Love the atmospheric guitar and really incredible drumming. Sting's voice is pitchy and the fake yo-yo accent shit is cringe in some songs. I think the hits on this album have played so many times in background of my life that it's weird to hear them in the context of the actual album. For white boy pop-reggae or whatever it's fine. I liked this sound better at thirteen than I do in my thirties.
In my late twenties, I worked for a couple months at a coffee shop in San Francisco and the owners had a bunch of records they wanted us to play. I'm willing to bet this was among them. The smooth sound, by turns cheerful and mournful, and always in some kind of harmony or call back with itself, takes me right back to muggy afternoons on Divisadero, making coffee for coders frustrated that the cafe didn't have any wall outlets for them to charge their laptops. A simpler, pre-covid world. Album is great! I particularly enjoyed Moon Dreams and Venus De Milo.
Am I the only person who finds Dylan a bit creepy? Just Like A Woman is at the very least patronizing and at worst infantalizing and misogynist. It's also badly sung. The squealing harmonica and droning organ on most of the songs made this album a bit of a task to listen to. Yeah, I get it, he was a big deal back in the day. But I don't really get the hype.
I enjoyed this a lot. The vocal layering was interesting and it was cool to hear hits like Orange Crush in the context of the album.
I'd never heard this album before and every single song was amazing. This will be going into heavy rotation in my house.
Every song sounds the same, like all the most annoying early '00s indie-pop laying ground for what would become rote radio-fare in a few years. Big, chorus-like songs, with some dude shouting about boring shit. Some of the musicality is interesting, but the vocals are annoying. Aren't there like, fifteen people in this band? Why didn't the other people revolt against the irritating singer? Sometimes a chick sings for a bit but she sounds like she's singing through one end of those yogurt cups connected by string from across a field. 3/5. Don't get the hype. Band seems highly punchable.
This was my first Dolly album and as a Dolly virgin, I can safely say that while I don't like most country music, this was pretty great. She has a great set of pipes and a crystalline cheer to her voice which is so distinct. I hate all the country music bells and whistles (peddle steel, irritating backing vocals, and who the heck is momma?) But it's Dolly so whatever. She's the damn queen. Thems the rules.
An absolute classic. My dad bought me this album for my sixteenth birthday, right before I moved across the world from my family to live with family friends for a few months. I listened to it nearly every day for years, but today I heard it for the first time in it's entirety since my early twenties and what a gift! Riverman, Fruit Tree, Cello Song -- all such gorgeous pieces of music. Nick Drake was a special soul. 5/5.
