bands have massive talent and range, others have massive energy and just blow away the listener by it. The Beach Boys are a bit quieter, like someone's Aunt's favorite band. "Not that she has bad taste, just ..."

Normally when II do this rating I feel obligated, as a critic, to use that sort of objective theory to justify my ratings. It makes sense for two reasons: One is that just saying "I liked/ disllked this" and just a number has little to no meaning to the reader, and two, there is value in learning about the artists and musicians and understanding their place in history as a part of being part of this human world and it is niice to know, if one diid not, about why and how a particualar musician might have a place (at what I call) the head table. With XX I have to admit it matters less the story and more how this band, this genre, these artists just touch my soul. Often this musiic is just pure emotion for me. I can't explain it, but perhaps sometimes that is OK too! Just like that kind of movie that you like for no apparent reason other than it feels just like a pleasure to watch, I love love LOVE this band!

It took me a long time to appreciate the mix between rock and rap that this album highlights. But my musical understanding of genre and the various fusions of it have shown me by now that there is no "mistake" or compromise or selling out, etc. Run-DMC is funny, relevant, no doubt classic and iconic as a band and thier music does well against the test of time. This album is one of those that makes me hesitate when nastalgic and generation specific comments are made about music not being what it used to and all that. Generally I find it cringe, but you know ? ... Who is the contemporary Run DMC? This also goes in reverse, Yes, great music drops every day! But don't get overly smug about just HOW great something is until you take a little trip back in time.

I finally figured it out So I think Joni Mitchell has both an amazing, real, and pure voice. I also think she is deeply poetic and draws out a lot of feeling in her lyrics. I am always likely to pause or stop whatever I am doing to listen out one of her songs. Nevertheless, at the end of the day I am stuck by the paradox: "Yeah, she is great!" followed by "No, I don't have any of her albums." And this 1001 album site has helped me to understand why! There are no drops, beats, tonal changes, primal screams, ... in short, there is no drama. It is sweet, gentle, sometimes poignant, but she is best if listened to as a blend, on the radio, or in a mix or some other way than a continued line up of songs (although all bets are off if one had the chance to see her live!) In real life, that voice... Yeah.

Elvis Costello coming on the wings of a Joni Mitchell review is actually perfect. See, I really like both these musicians BUT neither of them are staples in my archive. I have spent time thinking about that, and other musicians over time that I kind of "let go." Elvis Costello has a few songs that are on my all time favorites list. So why is he not himself on the short list? Well, lyrically he is as poetic as MItchell, and his musical style is unique and interesting. I think maybe it is because when casually listening it is hard to make out his lyrics. There is an old joke about how they made a mixed album with "songs you can hum to." All of them chosen because somewhere along the way the lyrics become hard to follow so instead of singing, you kind of "hum" along. I think one must really HEAR what Elvis Costello is singing to FEEL his true power. Luckily there are plenty of people who don't have this struggle. Too bad for me.

Interesting that sometimes I come across a band that I am completely unfamiliar with. Not even that I don't recognize the band's name or the singers, etc. but I have never heard a single song from this album in my life. This makes my review both perfect and flawed at the same time. Perfect because gone is any nostalgia or sentiment to cloud my judgements (which does happen sometimes) But flawed because without having a few listens, allowiing music to "grow on us" we can be a bit too harsh, too quick to judge (literally). So I focused on the feeliings and a bit on the musical qualities found here. The feel I get is a kind of calm, sex positive and open future vibe. (Weiirdly specific but yeah...) and musically they are fair to middling and one can grow either to like them more or pass them by with equal regard.

Strange how of course everyone "knows" Frank Sinatra, and a few can sing a few bars of his songs. But after listening to this album from start to finish, I have to admit his fame is well deserved AND as astonishing as it may seem, his lyrics still remain relevant today. It is much more about mood and feeling than I had ever considered as I have only been exposed to his music via film or other scenario based cultural artifacts. But just alone, listening... It makes you hard pressed not to wonder, if it is true, who exactly IS making music like this today?

Lou Reed is a pioneer. I always felt he has a spoken word punk style. II think he is special, like in a special category that lies outside mainstream but is of critical importance to the entire music world. Artists who are hard to put in a box because they make their own. Many musicans over many years have broken molds and designed theiir own boxes, but few can claim their place at their own table right up next to the bigwigs. The only way to understand this review is to listen to this album. Then it will come clear that where else is he supposed to fit in?

Bill Evans is clearly a master at work. This is the kind of music one can listen to all day while focusing on work or whateter activities they might be doing without any jarring, pressing need, or sudden urge to turn things down or up or off. Perfect lounge music 10/10. Now... if there is a problem with lounge music, this kind of lyric free soft jazz, it is that it is so very steady, so clean and functionally neutral, that outside of its calming, mellow affect, it really has no emotional impact or challenges. I will grant this album four stars because after it was done I let the youtube matrix play his next, even longer album because it fit my mood as background. However, if one is seeking a bit more emotion or thrill or variety, you might want to leave this one for a day you have had enough stress and just need to calm things down.

The Pixies are a band that I have alway personally liked. The fuzzy genre fits my personality, they have high energy, they are weird enough in a way to be able to get away with seeming slightly unhinged, as if they dare the audience to keep following. But that IS post-punk, grunge, hard edged new wave, dirty club, absolutely political with denial, whatever you wish to grab from it. I think that for a lot of new or unfamiiliar listeners the very idea that they are so difficult to pin down can be daunting. As far as their place at the table, I don't think they would giive two shits one way or another. For me that makes them all the more appealing, but I can't speak for others even those I may well respect. Thus my final thought is that I am not sure the Pixies are for "everyone" but someone is going to think this is a gem.

I may have needed an album like this as a base. It sometimes gets hard to rate music because it can change based on way too many factors, genre, consistency, artisic merit, lyrical quality, historic value, number of people already doing the same thing, sometimes even the person themselves may be controversial... and I only named the tip of an iceberg! So I feel stuck sometimes, or feel I could have made a mis-judgement. So an album like this is necessary now and then. This album is a perfect three star album! It is "good." It is "solid and well done." It is worth listening to but not essential, it has a couple of great songs and a couple of less memorable ones, it represents a 70's rock vibe without any strings. It is like a movie you saw many years ago, liked, but only bother to watch it if it comes out on TV now and then. In a word, it is a "three."

I like hip hop. I think Common has a place in the low fi necessarily honest and artistic lyrical department. I like hip hop that makes me feel energy, a deep call to action, and for moments this album does that. On the other hand it is somewhat low key and kind of "too mellow" to cause me to stand up and be counted. I suppose I consider hip hop the urban version of punk, which in both cases means rebellious, angry and satisfying as we team up against the oppressors. Here, we have the anger, but it is more desperate, a losing battle that no one seems to care about, a reflection of the truth of today unfortunately. There is socio-poliitical value to be found here for sure, but musically. It is "OK."

I mean... I tihnk I love the idea that critics panned this album when it came out. Makes one wonder what the heck kind of music was otherwise being produced at the time? Cause as far as I can tell thiis is ... What? Are you kidding me? Those critics must be those idiots who bitch on line all the time about how they don't make music like they used to, forgetting that they bitched about it back then too! Seriously? This is ... it doesn't get much better than this!

Rio is and was a mega-hit album. In fact Duran Duran was one of those bands I loved to hate until my Dad and I started watching a late night show called "Night-Flight" that showed more adult oriented music videos and Duran Duran was a staple. It wasn't that I didn't like their music, which speaks for itself (just listen), but they became super famous and I was rebelling against "the man" and it seemed they had gone corporate. Nevertheless, I "secretly" always liked Duran Duran and this album remains a pretty good example of why. Also, I notice that unlike a pretty good chunk of 80's music, this has aged well and does not automatically conjure up the "nastalgia" dreamers.

