Lyrically mid, great sound and vibe. Based on my limited Frank Ocean knowledge it's what I expected.
The boys from Timbuktu can jam, bluesy but the upbeat songs feel like classics from the American blues era but with more exciting percussion and lyrics. Production was a good time and it shows.
My first thought was how disjointed everything was, some songs were good, some pretty terrible (bungalow bill, piggies?) but then after listening to everything it kind of makes sense cohesively as a collection with some nonsense thrown in there. One or two of the songs are just arctic monkeys songs so shows you the influence. I really like savoy truffle. Also, while I like the song for its insanity, if I were a good Christian parent in 1968 who heard my kids listening to Revolution 9 I would also be concerned.
My main problem with this album is that it would be better if someone else was playing the harmonica and WAY better if someone else was singing, or nobody at all. Al Kooper on keys and Robbie Robertson on guitar completely carried the production. Upon further research I found that the only other thing Bob did for this album was the mixing which is also just not great. I found myself enjoying the intro to most songs and would almost become depressed within one measure of a Bob lyric or harmonica cacophony.
HOWEVER, just like I said to Kerri about the Beatles, you have to suspend some judgement and appreciate how it was made almost 60 years ago, it made way for improvement. Bob Dylan tripped so Billy Joel could soar.
I was happy to find out where leopard skin pill box hat comes from.
This album was way ahead of its time, I loved all of the background sfx and ambience, they added a great vibe throughout. The album is very thematic as a whole, it would be great to see the whole thing live. It sounds like a stage performance rather than a studio production in the best way, it's very complete and My one critique is that, for me, none of the songs were terribly memorable, rather just certain parts. That might actually be a compliment to the whole album but I thought it was juuuust a tiny bit boring.
Every once in a while this vibacious album would get interrupted (snappin & trappin, gangsta shit) but each time is immediately set back on course by a bop. The rap verses in many of these songs seem under the radar to me but I'm sure are heavily respected amongst the more hardcore Outkast fans. Bombs Over Baghdad had no problem making it's way into the rotation, I'm surprised I haven't heard it until now.
Favorites: Gasoline Dreams, BOB
Pretty groovy and happy with righteous and motivational lyrics. The instrumental breaks show off their great talent, both the small fills and the 14 minute one in the middle. Sex machine might be my favorite alone but it doesn't really belong on this album.
Great album, filled with soul. Tons of samples from the past and tons of samples used from this album in the future. Truly a cultural staple.
Felt a little under produced, a little garage bandy. The lead singer is clearly a Jim Morrison fan, plenty of shrieking, but not all bad.
Very rockin! A couple songs weren't great, but I really liked the songs that were.
Favorite: Them Bones
Great album! Very fun and vibey. Both singers have great voices.
Favorite song: Sprawl 2
9/10
When I first heard the Beatles I wondered why other artists didn't take advantage of the left vs right stereo channels as much but now I realize it's because it sounds tacky and it's kind of an 'only they can do it' situation.
Also Ringo really had the easiest job ever and he barely pulls it off. Other than that I love this album and have for a while.
Favorites, the only ones I heard as a kid but still stands: Sgt pep, lucy in the sky, a day in the life
8/10
Some silly lyrics and vocal tones, it's giving stardew valley 80s jazz in some songs. Other songs are groovy AND funky. A little elevatory overall.
Favorite songs: New Frontier, IGY
7/10
Beyoncé is one of the best singers of all time. Undisputed talent. I hadn't heard most of the songs on this album before and I like almost all of them, love a couple of those. I read the production page on the wikipedia and if anything I wish I was a part of it. Multiple worldwide talents coming in and out to co-produce a song or 2, all in a 40 bedroom mansion in the Hamptons. On and off the track Yoncé knows style and class.
Favorite song: XO
8/10
REM has more hits than I thought, this was a fun album.
7/10
This album is so good, and silly. It is also a great showcase of the incredible range of style and genre they did so well ('39, seaside, sweet lady). Bohemian Rhapsody fits so perfectly as the culturally iconic centerpiece of this album, the whole thing feels like a Broadway performance.
Favorite song I hadn't heard before: Sweet lady, close second is '39, honorary mention to lazing on a Sunday afternoon
9/10
I liked this album more than I thought I would. I like a lot of disc 2 more than disc 1. George has the spunk of Michael Jackson with the horniness of Beyoncé. I only ever knew Careless Whisper so only had good things to say of course but this album solidifies it.
Favorite Song: Fantasy
7/10
This album immediately throws you into a 90s club. I loved some songs and barely liked others but overall great vibes. I thought the woman singing in red alert sounded familiar so I looked her up and she wasn't who I was thinking of but she didn't do much else until the 2014 release of Blue James which is great it's very little dragon esque.
Favorite Song: Jump 'N Shout
7/10
Dad Rock is my guilty pleasure and I already had la grange in the rotation. Definitely barbeque music and I love it, it made me more upset about snow in April
Favorite song: La Grange
8/10
This album has all of the great things I love about 90s hip hop, multiple people coming in and out with a satisfying groove we hardly see anymore, slightly over produced parts that grow on you, and weird dialogue (although I wouldn't miss the whole Chinese restaurant sketch). Also I know it's the expanded version now but Mista Mista is pretty bad, however I do like the fu gee la remixes.
Favorite song I hadn't heard (Killing me softly is 10/10): The Score
Very smooth, great verses, great beats 9/10
Very atmospheric, this album constantly transports you... To church then an elevator then a funeral, and a concert hall sometimes. I'm exaggerating but the world that kept coming to mind was lullaby. I understand why they were sensational, it's nice music for nice people 🙂 I liked a couple songs
Favorite song: Baby Driver
6/10
I really just couldn't get into this album. I gave it a couple listens and it's just pretty boring to me. The only band member who's consistently doing anything interesting is the singer and he's pretty good but there is nothing very impressive happening. Some good guitar and piano/organ here and there.
