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Sat Jan 27 2024
The Nightfly
Donald Fagen
Big fan of Steely Dan over the years, and this album did not disappoint... Sort of like Steely Dan-lite, so a pleasant album - but nothing particularly different from the Steely Dan sound... I see a lot of comments about the album being "overproduced" - but that high-degree of production is a Steely Dan hallmark, so it just is what it is...
Best track in my opinion is "New Frontier", and while there is not a bad track on the album, nothing of exceptional goodness really jumped out at me either... Bought this album back in the day, and hadn't listened to it since the 80's - and glad that I did today...
2
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Sun Jan 28 2024
Better Living Through Chemistry
Fatboy Slim
So I'm guessing this is on the list because it was one of the early electronica albums, so I'm okay with that... Less of an album, and more of a compilation of beats and loops - but at least it was rock-based...
Best songs included "Going Out Of My Head" - which has samples of The Who's "I Can't Explain" throughout, "The Weekend Starts Here" - which was one of the more unique songs on the album (i.e. many of the drum beats from song to song are REALLY similar throughout the album - so this one was a bit of a variation...), and "First Down" - which was also more unique sounding...
The last track - #12 on my TIDAL stream "Next To Nothing", was also pretty decent... Glad I listened, and probably a precursor that inspired much of the electronica that came after it, but just can't give it more than 2-stars...
2
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Mon Jan 29 2024
The ArchAndroid
Janelle Monáe
Definitely not my cup of tea, and really thought this was going to be really "poppish", but it was better than I expected... Janelle can really sing (i.e. I think of her as the actress in "Hidden Figures"...).
I appreciated the diversity of the songs, including pace, tempo, and instrumentation - as at times this felt more like the soundtrack to a Broadway musical... Best songs in my opinion were "Cold War", "Come Alive", & "Mushrooms & Roses"...
2
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Tue Jan 30 2024
With The Beatles
Beatles
I enjoyed listening to an early Beatles classic!
This was excellent throughout, and for listening to the precursor sound that would mature over the next few years... Favs included "Please Mr. Postman" & "Roll Over Beethoven"...
Released the year I was born, and on the day that JFK was assassinated, and the only reason I did not rate it a "5", is because I reserve that rating for truly exceptional albums... The Beatles would not have achieved their legendary song-writing prowess, without this stepping-stone album in their evolution...
4
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Wed Jan 31 2024
Goodbye And Hello
Tim Buckley
They should put a picture of this album in the Merriam-Webster dictionary next to the word "pretentious"... I would actually give this a "0" if I could... I loved Jeff Buckley's stuff - as I understand that Tim was his dad, but this was incredibly difficult to even get through...
Definitely not in my wheelhouse - nor my cup of tea, but I really struggle to see what those of you who gave it 4's & 5's, are basing that on... C'est la vie...
1
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Thu Feb 01 2024
American Pie
Don McLean
Really enjoyed the entire album! Obviously "American Pie" & "Vincent" are among some of the best songs ever written (i.e. never knew that "Vincent" was about Vincent Van Gogh - who knew...), and also thought that "Crossroads" was incredibly well done as well...
Decided to go with 3 stars instead of 4, as the top of this album is absolutely exceptional, but it is not as spectacular top-to-bottom...
3
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Fri Feb 02 2024
The Holy Bible
Manic Street Preachers
Had never heard of this band or album - so didn't what to expect - but I enjoyed more of it than I thought I would...
For the most part I liked their sound - though some of the songs were less than exceptional... Best songs IMO were "Archives Of Pain" & "The Intense Humming Of Evil"... Was going to rate this a 2, but based on the quality of those 2 songs I'm gonna give it a 3...
3
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Mon Feb 05 2024
Nick Of Time
Bonnie Raitt
I'm a Bonnie Raitt fan, and had both this album, and the "Luck Of The Draw" album that came out just after it in 1991... Liked both albums, though prefer "Draw" - probably because it seems more bluesy to me, as that's how I like my Bonnie...
Best songs on "Nick Of Time" IMO were "The Road's My Middle Name", the title track "Nick Of Time", and "I Will Not Be Denied"...
3
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Tue Feb 06 2024
Dog Man Star
Suede
Have to say that I am absolutely shocked that this album is on this list... And I thought Emerson, Lake, & Palmer were pretentious and bloated - but they have NOTHING on The London Suede...
You could tell that there were some redeeming qualities in there somewhere, but any goodness was just completely over-run by all of the bloat... Lyrics were often whiney, the lead singer's voice did not help (i.e. trying to sound like Bowie but not having the voice for it...), and most songs were just a mess...
Like I said, there was some goodness in the guitar section near the end of "This Hollywood Life", and the last minute of "Stay Together" was pretty decent - and I'm sure there were a few others - but those moments were few, and WAY too far in between...
Only song that I actually thought was decent, was the last one "Whipshade" - probably because it wasn't bloated, and was fairly straightforward...
1
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Wed Feb 07 2024
I Should Coco
Supergrass
Maybe it's because of the string of albums that I've drawn this week, but another album that was fine, had a few moments - but nothing I would classify as being an album that I needed to hear before I died...
Apparently the Supergrass genre is Britpop/Alternative - but short get-to-the-point songs is what this album contains - which again, was fine - but nothing earthshattering for certain...
Best songs IMO were "Lose It" & "Lenny" early in the album, and "Time" & "Sofa Of My Lethargy" near the end of the album... At 6-minutes, "Sofa" is the only one that really stood out as a bit different than the others - plus like that song title - so there's that...
2
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Thu Feb 08 2024
Young Americans
David Bowie
Big Bowie fan, so no surprise that I enjoyed this album... Not quite as strong as some of his others, but lots of goodness on this one... Clearly "Young Americans" & "Fame" are the 2 most popular songs here, but the quality of the rest of the album is fairly solid...
Bowie has a nice version of The Beatles "Across The Universe" on this album, and the sleeper song that I really enjoyed - but had forgot about, was "Fascination" - which is also stunningly good...
As for rating - it's definitely more than a 3, but I can't quite give it a 4 - as that is reserved for albums a notch below all-time classics which are 5's for me - so I'd give it 3.5-stars if I could...
3
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Fri Feb 09 2024
All Hope Is Gone
Slipknot
I thoroughly enjoy hard/heavy music - so Zeppelin, Sabbath, Nazareth, UFO, Iron Maiden, Tool, etc. - are all in my wheelhouse, but speed and thrash metal, have never really appealed to me... The songs on this album that simply trying to play as fast as possible, along with less-than-serviceable vocals - did nothing for me... Just because a drummer has mastered the double bass pedal from a speed perspective, doesn't mean that you should use it all the time...
That said, the moments that I enjoyed on this album, were the ones where things were changed up a bit... Slower tempo, and much cleaner vocals (i.e. not sure if it's the same dude who growl/screams, that also did the cleaner, more melodic vocals) were the songs that I gravitated to...
Be tracks IMO were the run of "Sulfur", "Psychosocial", & "Dead Memories" early in the album... Also enjoyed "Snuff", and then the back-to-back of "Childe Of Burning Time" & "Vermilion - Part 2" near the end of the album were also pretty well-done...
2
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Mon Feb 12 2024
Tea for the Tillerman
Cat Stevens
Have always enjoyed Cat Stevens, so no surprise that I enjoyed this album... Sad to say that I've never really listened to any of his albums start-to-finish - other than a Cat Compilation album that I got from The Columbia House Record "13 Albums For A Penny" deal that I had back in the day... Would have to listen to some of his other albums to get a sense as to where this one ranks...
Obviously "Wild World" is the track from this album that everyone knows, but I thought the album was extremely well-done from top-to-bottom, as there are no throw away songs on it - it's just that some are stronger than others, and I liked the variation throughout (i.e. some guitar driven, some piano driven...).
In addition to "Wild World" I really thought highly of "Sad Lisa" & "Miles From Nowhere", and the run at the end of the album of "Into White", "On The Road To Find Out", and "Father And Son" were all exceptional...
Once again, I wish I could give partial scores like 3.50 or 3.75, but alas, I can't... Probably would have given this a 3.75, because I'm quite sure it's a 4 - which I just don't give out willy-nilly - but then again, I thoroughly enjoyed just about half the songs on the album - so I guess that means I'm gonna have to go with the higher rating, so a 4 it is...
4
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Tue Feb 13 2024
Rock 'N Soul
Solomon Burke
Not a fan of pop/soul, so this was definitely NOT in my wheelhouse... That said, for a 1963-64 album, it was fairly well done... Solomon can clearly sing, and does a good job on every track, and I liked the diversity of sound throughout the album - even though every song was a 3-minute ditty on a similar topics - but I guess that's what songs were like back then...
I guess this is on the list because I read that there were like 7 number 1 hits on this album - which is hard to fathom, but okay... Compared to most other albums, this one is going to fall well short, as it is clearly dated... However, for it's time, it was exceptionally well-done compared to most...
2
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Wed Feb 14 2024
Crooked Rain Crooked Rain
Pavement
Wow - wasn't sure what to expect from this one, but that was pretty lame... I read that Pavement and their "low-fi sound" was pushing back on Grunge... I guess "low-fi" is code for lazy, sloppy, skater drool, with uninspiring lyrics... Pretty sure that my college band in the early 80's had a better sound than this band...
