418
Albums Rated
3.63
Average Rating
38%
Complete
671 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1960s
Favorite Decade
Blues
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
92
5-Star Albums
7
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Duck Stab/Buster & Glen
The Residents
|
5 | 2.03 | +2.97 |
|
The Modern Dance
Pere Ubu
|
5 | 2.48 | +2.52 |
|
Faust IV
Faust
|
5 | 2.78 | +2.22 |
|
Third/Sister Lovers
Big Star
|
5 | 2.79 | +2.21 |
|
A Walk Across The Rooftops
The Blue Nile
|
5 | 2.86 | +2.14 |
|
This Nation’s Saving Grace
The Fall
|
5 | 2.88 | +2.12 |
|
The Gilded Palace Of Sin
The Flying Burrito Brothers
|
5 | 2.93 | +2.07 |
|
Paris 1919
John Cale
|
5 | 2.95 | +2.05 |
|
Exile In Guyville
Liz Phair
|
5 | 3.02 | +1.98 |
|
Ambient 1/Music For Airports
Brian Eno
|
5 | 3.07 | +1.93 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Can't Buy A Thrill
Steely Dan
|
1 | 3.72 | -2.72 |
|
S&M
Metallica
|
1 | 3.26 | -2.26 |
|
The Seldom Seen Kid
Elbow
|
1 | 3.25 | -2.25 |
|
Permission to Land
The Darkness
|
1 | 3.14 | -2.14 |
|
A Night At The Opera
Queen
|
2 | 3.96 | -1.96 |
|
Sheet Music
10cc
|
1 | 2.96 | -1.96 |
|
Ten
Pearl Jam
|
2 | 3.91 | -1.91 |
|
Siamese Dream
The Smashing Pumpkins
|
2 | 3.83 | -1.83 |
|
Tarkus
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
|
1 | 2.79 | -1.79 |
|
Justified
Justin Timberlake
|
1 | 2.68 | -1.68 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Beatles | 5 | 4.8 |
| David Bowie | 7 | 4.43 |
| Nick Drake | 3 | 5 |
| The Rolling Stones | 4 | 4.5 |
| Joni Mitchell | 3 | 4.67 |
| Bob Dylan | 3 | 4.67 |
| Paul Simon | 2 | 5 |
| Stevie Wonder | 2 | 5 |
| Prince | 2 | 5 |
| Fleetwood Mac | 2 | 5 |
| Marvin Gaye | 2 | 5 |
| Muddy Waters | 2 | 5 |
| Talking Heads | 4 | 4.25 |
| Led Zeppelin | 3 | 4.33 |
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | 3 | 4.33 |
| The Doors | 3 | 4.33 |
| R.E.M. | 3 | 4.33 |
| U2 | 3 | 4.33 |
| Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds | 3 | 4.33 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Steely Dan | 3 | 1.67 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Pere Ubu | 5, 2 |
| The Cure | 5, 3, 2 |
| Metallica | 4, 3, 1 |
5-Star Albums (92)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Pere Ubu
5/5
I can imagine this will be a pretty devisive album. For money - this is as much a piece art - a true display of intention and expression - as anything I have heard on this list. Garage-prog, art punk. There are songs that feel like the could be talking heads that then veer in a wildly different direction. Kids music not for kids. There is real raw email under the chaos. And the bass lines. A one of one band for sure.
5 likes
The Kinks
5/5
Beatles vs Stones. The correct and only answer...the Kinks. Musically yes. But more importantly the Kinks would also kick their collective asses in a street fight. I may not get all the references but it sure does make me what to visit.
2 likes
The Rolling Stones
5/5
I mean. What can be said really. I think my biggest take away from listening on this format - the filler - by that I mean the non hits and future concert staples - are what makes this album truly great... I want to see his face, Turd on the Run , ventilator blues, stop breaking down. All sonically sublime.
1 likes
Jurassic 5
4/5
What an absolute joyful surprise. And a Kool Keith cameo to boot. Best commute I've had in weeks.
1 likes
Leonard Cohen
5/5
The less said the better about a man who has said so much. I would rather let him do the talking. The quiet power of the album is undeniable. While I wouldn't call this album joyous - there is plenty of light amidst the shadows. The production is minimal but sublime - matching the tone of the music. Single violins and subtle choirs add beauty. It's only with the final reprise that the true sadness comes and you feel the full weight of a life fading.
1 likes
1-Star Albums (7)
All Ratings
Steely Dan
2/5
Intricate instrumentation that seems to be not just free of a distinct emotion but at times disconnected from the song itself. The modern sounding sonic elements in Peg seem like the could be used to create a better song in someone else's hands. Much ado about what I'm not sure.
Led Zeppelin
5/5
Listening to this album with fresh ears - my main take is - Damn this album sounds good. The beats make this album shine. The high points are so very high. Never liked Heartbreaker and still dont but everything else is a gem.
Radiohead
4/5
Splitting the difference between recent past and distant past (only 10 years but this is already the third phase for the boys of radiohead). Nods to the recent past won out with backdrifts, there there and the gloaming being the most interesting endeavors. The songs with more standard instrumentation played by humans are good but don't reach the heights of phase one...still a good listen of an album I didn't fully absorb upon its release.
Franz Ferdinand
4/5
Take Me Out was ubiquitous - even i heard it with some frequency - and liked it. But not enough to ever check out the rest of the album. So now - 20 years on - this 39 minutes of early aughts post punk reprise sounds pretty damn good. I actually like the back half better. The first 5 songs - previously noted banger aside - drift together a bit. The latter songs have the same elements just mixed up a little better. Certainly worth a listen.
The Go-Go's
5/5
I have an episodic relationship with this album. I was 12 when this album came out. I heard the singles - everywhere. And what singles they are. Our lips are sealed is an all time debut album lead off track. The bridge still gives chills. And we got the beat - does that not take you to a place even if you've never been. But I was a kid just getting my musical legs and those adolescent legs were drifting in the direction of Def Leppard. Cut to college. One of my housemates was a bass player and he was obsessed with this album. Especially the bass playing. We listened often and he was spot on. Kathy Valentine really lays an axing foundation that provides energy to the great songwriting and harmonies. Really everything works on this album. And lest we forget - 1981. How Much More is two years before REM is murmuring. Tonite, This Town, You Can't Walk..., Skidmarks. Ultimately - this album feels like a centerpiece that extends back to 60s girls groups and (just a hint of) surf guitar and well into the future as new wave was just breaking. A genuine classic and sounds even better as summer is just breaking.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
I mean. What can be said really. I think my biggest take away from listening on this format - the filler - by that I mean the non hits and future concert staples - are what makes this album truly great... I want to see his face, Turd on the Run , ventilator blues, stop breaking down. All sonically sublime.
Minor Threat
4/5
This is a weird one. Not as vital as what came before and after but maybe that's why it works. It borders on fun. Or at least there are moments of humor as well as some straight ahead rocking. Good not great but definitely something everyone should hear - Sob Story seems like a song from our times. Boo f*#!in who...
The Band
3/5
The long term influence of the first two Band albums can't be overstated - even reaching modern bands that I adore. But... but...for some reason I have never been able to find a way in. Sounds weird to say for a band like this but I just don't connect emotionally. I appreciate it. I respect it. I see why it's good. I know it's good. I just don't love it. That being said - When You Awake and Jemina Surrender are great tunes so maybe some day...
Jorge Ben Jor
5/5
Holy moly. Better yet...santo deus. I have hit a few random points on Jorge Ben timeline but for some reason never made it here. I'm a little slack jawed. It's just so creative. It's like a wilder Esquivel with the kitsch turned down. Weird, expressively weird with undercurrents of pop, traditional samba and latin jazz. Excellent musicianship. And get up and dance funky. I have a mild curiosity for the lyrics but why mess with perfection. What an absolute great ride.
The Byrds
4/5
An album I am very familiar with from a band that I am very familiar with. Everybody's Been Burned was my entree into truly understanding the band - and all that is good and bad. See the problem with the Byrds is that - while being highly influential - arguably more influential than bands that are held in much higher esteem - they are a bit goofy. A pitfall of the psychedelic era that counted them as but one among many who had similar missteps. But even looking at them in context of the era - I give you Mind Gardens as uniquely bad. CTA - really? I know aliens were big as was turning knobs just for the sake of turning them but...it's just silly. I feel like you could make an album of all there wacky experiments across this 3-4 year period and it might actually work. Similarly - if you gather up the remaining actually songs you have some unmitigated classics. Maybe you do anyway but at least they would have less caveats. And the Byrds are all about caveats. Taking this album at face value - some of my favorite Byrds songs are included (EBB, My Back Pages) and one of my all time faves - like from any band - Lady Friend - didn't make they cut and was only released on the reissues. Apparently that decision lead to David Crosby's leaving the Byrds - again - you put Mind Gardens on there but couldn't find a way to release this splendid rush of emotion. I say all this at someone who loves the Byrds and loves this album - with some caveats...
Elvis Costello
4/5
So many great, undeniable tunes. A ridiculous collection for a first album. Sounds great as well.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Is there a more inviting opening riff. Probably. But this one is still damn good. And that sense of invitation permeates the album. Even when the news isn't good. They keep it simple in the best possible way.
Elton John
4/5
I was really enjoying the shorter albums. So another double album from an artist I think of as a singles artist. While this one has a lot to give. Better than I thought. I still think the signs are the high points. It doesn't really do anything truly interesting and reach in a double album sort of way. Just more ballads. Enjoyed it more than expected but less is more for me...
Wilco
5/5
I have seen this album often compared to Kid A. Close but it's really closer to OK Computer. The essence of the band remains fully intact buts it's expanded and exploded. Jeff tweedy can't help but let his inner Beatle shine no matter what sort of cacophony envelops him all while Dylaning his way down the uncertain streets. This is a pivot and a reaction while still very much building on their first three albums. Top notch songwriting. Great playing. Fun noises. Sad when they're happy. Happy when sad. A gem. Kamera, Jesus Etc., Heavy Metal Drummer. That's a whole career for most.
Shack
4/5
Wow. Wasn't expecting this. At all. First track plays like a pleasant mash up of Crowded House and Oasis. But as the album progresses it goes much much deeper and farther back. There are moments that fit into the British 60s revival of the early 90s. But never lingers there and ultimately transcends through excellent songwriting, thoughtful arrangements and some exquisite musicianship. Ultimately though all that means nothing with the melodies - the melodies and harmonies - I'm just blown away. An album and band I have absolutely no recollection of even hearing a mention of that is this damn good. Dismiss as a random forgotten britpop artifact at your own peril. This has a lot more to offer than appears at first glance.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
I must admit - I have heard plenty of Simon and Garfunkel over the years going back as far as I can remember - but I don't think I have ever heard an actual S&G album. My experience has always been either on the radio or through the lens of a greatest hits collection. A much different way to experience them. While I know half the songs on the album they feel different when presented as they are in a song cycle about aging (at least the first half of the album) and this all kicks off - after the bookends theme - with Save the Life of My Child. Let's just say - not what I have come to expect from S&G. And that trend continues with the aptly titled voice collage Voices of Old People. Ultimately this plays a bit like two sides - the first side song cycle and the what feels more like a hodgepodge on side two. A good hodgepodge - Hazy Shade..., Mrs Robinson and At the Zoo - all great tracks. But I may go back to the greatest hits...
Hawkwind
3/5
Taken at Its most elemental - it's like Black Sabbath covering Astronomy Domine for...forever. but when you add in saxophone -then it really scrambles the old noggin. Full on jams with periods of spoken word and musical interludes. There are moments that veer dangerously close (if not ramming right into)
Stonehenge. It all feels as if painted by a single musical brush. A spacey rocking brush...
The Cure
5/5
It pretty much impossible to come this album with a fresh set of ears. I was a fan of the Cure - especially the previous two releases. I bought it the week it came out. And - to be honest - I didn't get it on first listen. So many songs that seemed to be one forever. I liked ethereal music but what I was looking for in the Cure was the sharp edges and manic energy of the previous album - with the occasional shift in pace. But here - 72 minutes of dirge. It took me a few weeks to really appreciate that. And slowly this became a personal favorite. So coming to his album 35 year later and listening to it start to finish for the first time in probably a quarter century - its pretty much perfect. The album clearly states it's intentions from the opening notes of Plainsong. Picture of You is about as magical a single as me Smith and Co ever created. Lullaby and Lovesong both ubiquitous back in the day sound especially after not hearing them with such regularly. The groove of Fascination Street. My all time fave cure song - Disintegration - still scintillates even as it never swerves during it 8 min runtime. Feeling the bass on Prayers for Rain (this is a song much better heard on speakers.). And finishing the Untitled - I like to think of the as trending positive in acceptance rather than regret with a long outro to ponder...
My big takeaways:
it's 72 min runtime is one of the first albums I remember really using the enhanced CD runtime to its benefit.
The bass on the album and the way it is produced are a revelation. These songs have real heft without sounding muddy. The rhythm section is really the star of this album.
Songwriting songwriting and songwriting. Some of the mans best.
I remember reviews for this tour - never have some many people had such a good time having so little fun...
I believe that stands for the album as well.
The White Stripes
3/5
I respect it all. The songs. The process. The sound. The look. The energy. I just can't seem love it. I know the White Stripes. I recall downloading many of these songs from Napster or a similar platform upon its release. Hearing the songs on that ala carte "singles" format enhanced the feeling I get from listening to this album. And why I never loved it. It's not that they play this minimal rock n roll that still manages to sound huge. Its that in various songs they reduce various bands - the Yardbirds Zeppelin, Stones, Black Sabbath, even the already bare bones Kinks - to their bare essence. It's amazing they are able to generate so much sound while capturing the essence. But I respect it more than love it. Happy they exist. The music word is pretty bably better for it. But I just don't connect in a way I feel I should.
Tim Buckley
3/5
I don't know. Is this what the world needed/needs? Prog folk? I did the first two tracks - especially Buzzin Fly. But then the album really just feels like too much more of the same. Where as a comparable album - astral weeks - I am able to get swept up this album just drones. I have tried to engage with Tim Buckley at several points over my life and have never been able to get into it. This time is no different.
Run-D.M.C.
3/5
I heard a Little Richard's Good Golly Miss Molly on the radio today and I was taken by how good it sounded. Even with all the advancements made in recording and the evolution of musical styles over the last 60+ years - that song as well as a lot of music of the era still sound good. I can't necessarily say the same this about Run DMCs debut. Important as a cultural artifact - Rock Box does not have the same affect now as it did back in the 80s as an actual song. Fun as nostalgia but impossible to separate from the era.
The Who
4/5
Great album. The Who really come alive in this live setting. Especially the drums . While spellbinding - I could use perhaps 10 percent less. Great album nonetheless. Id give it 4.5 if I could...
Nine Inch Nails
4/5
Man. Machine. This album blurs the line. This album feels a bit like prince - especially Sigh it the Times. It is meticulous. Contained. Except when it is allowed for boil over. The slow descent that wraps out the album - Eraser to Reptile to TDS to Hurt. It truly is the sound of coming undone...
Leonard Cohen
5/5
The less said the better about a man who has said so much. I would rather let him do the talking. The quiet power of the album is undeniable. While I wouldn't call this album joyous - there is plenty of light amidst the shadows. The production is minimal but sublime - matching the tone of the music. Single violins and subtle choirs add beauty. It's only with the final reprise that the true sadness comes and you feel the full weight of a life fading.
Curtis Mayfield
4/5
Damn. That is some funky *ss soul music. 4.5/5
Mike Oldfield
3/5
An album that is impossible to not be impressed by. So many notes. So styles. The varied instrumentation. Anyone of a certain age knows this album for its opening section. The impact of that theme on scoring for the horror genre cannot be understated - even today. There are other great ideas here but to what end. I have no idea what I am ultimately suppose to feel.
Frank Black
4/5
A lot of great songs but it suffers a bit from the plight of many 90s albums - too damn long. Theres a certain charm to the brevity of so many classic albums - 8 to 10 songs, 30 to 40 minutes. Sometimes less is more. In the end - this album has a high batting average is much better than I remember.
The xx
4/5
I feel there two way to make a great album - one is to challenge listeners by taking them in all different directions. The other...capture a mood and stay with it. Adding just enough to move things along and keep it interesting. This is definitely the latter. Thee establish a mood and stick with it - and it's a great mood.
Metallica
4/5
This album tends to overshadowed by its production. I used to think of it as harsh - the sound not the assessment - but I have come to understand it through a different lense. There are some great rides on here that really cut. It's at times closer to Ministry than metal. Some songs go on too long for my taste. But it's definitely a statement.
John Coltrane
5/5
Kicking off with a simple announcement, this album slowly builds until it hits its groove and then sets off like raging bull and rarely lets up - the chanting of "a love supreme" in Acknowledgement provides a brief respite that is still positively exhilarating and surprising - until the long outro of Psalm. Spiritual, emotional, confessional, expressive, singular.
Dr. Dre
3/5
Influential. Sure. Also a little repetitive not only on its sound but in the subject matter (including too much misogyny for my delicate sensibilities). I get it. The streets are tough the there are needs to be settled. I much prefer the Pharcyde's debut released the same year which adds humor in to its view of growing up in LA. Heck - even NWA had a touch of humor mixed with the rage. That being said - great beats and production throughout. Some skilled delivery. I was a just a list alienated after 60 minutes.
Marty Robbins
4/5
Funny this comes on the heels of the Chronic. Both albums mix myth with reality (this one is certainly more myth). Scores are settled. Violence lionized. Gats swapped for 44s. But his time around the music is warm and inviting. Taking you back to another time. Not just to the time this album was recorded but a time long ago. I enjoy the western flavors. Voice and instrumental. El Paso is an all timer.
Amy Winehouse
3/5
Fine for a while. Her vocal talent is undeniable but the production wears a little thin. Nothing terribly memorable.
DJ Shadow
5/5
I have revisited this album many times over the years. From a first listen in a Tower Records listening booth back in the mid 90s to my son's discovery of unique offerings over a decade later - there is just nothing quite like this album. Experimental but highly listenable. Of its time but only because it was released today it would still be of its time. Though not without precedent it is a wholly unique offering. Crate digging pushed to a spiritual level. You feel this album. Not a weak track in the bunch. All have unexpected turns even as they settle into a groove that feels like it could go on forever. It is a great concept that is expertly delivered. An album that would be difficult to produce today feels unfathomable in 1996. But that wouldn't matter if the songs didn't deliver. A true master class.
Morrissey
4/5
The Smiths. Just wanted to get that out of the way cause it's on my mind. How can it not be.
So onto the album at hand...as good an album that a solo Morrissey has produced. Well produced. His usual lyrical flair aimed familiar targets. Overall a great listen - the best moments rising to the level of the aforementioned but now unnamed band...
Pere Ubu
5/5
I can imagine this will be a pretty devisive album. For money - this is as much a piece art - a true display of intention and expression - as anything I have heard on this list. Garage-prog, art punk. There are songs that feel like the could be talking heads that then veer in a wildly different direction. Kids music not for kids. There is real raw email under the chaos. And the bass lines. A one of one band for sure.
Eric Clapton
3/5
Hate is a strong word. But that isy general feeling about Eric Clapton. This album - I don't hate it as purely as other Eric Clapton albums. Progress. I would say that this album has - at times - good vibes. It's like a better version of the Band. Still - it never really hurts out like his purported heroes. But decent vibes. Sometimes.
