Knowing that this is kinda the Old Testament of metal albums adds a lot of value. Coming at it from a modern metal perspective, this sounds more like hard rock and lacks a bit of the edge I would expect from a metal album. Nonetheless, Paranoid is iconic with excellent lyrics, anti-war sentiments, and VERY memorable riffs.
Chuck D: The prison industrial complex oppresses Black people
Flava Flav: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvtQYsckLxk
This one grew on me a lot as I listened to it. I grew up hearing a lot of 80s hip hop because of my stepdad, but I've always had a hard time taking it seriously. By modern standards, some of the beats on here sound a little goofy and Flava Flav is meant to be comedic relief at times. However, listening to the lyrics, it's clear that these guys had a lot to say. Chuck D's pen game carries most of this project for me, but some of the beats were also genuinely impressive (especially "She Watch Channel Zero?!"). This gave me a new appreciation for early hip hop and I look forward to hearing more from this era.
Wow! I did not like this! I grew up listening to a lot of 2000s alternative music and something about it just irks me nowadays. Maybe in 15 years, I'll be able to find this sort of music nostalgic, but too little time has passed for this album to sound anything but stale. A few tracks on here had moments that I found sonically interesting, but the lyrics gave me little to chew on. If I were to give this project any praise, it would be for the immense amount of genre-hopping that Beck does from track to track without losing his unique style. Aside from that, I got little from this listen.
I somehow hadn't heard this album all the way through before, but I loved it so much. It is bursting at the seams with energy, experimentation and emotion at every moment of its runtime. Absolutely one that I will revisit a lot in the coming weeks. Thank you, my dear androgynous British freak.
This might be the only Southern rock album to grab my ear since I got into CCR a few years back. Her voice is phenomenal and the performances on here are lively on all fronts. Although the lyrics on some tracks didn't quite connect with me, some of the 1960s-1970s hippie sentiment bleeds through, which I liked. There is a slight decline in quality in the second half, but overall, this was fun, bluesy, and another that I will return to frequently.
Some of these tracks were great, but others fell flat. At this point in his career, I feel like Elvis's crooning lacks some of the energy that made him stand out in the first place. To my surprise, the instrumentation carried this project for me. Lyrics are sappy (but not endearingly so) in many places and downright harmfully portraying masculinity in others. This is something that I would not bat an eye at if it were playing at my grandmother's house, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it myself.
I can't believe this came up considering I mentioned that I'm a CCR fan two reviews ago on here. I had a huge CCR phase in highschool, but I mostly listened to their hits. Hearing some deeper cuts on here gave me a greater appreciation of John Fogerty’s voice and some of the guitar tones they were playing with. The lyrics are simple, but effective and not a moment on here drags. Cosmos’s Factory was CCR at their strongest before their breakup 2 years later.
I have yet to do a deepdive into Stevie Wonder's discography—shame on me. This is incredible. Although not the groundbreaking Songs In The Key Of Life that would follow this project, Fulfillingness' First Finale offers something special in a more condensed package. Every track is overflowing with creativity and some of the most impressive arrangements that I have heard from Wonder. The bass playing was a standout and was mixed so well. I will certainly return to this project many times.
This is arguably the most iconic MTV Unplugged ever. I have it on vinyl. It’s a classic. However, upon returning to it, something didn’t quite click with me as it did on past listens. Maybe I’ve become too accustomed to Nirvana’s studio albums, so their stripped-back sound feels lacklustre. Maybe I just wasn’t in the right headspace for a Nirvana album. Cobain’s vocals are incredible and the performances were solid across the board, but I can’t really argue that this project is all that it’s chalked up to be. Light 4 stars.
This should have been called "Music to Be Murdered By" and it should have been rapped instead of sung. Maybe get a Detroit rapper on here. Some middle-aged dude who can make "orange" rhyme with "banana." Then maybe this would have been good.
I jest, Kylie Minogue is on here. I physically couldn't stop death dropping. Gay rights.
I fuck with New Wave heavy
I loved the ballads on here. This was the first full listen I’ve given to the Velvet Underground and I think they’re a band I’ll appreciate more on subsequent listens. This had some great writing and vocals, but remained minimalistic. Instrumentally, there wasn’t much on here that jumped out at me. However, the atmosphere is immaculate.
The music is decent. Pretty standard 1970s pop-rock. Songwriting is strong and Bowie’s influence is felt. This is a strong 3 star album. However, self-admitted pedophiles get 1 star.
Reggae and dub are not genres that I have a great ear for (my experiences are limited to Marley and Fishmans), but I enjoyed this. I liked the influence of 90s sound palettes and how full the instrumentation felt throughout. Some tracks felt very same-y and blended together, but this is an album I could imagine myself putting on in the background while I clean my room or cook. Not bad.
Early guitar distortion, very cool. The vocals are pretty wild and the drumming is also very left-field. This album has moments where it clicks and feels profoundly boundary-pushing for its time but equally has moments of pretty boring noodling. Lyrically, there isn't much here to latch onto and there isn't much cohesion between songs. This is a collection of very high highs and very low lows.
This is awesome. So many great ideas executed so well. This sounds closer to classic rock (+ ska) than punk in a modern sense, but there is an edge to this project that points to the way punk evolved post-London Calling. Instrumentally rich and THE BASS. I love a bass that is high in the mix does more than repeat 3 notes for 4 minutes. Certainly one I will return to often.
What the fuck is bro on about in half these songs. I understand that The Temptations did not write a lot of (if not all??) of these tracks, but lyrically, this is some 1960s nice guy fuckshit. Besides that, this was fine. Instrumentally pleasant for sure, but this was extremely by the books. My knowledge of soul is limited, but this sounds like soul at its default settings to me. Not offensive, but sometimes boring. Vocals are great, mix is great, and nothing (aside from dated lyrics) feels poorly executed. Not one I would really go back to if I were in the mood for a soul record, but I respect this project's place in the soul music canon.
The score is 9 to 11, so you know what that means Riley…
Very pleasant jam band-type music. Most of the tracks on here sound very ahead of their time to me, I was shocked to see that this came out in '70. This isn't the type of music you put on to have a real ponder, it's just very fun and inoffensive. I got a similar thing out of this project as I do a lot of CCR's music. However, no track in particular jumped out at me. I'll return to this on some very warm day when I'm mowing the lawn or something.
