1001 Albums Summary

They had some good songs, even a couple great ones. But basically they were a psychedelic Holiday Inn lounge combo fronted by a drunken imbecile.

Their weakest effort, excepting Coda. It was put together hurriedly, while touring, and it sounds it. There are high points ("Whole Lotta Love," "The Lemon Song"), and part of the problem is that it suffers by comparison with their rip-roaring debut. But on its own merits it's just not all there.

This might be the worst thing I've ever heard by a supposedly great act. Deadheads always say that the studio albums don't tell the story; the Dead had to be experienced live. This recording disproves that. The Shaggs are better, and I'm not kidding. One star, only because it's not possible to give zero stars.

On its own merits it's not bad at all. But ranked against their first three, and even Justice, it's pretty weak. It sounds exactly like a record produced by a guy named Bob Rock should sound.

Van at his best, backed by the transcendent Caledonia Soul Orchestra. What a shame that such a great artist is such an awful human being.

It's nothing if not consistent, but it's pretty tedious: over 60 minutes of trying to tap back into the energy of "Rockin' in the Free World."

It's probably really only a four-star record, but it deserves an extra star for making hair metal, which was already artistically irrelevant, also commercially irrelevant. And for nostalgia. You had to be 18-ish when it came out to fully appreciate it.

Not as good as I'd expected. Really only the hits are any good. The album tracks are surprisingly weak, especially the opener and "Happy Hawaii," which sounds like crappy mid-'70s Beach Boys ("Kona Coast").

Not terrible, but just typical late '90s formulaic alternative rock. In the late '90s, I would've given it an angry zero stars. But it's fair for what it is.

I had the same reaction as when I first heard this in the late '80s: Is this a joke?

It has its moments, mostly thanks to Jeff ("Jeff's Boogie" is definitely the best cut—great Les Paul picking in there). They just weren't really up to the task of this kind of material.

They were trying so hard to be interesting, and there are scattered moments of value throughout. But they're too self-consciousness, and their singer can't decide if he wants to be David Bowie or Elvis Costello.

First Off the Wall, then this. What a great few years for MJ.

I've never understood what all the fuss is about.

Never been a huge fan, but they were certainly ahead of their time. Whatever kind of antisocial rebel Jim Morrison thought he was, he wasn't even in the same sport, let alone the same ballpark, as Iggy.

From the first outing, the music was interesting and quite different from what surrounded it, but the lyrics and singing wrecked the show.

Pretty close to sublime. I just happen to have a preference for what came after her all-acoustic, angelic hippie phase. This album begins the transition.

Interesting. Almost every track was an obvious attempt to sound like someone else: the Beatles, CCR, the Yardbirds, the Moody Blues, etc. They're like soundalike tracks created to avoid copyright infringement. And yet somehow it holds together and works pretty well.

This cat flat-out rocked. One of the all-time greats. And it's hard to top Keely Smith's voice.

Zappa got off to a great start. Whatever deficiencies there are, it's futile to point them out, as it's never clear whether they're planted deliberately to invite criticism that can then be contemptuously deflected. The man was a genius.

Better than I'd expected. She has the self-absorption of Gen Z, but she channels it well.

I wish I could like it, but apart from the standout "Working Class Hero" and "God" it's just very weak. Ringo turns in a good performance, though.

Not bad but extremely repetitive.

They got considerably better. It's not terrible ("Fake Chinese Robert Plant" is the standout track), but it's far from great.

What did they want to do? What didn't they want to do?

Nick has always been one of those great songwriters who shouldn't sing their own songs. Not ever.

I don't see what all the fuss is about. "Tears" is very nice.

Boring? It's a freaking sedative.

Not bad for what it is. Probably one of the better psychedelic groups.