Aretha Franklin
5/5
To state to the obvious...that voice. Finally it is matched with an excellent slate of songs, a great band and pitch perfect production. I prefer Aretha to swing rather that straight ballad as such - this albums dips a bit in the middle but overall - music of the highest order. And that voice. 4.5/5.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
4/5
One all timer surrounded by a lot rocking tunes. Excellent guitar playing throughout - dynamic, creative riffs. Overall - powerhouse vocal performances - it's like chrissy hynde, pj harvey and janis joplin thrown into a blender. In a good way.
Queen
3/5
Never been a fan. I think it goes back to the guitar tone. It's just everywhere. It cuts through to the point of almost feels like it belongs in another band altogether. If you remove that you have a pretty proggy band. Maybe that's the point. In the end - I just don't really care about the various queens and ogres that populate this album.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
This album - all about moving from place to place, person to person - is itself transportive. From the opening chords of Coyote you are taken to a world that is uniquely Joni Mitchell. This was my entry into Joni and continues to be my favorite. Listening now I feel like this is music outside of genre - not exactly folk or jazz or rock - it's just music. Musical portraits expertly drawn one of one.
Tangerine Dream
3/5
Similar to some other albums on this list - the influence is undeniable. Twenty years on this album would still be feel relevant. Unfortunately it does it's job a bit too well. What they did has been absorbed by so many artist and and influenced a variety of genres and done much better. Or at least more effectively. The title track is an obvious standout.
Paul Simon
5/5
An album split between grand statements - Mother and Child Reunion, armistice day, Me and Julio... - and smaller simpler singer songwriter fare - Duncan, papa hobo, Everything Put together - this album hit harder on second listen. Masterful for it's genre hopping and shere song craft after the relative restraint of S&G. This opened up the full array of possibilities he would explore through his career.
Michael Kiwanuka
4/5
What an absolute triumph of an album. Indebted to the past but far from a mere update. Sonically rich. Quite a journey. Ravers, ballads and everything in between all presented in a unique pallette. Soul, psychedelia with enough of a modern touch to make it would timeless. An album I will return to.
Morrissey
4/5
"Rejection is one thing but rejection from a fool is cruel." Musically - sounds different than I remember. Spikier. Stranger.
Lyrically- the Morrissey we know and love.
B.B. King
5/5
Masterful. One of a number of 60s live albums that are not just excellent but often represent the best of an artist - ie - Dusty Springfield, James Brown, Johnny Cash, Grateful Dead - displaying what truly makes them unique. Live at the Regal shows what BB King does in a way that no one else does it. The blues have never sounded so joyous.
Jurassic 5
4/5
What an absolute joyful surprise. And a Kool Keith cameo to boot. Best commute I've had in weeks.
Beatles
5/5
This one is tricky. If they are they to blame for the many ill advised double albums released in its wake then perhaps the White Album deserves to be docked a star. But upon relistening it is a clear - most people didn't really listen - or at least they didn't take notes ok what make a great double album. It's not just more songs. It's the diversity of the songwriting. The genres. The throw aways that become meaningful because it is a double album. There are clearly 10-12 standouts here that are classics (aka a full album). Of the remaining songs they swerve all over the place. But every attempt/experiment/exercise has something to offer. From Don't Pass Me By to Savoy Truffle to Everyone's For Something...maybe not perfectly crafted songs but offer a unique flavor. And when Dear Prudence returns you are reminded just how good music can be.
Sam Cooke
4/5
Another great live album from the 60s. I have realized that where BB King Live at the Regal pulled a more traditional blues artist into R&B - Sam Cooke - better known for pop/R&B - let's his blues shine through. And shine it does. Bring it on Home is an absolute master class - teasing You Send Me to remind you where he came from but not where he is...or was - but moving the audience inab different direction. And wrapping things up with Having a Party - not sure if that bringing church to the party or bringing the party to church. Either way - the energy in the room is palpable. 4.5/5.
Sheryl Crow
3/5
Many of these long unheard songs sound pretty good after going a long time unheard. And the never heard songs would have been better left that way.
The White Stripes
3/5
The white stripes add some different instruments this time out but the same methodology is deployed. Minimal. Expressive. A little wobbly.
2/5
Interesting production. Moments of excellent playing. But no real charisma and a lack of notable songs. Better than expected but not memorable.
GZA
4/5
Strangely - the perfect album to listen to while chopping vegetables on a late summer afternoon. No idea why. Some things just are. This album just is.
Stevie Wonder
5/5
Some gnarly grooves accompany his best songwriting, an eye toward the future in terms of instrumentation and hooks galore. And only 22 years old. This is what happens when you give a musical savant a new set of toys. He doesn't just knock down the door - the entire building is blown up. A classic.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
Starts off as well as any LZ album. Some great moments throughout but does not hit as many high points throughout. It sort of feels like elements they would expand on later - or reprises of what they had already done. But the riffs when they appear are u deniable.
The Black Keys
3/5
Another album that suffers from too damn many songs. At 9/10 songs this album approaches great - probably the high water mark for the band and the modern blues rock genre. At 15 songs it gets a little stale and has no real arc - just lots of music - a lot of it quite good. I would call it 3.5/5.
LL Cool J
4/5
Milk.
Cereal.
Milk.
Cereal.
Milk.
Cereal.
Milk...
This is the end of a era. The close of the 1980s. Certainly the 90s aesthetic was already bubbling under the surface - NWAs debut drops 2 years prior - but this was a big shiny rap album that had a lightness soon to be all but forgotten. Bragadoccio with a sense of humor. And a distinct lack at gat talk. Not a judgement - just an assessment. That LL Cool J could be looked at with sense of innocent nostalgia. Much more than the title track though that is still very much the high point.
Michael Jackson
4/5
Thrilling. But Purple Rain is better.
Jethro Tull
2/5
Uh. Yeah. I just don't really get the premise of why you would make music like this. It's a good version of what it is I suppose. I'm happy I made the journey but I'll not be returning - forthwith
Lana Del Rey
3/5
Some good moments but not her finest moment overall. Some songs go on too long and there is a sameness as the album progresses. The previous album would be a much more worthy addition to the list. Good not great.
Justin Timberlake
1/5
This album is done no favors coming up shortly after Thriller. So many MJisms without the substance. Glossy sheen with a dearth of hooks. A few moments of inspiration on the funkier (not actually funky) tracks but the ballads - audio terrorism. This is the first album I genuinely don't understand why it's on the list. Pablum.
Deep Purple
3/5
Feels a little dated to me. Something about the energy is lacking when compared to Sabbath of Zeppelin. But the organ's fun. Opener and closer are the high points.
Eagles
3/5
Got to give credit where it's due...Take is Easy starts things off well enough and I might even go as far to say - great - with an assist by Jackson browne. And then i'm reminded of all things I bring to the table regarding my dislike of the Eagles. most of us are sad...John prine could maybe pull a song with that title off but the eagles do not have the chops. I liked some later tracks instrumentally - when the get off the beaten path - but overall songs are underwritten. A begrudging 3
Soundgarden
4/5
Suffers from 90s bloat the the killer tracks are killer and oddities like Half underscore how these guys were more like Led Zeppelin than any of their Emerald City piers - though there is still plenty of Sabbath/Stooges here. A better listen than expected. Amazing production. And with a little editing...
The Temptations
4/5
3 stars for Papa was a rolling stone alone. Another star for the opener everything else is pretty middling. Papa warrants the price for admission.
Neil Young
4/5
Songs. So many great songs. Some would become classics and continue to grow for years to come. Others capture a moment in time.
4/5
Not what I anticipated based onu previous exposure to War. Of a piece with recent Marvin/Curtis releases but also Fela - find a groove and settle in and throw in instrumental and vocal flourishes.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Side one is as rip roaring as the Rolling Stones get. Side two slows things down a bit. But there's no fat here at all. As consistent as any Stones album with some outright gems in both the rager and ballad camps.
The Verve
4/5
This has aged far better than expected. A few less inspired moments but overall this is a far more solid record that i remember. It really seems to predict the transition to what comes next in the British music scene - for better or worse. Guitar histrionics are tamped doesn't but the much production is excellent and sounds great to my ears all these years later. i came in thinking 3 but going to give this a 4...
Sonic Youth
4/5
Aww yeah. Another one that sounds incredible 30 years later. Not as hazy - musical or lyrically- as previous releases. It's got some tracks. there is some amazing playing here (theresa's sound world), sounds that resemble singable if not quite sing along tunes (sugar cane/purr) and then some Kim Gordon tracks (maybe one too many, maybe...). Much more organized but still enough breakdowns to scratch the itch.
fIREHOSE
3/5
An enjoyable if ultimately forgettable album. the singer is probably the week link. There's something very American. A freedom in the playing and genre hopping. You can feel the joy in their love to just playing music. Whatever comes to mind. Nothing wrong with that.
Billy Joel
4/5
This is a tough one. I think I can say I have never listened to more music by an artist of which I don't really like much less owned an album. So many songs are just in the ether for as long as I can remember consciously hearing music. I am trying to open my heart to any and all artists - especially ones on this realm (my realm - not the general public). I can say this - Joel is at his best when he stays within himself and try to say too much about about the world and focuses on the whims of the heart. This album does the latter - and quite well. It's like a greatest hits album. Sturdy songs. Quality arrangements. I heard most of them but hearing them together I have to tip my hat - not that he needs my support.
Black Sabbath
4/5
The power and influence of side one - war pigs through iron man - cannot be overstated. Side two meanders a bit before a strong finish. Their bleak and cynical vision of the world still seems all too relevant. But they deliver that outlook with energy and vitality. And riffs...so many riffs.
David Bowie
4/5
Accomplishes the difficult task of being both transitional and a great album. Excellent grooves throughout. From art to pop with a little croon. Another step towards the becoming the Bowie that would endure...
Syd Barrett
3/5
Whimsy. Or more accurately British whimsy. Well recorded British whimsy. Roots of Robyn Hitchcock, Love and Rockets and the wanderings of Alex Chilton. Not so much an album as capturing a moment of someone before they disappear.
Björk
4/5
That voice. I have always wanted more of that voice. And this album offers a surplus. It comes in many strange shapes and colors. Certainly any semblance of pop music has long since left building. At this point she is making art. As such - it is somethings beautiful and engaging and other times confounding and alienating. I'm not sure by what standard to rate this album - especially next to something by the Stones, the Who or even Joni Mitchell or Coltrane. It seems more like it belongs in a museum.
Koffi Olomide
3/5
Representative but not necessarily special to my ears. First half fares better. Elixir is my high point. Ultimately an album that will definitely up your spirits.
Crosby, Stills & Nash
4/5
If one could excise Guinevere and it's renaissance fair trappings it would elevate an otherwise formidable album. David Crosby - great voice. He could hit some home runs but also some misguided musical views. The three standouts from this album - Stills Judy, Nashs Marrakesh and crosbys cowriten (don't leave him to his own devices unchecked) wooden ships - all stand way out. Prog folk? Whatever it is - great musicianship, creative arrangements and the harmonies are top class. Everything else is solid with the exception of the aforementioned indignity. Enjoyed way bemore than I would like to admit.
The Cars
5/5
I ridiculous bounty of riches. Six absolutely bangers. It's like a Beatles album for a new generation - classic rock with keyboards and hooks galore. Songwriting and production are top notch. And it has Moving in Stereo...
3/5
A little mixed on this one. Definitely of a moment on time. But there are a lot of interesting choices that have aged better than other albums of the era. I think I would revisit though I didn't love it on the first pass.
Penguin Cafe Orchestra
3/5
Do these guys have two albums on here? This one is interesting but lacks the innocent and wondrous spirit that would inform the next album and beyond. A soundtrack to an unproduced film the be watched on a rainy day
The Doors
5/5
Say what you will about the doors - they started as well as anybody. Is there a better first album/first track in rock history. Break on Through is certainly in the running in terms of song quality, raw energy as well as mission statement. great songs throughout and the only indulgence - something that the doors would have plenty of in the years to come - The End at ease delivers on its promise. Say what you will about the song lyrically - the musicianship is transcendent and thar holds true throughout the album. There were plenty of missteps to come - this one is lean.
R.E.M.
4/5
Vocals have never been clearer but this is ultimately Pete Bucks day. This album rocks and rolls and has riffs galore. The summation of their half decade rise - five albums in five years is such a different era - each album pushing them forward. The harmonies are still there the guitars are out front. Not a misstep from the Finest Worksong through Fireplace but then gets lost in the last quarter. S
Supergrass
4/5
So many musical idea are served up here at break neck speed with such exuberance - it's impossible to deny the sheer energy that radiates from this album. Both of a moment and completely out of time because of it's many cultural touch points. I feel like if released today it could find an audience.
Ray Charles
3/5
I prefer funkier - Ray Charles but you can't argue with the feeling I'm that voice. Definitely transports to a different place.
Rod Stewart
4/5
An album that just SOUNDS great - start to finish. Before the fall from grace - Rod Stewart really was a treasure. And the guitar playing of Ronnie Wood is impeccable - acoustic, electric, pedal steel - he does it all with equal measures of technique and vibe. A great listen.
Hanoi Rocks
3/5
The connective tissue between New York Dolls and GnR. This represents the alternative path 80s metal could have taken. Less solos and shredding, more glam, less shouts to the devil - and even some straight up nods to 50s RnR. Better than most of their piers but in the end still an 80s metal album.
Earth, Wind & Fire
4/5
Happy Feelin pretty much as up this album. Even slower songs have feel the uplift when the exuberant break in. And when the party's already going on the horns take it into the stratosphere. Not a weak moment here.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
4/5
While not as expressive as some other works in the genre - it sure does go down easy while also moving the ball forward. Immaculately recorded.
Moby Grape
3/5
At moments they are like a pumped up Byrds. The Band with actual motion. A fractured take on the original classic (the 50s) rock. Harmonies. Guitar lines galore. Wrongfully lumped in with their psychedelic SF brothers and sisters. This one's a grower.
Green Day
4/5
Green day emerged just past the party it where I could really engage with them. I appreciate what they do - they at times display Kinks level simplicity in all the best ways. This album obviously stretches far beyond that in scope and scale but in reality - the 9 minute song suites are just a bunch of two minute songs together. But ultimately - for the most part - it works. A little pedestrian but you can't begrudge the pop chops. They know a good vocal/guitar hook. And I like a lot of 60 minute play albums I never like this got dirgy. The W era seems pretty quaint by 2024 standards.
The Avalanches
4/5
A total mind scrambler upon release. The heir apparent to Endtroducing but this one is all joy no tension. Like childhood - real, imagined and remembered - writ large. Feels old and new all at once. Slows a little in the later half but Live at Dominoes brings the party back to life.
De La Soul
5/5
Voices, rhythms, rhymes, wit, joy, and pain all bundled into a hilariously genuine and human package. Full of inside jokes and pop culture references in both lyrics and samples. A dynamic ride.
Bruce Springsteen
4/5
An unstoppable roar this one. Not my fave but the energy of a performer capturing his full voice in the studio is undeniable.
The Slits
4/5
Cool punk reminds me of what maybe Bjork was listening to before she started the sugarcubes
Emmylou Harris
3/5
In her late 20s and already having been a key ingredient in the two masterful Gram Parsons solo albums - this debut is confident and well executed in every way. The playing. Song choices. That voice. She would continue to evolve and change in the years to come but this album established her as a masterful interpreter of a wide range of songs.
Nick Drake
5/5
This is a debut album by a 21 year old kid but it has a world weary quality that I struggle to grasp even now. His music exists both of a time and outside of any particular space. Definitely not upbeat but it never gets too ponderous. In addition to finding his voice at such a young age, the songwriting is singular and presented with exquisite production. Cello Song is an all time fave for me but about half this album are true classics. Always a treat to spend some time with mr drake.
Paul Simon
5/5
This album hasn't aged a day. The sound seems to exist out of space and time. It checks all the boxes you want in an album. The songs. The playing. The craft. Unique. Singular. Endlessly singable.
The White Stripes
3/5
Not really benefitting form this being the third album from TWS. Liked it more than I expected. You can't argue with the talent these guys possess. In moments it comes off as a more rockin Exile on Main Street and strains of Jimmy Page. I like it but still can't love it. It's a 3+
4/5
I can't imagine the amount of ink that has been spilled over this album. In that vein - I have little to offer other than - not my favorite beatles album. Far from it. Probably comes in 6 or 7 for me. But that just me. A mild 4.
Genesis
2/5
Ren fair Genesis. I just can't get into it. I occasionally respect the instrumentation. But the songs I do not find engaging. They at least leave the forest next time out. I just need a little more rock in my prog rock.
The Blue Nile
5/5
I first heard this album when I was 15. Pretty early on I came to understand that while I loved it - it was not for everyone. I shared a love of this little secret with a few friends. But more importantly it helped me through the challenges of my high school years - and beyond. It was emotionally unrestrained and expressive in a way that few albums i have encountered dare to be. It paints beautiful pictures and transports you. If nothing else let Tinseltown sweep you away and get lost in the world of Heatwave.
Nick Drake
5/5
I have always thought this was my least favorite Nick Drake album but I was reminded yet again how great this man is. Certainly rooted in the British folk of the time and featuring many of the key players but just outside of that. In the end - it' the voice that sets the tone and the songs that set him apart. Northern Sky is a career high that is full of them in just 4 years of recording.
Fela Kuti
5/5
The energy and effect of the title track alone warrants a listen - and repeated listens - to this album. A song that is truly larger than music. Even when he pulls the tempo down the energy is mesmerizing.
The Cure
3/5
I understand why this was not one of my faves growing up. Not an easy record. Not so much depressing as just dark and a bit difficult. Save maybe The Hanging Garden - nothing ventures anywhere near the pop sensibilities that shine through on pretty much every Cure album. But I understand this as a valuable building block for where they were headed. The bears - an underappreciated aspect of the band - are generally excellent if a bit menacing. They guitars are bigger. Just not one to pull out too often.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
2/5
In what world is this the JSBE album you pick?
The Undertones
4/5
Punky poppy peppy positive. How can you not smile. Ol Feargul's voice may deal breaker for some. But if you're in then this is pre teenage symphonies to God Beach Boys relocated to Northern Ireland. Heartbreak and teen angst never sounded so fun fun fun.
Blondie
4/5
One of the best 1-2 punches in the rock era - hanging on the telephone into one way or another start things off with two bangers. Because of that they can then go anywhere. And they do. Punky. Proggy. 60s girl group. Disco. So many ideas on this album.
Funkadelic
4/5
An absolute culmination. So many ideas - all funky with a touch of nasty. Stellar musicianship abounds and allow grooves to truly fly.
Nick Drake
5/5
Everything stripped away but voice and guitar (save the stray piano). A singular album by a singular artist. I infer strings base and drums on some songs. That's part of the beauty of great music and all art really. Leaving space for the listener/viewer - and visions abound. The perfect album for today - election day '24. An album that transports you somewhere outside of time and space. Something we can all use.
Le Tigre
3/5
An opening track that is undeniable followed by fun 30 min. It's akin to an early b52s album updated for 2k. It's a blast for sure. Good but not great.