I live in the same city as Fever Ray started. We have a good music base here and quite a few people find fame. It is special. Also, I have never heard of Fever Ray even with the youtube recommendation algorythm and internet radio and ... my just being part of that pseudo-genre that they are in. Needless to say I was very excited to make this discovery and once again thank the 1001 album web-site for this experience. Funny how some of my favorite music will have like 10000 views in 7 years and a local band within my interest has millions of views over dozens of songs and I had never heard (or maybe offhand that one song one time) anything from them... The music world is so weird. I love it.

Argh.... It had to happen sooner or later. I am ... not going to lie. I am a fairly outspoken person. If I have a belief I can back up with science or some kind of real world proof, I may not let go. Some musicians, regardless of their musical quality can "lose me" by their political or other agenda policies. Neil Young is NOT one of those!! I have no reason not to think I would personally like the guy. So now I am caught. I have no reason to dislike what amounts to a guy who has truly classic hits and a massive head of the table following... But... But.... I . don't . like . Neil Young's voice all that much... Sorry. I really am. I have two friends that come to mind: One that hates on RUSH and the other on Tom Petty because they don't like their voices. The good news is I am going to temper my own feelings with my advice to them: "Surely you don't hate ALL their music because of that one thing?" And I see that Neil Young lyrically, instrumentally, and just overall IS actually a master of his craft. I do not like Neil Young's voice. But for those that might, I think you are going to like this album.

I was around when Frank Black "hit it big" with headache and a couple other tunes. To me, back then I would listen to the radio, often college alternative stuff, and after listening to a couple good songs from the same artist I would take the plunge and buy the CD. Sometimes it was a win and I loved the band or musician and still do. On the other hand, there were those where, disappointingly, the "hits" on the radio were the only songs that actually were all that interesting... I never bought Frank Black back in the day, but after this listen, I would probably put him into the "oh well, I guess I bought the album for a couple of songs" category. Also, not to bad mouth his style or whatever, but he sounds "like" a lot of bands at the time, and ends up for me not quite at the head table.

After rating what essentially is a "one hit wonder" revisiting this gem was a real treat. I remember when this came out and some of the songs started getting radio play and I was thinking it might be worth checking out. Eventually I picked it up and realized that it is one of those "good from start to finish" or "no throwaways" albums. I believe I had this on tape and had not heard it for decades, but here it is and yeah, it is truly a great album. Peter Gabriel in general is one of those musicians that the young generations should be exposed to and get to know. This one would be worthy this list, even if it were 101 albums you should hear.

Of course it is no thing to say Elton John is legend. Deservedly so. Even here we have classic wonderful songs that will continue to stand the test of time. We also have songs that I have never or rarely ever heard on an album from 1971. I think this is telling. I have spoken of this before: a voice and a piano can be sublime. The same voice and piano over and over however, can become... I don't know. I don't want to say boring but maybe one would need to be a quite specific super fan to hit repeat and listen over and over. Actually for me this defines his career. A huge personality, beloved, huge hits, beloved, and a lot of "stuff" in-between.

So. SKA. I like reggea and big beat, upbeat, high tempo dance style music. I see it as one of those genres you would here at a summer outdoor park and everyone gets into the dance and fun and there are vintage cars and clever costumes... Of course it would be fun! I think maybe that is the trouble... See, that IS where this band shines. It is definitely a live, open, high spirit, high energy, go for it boozy blowout band. It is hard to zone out or tone down if you are trying to casually listen on a Tuesday afternoon. It doesn't allow for doing anything else. It is like the difference between a good movie you have to focus on and an OK movie that doesn't challenge you as much. Sometimes you just choose not to watch the better movie because it is requires too much head space.

Joni Mitchell is a rare human. If you listen to her lyrics you realize that she is putting herself out there, open, vulnerable, and raw. That is (to me) so lacking today. That kind of intimacy is precious. I am probably so very different than her in so many ways that AI would not put us on the same matrix. Yet I feel her lyrics, they are my feelings in many ways. Sometimes paradoxical, like some may hear the words but not understand what she is saying. Some see her as sad or melancholy, I see her strength and humanity. I think there is a lesson here; in vulnerability comes strength. Words can be twisted and poisoned but truth is steadfast. Also this is a GREAT road album.

Huh. Ok, I have heard a couple of these songs but never did I "hear of" the Tom Tom Club. It could be that I heard them in nightclubs or on the radio on occassion, IDK. The thing is that I like this style. It is hard to pinpoint in a way, but the beats and the energy are just easy for me to groove on. Sometimes people spend years searching for "that song" from back in the day, others, like me in this case, stumble on an older tune that they did not realize they were missing. Even better news in this case is the rest of the album is just as interesting as the stuff I was familiar with. Good find for me!

Daft Punk is what I would call a foundational band. Canon is another word I have used to describe similar grandparents of style, those that define genre. It is both ironic and coincidental to say that "Homework" is actually really good homework if you want to understand early spinoffs to techno and electronica. Very few bands can make this claim, and the French have many positive examples surrounding electronic music, so Daft Punk is definitely a step up on a world scale. Yeah, I certainly didn't plan on spending my entire day grooving to any one band, but after this album ended, I just kinda kept the playlist going...

I am a little too young to have been around for ELO's heyday. Of course they were still known and still producing music in the 80's and that is when I discovered them and really liked them. However, by then I heard the "hits" mainly and was a big fan of their greatest hits albums and all of that. I had little to no exposure to their mainstream, full album playlists. So, I was excited when this album came up in my queue. After listening though... I don't know what I expected? Maybe some gems I had not heard or a kind of "Oh yeah! This song!" string of hits? But what I got was largely a relatively obscure album with little heard songs and a few "I might know this ones" Luckily I like the ELO signature sound overall and I am not saying the album was not OK to listen to, It was good. I think it is probably something better reserved for a long term specific fan of the band than a casual listener like myself.

Elvis always surprises me. I know the whole old cult status thing that still crops up now and then and how he was a real icon of the heyday of rock-n-roll and all that, but ... I don't typically listen to Elvis by default or really "know" his catalog. Yet this is the second album I have heard on this site and both times been boggled by his range, depth, and actual legit crooner/ entertainer level. He IS the real deal and I hope newer generations keep him in the loop.

This is great! I had not realized that CHIC was "that band" on several of the songs. It is not deep or political, socially conscious or meaningful, but it is very fun! It is actually amazingly fun! If you just want to be happy this should be added to anyone's playlist.

Honestly I had never heard of Nick Drake. If I ever heard his music it would have been in a disconnected on the radio sort of way. I am sold! Damn, I really liked this. A bit short maybe for a full on experience, but maybe it is also because it went by fast. I subscribed to his youtube channel and he will be on my regular playlist. Great discovery for me! Kind of a singer songwriter vibe with a pop appeal... mellow, nice. Maybe like easy listening but not so easy as to put one to sleep. Yeah, it is definitely worth a listen.

David Gray. Another name to some lovely music. Very happy to re-discover this wonderful music. Interesting that at times I speak about albums with thoughts about finding gems in an otherwise fair to middling mix, or a one hit wonder, OR, in this case, a solid, even quite good base with some absolute corkers spread throughout. I had no idea that this music I have always loved is by some guy named David Gray, but now that I do -- Nice! I think the two things that make this album worth listening to are those forever wonderful hits and the rest of the album which may well hit on indiividual favorites without any doubt.

I enjoyed this album. It is not serious in many ways, although it is well done and professional, it seems more like Ian Dury is in this for fun. And if so, well done! It was fun! I laughed out loud several times, sometimes in the same song! I can't imagine outside of good fun that anyone would be a super fan, simply because it is not... different enough from similar sounding work that is just a step up, and it has a rawness that sometimes throws one off a bit. Anyhow, pretty good, and if someone is in the mood for a fun thing to listen to...

