1001 Albums Summary

Meh. If it was on in the background of a store I wouldn't leave, but otherwise I wouldn’t seek it out again.

Yes, nineties royalty for reason. So good to listen to this album. Well, aside from the very scary “Polly Wants a Cracker.” Which is catchy but definitely a kidnapping situation. Poor polly. I hope that they catch Kurt Cobain. The David Bowie and Led Belly covers are iconic.

I love Lou Reed. I love the Velvet Underground. I have never heard this album before. ….aaaaaand I will never hear it again. This album was, for lack of a better word, cringy. I felt like I was listening to a Jackie Rodgers Jr skit. I expected him to break out with “Meshugana! meshugana! Gerr, gerrr, gerrr” Weirdly, one bright spot “Caroline Says 2”. All of the sudden it sounded like Lou Reed again. Then it went away.

I don’t know this band. Let’s give it a go. I like the drums. I like the singer’s voice. I really like the guitars. I’m not sure what’s missing. It’s just not catching. It’s not jelling. It might be that they are one of those bands who are awesome live and really suck in the studio. Huh. I dunno. Not bad. Not awesome. Definitely not awesome. High point! The last song “Gospel Plow” rocked. Totally redeemed themselves.

Dumb. Juvenile. Infectious. Awesome. For me this album is a big part of being a kid in the Eighties. Even my mom liked the Ramones. This album holds up over time.

So, I have been going into this venture trying to be as objective as possible. This means for me that if I don’t know an artist I have not looked them up or read anything about before listening to the album. I don’t know what others are doing but it has been an interesting approach for me. Ryan Adams is one of those unknowns for me. I have to say, it was great. Country, rock-a-billy, and a touch of angsty Indy to make it modern sounding. He had a good range of songs, which kept it interesting. While I did get a little bit bored with some of the slower songs it was overall a very nice listen. Highlights: “Bartering Lines” and “Shakedown on 9th Street”

This is a tough one to rate. On the one hand “Young Americans,” “Across the Universe,” and “Fame” are, obviously, amazing. Then there was a new to me “Can You Hear Me” which I really enjoyed. Then there was everything else on the album which was so boring I flatlined for a while. I am going to have to give it a 3 only because those songs were so bad and someone should have been brave enough to tell David Bowie hell no.

This is one of those albums that is carefully thought out from the first track to the last. There is no filler. Every song connects and as a whole tells a story. It is beautiful and funky. Favorites: “U,” “Children Play With Earth” and “Tennessee”

So here’s the thing, I don’t know because I have never been in prison, but I imagine that if I was and I got the privilege of a concert I would be a bit annoyed that every song was about being in prison and/or being executed in prison. Because I’m not entirely sure that would be such a great emotional escape from my current situation. That being said, the album was throughly enjoyable. I’m taking a star off for the excessive dead prisoner songs.

Um, no Nick Cave. Just no. I get it, you’re dark. We sing about dead people. But, seriously Nick, it wasn’t even musical. Or enjoyable. I expect so much better from you. I’m not mad. I’m disappointed.

I listened to this on the way home from a very stressful day so I know that my mental state affected my enjoyment of such a high energy album. I’ll give it a 3. I really enjoyed “Jump and Shout” then I got bored. It was a little repetitive.