The 13th Floor Elevators
4/5
At the damn is the psychedelic rock movement - this is an album that doesn't forget the rock part. Fun, weird, adventurous, primal. This avoids the many pitfalls of psychedelia because it was made before those tropes of psychedelia we firmly ensconced This is the exact type became cliches.
It's baked into the cake and not just piping added later by twisting some knows in the studio. Perhaps because of their Texas origins - away from SF/LA. And I'm no small part to the recurring roll of the electric jug. It runs out of steam by the end but it comes raging out of the gate and there are great songs and ideas throughout. A unique voice for sure. Guitars look back and forward. Excellent drumming. This album is the epitome of why this book/list exists.
Garbage
2/5
All too aware of this band having been alive and near various radios in the 90s. They were not a "change the channel" band but never thought too much of them. So until about halfway through my inaugural trip of this album I was preparing my one word review - "garbage!". I thought the first half was a mess - overproduced mid level dreck. But from Vow I was onboard. In the end - I think a lot of people do this vibe much better. But vow, stupid and and milk are all standouts.
Prince
5/5
I try to go in with an open mind - even for albums I know well. Than being said - this was never going to be anything other than a 5 star rating. It's not perfect - I still don't care for Computer Blue and Baby I'm a Star has earned it pre closer placement. So that leaves three all timer singles that rival the best of anyone's catalog, my personal favorite (I Would Die 4 U), whatever Darling Nikki is, another killer - Take Mr With You and one of the most powerful performances the ever be waxed - The Beautiful Ones - just stunning beyond words.
The Last Shadow Puppets
3/5
Excellent musicianship. Well crafted songs. Creative arrangements. There are inspired moments throughout. Wholly inoffensive. "My Mistakes Were made..." is a banger. But in the end I just don't care. Not sure why this in on the list.
Barry Adamson
4/5
Not an easy listen but the talent is undeniable. Both of a moment and completely outside of it. A soundtrack in search of a movie that is doesn't actually need. Not all atmospheric music is beautiful. Some is more like the city that birthed Adamson - to reprise another native - Manchester, so much to answer for.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
You can't overstate the influence SATB had on the music world. This is a pretty radical album for '78 but they got so much better. So much more dynamic. So much more themselves. Unless there are at least 2 other Siouxsie albums on the list not sure why you would include this. It's a moment in time but their best song of this era - Hong Kong Garden - isn't even on the album.
Dire Straits
3/5
Not exactly classic rock. Not exactly blues. Not exactly rock n roll when compared to the volume levels of their peers - past and present. They exist in a world that eminates from Mark Knopfler's guitar. Immediately recognizable and infinitely listenable. An album that sounds great in the background - that is meant as a straight up compliment not faint praise.
Michael Jackson
5/5
DSTYGE is the first single I actually owned - a Christmas gift from my aunt and uncle. They also gave me please don't go by KC and the Sunshine Band. I listened to those singles constantly on substandard record player. But I loved them. Unaware of any cultural relevance of history. They just sounded good. And I owned them. A short time later I would go to Sears and purchase edited version of The Devil Went Down to Georgia - I'm gonna tell you once you done of a gun...they wouldn't sell the one with the naughty words. The point - this album feels like the before times. Before MTV. Before the slickness of the 80s. Its plenty slick but you can really hear the musicians. It's a long way from the Jackson 5 but just this side of something else. While not the colossus that is Thriller - I think this may be the better album. I feel better after listening to it - especially side one - just banger after banger. I was literally just humming Rock with You to myself a few days for no reason other than it's just in the ether of my brain. A heck of an album.
Blood, Sweat & Tears
2/5
Can't say this isn't a fun listen. It's schlocky - I kept thinking is this Tom Jones or Engelbert Humperdinck. But there are at least three songs I knew most of the words to without any memory of hearing much less actively listening. They're just in the ether. There are moments of great musicianship but I there are too many Vegas inspired horn flourishes.
The Residents
5/5
I going all in on this. Art with a capital "A".
Certainly there are moments of dissonance but it's mostly playful. Rarely has music been both this experimental as well actually listenable (this may not be a popular opinion). Ideal for this list.
The Darkness
1/5
F*"'! this album. The music is overall good the great for much of the album but that damn falsetto is always lurking - you know it's coming to wreck the party. Pure cosplay. And maybe that's the point. But I can't have any fun - and the riffs galore provide ample moments of fun - but his voice just makes me so ANGRY to the point where that is the only emotion I can feel. There is a great power pop album in here but with this presentation - I can't. I just can't.
The Smashing Pumpkins
2/5
There's this guitar tone that drones on under every song - except Disarm. As least I think it's there. If I am imaging it - then it's a pretty vivid mirage. Cause I imagine it's on every song - except Disarm. Maybe there's a hum that is created when 26 tracks of guitars converge. Whatever it is - it's something. Cause there's a hum. It's there. All the songs have it - except Disarm. Maybe thats just the sound of the album - and the sound of the 90s - all the songs blend into a single tone - a hum - except Disarm. That is the only triumph over the hum.
Charles Mingus
4/5
A push me pull you album. Wildly engaging and beautifully offputting but always beguiling. The production is fascinating - long string lined mesmerize until horns sporadically show up and slice through the proceedings. On subsequent listens musical ideas continue to develop. Not my favorite Mingus album but it definitely stakes out a unique and important space.
Fred Neil
3/5
I know he was influential on a lot of influential people. The instrumentation is good enough throughout the album.
And he wrote one of the best songs of the sixties. Unfortunately the reason that song matters - it was done far better a few years down the line by Harry Nilsson. And maybe thats the problem. Neils voice isn't so much bad as not terribly expressive and there too many problematic phrasing choices to count. His voice never blends with the music. Four stars for brining Everybody's Talkin' into the world. One deducted for it before my an inferior version.
Dr. Octagon
4/5
There will be skits. A flow like no one else. Timeless production. Fun. Funny. Weird. Wrong (at times). Wildly influential yet sounds like nothing else.
5/5
Looking back to move forward. An album that shows you how it's done. From arrangements to songwriting, guitar tones to background vocal - this is just a complete package.
Eminem
3/5
Two things are certain. 1) Eminem is an unbelievably skilled rapper and by a certain metric pretty much changed the game - like Dylan - what you could sing about, how you could sing about it. And the phrasing - the otherworldly phrasing. Theres before Eminem and after Eminem.
2) I'm not sure it was worth it.
I respect it but it's just so dark. So much bile. I'm all for a diss track but it fells like nothing but. It's cut with humor and again - the skill. But an hour of it is not for me. I'm just young enough to have heard the first three albums but old enough that they were more of a curiosity than sacred scrolls. Time hasn't changed that - for me.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
If Rumors was the murky discord beneath - sheathed in beauty. Tusk is truth laid bare. Other than Sara - the essence of ethereal - songs that are in a similar vein as the preceding album have a different intensity. More pain and anger (and cocaine) than lust and confusion. Brown Eyes - the insistent drums - high and dry in the mix - and the parade of sha la la sha la la la las - unflinching. Sisters of the Moon feel like quintessential Fleetwood Mac- where previously if would have built towards some transcendence - this song instead is moved off its steady gait by the abrupt arrival of Lindsey's fractured guitar. It Rumors was the fraying this is the fractured. Five people /two couples moving in opposite directions but stuck in the same room.
PJ Harvey
4/5
A career full of left turns. All art with a capital A - but still visceral. And she can bring it when she wants. The only through line - that voice in all it's permutations. And this album highlights that from track to track. From whispers to a scream, operatic to ethereal - she gives a little bit better everything. Challenging but tuneful. Restless and bewitching.
Little Simz
2/5
It's a good enough album. Some standouts feature novel and effective instrumentation - ie - the opener, pressure, sherbert sunshine But too much just fades together. The main question - why is this anywhere near this list? Not bad. But 1 of 1001. Not so much.
Air
3/5
There are a lot of ways to start of an album - and in this case movie. And you have to tip your hat when the tone is set so perfectly. A great ride from the first notes. There will be Moog. It gets a little too soundtracky as things proceed - ie- simple themes repeat and it doesn't quite stand on it own. Definitely and album of its time.
Sarah Vaughan
5/5
There is a unique category of albums that really transport you to the exact time and space where the album was recorded. You just feel like your there - in the room. Being live has an added advantage but that is not always enough. Its the recording itself, the arrangements. And of course - the singer. This one checks all the boxes.
Beck
4/5
A purely enjoyable album. Every genre mash up works. While it has some bangers the highs might not be quite as high as some past albums but it still feels fresh. I didn't pay this much attention but will return. When more can you say.
Badly Drawn Boy
3/5
I don't know. It's so not bad. At all. Unequivocally. But then what. It's of a moment like the Electric Prices are of a moment. But do I want to go to that moment. That's really the hang up. But I really don't know.
Marilyn Manson
2/5
Oh 90s. How sweet the smell of nostalgia. This whole thing makes more sense of you think of Mr MM as Brian from Ft Lauderdale. Cause Brian from. Ft Lauderdale has some thoughts. What they are who knows but he sure is incensed. Why cut to the chase when you can meander for 70+ min. A musical slag heap that leaves the listener without so much as a shovel. Actually as fun as that was to say it's probably not true. There are plenty of interesting sonic touches throughout but the core sound is so anemic. So very Brian from Ft Lauderdale.
Dennis Wilson
4/5
This a weird one. Sometimes brilliant other times mundane , experimental to middle of the road, of its time and still outside. Every time I feel it's stuck in a ditch in manages to surprise. The title track, dreamers and River song are standouts maybe more for their arrangements than pure songwriting - perhaps that taps into his Beach Boys lineage. I don't love the whole album but definitely something people should hear which had not.
Bob Dylan
5/5
An album touched by the divine. This is the album that brought me into the Dylan camp. This formalized the "ramble and roll" vamp that would influence many and serve him for years to come whenever he needed to recenter after venturing far and wide. The language and delivery are far beyond anyone else working at the time. He settles into a groove and just goes. Songs like Subterranean HB, 115th dream and Its alright Ma are proto rap. That latter being a song the truly transcends the bounds of what's possible with a voice and guitar. And all that without touching on a defining song of the era. As important as anything release on the 60s.
The War On Drugs
5/5
Luminous. Intricately detailed. Grandiose. Brian Wilson by way of Springsteen. The craft is undeniable. But it also moves you. This album started a run as impressive as any in the modern rock sphere - such that it is. A true album that ebbs and flows as a single piece. They manage this trick as a live act as well as any band I have ever seen - each crescendo building and retreating, adding layers with each revolution until they achieve lift off - only a few feet off the ground but defying gravity nonetheless.
The Divine Comedy
2/5
Impressive in many levels. But to what end. I don't feel anything. It's like an immaculate coffee table book. Seems he just wasnt made for these times.
Bob Dylan
4/5
I try to imagine what this would have felt like when it landed in 1963. An era of early Judy Collins, the kingston trio, Peter Paul and Mary and Joan Baez. With this album bob Dylan rewrote the book that he would then go on to tear up - over and over again. He delivered an album full of songs that already felt like standards. Not as polite as his contemporaries - these songs are restless and full of gnashing teeth. The first salvo of a preeminent artist.
Isaac Hayes
4/5
Chock full of ideas that would be referenced and recycled for years to come. Works amazingly well for a mostly instrumental soundtrack uncoupled from.the film - climaxing with Do Your Thing - what a journey - before heading out with the iconic chugga chugga of the main theme.
R.E.M.
5/5
Another case of first song/first album that is an absolute mission statement. And then they just don't let up - until track 10. The journey is an absolute master class. The excellence of the song writing is matched only by the extraordinary production which constantly surprises and shines a unique light that separated them from all corners of their generation. They filtered through the past and laid the tracks that so many traveled on for the next 40 years. Always a treat to revisit.
Public Enemy
5/5
Just damn. Unlike some classics of the genre - there is so much meat on this bone. Musically - the wall of sound uses a ridiculously diverse mix of samples to underscore the armageddon - narrated by two of hop hops most distinctive MCs. Hooks galore with beats to match. Preacher and jester bring the truth and have a damn good time doing it.
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
An undeniable talent which I appreciate from afar more than enjoying the entire album. Some amazing moments - especially on the back half of the album. The interludes are great. No for me as a whole but spots are great.
Various Artists
3/5
I don't know. Xmas (Baby Please come home) is an undeniable classic and some of the other classic tracks work with the WOS treatment (Sleight Ride) but does Frosty the Snowman really need this maximalist reinterpretation. This was made in a moment where pop culture was shifting and so much of the American experience was reimagined - this is perhaps best understood as a counterpoint to Burl Ives. In the end - the album does work on getting into some holiday spirit. There are some clunkers but you can help but get caught up.
The Doors
4/5
This feels like a world away from the debut album just three years earlier. Some songs feel a little weary with Morrison's voice showing some cragginess. But the songs that shine (sometimes darkly) -LA Woman, Riders on the Storm, Love her Madly, The Changeling, L'america make up for the rote second rate blues of Cars Hiss by my Window and Crawling King Snake. Not perfect but compelling.
Harry Nilsson
5/5
A great album by a great talent wonderfully produced with great songs at every turn. A lot of great going on. Pop music of the highest order with just enough weird to keep it interesting. An obvious heir to the Beatles (especially McCartney) though he would befriend Lennon. This like a collection of singles - each track unique sonically - but still hangs together as a whole piece. A masterclass by an underappreciated artist.
Foo Fighters
3/5
A great EP followed by a bunch of 90s detritus. Above average detritus but not not really vital listening. But out of the gate the first three songs pretty much give you the three dynamics FF will cover for the next 15 years (beyond that they have drifted further afield -though no too far). Always great to hear Dave behind the kit - and his performance everywhere else is certainly competent to impressive but to what end. But Dave certainly announced his intentions.
William Orbit
2/5
A 90s album trying to wrestle free from the 80s featuring some tropes of both but never successfully freeing itself. But we do get early techno piano and Beth Orton.
Roxy Music
4/5
For Your pleasure is exploding with ideas. This album is perhaps the most direct result of the British Art school scene that began with with the Beatles and Stones. This band is packed with attendees and is about as popular as art rock gets. From the album covers to the band style to the jagged edges that encompass this music - so much is attributable to how these lads spent their teen years. Personally I prefer Avalon (sacrelidge I know) as a pure listening experience. Beauty Queen, in Every Dream..., and the Bogus Man - all challenging and influential while being sonically unique - all members pushing and pulling in different directions.
Slipknot
4/5
Slayer is to Coltrane's chaotic quartet's A Love Supreme what Slipknot is to MDs cinematic insanity on Botches Brew. Just wanted to get that sentence out.
No doubt this is unrelenting rage cast indesdriminattly in all directions. With that approach I guess you're bound to hit something. When this came out I was probably past that point. Strangely listening now - walking in the woods - I find and it quite effective. I believe that very heavy pummeling music can turn the corner and become meditative- not in a spa way but in a cathartic scream way. There are enough dynamics and production/musical flourishes - and just about surreal weirdness - to keep it interesting for an entire album.
And fun fact - while not for everyone - the top 5 Spotify spins are similar to Alice in Chains, Pearl jam and...U2 at 3+BILLION. So it most t certainly for someone. Bonkers. But cathartic.
Amy Winehouse
3/5
A mash up of quasi traditional vocal jazz with a modern pop sheen and lyrical sensibility that produced two gargantuan hits. But this still feels like an interim step and a bit of a parlor trick. Certainly listable and her vocal talents are unmistakable but in the context of all time. I don't know. And unfortunately we won't ever know what was possible.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4/5
I have never loved Tom Petty but I have liked him for as long as I can remember. The guy writes great songs that are well played with thoughtful arrangements. A little old. A little new. Deliver with a voice that is inexplicabaly effective. A couple of classics on an album that moves along - simply. He and Bruce share more than a little DNA - and career arc - though it comes off a bit different in the final product. Tom Petty is just a likeable guy that has something for everyone with trying to appeal to everyone. A great listen.
Coldplay
4/5
Forever lilting - equals measures U2 and the Beatles - it's amazing how much more this album sounds like actual music than anything they have done in the last Lord knows how long. Songs follow pretty much the same form but it's a pretty good form and a number of tracks truly take flight. Hard to hate if taken on its own merit.
The Thrills
2/5
I mean. Lots of good influences are apparent. Nicely played arrangements, tasteful arrangements. A little bit of fun. Decent enough. There's nothing inherently wrong. But what heck is it doing on this list. Seriously?
The Verve
2/5
While I appreciate what these guys do - a second album on this list? Again - seriously?
Van Morrison
3/5
What a difference a year makes. Moving on from the 9 minute three chord camps of Astral Weeks - this is more Motown (horns, courses and song structure) than Verve. Still contemplative Van Morrison took full advantage of his last shot to become and FN staple. Still three chords the voice does the talking and the songs would inform open mics for generations along with the previously released and ubiquitous Brown Eyed Girl. TBH kind of prefer the 9 minute camps but that just me. When duty called this man stepped up to the plate.
Paul McCartney and Wings
3/5
According to the internet Paul McCartney was in a band before Wings.
Maxwell
4/5
Just damn. Tasty grooves abound. And a voice as sweet as the come. Serious heat on every song.
Norah Jones
3/5
There is not a single thing wrong with this album. Not a missed note or clunky line. Production is top class with some impeccable flourishes. Musicianship abounds. But I can't escape the face that the main emotion I feel is the overwhelming desire to have a dinner party. That being said- quite a voice exquisitely captured. A solid 3+
Jane Weaver
2/5
Based on nothing - I believe - emphatically - this was the second best album of the week upon its original release. Facts will not change my mind and I don't care enough to investigate further. The most successful songs adhere closely the the well established template of Broadcast/Stereolab. There are some earlier psychedelics moments sprinkled in (Ravenspoint) Overall I did enjoy this more than anticipated cause I'm a sucker for a chanteuse and a motorik beat. But just - why is this here?
Steely Dan
2/5
Just no. I will not bend. I will not yield. I simply will NOT Steely Dan.
The Prodigy
2/5
Big beats. Silly lyrics. Toxic clown prince energy. That's all it took for rave culture to get a foothold in America. Certainly some tracks will get you moving but most go nowhere. And the ones that do “progress" follow the same exact structure. A time capsule - like Bud Fox on a cocaine bender - perhaps better left unopened.
Boards of Canada
3/5
Best listened to in the background where the general sense percolates, the mood is set but the lack of melodic resolution and rote repetition so common in electronic music in the late 90s is minimized. An album worth hearing - as are others in their catalog including their last foray in 2013 - even if it’s not quite ready for prime time.
John Cale
5/5
I was given this album by my boss shortly after movong to Chicago when I was 26. We had a regular album swap. He mostly gave me jazz albums along with some older rock records. This is one by orders magnitude the one that made the most impact but I am sure I listened to this album more than any other in the following few years and because of that it is so tied to a specific time and place for me. I knew John Cale from both the Velvet and his solo career. But for some reason I never heard this one. I did know one song - Yo La Tengo did a passable cover of Andalucia a few years earlier which I liked but it pales next to the original. I love everything about this album from the packaging to songwriting to the voice to the exquisite baroque pop production - elevated even higher by the recent remaster. Lou Reed has more entries but this my favorite post Velvets solo album.
