Janie Jones & Police & Thieves are 2 of my favorite songs of all time.
Funky good times. Might have earned an extra star from me but for the slow jams, which I'm just not that into.
If somebody asked me 30 years ago do I have I say anything nice about Jethro Tull, a snarky look of disdain probably would have ensued. I had no patience for fusions of math rock, jazz flute and/or elven gamboling. Fast-forward however through years of exposure to traditional folk, multicultural genres & a steep decline in the quality of pop music, & this comes as a breath of fresh air. Really enjoyed (most of) it.
Hmm. Well, my two favorite U2 songs are on this album. But honestly I didn’t much enjoy the rest of it at all. Gotta go with my gut.
Really great stuff and brand new to me! Only the limited # of tracks due to length and inherent repetitiveness keep this from earning 5 stars.
Not unlistenable as far as d&b goes, but not my thing either. Some interesting elements here & there. I much prefer a trip-hop or dub vibe to these frenetic beats though. Bottom line: my rating is based on personal enjoyment over talent or innovation, which in this case I don't dispute.
This is more like it. I'll admit that long jams are usually more of a commitment than I'm eager to make, but Fela just doesn't seem to get tiresome.
Never did like Spandau Ballet, OMD, or Thompson Twins...& now not a fan of The Triffids either!
The Church and Nick Cave do the Aussie new wave thing much better.
Hugely influential to me as a young aspiring rocker. So many years later & it's still pretty unique, especially considering twas 1977. But in terms of revolutionizing the music scene, these guys did it more with fashion & posturing than with songwriting. Still love it though.
I can appreciate what he was trying to do given the state of pop music in 1986. But personally I would go straight to Ladysmith Black Mambazo for this style. Make a new plan, Stan...
Ahh takes me back to NYC. It's a bit hard to be objective about albums you've heard ~a million times. Not my favorite Sonic Youth album but still pretty good I'd say. An acquired taste for many to be sure.
Seminal & as a soundtrack of the time it set the stage. Some great stuff on there, especially lyrically. But honestly, a whole album's worth of PE just stresses me out now. I'm old.
Ha...it's on the list.
Doesn't hold up super well & I find LeBon's vocals hard to listen to anymore. That said, once upon a time I loved their vibe & it was actually pretty innovative. Gonna be merciful for nostalgia's sake if nothing else.
IMHO the oft maligned "Lonely in Your Nightmare" might very well be the most progressive track on the album.
Some decent beats & interesting samples (albeit not always deftly applied) going on for '98 but now to me it's like listening to a string of TV or video game commercials.
Enjoyable enough. Not my favorite style of blues but a decent range of tempos. Liked "Help The Poor" a lot in particular.
Interesting experimentation but I can't say I'd want to listen to it again. I like some of the poetry but didn't care for the vocals. None of the songs really stood out. Two-and-a-half to be precise
I like this album. Again, hard to be objective about stuff you know like the back of your hand & consequently might be perfectly happy never to hear again, but it's an achievement regardless, especially so early into a solo career.
It took me at least someone's lifetime to come around to this guy. Didn't care for his stuff at all when I was younger. Then, don't know what happened or when, but at some point it just clicked. Maybe I grew a soul. Anyway, dig it now.
Liner note: Did the ~10 min songs *really* need to be ~10 mins tho?
Good stuff. Love tracks 1, 2, & 6. The rest was mainly soulful vamping, which was fine.
Surf's Up is an interesting record. Sometimes it feels like a continuation of Brian Wilson's expanding songwriting odyssey. Then other times it sounds like the boys are entirely out of their element. Ultimately, for me, it's aging men trying to adapt but unsure of what they're supposed to d anymore. With flashes of brilliance. Tracks 8 & 10.
Stills has never really done it for me but at least for a double album this was fairly diverse. A couple songs stood out, albeit not by much. I'm feeling generous so I'll go the full 3 stars.
Enjoyed it. Generally I much prefer a smaller jazz combo to a big band, particularly from the 50s & 60s, but refreshing to step away from the country-rock for a minute.