I like new age. Obviously in this case especially, it is a spin-off or part derived from electonic/ techno/ synthwave, or in some ways pioneers those genres. It doesn't matter because this band is most certainly a pioneering band and what came first is mute. Now, with that said I find that while yes, I know they are originals and important, thier music is more of a good effort than timeless. Perhaps it is the specific genre itself and "how" one takes in new age: it is purely emotional, and there is some unbelievably good new age out there that effects the heart strongly. I felt that while this was perfectly enjoyable it is mildly mood setting it never really made me stop and consider my entire human existence.

At first I was lke "ah, come on" because I sometimes struggle with "classic rock" and the world built around it. On the other hand by the second song I was more "well, this is actually quite entertaining and well done." After a while Ozzy gets to you and the whole thing feels pretty fresh because the decades of overplayed songs just are not on this early album. Plus, it is not hard to like Black Sabbath as they are varied and interesting enough across the album and not stuck on one riiff, which so often seem to be the case with certain "classic" rock bands. I suppose I need to be more specific in what I am getting sick of, vs just bad mouthing a whole genre. And from now on, so I will. This was actually pretty good and worth a listen even if you question your loyalty to "classic rock."

Sade suffers from a peculular problem with fans like me. I REALLY like her music --- One song at a time. Ok, maybe two or three, but every time I have ever sat down to listen to all of any of her albums all the way through... frankly (?) I get kinda almost (but not quite) bored. Ok. Now. Some bands are kinda boring because they are one hit wonders or generally not interesting. Others are kinda boring because they have great music intermixed with fodder. Sade IS quite great all around and some of her stuff is sublime. It is to do with the similar sound and vibe. Great one song at a time or two, she needs (and ought BE) in a mix where she will be one of the loved.

I went into this album feeling judgmental. I was kind of in a specific mood and was "oh, I don't want a rap album right now." But Q-tip goes way beyond that and it was evident from the first song. Lyrically, instrumentally, and just overall Q-tip is smooth, silky smooth at times and their hip-hop groove is undeniably pleasureable. This album was over WAY before I was ready to stop listening. Yes, at first, the silly name threw me... but I, as well as anyone on this planet, ought to know not to judge a book by its cover, and Q-tip is just ... mmmm...

The thing is ... About the White Stripes ... For some reason I have always felt that the White Stripes are way too simple, too basic, too not serious... Yet they are right up there with my favorires. They make me smile. I kinda love the White Stripes actually. Even their sad songs make me feel good, kinda like Joy Division or certain other EMO bands, but the Stripes are like a mix of old school hard rock and post punk grunge or something. They really are simple, but not formulated, and it works. It really really works!

I notice that there are bands that define eras and bands that are timeless. Listening to the Byrds you feel the 60's vibe throughout, if one is prone to nastalgia or those sorts of throwback feelings, the Byrds will give you that in droves. They are in good company and many wonderful bands have this affect. However, ALL the truly great bands that stand the test of time are what I call "timeless." These are the bands that you can hear for the first time today and think it could have been recorded yesterday. This does not mean anything bad for the Byrds or any other era specific band, it simply means that if you listen to this album you ARE listening to a 60's band performing 60's music. It is good -- It is simply specific.

I accidentally came into this one with too high expectations knowing some of The Temptations work. I don't know why, but I found it sort of... like too basic. It wasn't quite energized enough or poignant enough or canon setting. In short, without offically badmouthing a good and talented band, it was sort of MEH overall. I think this is a classic example of a well known band that has fabulous hits that also made lots of other albums for true fans, but not casual listeners. It is like an old joke about people going home after a holiday "Yeah, it's been fun! It's been nice! ... Not much fun or very nice but yeah..." And so to does art imitate art and while this is no doubt someones all time favorite, that someone is a super fan.

I like hip hop. It is halfway techno, trip hop, electronic... and in this case surprisingly fun lyrically. At first I was way into it. At first. Now, maybe I am going through a tough personal phase, or am generally impatient lately or or or... OR, maybe it is the case that once again, listening to one or two songs is super refreshing but a whole album gets kind of redundant. In this case it is NOT the lyrics or the subject matter or anything that way, it is the same voice, same groove, same vibe sort of thing that eventually made me look at how much longer it was going to "take" to finish up. With all that said, this is astonishingly good for a 19 year old!! Wow!

OK! Rare and unexpected thing here... I LOVE this stuff!! What? I cried, laughed, and had to stop everything else I was doing simply to listen to this piece of joy. I am not certain, but pretty sure that at one point in my life I might not have given Funkadelic a listen at all, via unseen judgement of genre or whatever. Yeah, the title (and title song) has an underlying sort of yuckiness to it. But that is a trick, a ruse, and it (and the title song) are magnificent! This is pure joy! The whole album.

One of my (even potentially in my top three) albums of all time is Paul Simon's Graceland. It is a wonderous work of art. But this was no "one off" album and Hearts and Bones proves that. This is very well written and of course performed. Not sure why it got panned, but than again, so did certain Fleetwood Mac albums and no doubt many many others that the critics had no idea what they had at the time. Paul Simon is a gem. He is one of those people in a specific field that others just fundamentally understand is a GOAT. There is no feasible argument. Just shut up and listen.

Shuggie Otis suffers a fate more common than I had realized before I began this music critic jouney: At the wedding of life you have the head table, than the closer ones, slowly moving towards the back of the venue. Now! Nobody is an enemy, he is a good musician, entertaining, professional, no problem. He IS at the wedding. The trouble is that he is somewhere in the middle tables and gets a bit lost in the crowd. It seems a lot of bands, even ones I have always liked, suffer this fate. Yet they do have superfans and respect anyhow, and it gives an appreciation for how hard it really is to rise to the top in the industry.

I speak often about musicians in a metaphoric sense regarding where they fit into the overall scheme of professional musicians. I use a wedding plan as the schema. The head table is where the bride and groom hold their court with best men and bridesmaids, the front few tables are close famiily and friends, second row good friends, third row is family that politely gets invited and friends and guests of friends and soforth. With musicians, sometimes they are prolific, such as John Lennon. Here we have a quandary. Where to put him? Well, this is kind of a trick question because unlike many musicians who are "known" for a specific band or act, and go out on their own or do side projects with others -- Which make it so they might be seated at different tables depending, John Lennon has ALWAYS been seated at the head table. Life was cruel when they took him from us.

I am beginning to feel a bit of pressure. Pressure to be a bit more harsh and specific with hip hop. Why? Because I generally like it and thus, am more likely to say "yeah, this is good" and just leave a good rating. But by now I think, "ah, but there is a LOT of hip hop out there and there has to be a pecking order." Luckily for OutKast, I think they are pretty smooth, I laughed a lot at the "breaks" and the general feel of the lyrics. So yeah, pretty good. ... ... I told myself I would not speak much of singles. After all, we are looking at whole albums here. But there is a song on this album that I was not ready for. Still ain't. You will know it when you hear it. It is soul crushing and devastating. It is like one of those movies that is just too hard to take a second time around. But (!) it shows the true depth of these fine artists and for that, they deserve a shout out.

I realize that Brian Eno is a pioneer in Electronica, and I am a super fan. However, I tried to think of this album from a more "just some person thinking about listening to an original electronica style album." And with that, I think it is probably heard as a little strange. It is very different and I think it helps to understand that nobody was doing this, or even more so, daring to to this. Brian Eno put this out there knowing some of the audience was going to be unsure about it. I would say that if you are not me, you might still have that view. I can't say it is bad, because of what it is and represents, just as well I can't say it is a must hear just because I am a superfan.

Boo Radley was a particular character. As a character Boo Radley was a misunderstood shut in, sort of an extreme introvert; pre-internet. Yes, he becomes a hero at the end but for the most part remained on the margins. The Boo Radleys, like their namesake, have hero qualities and a couple of good moments in the sun, but generally, as a HUGE college radio fan back in the day can attest -- they more often than not kind of sat in the background as other more well known and popular bands slipped forward. Again. (I almost sigh) they are a very good, even top notch band. It's just that so were a lot of bands, especiially of the same era. Revisiting this album makes me feel exactly the same as I did then: they kind a sort of remind you of OTHER bands that more easily come to mind.