Megadeth
3/5
This album sounds as good as any metal album of its day - some questionable lyrics not withstanding. But sonically - it sounds great. A lot of notes but that seem to have intention as opposed to just displays of speed. And bass playing that actually does something (with a tone as good as any metal album of the era). As a representation of the thrash/prog metal genre this ranks high. I like a little more grit and Dave's voice is toughvforban entire album. But is certainly has moments. As does this album. I would go so far to say every song has great moments. They are on to the next idea as songs never settle into a groove for too long before venturing off - but there are grooves. Of the era - i prefer the sheer bludgeoning of Slayer or the dystopian present of Voivod - or Megadeth's own incendiary Peace Sells - but is a damn good record and as good a thrash entry for this list. I give it exactly one star higher than Pretzel Logic.
Prince
5/5
Coming in - this is my favorite Prince album.
Just reading the tracklist it makes your head hurt. It's just banger after banger. It feels like an artist no longer reaching - just doing - in the best possible way. He is in total command. He is in the zone not matter what he's doing. And a lot of what he's doing is getting down with his bad self. So many funky confections - all with enough pop sheen to make then universal. If Purple Rain was the culmination of all his influences consolidating in an amazing record - this is Prince transcending. Singular.
Stan Getz
5/5
Such vibes. Works best in the background. Nothing wrong with that exactly. Sets a tone and stays with that tone. No particular highs nor lows. You can move to it or let it sub audibly in the ether.
Marianne Faithfull
4/5
I was aware of the name before I ever heard a note. Her notoriety precedes her - even to this day. That however takes nothing away from the greatness of this album. None of her previous - mostly 60s- output prepares for how good this album is. It sounds unique for it's time and the best tracks have a timelessness that many albums on this list possess. Of the time but also outside of it because is the production choices as well and her voice - a voice that has become more interesting with the years as it better conveys the triumphs and pitfalls of a life lived.
The Young Rascals
3/5
Totally groovy. They had a moment. And wrote some songs. When things come together they really soar. Voice is great. Lyrics less so. I knew way more of these songs than I had any idea I would. Including the song Pat Benatar would cover a decade plus later. Great songs. Average album.
Talvin Singh
2/5
Neato.
Sigur Rós
5/5
I spent a few weeks in Kauai, HI in the spring of '01. A lifetime ago in so many ways. But the memories of that trip to one of the most singularly beautiful places I have ever remain vivid. And one the primary soundtracks to that trip - and the one that still resonates today - is this album. Listening - I am transported back to that place and time. Perhaps strange that is meshed so well with music that was created half a world away amidst the and ice and clouds. Maybe it's the volcanos. Cut to today - listening to this album while running on freshly snow covered trails. Turns out it works pretty well in that environment as well.
I know the violin bowed guitar can hedge a little close to Spinal Tap territory. And they definitely let these songs unfold. While theres no Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds or Paranoid Android - there are elements of the Beatles (that outro on Olsen Olsen) and Radiohead and obviously the Cocteau Twins. Take those ingredients and a sprinkle in some Pink Floyd put it all in a blendara (Icelandic for "blender") and this is what you get.
I do like this album but I'm going to kick it up a notch because of the nature of this list. If you haven't heard this you should. Like it or hate it - it's one of those singular voice albums. 5 stars.
Now - could I also be talked into writing a review that asks the question " what would it sound like if you added some random horns to a (insert name of any 2nd rate showgaze band here - I'm going with Chapterhouse) album and slowed it down to a speed that whales could comprehend. 1 star." I could - potentially - but not today. Cause the snow.
And the volcanos. And Olsen Olsen. And even the violin bow. Maybe especially the violin bow. 5 stars
Neil Young
4/5
What a record. The three "Blues" songs ara a cut above. For my money as listenable album as the man ever made. And he's made a few.
Quicksilver Messenger Service
3/5
I'll buy. If you're going do it. Go all in. These boys certainly do. Riding a simple riff from dusk til dawn - it transports to a time and place. Seems like a pretty good place to visit. Way better thank I would have expected. And one star better than Steely Dan.
Machito
3/5
The energy hasn't faded one iota but I'm not really knowledgeable enough to judge the true greatness of this album. It blends together with the sound of its time and it's legacy of the past 60 years. Moments are a little soundtracky through no fault of the album - it's just what came later. The drums are universally great. The horn blasts are persistent. I will say I listened a second time and felt a much greater appreciation. I may continue to throw this on
Sparks
3/5
Arriving from either a Ziggy Stardust interstellar cabaret or 70s LA and landing somewhere between Roxy Music and Rodgers and Hammerstein - Sparks deliver an album whose audience is unclear for the time of its release but makes a bit more sense now. Pop - yes. Popular. Hard to imagine. At least in America. I have touched based with Sparks several times over the years and you really never know what you're going to get. Always fun. And a little off. This album is no different. Track one starts off with a bang and then they venture wildly. Not exactly up my alley but still one star better than Steely Dan.
Metallica
3/5
Opens strong with riffs galore and wah powered solos flying in from every corner. Runs out of steam by the end of the album as the growls never cease. A lot to like but shave off 4 songs and things improve.
Talking Heads
5/5
A band that only gets better with each passing year with an album that I have come to appreciate all the more. The next album is full on existential crisis. This one acknowledges things are changing. Still a bounty of raw energy but much more controlled and focused than past albums. Great lyrics and rhythms abound. Classic.
Thin Lizzy
3/5
Slightly above average 70s guitar rock that gains some added punch in the live presentation. Not the best double live album but definitely the best version of this band. At times it's has strains of Springsteen. You can feel their influence on the next generation. Overall a far more enjoyable experience than expected.
5/5
What is left to be said. TJT came out when I was 17. It was inescapable. My high school relationship with U2 shaped my understanding of not just music but the production behind it, the guitar and bass tones and of course pony tails. The Unforgettable Fire was the real life changer for me but that record teed this one up. And did they knock it out of the park. It is impossible for me to view this album with anything approaching fresh eyes. But - top to bottom - it still sounds good - damn good. As good a collection of songs as they would ever assemble, before the lyrics got wonky (a slippery slope that accelerates as the 90s progress and let's not even talk about the 00s) and the music calcified, TJT perfectly captures them - in at a moment. The best version of themselves forever frozen in black and white. From singles to deep cuts this album is a juggernaut.
David Bowie
5/5
I Can't Give Everything Away - it's like a mission statement revealed on his way out the door. An album certainly elevated by the circumstance. Not an album for everyday but one that should be treasured when its in the air. An excellent complement to You Want It Darker.
Nirvana
4/5
Unlike many of their contemporaries - and followers - this still feels pretty spry. It moves. I give a lot of credit to Dave G. And the innate pop sensibilities that permeate throughout. Accessible without compromise.
Jimi Hendrix
5/5
Music in at least three dimensions. Absolute and total control in all aspects - riffs galore, songwriting, production - aces all around. It borders on the ridiculous how far ahead he was.
Gorillaz
4/5
After making us go woo hoo the man brought the melodica and dub to America. They have better albums but this one is chock full of left field ideas that for the most part work. And that's just the musical part - certainly the best animated band since the Archies. Damon Albarn don't mess.
T. Rex
4/5
Style can sound pretty damn good. Even better when it's so groovilicious and sparkly. Guitars and voices dance seductively. Tasty production abounds. Then just as you settle in - strings come beckoning.
Solange
3/5
I respect this but it never really moved me - except for carne's in the sky. Definitely a talent but...
Adele
4/5
Side one is chock full of hot tracks that show the full arsenal of what Adele brings to the table. Side two - aside from the Lovering cover - reprises her talents but of far less effective. But I left impressed and entertained. As good a modern vocalist as there.
Big Brother & The Holding Company
3/5
She can certainly send a chill your spine but Janis and the band pretty much operate with the gates wide open almost all the time i may be missing the point but I am grateful when they pull things back just a touch and groove a bit.
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
3/5
Jack met Woody. Bob met Woody. Bob meets Jack. And the rest is history. Not the starting point but it does bring things into focus. Before they get dispersed yet again. 3.5.
Wire
5/5
This album is like a mini supernova. Not on the level of the Velvet Underground or Nirvana or REM - but shards of this album (and their next 2) permeated a range of music for decades. Wire mostly skip punk and go right to post punk. Ideas abound along with plenty of attitude but it's far from the relentless sea of sixteenth notes and sloganeering. Pivotal.
Dolly Parton
4/5
An outstanding album in any era - this deserves even more credit for sounding like it did in the time it came out. Perhaps inspired by the arrival of Steve Earle Dwight Yoakam and Lyle Lovett in the previous couple years this album has none of the trappings of 80s country. Just three great voices, excellent playing and some damn fine song selection.
David Bowie
5/5
A true album. Two sides. Distinct but complementary. This is 1977. Right at the crossroads where one era is fading and the new era just a hazy apparition coalescing. The supernova of punks arrival recalibrated everything. The arrival of keyboards pointed to possible futures. This tabla rasa is perfect for someone like David Bowie. A blank canvas, some new tools and willing collaborators. Singular.
Kendrick Lamar
3/5
A simpler time - when Kendrick and Drake could exist in harmony. I'm too damn old to fully appreciate but the mic skills and thoughtful production are in arguable. The best truly rises to the top - not to me but I hope respect.
Bobby Womack
3/5
A triple threat - guitarist, singer, songwriter - Womack reintroduces himself with a soulfully funky early 80s turn. It's not just what he does but how he does it - I believe what the man says - the come ons and laments alike. There are no real low points but the first side truly slaps - both literally (there will be some slap bass) and figuratively as the kids say (at least as I understand it). 3.5.
Lynyrd Skynyrd
3/5
Heard a lot of Skynyrd rowing up in the south. Probably tomorrow much. Looking at this from a macro perspective - as one obviously does with Skynyrd - the best albums I have revisited on this list tend to offer either 1) something new revealed by a different perspective or 2) boundless energy that just jumps off the album or 3) were just always straight up awesome. And many offer all three. This album offers none. Too much is middling. Not bad. Just kind of blase. Even the all timers. There's just nothing left to see. You've heard it all - many times over. What's left is a half speed ZZ Top. A less musical Allman Brothers - mostly devoid of blues but big on sh*t kicking. I can't go back to my former self that had never heard these tracks much less heard them over and over and over and over and over. Maybe they would sound a lot better. Maybe they would kick some serious butt - as they did for me 40 years ago. But thats not the world I live in. I live here. Now. And now - to me - this album feels fairly pedestrian.
The National
4/5
Has mid tempo ever sounded better? Be honest. This is premium grade slightly above average rock - light on the rock. But there are guitars. Well placed and immaculate in tone. There are circular melodies - not exactly song along songs - but they do get in your head. And the drumming - oh the drumming. He's like me a therapized Keith Moon - he hits a lot of things but with purpose and a comprehensible rhythm (that's a good thing). I tease because I care. They never escape the stratosphere the but they do take flight - and then bring you back down. Great "walk around NY" music. Or "sitting here thinking" music. Less "missing you" than "I'm going to miss you".
Van Halen
4/5
I feel there are two kinds of great songs.
1) songs anyone can play/sing (this land is your land, blowin in the wind, I'm too sexy)
2) songs no one but the artist can perform (Stockhausen's "Helicopter Quartet", Lark Tongues in Aspic (pt lll) by King Crimson, the Henry Cow catalog)
While not quite as cumbersome as some of the former - this is of a similar ilk. Some can certainly play the chords and (most of the) notes - but Eddie Van Halen manages something else here. He simply slays here. And make it feel effortless. Changing from rhythm to lead and back again. A style often imitated but never replicated. The 4 singles here all offer otherworldly musicianship as well as catchy tunes. The rest of the album is fine - better than filler but far from necessary. Jump, Panama, Hot for teacher and I'll Wait are just check full of good times and killer tones that the in between don't really matter. Jump - cheesy as that day it came out but still sound vital. Panama is just a best and perhaps the best of the DLR breakdowns over the years. HFT is an absolute guitar clinic and still pretty fun. My favorite as a kid was ill wait. And it still sounds good as ever. Almost like an actual song (actual songwriting is almost beside the point for VH). In fact some to the songs on the album may have benefitted from being instrumental. But the tracks that cook...
The Killers
4/5
A delectable mashup of U2 Springsteen and new order. There will be anthems - none greater than the 2nd track. Mr Brightside is as singable as they come. Everyone in my house - no matter their musical proclivity, age or mood -can and will sing along to this song in any venue. Whether it be 100000 people at glastonbury, alone in your car or on a humid night at summer camp - you must join in. I was struck how it still gets the blood flowing. I think it made my morning better. Now what follows does not quite hit that absurdly high bar. The next two tracks come close but you simply can't keep up that pace. All These Things I've done - a little schmaltzy but ultimately undeniable - ends the run of songs I ever want much less need to hear again. But side one is so damn good. Interesting this comes on the heels of 1984 - an album that similarly defines and transcends its time because the best songs are so unbeatable.
The Jesus And Mary Chain
4/5
Loved this album I high school when 9 Million Rainy Days resonated a lot more than it does now. The metaphorical clouds have lifted and the Beach Boys grooves and melodies are much more resonant. The first five tracks left me with the same dreamy - but with a good beat - feeling I had almost 40 years ago. And NMRD is still a great jam. As is often the case with "albums" when they still made albums - I was curious for side two. It's been a minute since I've been down that road. So when you flip it over what's waiting for you - none other than April Skies. And the dream continues...at least for one more lap...there's something warm about the rain.
Linkin Park
2/5
I just don't get it. I know, I know - they mix melody and heavy guitars and electronics and rapping/turntables and supposedly emotionally meaningful lyrics. I dare you to grab 5 random ingredients, stick them in a blender and pound the contents - ie- BBQ sauce, broccoli, yogurt, hot dogs, blue cheese. Nauseating. Still better the Steely Dan. I do kind of like Cure for the Itch (less ingredients maybe). But overall - so much noises just swirling in a whiny agro mess.
The Flaming Lips
4/5
Classic rock through the funhouse mirror, slanted Disney keys and surreal lyrics all whipped up into a melodic meringue. They had a lot of great moment along the way but needed to cook a little longer than most bands truly peak - album eight? Nine? Well into their second decade - Flaming Lips found new ways to mess with your head and squeeze your soul and provide some feels all with a maturely childlike sensibility. Chock full of ideas. Does love buzz? Maybe. But this album definitely does.
Sade
4/5
1986. I have a lady friend over. We are chatting and chillin. I am playing some music that I had come to know by various Windham Hill artists - George Winston, Liz story, will ackerman. Not Michael hedges - not the right vibe. Creating a little ambience.
So I'm trying to keep things going but I have played all the bucolic instrumental music in my collection . So I go into my brother's room cause I know he has some options - e is the one where introduced me to the whole Windham Hill thing. So I see kitaro - the japanese composer who lives at the base of mount Fuji and features a multitude of bird sounds and keyboard whisps. uh. That's a no. Next up 6 Andreas vollenweider - Swiss harpist - I mean. I'm sixteen. She's sixteen. It's pretty out there. Probably too much of a risk. Pass. And then I spot it - Sade's Diamond Life. I remember that song Smooth Operator from the radio a few years earlier. Not really my jam (I was 14 when it came out) but I remember it was you know - smooth. Probably wouldn't be off-putting. Maybe it would even create a nice...ambience. That's it. Ambience. I grab the cassette. Throw it in my boom box and bam - Sade. Smooth. Not a note out of place. That voice. The instrumentation. It's certainly has some similarities to the jazz of the day. Smooth. But it doesn't bother me here. Because it still feels like humans playing. Restrained but expressive. This would define their whole career. And what ambience. Wasted on a couple of 16 years olds but it did start a life long relationship with Sade While I usually like the get to it - for some reason this 40 year tease works. Even No Ordinary Love - which absolutely rips live (the live 2011 version)- they take you right to the edge - but their will be no rolling over. Just a long coda. An always good and often great band. And the ambience...
Lauryn Hill
5/5
What separates Lauren Hill from not just all the piers of not just her era but really modern music writ large. It begins with that voice. Not one that reaches for the rafters but rather finds all the spaces in between. Lead, back up, harmony, chorus, from rapping to crooning to toasting - she covers it. Sometimes several simultaneously. Each iteration sounds unique - filled with emotion and confidence. Sh seems to take the best of Stevie wonder, joni Mitchell and a just a touch of island spice. Singular. So much so maybe she knew better to leave week enough alone.
Steely Dan
1/5
Wow. This album has really made me rethink my negative feelings towards this band. Perhaps third time's a charm. And this album certainly has plenty of charms. More rocking than subsequent releases. The hooks are bigger. The emotional air has not been expelled from every pore. Is it possible to back to basics on album #1. Ah...no...f*#k that. And f*#k Steely Dan. Do It Again earns one star and I hate them even more for luring me in. The album is like year one of a plague. There was still time to get it under control. But we as a culture were too weak to resist. Give me three 80s era Billy Joel album instead of this...on second thought maybe don't give me the BJ albums but cause I don't really want those either. But you get me meaning.
Todd Rundgren
4/5
"A man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's heaven for?"
- Robert Browning
When most artists make this sort of artistic leap they have a much longer track record and a fair amount of success. The audacity of this double album make it all the more incredible that it pretty much all works. There is so much musicality throughout. That this is basically a one man band borders on miraculous - this is in the rarefied air of Stevie Wonder and Prince. I don't love be every song - some of it isn't quite my style - but i at least appreciate what he is doing. And while there are some lesser/slighter songs on here nothing feels like filler. Audacious but amazingly solid.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
Like a counterpoint to the obfuscation of Dylan - S&G dive right into deep emotions and don't shy away from beauty. Starting off with a song that feels musically more akin to Good Vibrations than a couple of young folkies. Not sure if fresh is the right word but these songs have a vibrancy that is undiminished. The productions is exquisite. And the songs. No wonder Paul remained a relevant songwriter for the almost 50 years of peaks and valleys.
Fela Kuti
4/5
I can imagine this was more than a little mind blowing to those who came because of Ginger Baker in 1971 - never having heard Fela/afrobeat, etc. As an intro it's amazing. But I don't know if it's the best representation of Fela. It's got crazy energy. Vibes for days. Cathartic moments when all the elements collide after long instrumental breakdowns.
The live in studio recording makes you feel like you're there. There is a joy you feel form the musicians who are having a great time. But what was a great intro 50 years ago today is not necessarily the best representation of a revolutionary artist. But more than worth a listen and then some.
Elvis Presley
3/5
One epically great track followed by a bunch of perfectly fine takes. He would do better much better to say the least though never a master of the album. I did totally dig Blue Moon though.
Curtis Mayfield
2/5
This is the era where Mayfield was really drifting. Grooves and established and proceed with no clear direction - or end point. Some great musicality on display here but the songwriting leaves a lot to be desired.
Nitin Sawhney
3/5
Idk. Rhythmically this album is tight. But the voices which seem to range from Lisa Stansfieldish to gypsy kingsis to q-tip lite and then some traditionally - maybe qawwli singers - into the mix - feels a bit of a hodge podge instead of a diverse album. My favorite track is Tides - an instrumental. And I did really enjoy about half the album. I will return to it...
Frank Sinatra
4/5
I prefer the previous outing (in the wee small hours) but frank and Nelson Riddle knock it out of the park yet again. Standards perfectly suited to Sinatra. Totally enjoyable - even the songs they have been heard too many times to count.