One of my favorite bands as a kid. I still think Bad Music For Bad People is superior overall, but then it's essentially a greatest "hits" album so wouldn't make it onto this list. The debut is still fun, maybe a bit repetitive. 3.5.
With the exception of The Waiting Room, which I've always liked (& isn't on this album), Fugazi mostly sounds to me like what I'd describe as "frat punk", paving the way for bands like The Offspring, Limp Bizkit, etc. Maybe liked 1 or 2 tracks ok. But nah.
I'll admit this has some nostalgic value for me, even if I can't say I enjoy a full album of metal. I do prefer the early Di'Anno sound at least.
Old school, very dated & often super fun. Genuinely cracked me up a few times. Like the early synths.
Just the other day saw a very special appearance by Mudhoney in the classic 1996 masterpiece "Black Sheep." Some fine acting there.
Man, this one really does take me back; fresh outta high school & ready to slack. We coined the term "Unk Runk" right around this time, which I still think is more befitting than "Grunge." Will always like my Stooges-inspired rock with a little less metal, but I can still bug out to it.
Gangsta Rap! A lot of people think that's pretty cool, but I could never get behind the "message" even ironically like many of my peers back in the day. I'll take artists like PE, Blackalicious, J5 & Tribe for my hip-hops.
Been a while since I listened to it all the way through. Still like every song.
Guess I never realized how minimalist Joy Division were, kinda like if Wire & Sabbath got together. Very new & dark for 1979. And genuinely sad in comparison to a lot of EMO-to-follow, particularly given Ian Curtis's tragic history. Affective.
Like spending 40 minutes hovering over the Tyrell Corporation or hanging with the Droogs at the milk bar. Dig it.
A little maudlin at times but I do like several of the songs.
Definitely more into the later straight-up funk but I still like the early soul as well, a rare talent JB.
Tracks 3 & 5 alone earn this album 4 stars from me!
But 6, 8, & 9 are cool too.
I have a recording of his that I like better; I think it's more traditional Qawwali, a lot of call and response, but I'm no expert. Enjoyed much of this too tho, more diverse.
Can't believe I never listened to this one until now. Already very familiar with Reggae Woman & Haven't Done Nothin and those are arguably still the best songs on the album, but there's good stuff going on throughout.
If I liked nu metal, I guess I could give props to this band. At times the nose included hints of Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Kennedys & even Focus, a vintage I can savor, but there are other notes of utter bullshit. Bitter finish.
The B3 ties it all together. Solid bueno.
Respect for her musicianship and songwriting, still I never could quite connect with her music. A 3 from me for general pleasantness but I don't think I'd spin the whole album again.
Pure pop. It has the itch of my least favorite music that will soon take over the Top 40 for decades to come, but at least B&B use more than 4 chords.
I liked it ok, none of my favorite tracks (bloody or not) on this album but still some decent ones. Interesting that there's always a one-eyed carny or a gambling dwarf or the like somewhere in Dylan's lyrics; I guess Tom Waits must've picked that up from him.
This book might've better been titled "1001 Albums That Influenced Great Britain." Here's yet another string of vanilla jangle pop songs that are wholly unremarkable. Didn't hate it, but *must* I hear it before I die?
I like the olde English ballades. However, Joan's voice was never my cup of tea in the genre. Too much head-voice & embellishment, though spot-on pitch. Hard to judge. I'm going with 3.
Liked the diversity & there are ingredients throughout that I thought were pretty cool, just no particular song quite came together as a whole for me.
My trouble with the White Stripes is I really like what they did musically a lot the time but Jack White's vocal affectations just get on my nerves.
There's some decent songwriting going on but all these years later & I still don't like his voice.
It kind of went in one ear & out the other. Didn't dislike it. Prefer the Beta Band. Admittedly tired of posting 2 & 3 star reviews.
I enjoyed this, especially the call-&-response & the horn arrangements. It did start to become a bit of a wash due to the repetitiveness for over an hour tho, which is affecting my rating.
Not really my thing, although I like the instrumentation & beats quite a bit. Hill has a great voice but there's often way too much ornamentation going on for me. Also a little preachy.
I really liked the classroom snippets. And track 11.