My go to cut and paste comment also goes to The Jam, at least in this album. Yup, they are talented and energetic and yeah... They are OK. And now my : But so were lots of similar bands at the same time so they end up somewhere in the middle of a talented and not uninteresting pack. The hardest thing I do as a critic is realize much of popular music is actually pretty good, regardless of genre, era, or where it comes from. But it also doesn't mean that because of any or even all those things that I have to suddenly elevate them to some special status. (Contrarily, I try not to let politics influence my favoring or not of MOST musicians). Anyway, there is none of that here, The Jam are fine. and yeah, somewhere fair to middling.

An odd thing happened for me with the Fugees. When they came out I was a fan and really liked their groove. But with the boom in hip hop and the sort of vibe this band puts out I think they ... well, it is hard to put my finger on so I am going to go for it like this: I feel like they are in some way over-produced. Like they are "too perfect" and professional and there are no mistakes and everything is neat and clean. What I love about music is when it is "real" more raw and open and everything isn't perfect. Listening to this album it is like, "yeah it is good, but where is the ... like energy underneath it?" It misses the passion of what comes after in a lot of ways. I am blaming the packaging, the commercialization, NOT the band itself.

OK, Wow! Not my go to genre. Big band. I do love a nice jazzy background when I study, but often go with a more contemporary style, more smoky cafe. Yet this stuff is "alive" and energetic and frankly, amazing! Wow! One thing I can do to know I like an album is when I need to take a break and I unconsciously pause the music instead of letting it play on in the background. When I came aware I had done this on this album I realized how much I really enjoy it. This is still niche for me, but if I am working on something boring or last minute, I can absoulutely see coming here and just letting the music energize my last bits of effort. To me this is like the "back in the day" version of big beat techno.

OK. I grew up LIVING the post-punk, punk scene. I used to go every weekend to the L&G Club in New London Connecticut and watch all sorts of psedo to genuine punk acts. I LOVE several of the old school hardcore punk artists, even went to see Billy Idol as an old man and it was still so amazing... Anyhow, sure, The Fall has the right sound, the right sort of singer, the right "feel" overall, but somehow... IDK? They are like... "Yeah, listen to this song and it is like punk is." But somehow it is not "Punk." I think it is the heart maybe? The real social and political "fuck the system" punk that makes it so magical. It is just sort of middle of the road, punk by the numbers. No offense. Some of the songs work. But the album is 41 songs long and it just becomes a drag...

I did not look up Wild Beasts as I listened to figure out their origin stories or even what genre they are technically in. I was too busy just listening and enjoyiing the sound. Odd how from song to song you "hear" for example, The Smiths, or various other band vibes, all the while they go on being unique. No idea who they are or where they are now, but this is really quite refreshing and generally a pleasure to listen to.

Kanye West is very likely struggling with a diagnosable mental illness. He is not OK and really ought not be in the public spotlight. However, he is also a brilliant musician and it is really necessary to compartmentalize his music from his ... whatever the rest of his life may be. Certain musicians put their POLITICS into their music. I am not even going to imagine Kanye can not automatically feed his emotional states into his music, but that is what makes it what it is. An insane sort of beauty. Just in so long as you don't focus on the man, and just focus on the music, everything will be OK!

True confessions. I am a Gen Xer and never listened to Iron Maiden. Just not my scene. Around the time I would have, I was into industrial college alternative radio stuff. And so it went, my whole life and just not a real solid listen. Yup, not my go to genre, metal, hard rock... But I gotta' say, holy moly this band is frickin' great! I mean it IS very specific. It is not skating between genres or playing any tricks. This is hardcore classic metal mania full stop. Wow... consider myself schooled. And glad for the lesson!

The Beatles, it is not a real argument, are the greatest pop/ rock band that ever was, and likely will be. Now to be sure there are lots of super great bands that came after, but I think it is to do with an especially rare talent: they have a signature sound but they sound "different" throughout each song they perform. Michael Jackson had this talent, Fleetwood Mac... The Rolling Stones... Notice that these are all GOAT worthy bands. Yet The Beatles have something in the lyrics, something so raw and real, each and every song, so different the mood and the "feelings" you get. From fists in the air, to trippin' out on the shag rug, to crying over lost loves... it's all there and it is simple. Unbelievable. Revolver is not my favorite of theirs, but it is ... an album from the greatest band ever so...

I knew this would eventually happen. My propensity to give out three stars and have that mean "OK but Meh" to "Yeah, this is actually pretty good!" is finally here to burn me. Because there is nothing "wrong" with the New York Dolls, no technical faults, the musicians are solid, lyrics... But the punk movement has a serious side to it. Even the songs that were purposefully a bit tongue in cheek were laced with anti-establishment, rebellious edges. It was a social movement. I think of post-punk and Rage against the Machine and the "fuck you I won't do what you tell me" lyric that became more and more dead serious and rage inducing. We demand change! But with the Dolls? I never got that sense of seriousness, it is as if they thought "yeah, we can do this" and had fun and all but was any of it real? It is just not there for me.

I do not know, nor diid I look up any sort of cultural artifacts or side stories about Isaac Hayes so I could listen directly and judge solely by his music. I had an idea he was hugely popular and a household name in the 70's but figured I would let his talents speak to me and not any social stories. My impession? This guy is legend and a step above most. Sitting right there at the head table. His depth, soul, spoken word, connection with audience... I mean what? Pure. I would just say Isaac Hayes is pure. There may be many reasons he is a household name but the only one I needed was to hear this album. Thank you for that!

For some reason, and I mean this from an almost harsh point of view, I have always been a big fan of The Strokes. I don't think they are musical geniuses, I do not think they are crushing people emotionally, they are, in a way, not really all that special. But there you go. It is something that is infectious about them that makes it so, like I did yesterday, listen to thiis album, and then a couple of more hours more of them. Sometimes a band comes along, and like a movie you love but you "know" isn't very good on the big scale, I just really like this band.

Wow. I have always liked PJ Harey but never really paid full attention past radio play. I kinda took her as a militant feminist type for some reason or other. But listening now I don't see or hear that much at all. Now to be sure, I am an academic feminist, but as a transgender person I find things get bristly when the feminist becomes something more radical and hardcore and that is definitely not feminism. Perhaps people also change over time and temper their ways a bit. I have no idea of PJ Harvey's arc. At any rate, I found this extremely listenable and rather a joy to rediscover.

This is hard for me to review. I am a true fan of hip/hop and I definitely feel the vibe in this. But I have to be careful to say what I mean now... I think that De La Soul is a very solid band, and they should be respected and they are likeable. I get why they have a rabid fanbase. They are fun, interesting, laugh out loud at times, and have great surprising mixes thrown in now and then. However, punk and hip/hop share a common root value in being somewhat anti-establishment, somewhat political, sometimes emotional... I got the sense, after 23 songs (!) that De La Soul intended to keep it light and for me, it is a fine choice but I was hoping for that little extra...

I was really feeling stress to come up with a review of this album. The issue, hitting it straight on, is that it hits me as very directly fair to middlng. Her voice is "good" the lyrics "solid" the instrumentals "professional" but I don't personally connect directly, as if it is something I would have in the background while I do other things or just sort of "yeah, I know who Laura Nyro is, she is 'good.' " I am nearly the opitome of anti-capitalist bullshit marketing hype. I am all for the "little guy" the people on the margins and their worth. But even so I think there is a reason why I had never heard of her before, and it may have to do with her placement at the banquet, she is certainly "in the room" but maybe she is down there at table number eight over there. There is nothing "wrong" with her music. There are just a lot of musicians in front of her kind of obscuring her view.