Queen
2/5
I have never really connected with Queen. I feel like there are too many random sound that don't really connect. A little metal, some vaudeville and then a few too many epics thrift and flail wildly but to what end? I just did not care. And listening to this album I have finally understood the foundational issue I have - that damn guitar tone. It pierces through everything. It never sits in the pocket. It like a wolverine waiting to pounce. Even when it's not there you can tell it's just there lurking, biding it's time to come raging and busting up everything in the room. You're My Best Friend is the most palatable (maybe even successful) song precisely because the guitar is kept at bay until the very end where two guitars (probably more) tastefully harmonize to support the song as opposed to taking over the proceedings. Still better than Steely Dan.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
Not many artists have an album this good - top to bottom. Even fewer do it on album number 5. It plays like a greatest hits album. Everything works. The songwriting. The vocals. The arrangements. But what really separates this album is the sound. It sounds like that elusive idea of rock n roll. Loose but tight. Old but new. Exploratory but restrained. And the guitars. The guitars just sound so full of life. Not a note out of place. Incredible.
Nirvana
4/5
What could have been. This really shows a path forward once Nirvana/KC tired of the limitations of overdriven guitars. So much expression in his voice. And the sturdiness of the songs is really highlighted. These unplugged albums were usually nothing more than a can in/promo but Nirvana really use the format. Almost half unconventional/instructive covers that don't come off as stunts - this really elevates the medium.
David Bowie
5/5
An absolute creative juggernaut featuring arguably one of the greatest rock songs of all time. Mesmerizing vocal performances - he really pushes himself through it the album - and equally inspired instrumentation that goes here there and everywhere without losing the thread. The less said the better. A singular album.
Sufjan Stevens
3/5
That this album represents the second - and final - installment in a planned 50 album project featuring and album inspired each of the 50 states tells you all you need to know about SS. He is a man of great ambition as well as great talent. The fact the he didn't even make it through the Midwest shouldn't diminish the lofty ambition. The kids got talent. He's got boundless energy that percolates in the music. He has two basic modes - propulsive anthems (often within winding proggy song structures) and sad slow picked ballads. He is equally adept at both. It's a lot to take in. I am happy he exists.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
4/5
This marks the end of Neils classic period. He would wander in the desert - doing whatever he wanted - for the next 10 years before returning with a total barn burner. I prefer Live Rust perhaps out of familiarity. That album has everything you could want from Neil Young. This one has a lot...
Frank Zappa
3/5
I am no fan of Frank Zappa. Maybe thats on me. Maybe I'm just too simple. Maybe he's too puerile. Maybe maybe maybe. I don't know. But what I do know is this album is actually listenable. And avoids silliness. And even when it wanders it still seems like there is some semblance of a plan. I enjoyed this as much as any Zappa related projects. Not sure it passes the "listen again" test. But maybe...
The Flying Burrito Brothers
5/5
There is a lived in vitality to this record. It feels like what it's about. The imperfections seem like the point. An album that gets better with time. At first all you hear is the weird studio frippery - the strange quasi psychedelic sonics (ala "sneaky" Pete's fuzzbox pedal steel) and overly panned vocals. But slowly the dust clears to reveal the dirt from whence it came. And you just feel it. This album feels unfinished - allowing for room to grow with that passage of years. This album has engaged and bewitched me for three decades. Listening tonight I was reminded of how confounding this was upon first listen and amazed at how engaging it remains today. I am just happy to be able to let these captured moments in.
Fats Domino
3/5
Notable of course for the inclusion of Blueberry Hill. An early entry in to the rock cannon. Itself a cover of a song written almost decades earlier but brought to life in a new world. This song - and album - are a bridge between two worlds. You have the remnants of the jazz roots on RnR/R&B with the sax and piano playing the role that would soon give way to the guitar. Certainly a vital piece to the puzzle - the album is well recorded and a blast to listen to.
The Adverts
2/5
Less fun than the Ramones. Less famous than the Sex Pistons. Less interesting than Wire. Less catchy than the Buzzcocks. Less political than the Clash.
Elton John
3/5
A tale of two sides. Side one is great. Tiny Dancer, Levon and MMATW are head and shoulders above anything else on the album. Once they turn the corner you got a lot of stock Elton Johnisms, mediocre melodies and the worst tendencies of Bernie Taupin - what the hell is he talking about? The lyric free LA LA LAS that end Rotten Peaches are the highpoint. The great tracks lift this album but no classic this...
Arcade Fire
3/5
I have liked but never loved Arcade Fire and this album is no different. Some high moments. No particularly bad moments. I just feel held at bay. Oh AF - it's me, it's not you. I'd be happy to spend some time with you but now I need some space.
Pixies
4/5
These guys sure busted things open. Things look a bit different without this album. 3 stars for Gigantic alone. We had to wait a few more years for more KD. But so worth the wait. RIP Steve A.
Sonic Youth
3/5
Blackout daydreams. Ethereal noise. No wave psychedelia. On this album the full pallette - the SY alphabet - really comes into focus. Sonically innovative. Engaging grooves that willfully shift into alien terrain. Spoken word. A mix of the concise and the exploratory. Their first great album. But better albums await...
Orbital
2/5
One interesting aspect of this endeavor is seeing how things age. Some old things sound older than other old things. Some albums represent a time but still feel timeless (little richard, the doors, giorgio moroder). Others are just stuck in amber and don't "age well". Albums deserve some credit for being innovative even if subsequent leaps in the genre - or music generally - make those experiments seem quaint. But how much? While not as lazily repetitive as some of the music that followed - too much feels undercooked. I realize at the time this might have felt more innovative but most of the album comes off flat. There are interesting elements here and there but it's not until the last two tracks than anything feel like it actually develops. Those two tracks save this from being merely neato...but it's a slog to get there.
Beatles
5/5
This feels a bit like a little bit of everything the Beatles do just more refined. The sophistication of the production os sublime. And did they do all the the things they do - straight ahead rockers, silly kids songs, orchestral pop, a couple nods to dance hall (Paul can't help himself), some groovy spiritualism...and out metal black Sabbath (I want you is about a gnarly as these guys get and it may be the best moment on album full of them). And to end with two more absolutely killer tracks. This is the white album with no filler.
Dire Straits
3/5
Let's address the elephant in the room - mark knopfler is perhaps the true guitar hero of this era - not as flashy or loud or revolutionary as other candidates - but the man is as solid as they come. If you do want flash - the 10 minute live version of Sultans of Swing from Alchemy is all the proof you need of this man's singular brilliance (the band is also throwing straight heat). But I digress. This album. The culmination of an amazing 6 album run. It starts with the three hits - ubiquitous in their time - they sound especially good having been out of the limelight. Absence makes the heart grow for beer and all. They're also strait up great tunes. Then...you have an album filled with restraint as a guiding light. Pristinely recorded - I believe this is the first fully digital recording - not a note out of place. MKs brilliance bubbles up throughout until taking over on the final track landing somewhere between Jeff Beck and David Gilmore. The tone of that guitar feels of a moment the still resonates. 3.5 stars.
Pink Floyd
4/5
Complexity arises from simple elements. Those simple elements in the right hands create sublime compounds.
Elliott Smith
4/5
A man outside of time. There's some Beatles (without being Beatlesque), Big Star(ish), folky but definitely not folk. Well produced lo-fi. Not sure he deserved the top of the mountain critical praise he received before (and after) his premature passing. but the man could write a song and multitrack the vocals to bring it on home. For better or worse - their is a generation of boys with acoustics guitars and feelings that were set free by this album.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
This album always felt like the end of a chapter for Nick Cave. He stopped everything away and what you get , front and center - is the words and the voice. Depending on how much you like those two elements will dictate you appreciation of this project. This was my go to NC listen for years because you could put it on a let it roll. Prior albums - while great - had more turbulent moments. Not my favorite but - like visiting an old friend - lovely to spend some time with after too long apart.
Yes
3/5
1 star review - Wow. That must have been really hard to make.
2 star review - I think back to Amadeus (the film) and the Emperor's proclamation that - after listening to Moz's most recent composition - it has "too many notes". The payoff of that interaction is of course Mozart's question - "which notes should I remove?". I don't know. And I don't know the answer here either. I'm just saying there's so many notes. So many parts. Some are beautiful. Some are maddening. Some just feel indulgent. But don't worry - if there's a part you like it will probably come around again. There are even some songs that I would say are good wholesale - but I can't forgive them for crimes committed. While sometimes the immaculate playing holds beautiful moments loft - the moments are a slog to get through.
3 star review - Wow. That must have been really hard to make.
4 star review - to think this predates "Hits from a Bong" by 20 yrs.
5 star review - Wow! That must have been really hard to make.
Pixies
3/5
Has more good songs than I remember. I think at the time it was a bit of a letdown from the lofty heights of the firsr two albums. Not sure it covers any new terrain. Or if it covers any already covered terrain any better. It is 14 songs - new at the time - many of which are quite good. But here's the question - does it need to be on the list. There's already two on the list. They're not exactly evolving. They just recorded some new (at the time) songs and sent them out into the world. People listened and here we are. Does this album have anything to do with why people know who the Pixies in 2025. Perhaps a victim of their own success - it's a better album than most people will ever make but it doesn't really add to the legacy - other than adding color to the cover art. Maybe that's progress.
David Bowie
3/5
Does this album make Bowie's top ten? It's in no way bad. But it does highlight how hard it is for an artist like David Bowie - who constantly shape shifted - what do you do in you later years. The rolling stones can always churn out another record of bluesy vamps- some more successful than others. But you what does someone like Bowie do (which is to say there is no one quite like DB)? Apparently create a thoughtful well crafted well produced album that has elements of his history but never reaches the heights of his storied career. The main thing this album does is show David Bowie still had the ability to create a compelling if not essential work as he entered his sixth decade in music. And that's something. But not essential.
Metallica
1/5
No. Just no. Highlights everything wrong with Metallica while simultaneously dulling the positives. Give me Pretzel Logic over this any day. There I said it.
George Harrison
5/5
A treat from top to...well about side 5/6. Previous to that - impeccable. Benefitting from including my songs written during the meaning days of the Beatles - there's plenty of Beatlesque moment - but also lots of excellent slide. Moments feel like the perfect amalgam of The Band, the Beatles and the Dead. There's an argument this is the best Beatles solo record. More than a bit of magic is captured here.
David Bowie
4/5
From folky to one hit wonder/novelty to extraterrestrial glam rocker to soul singer in just 6 years. That is the Bowie way. This album introduced his long time guitarist as well as discovering Luther Vandross. He would only pause on this sound for one album before continuing his adventure but what an aperitif this is. A great album by any metric. But transitioning between the Ziggy Stardust era the berlin years - this pit stop is all the more extraordinary. This is a career path for most musicians. But for Bowie it's just another excellent band with another great roster of songs. 4.5 stars.
Rush
2/5
They got better. The songs. Not the band. They were always kick ass musicians. But the songs got better which even helped reign in Geddy's fractured Plantic shriek. But shed not a tear that falls from eyes - they're gonna be OK once the suburbs take hold.
Bill Evans Trio
4/5
An album that really puts you in the room. As good as "sit down" jazz gets. Bass playing from the outer limits. Finds it's groove and stays with it. Something to be admired if not fully felt.
3/5
A clear eyed master class of clean orchestral pop production and songwriting. I am more awed than moved. Mad respect. But I would ask why this is one this list. Good as it - and it is damn good - not nearly as cultural relevant their late 70s/80s work. More like a good solo album than a band confection of their early days.
The Monks
3/5
Both of its time yet just outside of it. Not entirely sure what to make of this one. There's are plenty of good moments but they return to the same well - a lot. Perhaps that is missing the point of the limitations of the genre. But I do think they present some interesting ideas within those boundaries. Less is more. But the tracks that work...work.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
Has an album ever been more aptly titled to convey its intent. The less words said about this album the better. It creates a mood and sticks with it - and it's quite a mood. Special shout out to the rhythm section.
The Velvet Underground
4/5
I'm more of a self titled VU guy. But this one has plenty to like - or at least consider.
This album introduced so ideas into the culture. Most (many) good. We don't get here without it.
Queens of the Stone Age
2/5
They get a lot of mileage out of one chord rave-ups. Or at least a mile - give or take. A band I have always felt should be better for both obvious reasons (employing the greatest rock drummer of his generation) and less so (their highs are awesome but buried under mediocre tracks casting infinite permutations of brown). When they cut loose and go searching a bit - ala the last two tracks - things get a little more interesting. A little. This happens on every album - but not enough.
Death In Vegas
3/5
Mining similar territory but less interesting that the Primal Scream albums released right before and after this album. They are trying to do something and they are successful about half the time at doing uh something.
David Ackles
2/5
I guess there's some good song craft but there's too much Neil Diamondesque bellowing without the reach for the stars everyone sing along bombast for my taste. I believe that's enough shade thrown for one day.
Parliament
3/5
How many times is the worf "funk" and it's various iterations used on this album - and in such a wide array meanings. It's a noun (the funk), adjective (funky _______) and verb (as in "to funk"). Certainly a lot of rhythm going down.
p.s. which is a more awesome spell check stumper - thumposaurus on mothersucker?
The Doors
4/5
Album #5 in 3 years. It's a different time but damn boys. A testament to putting 4 uniquely talented musicians in a room and letting them loose. If the Doors get a lot hate for their failed experiments (aka - JMs I'll advised forays into epic poetry) they deserve credit when they pull it back and straight up rock the house. The start off with three bangers then settle in reaching full Doors altitude by Ship of Fools. Indian Summer - achingly beautiful without ever becoming hippie pablum. They always bring a touch of danger and uncertainty to the game.
Jimi Hendrix
4/5
If the core is Hendrix's recording career spans about two years then album 2 of 3 can serve as a transitional album. Sonically rich
This eclectic collection lacks the urgency of the first album but you can hear the tricks he has picked up and twisted from Dylan and the Beatles. Excellent production and musicianship shine even if the highest highs are not to the heights of the albums it sits between. Still great but JH has a high bar.
Goldfrapp
3/5
There is an elegance that pervades this record while not always being polite either. No truly weak moments - this works as a piece bridging the gap between old and new. As expressive a voice as anyone of the era. 3.5 stars.
Iggy Pop
3/5
The sound of exploration. The sound of transition. The sound of recovery (there was an attempt). Side one seems to exist out of space and time. The mix of Bowie's extra controlled experiments and Iggy's primal sensibility somehow works. And works well. Side two gets a little dirgy. But a tip of the hat to all parties - this definitely launched some ships in the coming years.
Red Hot Chili Peppers
3/5
Perhaps this is ground zero for "that 90s problem'".
Too damn many songs. And there are at least 5 (and maye 7-10) that are competent grooves but totally uninteresting as songs. Generic funk. The singles from this album really stand out sonically. Not just better songs but more interesting uses of the basic RHCP formula.
Johnny Cash
5/5
A high water mark for Johnny Cash, live albums, country albums, sequels, Shel Silverstein songs and amphetamine fueled train songs. Badass.
Bee Gees
2/5
Elton John without the songs. John Lennon (at times) with too much pomp (and without the songs). A moodier Moody Blues. I kind of like "Don't Want to Live Inside Myself". Kind of.
U2
4/5
This one's tricky. I have never loved all this albums. And maybe I have never loved any of it. I have liked/thoroughly enjoyed/admired much of it - especially some individual sonic moments too long list. There's a number of good songs (even very good to great). But I don't know that I would trade any of them for the u2 songs i grew up with. This arrived mid college (as opposed to the pre Joshua Tree high school years). I never engaged emotionally with this album that way I did an album like Unforgettable Fire. Empirically Achtung Baby is a better album. Emotionally - nothing can change first hearing UF at the age of 14. I was not the same person 7 years later. And U2 were not the same band. Thats a good thing as it allowed them to be culturally relevant for the next 20+ years and escape being an 80s band. Empirically a 5. Emotionally a charitable 3. Let's call it a 4.
PS. I remember reading an interview with Bono , upon hear Pride in a bar setting and watching people attempt to dance realizing - that is not something you could do to a U2 song. It took a couple albums but they did at the very least address that issue.
Elvis Costello & The Attractions
5/5
From frenetic post punk energy to pure pop confection. I preferred the first couple EC records when I was young and angsty. But how good does this album sound
now? Percolating with energy but not as lacerating - the rhythm section especially are just locked in. Less visceral but still cutting (especially lyrically). Peerless (in his era) craftsmanship. A great record to bottom.
Black Sabbath
3/5
Groundbreaking. Sure. If that means introducing the cartoonish darkness that would pervade heavy metal for years to come. The Wizard cooks (silly lyrics aside) and N.I.B. is an all time riff amidst a 9 minute odyssey. The pieces are here but they got better in the years to come. Much better.
Common
3/5
Old enough for me to comprehend. New enough to offer some fresh ideas. The real listening gold comes in the form of Kanye's production. Not to take away from Common's flow - still solid thoughtful and creative after a decade - this album's sound is inventive and warm. And that inspires as honest a performance as you will hear from Common. The man has a total mastery of the fundamentals. 3.5 stars
Fugees
5/5
That's pretty much how you do it. This is a better than average album without the not so secret weapon that is Lauren hill. With her...it's not even a completion. A five tool player who quite simply does it all better than anyone else of her era. But somehow there is room for three distinct personalities. At least for one go around.
Tito Puente
4/5
Grooves galore to get the body movin and how can you not have a smile on your face while listening. Some songs feel a little pedestrian now because of all that came in the wake of this album but anything this album settles in something like Mi Chiquita Quiere Bembéi enters the picture. An absolute wonder of a track. A great time for musician and listener alike.
Missy Elliott
4/5
What happened to those good old days... even if now the good old days are 2002. Sounds even better now. 4.5 stars.
Jefferson Airplane
3/5
Pshychadelia before the knob twisting lead them into a ditch. The songs are actually written. I see the craft and the talent is on display. I just don't like it very much. I can't connect with it. The flavor is just not my cup a tea - save "Embryonic Journey". Jorma K is bringing the heat on that one and all vocalists are sitting that one out. Perhaps I've just solved this mystery.
Frank Ocean
4/5
Just cool. Unbounded musicality. Appreciated more than fully connecting.
Bert Jansch
3/5
An amazing player. An influential player. He walked so others could run - with better songs. Two foundational artists for me - Nick Drake and Richard Thompson - owe a debt to old Bert or at least the tradition he represented. But they add to the tradition. This feels a bit like an artifact in a museum.
The Stooges
4/5
Has a cover ever represented what's inside much less the genre writ large? A couple stars or the cover alone. The first two albums are much more interesting/influential. Raw Power is just that - RAW POWER. The entire album is in the red in a quest to translate the visceral energy of the band/Iggy into the recorded world. Hard to argue that doesn't succeed. Another star for that. Two more for the trip of Search and Destroy/Gimme Danger/Raw Power. Not a perfect album but masterful in executing its intention.
The Beach Boys
4/5
And then things start to get weird...not on the quasi psychedelic mid 60s "Good Vibrations" way but in the quaalude and cocaine 70s"Student Demonstration" way - just look at the cover. Endless Summer this is not. This is really the last hurrah before they started the suck before losing the thread completely. Plenty of studio frippery and sonic textures. As is always the case with the Beach Boys - if you're on board with these then Surfs Up. If not then is may be a wipeout. I'm 3.5 on this but rounding up to 4 cause.... Thanks for the good times.
