Among The Living
AnthraxGa ga ga ga junga ga junga. My inner Beavis is shining. I enjoyed this more than I expected. Doubt I'll ever listen to it again, but I am glad to have heard it before I died.
Ga ga ga ga junga ga junga. My inner Beavis is shining. I enjoyed this more than I expected. Doubt I'll ever listen to it again, but I am glad to have heard it before I died.
I've been enjoying this. A first time hearing this album. Started with some fairly straight forward Bowie pop tunes, but then migrated to instrumental tracks and synth ambient. Mellow.
A bit of a shock on first play. Poor production and an assault of sound took a second to get used to. By the second track, I was all in, and that crappy production enhanced the experience. An album meant to be listened to on a sony walkman with tinny headphones on a school bus wearing a denim jacket as a 14 year-old with angst. OK, the walkman was 10 years after this release, but carrying a record player on a bus is impractical, and besides, I'm not quite that old. I need somebody is the Iggy I know. I don't know if this is a flashback to older work or a premonition of later albums, but this is the sound I expect from Iggy Pop.
My first time hearing this as an album. Somehow this one slipped by, adjacent to much of what I listened to at the time. Clint Eastwood single was familiar but not the full album. So very stoner centric, but I'm digging the groove without any aids. Double base stood out to me. Great groove, grabbed and held my attention as they traded off focus between different instruments. If I find myself in altered states I hope I remember to put this document on again. Then I feel asleep about 2/3 through, so I guess it didn't grab me all that well. Need to go back and relisten to the end I guess...
Brings me back to my older brother in high school. This was his favorite and his band would cover all of them surprisingly well for their age. Amazing album with the tone of the guitars and wonderful feel driving it all forward. Every track brings something a little different and stands up to the 50+ years of time. My hair grew 6 inches while listening to it.
This was a good but straight forward collection of tracks. Very clean blues rock, fun to listen to but didn't blow me away. Many songs were massive hits and of course very familiar. Some were less popular or new to me. But as an album composition, it was sort of just a collection of fun tunes to me.
I had to struggle a bit to listen to this one properly. Spotify playlist link was only partial. Ended up finding a different playlist that was more complete but was missing The Fat Man's Hop. I ended up searching that one on YouTube as it wasn't available on Spotify, and that was the best track on the list! Anyway, glad I checked the Discogs page for the album to see the original track list and did the legwork to hear the whole thing. Anyway. as someone else said, what's up with putting a compilation album in a best albums list?!? That's a total cheat. A great collection of songs, of course, it's the greatest hits, duh! Thoroughly enjoyed it all. The Fat Man's Hop was a standout and was a bit different than the rest as an instrumental and real showcase of the musicianship. 5 stars for Fats but knocking the album as a best of collection.
Sitting down to listen to this album reminds me why I don't listen to this album. It's a jumbled mess of disorganized ideas. Whole fans call him a creative genius, I think he can't figure out which style to ape so he apes them all. I hear people label this lofi. That's not a fair label, this is massively produced and worked over. Nothing lofi about it. Off key or off rhythm can't be blamed on "being raw". Oh, and what's up with adding record dust popping noise as a theme. Like in the silence between tracks for ready made, and carried through the whole track. That's not leftover from sampling, it's just added noise. Nope. Last track, Ramshackle, is far and away the best on the album. A cohesive and moving composition played and sung genuinely. Left the gimmicks on the cutting room floor and let it flow.
Woo hoo! Taylor is a guilty pleasure. Listening to this should be fun. ;) So I guess I never heard this album before, which is a surprise. I certainly knew the many singles, but interspersed were a few new to me tracks I didn't expect. I'm more a fan of her early more Nashville roots, and this full shift to pop is hit or miss to me. I love some of her wittier and more self effacing tracks. And of course her signature tell a story songs. I'm not sure I really want this many images implanted in my head of her coital dalliances, however. Seemed like most tracks had some alusion to bumping nasties. I get it, she's all grown up now, message received, move on. Overall, a good album. Clearly a star maker with more than half the tracks being radio hits. Good on her, but only getting 4 stars. If I were being objective, it would probably have been 3. But what can I say, she's a guilty pleasure and I'm not that objective.