I don't know if there's more John Lee Hooker on this list, but there better be. I find it it difficult to accept that a late 80's compilation of redone material featuring a bunch of white wannabe blues artists is considered an example of his greatest work. Sorry but this is not where you go to hear what the man contributed to the world.
Ah the cheese that is Boston. I have more than a feeling this gets no more than 2 stars from me.
I'm familiar with the album before this one, and definitely find it more engaging. Not to say I didn't like most of it but it didn't do much for me either. 2.75
Like a lot of bands (Wolfmother, The Strokes) these guys didn't bring anything all that new to the table. Still, if you like AC/DC & Zeppelin (or at least their most simple hard rockers) this shouldn't be too much of a slog.
There was a time when I really enjoyed his first album; never heard this one before but I really can't cope with his singing style anymore.
Never did understand the appeal of Morrissey. I can get into the jangly guitar rhythms & then suddenly Kermit the frog starts singing the same 3 notes over everything for 4 mins.
A seminal album for me when I was a kid. I've listened to it so many times it's hard to objectively give it a second thought. Nonetheless, full marks for standing the test of time.
Nice, easy to get lost in. I like the guitar.
Folk-rock doesn't always work for me but this album is really good. Only "discovered" it within the last five years.
The bizarre sampling & synth-ey elements kept my attention. Otherwise per usual I find it difficult to get into the jazz-folk fusion-ness.
Nice! Glad to see this on the list, one of my all-time favorite hip hop albums (along w/ their first one). Wasn’t expecting it.
Repetitive & repetitive. I'll take the Go! Team instead.
It's exciting when something I've never heard of before pops up on the list, then usually disappointing when I quickly understand why. This actually was pretty interesting. Probably doesn't belong here but it's listenable.
I've listened to this over & over since I was 12. Hugely influential on my own songwriting & brings back many, many memories. It's an entire album about nostalgia after all. One of (if not the) best from one of my favorite bands.
The first time I heard this (now quite a while ago) I found it boring. This time I paid more attention & definitely appreciated it more. Couldn't throw it on any old time but gets a 3.5 from me.
Free Ride was a highlight.
Not too long after this came out I gotta say I was really charmed by Newsom's melodic sense & peculiar style. It's been a little while now & sadly it seems I don't enjoy her voice as much anymore.
Not bad. Felt a little like a pastiche a lot of the time but can't say I didn't enjoy most of it.
Smooth, sultry soul. Enjoyable, if not the most creative songwriting from the era (looking at you Bill Withers). Looking forward to What's Going On.
Wacky & weird but I've grown to appreciate prog rock in my old age - it takes dedicated listening tho, not too great for ambience.
A darker & smoother turn for the band but still outstanding. I love it more every time I hear it.
I was only familiar with "Wasn't Born to Follow" so this was all new to me. Well, I say "new"; I mean it is The Byrds after all. I liked it fine.
Wikipedia says Space Odyssey "features a droning, dirge-like melody reminiscent of a sea shanty". It's clearly "The Handsome Cabin Boy" almost note for note.
Never was a huge Cure fan. That said, I've actually come to really like their earlier, rawer tunes but the more gothy synthy (signature) stuff I never got that into. Didn't dislike this album in it's entirety but overall, nah.
This came as a surprise - I've grown tired of the britpop since this exercise began & admittedly I missed this album entirely back in the day, but I'm impressed. For very valid, personal reasons I hate Song 2 so didn't think I'd be into Blur much at all. Didn't find it genius however there's real talent & songwriting savvy here.
Woah almost accidentally skipped over this one!
It's Ray Charles doing standards nicely. I like the sound of his first couple albums better ('57, '58) so I'm hoping those will show up on the list eventually.
Just about my least favorite musical style. Where did hair metal go? I think it just evolved into new country. Good god.
Kind of a sneaky way to insert a Greatest Hits compilation. I'm sure it won't be the last live album to serve this purpose.
It's not a bad album in the genre. If I ignore the lyrics & lead vocals, musically they have some great pop sensibilities. Decidedly dated & maybe a bit "safe" but for me preferable to the overly-produced stadium grunge that was taking center stage at the time.