There were some great bands in the 90's for sure, but this isn't one of them... Only decent song IMO was "5-4+Unity" - but that's probably because it reminded me of some other song, and "Hit The Plane Down" is definitely among the worst songs that I've ever heard... Not sure what qualifies this as being in the 1,001 Albums list, but lazy, whiney, slop is not my idea of brilliance...
1
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Thu Feb 15 2024
White Light / White Heat
The Velvet Underground
So before I listened to this album, I went back and listened to The Velvet Underground's debut album with Nico, so I'd get a sense of the band's progression with this one... My favorite quote regarding the debut album, was from Brian Eno, who said about the record only selling 30,000 copies in its first five years, "...Everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band...".
As for White Light/White Heat, it was good to see them ditch Nico - which I don't think they wanted her around for the 1st album either, but Andy Warhol probably insisted... Anyways, rather than exceptionally polished, and well-done songs, this album is all about the artistic creativity and experimentation...
I liked the diversity of the songs - especially the fact that there really was no format/song structure, compared to what a lot of the music sounded like back in the early-to-mid 60's... Probably prefer some of the songs on the debut album better than these, but you can hear the original strains of musical styles/approaches - that would go on to inspire other artists to continue the evolution of those sounds and approaches...
Not gonna lie, in some weird way I really enjoyed "The Gift", as well as "Lady Godvia's Operation", and "Here She Comes Now" - as the lyrical content (i.e. basically the under/dark side of street life - sex, drugs, survival, etc.) was incredibly original, and a real departure from what everyone else was writing about at the time...
I'm NOT saying that these are some of the most profound lyrics ever written, but the fact that Lou was writing about authentic real-life experiences/stories, in which he painted such a vivid picture - was absolutely innovative... Best song - especially instrumentally was the album's final track, the 17-minute "Sister Ray"...
3
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Fri Feb 16 2024
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Wilco
Probably spent more time with this one than I should have, as a couple of buddies of mine classify this as an absolute masterpiece… I made it a point to run through the album 4 times before rendering an opinion… In regards to the reviews, I have seen everything from this Wilco album being a masterpiece – and the American version of “Radiohead”, to this album “…Was boring AF…”. Pretty sure the answer is somewhere definitely in between…
Wasn’t sure what to expect, as I really hadn’t listened to Wilco before – so from that perspective, the album was better than I was expecting… I do like the sections of dissonance that have been integrated into this album, and the atmospherics that run throughout it, also work fairly well for me – as I am a prog guy… Vocals sound like the singer from Car Seat Headrest – or rather that dude sounds like Wilco, but it works for the music to be sure…
Strongest songs on the album were “I’m Trying Top Break Your Heart”, “Kamera” (i.e. which sounds like Car Seat Headrest meets the Smashing Pumpkins song…), “Pot Kettle Black” – which has a twinge of The Cure in it, and “Poor Places” – especially the Phish-like instrumental section over the last half of the song…
Most of the others are “just there” for me, as core hook in “Jesus” sounds like an old ELO song, and I really don’t get why “Heavy Metal Drummer” has garnered as much love as it apparently has, as after 4 or 5 run-throughs to see if I was missing something, I concluded with certainty that at least I wasn’t missing a thing…
So a long way from being a masterpiece in my book – but way better than I was expecting… Again wish we had some incremental ratings opportunity, as I would give this a solid 3.5 – but since it’s NOT a 4 in my book, I gotta give it a 3… C’est la vie…
3
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Mon Feb 19 2024
Halcyon Digest
Deerhunter
Man - not gonna lie, this album is just dreadful...
With albums like these, I used to say "what warranted them getting onto this 1,001 list in the first place" - BUT now I'm looking at it in terms of what potentially great albums got left off because of this trash...
There were 2 songs that I flagged in "Desire Lines" & "Helicopter" the first-time through - but upon subsequent listening - it's NOT that I sorta like them, it's just that they sucked less than everything else...
"Basement Scene" is by far the worst song on the album... Sorry - no redeeming qualities in this swill that I can find... This gives true "indie" a bad name, as this is just lazy and self-indulgent all-the-way-around...
1
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Tue Feb 20 2024
L.A. Woman
The Doors
So I’ve always been a big Doors fan, going back to their self-titled debut album – which I’m sure will be on the 1,001… Most of my favorite songs are scattered across their catalog, though some albums ae more memorable than others – and “LA Woman” is definitely one of those…
“Morrison Hotel” – the album that preceded “LA Woman”, was the bands weakest effort to that point, and with the exception of the songs “Roadhouse Blues” & “Peace Frog” – the rest of it was pretty lame when compared to what came before it… That’s probably why it was such a surprise that “LA Woman” followed, with truly some of the finest work of their career…
Side 1 top-to-bottom is absolutely incredible! “The Changeling” – which leads off the album, is definitely the weakest effort on Side 1 – but still a solid song… Clearly the hits “Love Her Madly” & “LA Woman” are the hallmarks of the first side, but “Been Down So Long” & “Car Hiss By My Window” are exceptionally well done… There was a Doors cover band that used to play in Cleveland when I was in college called “Moonlight Drive” – and they always played “Been Down So Long”, and hearing it live really brought it to life – as I’m sure it did whenever The Doors played it – though I never got to see them…
Side 2 is less stellar top-to-bottom, but the closing tracks “The WASP” & “Riders On The Storm” are so creative and brilliant, that they help kick the album’s status to another level… “Crawling King Snake” is fine – sort of the equivalent to Side 1’s “The Changeling” – so solid, but nothing amazing… “L’America” really seems out of place, and I checked a little further on Wiki, and that may be because it was supposed to be included on a movie soundtrack – so that probably explains it, and “Hyacinth House” was just there for me…
So on balance for me, 6 of the 10 tracks were absolutely outstanding, with 2 additional solid ones – and 2 leftovers, and compared to the VAST majority of albums, that is truly an amazing accomplishment… Absolute 5 in my book – no doubt about it…
5
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Wed Feb 21 2024
Duck Rock
Malcolm McLaren
Well.. Not sure what to say about that to be honest...
Like some others I saw in the reviews, I was hopeful with the 1st track "Obatala", but then things quickly devolved from there...
I get that setting up an album like a radio show might have been creative back then, but that's why we have radio stations - as I'd rather listen to that if that's what I'm in the mood for... In fact, this past weekend I was listening to 104.1 HOT FM in The Cayman Islands, as we travel there a lot, and it was a very similar in terms of DJ interruptions and comments over the music et al - except with Reggae & SOCA music... 104.1 HOT FM is authentic - "Duck Rock" absolutely was not in my opinion...
Only other song that I enjoyed was "Legba", as the rest of the tracks just seemed less-than-authentic to me - like the artist was TRYING to be like someone else - as opposed to being true to what they were about... Also loses points, because I heard that many of those who made the music on this album - were NOT credited, and that's where the money is - so definitely big-time shady if you ask me...
I was sort of perplexed me that "Buffalo Gals" & "Double Dutch" were apparently hits - so I listened to each a few times to make sure that I wasn't missing anything - but other that the "Buffalo Gals" chorus that sounded like Eminem's "...please stand up... repetition in 2000's "The Real Slim Shady" (i.e. not sure if Eminem got that from this song or from somewhere else...) - there was absolutely nothing compelling about either in my opinion...
BTW - there was a tie for WORST song on the album - among a lot of them, but it was a race to the bottom between "Jive My Baby" & "Duck For The Oyster" - as both were among the most dreadful songs I've heard on the 1,001 to date...
Finally - pretty sure that one of my group participants is going to absolutely love this album... Hope I'm wrong, but that's my vibe... : )
1
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Thu Feb 22 2024
Every Picture Tells A Story
Rod Stewart
Always liked Rod - and thought he was an excellent vocalist... Tend to like the older material more than his "disco-era" stuff - so this album is up there for me for sure...
Album is solid from start-to-finish, with several of Rod's all-time classics to boot... Top-shelf songs include the title track, "Maggie May", "Mandolin Wind" - and the best Rod tune of all - "I Know I'm Losing You"... The rest of the songs are fine, with the oddity being "That's All Right" - which is okay, but near the end, there is a 2-3 minute acoustic version of "Amazing Grace" - which is incredibly well-done - just not sure why they didn't just record it separately, as it's just weird to tack it on at the end... I'm sure the Google machine may have something on that, but I don't have time or inclination to effort that...
Definitely more than a 3 based on the quality of the outstanding songs on this album, but not quite a 4 - so I'd give it a 3.50 if I could - and just have always had mad love for "I Know I'm Losing You", so it was good to be reminded of that song again...
3
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Fri Feb 23 2024
Live!
Fela Kuti
So the first song this live album was absolutely awesome - as "Let's Start" was incredibly well done, as the sound was crisp, and the players were definitely comfortable with each other, and all on the same page... My brain immediately thought - "...wow - this sounds like the African version of "The Buena Vista Social Club..." - which was an awesome album which should be on the 1,001, recorded by a number of amazing Cuban musicians in the 90's...
Anyways, with my hopes up, the next song "Black Man's Cry" wasn't as good as the first, but the 3rd song "Ye Ye De Smell" steps it back up, and was better than the 2nd - but then the rest of the songs went downhill from there...