Dolly Parton
3/5
An unfortunate truth of many a Dolly album -- the ratio of killer to Nashville by the numbers filler skews to the latter. While this album fares better than most - the first three tracks are far and away better than the back half with the title track reigning supreme. Still - a hot to hear.
Nas
5/5
If sleep is the cousin of death this album is a boxing match. Bobbing and weaving. Hits land and truths be told. Words come in a barrage and leave a bewildering mark. You never know when you gonna go so why not just sit back and get lost in the flow.
The Style Council
3/5
Love the Jam. Love the early 90s Paul Weller. I have never understood the intervening years of The Style Council. Hated it when I was younger. And it got worse and worse - to my young ears - as they went along. I was so happy when he finally ditched the gig.
With that - I was curious how I would feel to revisit and if these soft jazz rock was more palatable. I can say it's better than I remember. It was hard to get past the angry young man I knew from the Jam laying down jazzy arrangements. More tolerable as a singles band whe you avoid experimental disasters like "A Gospel". Weller is still a great songwriter with an expressive voice. He deserves credit for taking a chance. Happy the revisit this era to understand it wasn't as bad as my young ears remember but I'm still happy this era ended.
Air
3/5
Another Air album? Really? Fine. I will strap in a take the trip. I wonder where we're going this time...I see - back to 1998 which is to say a random space station circa 2072 via France circa 66-73. French pop of old reimagined less for take off than orbit. And orbit is most certainly achieved. A lot to like but also retreads a few to many tropes done better back in the aforementioned era - especially in the back half. Definitely an album you can listen to on a loop especially the three all times that kick things off. 3.5.
Big Star
5/5
The sound of a band, a man, an album breaking down. These songs are less written than conjured. Presented in fragments - lyrically and instrumentally. This albums arrives both unfinished and finished many times. It is foolish to chase the ghost of the album. It's the very specific sound of a place. A time. I still learn something, hear something, feel something new with each listen. Perfect imperfection.
Joni Mitchell
4/5
This feels like the ultimate expression of folk music. Or perhaps a dividing line. There's a real BC/AD quality to this work. For her and the genre writ large. No notes. But I like Hejira better.
The Temptations
3/5
A tale of two sides of a band. The three songs that lead off the album - especially the title track and Runaway Child - break the mold. There's a real charge to start thing off before the album settles I to pedestrian fare that they and other have done better. But the first three tracks warrant it's inclusio on this list if they fall short of elevating the album yo truly classic status. And the house band is smoking throughout.
Kate Bush
3/5
Nothing but love for Kate. Beguiling to my young mind. Still piques my interest many years later. This album as much as anything is the sound of the Fairlight CMI. Kate and Peter Gabriel both used it to glimpse into the future but what sounded forward thinking in 1985 feels stuck there at certain points. But it's a house I never tire of revisiting. 3.5 stars.
Miles Davis
5/5
There are some movies that are infinitely watchable. You can sit down and no matter where you are joining in you can just step into the river and float. Caught up on the current, the comfortable water temperature, the familiar surroundings. The jokes are funny. The poignant lines sting. The killer shots are...killer. And then there are movies that you may not reach for because you've taken that journey and you just can't quite muster the fortitude to retake that journey. Even if the journey is extraordinary. And revolutionary. singular. Bitches Brew is extraordinary. Revolutionary. Singular. Also Phantasmagoric. Interplanetary. Illusory. Hypothetical. Fictive.
This album used to present more of a challenge. Still challenging but I am at least familiar with the vocabulary. And it's an absolutely towering achievement. This album reaches for two handfuls of sand and clears the beach - a few strains of sand scattering.
This a a moment the lasted far beyond its time - unconstrained by such trivialities.
I don't reach for this regularly but maybe I should. I might finally be ready.
Alice Cooper
4/5
A misunderstood artist. When I first heard them in the 80s they were doing the metal thing and that coupled with the songs I knew from the radio I had an idea of what they were. It's not until I heard Only Woman Bleed that I realized i might have been wrong. Even Frank Zappa - the man who brought AC to the masses - didn't fully understand what they were all about. But he knew they had something. And do they ever. I have seen this album referred to as Cooper's Pet Sounds. I'm not validating that - I'm just saying it's been said. And it's fun the write those words. But it is where it all comes together - songs, playing, production. Even a duet with Donovan. 4.5 stars
The Allman Brothers Band
5/5
It took me a long time to embrace the Allman Brothers. But I have come to understand Duane A is simply one of the best guitarists of his generation (suck it Clapton) and this album feature him operating at his absolute peak. And the band follows (or leads) every step of the way. Tight but swinging and swaying. Pushing and pulling songs every which way. Complete mastery for the boys from Macon.
Al Green
4/5
An album whose success firmly rests on the title track. The remainder is certainly worth a listen as Al's vocals are masterful in the lost art of restraint without ever sacrificing an iota of expression. Kudos to the BeeGees for providing one of the high points - "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart". A song and album I loathed - here finds it's way. It's all about the delivery. And Rev Al certainly does.
Fleetwood Mac
5/5
Empirically speaking - three songwriters at the peak of their powers delivered with near sonic perfection. The playing the singing the harmonizing the production - even the track list - flawless. Not much more to say.
Pere Ubu
2/5
A second Pere Ubu album. Really? Does this album do anything that Modern Dance doesn't? I know each of them - only a year apart - ended their respective recording contracts. Dave Thomas' yelp generally does the heavy lifting in escorting people out the door. And he is in full voice here. Still better than Steely Dan.
The Rolling Stones
3/5
Another case of a good A side followed by a mostly middling side B. Highlights throughout but they did much of this better on later albums. Definitely of its era right before the truly came into their own.
Ray Charles
4/5
The voice is in fine form. Highly listenable. But lacks the visceral impact of earlier sides. All covers that are mostly elevated in his hands. Orchestra swings as much as an orchestra can. And the man can sing sing sing.
Kraftwerk
3/5
It's impossible to separate these songs from their use as samples in seminal tracks at the dawn of hip hop - both directly and indirectly. That aside - a fun listen to revisit and remember what the future used to look like. 3.5 stars.
John Prine
5/5
Observer of human foibles. A natural story teller. And the closest of the "next Dylans* to actually achieve that mantle. It's the piercing humor and the utter humanity of these stories that sets him apart. As well as his embrace of the slightly offbeat. What this man does with three chords and some funny asides is nothing short of magical. A true American original.
Milton Nascimento
5/5
This album is part of a an explosion of creativity amidst the dark days of an oppressive Brazilian regime. A new generation taking tradition music and adding new textures and ideas. Merging past idioms with the musical experiments happening around the world. What comes through is the joy of pure expression. The sound of artists playing in a room for months in end and expertly captured - the production is absolutely stellar. The double album length and concept allows songs to breath and ideas to flourish. Even the instrumental interstitials are sublime. It's empowering to hear this sort of joyous exploration that gives hope that great art will emerge even in the darkest of days.
The The
3/5
Great band. Wrong album. The prior album is more fun. The next album fleshes out the ideas presented here (and features Johnny Marr, actual trumpets, live drums - and did I mention Johnny Marr?). That being said - there's a lot going on with this album. It's a whirlwind of sounds. Sonically adventurous. And he's writing about some heavy topics. Its as much fun as you can have singing about politics and religion.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
Joyful. Exuberant. Expressive. Passionate. All driven by displacement and presented with masterful craftsmanship. The power to get overcome if best rooted in song. A quality entry into the desert blues idiom.
The Clash
5/5
Perfection.
Incredible Bongo Band
3/5
Kitsch as high art. The funkiest damn soundtrack for a film that - as of this writing - has yet to be shot. And just fun fun fun. They had know idea what they hath wrought on the unknowing future.
Daft Punk
3/5
This a a "3" descending. Not a great listen on 2025 but all the parts are there for the next 25 years of pop culture. From dance culture to the rise of Coachella to the sonics of rap and pop music. Give me some credit. But not extra credit.
Taylor Swift
4/5
I once lost an argument comparing Bob Dylan to Paul Westerberg. They are in fact not on the same level. The Replacements leader captures nostalgia for a specific moment of doubt and change and uncertainty that we all navigate. Bob writes about something unknown and it somehow becomes universal. That same person years later presented my argument back to me on the form of Taylor Swift. At the time I didn't "understand" TS. Not that I do now but I recognize game. And I can't ever know what it's like to be a a xten year old girl - I do know what it's like to hear Sixteen Blue as a teenager. And I know how great it feels to return to that moment - for only a moment - through a 4 minute pop song. And that is how music transcends - 4 minutes at a time.
This song a a greatest hits album for most people. It's the moment Taylor Swift became Taylor. Even I can pick up what she's throwing down.
The Cure
2/5
Why is THIS album on the list. There are at least 5 better Cure albums. Other than A Forest the songs are painfully average and the limited production does not make for a compelling listen in 2025. It doesn't have the immediacy of the prior album or the pop grandeur of future releases. Leaves me wanting more.
The Smashing Pumpkins
4/5
I cry "uncle" on this one. Indulgent. Check. Emotionally juvenile. Totally. Preposterous. Absolutely. But you can't deny that it succeeds at almost every turn. To be a suburban teenager in the mid 90s is to love this album. I have heard those -slightly younger than me - extoll it's virtues in terms that seemed hyperbolic. Never having sat down and slogged my way through the 28 tracks offered up here I didn't have full context. While that voice does get old taken in one sitting - you can't deny the quality of any 5 song run.
1979 is still an absolute classic for anyone who has been a teenager.
And the drumming. Epic.
Merle Haggard
3/5
A solid entry in a vast catalog that covers 6 decades. Closer to Bakersfield here than in his 70s output. Sturdy of not quite great.
Black Sabbath
5/5
Hell yeah. The band is operating at the peak of their powers. This album outright rocks and rolls and avoids their (occasional) tendency to plod. It comes roaring out the f the gate and straight into Tomorrow's Dream - an absolute monster groove. Changes is an all timer - a song many band would have killed for in the era. Supernaut is less played than unleashed. Side two continues the onslaught (Snowblind referencing their ample consumption of the many offerings of LA) before slowing things down for Laguna Sunrise and then closing things out with two bangers. Not many have done it better. Funny what a little sunlight can do. Just a little...
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
1/5
Are there any words more unsettling and anxiety inducing than "Prog rock masterpiece"? All those notes. To what end o ask? Both overly intricate and insipid. The title track is like a bad dream that won't end. It just keeps coming and coming and coming...and coming - assuming different forms but not ever really changing. I guess maybe this album - especially the title track - says something about war but it seems you could accomplish the same thing in a more streamlined manner. Just say no. Or in prog rock terms - nnNnnNnnnNnNNNNnnnnNnNnnnNnNoooOoOoOooooOooOoooo.oOooooOooo.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
4/5
Nothing but net. No pomp. No flash (for better or worse). Just quality a** rock n roll. No muss no fuss. I think it's the voice. It just sound real even in it adherence to various musical stylings. And the production is solid solid solid. No missteps. It's like a comfortable couch in the best possible way.
CHIC
4/5
I Want Your Love could just cycle on forever - the very definition of a locked in groove. Three stars for that track alone.
Country Joe & The Fish
3/5
You know - I didn't expect much here. Not my aesthetic. But this helped me understand the SF scene a little better. It's like a roux, a skeleton key. Some blues. Some country. Some rock (a dash). Some folk. Some drugs. I liked it enough to listen a second time. Round two was the mono reissues. So much better. Stereo allowed thing to be weirder - sure. But the music becomes so thin - a problem for many albums in the mid to late 60s that went full stereo. The mono version allows more rock to shine through. It tightens things up. I would say it's transformative. Still pretty out there. 3.5 stars.
Chicago
4/5
Can't deny the power of this one. Before they started two decades of numbered albums they came up with this sublime concoction. Beginnings - I mean seriously. How can you not get up for that? The instrumentation. The grooves. It's a great time.
Still don't love Peter Cetera's voice which is mostly PTSD from their 80s output. Thankfully he is not the primary lead here - but got a give some props - can't deny his bass prowess. Damn son.
A surprise all around.
The Dandy Warhols
5/5
Some artists possess an absolute purity of purpose. Songs have a natural resonance that just seem to arrive into the universe fully formed. There's an effortless quality to every note. Songs feel like they could have resonated in any post war era. But with just enough of a modern twist - and energy -to make them feel vital. I am of course not talking about this album but another artist I had the pleasure of seeing last night - Nick Lowe with Los Straitjackets serving as his back up band. Simply put - absolute perfection. Songs feel like old friends even if you're just meeting them. The simplicity is misleading - it takes a lifetime lived give voice and sound to what feels like standards. There are chards Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Carl Perkins all filtered through an unassuming English heart that loves the craft as much and the music. All delivered with charm and wit. And the band - inspired. A perfect foil for our main man. Surf rock adheres to the basic structures of early RnR but adds just enough weirdness to make separate it from pure tribute. I simply had a great time. Music that forces you to move and dance on the aisles - literally. I wish everyone could be there to see a 76 year old man convincingly sing "let's have a party". It's everything good about RnR - communal, approachable, energetic - FUN.
As far as today's album - it's the opposite of everything I experienced last night. There's not a genuine bone in the Dandy Warhols. They steal as opposed to honoring what has come before. Shielded by irony, sarcasm and effects frippery. What the hell is this album doing on the list.
F*!? The Dandy Warhols. F*!? this album. F*!? Portland.
Because there is no zero star option I'm giving 5 stars to Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets. I'm confident there will be enough negative reviews to serve as a counterpoint.
Louis Prima
4/5
Certainly a fun ride. It plays like a greatest hits collection. An energetic blending of styles and an all around good time. In the end this works better as a collection of singles than a true long play which may speak more to the number of classic tracks on here.
Tracy Chapman
4/5
What a way to open a a debut album. Any album really. Taking Bout a Revolution feeling like could have been written 20, 30, 50 years earlier. Simple. Thoughtful. Open. And to follow that with Fast Car. I mean. There's a whole career in those verses. Everything is a wrung below but still riveting. That this album could enchant a dumbass teen like myself - and continues to - speaks volumes. This is what talent looks like - and when it finds the right time and outlet - magic happens.
Grateful Dead
3/5
I believe I can say this is the first time I have sat though an entire album by the Grateful Dead. Heard plenty of music over the years. I know the sound. This definitely highlights what they do well - and other things. And thos things - both good and bad go on too long. As best I can reckon - they spend a lot of time on 2nd and 3rd gear. They occasionally roll it over into 4th but never give you the push over the top that someone like Hendrix of Duane Allman. I don't mind 27 min of Whipping Post but. Dark Star feels like it meanders and never resolves. Moments feel akin to Bitches Brew but without the intention or innovation. And while death don't have no mercy and neither does the song.
I tried. I do like and maybe even love And We Bid You Goodnight.
And it's all still better than Pretzel Logic. I'm at 2.5 stars but going round up for 3 on account of the great cover art.
Spiritualized
4/5
I have seen Spiritualized a few times though out their career. The first time is by far the most memorable. Over 30 years ago I still remember the feeling of the slow drone being produced by the 8 to 10 shadowed musicians on stage suddenly erupting into complete cacophony while simultaneously being blinded stage lights that illuminated the entire room as of a dozen klieg lights were suddenly flipped on. This would continue for about 30 seconds and then the music would fade, the lights would dim for another, the drone would return for several minutes until there was another explosion of light and sound. Thats sort of what they do. Except sometimes there's a drone with no explosion. And sometimes there a slow build to a cacophonous climax. And occasionally there's a full on raver. But mostly drone, explosion, drone. It's was awesome. I still think about it. I wouldn't want to see that now - too damn loud - but at the time...
This album is a few years after that. And it refines all the things they do. From the man that helped bring "Taking Drugs to Make Music to Take Drugs To" to life less than a decade later we have an album that reassembles all the tricks J Spaceman has learned. Well produced. A bit over the top. Wonderful throwback and forward looking- the title track was used in a commercial to launch the (at the time) new VM Beetle in 1998. I listened to a lot of this band and the previous endeavor - Spacemen 3. I don't reach for this too much anymore but it was great to revisit. It pushes and pulls and takes you - somewhere.
The Streets
4/5
Never fully understood The Streets. It's so British but not in the way things are normally "too British" - Kinks, Blur, Kasabian - even the Smiths. This is such a an odd mix of things - off kilter spoken word detailing the minutiae of daily life - it ends with a laundry mishap - with minimalist soundscapes and beats. It's takes a while to get into the world but was you do - if you are able to give yourself over - it is truly a unique work of art. Nothing extraordinary which is maybe what it's effective. The problems that occur throughout are the problems we all wrestle with - the mundaneness of life, the occasional win, and most importantly love/love lost and moving on. This is not intended as a collection of songs. It is a true cycle. Presented with a unique voice. And ultimately - if you let it in - it hits pretty hard...
The end of the something I did not want to end
Beginning of hard times to come
But something that was not meant to be is done
And this is the start of what was
Who can't relate the that.
Sometimes you don't get what you want but what you need. And for some reason - I needed this today.
One of the biggest surprises this far.
Depeche Mode
3/5
Larger than life singles. Not much else. The singles feel socially different than the rest of the album. Fuller. Layered with hooks galore. Dancefloor, MTV and stadium ready with the opener launching into the stratosphere. The rest is kind of meh. Aspiring but ultimately falling flat.
Janis Joplin
3/5
It's no easy task making a voice like JJs sound pedestrian but this album does just that. I'm not saying that I'm yearning for the full caterwaul but maybe a touch of coloring outside the lines. The arrangements are tight, lightly funky but ultimately workmanlike. Would have loved to see what was beyond this outing.
Genesis
4/5
I am not generally a fan of prog rock. But the prog bands I do appreciate have an X factor. King Crimson has Robert Fripp and his unique guitar worldview. Yes has Chris Squires bass tones. And Genesis has Peter Gabriel. PG almost singularly moves Genesis from the prog column over to the art column. And this album is the crowning achievement for this iteration of the band - by a lot. You can feel where Pete G is going next. Less so Genesis. But one thing is for certain - hooks abound on this album. Their are catchy tunes. There's also the other kind - it is still prog rock after all. And a double album to boot. It ebbs. It flows. There's an awakening. Ultimately - there's a lot to like - and even love - here.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
4/5
There is exactly one person on planet earth - I would also extend that to planets unknown - who could write and deliver these songs as they are on this album. Starting with the prior album Nick Cave started to use more lush instrumentation with acoustic guitars,pianos strings. All are delivered with the save trademark energy Cave has been casting to the world since his Birthday Party days. Less songs about bats but plenty of darkness. It's just so well delivered here. The guitar strum that starts of the record is not folk song. The man rarely misses and this album is no exception.
Tom Waits
4/5
The begining of Tom Waits phase 2. No songs here are being covered by the Eagles. But his finding - if not his voice then a new voice. more Beefheart than Bukowski. The subject matter still centers on barflies and forgotten souls but the music is odder. The sounds on the periphery are pulled closer to the center. Especially solid for toms shift into the 80s avantgarde. Sounds event better all these years later. Impossible to place. It just is.
Lorde
3/5
I have nothing negative to say about this. No notes. Not negative reactions. No issues whatsoever. Thoughtful lyrics. Great voice. Seamless production. Genuine emotion in the lyrics capturing the agony and ecstasy of love/life with an exhilarating mix of youth and wisdom. In the end though I feel a little inert by the proceedings. Empirically it's a 4. My enjoyment is a 2.