An achievement in sampling as far as that goes. I didn't hate it & grew tired of the repetitiousness less than while listening to Fatboy Slim. Guess that earns a 3.
Didn't realize how well I know this album from start to finish (all thanks to a friend). Was never a fan but I gotta say after all these years it wasn't the worst thing. Can hardly believe it but I'm giving it a 3 despite the fact it's pretty much the same song throughout.
The vocals. I could happily listen to an instrumental version of the whole album. But alas, the vocals.
Been a staple for 3+ decades. Maybe not the most diverse set but still sounds good.
I'm not the *biggest* Radiohead fan but have come to appreciate them. There's songwriting talent, well-crafted arrangements, high production value...but this album was really kinda depressing.
Didn't know this album. It's good. "Walk On" is a strong opener, the rest is kinda slow & introspective, save for "Revolution Blues" which gives us a flash of the angry Young. Glad I came around.
I can appreciate Pavement for what they were doing at the time. But they never quite clicked for me, while Minutemen, Sonic Youth & Yo La Tengo did. There's some Pavement I like but it's not on this album.
For me, if it's gonna be metal, 3 or 4 power chords & a baritone is where it's at. As for the lyrics, good for a laugh.
I wish I liked Queen's deep cuts better. Never was a fan of Best Friend & the rest had moments but nothing transcendent. That one song about "any way the wind blows" was all over the place ;)
Almost earned a 4 just for "7 & 7 Is" but the 18 minuter took it down for me.
As other reviews have called out, the fake horns were a little detracting, but I did like the rhythmic variety between tracks.
I admit it, I only really knew Maps up until this, which I like so was looking forward to hearing more. Unfortunately disappointed. Too theatrical & histrionic for me.
It started out semi interesting, kinda different, kinda amusing. Then after a while, no, this is just asinine (no anal-fixation pun intended).
Poppy 4-chord versions of Radiohead/Beirut/U2/Queen. Not the worst thing but not my thing.
Not what I like...again. Please God, don't let the next one be Soup Dragons...
Absolutely.
Minus .5 for another overlong instrumental jam but like an onion on the belt, it was the style at the time.
3.5 - the more times I hear it the more impressed I am with the musicianship. Overall it's still not quite my style, but this is an exercise in comparisons.
Andy Partridge's style is clearly rooted in McCartney sensibilities (which mostly can be a good thing) but for whatever reason to my ear there's always been something weird & unappealing about it. Especially on this album. That said & to be fair, there's some early XTC I like.
I had the soundtrack to Shogun Assassin on vinyl in the 80s. Wish I was listening to that instead.
Lazy sampling & monotonous flow. When is this original "music" exactly?
Reminded me a little of Let England Shake, just not quite as good. 2.85.
Loved this album since I was a kid, particularly Side A, but that's the US version. & yeah, I get it, there are some heinous lyrics involved but not everything in music can be discounted at face value; there is a story going on here as well.
It's weird & fun like the Talking Heads rhythm section. Hard to take the overly-white "rapping" seriously but then I don't think we're supposed to.
Top 10. Not a song I don't enjoy, even the Noel Redding one (tho it's on the lower end of the Axis spectrum). You go, Paul Caruso.
Not the biggest fan of his singing style or silly lyrics but this at least held my interest & had some very cool bass playing. 2.75.
Unfortunately I mis-rated the next album with the above. So "ABC - The Lexicon of Love" gets Alice Cooper's 3 stars & identical comments.
Let the record show that I would never intentionally grant an ABC record 3 stars. It is now a shameful blemish on my algorithm.
Not the biggest fan of his singing style or silly lyrics but this at least held my interest & had some very cool bass playing. 2.75.
Great album, some of my favorite bass & guitar riffs on this one. I can understand not being a big fan if Byrne's vocals don't do it for you but they've always worked fine for me.
Very nice but hard to pay close attention to over the full ~50 min. I got the most out of it when I was able to concentrate on the melodic runs. My powers of concentration these days seem...
Much like the John Lee Hooker album on this list (The Healer) this one's more of a compilation of old-timey standards featuring country legends well past the height of their powers. And it's really long.