This will be fun. I'll need to give this one a second listen, as somewhere after Bonita Applebum, I slipped into unconsciousness and let this seep into my dreams. Great grooves, great lyrics, catchy and fun all the way through (the first half). Second half yet to be judged...
Something new and fun. I think I want to revisit this one when I'm more focused just on it.
I was optimistic on this one from all the positive reviews. It was good but but great. I don't feel like hearing this had deepened my world view and understanding of the genre. The previous generation, tribe, digable planets, de la sol, etc, are at least as strong. Less known but more comparable was Boo Yaa Tribe, from a decade earlier. This was a good album but doesn't seem to take the genre further than the decades before. Liked but not love.
What a fun album! I haven't listened to these guys in too long, but it was and is such a fun assault to the senses. You hear the first notes and smile. Within seconds, you're tapping your feet. Eventually you just have to get up and move around! There is stored energy in these tracks which must be released. Bonin In The Boneyard explodes. Gotta love funky ass bass.
A solid album. I think I like this more than most white stripes I've heard. While I enjoyed this, I don't think it's something I would put on without prompting or for a specific reason (like the 1001 Albums project :) ). It's certainly not music to relax to. It's a band I'd love to see live, it just requires a level of activity and attention that listening on the stereo can't provide. And for that, 3 stars.
This was fun from the first drop of the needle until the final beat. Masters of the genre. Nothing more needs be said. 5 stars.
This was a fun listen to drive home to. Some songs were very sound alike to tracks from other albums. And I can't say I'd jump to put this on outside special listening situations. And for that, 4 stars.
This was a lot of fun. When it started with the overplayed radio smash, Immigrant Song, I was gearing up for Led Zep rock front start to finish. Then it spun to blues, still holding their theme sound. Then folk. Then something from the Renaissance Fair. It kept changing, kept rocking, and kept sucking me in. Easy 5 stars.
This was a hard one to listen to. I mean physically. It wasn't available on Spotify, I had to use Amazon music which kept stopping midway. Really annoying. First world problems... This was really good. My main exposure to Neil Young is the double CD Decade compilation. It was great just hearing a single album of an era. I enjoyed every track. 5 stars, not quite. I'm rounding down to 4, but it's close.
This will be a good one... And it was. It's been a while since I listened to that one. A clear 5. Every track is brilliant. J Marcus joining was brilliant. Covers were brilliant. Left on stuck a high note with where did you sleep last night.
I would have loved seeing this at an easy village club. Hearing it on a stereo isn't quite doing it for me. I'm liking it but not loving it so far (Caroline says I). My enjoyment picked up. I think because the production got more sparse which made it more clean and raw at the same time. By the time Caroline Says II rolled around I was way more inside the album. It's still getting a 3, but 2 is totally off the table now.
I did not expect huge rip off (homage?) to led zep guitar riff at the beginning of Dying Days. These guys exude the mid 90s alt rock sound. Nothing revolutionary but a solid power pop consistency from start to finish. The definition of 3 in my mind. The last 2 tracks were the highlights to me.
Not their best album but so much fun none the less.
I never heard of this guy. Listened to the album, and tbh it was a bit of a sleeper. Neither his music nor words pulled me in. When it was done, I started reading to understand why he is in this 1001 album collection. I still can't figure out the rationale, but I did learn he's a putz called out in the me too movement and previously for just being a general shit. I also learned he's put out 29 studio albums in his less than 50 years on this planet. 6 between 2000 and 2002 while embroiled in the me too controversy. What? Why? How? If they are as boring as this one, God bless. 2 for the album. Minutes one for the human.
This was kind of fun. Kind of the hits album with the title track and Fame bookending it. A bit more soul/r&b than I usually like but it worked here. A solid 3.
I forgot about this album. Reminds me of visiting my sister in college. Amazing how a few notes can bring you into a room from 30 years past, with the sounds, smells, people, everything so close you can touch them. But that's not the album. The album is wonderfully produced. Great grooves with layers of samples and instrumentation that add to the whole. The opposite of that Jurassic 5 nonsense I was subjected to a few weeks ago. An easy 5.