Nina Simone
4/5
This certainly took over my morning. A voice that is both comfort and weapon. So many highlights but Four Women, Lilac Wine and Either Way I Lose show her range, power and most importantly - control. So just lie back and let her take the wheel.
Bauhaus
3/5
The ghosts of Jim Morrison and Iggy Pop inhabit this rather upbeat goth affair. There are still some down tempo numbers but theres a lot of groove here to get the kids swinging there clove cigarettes in the air.
Sepultura
4/5
I'm assuming I'm going to be the only person from this group to listen to this album and full and actually review it so I'm gonna take this opportunity to stretch out and look back.
My musical journey really starts in 1982. Up to that point I listened to what my parents listened to on the radio and whatever cassettes we had received from the latest Columbia House shipment (the 12 tapes for a penny thing). This consisted of things like The Greatest Hits of TV and Film, Simon and Garfunkel and a Johnny Cash greatest hits album. As a result I know all the words to You Light up My Life, The Theme to Brian's Song and One Piece and a Time. I was in desperate need of something to call my own. Cut to the summer of '82. I heard Ozzy Osbourne's Flying High Again at a church camp that summer being played on a boom box by a fellow camper. The riff, the voice. I was in. All in. I went out and bought Diary of Madman when I got home and I was off. I discovered there were other boys like me - I loved metal but wasn't exactly a metalhead - I just couldn't commit to the lifestyle. The not quite metalhead talked at school and soccer practice and eventually discovered there was a show on WVEU - UHF channel 69 in Atlanta - called Metal Works. Each afternoon they would show an hour of metal videos hosted by The Butcher - a local "celebrity" who played guitar in a local band the never quite made it called the Swinging Richards. He dressed so cool from my 13 yr old perspective - basically keith Richards chic - and he introduced me to countless bands. In addition to more Ozzy videos I got Motley Crue, WASP, Celtic Frost, Kind Diamond. I didn't love all of it - it can be a little silly especially in that era - but things that hit, hit hard. And nothing clanged my young skull harder than Motorhead. That kicked a door wide open. The only video they played was Ace of Spades. But when introducing the video one afternoon , the butcher mentioned how good their recently released live album No Sleep top Hammersmith was. I didn't need to be told twice.
By the next year I discovered my local college station - WRAS Album 88. Especially a weekly show called Pure Mania on Wednesday evenings. An amazing mix of music that just exploded my world. There I got Husker Du, Mission of Burma, love and Rockets, Jesus and Mary Chain but also first exposure to punk - Fear, Corrosion of Conformity, Black Flag and Bad Brains. And some more that is too vast to count. It wasn't all heavy - but I can't lie - I liked the adrenaline rush of the fast stuff with some dude yelling.
I hadn't moved on from metal but I soon realized these were two separate camps and school with one notable exception - Motorhead. Turns out playing sped up classic rock n roll (not classic rock - like chuck berry) appeals to both musical appetites. So there was connective tissue - however tenuous. So I'm on both worlds going wherever i can get my fix. But I liked other stuff too - Brian Eno and his whole tree - u2 , Bowie, talking heads, and my first forays into ambient music, the Replacements, Peter Gabriel/Kate Bush and countless other things that seem to have fallen from view.
Cut to junior year of high school. I start seeing Slayer shirts appearing on the kids who are in shop classes. Reign is Blood had been released the year before. Intrigued - I check it out. Nothing quite prepares for the onslaught of that album. Its pure adrenaline. And seemed to connect metal with punk energy. And they did it in a way no one had. It had a certain purity. And a way better drummer than Metallica ( F@#K Lars - long love Dave Lombardo). So I'm back in. I distantly remember mowing the lawn while listening to RIB, being terrified the first time I same them, watching actual fires being lit (multiple fires) the second time I saw them but always being completely mesmerized by what they did and how they did it. It was a crowded field but they brought energy like no one else. Uncompromising. Lyrics - whatever. It's that beat. all of em.
What's the point of all this.
I was in college when this album came out. Past my metal prime. I still harbored (to this day) my love for Slayer. I have listed to it previously. I prefer the next two albums as they start incorporate more diverse influences - especially Roots which is also on the list is get ready - but the energy of this album is undeniable. Had a been a few years younger I could have probably gotten on this train. They are the closest thing on this planet to Slayer. With just enough difference (better lyrics, the eventual use of traditional instrumentation) to make them stand out. They should replace Anthrax on the Big 4 list.
Once and always a not quite metalhead.
Beyoncé
2/5
This album doesn't just feel like the something produced by a corporation - it sounds like a corporation. You can feel the many hands involved in ever track - writers, producers, features "collaborators". What you don't feel are musicians. Or musicianship. There is nothing here that feels im any way organic. I'm not looking for a guitar solo or piano line - even her voice sounds like its part of the assembly line. Lauren Hill, Missy Elliot, Taylor Swift - all escape being just a product because there is real character in their voices. They all have real expressions of who they are woven into the music. I have no idea what is trying to be said with this album. Some tracks were enjoyable - Jealous comes to mind - but overall I was a little confounded by this obviously very expensive, very shiny object.
Derek & The Dominos
4/5
Sometimes - nix that - most of the time - I am in no mood to hear Eric Clapton drone on. Today - as most days - was one such day. But I am committed to this project. And this album in the end succeeds. It's warm and loose and features Duane Allman who serves as an extraordinary foil to Clapton's overly precise playing. Add in some outside the pocket drumming and what amounts to basically a jam session and this album finds it's way to a sound unique to ECs catalog - loose, warm and dare I say fun (the band is digging every moment). You can feel the vibes on a track like Tell the Truth - the outro on that song may be the high point of the album and they have a great to getting there. Duane elevates this from the middle of the road, Clapton pulls it back...but the playing is bonkers throughout.
Talking Heads
4/5
Because their catalog is so consistently brilliant and some songs are better known in their later live iterations when they could really stretch our - this one may not get the love it deserves. Bottom line - it deserves a lot of love. Funkier and groovier than their debut. The studio truly enters the chat (thank you Mr Eno). Jagged edge abound but there is also plenty of ambience as a counterpoint. Feels like this could come out today and find a place. Singular.
FKA twigs
4/5
An intuitive mix of Robyn (if she ventured farther a field), Kate Bush (with better pop sensibilities) and Bjork (an obvious immediate reference but more listenable/enjoyable/approachable than anything she's done in 25 yrs).
Morrissey
4/5
The rare Morrissey that makes me not long for Johnny Marr. A great collection of songs that features more wisdom than whine. A consistent as anything in his solo collection. Peters out a bit on side two. Highly listenable.
The Fall
5/5
Mark E. Smith. The "E" does the heavy lifting. Mark Smith. Innumerable There was but one Mark E Smith. And that was more than enough. This album is probably the best top to bottom but he kept it interesting for 40 years with too many albums to count. Long live MES.
U2
4/5
Say what you will about u2 (and people do say things) you can't take away their back catalog. Especially their 80s run. Earnest - fine. Self serious - sure. But effective. Especially to my teenage ears - and mind. I try to listen to the albums that I didn't just know but memorized - like flip the tape over and over and over - and over. I can't ever escape that. I can't listen with fresh ears. But what I do know. What you can't fake. This album still moves me. Nostalgia? Maybe. I don't care. Even though I know it's coming the solo on NYD still gets me, the initial snare hit on SBS, the groove of Seconds, the textures production of Drowning Man hints of things to come. Bass really enters the picture here. Part of the pack no more. 4+
Bob Dylan
5/5
As if the sky opened up and the good Lord himself was singing from heaven on high - laying out how exactly it all went down. Bob is playing by a different set of rules here. Subtle brilliance abounds highlighted by the masterful production. But ultimately - this one hits the heart and provides solace for its many follies. 5+
Throbbing Gristle
3/5
When I was a freshman in college I was interested in working at the radio station. In order to evaluate the new applicants they issued a test related "college" music. There were some questions about Joy Division and Hüsker Dü. The New York Dolls and Velvet Underground for mentions. But what I really remember was the Throbbing Gristle question. "Explain the relevance of Throbbing Gristle.". In the year of our lord 1988 industrial music was starting to make some noise in America. Literally. With guitars. And programmed drums. And crazy keyboard sounds. And samples. All mimicking aspects of the sound collages and industrial industrial noise of bands like...wait for it...Throbbing Gristle while more aggressive - the American version was much more controlled - or maybe organized is a better word. But in the end - not as unsettling. So is that relevant. They were influencing an emerging genre that would within a couple years produce their fully realized pop version - NIN - who wrote songs that were stadium ready with shout along choruses. But does that make them relevant? It's not like even the college station was playing Throbbing Gristle records - at least not during standard waking hours. But they're fun to reference. I know this because I had been introduced to them the week before - aka - my second week in college by this nutcase on my floor who knew the acronyms for scenes that were evolving globally before they even coalesced. Because by the time a scene actually emerges - it's already done. You already missed it. He of course knew about Throbbing Gristle. He gave me a brief history - pre Wikipedia - and apparently gave me enough information to pass my college radio "entrance exam". He didn't own any records but that was kind of beside the point.
In the end - this is some trippy shit. Disturbing. Nauseating (in a good way if that's possible). Creepy. It definitely makes you feel something - physically and mentally. Not necessarily good things but music doesn't have to make you feel good. It just has to make you feel. The opposite of love is not hate - but indifference. By that calculus it's at least better than Pretzel Logic. .
Sonic Youth
4/5
The songs have more distinct personalities this time out. There's still plenty of noise to go around. Open chords ring out. Middle eights meander for minutes at a time and often never return - but not quite as much as they had previously. This albums distills what they do well into manageable and digestible amounts. And just enough Kim.
Grant Lee Buffalo
4/5
Loved the hell out of this album when it came out. It's not something I have ventured back to often. It was some present for a few turbulent years of my 20s...so to sur down and listen to this album. What a treat. It crackles. It captures a moment. It inspired me to revisit the whole catalog. A lost still sounds great. Of the era but bringing some unique talents to the game. Amplified folk tunes broadcasting live from LA. The more things change...
Muddy Waters
5/5
“College girls can smell ignorance, like dog shit." A line from a formative movie of my (generation's) youth. When Joel goes full pimp mode on Risky Business - driven by the necessity of having wrecked his dad's Porsche - he goes about town selling and pitching to his fellow classmates. But instead of fear there is swagger. And that Chicago suburban teen swagger is provided by the singular beat of Mannish Boy. Both a simplistic yet wholly representative expression of the blues. A remake of a cover - Mannish Boy was not my formal introduction to the blues - that would be another generational film - the Blues Brothers. Where BB cracked the door open - Mannish Boy knocks it off the hinges. This Johnny Winter produced version explodes form the speakers - Johnny's exasperation in the background and MWs commanding voice - your don't doubt a word. It's not just what is sung but how it is sung. Just like Joel - you believe it because he believes it - because he has to. This is who MW is. You feel it in every note. And that spirit runs through the whole album - these songs have never sounded better.
Radiohead
3/5
Like Topographic Oceans era Yes - it's the tones man, not the tunes. A lot of neat sounds pumping through a set of headphones. Three stars for I Might Be Wrong. The rest - less impactful. At times - genius level distraction. But distraction nonetheless.
Hookworms
3/5
Strains of albums that came out twenty years prior - Dismemberment Plan, the Notwist, third phase New Order, maybe even Stereolab - aka rock bands that didn't just use synths but leaned in - all the way in. I ended up enjoying this album more as it went on. I thought it would run out of steam. But the song writing is solid. It's highly listenable. But I really don't know why it's on the list nothing extraordinary except it's slightly above ordinariness.
Aerosmith
3/5
A star each for the two hits - Walk This Way and Sweet Emotion and one more for a long time fave - No More No More. The rest is serviceable to good. And they may as much claim to influencing the coming generation as anyone (for better or worse).
Stevie Wonder
5/5
An absolute joy in everyway. Tickles the mind body and soul. Not to mention the heart. Makes me believe maybe humanity doesn't have something positive to offer the universe.
Kanye West
3/5
IDK. Songs are chock full of sonic ideas and collaborators galore and a result they go on and on and on...and on. Is this prog rap? Wild maximalist arrangements. Overly long songs (not side long orchestral dirges but several approaching 7 minutes) full of twists and turns. Definitely indulgent. Call convoluted album title. And of course this includes a prominent sample from ground zero for actual prog rock...My Dark Twisted Tales from the Topographic Ocean.
Eagles
3/5
The sound of dudes being dudes. How they managed to ski their way through mountains of cocaine and make an album that is so utterly devoid of urgency (except Life in the Fast Lane) and barely manages to register a blip on the rock meter (except Life in the Fast Lane). Defend Try and Love Again... I dare you.
Drive Like Jehu
4/5
Where's the damn editor? Cut these songs in half and this one positively slays. So many good ideas. Room moving energy. Sonically thrilling. But almost every song is too damn long. Three because a 38 min version of this album is a 5+. Man. It's really just so damn good. You know. This is a game time decision. We're going 4.
3/5
It is a well trodden fact that you can't have a country song without mentions of mama, jail or trains. But that really only goes for the male side of the genre. On the lady side - you get one topic and one topic only - L.U.V. Now that topic gets parceled into various categories. There' s "get your stuff and go" songs. There's the "why did you get your stuff and go" songs. There's the "I really miss you" songs. The "scoundrel" song is very popular as well as it's subcategory - the "take you lyin cheating heart and get out" song. And of course the hybrid "I cheated while you were cheatin'" song. In the end - it always ends. It is that sense of loss - that pathos - that connects no matter that time of the music - whether is be double time delivered with attitude or a ballad full pain - Loretta Lynn is a master. But here it is really only the songs Lynn wrote or co wrote herself that move the needle - the title track (a masterpiece), Get Wathca Got and Go and I Got Caught. They all have a little humor and attitude to go along with the well trodden tropes.
Ute Lemper
2/5
Pop’s most crepuscular talents emerged from their garrets to dance a doomed tango with Ute, until she stamps pitilessly on their necks. I am trying to figure out what activity this music is suited for. And what the hell is it on the list. Seriously.
R.E.M.
4/5
This albums acts as a book end of sorts to Murmur. That album certainly rocks but what set it apart from many contemporaries were the moments that pull back. The layers that created atmosphere amidst the jangle. Ten years of on - it is not just overdubbed guitars and reverb that creates the atmosphere but sweeping strings. Big sweeping strings. They perfectly augment the mostly acoustic based record. A beautiful record that feels like the passage of time. Songs that immerse you but are uncluttered enough to allow you to think, ponder, lament and transcend. Sweetness Follows has long been a favorite of mine and it was great to revisit like am old friend assuring me it will be ok. In spite of its ubiquity - Man on the Moon still has the ability to transport you somewhere else. And Nightswimming - I can imagine a version of this song that could have appeared on Murmur - written by 4 young men with nothing but future - full of indomitable youthful energy and perhaps a little sexual energy. This version instead looks back. You feel the passage of time. It's a reminder that - as days past stack up - youthful memories become more resonant. It's not that you want to go back to those simpler times but you have learned to treasure their existence. Not bad for a little band from Athens, GA. 4.5
The Who
5/5
A landmark. Plain and simple. No notes.
Kanye West
4/5
The good outweighs the bad. At least musically.
Liz Phair
5/5
Hell yeah. Is there a more 90s album on this list? Or one that touches more musical to chat nes of the era - a little lofi, a little Lilith/riot girl, a little straight "alternative". It works because the songs are great. Hooks abound. The fanciful bits of production all work. Ultimately - this album feels full of life.
James Brown
5/5
My man comes out and throws absolute heat from beginning to end. The band is tight as a drum(?) yet still breathes. And it breathes fire. And while the band is incendiary, that voice is the main attraction. And what an attraction - it's like a theme park ride - twisting and turning. The highs scrape the stratosphere and the asides leave a mark.
Van Halen
5/5
Five stars for the utterly revolutionary gutter work and the overall good vibes. A band that was nothing if not ready to bring, attend or underscore the party. I am tempted to remove a star for unleashing a decade where technical proficiency overtook songwriting and expression. But then one listen to Eruption with fresh ears reminded me - there was only one EVH.
Talking Heads
5/5
Sonic sublimity. Same as it ever was.
Common
3/5
In 2000 this was about as good a hip hop album as there was. Now - an above average history lesson featuring a who's who of guest artists, producers and collabs. a solid listen - of a little long.
Muddy Waters
5/5
An album that helped codify what blues would sound like for generations. Highly influential - especially for a group of young Brits who would take the what was do display here, repackage it and sell it back to America. The record itself still feels vibrant. A band with aces at every instrument being led by a true master. As good a representation as any of an artist and a genre.
Super Furry Animals
2/5
Check out the size of my influences. I respect this more than enjoy listening to it. That is the faintest praise I could come up with.
Cream
2/5
Creating arguably the best psychedelic blues album is great and all but it's akin to being the best penny-farthing cyclist on the planet. I'm sure this album sounded neat in 1967 but in a few years you look as ridiculous as someone riding a high-wheeler in the Tour de France. Groovy cover.
Snoop Dogg
2/5
Tedious.
Anita Baker
2/5
I tried. The voice is stellar. Songs are middling. I just can't get past the production. The mid 80s is where the 80s sound hit the ditch.
Sebadoh
3/5
Thanksgiving '00 I was visiting my aunt and uncle on the outskirts of Chattanooga. Lots of sitting around chatting with the extended family. In attendance was a cousin who I have known for years but haven't spent all that much time with. He asks if I want to go to the store to grab something. I am ready to leave the "sitting around chatting" portion of the weekend - however bri fly. We get in his vintage Oldsmobile share a joint and drive around - aimlessly. Not sure we ever made it to the store. Maybe. Probably doesn't matter. What did matter was the tape playing in the tape player - Bubble and Scrape. I like Sebadoh just fine. I saw them a few times. Owned some records - this is not my favorite. But that probably doesn't matter either. What mattered is that for a brief moment 25 years ago youth as a knew it - ended. It was not my marriage or the birth of my first child. It was not getting a real job. Those things were all about to happen. Youth as I understood it in the truest of the word is epitomized by driving around aimlessly, sharing a joint and just being in a moment you don't fully understand in real time. You're just there. No agenda. No destination (except theoretically a possibly non existent store). Talking. Or not. Just driving. And getting lost in some crunchy guitars and strongly held dude emotions seemed to be the perfect soundtrack to the waning moments of true slackerdom. It was a moment.
Kacey Musgraves
3/5
This album goes down easy. Couldn't be more appropriately named. But essential? Maybe in the way a perfectly broken in warm blanket is essential on a cool fall night.
Beck
4/5
...an take a left. Then go down the road right about 2 miles. You'll see a barn. Don't turn there. Go to the next intersection. Don't turn there either. But make sure to look both ways before you proceed. People are crazy. So once you clear the intersection there a billboard that says "THE END IS NEAR AND SO IS SALVATION" - turn right onto the path the runs behind the sign. If you see the all all you can eat Chinese buffet you've gone too far - foods not great but there's A LOT of it. It's easy to miss. The path not the Chinese buffet. Uh -so you travel down the path the runs behind the sign for about 10 minutes. You'll pass basically nothing - and a lot of it. Don't let the deter you. Focus, light a cigarette, crack open an RC cola and look out for the rock. And keep your eyes peeled cause it comes up quick. And you don't want to pass this landmark. There'll be no Chinese buffet to save you. No. If you miss this stop the end isn't near. It's just there. So yeah - that's where it's at. Say hi to Steve for me.