This was niice. Not only a lovely latin beat, but it changed a lot. That iin itself is something I see lackinng in a LOT of albums. I have no idea what he is singing about, but it is beautifully emotional and seems deeply felt. It is sometimes slow and sometmes energized, sometimes in the same song! I was in no particular hurry for this to end. Albums like this remiind me of a humble academic truth: The more you learn the more you realize how little you know. The more music I listen too, the more I realize is out there to be discovered. And both those facts are very very good things!

The thing is... I really don't ... Metal is not my go to genre. It doesn't matter good, bad, or indifferent; I just don't enjoy it very much. Venom is very metal, but not "like" head banger metal or growl, more like taking a classic hard rock band and pushing it into the whole stereotypical satan worshipping death metal arena. The lyrics are so over the top I laughed out loud, although the content was like horror movie plot-line, whiich is usually intended to be disturbing, not funny. And they just kept going. Every once and a while I would sense a certain less fun element in the lyrics that makes you hope nobody is taking this too seriously. And ultimately they are what they are: a pretty solid metal, kind of distrubing but probably not completely serious, not un-entertaining "black"(as in dark and morbid) metal (!) band.

This is a super good and interesting album. I find international beats to be refreshing and different. Yet here I have now had the privilage of listening to quite a few, and while this is good, it was not quite near my favorite. Now. Mind you this is being "quite picky" as I want to, less the ability to put half stars on my ratings, to distinguish subtle differences. Something that has plagued my ratings on this site for a while now. See, most bands, even if I am not a fan, are at least average, or three star. Some bands are better and some slightly underperform, but not enough for a 4 or a 2. So I end up in these situations where I would like to give a 3 and a half here, and some 3's I would like to give 2 and a half. But that is how it goes.

This is one of the greatest albums ever produced. For an explanation just * listen *

At first I was like "Oh, so he is like a country swooner." Then it was more, kinda country but folk. But the lyrics are not just catchy and he doesn't hold a full on country twang. After a while I thought, "yeah, not my thing exactly but ... pretty good I must say." And so it went and there were a couple of really exceptional moments in between. It makes me wonder if three stars is actually legit? Yeah, not my go to genre. Yeah, there are several STELLAR folk singers out there that I would pick first... But this is not your average country swooner. I think this has a bit more bite to it. So I am going to go ahead and nudge this one up.

Confession: I bought my first Bad Company album, this one, in 1983. I thought it was from around then. Yesterday I discovered it is early 70's. Why does that matter? Because it still does not "feel" 70's per se. In fact it has a kind of timeless quality to it that makes it quite easy to still enjoy. I have not really listened since those early years. Now that has some significance as I thought they were quite good but not someone I would continue to follow forever. So I would give three stars for sure. NOW! The idea that this was a debut album and it was from around ten years earlier than I would have guessed... This must have been amazing when it dropped! So add a star for that alone.

I love Cheap Trick. So, duh, I am a big fan. Now... I don't always love live albums because there are sound issues and ambient noises that distract from the recorded session "pure" sound. However, sometimes that is exactly what I want to get away from, so sometimes I seek out the live performances. In this case I am on the fence, and Cheap Trick videos are a pleasure to watch, so maybe I would not choose this as my go to album to share with people unfamiliar. On the other hand their song "Surrender" was only one week old when this was recorded, which makes it kiind of special. So how to rate this? Ah Screw it. I love these guys!

I went into this thinking that The Clash was "OK." I am an old school punk fan and maybe get a bit snooty about punk bands that reach a more mainstream appeal. But to be honest, I was really way more impressed than I thought I would be. They are still punk, still old school, still edgy, but they have the range to reach a wider audience, they do not sell out to do it. So really, they do something remarkable: they keep it real but still manage to draw in a larger audience. Yes. I came in assuming I knew a few of the mainstream radio songs and would otherwise be disappointed but came out feeling like the radio hits simply suppliment their body of work.

This is sublime. I don't love every song but it doesn't detract from the realiity that this is stellar on every level. I don't need to say more. Yet, I must shout out the the title. "Modern sounds in country and western music." Wow! to take a sublime jazz album and force it down the panicked throats of a bunch of rednecks, "threatening" to undermine their "genre"... the passive aggressiveness of this is almost as sublime as the music within it.

I did not actually enjoy this album as much as I thought I would. I know these guys are great in the big picture sense and of course several massive best of all time songs are here... but for me it felt sort of overly sentimental like it was kinda being manipulative, like it was purpose built and not just made for love. I don't know? It just didn't hit like I thought it would... I was mildly disappointed although I am sure it is an unpopular opinion, it is real. Maybe someday I will change my mind?

This has been a weird music week. It may be "just me" or perhaps it is just coincidental. GZA is OK. I really like the whole Shaw Brothers shout out thing, and they have solid hip hop beats going on. Even the lyrics are raw and well done. Nevertheless maybe what it is is that I like hip hop so I have favorites, not only bands specifically, but beats and vibes. So I find that GZA is somewhere in the room but not really my go to band. It is no fault of theirs, just my own aesthetic.

I was honestly surprised by who Rocket From the Crypt is. I was figuring death metal or thrasher and it turns out they are grung rock. Not only that but a couple of their songs are ones I always liked but never had a name behind. So yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by this pick. Made even more strong was that I really was not in the right mood for death metal yesterday. And I was good with the grung thing. Yeah, obscure maybe but sure, not hard to listen to.

This is actually a relatively easy review for me. I like The Kinks and even have a couple of their songs in my top list. But I have remained steadfast over the years as "liking" The Kinks. They are neither among my favorite bands nor my throwaway list. That is why they are perfect as an example of a solid band, entertaining and professional, interesting enough to be appealing and equally kind of "yeah, they are OK." I think to rate this album four or five stars one would have to be a kind of superfan. Realistically it is exactly average (in a positive way). Ironically, that makes this album kind of interesting in a way. It represents a normal solid pop rock entry from that era of music history.

I can't really say anything worthy here. John Coltrane is a master. Here, he is a master at work. It really doesn't get any better than this. This is THE master class in jazz perfection. There are a few people in a few life genres that master their craft and reach a level where there are no worthy comparisons. There may be other masters doing equal work, or even the occasional brilliant protoge, but there is nothing about pecking order to argue. This is a gift to everyone who hears it.

I have always been a fan of Elvis Costello and was introduced sometime in the mid 80's to his music. Now this fact made it so my working assumption was always that he was from "around then." Turns out this is a much older album and my mind is blown! This stuff is STILL ahead of its time in a way. Clearly I see this as a huge deal because that means he had to put himself out there and dare to step up; an honestly very difficult thing to do! But there it was. And here we are. I would probably give this a solid three star rating, I don't think it is his best album. However a one star boost is absolutely deserved in consideration of when he put this timeless album out!

I really like latino music. The beats and the energy overriide any pressing need to understand the language. It is kinda like techno where the lyrics, if there are any, are often too distorted to quite tell what they are saying. Yet still, the energy -- the love -- remains. Now there is nothing directly wrong or fundamentally missing from Manu Chau but for some reason I never stopped and held my breath or wanted to jump up and dance while listening. Not that I need to have this to enjoy an album, but with latino music I like to envision dancing around in a Carmen like gypsy dress and being sensuous. It is like that feeling of being swept away that latino music gives me often. So with that kind of not as present... Yeah, it was OK.

I was there when this album dropped and it meant everything to me. I am not the only one and the angst of the times and the fears that corporate capitalist greed had slowly taken over everything was as real then as it is now. (It DID take everything over; we did not pay attention or were overpowered by the strength of hate). Anyhow, this IS that pot-stirring, and it IS that relevant to this day. It also happens to be what I would simply call the most "badass" album I ever heard. Is it redundant? Maybe. Is it completely insane? Probably. Does it make you want to get up and do stupid stuff like jump out of airplanes and try speed skiing? Yeah. Is it really all that? Yes. Yes it is...