The quality of the recording was very good for its age, and there is no arguing with the outstanding musicianship - but nothing can save a less-than-stellar song... Ginger Baker from Cream plays drums on the final 4 songs of the album, and always liked Ginger - and he seemed to enjoy playing with these guys...
Final thought is that the last track on the album is 16+ minute drum solo with Ginger and some of the other drummers playing on this album... Now I'm a drummer, and I really dislike drum solos - especially long, bloated, and self-indulgent ones... I would rather see drummers incorporate their chops "into" each of the songs that they are playing - like Ginger does on "Ye Ye De Smell" - where the percussion is truly "integrated" into the song, as opposed to the drummer "just keeping time"....
Unfortunately, the album ends with this long, meandering, and quite frankly - an incredibly boring drum solo that is about 12-minutes too long... The solo finally ends, and that's the end of the record - no applause, no "...thank you Cleveland, good night..." - it just ends suddenly... Can't remember the last time an album started out with such promise for me, only to end in complete and utter oblivion...
There is definitely some excellent playing on this one, and the 2 songs that I've referenced alone made it worth listening to... Would probably give it a 2.50 - based mainly on musicianship, quality of the recording for a live album, but there's no way I can get this to a 3...
2
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Mon Feb 26 2024
Peter Gabriel 3
Peter Gabriel
So I was a big Genesis fan growing up – both the Peter era, as well as the Phil era after Gabriel left in 1975.. I remember those first 3 solo albums, as we referred to them as “Car”, “Scratch”, and “Melt” – and all contained morsels of goodness, but “Melt” was the album that really established Peter as a solo artist…
This album is loaded from top-to-bottom, and is truly exceptional… I remember when this came out, I read that Phil Collins – who played drums on the album, shared that Gabriel told him that there was only one condition he had to agree to in order to play on the album, and that was that he could not use any cymbals… Absolutely brilliant move – as that forced Phil to be more inventive with his playing on that album, which really contributed to the experimental vibe that definitely came through on “Melt” …
In 1983 I bought Peter's "Plays Live” album, which contains 6 of the tracks from “Melt” – along with some of the top songs from “Car” and “Scratch”, and I absolutely wore that vinyl out – literally… All of the "Melt" tracks translate exceptionally well in the live environment – especially “Biko” which closes the album, can’t recommend that live album enough!
On “Melt” the best tracks IMO were “Games Without Frontiers”, “Biko”, “No Self Control”, and “I Don’t Remember” – as each was stunningly well-done… “Intruder”, “Family Snapshot”, and “Not One Of Us” are also top-shelf – just a notch below my top group… “Start” is just an instrumental, but works nicely as a lead-in to “I Don’t Remember”, and “And Through The Wire” & “Lead A Normal Life” are also solid tracks as well…
Wasn’t quite sure if I was going to give this a 4.50, 4.75 or to make it a 5.00, but I think based on the strength of the tracks up-and-down this album – plus then factoring in the creativity and ingenuity that this album displayed in 1980 – especially being so different from his old-school Genesis work – well, that definitely kicked it up to a 5.00 for me no doubt…
5
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Tue Feb 27 2024
Joan Armatrading
Joan Armatrading
So I had heard of Joan back in the day, but never listened to one of her albums, or even heard one of her songs - so this was all new to me...
I found the songs to have quite an original sound, and for the most part - the playing on the album was fairly good... The lyrical content seemed to be pretty pedestrian, and all along the same lines, and there is just something about Joan's voice that sorta turns me off in a way... Kind of like I have to put up with the vocals, just to get through the song, and I just don't want to work that hard when listening to music...
Was worried as I was halfway through the album - probably side 1 back during record days, and there wasn't a song that even remotely grabbed me... The last half was better, as I found a bit of goodness in "Join The Boys", "People", "Like Fire", & "Tall In Saddle"... It's not that I thought these were excellent songs, but there were moments in each that I thought were pretty well-done...
So I was listening on Tidal, and after the last song on the Joan album, Tidal gave me another track - so it sounded like there was one last track on Joan's album to listen to... After a few minutes into the song I said - wow - this is the best track on the album hands down... When I clicked back to Tidal, the Joan album had indeed finished, and Tidal decided that I should listen to Joni Mitchell's "Harry's House/Centerpiece" track after the Joan album... Got a good laugh out of that... : )
This is definitely better than some of the drab albums that I have found here - which I gave 1's to... If we had some gradation in the star ratings, I'd probably have given this a 1.50 - but I can't, and this is better than a 1 - so I'll give it a 2... At least now I can place the music to the name...
2
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Wed Feb 28 2024
Hot Rats
Frank Zappa
Having grown up with a progressive rock bend, I’ve always been a fan of Frank’s… I see a lot of "jazz fusion", and "improvisational jazz" labels being placed on him – but he is a progressive rock artist – first and foremost in my mind…
Gun to my head, my favorite Frank album is 1974’s “Apostrophe (!)” which I think is an absolute classic – though I am familiar with a fair amount of his more popular work… Have listened to “Hot Rats” before, and knew a few of these tracks – so it isn’t surprising given my natural bend, plus being familiar with some of this material already, that I really enjoyed this album…
The song that is referenced as one of his best all the time is “Peaches En Regalia” – which is absolutely fine IMO – but there were so many other tracks on this album that I enjoyed more…
Have always been a fan of “Son Of Mr. Green Genes”, as there are some spectacular live versions out there, as the JamOn Sirius XM station back in the day, used to play a lot of Frank… Besides the quality of the music, the humor behind writing a track based on an urban legend about you (i.e. Frank was rumored to be the son of Mr. Green Jeans from The Captain Kangaroo kids show in the 60’s – unfortunately not true…) says a lot about the fun side of Frank – which permeates his approach to music…
Really enjoyed “Willie The Pimp” – especially the jam over the last half of the song, and “It Must Be A Camel” is a great closer… My favorite track on this album – even more so that every track I’ve referenced so far, was “The Gumbo Variations” as the jam on that one is just so well-done…
I’m sure a lot of folks might be turned off by 8 to 12 minute songs, but in the progressive world – that is sort of that standard… Try experimenting with worrying less about how long a song actually is, and truly listen to the music with 100% of your attention and focus - and you just might find that the song ends much earlier than you wanted it to… : )
Since I’m going to give “Apostrophe (!)” a 5, I’m gonna slot “Hot Rats” in just a little lower – so definitely a solid 4 for me, and an album that I recommend that everyone give a listen to!
4
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Thu Feb 29 2024
Younger Than Yesterday
The Byrds
All-in-all, this was probably pretty sweet for 1967… Not a huge fan of their sound, but I can see how they likely inspired many others who followed… I liked that there was a fair amount of diversity among the songs – as opposed to very song sounding like every other…
The top 2 songs are the ones that I knew going in – “So You Want To Be A Rock And Roll Star” – which apparently was a slam about “manufactured” bands like The Monkees, and is really well done – though years later, I really enjoyed the version that Nazareth did, where they worked a decent section of it into their song “Telegram”. The other is the cover of Dylan’s “My Back Pages” – and like most Dylan songs, I almost ALWAYS prefer the way other artists cover his songs, and really enjoy The Byrds cover here…
“CTA-102” is a pretty good experimental song, and I also thought “Everybody’s Been Burned” & “Why” were among the strongest tracks on the album.. Glad I listened, but other than a historical marker for other artists, I doubt I will be going back to this one… If we had gradations, I’d probably give it a 2.25 – the extra 0.25 for the likely influence it had on other artists, but for me it just seems dated… There is a lot of music from that era, that still stands up today (i.e. Hendrix, Doors, The Who, Yardbirds, etc.) but most of this album does not IMO… Solid 2 for me…
2
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Fri Mar 01 2024
Os Mutantes
Os Mutantes
So – this was interesting – and NOT in a good way… Again – not sure why this was on the 1,001 list, but c’est la vie… I do love me some Brazilian Jazz – so think Joao Gilberto, Astrud Gilberto, Antonio Carols Jobim, Gilberto Gil, and Bebel Gilberto – but this was NOT that…
Appears to be an experimental album, combining psychedelia with Brazilian music – so other than trying that combination of sounds, there isn’t much here to like – and the recording quality was not the best either – but then again, it was 1968…
There are 2 covers on this album as far as I can tell – “Baby” - which was written by Caetano Veloso (i.e. actually think Bebel Gilberto’s version is the definitive version of this song…), and “Tempo No Tempo” – as Mamas & Papas cover, and both are just a mess – as is most of the album…
There were only 3 songs that were worth listening to –
“A Minah Menina” – which as some really cool, and edgy guitar work for its time in it…
“Le Premier Bonheur Du Jour” – which was more along the traditional French/Brazilian line – with hints of British influence…
“Ave Gengis Khan” – the albums closer – which is by far the best track on the album, as the piano and drum work on it is really well-done for the period… And again, some pretty solid guitar work for the period on this one as well… The ending is sorta reminiscent of the end of the Yes classic – “Yours Is No Disgrace” – just not nearly as cool, or as well done… Would have gotten a better rating if more of the experimentation was more of this ilk…
Maybe a 1.25 based on the decency of those 3 songs and my mood, but definitely a 1 star for me…
1
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Mon Mar 04 2024
Trafalgar
Bee Gees
So in addition to my love for all things prog-rock back in the day (i.e. Rush, ELP, Yes, Genesis, Iron Maiden, UFO, Zeppelin, etc.), I also enjoyed some of the more “mellow” artists like Elton John, Billy Joel, and of course – The Bee Gees… In middle school, I bought “Here At Last – The Bee Gees Live” – and I thought it was fantastic…
Most of what I enjoyed was their older material, but I never bothered to check out the early catalog, and figured the best songs - like with most bands, were spread across several albums, so I was curious as to what goodness I was going to find on “Trafalgar”…
The album starts out with “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart” – which is certainly royalty in the Bee Gees cannon, so quite a start, as this one is just a truly exceptional song… Unfortunately, that was pretty much the end of the goodness… The rest of the album was just dull, whiney, and tedious to be honest… The only other song that was somewhat decent, was “Don’t Wanna Live Inside Myself” – but that was it…
I ran through this twice just to make sure, and can’t tell you how disappointed I was… Not only were the songs uninteresting, they also sounded identical – as there was little to no diversity in the music… One great song does NOT a 1,001 Albums list make, so a very disappointing 1-star for me…
1
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Tue Mar 05 2024
Raising Hell
Run-D.M.C.
