I’ve listened to some James Brown in the past but my major JB kick was back when I was 18 or 19 so it’s been 10 years. The music is great, of course, and the live instrumentation stands up to the vocal performances. But by far my favorite part of this listening experience was the feeling that I was transported back to a 1960s concert hall. No phones, no distractions, just screaming fans, lovely r&b, and groovy jams. I do wish we had a bit more of his funk jams on this record vs. his slower love songs. Both are good but I think the high energy funk performances are where James Brown becomes James Brown
Album #2
This was a nice album. Not my typical kind of thing, but I enjoyed it for the most part. I didn’t think it was necessarily anything too special, but I liked songs like Whispering Pines, Jawbone, and When You Awake.
Album #3
Not much new I can say about this one. But easy to see why it’s one of the most influential albums of all time. Sound design is absolutely impeccable and it sounds modern to this day. Damn near perfect album and it was fun to revisit.
Album #4
Beach House is one of my favorite bands ever. Teen Dream is when they started to become really special. A 5/5 album that is still only my 4th or 5th favorite Beach House album.
Album #5 (?)
Great stuff, prob the best Eminem album. Very infectious energy, simple but fun and effective beats.
I was impressed by how modern the production sounded and I liked the song On A Rope, but at the end of the day just not really my thing
Album #8
A bit overlong and production feels dated and comparable to any number of albums from this time period. Not totally sure what got this album to the list, but it’s competent and good enough at what it does. 2/5 not because it’s a bad album, but because contextually it does not reach the heights culturally or musically of music that should be on this list.
Album #9 I think
This was pretty rad. First time listening to a full Blondie album and I can definitely see their influence in more modern music. It especially reminded me of the Killers and that new wave resurgence that was so hot with all the NME bands from my teenage years. I probably would have loved Blondie as a teenager, and I can see myself loving them now.
Album #10?
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Reminded me of Prefab Sprout with a little less edge. Not sure if it will go in my regular rotation, but this album scratches a particular itch and does its genre well.