If only I could give 6 stars, this album deserves it. Start to finish it's just brilliant musically and entertainingly.
Never heard this one. I'm looking forward to the PJ Harvey and Shane MacGowen collaborations. I gave a distracted listen and liked what I heard but need to go back. I'm going to say did not listen as a reminder to go back. Went back and listened more properly and this one did not impress. I'm not going to 1, but it's probably a 1.5... ah heck, joining the crowd and rounding down to the single star.
Never heard this band before. And won't ever put them on again. They lost me with the first 2 vocoder abominations. Some of the later tracks were better with some jungle and krump but not my bag and I can point to other albums in the genre is rather hear. Same old show was one of the better bits.
I love this album. I own it, I enjoy it, and I'm so glad to get to listen again from this project. Great guitar work, great songs. But, it's not his best, so could it be a 5? I'll round up, so yes.
They seem to really like Bowie... This was a fun one. I only knew the one popular song going in. I enjoyed the whole thing. Very cohesive song-to-song and very different (in a good way) to the previous one reviewed (which happened to also be Bowie's previous chronologically). I think I'm still going 4 here, but it's a strong 4.
You can't help but feel like a guy who own's a boat. Going to go sport a pink button down and lace up my loafers today. It's shorts with belts weather!
Ga ga ga ga junga ga junga. My inner Beavis is shining. I enjoyed this more than I expected. Doubt I'll ever listen to it again, but I am glad to have heard it before I died.
Wasn't loving this album, it was leaning way too country without the promised rock. But then the medley came on and his cover of Charlie Louvin's Hickory Wind, with Emmy Lou Harris won me over. One of my all-time favorite albums is a band called Idha's Melody Inn, where I first was introduced to that song. Was a solid 2 until that came on but that bumped it up a star. And if you haven't heard Idha - Melody Inn, go seek it out. You'll be glad you did. And then Love Hurts. OK, Side B of this album was way better than Side A.
I thoroughly enjoyed this from beginning to end. Great musicality. Great blues guitar and groove. I love Mark's voice. Another album I'm surprised I never heard before considering how much I've listened to brother in arms. Another cultural hole has been filled by this pleasant hour in my evening. Thank you 1001 Album Generator. 5
I really like her voice and can so get into her crazy. This would at least be a 4 in my musical memory file cabinet, but for who she is as a person. Since I learned she is a Nazi racist I can't rate her that highly. And so a guilty 3. Should an artists music be derated for their personal character? We don't give bonus points for good Samaritan's making music. Discuss amongst yourselves.
I don't think I've heard a "Live Concert" album from another band that made me feel more like I was in the audience at the club than this album which I THINK was studio recorded. Completely engrossing. Demands you to just sit in front of the speakers, clear your mind, and just let it all absorb into you. I've never listened to a Hendrix album, only the radio singles. I'm starting to understand why people say he was a genius.
What a brilliant collection of songs. Hard to believe the 12 songs are under 30 minutes total running time. From the classics to the deep cuts, the whole album stays together, mixes things up, and keeps you interested. The easiest 5.
This was the first CD I ever owned. Not my favorite R.E.M. album, but certainly a trip down memory lane. Ah to be walking in a denim jacket, bright yellow Sony Diskman in the pocket, skipping more than it was playing... Solid album. A transitional from their young college rock days to the adult contemporary soft rock band they became. It would be a 3 but for the nostalgia.
This was something new. I enjoyed it. The sound was quite dated, very much a product of mid-70s rock, but the songs were solid. Nothing totally grabbed me or compelled me to replay it, so for that, ***.
This was so much fun. I thought I knew the talking heads, but I never heard this album, and I guess most of what I heard came after. This was so raw and unpolished. I loved it and all it's crazy nonsense.
I like drum and base and 90's trip hop. I like Everything But The Girl's dance vibe. Their prior, Amplified Heart, has been a go to in my collection over the years. This one is a lot more D&B/Triphop than that one, which had leaned to bossa nova and more traditional dance beats. Walking Wounded - Omni Trio remix was a strong way to end. Love the cymbal bell work. I may need to revisit this one a few times and see if it seeps under my skin like Amplified Heart has through the decades of re-listens.