So in the summer of 2023, Aerosmith announced their final tour would be held later that year… I bought tickets, as I had seen them 10-12 times over the years going back to 1978… Anyways, I decided to Audible a biography about them in advance of the show, and downloaded “Walk This Way” by Geoff Edgers, and off I went… Unfortunately, I chose the WRONG “Walk This Way” biography – as I wanted the one by Stephen Davis – but I listened to it anyway…
Long story short, the Edgers book was basically the story of how Rick Rubin (i.e. the producer of “Raising Hell”) was able to convince RUN-DMC & Aerosmith to collaborate on the “Raising Hell” album via the track “Walk This Way”. You get some decent background about both bands, some good background about Rubin, especially his early years @ NYU – and the story behind how that song came to be on that album…
Obviously, that is the epic track on “Raising Hell”, and what I found fascinating in the book, was that Rubin felt the album would not be anywhere near as successful without “Walk This Way” – and that neither Aerosmith – who had really hit the skids by then, had no interest in doing it, and neither did RUN-DMC…
But Rubin was able to get RUN-DMC, Steven Tyler, and Joe Perry in the studio for one evening to try and pull it off… RUN-DMC knowing this would be happening, didn’t even bother to learn the lyrics, and Tyler & Perry were still using, less than enthusiastic… BTW – Rubin didn’t tell the rest of Aerosmith – as he just wanted to the 2 main guys – which is why the drum part is pretty pedestrian, and why the rest of the band was pissed once they found out about it…
Anyways – for a couple of artists who were struggling at the time, who came into the session with some seriously bad attitudes, Rubin was able to get what he wanted – and he was absolutely right about that song “making the album”…
As for the album, Side 1 is absolutely stunning with the run of “Peter Piper”, “It’s Tricky”, “My Adidas”, & “Walk This Way” – and is truly the heart of the album… “It’s Live” is decent, but “Perfection” is nothing special…
As for Side 2, things start out strong again with “Hit & Run”, and the title track – “Raising Hell” as both are quite excellent – but things start to lose a lot of steam from that point on… That said, that’s 6 out of 12 tracks that I really enjoyed, and of course the magic of Rubin’s “Walk This Way” being the centerpiece of the album – exactly as he had imagined it…
Not a rap guy by any measure, but this is an excellent album… Would probably give it a 4.25 based on the actual song quality (i.e. although it is interesting when you check Wiki, that Simmons & McDaniels are only credited with writing 2 of the 12 tracks – so not sure what other magic Rubin may have worked back then…), but given the cross-over break-thru of “Walk This Way” and it’s historical significance – I gotta give this album a 5 – and I don’t give very many of those…
5
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Wed Mar 06 2024
Chirping Crickets
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
So I think Buddy Holly’s debut album is pretty straight-forward…
For it’s time, I could see how this would have been incredibly popular… I liked that that there was a bit of an edge to his music – both with his original work on this album, as well as with all of the covers on this album, as I think most of the music up to that point was “nice” and really wasn’t edgy at all…
The 2 best originals are easily “Not Fade Away” & “That’ll Be The Day” – and most of the covers are fairly well done, and you can clearly hear Holly’s style embedded in each song… Definitely dated, but you have to start somewhere, and this was a stepping stone for sure in the evolution of rock… Solid 3 for me for historical context, and being Buddy’s 1st album – which introduced his original style into the mix…
3
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Thu Mar 07 2024
Reign In Blood
Slayer
So I have mentioned this before, but I thoroughly enjoy hard/heavy music - so Zeppelin, Sabbath, Nazareth, UFO, Iron Maiden, Tool, Metallica, Dio, Scorpions, Priest etc. - as are all in my wheelhouse, but for some reason, speed and thrash metal, have never really appealed to me - and this album was NO different...
Once again, we have a band that is trying to play as fast as possible, along with almost NON-EXISTIENT vocals - which did absolutely nothing for me... BTW - just because a drummer has mastered the double bass pedal from a speed perspective, doesn't mean that you should use it ALL the freakin' time... And vocally, there is no melody of any sort, no singing of any kind - just screaming, and the lyrics are just dreadful...
I'm beginning to think that my issue with this genre, is that there is absolutely NO room for the music to breathe... Good music is a nice balance between the notes, and the empty spaces - with some arguing that the empty spaces - and the contrast that they create with the actual notes, is what creates musical magic... This band is trying to play as many notes as the possibly can, and trying to play them as fast as they possibly can, that there is absolutely no space for the music to breathe - like AT ALL...
Not a decent song on the album in my opinion, and in fact, I was running through what some of the reviewers thought were the best songs on the album a 2nd time through... So I was listening to "Alter Of Sacrifice" and was about 35 seconds into it, when I REALLY began to regret my decision... Fortunately, right about then, a good friend called - which stopped my music app so I could take the call... I answered by saying "...Thank God you called, I really appreciate you saving me..." : )
Would truly give this a "0" (ZERO) if I could, and I think there may have been only 1 other album to date that I thought that about - so 1-star for this dreadful, dismal, awful-excuse-for-an-album...
1
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Fri Mar 08 2024
There's A Riot Goin' On
Sly & The Family Stone
I found this one to be incredibly creative throughout, as it clearly is quite original... Maybe the drugs that Sly was doing during this period really opened him up to some innovative ways of thinking about music...
Can't say there was a single track that I thought was exceptional - though my fav was probably the last track - "Thank You For Talkin' To Me, Africa" which is sort of a derivative of a track of Sly's from an earlier album... Kind of a nice hypnotic vibe throughout...
Based on the originality and uniqueness of the album, combined with the fact that all of the songs contained some goodness (i.e. AKA none of them truly sucked...) I'm gonna give this a solid 3...
3
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Mon Mar 11 2024
Who's Next
The Who
Yes - "Who's Next" is one of the truly all-time classics in rock no doubt...
With "Baba O'Reilly" opening the album, and "Won't Get Fooled Again" closing it - you have 2 of the greatest anthems in the history of rock... Add in "Behind Blue Eyes", "Bargain", and "Going Mobile" as couple of more amazing tracks - and you have a stunningly exceptional album...
Always enjoyed the less popular songs from this album as well, including "The Song Is Over", "Getting In Tune", and "Love Ain't For Keeping" - as those are quintessential Who hands down... Only weak track on the album is "My Wife" - but 9 out of 10 absolutely stellar songs is really remarkable... Definitely a 5 all the way for me...
5
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Tue Mar 12 2024
The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn
Pink Floyd
Okay - so I have done a deep dive of the Syd era Floyd, and I have listened multiple - AND I MEAN multiple times, and as much as I appreciate what Syd did to bring Richard, Nick, & Roger together, I'm about to type some things that might be sacrilege...
There is no doubt that Syd was absolutely brilliant - no doubt whatsoever... However, significant LSD use, combined with schizophrenia is just a bad - bad equation for anyone... Happy that the band took care of him in his later years, and Floyd is pretty fortunate that David Gilmour just happened to be there as a good friend to "fill in" - simply an amazing story...
"Piper's" is nothing but psychedelic experimentation - which was pretty good for 1967 - but there is absolutely nothing here more than that... I would have loved to plug in, back in 1967, and play some shit and say - "...Wow - check that out...", but that's not me...
I appreciate that that Gilmour and the band played "Astronomy Domine" on the live "Pulse " album - and Gilmour played it on a couple of his live solo albums (i.e. with Richard & Nick by the way...), but the best track on this album is "Interstellar Overdrive" - HANDS DOWN!!!
All that said - this album is LIGHT YEARS BEHIND the Pink Floyd that would we all know and love - though there is no doubt that Syd's influence on the band will never be forgotten - as he inspired their best work in "The Dark Side Of The Moon" & "Wish You Were Here"...
Channeling my friends - channeling... Though I for some strange reason, I DO have MAD love for "Bike" which closes the album - so there's that... : )
1
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Wed Mar 13 2024
Before And After Science
Brian Eno
So about 35 albums in, and I FINALLY get one that I never would have crossed paths with - except for this daily exercise...
Had listened to Eno's "Ambient 1 - Music For Airports", but that's been it, so I thought this one would be interesting... I'm also a big Roxy Music fan - a band he co-founded, but I think most of what I enjoy from them came after Eno left...
