Liked it better for not having a lot of typical McCartney pop singles.
Felt like I was in an hour-long Charlie Brown TV special, except with more bass solos. I’m not mad.
Excellent voice. She could make singing the phone book sound delightful.
I will forever prefer Johnny Cash‘s take on “Run On,” but overall some pretty entertaining tracks.
When it comes to Dylan, I feel sometimes his limitations as a vocalist cloud his skills as a songwriter. That is how I felt when I originally bought this album back in 97. Listening to it again now, I have a greater appreciation.
It’s like every song ever played on classic rock stations is on this album. Seriously. “Greatest Hits” albums don’t have the kind of success rate this one did. Love, hate, or just tired of the genre, that’s a pretty impressive feat for a debut.
With the exception of a couple of tracks, I really enjoyed this. You could definitely hear the how they influenced a lot of the bands that came after.
Came into this with zero expectations. This is an artist I felt I may have heard of but really knew nothing about. Really like the mix of punk, funk, and overall originality.
Can’t say this was what I expected to hear when I pressed “Play.” Can’t say I really liked it, either. Not bad, just not my cup of tea. I read one description of the album that said the band made this mostly for themselves rather than to please critics, and I’m happy for them for that.
I did not enjoy this. There was enough funk on a few tracks to save it from a 1-star rating from me. But too much disco everywhere else.
Was familiar with the radio-singles, but never took a deeper dive. They seem to have taken the best elements of 80s alt-pop and updated the sound. I really like this.
Hard for an album to have a stronger opening track than “Badlands.” Definitely one of the all-time greats! Listening to Springsteen makes you feel like you just worked a double-shift digging ditches at a steel mill, only to come home and find an eviction notice on your door and yet feel that you’re strong enough to keep doing what needs to be done. A cognitively dissonant blend of feeling bleak and hopeful at the same time. It’s brilliant!
Talented MC and DJ, plus his accent adds something a little extra special.
A pleasant but mostly uninteresting collection.
Back in the day, I had always dismissed Courtney Love as a female Kurt Cobain wannabe. I think that still holds true. But with the wisdom of age, I also see her carrying on the tradition of Patti Smith, Chrissy Hynde, and Debbie Harry and I have a bit more respect for that.
I feel like I need to take a shower and clear my browser history.
I am not angry enough at the world to have enjoyed this.
I like James Brown, but a little can go a long way. This was the just right amount.
Didn’t care much for him as a vocalist. But he made up for it as a so-so songwriter. Pretty telling that the best track was the cover of “Hallelujah.”
Case study in quality songwriting. One doesn’t need to be a great vocalist, although it helps. Cohen is emotional without being whiny, dark(ish) in a matter-of-fact way, and an overall treat to listen to.
I liked the energy of this, plus the variety of styles and influences. Elton John has certainly earned his status as a legend in the field.
Listening to this had multiple health benefits including a lifting of spirits, and a slight loosening of hip joints. Suffice to say I had never heard of this band before today and I am so glad I know of them now.
A pleasant voice singing songs. Aside from that, I’m not sure what it is about this album I had to hear before I die. Although I do appreciate the plot summary of The Seventh Seal. Watched that movie in college and wasn’t really able to understand it very well. So, thanks for that, Scott.
If bands were people themselves, and not just made up of people, then this band would be a child of the Clash and the Kinks, who spent a lot of time growing up listening to the Pixies, Violent Femmes and the Velvet Underground. That doesn’t mean I like this band as much as all those others. But I do respect their influences.
Not a big fan of Morrissey as a vocalist. But I can hear and respect the influence they had on other bands of their era, and those to come after.
Tom Waits is one of those artists whose voice is just as much an instrument as the piano, guitar, etc. The singing is a little hard to take at first, but the more you listen to him the more it “works.” At least, it worked for a couple tracks on this album. Others, it was a distraction. “Closing Time” is a far better album from him.
If you were anywhere around college radio in the early to mid 90s, you didn’t have to be there long before hearing one of the many iterations of Bob Mould. It’s pretty obvious how he and his bands helped define the “alternative“ genre during that time.
Every bit as “artsy” and non-commercial as the album title would suggest. But after a fun start, it mostly became repetitive and unenjoyable.
A perfectly adequate representation of mid 90s alternative rock. Also a perfect representation of why I dislike the term “alternative rock,” since the sameness of it means there wasn’t much of an alternative.
Proof that you don’t necessarily need to understand the words to find music a total joy.
Lovely music, although I could walk away from it while still playing and feel like I didn’t miss much.
An amazing talent. Great range in her voice, and creative use of multiple musical styles.
As I listened to this, all I could picture in my head was Spinal Tap. They, too, were big in Japan. And that connection helped deal with the lyrical meaninglessness of songs like “Space Trucking.” Not bad music, but really hard to take seriously.
I would have liked some of the tracks more if the blues hadn’t exploded. But overall a fun, rockabilly sound that I may not like every day, but I enjoyed today.
Inarguably a tremendous voice. Although I must say, I prefer her singing on soul, blues, and rock-inspired tracks compared to her ballads.
Very Zappa-esque. I never really got into Zappa. But then it took a strange turn into 90s soul/rap before both styles drunkenly mixed to finish the album. Amusing, but I don’t love it.
Although I’m a little tired of how overplayed this band has been over the years, I will admit that I owned this album back in the day and their harmonies are beautiful to listen to.
I feel like I just listened to the story arc of a contestant on American Idol. A talented vocalist showing off her technical skills on a series of somewhat uninspiring songs. I’m not mad I listened to it, but I’m pretty sure I will quickly forget what I heard.
Jazzy. But jazz is more fun with a big(ish) band than some dude meandering away on a piano with equally aimless bass accompaniment. A little short of “atomic” in my book, but not hard to listen to.
I read this band was #1 in the UK during their heyday. But the UK also gave us Coldplay and Oasis. That’s a big pile of “meh,” for me.
Sorry, Iceland, but I'm just not into this.
Almost exactly what one would expect from Bowie. Inventive and unconventional But this is far from my favorite work of his.
This album seems to answer the question the Beatles were afraid to ask, as to what would happen if they made every song as lyrically random as “I am the Walrus.” The results aren’t terrible, but I’m not sure I’ll listen to this again.
A lot of these tracks are OK, and some are even quite adequate.
I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. Still not a fan of the genre and the frequently repetitive loops, but something hit me right about this today.
Another one of those bands that I had always heard about but never listened to. Fairly representative of late 80s alt rock/punk in the spirit of Husker Du, Psychadelic Furs, and Sonic Youth.
It’s hard not to like the Beatles or st least acknowledge the depth and breadth of their impact. They set the standard for pop song writing. But once I realized “Norwegian Wood” was about burning down a girl’s home because she wouldn’t give more than pleasant conversation, it has hit a little different. And the lyrics to “Run for your Life” are more than a little cringy. I’m guessing they might like to have that one back. Those are the only things holding me back from giving this a full 5-stars, because otherwise it is a brilliant work of music.
The story arc was sort of an interesting idea, and I’m happy he found his money while learning a little bit about himself and his relationship. But he’s not a very good rapper and the beats were awful.
There were moments of this I really enjoyed. But overall, I still don’t think I’m cool enough to get jazz.
Beats and flow = 4* Lyrics = mostly 2*. To me, the power of a track like “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst” is undercut by the total unseriousness of “Bitch Don’t Kill My Vibe,” and “Backseat Freestyle.”
Decent “country” voice. Great lyrics.
I think I finally figured this band out. They are what the Beatles would have sounded like had they continued making music into the ‘90s: not bad, but past their prime.