Favorite Song: Ragged Wood
5/10
Seldom enjoyable. Usually unpleasant.
Favorite Song: Raining Blood (Guitar Hero 3)
1/10
This album makes me want to protest the war in Vietnam. I can't tell whether or not I like the straw-in-the-lid/hyena noise that's in most songs, I'm leaning towards no. I was curious so I found out it's an electric jug, kind of like blowing air over a bottle. They're kind of the only notable band to use it since the 1920s when jug bands were popular (not electric) so that's pretty cool. The name of the album and artist all check out.
7/10
I like this album more than a bridge over troubled water, and I think I rated that unfairly last time, Cecilia has been in my head for a while. I did think it was a little back loaded, all of my favorites are in the second half. Very fun and a lot of unique elements, old people talking is great.
Favorite: Punky's Dilemma
8/10
Not much to say tbh, not my cup of tea but pleasant enough
Favorite song: Til there was you (cover)
5/10
At times he reveals he has a good voice but I don't think he uses it all that well, and while barely a compliment I can't think of anything else positive to say. Sometimes I felt like I was at a talent show lol, it feels so unfinished and only get sloppier with time. Many out of pocket lyrics, not getting immaculate vibes from Skip. He was the drummer for Jefferson Airplane's first album but then quit the band and made this. They did get popular the year after... but mostly because of Grace Slick.
Favorite Song: Weighted Down (The Prison Song)
2/10
One of my grandma's favorite bands, and that's a compliment to her, not an insult to led zeppelin. I wouldn't call myself a fan but I've listened to them for a while and barely knew this album but it's shocking this is their first, they have had such a defined sound since the beginning. Very rock and roll at times but they also love to show off their talent with more acoustic songs.
Favorite Song: Good Times Bad Times
8/10
There's a reason its one of the most famous and mainstream rock operas, would've been great to see it live, it's such a nice cohesive story. One year in marching band we played an arrangement of a couple musicals and this was one of them and the most fun. Pinball Wizard is a childhood favorite and it was nice to really listen to the rest of the album.
Favorite Song: Pinball Wizard
8/10
Sometimes I don't love Sting's voice and it seems to be mostly during the fast songs. Sometimes it sounds like reggae and those songs are my favorite. It would be a fun live show, the instrumentation is very good.
Favorite Song: The Bed's Too Big Without You
7/10
This is an interesting one. Similar critique as the police album, I liked the instrumentation a lot but some vocal parts and lyrics were weird and off putting. Other than that I thought it was fun, I definitely preferred the fast songs.
Favorite Song: Nite Klub
7/10
Great album! My only problem is the same that I've been having with similar bands of this era of, I love everything except the tonation of the singer. The vocal weirdness was of the time and I do think the talking heads do it pretty well because it fits well compared to others, but sometimes it's just hard to ignore.
Favorite Song: Psycho Killer
8/10
I liked it but it was slightly disappointing because I was hoping more of the album would be jazzy big band like the first song. But other than that, fantastic album, his voice is incredible, it's obvious why he's one of the goats.
Favorite Song: Bye Bye Love
8/10
Great album! Not much to say, no song really stood out that much so it was hard to pick a favorite but I liked them all.
Favorite song: Out of the Blue
7/10
2012 is barely on the edge of when this album could've come out. It's sounds older, maybe Jack is stuck in the past a bit, but I did like it anyway, the bluesy elements were good.
Favorite Song: Weep Themselves to Sleep
7/10
This one is hard to rate for me, some songs are good and I really don't like others. Many sounded like Beatles songs which is fine but this released the same year as abbey road which just doesn't match up. A lot of the songs just didn't sound very full, like they were missing elements to make everything flow better. I do like some of The Kinks' hits but none are on this album.
Favorite Song: Shangri-la
6/10
Albums like these remind me of the main purpose of this app/book. It's music people should experience to expand their world view since music is a huge part of most cultures. It's not necessarily about sharing popular music. I enjoyed this album with that in mind, it's a window into another part of the world. I found myself trying to kind of figure out the language, it seems like double vowels are used for long sounds vs single vowels for short. In English we kind of just guess with some rules. It also seems like he just adds syllables in between words to make them flow better. Thinking about these things separate from the actual music is not integral to ratings but I think it's what this book is trying to do.
7/10
I loved this album! That being said I might not listen to it again soon, it's a specific mood but if I'm in that mood I'll know what to put on. I love all the solos and it's very jammy. It made me nostalgic for high school jazz band
Incredible album, creativity and flow is 10/10 of course, hard hitting lyrics for the most part, solid beats and hooks. I could listen to biggie rap all day and I'm sure he could do it without a breath. Also "blowin up like world trade" is a CRAZY 1994 lyric
9/10
It was aight, Alan Jackson is better
6/10
I don't love most gangster rap, I'm definitely tribe over wu tang, but for the most part this one was a little smoother and I enjoyed most of it. Something I like about this era of hip hop vs modern is actual annunciation, and raekwon is a great example of this.
7/10
Incredible album, there isn't a miss on here.
10/10
I liked this one more than I thought I would, some good ones I hadn't heard before.
7/10
Most of the songs are bops but that high pitched constant in many of them is so off putting it's all I can hear. If they never used that sound I would listen to the whole album again but I'll stick to replaying just a few. Other than that, nearly perfect.
8/10
I really liked this album, I had never heard of Suede before and they're very solid, seems like it would be a great live performance.
9/10
Found myself dozing a bit but I think that's part of the show, I was very relaxed the whole time, it was very pleasant. It's crazy how much music Willie has and it's nice to hear some of the classic classics.
7/10