As for "Before & After Science", the opening track "No One Receiving" sounds very much like the Talking Heads - except before there was a Talking Heads (i.e. although I guess both came out around the same time in 1977...). Really liked the percussion in the that song...
Didn't really care for "Backwater", and the 3rd track "Kurt's Rejoinder" sounded Talking Headsesque again... Really enjoyed the instrumental interlude of "Energy Fools The Magician" - just wished it was longer - as I keep putting this one on repeat... : )
But I have to say the 3-song run in the later half of the album of "Julie With", "By This River", & "Through Hollow Lands" was absolutely exceptional - and REALLY appealed to me, and is definitely my jam...
While not an all-time classic, I really enjoyed this album- and glad that it came my way... This is a solid 4 in my book no doubt!!!
4
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Thu Mar 14 2024
Foxbase Alpha
Saint Etienne
Not much to say about this one, as for what they were doing - it was fairly well done - just not all that interesting to me...
Certainly better than the albums that I have given a 1-star to, but just kinda meh... Would give it probably a 1.50 if I could, but begrudgingly I'll give it a 2...
2
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Fri Mar 15 2024
Autobahn
Kraftwerk
Can see how this would have influenced a number of artists in the late 70's and into the 80's for sure... Pop songs had their song structure, and Country songs had their structure - but synths were a brand new thing around that time - so how to use it, and what could be created, was wide-open - as there was absolutely no roadmap, and I like what they did here...
You can hear elements of the atmospherics and soundscapes that many synth type bands would get into, as well as the direction that some of the new wave artists of the 80's would pursue...
The quality of the recording is exceptional for 1974, and the album really just should have been all instrumental - as the lyrics and limited vocals were just dreadful... A little bit more here than meets the eye in terms of influence, as whenever Kraftwerk comes on the radio, I never turn it off - though I doubt I will ever listen to this album again...
I'd give this a 2 for the quality of what they did musically, and it gets bumped up to a 3 based on how influential this had to be coming out in 1974...
3
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Mon Mar 18 2024
Grievous Angel
Gram Parsons
Sorry - but this was just awful...
There is a small sliver of Country that I really do appreciate, but this ain't it... It's probably better than the vast amount of Country music out there, and is fairly well-done for what he was trying to do, but there isn't anything compelling on this album...
My eyes did perk-up a little when I saw "Love Hurts" as I saw Nazareth a few times back in the day, and that song kicks ass - so I thought maybe Gram wrote it - but nah, the original was written some dude named Boudleaux Bryant in 1960 for the Everly Brothers, and Gram's interpretation here was just lame... Nazareth's version is still the definitive version of "Love Hurts" hands down...
Not gonna lie, this album was hard to get through...
1
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Tue Mar 19 2024
Scissor Sisters
Scissor Sisters
Wow – that was a lot of fun! Never heard of Scissors Sisters before, though they weren’t likely to ever appear on my radar… Smart, clever, funny, well-executed musically, with excellent vocals and lyrics – what a great combination for a solid album… Nice diversity throughout the album as well – which I always appreciate…
Favs included the Bee Gees-disco-style version of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” – as that was a pretty creative arrangement… Really enjoyed “Mary”, “Tits On The Radio”, and the sultry and hilarious “Filthy/Gorgeous” about a tranny hooker – as those tracks were so well done, and so much fun to listen to…
The other aspect of the band that I thought was cool, was that they could also produce something on the more serious side, as the closing track - “Return To Oz” is the best on the album IMO… Also noted like many others that vocals that remind you of a sort of a younger version of Elton John does not hurt either… Really, really well-done…
Love bands that don’t take themselves too seriously, but clearly have the chops musically and lyrically to create some inventive music – and this band covers every one of those bases… Would probably give it a 3.50 if we could score that way, but will have to stick with a solid 3 for a fun, creative, and extremely well-done album… Glad I listened, as this one never would have come my way without the 1,001…
3
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Wed Mar 20 2024
Greetings From L.A.
Tim Buckley
Well – that was unfortunate… Sex-Funk huh???
So this was my 2nd Tim Buckley album and I’m only about 40 albums in, so not sure what I did to deserve this… I will say that his 1967 “Hello & Goodbye” effort was the first album on the 1,001 that I would have given a “0” to, as it had no redeeming qualities whatsoever, and was pretentious as hell…
1972’s “Greetings From LA” is definitely different from that previous album – so at least there’s that, and for the most part – some of the musical jams weren’t all that awful, and certainly better than “Hello & Goodbye”, but the lyrics were simply abysmal…
It sounds like this departure from his early folk work really pissed off his initial fan base, and not quite sure what other fan base he was looking to appeal to with this record… While some of the vocal sections were interesting at times – as a whole however, it was simply a hot mess…
Lyrically, it’s as if he didn’t bother to write any – and just sang, moaned, or screamed whatever came to mind while in some drug-induced state… "Move With Me", "Get On Top", "Devil Eyes" - just a frickin' nightmare,,,
Actually surprised that he didn’t have someone give him a blow-job like Jim Morrison did, while recording the song “LA Woman” in order to pull out some degree of authenticity…
Anyways, not as dreadful as the “Hello & Goodbye” – so not the "Animal House" Belushi grade point average, but maybe tad higher like a 0.25 if I could go there… Was really puzzled why “Hello & Goodbye” was on this list, and now even more puzzled that this one is on here as well… Begrudgingly giving it a 1 since I’m not allowed to go any lower, as this was simply a train wreck…
1
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Thu Mar 21 2024
Django Django
Django Django
Well, I will say that at least this band sounds fairly original, and there is decent diversity of sound throughout this album, but really trying to understand where all of the 4’s & 5’s that people have given it are coming from…
Thought I was going to enjoy it more than I did after the start, and while it did not suck – it was just kinda there for me… Went back and listened to a handful of tunes a 2nd time through just to see if I was missing something – but nope, and am really perplexed as to why folks seem to rave about “Default” – as that is one of my least favorite tracks on the album… The 2 best tracks in my opinion are “Hand Of Man” & “Firewater” – though the former is considerably better…
Definitely better than a 1 for sure just on originality of the sound, but can’t give it more than a 2 as it just did not gain any traction with me…
2
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Fri Mar 22 2024
Steve McQueen
Prefab Sprout
Really enjoyed "Steve McQueen" from Prefab Sprout, and thought that musically - is was really next-level 80's pop... Most 80's bands - no matter how popular, were sort of basic level pop from a musical perspective, while this album was much more sophisticated musically...
The album starts out incredibly strong - with "Faron Young", "Bonny, and "Appetite" - as I kept hearing hints of The Smiths in their music - which is quite a compliment... This was also a pretty diverse album musically, so I appreciate them playing around with that experimentation, as it was really well-done...
The album lost a little steam as it went on, but the musicianship and vocals were top-shelf throughout... Definitely a solid 3 from me, and while I had heard of the band - I would NOT have been able to name a single song of theirs... Glad I listened...
3
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Mon Mar 25 2024
Homework
Daft Punk
So before I listen to an album, I usually read the Top 20 or so reviews to get a flavor of what I’m likely in for… I typically see a mix of 4’s, 5’s, and 1’s – which is fascinating in and of itself… When I checked out the reviews for Daft Punk’s “Homework” album, the top review was from someone who had typed “Around The World” about 200 times… That was it – that was his/her review, and I was like WFT???
Anyway, after giving the album a listen – which is really nothing more than interesting club beats, that are probably set to the perfect “beats-per-minute” pace that Ecstasy-loving clubbers prefer, I was still perplexed about that review about half-way in… Then – there it was, Track #7 “Around The World”, and after about a minute of the song, I busted out laughing out loud while working in my yard… Jesus, Mary, & Joseph – why even bother with lyrics if that’s what you’re going to do with them…
Anyway, I hope that review remains the top review for years to come, and as for the album – just a collection of random club beats – with some being better than others, but it’s kinda hard to listen to 73-minutes of club beats, during the day – while NOT indulging in any sort of mind-altering substances… Only redeeming factor for me was the track “Alive”, as that one had by far more potential than any of the others…
For what it was – it was well-done, so can’t give it a 1, so a reluctant 2 is what we’ll go with… Around The World, Around The World, Around The World… : ) Too funny!!!