That said, there's some great playing on this so it gets the 3-star "OK" rating from me. Much prefer listening to the originals tho (e.g. Decca Country Classics box set!).
Even more Björky than usual!
What was it with music right around 1984? That signature 80's, overly-produced pop sound infiltrated just about every artist making records at the time. And it was noticeable, even as it was happening. Case in point.
What a contrast to what I had to listen to just before this. Pay attention Scritti Politti: *this* is how you make an 80's pop record.
If that's your bag ;)
Wish I could say I love what is almost universally considered a seminal masterpiece. Instead for me it's just fine.
Intimate & Dylan-esque. Beyond Atlantic City nothing in this unplugged thing really resonated with me.
Not one of my favorites. This one is akin to a comedy album, in that once you've heard the bits a couple times the novelty wears off. Smooth backup band tho.
I've had this on CD for a long time, coupled with Lumpy Gravy. It has its moments but it's not something I throw on for sheer pleasure. More of an audiophile attraction. I would never recommend Mothers or Beefheart to general music lovers.
Clearly the Zombies' crack at a Sgt. Pepper/Pet Sounds, and really not a bad one at that. Time of the Season aside, particularly like Changes, Butcher's Tale & Friends of Mine.
As someone who's not a big fan of metal, It's difficult to explain logically why I find early Sabbath so pleasing & comfortable. Maybe b/c it's still closely connected to roots rock & blues? Hard to justify but anyway, this rocks.
Yeah, I guess I'm just not a big Peter Gabriel fan. However, there were moments (like Moribund) that kept this hovering around a 2.75, so I'll give it the full 3.
Was never crazy about the well-known tracks from this album & have a hard time listening to Stipe in general, but some of the songs I'd never heard before were actually pretty good. Always enjoy a little mando as well.
Can't go the full 5 b/c at times it's just a weeee bit vanilla compared to other bossa nova recordings of the time. It's hard not to envision the opening to a game show in those moments. But that's through no fault of the artists, more their influence on popular music to come. Really liked the versions of 1 Note Samba & Bahia.
Not a one of these songs have I heard before. Not all that bad actually, albeit a tad watery. What Are their Names was the standout.
I'll admit I was a little surprised that I didn't find this to be the worst thing ever. I was actually enjoying much of the first half all the way through Monster. But then it started to get tedious & the lyrics took a serious nosedive. Apparently Runaway is a standout for a lot of people but that might be my least favorite track as it's just the lazy-ass Four Chords again.
Gotta say I enjoyed this. Triggered the Kraftwerk/Blondie/Giorgio Moroder disco-cheese pleasure centers in my brain. It's a long stretch tho.
Like the various world rhythms & some of the samples. But somebody sing something.
This was never a fave Bowie album of mine growing up, though I always loved Win & Fame (duh). However, it's grown on me more as I oldify, particularly Right, so giving up a 4.
Love Jimmy Smith. His smooth sound is exactly the opposite of hard to listen to. That's why his albums were a go-to over many a Thanksgiving for a reason. Only reason I'm not going full five is that the arrangements are so simple, so as to create great ambient music but not necessarily an attention grabber (like bebop at the time).
Some nice instrumentation, some great chord progressions, it's just not doing it for me. Think it's down to the vox again.
There's some good stuff happening here n' there but overall not amazing. Dated. Soldier is nice. Deserving enough of a 3.
I have to admit I too find Paul Simon's lyrics at times to be overblown & it can be annoying. However, this is some very well-written music, great production & nice harmonies. 3.75.
Much like a bunch of reviews have already said, I really like the Young songs, like the Stills songs ok & don't much like the Furay songs. Almost great.
Not a band I paid much attention to back in the day. And I'll say for 1986 this album sounds waaay ahead of its time. Duly impressed. Started out as a 4 for me but began to unravel a little bit over the second half.
I liked this, liked the simple song structures & stripped-down arrangements, even if it does get a little perpetual. They're certainly not the 1st band to embrace the notion that "Hey, we can make 3 or 4 songs just going VI to IV!" but personally I prefer the diverseness of their debut.