Personally I love these guys. Always have, always will. Luckily I have done enough reviewing by now to not simply knee jerk react and say "amazing" and throw a five star rating. The 20 song playlist does not feel long because of the massive genre diversity this band displays. They keep it playful throughout yet their musicianship still catches me off-guard on occasion. Although I could listen to multiple albums of theirs in a row considering their genre leaping and quality (no to mention how fun they are), I feel this album could have been stronger by a slightly shorter playlist. Otherwise I strongly believe this is an essential must hear band!

I am at an odd impass. Sometimes an album I have never heard is not immediately some form of GOAT for me. Sometimes I have a vague awareness that it is something special but I need to listen to it a few times and let it sink in. I get that vibe with Hail to the Thief. Underneath is something really special. I just need to process it longer. I listened to this and Kid A in a row and believe I may end up liking this more after a while. This problem makes ratings "regrettable" when I under-rate something that later I find way better than I thought. I did this with Arcade Fire (off the top of my head) and a select few others over the years. I will not make that mistake now and offer an honest four stars.

Marvin Gaye defines smooth. Doesn't matter what he is talking about, although a lot of it is oddly relatable. I almost don't want to like him because it feels semi-bandwagon for some reason. But here I am thinking holy moly this guy is just silky smooth...

Primal Scream is "up my alley" musically speaking. Oddly enough though, I am not often deliberate in my seeking them out. I don't think there is any partcular reason for it, just there are as many good bands I actually remember as there are bands that I either don't know the names of (or connect songs with). Primal Scream is one of those "these guys are great" bands that are obscure enough (in a way) that they just don't come up much on any of my playlists. Nevertheless! I actually could listen to them all day long and not get bored, and I am glad for the re-introduction.

I had an earlier Kinks album on here a while back and I felt that while it had early signs of what the Kinks would become later, it was just OK. So I was cautious approaching this one as well. In fact I put it off for a while as I was just not sure it would be that "interesting." To my surprise it is more in line with the later Kink stuff I like more and was pretty entertained by it. I probably would have given a two and a half star rating to the former album and a three and a half to this one so that is technically a one star improvement, although on the site itself it will seem they share a rating. (another good reason to just read quickly through what people write!)

I don't make it a habit to listen to funk yet here we are once again. I can't really explain the pure awesomeness of this band. Yeah, I typically listen to electronic/ synth/ techno and move out from that base all around, but to get to funk/ rock is a few steps removed. It does not mean I don't like any genre even at the fringes, but they usually don't peak my interests. But here we are with Funkadelic and for some reason that I do not understand, they have a singular ability to make me very emotional every time I listen. When a band puts out instrumental songs that make me cry from their pure beauty... it CAN'T get any better than that!

For some reason that I can't explain, I was not looking forward to listening to this. I think it is because I feared it would not hold up to Il Communication. Even I was prepared to give it a lesser rating... and because of that it took time for me to get into. But then I did. It is a little more explicit and the lyrics are just as fun, the energy is there, the spirit, the sillyness but still high musicianship... What's not to like?

Honestly The Killers are one of those bands I kinda overlook. I think iit could be the lead singers voice gets a bit redundant maybe? I don't know. But I get mixed vibes listening to this album. It is really "quite good" and gets boosted by a few real solid hits. I think it might be that thorn in my side that more often than not does not "enjoy" listening to "just the one band" too many songs in a row. I don't know. Not a huge fan of The Killers but this is a pretty darn solid album...

I have always favored Siouxsie and the Banshees. So it is not mystery that I would like this album. However I have growing insight as I review albums nearly every day. I think I not only like her voice, somewhat shouting rather than singing, but I look forward to hearing it in the next song -- quite the oposite of getting tired of someone after a few songs. And then there is in how this is truly genre defining post-punk. A bit cleaner, a bit more rock directed, less noisy. Just listen I sometimes say. And again, if you want to "understand" what post-punk is, than ... just listen!

Well... I tried. I Love Cinnamon Girl, absolute corker. And I thought maybe Crazy Horse could... take the reigns a little and reel in Neil Young's (for me, w a y too whiny) voice. Alas, that was not to be. and with two songs over nine minutes featuring his voice above all else... Ah! Not for me. With that said, IFF you like Neil Young's voice, this is a really good album overall. The band is great, the lyrics are great... It's just, for ME, I just... I just... can't deal with his voice for more than one song at a time.

David Bowie is legend. Not much to be argued about. He is simply part of music histories very fabric. Very few artists ever reach, let alone continue to operate at, this level. Yet here we are, and here he is.

Franz Ferdinand is one of those bands that I never heard of until I ihear a few songs and realize "oh, this is those guys!" This is also one of those albums that makes a five star rating system difficult for me. I see one star as horrible and a fail. (there is no zero) or even a half. So two star is bad to pretty bad, three star is average to OK, which fits most albums pretty well, four stars which is a true step above and pretty great, and five stars as one of best, awesome. So this band, while good, entertaining, and fun is not quite great while being above average, so three stars should be three and a half, alas, I must rate on a five point no zero scale...

I am not going to turn this review into a TED talk about the music industry. However, it is remarkable to me that Mariah Carey is obscured by so many other "pop" singers now-a-days who frankly can't reach her range. I don't know sometimes what happens to musicians and bands that are truly outstanding and fade into the distance. The collaborations on this album and the diversity of genre is refreshing. Well, at least it fits as a great example of an album that SHOULD be on a list of must hear albums.

This is one of those perfect perfect background groups at the jazz club/ cocktail party/ non-intimate dinner. Not only is it interesting and easy to enjoy solo, but it has that feel that it ought be shared. While it is worth listening to, it doesn't require a lot of effort, you just sort of let it drift in and out of your consciousness. On the other hand it is probably a little too lively for study music. Probably best as background music at a gathering where everyone will find themselves happy and motivated by the music that they are only sub-consciously paying attention to. Also a shout out to the world music vibe well ahead of its time!

So, as far as Jazz goes, it doesn't really get "better" than this. Sure, there are individual songs and artists that are kings and queens of their genres, but this is more liike at a level where Getz and company are simply part of a different kingdom, equal to any other jazz royalty. I can't even imagine trying to make ratings and judge these people, all of them masters of their craft. Crazy when you think of it.

Of course this is masterful. Of course it is at the highest level. Nevertheless, there was something in THIS performance that I felt was too mechanical or maybe like "professional" and less personal and impassioned. I don't know why exactly, it may be to do wth chemistry, as iif you put together the worlds greatest sports team by hiring all the best players and sure, they win everything but where is the heart? Not going this far with this album (!) but it does feel like a performance. Perhaps because they ARE masters at their craft they need to put something more into their performances to personalize it more? Interesting...

I was surprised by how fun this album is. The songs are short (and innocently sweet). This is the type of music/ album that makes a random album of the day fun to do. I simply never listen to early rock and roll stuff. It simply is not on my list of genre interests. So some of these songs I never heard in my life. Nevertheless it was way more fun and energetic than I anticipated and I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would. This was a lot of fun.

One way to know without really paying attention to whether you like an album or not is to think it was super short. I was "surprised" when this album "suddenly" ended and looked to see if something was off, but no, it just went by smoothly and it was just easy to listen to. I knew a couple of the songs as they are well known and quite good anyhow, and the rest sort of floated by seamlessly. I am not even a big fan of the soft rock classic rock genre I would place this in, but it is, as I said, easy to listen to and easy to like.

I have always been a big fan of Kate Bush even if I must admit I often do not really understand the lyrics. But if I look them up and listen along the real power of her music comes in. This comprehension is a game changer and sudddenly she is braver and more open and raw and everythiing else. I am super glad she had a sort of resurgence because of her appearance on Stranger Things. Good for her and good for all the rest of us as well!

After quite a good run of truly great albums I listened to Ameriican Music Club blind. Never heard of them and didn't know any of their songs. I had the initial impression they were a country act, which would explain my main reason for not having heard them, but they veer towards contemporary and folk which made it kind of strange that I had NEVER heard of them... But I suppose while listening I had the impression they were like a popular local band that had a small fanbase where you were asked to go listen and enjoy an evening out in that neighborhood but afterwords kind of forget their name because they were "yeah, OK." But not on your to buy list. This feeling never changed for me and as the album came to a close I felt like "yeah, OK." so now I heard them.