2
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Tue Mar 26 2024
Achtung Baby
U2
So this one was a pretty easy assignment for me, as I love this album – and know it well… Also didn’t hurt that I saw the 1992 tour when U2 came to Cleveland, as that was the hardest rock ticket to get that year…
U2 was a “college” band when I was in college in the early 80’s, so “Boy” & “October” were in regular rotation, but it was 1983’s “War” album that totally blew them up big time… I remember thinking at the time, most bands are fortunate if they have 1 “great” album in them, or perhaps 2 if they are really lucky… Most bands tended to have 2 or 3 really good songs on an album, with the rest being less than stellar – and that would get them to their next album… If you did this for 4 or 5 albums, you’d achieve no greatness, but you’d have a solid body of work that kept the record company and fans happy…
So when “War” came out, that was their “great” album in my opinion… But then when 1987’s “The Joshua Tree” came along, it was like wow – that’s 2 all-time classics from this band… Not that 1985’s “The Unforgettable Fire” wasn’t awesome – it certainly was, it just wasn’t on the same level of the album that came before, or after it…
So when “Achtung Baby” came out in 1992, I knew it would be good – but had no idea it would be yet another amazing top-shelf album from the band, but that’s what they created – and that put them into a whole different category for me, as only a handful of artists ever really achieve that kind of creative greatness…
They’ve since added 2 more in my opinion, so my list is below – and each is a separate and distinct project, with an original sound, an original theme, and original stories to tell…
War – 1983
The Joshua Tree – 1987
Achtung Baby – 1992
All That You Can’t Leave Behind – 2000
Songs Of Experience – 2017
As for “Achtung Baby”, it absolutely is loaded with musical goodness IMO, as there is not an average track on the album – it’s just a matter of which ones are better than others… I’ve always used a 7-point scale when rating songs, as 5 is just not enough – and 9 would just be silly : ) – so here is my take, and in order of goodness…
7-STARS
Acrobat – Incredibly underrated, and one of their best songs ever…
One – A true classic…
End Of The World – Another of my deeper cut loves…
Ultra Violet – Another underrated classics…
So Cruel – Just love this song – the way the music matches the lyrics, stunningly good…
The Fly – This was amazing to see live in 1992…
5-STARS
Zoo Station – Great way to open the album…
Love Is Blindness – Great way to close the album…
Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around the World – A woman need a man, like a fish needs a bicycle…
Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
4-STARS
Even Better Than The Real Thing
Mysterious Ways
Kinda funny that “Mysterious Ways” was one of the big hits from the album, and I have ranked last, as this is such an amazing album…
Bono & The Edge clearly drive this band, and both were in their prime here, and their work on this album was spectacular… I recently bought a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px8 headphones, and pair them with the Tidal high-fidelity streaming service (no compression), and Bono’s vocals on this album are something to behold, as is The Edge’s guitar work…
A well-deserved 5 for one of the all-time classics…
5
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Wed Mar 27 2024
The Libertines
The Libertines
Wow – that was fun!!!
Never heard of the band before, and thought this album was incredibly well-done… I liked the originality of their sound, as it was a bit more complex than most bands of that time and genre…
Best songs IMO, starting with the best were –
“Road To Ruin”
“The Ha Ha Wall”
“The Man Who Would Be King”
“The Saga”
“When The Lights Go Out”
Would probably give this a 3.50 if I could, but just not quite enough there to get this to a 4, so a dead-solid 3 for me, and glad that I listened…
3
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Thu Mar 28 2024
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
John Lennon
A bit disappointing actually, as I honestly expected this to be better being his inaugural solo effort... So I watched "The Beatles Get Back" documentary a while back, it became very clear - very quickly that it was Paul that drove the band, and that John was somewhat lazy... He wouldn't produce much, but when he did - his work was awesome - so I was curious as to how being on his own would impact that work ethic...
Maybe it was the Yoko influence, or perhaps where he was at that time in his life, but there wasn't much on this album that grabbed me at all, and actually think "Double Fantasy" was a much better solo effort from him...
Only 2 songs that I liked were "Working Class Hero" which was exceptional, and "Isolation"... "God" was a bit interesting, but ultimately at the end just came off as being pretentious in my view...
2
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Fri Mar 29 2024
Bad
Michael Jackson
Thought I would enjoy this more than I did... In many respects, it DEFINITELY seemed dated for sure, and the similarity among the songs (i.e. limited diversity) was also quite noticeable...
No doubt there are a few excellent songs on here, and below are my are my ranks -
"Smooth Criminal" - 7-stars
"Man In the Mirror - 6-stars
"Dirty Diana" - 5-stars
"Bad" - 5-stars
"The Way You Make Me Feel - 4-stars
The rest however, are completely forgettable... I'm sure that MJ will have some albums on this list that warrant a 5, but the best I can do for "Bad" is to give it a 3...
Also - I HIGHLY recommend the Top Rated review for the "Bad" album, as it was incredibly well done, and made my day it was so damn funny... It starts out -
"...OK - here we go..." : ) Enjoy!!!
3
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Mon Apr 01 2024
Stankonia
OutKast
So I actually enjoyed “Stankonia” more that I really thought I would… I enjoyed the diversity of sound throughout the album, and the little interludes weren’t too disruptive – as I have typically found them on other albums…
Clearly this was a different style of rap as compared to what came before it, and I thought it was pretty well done… The best song on the album by far is “Ms. Jackson” – which really reminded me of another song from my past… In 1977, a band called The Brothers Johnson released their version of “Strawberry Letter 23” – with which I liked – and was very familiar with…
The 1977 track is the definitive version of the song as far as I am concerned, and Outkast has worked the musical hook from the song into “Ms. Johnson” – which is what gives the song it’s mojo… Sure, the other parts of the song are extremely well-done, but I doubt “Ms. Jackson” would have blown up the way that it did, without that hook…
Apparently Shuggie Otis wrote “Strawberry Letter 23” in 1971, but it was the 1977 version by The Brothers Johnson which really nailed down the phrasing and musical points of emphasis in the hook… That said – I hope Shuggie & The Brothers got paid for their contribution to “Stankonia”… : )
As for the rest of “Stankonia”, the best of the rest of the tracks included – and using my 7-star scale…
“Ms. Jackson” – 6-stars
“B.O.B” – 6-stars
“Spaghetti Junction – 5-stars
“Humble Mumble” – 4-stars
“So Fresh., So Clean” – 4-stars
Glad I listened, and have a greater appreciation for the uniqueness of their sound… A solid 3 in my book...
3
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Tue Apr 02 2024
Done By The Forces Of Nature
Jungle Brothers
Well – I tried, but that was absolutely awful… And over an hour, really – weren’t the first 5 or 6 tracks enough of this drivel…
It reminded me of a cross between The Sugarhill Gang from the early 80’s, and early DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince albums – all of which came before this…
Nothing wrong with that, but there is absolutely nothing new in terms of the style, and I can’t believe that the Jungle Brothers didn’t get bored recording this themselves – as every freakin’ song sounds just like the last – only with a few different lyrics… Same beat, same style, just on and on, and on…
Best song is the title track “Done By The Forces Of Nature” – and that’s NOT because it’s particularly good, it’s just that it’s a bit different from everything else that totally sucked on this album… No redeeming qualities, I’d give it a “0” if I could, and have absolutely no idea how this album wound up on the 1,001…
1
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Wed Apr 03 2024
Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor
Lupe Fiasco
So Lupe’s “Food & Liquor” album, has been my 3rd straight rap album in a row this week – and I’m NOT a rap guy… The other 2 were “Stankoina by Outkast, and The Jungle Brothers “Done By The Forces Of Nature”… All that to say, that I am completely “rapped” out, as for some reason each of these albums was over an hour long… Additionally, I have heard a certain derogatory term more than 500 times this week between these 3 albums… Ugh…
That said, I sorta enjoyed portions of Lupe’s album here, as his style is a bit more complex musically – which works for me, and it sounds like he may have been the rap derivative that Lin-Manuel Miranda later followed to fortune and fame – except without the historical component… I found Lupe’s lyrics to be far more clever than the other 2 rap albums I’ve referenced here, and his phrasing and delivery were more enjoyable as well…
Best track was the one with Jay-Z “Pressure”, and the last track “Outro” was completely unnecessary – as it is nothing more than a 12-minute musical background track, where Lupe essentially thanks everyone who has helped his musical career since middle-school… Yaaah – that was a bit much, but the album is still a solid 2 for me…
2
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Thu Apr 04 2024
Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
So just spitballin’ here, but an album about things from the state of Illinois does NOT sound like a recipe for musical goodness… I was also fascinated by the fact that this was voted the best album of 2005… No offense to Mr. Stevens, as a multi-instrumentalist – he is certainly very talented, but I would argue that “Illinois” being the best album of 2005, says more about the lack of quality music in 2005, as opposed to how exceptional this album is… If this came out in 1977, it’s not even in the Top 500 of that year…
I would argue that 70%+ of the albums on the 1,001 list SHOULD be coming from the 60’s & 70’s… Artists created music for the love of their art and craft back then, as there really wasn’t a lot of money in music at the time… Once that changed in the late 70’s and early 80’s – everyone subsequently got in it for the money, and the corporate formulas took over…
I’ve listened to a handful of self-made albums (i.e. where the artist plays every instrument for the most part…), and this was probably the best… Most of them just have a weird sound, like there wasn’t enough diversity in the playing, but this one sort of escaped that… Mr. Stevens is very talented, and definitely has a unique and original sound – so points for that, and for what he was trying to accomplish, the album is fairly well-done…
My main complaint, is that after a while, all of the songs sorta just sound the same… Enjoyed the piano-based songs better than the banjo ones – but that’s just me, and never thought I’d hear a song about “John Wayne Gacy”, but that’s “Illinois” for you…
2
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Fri Apr 05 2024
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
Spiritualized
Well that was kind of fun – especially after 4 straight days of rap… Not the most amazing album that I’ve ever heard, but very creative, original, and I really enjoyed it…
Saw that this album is ranked #13 on Roling Stones best “Stoner” albums of all-time, and while it definitely deserves to be on there, I’m not entirely sure that it should be ranked that high… Personally, I think “Welcome To Vanilla Sky” by Kyuss – which Rolling Stone has ranked as #25 on that list, is considerably better than “Ladies & Gentlemen” – but that’s just me…
Obviously, some tracks are better than others, and I probably would have preferred a little bit better flow to the album, as there were a few abrupt transitions from one song to the next in terms of track order, but all-in-all, this was a fun experimental album…
Favorite tracks were “I Think I’m In Love” & the closing track “Cop Shoot Cop” – which may not be for everyone, but I thought I was extremely well done… Solid 3-stars for me!