I did not expect a one hit wonder band to have a place on the 1001 albums. I especially didn't expect the album to not have the one hit! I dig the basic genre and style. I like Horn heavy band. Enjoyed their Specials reminiscent vibe. His voice is an acquired taste at best. Fun, solid, but I think I'm good with one and done. Listened and now I'm one album closer to being about to die with completeness. Somewhere between 2 and 3. I'll decide in the morning. As I near the end, it's upgraded to between 3 and 4, but I think it rounds down.
So much fun. Love this album. Love the ska influenced punk. The sense of play. You can't help but tap your feet and smile with each track.
I wanted to like this more and there was a time when I would totally jam to this noise, but alas, either this, or I, did not age well. I'm giving ** on optimism that it's not me, it's them. I've become my parents. My parents were great, I've subsequently learned.
This was a fun one. Nothing I heard before but many songs were familiar standards. Great guitar, great voice. I liked the guest appearance with what sounded like a fairly aged Woody Guthrie.
I wanted to love this but it was only like. A bit more r&b pop than I wanted. Good, but just a 3.
I tried liking this. I feel asleep on 2 separate attempts. I think that defines a 2.
It's impressive how it can be both pure noise and melodic at the same time. I have owned this album since it first came out but I rarely come back to it. But when I do, I enjoy it.
Good clean rock n roll. I don't like the singers voice so it's tiresome to listen to, but the music is solid if not inspired.
Man this was a good album. I will need to come back to it a few more times. I forgot how great they were.
I know it's not for everyone, but I like this. This was an interesting bridge between where they were, Sex Pistols, and where they went, the eclectic pop hit, Rise.
I'm going to be off-trend on this one, but I enjoyed this album. Never heard it or the band before, but it reminds me of The Jesus Lizard or the Black Flag instrumental album "The Process of Weeding Out". Loaded with energy and angst. Can't help but release adrenalin into your veins and lift your heart bit, or perhaps your blood pressure. Some songs are in the 4s, but there are enough that are more noise than rhythm that I'm only getting to the 3. But definitely not a 1 in my book.
Another album and artist I hadn't heard of. I was generally happy but not in love with it. Some was really nice. Some came off to me as pretentious art house pop. But then One Day Like This came on. Why they buried the best track as 2nd to last on the album seems very strange. That was far and away my favorite. I even relistened to see if I warmed to the album after hearing the good song. Nope. Just an album with one song that stands far above the rest.
It started strong. Chill electronica. Wasn't a huge fan of the 3rd track but I get the suggestions of sounding like Massive Attack. Next track got back on the groove motif. This would be a good album to have on a long road trip, especially driving an empty highway at night. I think I'm satisfied.
An album I've owned and loved for decades. But being honest with myself, it's a 4, there are better albums out there. But very glad to see it on this list.
I enjoyed this one. Not a 5 but above a 3, sounds like a 4 if my math is right. Was not a good album to run too, tempos were just too slow. But since I can't run well, it was fine music to walk to, which was most of my outing, anyway. Looking forward to playing this album backwards so I can get my dog, wife and job back.
This wasn't what I was expecting. It was a softer, blues-ier Black Sabbath. I liked it.
I oscillated between 2 and 4 several times while listening to this. I mean within the genre, this was no Arrested Development where everything was top notch. Some great tracks. Some historic tracks. Some duds. Some offensive world views that shouldn't be perpetuated and applauded. Let's average to a conflicted 3.
The only song I know the Psych Furs by was the Pretty In Pink track. It was fun to hear the whole album and put some context around it. I think I'll need to revisit this at least once, but for now lets call it a 3. Super 80s. Love the thick accents. Call me a US nob.
A favorite in my collection. Something to listen to on pensive quiet nights. Great voice, great lyrics, great music necessary it.
I really enjoyed this one. Added to my spotify library, which has been a rare result so far. The first track had a tune that reminded me of what I think was a Miles Davis track but I just can't place it. I want to listen to this a few more times and really absorb it. I'm surprised I never heard of him before. Thank you 1001 Albums!
So much fun. I never realized how much The Cars sounded like Devo. Was that just the sound of the day, or what?