OK. I cannot be unbiased but in some sense I can try to be objective in my write up at least. For those of you who may not be super fans like I am, you might find the first half of this album a bit gritty, hard, or even somewhat unhinged at times. Nevertheless, even here it is hard to resist the feeling that this band is "pretty darn interesting" and variable. Then the second half... I think every one of these songs was a massive hit and fairly so. Deep, melodic, fantastic. I don't know of many albums that can claim this... (there are a couple but...) I really do feel that The Police was one of the greatest bands of all time...

I have been into the old school jazz lately but funny thing how this works... the more albums and artists I am introduced to, the less everything is just master class and amazing. Some stuff still is and will be, but I have become more picky in a way. I thought, for instance, that this was pretty good but not so strong as some things from the time. I think what I mean is jazz from the late 50's is ALL good! But there still is and always will be a pecking order of sorts, and for me, in this case, yeah, this album is OK.

OKEE DOKEE. Now I am not one who is not compelled by the story of the Bee Gees (outside the fact that I now know they are not from California (!)) and I can hear the immense talent that really sits behind the brother's music. They really deserve the accolades they have received and are actually quite great overall. Now to this particular album. What genre is this? Now I may be one of the most open minded and genre inclusive people I know, but I was like "this sounds almost like choir music" "this sounds like a national anthem" "this sounds like contemporary? Elevator music or?" I suppose ultimately I found it kind of weird I guess?

I am not sure I had ever heard of Pavement but the whole surf rock vibe is among my favorites. Odd how this is imperfect, his vocals waver, things get a bit off track, but somehow it all works. I pretty much knew I was sold on it before the mid-point of the first song. I find it an oddity that I had never been exposed to them before, but so be it, another one for the playlist! There is a lesson to be learned from Pavement. Especially today (but not due to some flaw in today's artists!!) but auto-tune, sound machines, amazing advances in technology, all contribute to the over-perfection of music often. It is OK for music to be a bit more raw, it makes it that much more real. I think that is very appealing here.

This album taught me something. There are two ways to look at 80's music. Either as "oh, THAT is very 80's" or "damn, they made some pretty good music in that era" In plainer English, music of any era is either FROM that era or more timeless, some even seems "fresh" for first time contemporary listeners no matter what the era. I felt like The Human League is very representative of that veering towards "dated by proxy" line. Most of their music would be great for an 80's themed party but kind of dated by today's standards. On the other hand they have a couple of classics that stand the test of time and overall are worth a listen to, even without the party!

At first I was not into listening to this. Just wasn't vibing with the rap thing. But I did listen. And honestly I liked it. It was way braver and deeper and more honest, even awkward at times, than I had ever envisioned. Now, with that said, it also kept going. Violent, confronting mental health, homophobia, capitalism, suicide, hate... And... it kept going. And going. Like as in "fuck man, this is super depressing" level. It is like one of those movies you watch once and realize you can never watch it again, even if it was pretty great. I often speak of "tonal value" when I review films. The tone here is dark dark dark! The humor is extremely sarcastic, the stories do not have happy endings. I don't think I will revisit this anytime soon, as good as it is.

Yet another album that I can't properly be relied on to rate fairly. I always liked Cyndi Lauper, still do. It is fun, sometimes even moving, not so 80's that it is dated, but nevertheless ICONIC as such. Actually she is a good example of the second kind of 80's music I tried explaining on a review here once. It is not "oh that is so 80,s it is 'stuck there'" She is 80's by name and fame but a lot of her music is rather more timeless and some of her songs, even on this very album, remain in my favorites list. This is worth listening too, even if it is just for fun.

In all honesty I don't have much to say about this album. This band, this album... is one of the greatest in history. This is wall to wall awesomeness without age or end. This is hardcore amazing and I need not say anything more than listen to it. Prepare to turn it up because you are going to want to!

I have a love/ hate relationship with Genesis. Maybe this is a very good band to make that idea clear in fact. I LOVE quite a few Genesis songs and even whole albums. I also can't really get into some others. They are a band that has changed over time. To me, personally, I felt they "somewhat" evolved over time, but I can't quite say that as some early work is sublime as well, but maybe (again for ME) overall they grew in a way. Some super fans completely disagree and take this the opposite way. I am not willing to argue. Preference in this case is not a hill to die on but we can try to see each others perspectives. I think it is mainly an old school/ new school thing but whatever. For me this album is "somewhat weird" and hard to genre. It is still Genesis and you can hear them in there. It isn't bad or anything, just not my go to cup of tea.

This is one of those bands that I knew but did not know I knew. At first I was like "who the heck is this?" but soon recognized them. They are kind of a blend between 80's music sort of stuck there and more timeless qualities. Now. The likely reason I did not "know" them is because I only ever "liked" their music. It was not bad, and not instant classic either way. This is a band that in my opinion both deserves and is worthy of exactly that three star rating. I seem to "give" some bands three stars because they don't deserve a negative rating, but some I give three stars because they deserve that rating and are not quite good enough for a highly positive rating. So there is a range within my same ratings that is unfortunate with no half star options. I might otherwise opt to give this band three and a half stars.

I finally figured it out. See, I actually really do like both Amy Winehouse's style and voice .I like her deeply personal and honest lyrics, and love the jazzy, exceptional quality of her voice. BUT... I don't like Amy Winehouse all that much. But why? I think I can't disconnect between her absolute train-wreck of a real life and her music. See, when she "puts it out there" and literally tells us she is going to be picky, judgemental, and hard on everyone, and even, allow her own addictions and faults to exist (NOT) acknowledge them as problems per se, but as just facts, I can't any longer separate how she drank herself to death, with how it destroyed my ability to take any of her deep and meaningful lyrics to heart precisely because she couldn't herself! Maybe I am just angry. Life, despite hope, optimism, even outright "wins" IS rather hard a lot of the time. For ALL of us. I suppose I am disappointed that she, at 27. drank herself to death on a bender... She never realized she was part of all of us and her lyrics and skills could have made a difference. Every time I hear one of her songs there is that "yeah, but she drank herself to death" attached to it so it sort of sucks for me.

Nobody can say that Snoop Dogg didn't put it out there. He lives a brand he created. What I love is that most of this is about sex and drugs and rock-n-roll and less to do with social injustice and fucking the police and all that. It is essentially refreshing, regardless of its age. Contrast the particularly harrowing Eminem album I recently reviewed. This is laugh out loud fun, well produced, and a joy to listen to. Funny how I heard there was a feminist fall out over it, but honestly, while it is indeed quite raw, Snoop Dogg gives equal power to women's sexuality and if you really pay attention, is rather more in awe over it than being patriarchal.

In a straight up, completely unbiased way, this is a great album. But that is not reality. Yup, very very professional, interesting, unique... Well, unique-ish. See, I used to watch Italian slasher films and Dario Argento, one of the more well known directors, used to use a band called Goblin to do his soundtracks. Goblin was doing the symphony/ rock combo in the 70's so my mind said "oh, this reminds me of Goblin." And then you think "well, it is an interesting combo..." but after a while I got the creeping sense that it would be more interesting if you are a Metallica super fan or "know" their songs otherwise. I am, alas, not really much of a Metallica fan. I get that they are canon in their genre, I get and feel that they are amazing musicians and extremely passionate and professional and it shows in their work, it is just not my go to genre and by proxy, band.

At first I had no idea what this was. Then I began to like the post punk vibe, the way they use sound affects and goof around... It made me think of how I feel about overproduced, too perfect, calculated money maker style albums. Because this is the opposite. It may be well produced and designed and purpose built and all that, but it actually feels quite raw and open and just plain fun. Considering this album could be being made right now in some off main street venue dive, it has aged remarkably well. I think I may just listen a bit more to this band...