3
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Mon Apr 08 2024
Queen II
Queen
So I’m a big Queen fan, and am well-versed in their catalog – and have to say that this is among their weakest efforts… I get that this album changed a lot for them in terms of their maturing in the studio… Sorta like Neil Peart the drummer from Rush always used to say that they never would have gotten to “2112” – the album that broke the band big-time, without all that they learned from creating their album “Caress Of Steel” (i.e. which is really NOT a very good album at all…) – so I get that… At the end of the day however, I judge these albums by the quality of the material…
To be honest, other than the “White Queen” & “Black Queen” songs – along with “The Seven Seas Of Rhye” – there is not a lot on here to like… Yes – I enjoyed hearing the evolution of their sound – especially on the longer pieces, but other than that – it really left me wanting – and I’m a big rock guy…
Really thought I would enjoy “Ogre Battle” as I had heard so many praise it over the years, but I’d probably only give that a 3-stars out of 7-stars on my little ratings scale… Glad I listened, as I had never run this one all the way through before, but was a bot disappointing, as compared to what I was expecting…
2
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Tue Apr 09 2024
Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black
Public Enemy
Was somewhat familiar with Public Enemy’s game, and thought “Apocalypse 91” was just fine… Their style is their style, and it did get a bit repetitive after a while – but I’m okay with that…
Going to say that “Shut Em Down” was the best track IMO, as I’d give that song 4-stars out of 7-stars in my little rating system… Nothing mind-blowingly awesome on this album – but nothing all that awful either, so going to slot it in at a solid 2.50 stars – but just can’t get it to a 3, so a 2 it is…
2
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Wed Apr 10 2024
In It For The Money
Supergrass
So I actually liked this album better than “I Should Coco” – so 2 albums by Supergrass of my first 50 – perhaps a bit much…
There were 4 songs that I noted on this one that really stood out –
“Late In The Day”
“G-Song”
“Cheapskate”
“Hollow Little Reign”
As those were the cream of the crop in my opinion, and all 4-stars or a bit better on my little 7-star song rating system… The rest of the tracks are fine, and maybe I appreciated this more – as 4 of my last 5 albums have been rap – and I’m not a rap guy… A solid 3 for me, and definite signs that this band was making some progress, as I gave “Coco” 2-stars…
3
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Thu Apr 11 2024
Tubular Bells
Mike Oldfield
So I had listened to this album a few times in the past, due to my deep prog roots – combined with how much buzz the album had gotten over the years, and I have to say that after today’s listen – my thoughts haven’t changed…
#1 – It is an impressive work for a 19-year old who played all of the instruments at the time of its release… Most albums where the artist plays every instrument typically suffer from lack of diversity, but that was not a problem on this album – so that was good…
#2 – There are sections of the music that I truly enjoyed, as there is no denying that…
#3 – Why in the world he felt the need to “introduce” each of the instruments in “Part I” is beyond me, as that TOTALLY ruined whatever vibe he had going with me on that track…
#4 – Same kinda thing on “Part II”, as I was sorta beginning to dig a section, and then he starts grunting for lack of a better word – and AGAIN, totally ruined whatever vibe he had going – I mean like WTF???
#5 – The “Single” track – which is what I’m guessing was the short-version released back in the day for radio, was fairly well-done – and again as I was enjoying the track, I half-expected something odd to jump out at me, but turns out that was the only unflawed track… Nothing amazing mind you, but certainly pleasant…
#6 – The last song is a complete throwaway, and have no idea why he included it on this album, or what its purpose was…
“Tubular Bells” still doesn’t do much for me overall, and saddened by the fact that A LOT of outstanding prog-rock albums that SHOULD be on this list – probably aren’t due to albums like this… Nothing but a 2 from me…
2
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Fri Apr 12 2024
Traffic
Traffic
So I’m a fan of Traffic, but have never worked my way through all of their albums – but the bulk of the catalog that I’ve heard, I have enjoyed… They seem to be one of those bands that have a few outstanding tracks per album, so their goodness is spread across the catalog…
I get that this was their 2nd album, but the songs seem to be all over the place – and I was partial to the sound on the debut album “Mr. Fantasy”… Looks like it was the clash between Dave Mason’s more pop orientation, and Winwood & Capaldi’s more jazz and blues influence – with mason eventually leaving…
Regardless, there are a couple of gems on here – even if it really doesn’t flow like most albums… Liked “Feeling Alright” obviously, but also enjoyed “Roamin’ Thro’ The Gloamin’”, “Withering Tree”, with the best track on the album IMO being “No Time To Live”… Guess I’m a “Mr. Fantasy” & “Low Spark” kinda guy… Solid 2 for sure…
2
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Mon Apr 15 2024
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears
So I have commented numerous times, that most bands have their good tracks spread out over a number of albums, so it is much rarer when you come across one that is loaded up with goodness… The “Blood Sweat & Tears” album is just one of those, as it seems like their most well-known tracks are on this album…
First off, the quality of the recording for 1968 is exceptional, as I have listened a number of albums from the late 60’s – and many of them just don’t have a solid audio quality to them at all – but this one was excellent…
As for the songs themselves – not sure what the purpose was for the opening and closing “Variations” tracks, but they kinda felt out of place to be honest… Best songs on the album IMO were the run of –
“And When I Die “ – 6-stars out of 7
“God Bless The Child” – 5-stars out of 7
“Spinning Wheel” – 5-stars out of 7
“You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” – 5-stars out of 7
“Blues – Part II” is also a very interesting track with multiple sections –
0:00-3:00 – The organ intro section reminded me of early ELP (i.e. maybe something off of Tarkus?)
3:00-4:30 – The obligatory bass and drum solos – ugh…
4:30-8:00 – Was a great sax-led jam, and the best part of the song…
8:00-8:50 – Was a reprise of Cream’s “Sunshine Of Your Love” – not sure why that was on here…
8:50- End – Was the only blues singing on this track – which was fine, but suddenly ends – very odd…
Wish this had been more of a 6-8 minute song of that great sax-led instrumental – or perhaps the organ opening, followed by the sax-led jam – but the rest really didn’t fit – but that’s just me…
This is better than a 3, but not quite a 4 – but if I could, I’d give it a 3.50 for sure - but I can't, so it's a 3…
3
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Tue Apr 16 2024
The Healer
John Lee Hooker
So I’m a blues fan, and I like John Lee Hooker, though I am not well-versed in his entire catalog… I thought this one was fine, fairly well-done, I liked the guest artists on the different tracks for sure, as well as John’s playing – that said, there really isn’t anything on this album that really jumps out at you, or is really exceptional…
I was really looking forward to this one, so perhaps my expectations were a bit too high… Underwhelmed is how I would put it... Would probably give it a 2.50, but just can’t get to a 3.00 – so a 2.00 for me…
2
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Wed Apr 17 2024
Dare!
The Human League
Well, that was really enjoyable… My wife and I are big fans of the 80’s, and are well-versed in the music of the Human League… That said, if you asked me what year these songs came out, I would have said 1983, or 1984 – or WELL after the 80’s alternative movement had begin… Was absolutely shocked to find that this album was released in 1981 – and probably WAS one of the bands that influenced that movement…
I was in high-school between 1977-1981, so was very aware of the music tides and shifting landscapes during that period (i.e. sans the disco crap…). Besides U2 (“Boy” 1980 & “October” 1981), the other “early” band whose sound I think many in the 80’s are a derivative of was Joy Division – as their album “Unknown Pleasures” which came out in 1979, and the single “Love Will Tear Us Apart” in 1980 – can be heard in the DNA of ALOT of 80’s alternative music… I will now add Human League to that narrative…
Their sound is very unique – for coming as early as it did (i.e. pretty sure the band ABC was a complete knock off of Human League…), and the quality of the recording is excellent… I enjoyed every track, and appreciated the diversity of the tracks on the album… The best songs IMO were -
“The Things That Dreams Are Made Of” – 4-stars of 7-stars
“Seconds” – 5-stars of 7-stars
“Love Action” – 5-stars of 7-stars
“Don’t you Want Me” – 6-stars of 7-stars
Have a much greater appreciation for the band and these songs knowing how early they arrived on the scene – as they were one of the true trailblazers – as opposed to the myriad of copy-cat pop bands that tried to imitate their sound… Solid 4-stars from me for their originality, and their influence on the genre…
4
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Thu Apr 18 2024
Ghosteen
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Well, that was absolutely dreadful, and I have no idea as to why “Ghosteen” is even on this list…
I’ve seen comments along the lines of “great lyrics” and “subtle instrumentation changes throughout are awesome” and I’m like WTF are they talking about???