I remember it was high school & MTV started playing the video for Opus Dei (or was it called "Life is Life" back then?) & I thought this is bonkers (an early version of wtf). I really couldn't decide if these guys were satirizing or actually pushing Nazi propaganda. After all, no internet. Then, the following year they came out with a start-to-finish cover album of Let It Be & I started to clue in.
Weird & curious stuff but all-in-all too tedious for a full hour.
30 years ago I would've given this a 4, maybe even a 5. It's sad how some things dull over time. A 3 for effort & nostalgia I guess.
Growing up with AM radio, I know the 3 hits like the back of my hand. The rest of the album was more of the same, just more boring but inoffensive.
Ah Nirvana, the champagne of grunge. I'll give it to Cobain that he could pick some good covers. I generally like acoustic versions of pop songs & this was OK, though didn't do much to showcase their musicianship. At certain points his vocal straining actually made my throat hurt.
Found this extremely boring. Some of the retro guitar tones were alright but not digging the vox.
Now here is where a live aka "greatest hits" album would have served really well. Green Onions is hands down one of the coolest tunes ever, but none of the other tracks on this this come close. Throw in Hip Hug Her, Soul Dressing, & Slim Jenkins Place however & you've already got a 6-star album. Still gets a 4 form me b/c I doubt I'll see Booker T. pop on this list again.
Still have the vinyl & it still gets a 5.
Liked some of the songs but on the whole they were very same-y. Didn't hate it.
Some of this was interesting enough but, as with a lot of electronica, the modulation effects caused my ears actual physical discomfort. And I still don't like glitchy, skittery edits. So have fun at the EuroKlub!
Glad I revisited RM after I was *sure* I didn't like them back in the 80s. This has become one of my favorite not-already-overplayed-classic-rock albums.
Man, I just had to hear the MTV unplugged thing...OK whatever, never mind. No escaping this record. It had the impact of a meteorite, although I still don't entirely understand why. It's good. Just good though. I grew up in Seattle during this time - I'm not cooler than thou - but alongside all the noise-rock happening around then, Nirvana was kinda the pop strain of it, the accessible version of 'grunge'. I understand it hit home for a lot of people. That's great. But for me it was always just fair enough.
I love Coltrane & I really enjoyed this album, but I have to admit I'm more a fan of Giant Steps & Blue Train. It can take a lot of concentration to follow free jazz.
Again, pleasant sounds throughout & some nice guitar playing. Nothing really stirring my soul though. I did like the final track for it's jazzy arrangement, a bit of a departure from the rest of the record.
First of their albums I bought for myself after realizing the greatness of this band, probably right after Stop Making Sense came out. It took me a few listens before I embraced every track but there's no going back now. Word.
Don't like the singer's voice. The rest was listenable, I liked the organ & the percussion & most of the chord progressions but it really comes down to the singer in music like this. Too bad.
This is a really nice vibe during my favorite era in jazz. Only thing keeping it from an easy 5 from me is that it's so laid back throughout.
Yep. I can understand why some listeners might wear down over the course of the longer tracks, but personally, I never get lost or bored. The fact that Crosstown Traffic, Long Hot Summer Night, Gypsy Eyes, All Along the Watchtower & Voodoo Child (SR) all live on the same album earns this an easy 5.
People say he's a genius. I get the feeling most of these people probably aren't musicians. Where does this "genius" click in exactly? Is it in the lyrics? Can't hear it. The descriptors boring & annoying do spring to mind.
Much prefer renditions & recordings by Woody Guthrie & Leadbelly.
Makes me wonder if Adam Driver's pseudonym-ed character in Llewyn Davis was based on Ramblin' Jack...
This surprised me as I'm used to the spoken-word recordings of Scott-Heron. Poetry is still great & I really got into his singing voice, raw as it is at times.
I actually wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did. It doesn't completely escape the stink of the 80s, as few things from that decade do, but it makes a valiant attempt. Running Up has been a guilty pleasure of mine since it came out.
It always takes me a second to get over the US version of this record, which I loved growing up; the absence of I've Just Seen a Face & It's Only Love still feels weird to me. But even so, the original UK version is excellent & sets a different tone.