For some reason I have always liked Sonic Youth. Technically I probably shouldn't. It is distorted, sometimes screamy, garish, hard to explain... but it is somehow a feeling, an atmosphere surrounds it that works to soothe the soul, almost like by trying to process the crazy sounds coming in we have to calm ourselves down first. But I don't know what it is really. If there is any (not really a) fault to it is that you cannot have Sonic Youth in the background, because it sort of forces you to pay attention to it. you have to really pay attention to the lyrics for full effect, and if you do, it can be quite an interesting experience.

I am going to commit a sort of sacrilege here. I am not really a big fan of Jimi Hendrix. Never have been. BUT (!) it IS to do with the classic guitar as absolute focus genre, and not his abilities or talents. I am not a guitar worshiper. The music must touch me in an emotional sort of way, regardless of instrument, etc. ANY band or musician can and often do have songs I like regardless of their overall catalog, and Jimi Hendrix is no different. But in general, and for example, this album. Meh. Just me, Just sayin'

I have always liked Coldplay and even grown to appreciate them more when I heard them perform locally and saw the effort they put out to put on a good show. This album is a good example of a slight danger some bands might encounter as they build a bigger library and last a long time. I call it the "greatest hits" syndrome. It is when ANY sort of greatest hit album from a certain band would be a five star album. It makes any "normal" album they put out just not quite as good. VERY few (although there are a small number) of bands have full on five star albums where every song is as good as the next that is not a greatest hit type anthology. So, while Parachutes is a quite good album by a quite good band, it made me want to listen to other songs by them as well, and spend the afternoon on a Coldplay binge.

Minor Threat is definitely part of the canon of the punk music scene. They deserve their place at the table and this album checks off all the necessary "what is punk music" points. Well, THIS is punk music. For me, the absolute most important part is how it is "real" and feels like they just put it out there, no pretension, no bullshit. It is not overproduced or carefully calculated to be successful. It is unapologetic. I wish the punk era never ended because we all need to rage against the machine and be more unapologetic to the status quo.

This album is beautiful and soothing. I am pretty sure it is not for everyone's taste, but I found it quite amazing. In many ways it is not all that far off from low Fi techno or electronica, stuff you can play all day in the background of study or work. I like how the artist was so matter of factly as he explained how the various components of the music structure was set up worked, as if "oh, that is easy" would be our reaction. There are lots of yoga poses that "look" easy as well, but I dare say not too many people can master an instrument like Ravi Shankar!

Aretha Franklin is certainly one of the canon of soul singers. There is nothing to "rate" really. She is legend. I find that I am not as moved as many merely by the fact I am not particularly big on the genre. It has nothing to do with her pure talent or appeal. I was listening and felt like I would be blown away if I was more specifically interested, or my mood was different. Thus "rating" something like this is difficult. It is brilliant and amazing on one hand, and sort of specific as a genre and won't automatically suit the mood of the room. I suppose that is how music works. If nothing else it is a part of music history worth exploring.

I like Deep Purple and even a couple of the bands spin off groups are in my worth listening to pile. I find that they are among the defining groups of a genre and an era. 70's rock, pure and simple. I struggle a bit now, however, with where they fit today. They are exactly like those 80's bands I struggle with because they still remain SO 80's. Like maybe nostalgia or some themed party or? It isn't all bad, if one is in the mood for 70's rock or just likes the genre in general than sure. I just was surprised that I felt like they were kind of dated for some reason...

This I often do not do. Generally I hold very tightly to my ratings and find it important overall not to be haphazard and just throw out random ratings. yet at the same time this is NOT a random rating. The more I hear Kate Bush, of which I have always been a fan (being a child of the 80's and all), the more she grows on me as a songwriter and a storyteller. This album is not homogenized and overproduced and predictable. It is still as fresh as it was the day it was released and is brave and open and emotional. Really what else is there for music to be?

I was thinking I was going to get bored with this. I had the base knowledge of Al Green as a swooner, that music for setting the mood trope type deal, and was not really that excited by the pick. BUT... Al Green IS legit smooth and it is super easy to get sucked in to the vibe. The album ended and the youtube algorithm picked another one and it took me a couple songs to realize what happened. I was that "OK" with listening. A question came up in the comments section: "what ever happened to this kind of soul?" I don't know. But at least we have Al Green to turn to when we need to step away from whatever is going on today!

I am not a big metal fan. Not even really much of a hard rock fan really. So at first I was like "asch, a heavy metal album." I was wrong. This is sometimes hard rock, but often a hybrid of numerous genres, hip-hop, electronica, rap... and it works really really well. Extra shout out that this was a debut album! I was actually kind of blown away by how good this actually is. I had been judging a book by its cover and got caught out. I am glad I did! Worth a listen? Absolutely!

Hmm... OK. So REM is one of my all time favorite bands. B U T !!! REM also has, in my opinion, two "eras." They had somewhere around the 80's era, and then as we got into the 90's... a somewhat different era... the problem is that I LOVE almost their entire catalog from that early period and it remains among my most beloved go to music. It is raw and open and feels like a small night club at some ski area somewhere. Cosy and intimate. And then somewhere in the early 90's, definitely by this album, they started to sound ... "overproduced" and commercially viable somehow. I can still sense them underneath, especially in certain songs, but that wonderful kind of "here for the love" vibe more or less went away. Honestly, in a nut shell, they lost something as they hit it big.

Now country in general is not one of my go to genres. I have a bit of exposure to much early country music as well, having grown up with it to a large degree. It just never entered my soul, as such. But I would not say that Marty Robbins, or this album is quite the same thing. Most of the country I am used to is short, tragic tales of down on ones luck, hard drinking, gambling, I don't know... But this is more like stories being told. Hard luck? Not so much, more about choices and the fate that brings. I found I had to pay attention to the songs as stories and did not pay attention to the music as much. I actually really enjoyed some of these ballads, regardless of how different from my own life they are. PS: being a gunslinger might not be the best choice of career.

Elvis Costello is one of those musicians that is going to be controversial. Not so much for his politics or lyrics or message, but because I have the feeling, based on bands and musicians I love and hate, that his voice is either going to please someone or turn them off. He also has a certain quality within his music that is unique, also likely polarizing, and thus, while I really like and always have liked, his vibe, I am not sure he is "for everyone." With that said, if you get taken in by this album, you will be an Elvis Costello fan for life. It is probably worth a listen just to find out, although it is likely some of the songs will stick with you even if you are not sure what to think.

For me this was a weird album. It was like synthesized church music with a side of light psychedelia. I know without knowing a single thing about Emerson, Lake, and Palmer that this is, or hella feels, like early techno, electronica. I am not going to mess with that or with the fact this came out in the early 70's. They did put it out there and my hat is off to them for that. Thank you actually ELP. My problem is my own. I never quite settled into the groove or could get on board with the actual album. It was live and the crowd was going nuts and I was like, more power to you as I was still picturing the inside of a church with some bewildered parishioners thinking "wow, this is... unusual..."

I am a HUGE electronica fan. I would say I am a techno lover that works outwards in all directions from that base. This is definitely electronica, even maybe trance or going in that direction. So why do I ... I don't love this. At first I thought maybe it just doesn't have enough expectation, it is a little too monotonous. But what do I mean by "a little TOO"? Trance is monoTONE by nature but it remains interesting, it still vibes. I don't get that vibe here (in most of the songs but not all!!) But I don't know why. Maybe it has too few drops or doesn't change up enough. It is not progressive, which does not bring you on that journey from one place to another. I suppose it just isn't ever going to make my favorites list...

Even though this is not my genre, kind of hard rock verging on metal, the Euro vibe made it refreshing and much of their songs diverted from this formula anyhow. I found this easy to listen to and even my Youtube matrix put on some more songs from them after the album played and I just kept listening. Yeah, this is cool.