I get that this is an authentic album, and was born out of grief – but that alone doesn’t make it awesome… To be honest, it sounded like one long, drawn-out funeral dirge – which is fine if you like that sort of thing…
Also saw that this was rated as one of the best albums of 2019, and I’ll stick with my premise that it’s NOT because this was a great album, but because there is a real lack of musical “greatness” today – especially the authentic kind, as compared to what was being produced in the 70’s…
Normally, I highlight some of the best songs on the album, but nothing to show for this one… The ONLY song that I bothered to look at title throughout the album, was the last song – “Hollywood”… Not sure if there was a little more in that one, as compared to all of the rest, or after about an hour, I had been completely worn down – but ether way, even that track is nothing to write home about…
This was incredibly rough, but I’ll give it a 1, as at least if was authentic…
1
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Fri Apr 19 2024
MTV Unplugged In New York
Nirvana
So as a rock guy, I am fairly familiar with the “Nirvana Unplugged” album, though have never run it all-the-way through… Was actually surprised to find that it was on the 1,001 list, as I didn’t think “live” albums were a part of it… Appears it made it because there were some covers on it, doesn’t really change that criteria for me and I would not have included it, but c’est la vie…
#1 – I like the arrangements, and am glad that they used a little amplification as that was part of the secret sauce of the album – so a big plus there…
#2 – After a while however, several of the songs started to sound the same the longer the album went on… Especially noticeable from “Something In The Way” (Track 9) through the Meat Puppets covers (Tracks 10, 11, 12)…
#3 – As for the covers, didn’t really care for The Vaseline’s “Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam” – but here are the rest –
“Man Who Sold The World” – Bowie – 5-stars out of 7…
“Plateau” – Meat Puppets – 4-stars out of 7…
“Oh Me” – Meat Puppets – 1-star out of 7…
“Lake Of Fire” – Meat Puppets – 5-stars out of 7…
“Where Did You Sleep Last Night” – Lead Belly – 5-stars out of 7…
#4 – Kurt’s frailty really comes through, and if I had been a band member back then, I would have been VERY concerned about his mental state and overall health, as you can tell that he’s pretty distant at best… Kind of sad that what really made this album popular, was the fact that it was released later in 1994 after Kurt’s death that spring…
#5 – The best Nivana songs IMO were –
“Come As You Are” – 6-stars out of 7…
“Dumb” – 4-stars out of 7…
“On A Plain” – 4-stars out of 7…
“All Apologies” – 5-stars out of 7…
The rest were just filler as far as I’m concerned…
Glad I listened to the album in it’s entirety, and that I did it during the month of the 30th Anniversary of Kurt’s death… Given the historic nature of what it captured, plus the fact that there were a number of arrangements that I really enjoyed, “Nirvana Unplugged” clocks in at a solid 4 for me…
4
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Mon Apr 22 2024
Talking With the Taxman About Poetry
Billy Bragg
So as an Irishman, if I was hanging out in an English pub, and Billy was the entertainment – I’d be fine with that, though I would continue my conversations with friends et al… Nothing wrong with this album at all, just not really my bag – especially some of the protest lyrics…
Now IF he had been an Irish singer/song-writer, and had written about the English oppression of the Irish, then perhaps I would have enjoyed it a bit more… I did enjoy “Greetings To The New Brunette” – especially the contributions of Kristy MacColl (Collaborator w/ The Pogues) & Johnny Marr (The Smiths), as that was one of the best tracks, and “There Is Power In A Union” was pretty decent as well…
After a while though, all of the songs sorta just ran together – some better than others, but nothing really special for me… Fairly well-done for what he was going for, but just a 2 for me…
2
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Tue Apr 23 2024
Axis: Bold As Love
Jimi Hendrix
So I was quite familiar with Jimi’s work while in middle school and high school via the great FM station in Cleveland at the time, WMMS 100.7 – but never owned a Hendrix album until I got to college in 1981…
That was when I really dove in, and vividly remember listening debut album “Are You Experienced” all the way through the first time – and it absolutely blew my mind… I then worked through the next 2, and while there are amazing tracks on both “Axis: Bold As Love” & “Electric Ladyland”, neither could touch the start-to finish magic of “Are You Experienced” …
Really enjoyed the album, and you could hear the progression in Jimi’s song-writing and musical compositions… As for me, the best tracks are listed below, along with my usual 7-star ratings scale – because you know that 5 isn’t quite enough, and 9 would just be silly… : )
“Spanish Castle Magic” – 5-stars out of 7…
“Ain’t No Telling” – 5-stars out of 7…
“Little Wing” – 7-stars out of 7…
“If 6 Was 9” – 6-stars out of 7…
“Castles Made Of Sand” – 5-stars out of 7…
I will say that the album loses stream after “Castles Made Of Sand”, as those are several of the weaker tracks on the album – also have no idea why Noel the bass player sang “She’s So Fine” – probably his song, but would have been better if Jimi had sung it – but still the most forgettable track on the album…
Since “Are You Experienced” is going to be a 5 for me, I’d probably have “Axis: Bold As Love” clock in at a 4.25, so will round it down to an “exceptional” 4 in my book…
4
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Wed Apr 24 2024
Foo Fighters
Foo Fighters
So as a rock guy, I love Foo Fighters – and the story regarding how the “band” came to be is quite interesting… While it’s not nearly as strong as several of the albums that followed – this was the first, and really just an experiment to help Dave deal with his grief over Kurt’s suicide earlier in 1994…
But as an inaugural effort – combined with the fact that Dave wrote and performed all of the instrumentation on all of the songs – and the fact that he basically created a unique sound, well, that’s absolutely amazing to me, and it’s pretty damned good as well!
The 1st track on the album “This Is A Call” – really is the quintessential Foo Fighters song – and it’s DNA can be found in pretty much everything that has been created since… Great way to kick off the album as well…
While some tracks are better than others, there is nothing absolutely top-shelf on this album, and the only real throwaway as far as I’m concerned is “Weenie Beenie” – but everything else is exceptionally solid…
Below are the best songs IMO – and again going with my usual 7-star ratings scale – because you know that 5 isn’t quite enough, and 9 would just be silly… : )
“This Is A Call” – 4-stars out of 7…
“I’ll Stick Around” – 4-stars out of 7…
“Good Grief” – 5-stars out of 7…
“Floaty” – 5-stars out of 7…
“For All The Cows” – 4-stars out of 7… Very interesting song for sure… : )
For historical significance, for an artist creating and performing the entire album, and for creating a new and original sound as far as I’m concerned – AND this coming from a drummer for Christ’s sake – this is solidly a 4 in my book…
4
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Thu Apr 25 2024
Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)
Eurythmics
Big fan of Annie Lennox after seeing her open up for Sting in the early 2000’s – so mostly Eurhythmics hits and some of her solo tracks, as her vocals – especially live, were stunningly good… Like most bands, Eurhythmics scattered their better songs across a number of albums, and there are several on here that were really well done… Best tracks IMO were –
“Love Is A Stranger” – 5-stars out of 7…
“The Walk” – 4-stars out of 7…
“Sweet Dreams” – 6-stars of 7…
“This City Never Sleeps” – 4-stars out of 7…
Not a Eurhythmics aficionado by any means, but at their best – they have their own sound, and some awesome, and quite unique songs – and at their worst (i.e. on this album there is a dreadful version of “Wrap-It Up”…) they are just there for me… Glad I listened, and would probably give this a 2.50 for the solid tracks on the album, but there wasn’t really enough there to push it to a 3 – so a robust 2 in my book…
2
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Fri Apr 26 2024
The Hour Of Bewilderbeast
Badly Drawn Boy
I thought “The Hour Of The Bewilderbeast” was a pretty solid album… Had never heard of the artist before, and had never come across any of these songs before – so I was a blank slate…
I sorta like his style, and I can honestly say that there weren’t any bad tracks on the album – but there weren’t a whole lot really jumping out at me either – which is not ideal for an album with 18 tracks, and over an hour in length…
Best tracks in my opinion were –
“Everybody’s Stalking – 5-stars out of 7…
“Stone On The Water” – 4-stars out of 7…
“Another Pearl” – 4-stars out of 7…
“Once Around The Block” – 4-stars out of 7…
So like I said, solid – fairly original, but nothing earthshattering for sure… Would probably give this a 2.50 if I could, but there is not enough there to reach a 3 when I consider other albums that I’ve rated as a 3 – so a well-earned 2 it is…
2
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Mon Apr 29 2024
Penthouse And Pavement
Heaven 17
Have never had a positive opinion of Heaven 17 – not sure why, just never had a good vibe about them… Could not have picked out a song of theirs – so it wasn’t anything experiencially-related, but it’s always been that way…
Well – after listening to “Penthouse & Pavement” – my long-held disdain for Heaven 17 was absolutely dead on, as this album – as my good friend Keith is fond of saying – was fucking terrible!!! Not pretentious like many other “1’s” that I have given, nor was it mindless speed metal – which I have been known to trash – no, this was just a level of extraordinary suckitude that one doesn’t come across very often…
The funniest part, was the ONLY song that I found even remotely listenable, was “Song With No Name” – which I’d probably give a 2-stars out of 7 – but after that, there was absolutely nothing else worth listening to, over the rest of the ONE HOUR & 22 MINUTE exercise of sonic futility… That was until Track #19 came on (i.e. I might have had listened to the deluxe version…) – and I was like, oh – that doesn’t suck as much as everything else…
When I went to check what the title of said song was on TIDAL, I found it was called “Song With No Name – 12-Inch Version”… HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Seriously, this was absolutely awful, and that’s ONE HOUR & 22 MINUTES of my life that I’m not gonna get back… Would honestly give this a “0” if I could, as listening to this actually pissed me off, but the site won’t allow it, so begrudgingly I’ll give it a 1…
1