pretty upbeat album, heavy disco influence, not my personal favourite era?style of Brazilian music

Instant classic

He is talented and the album started off promising, Benny and the Jets is a cool tune, but I found myself getting quickly bored and by the time Jamaican Jerk-off (very corny reggae pastiche, super cringe tbh) came on I was pretty much done caring. The songs are all well produced but overwrought, overindulgent, overstuffed and melodramatic and too long. "All the girls love Alice" is a promising boogie rock number but at 5+ minutes it ends up dragging. Overall I was unmoved.

Enjoyed this way more than i thought i would. Always just wrote off Van Halen as a boring classic rock radio band with a few hits that i heard a million times but actually sitting down and listening to this album has changed my opinion completely. This record hauls ass from front to back. It is fun and creative and entertaining as all hell. Even the hit tunes i had heard a million times on the radio sounded more interesting when i actually sat down to listen to them. The guitar playing is unreal. I was ignorant to Eddie Van Halen's style but i am now enamoured. I will definitely be doing a deep dive on Van Halen.

Besides the album opener "blue suede shoes" i wasnt familiar with any of these songs. The band is super tight and the production is sparse, which is cool in that old school rockabilly way. Elvis does some funny stuff with his voice on "one sided love affair" and "just because". Not sure if its meant to be comical but i laughed. In fact, much of this album came off as a little silly. I can appreciate the importance of this album and it's impact on popular music but the songs sound a little unserious and superficial. It doesnt have the emotional depth of later Elvis which I much prefer. That being said, i still liked it, but in a more acedemic, historical artifact kind of way, rather than a visceral and emotional kind of way.

Reading the wiki article about this album definitely provided necessary context to this extremely popular album of cover tunes. Especially when you learn that the record company was reluctant to release this album as it was a complete departure from Nelson's previous work. It wasnt what i was expecting, it was so much more. When the album started playing i was quickly taken aback, it was not what i was expecting. I associated Willie Nelson with an outlaw country sound but this collection of soft and soulful covers of american standards is anything but. The production by Booker T. Jones is simple and elegant, allowing Willie's voice to shine. The musicianship is perfectly restrained with no virtuosic shows of talent but rather perfectly placed flourishes and cadences. The rhythm secrion is heavy on the downbeat, which gives these songs an exciting propulsion even though they are all performed at relatively slow tempos. Willie's interpretations sound vital and necessary, he gives new life to these old songs, with a subtleness and ease few artists could achieve. His vocal delivery is understated, unhurried and unconcerned while at the same time engaging, arresting and immediate. Totally surprised by how much i enjoyed this.

I gave it an honest go but this album did nothing for me. All the songs sound samey samey, there is no forward momentum they all just sort of carry on in a really boring way. Her voice didn't strike me as anything special. The lyrics are all pretty standard sad romance cliches. I thought Norah Jones was supposed to be jazz. This sounds like jazz for people who don't like jazz. Not for me.

After the first song I thought this would be a slog but the album really grew on me as it progressed. The middle bit is really strong with some excellent psychedelic jam out moments and the one two punch of black hole sun and spoon man. None of the other songs really stood out to me but I still enjoyed them. At 70 minutes the album is a bit of a slog. Would have been more enjoyable at 45 minutes. Overall, I liked it better than I was expecting. I probably won't listen to the album again but I'm glad I sat down and gave it a chance.

Really, not my jam but also, not bad, like i can appreciate why people like it. Better than other pop vocal artists but not as raw or authentic as Amy Winehouse.

Loved it.

I had never hear dthis before and i can confidently say now that this album goes hard. And when i say hard i mean this album is unrelenting in it's funkyness. I was enthralled for the entire duration. Will listen to this on repeat for a week.

Can appreciate the importance of this record but it really sounds dated in 2024. Sad how the lyrical themes remain entirely relevant.

Listened to the whole thing. Voice reminds me of Bob Dylan. Some good guitar playing, pretty restrained tho, would have liked if the band dug in a little harder and pushed the songs to more unexpected places.

If I were single and I had managed to bring someone home with me after a night on the town, and it was 1996, and I happened to have this LP I would totally put it on, or if I was the dj at a trendy upscale cocktail lounge in a major metro city I would pepper my IHEART90s Playlist with some of these mid tempo easy listening r&b tunes. Otherwise, meh.

Is this satire? I don't get it.

An amazing talent taken too soon. His joy and energy radiate from this album. Listening to this will transport you to another time. I love that you can really hear the audience. Not necessarily my favorite Sam Cooke versions of these songs, but an incredible live record nonetheless.

Cheeky little album. Enjoyed the instrumental bits. Easy listen while I cooked dinner.

This album has some of my all time favorite tunes. Nico's voice is incredibly powerful. The songwriting is perfect. Ill be your mirror was my wedding song. Would give it 6 stars if I could.

I like some Krautrock but this is a pretty uneven record imo. Some good ideas, some cool production for the time. A little too disjointed and "jazzy" for my taste. Sounds often like some mediocre musicians just noodling around having fun in a basement.

Genius level stuff, lyrically and musically. Genre defining.

This came out when I was twenty. It was overhyped then, it remains overhyped now. Just a bunch of maudlin, navel gazing, fluff. Nothing interesting musically. Lyrically equivalent of a suburban teenagers diary, which, I guess is the point, but it does nothing for me. Cliché after tired cliché.

Super fun record. So many cool samples. Production absolutely slaps on a decent stereo with subwoofers. A few tracks I'd throw on at a party but tbh probs won't listen again front to back any time soon.

Good album.

A bit too experimental for my tastes. Not too much hooky or catchy. Boring.