This has such an old school feel, especially the opening, could have easily been listening to some West African stuff from the 70s…but then it really does get more modern, mainly because you can hear the people that came before Michael coming through his music.

I didn’t know the Pretenders hit this hard on some of these. Nice little post punk romp. Clearly I need to listen to more than just the singles.

I think this a perfect harder rock record from this period. Just perfectly encapsulates where alternative rock was, but also still being “popular music.” Just kind of crazy this, Nirvana, that is, was popular music, when you look at where the mainstream went from here.

That’s a pretty good listen right there, and does not let up.

I go back and forth on how much I actually enjoy this album, but there are always some moments when I hear it, where it just clicks why this was so groundbreaking and why people still love it today.

Snapshot of a time in music history, when Brit pop took over the world. This song with those other first records from the “big four” of Brit pop are really pretty great. I can still get down with them at least.

Get a lot of Joni Mitchell vibes…and it fits right in timeline wise with the popularity of singer-songwriters of the 70s. It’s an excellent listen; great arrangements and Joan’s voice sounds wonderful.

An easy listen with some real classics on there. Great album.

While I think “Raw Power” is a better album, the impact of this album and the Stooges in general cannot be overstated. I’m going to give it 5/5.

I think this is overall a pretty high quality album, but at the same time it’s just kind of forgettable for me. Lots of respect for REM, and enjoy their music, and this one was no different, but just wasn’t really resonating with me this time around.

Who isn’t familiar with Ella? Remaining a “timeless” artist is impressive in its own right…but not normally my cup of tea. I claim to have a broad taste in music, so worked to go into this with an open mind. On this album, the backing band and Gershwins also star, but Ella definitely shines through. Who else could sing it like her? I just don’t particularly like some of these songs.

One of my favorite Bowie records with a few of his best songs: “Changes,” “Life On Mars,” and “Queen Bitch” being those for me. While a lot more classic work by him still to come in the 70s, this one is really good on its own.

The singles are great, but this is really a good album start to finish. Also like the length, made for an easy listen all the way through.

I know Monk, but I don’t really know his music in depth. This album was an enjoyable listen and there were some parts I recognized. At first, not really recognizing when it was from I felt like it sounded like a lot of other jazz I’ve heard…knowing it’s from the late 50’s made me realize how influential this record and Monk must have been as most of what I was comparing this to was from the 60s and 70s. Going to keep going through Thelonious’s catalogue.

I saw X around 20 years ago and it was around 20 years after this album…still put on a good show, and I still like this era of punk. The 80s really were a fertile ground for interesting music. Love the guitar work here and vocal harmonies.

Knowing when this was released, it not only fits perfect with the time period but is clearly quite innovative. Highlights for me included: “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” “Coming Down,” and “The American Way Of Love.”

Great songs and a beautiful voice. Not always into this kind of stuff, but really dug it on this listen.

This is an album I already knew very well. I had been introduced to The War On Drugs with “Slave Ambient” and remembered Adam Granduciel’s short time with the Violators, so I was looking forward to this one. When I listened to the first single “Red Eyes” I knew this album was going to be special, and it was (and is). To me it’s like Bruce Springsteen funneled through a Grateful Dead influenced jam band lens with indie rock mixed in there. But that may just be me. I dig it, and I’ll keep listening to this one and other TWOD albums as they’re released.

Frank’s got a great voice, just no other way to put it. This isn’t my favorite of his (gotta go with Wee Small Hours) but it’s good.

Just throwing out that I wish there was a way to give half stars here. I liked this album a lot when it came out and it still stands up. Great crossover album. I feel like it can get country, indie rock, and pop people going. So going to give a 5 here, but really more like a 4.5.

I think this a good album and there are a few truly great songs on here, but I actually prefer the first Dire Straights album to this one..