Bruce Springsteen
3/5
Like the sound of a '57 Chevy revving its engine and then roaring down the open road.
Arctic Monkeys
3/5
Fiery lads being uh fiery. Before they stopped being fiery and discovered their inner lounge the only dancing going on was the jumping up and down and up and down and up...yeah. Respect the hell out of it. They're kids on this outing and that energy comes through but it never really takes flight. It's just up and down and up and down and up...
The Fall
4/5
How this formula manages to work m is one of the great mysteries of modern music. But it did. And does. The sonic tweaks merge the raw energy that is everpresent for The Fall and incorporate elements of the dance boom in the UK - albeit in a very Fall way. Long live Mark E Smith.
Method Man
3/5
Just like Kiss - Wu-Tang members are better together - at least for a full album.
Do I mean that - at all? Probably not because there's no "New York Groove" much less a "Radioactive" or an "I Can't Stop the Rain" in the WTC - or it's affiliated projects - catalog. How to take that statement? I'm basically listing songs from Kiss solos albums which are pretty much garbage as is that entire Kiss catalog save maybe the aforementioned "New York Groove". Why is Kiss even here? In this review much less on this planet? Which then leads to why any of us are here? Walking. Talking. Listening...
"Is it real, son, is it really real, son?/Let me know it’s real son, if it’s really real”
Who knows...but we gotta keep it moving.
Run-D.M.C.
4/5
Freshman year. Suburban Atlanta. Rap had come to the area a couple year prior thank to a recent transplant to the area named Ace Atkins. With it came break dancing and parachute pants. At that time it's pretty much Kurtis Blow, Dr Jeckll and Mr Hyde and of course the first true break out - Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. This coincides with me finding my musical sea legs. I took a lot in and early on - i preferred guitars. And that's why I do remember the first time I experienced rap and rock merging. USA Network was in the early days of cable and they had 24hrs to fill. They filled that by showing music videos. In my memory often things that didn't make there way into the rotation on MTV. So one night I'm watching and what comes on - none other them Rock Box. Big beat, leather suits, chunky adidas - a different world than suburban ATL - but there was something else. A whaling guitar that runs throughout. Riffs and solos alongside the already familiar rad cadence. Mind blown. The next year brought King of Rock which repeated the trick with a better riff and overall production. These of course set the table for the moment that rock and rap would be intertwined and allow rap to crash not just middle school thanks to a new kid with a cartoon a name and a massive boom box but to the culture writ large. And the best part - this album just sounds damn good (where is i don't actually love Rock Box 40 years later). And it's a great time throughout.
Thelonious Monk
3/5
I get it's impact - intellectually. You can hear elements that would be built upon in the coming generation. But as a pure listening experience it doesn't really transcend the time. Whereas Saxophone Colossus (Sonny R is standout on this album) Blue Train, Mingus Ah um and Kind of Blue and Moanin all continue to titillate this album fails to escape the time outside of Bemsha Swing which totally swings. Certainly a worthy entry into the canon. And an enjoyable enough listen.
Mott The Hoople
3/5
Wah wah wah wahhh....crunch crunch crunch dun nuh da nuh da...drive drive drive drive.
There. I did it. I wrote a review of a Mott the Hoople album without mentioning the - uh - West Midlands - home of Black Sabbath, ELO, Napalm Death, UB40, Dexy's Midnight Runners or Ned's Atomic Dustbin. All - with one exception - have at least one album on the list. Must be something the water (or maybe the rain).
Radiohead
3/5
All I need is All I Need. That jam is better then some artist's entire career output. A great summation what they do. Of all they. Make em wait. Give a taste. And out. Leave me wanting more but also satisfied.
Tom Waits
4/5
I can't review this album. My brain is just flickering like and aging neon sign that says "OPEN" but the "O" is rarely lit so it just reads "PEN" leaving me walking Spanish down the hall to swallow the night, a saint in every dream and the donuts have names that sound like prostitutes. Not all dreams are real.
Aretha Franklin
4/5
In a bad mood? Give this a try. If this doesn't cure what ails you there may be no saving you.
Wu-Tang Clan
3/5
Oscar Meyer Weiner Award for rhyming "ghonorea" with "diarrhea". Some cool beats and they're having a great time but it's all just beyond my grasp.
Marvin Gaye
5/5
MG brings sexy to socially conscious music. This is an album in the truest sense of the word. Three absolute classics rise like hymns. In between the groove never flags. While not always a party the players are all having a great time. As immersive as any album of the era - vibes, knowledge and melody collide to put you in the room.
Elastica
3/5
This is a weird one. Solid. But nothing really rises above. It's good all the way through. No real impact but a good enough listen. The catchiest riffs are not their own but in the end - who cares. Are we holding Led Zeppelin to this standard? The difference being LZs wholesale stealing reached incredibly lofty heights that often exceeded the humble intentions of the original - at least sonically speaking. Elastica just amble along for 16 songs. Perhaps the most solid 3 on the list - at least thusfar. And maybe there's a greatness in that.
OutKast
4/5
A transcendental funk fantasia. It may hang around a little (very little) too long but damn is this a wildly ebullient ride. Bangers, experiments, interludes. It's all here and it all works.
Cyndi Lauper
3/5
Killer songs abound - especially side one. Production at times is a little tough.
Yes
3/5
For all the notes on display here this is all about the bass tone for me. I'm a simpleton and heart. The music moves in all directions at once but the bass provides a solid foundation and something to hold onto. Downright groovy even in 7/8 time...
Fairport Convention
2/5
Richard Thompson is as good a guitar player as has ever been. He can do it all from finger picking to big riffs. Rock, pop, folk, standards. Whatever. Great songwriter to boot. But I have never found my way into Fairport Convention. Ironically - it's his folk upbringing that I have always felt separated him from the British blues pack. But I am unmoved by his actual folk period with FC.
Moby
2/5
WRAS. Album 88. 88.5 in Atlanta. I owe much of my love of music to this station. From age 14 to 18 I just learned so much. Replacements, Jesus and Mary Chain, Love and Rocket, Husker Du, Black Flag, Dead Milkmen, Siouxsie and the Banshees - all heard for the first time. And Wednesday nights Pure Mania - that was the epicenter. Like sticking my head into a centrifuge for three hours - I would emerge changed. Eventually I taped the shows and especially the weekly album side - they would play a whole album side of a recent release. And that how I came to know Mission of Burma. The album was Versus. It felt important in a way I didn't fully understand. It wasn't as graspable as the other things I was picking up my music dive. But it perked up my ears. There was something. Some months later I heard not one but two MOB songs that still define Mission of Burma for me (and many others). Songs that became bakes into me DNA. First - Academy Fight Song. This track transports you to another world. Even if that world is a boarding school in New England - to quote the song - it has a strange allure. I am still fascinated.
And then... That's When I Reach for My Revolver. It defies category. A bass led anthem that defines urgency in music. It kicks ass but still has melody. It hasn't lost an ounce of feeling in the 40 years it's been in my life. As it turns out - I was far from alone because 10+ years later I hear the song on my fave Album 88. But this is not the original. It's a cover. Not a great cover mind you. But bless his heart - he's trying. This trung out to be none other than Moby. At that point my only awareness of Moby was from the Heat soundtrack - God Moving Over the Face of the Waters - an unimpeachable great track that I still carry with me. So why the hell is he destroying a formative song form my youth. But from that moment I just couldn't forgive that man. He had desecrated the sacred scrolls.
So this album - I just can't.
But do get listen to God Moving Over the Face of the Waters. Or even better - watch Heat.
a-ha
2/5
This actually hangs together as an album pretty well. Some excellent self harmonies. But seriously if you remove ONE song is this anywhere near this list.
Television
4/5
The the first of the CBGBs big 4 (apologies to the Patti Smith group who was already covering Van Morrison) to actually play the club. As such - are extended guitar solos and 11 minute multi part songs actually punk rock? Maybe it comes down to attitude. I saw television when I was a senior in college. They had regrouped in the wake of the alt rock boom of the early 90s to produce a middling album. But seeing them live was like seeing the Rolling Stones or U2. They just felt bigger than what I was seeing at the time. Only 15 years out from this debut they felt foundational. I have never grown tired of this album. As is often the case - side one is far more effective than side two. But the first 4 tracks have managed to sustain a legacy for almost 50 years.
Supertramp
2/5
I was originally going to compare this to a 70s musical meatloaf (lower case "m"). It's got elements of Pink Floyd, Genesis, Zeppelin, Bowie, even Bread - not so much as influence but straight up sections in a song before switching modes. It's certainly sound nice. But in the end it'snot very satisfying. So less meatloaf - which consists of throwing a bunch of stuff in a bowl of grond beef and baking it. In the end it make be overcooked but you know you've eaten something. This i was just left feeling like I wasn't sure what I was supposed to feel. Songs start to go somewhere and then don't. Some songs even sound nice - in the moment. So it's more KFC Famous Bowl then meatloaf.
10cc
1/5
When judged purely on a production level - 10cc is an all timer. If you don't know read how Not in Love was created. Scrambles the mind. And here - they are having a great time in the studio. Impressive for the era. It's just so damn goofy. Maybe I'm just no fun. Me no get...
Ride
2/5
Tried many times. Cool cover. Perhaps a good EP. Still a no on this one.
Coldplay
3/5
I first heard this album played in its entirety in a bar. I couldn't get over how much it reminded me of a less challenging Jeff Buckley. It sounded pretty good in the background drinking a few beers on a Sunday afternoon. not quite the way this band sound today. Hard to argue with the quality of this album. 3.5.
The Kinks
5/5
Beatles vs Stones. The correct and only answer...the Kinks. Musically yes. But more importantly the Kinks would also kick their collective asses in a street fight. I may not get all the references but it sure does make me what to visit.
Beatles
5/5
From here on out, if you want to make it, kid, you better write your own songs....
And what songs they are.
I really can't add anything.
Better than Pretzel Logic.
Echo And The Bunnymen
3/5
E&TB are the Doors to U2s Led Zeppelin - dark and moody to U2s rafter rattling bombast. You can almost here Jim Morrison singing The Yo Yo Man. Some excellent guitar flourishes. Quality.
SZA
2/5
Good for what it is - I think - but what it is is not for me. 2.5
Morrissey
3/5
At the time I would have bet the farm that Johnny Marr would have won the post Smiths war. Boy was I wrong. This album showed the world that Morrissey not only didn't need Marr but that had moved on so thoroughly he found someone (actually two someones) that created something altogether different and it added new layers. The two guitar attack is a different animal. And the Mick Ronson production - the chefs kiss. This album kicks. 3.976426 stars (I just can't quite give this the same rating as Hard Days Night from a few days ago. If that album was a few weeks ago I'm going 4)
Rage Against The Machine
3/5
A steady groove gets occasionally interrupted so some dude can scream bumper sticker slogans and drop f-bombs while a guitarist - apparently unaware there is a band practicing in the other room - scratches at Gang of Four chords before having a seizure laying atop his guitar. Rinse. Repeat. Not exactly revolutionary. But it gets you pumped. Sh*t Happens.
Portishead
5/5
This album is so physical. It could only have come to be in the 90s but is unlike anything else of the time. It FEELS like love and longing and ecstasy and loss sometimes within the same song. There's just nothing that does quite what this album does. An experience. Visceral.
Public Image Ltd.
4/5
The warmed over classic rock riffs (and production) of the punk boy band Sex Pistols get most of the press. But PIL was way more interesting. Where sex Pistols were stuck in the present (of 1976/77) PIL is forward thinking. Imagine hearing this album of you were executing SP Part 2. Bass takes precedence over guitars - shout out Jah Wobble for bringing reggae/dub to the chat. Strange sounds abound. The centerpiece is still the singular wail of J Lydon. This album is still challenging and rewarding in equal measures. 4.5
Kate Bush
5/5
The denim vest is really what stood out. I don't ever remember seeing anyone wear a denim vest in my high school of 3000 people. A new kid in school recently relocated from Kentucky. His dad had just been relocated the help the ailing JC Penny's in Atlanta. Seems they were the supplier of said vest. Matt and I shared an english class. And eventually a lot more than that. But without a doubt the most lasting influence was the shared love of Kate Bush. Or as we knew her - Kate. Is still find some of her more esoteric moments confounding (I'm looking at you Lionheart). But when she hits - wow does she hit. I am a pop smith romantic at heart and this album is all her talents on full display. I cant really review this album. It just is for me. I feel like a rag doll it here capable hands. Tossed and twisted at her whim. And I gladly give myself over. Adult emotions writ large. Takes me back and makes me glad I lived those days. Kate/Matt - thank you.
Dexys Midnight Runners
3/5
Was I in the mood to listen to this? No. Will I ever be in the mood to listen to this? Probably not. Does it defy all expectations based on my limited (ie American) perspective? Absolutely.
Way better than expected by orders of magnitude. The voice is still the fulcrum - depending on how much dig the warble mat predict your appreciation of the album. But the arrangements are excellent. And surprising. And sometimes just weird. I feel like with investment this may pay some dividends. I'm unclear on whether I will ever put in the time needed truly succumb to this albums charms. It definitely has its charms. Perhaps many. I think it may have helped my end of holiday blues. At worst - these guys are having a great time and that can be quite infectious. Respect. 3.51 stars.
Led Zeppelin
4/5
4 dudes moving in different directions somehow find ridiculous grooves. As such - JPJ is the true standout here. Comes out kicking and stays ferocious. Hungry. II is better. But this...wow.
Pearl Jam
2/5
The early 90s is the sound of beautiful young men expressing themselves. In an era defined by irony Pearl Jam are a totem of earnestness. I respect it and have enjoyed the occasional song over the years but the music is just so pedestrian. Well crafted. Solid playing. But it never resonated with me on a core level. Turns out they didn't need me...
Once more - with feeling boys.
Joni Mitchell
5/5
It is staggering the level of musicality that is held within the 3m2s of Car on a Hill. I have generally favored Hejira but relistening to this after many years away - it's tough to beat. Choruses are on short supply. Melodies extend beyond simple pop convention. She feels fully liberated here. An artist. Like a relationship - if you open yourself up it hits the head and the heart.
Booker T. & The MG's
3/5
BTMG=GATC.
Side one anyway. Side two is a little meh. But side 1 breaks things wide open. It's all there - the past and the future aligned.
Iron Butterfly
2/5
Nope. It's like Tom Jones fronting Deep Purple having just purchased a rhyming dictionary. Putting the spine in Spinal Tap.
Beatles
5/5
First off - this mix is ridiculous. Roaring out of the gate with Taxman. Then full Paul with Eleanor Rigby. I'm Only Sleeping alludes to shoegaze.
Here there everywhere - that crazy guitar key change saves from potential smaltz and the transition into... yellow submarine. I love urging the crowd on in the channel. Such a joyous place that you don't want to leave in the midst of the slow fade.
To switch gears the the board strokes...
this is a transition that's better than what happened on either side.
The harmonies of old are still there but the music and so writing is refracted.
John wins the record. Probably the last one?
There are some many amazing sonic flourishes.
The knockout is Tomorrow Never Knows. So often "sounds" don't age well. This is simply untouchable. And The Mono version is like sticking your finger in an electric socket. It will make your hair stand on end.
And lastly - Rain. From the same sessions. Doesn't get any better.
Cocteau Twins
4/5
So much to see with nothing specific. An amazing 37 minutes away from the sturm and drang. More heaven than Las Vegas.
Count Basie & His Orchestra
5/5
There's an idea that a musical genre begins to fade when the people stop dancing. When the audience sits and watches as opposed to being part of the action. When it becomes intellectualized. I defy anyone to stop their feet from moving when The Kid from Red Bank comes on. It's impossible to maintain that level of energy - this album is radiant. Aptly titled. I always feel a little better after putting it on.
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
The block rocking beats are here. The builds and breakdown as well. The foundational tones (so many squiggles). The oscillators - in full effect. . It's good and all. They really go to town on an idea. Ideas they would refine in years to come - funkier groovier zanier years to come. 3.5 stars.
Goldie
2/5
Yeah. No. Love the ironic title though - very 90s.
Talking Heads
3/5
A solid foundation with some obvious highs. Perhaps the most influential TH album. The sound of this album still resonates.
The Police
4/5
This album caps a 6 year/5 album run that is a good as any I'm rock history - said with no hyperbole. Their box set Message in a Box which includes every song from every album has basically no skips...save one. I'm all for pushing boundaries as well as giving band members a greater share of royalties for including their lesser songs on an album. But what the hell is the reason for Mother. I didn't get it then. I don't get it now. I just don't get it. I know it's coming. I can feel it coming even as the raucous opener Synchronicity 1 fades. It's there even as the sublime beauty of walking in you footsteps envelopes. O My God is a bit of paint by numbers Police (a lesser Demolition Man but with 80s Sax) Still better than most comers. And then...it's here. 3m5s of shear cacophony. And not that good time. Just Mom. And the telephone. Ringing ringing. Ringing. And ringing. And ringing. And then a new day dawns. Miss Gradenko is a fine enough track but the real highlight is Synchronicity 2. Energy, musicianship all on full display. That sets that stage for one of the best sides in rock history. Not sure why that ended up as side two but...it did. A great album. A great way to go out.
The Sensational Alex Harvey Band
2/5
Tough to judge this band out of the context of time. Some moments are very cool. It merges rock, glam and vaudeville with some proggy moment (faith healer is a journey). It never rises to great. I think it's more meaningful historically than straight up listenable. Still better then Pretzel Logic.
Brian Eno
5/5
Robert Johnson. Igor Stravinsky. Rocket 88. Hendrix at Monterey. Sometimes change is an explosion. Other times it's barely audible.
LCD Soundsystem
3/5
Like an alternative history of the 80s. Fripp/Eno, Eno, Can, Kraftwerk, Berlin era Simple Minds (pre pre Breakfast Club) and Depeche Mode. They're all here. As always. But the influences form a composite sound that ends up sounding like none other than LCD Soundsystem. Sounds and songs delivered with energy. Better than most but I have to assume there are at least two other LCD albums on the list - no?
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
5/5
Some albums need to be judged by how they stack up to other albums in their genre. Can you really compare the greatness of Kraftwerk to Count Basie? As such - this album should be judged against other albums of the genre. Which is to say other Nick Cave albums in all their various iterations. He is truly his own genre. Producing good to great music for almost 50 years. The man has seen some things. He has lived a lived a life. And that wisdom is on full display here - this albums just sounds like it knows what it's talking about. Top two in the genre for me (the other being Dig Lazarus Dig - which I believe is also on the list.). NC has about 10 4-star albums. This is a 5. So damn good.
Love
3/5
Groovy. I know I'm supposed to like the next album better but to be honest the first one is my fave - lean and mean- basic but energetic. . This one has its obvious highs (7&7 Is - ridiculously awesome and forward gazing. But it has its fair share of the goofy...
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark
4/5
Sometime cools sound are just cool sounds. There are cool sounds but souch more. A British "5". And American "3". For diplomacy's sake lets call it a 4
Elvis Presley
5/5
What happens when you get a "briefly" rejuvinated Elvis with a world class band.
Probably the best Elvis album. If for now other reason then Elvis was really a singles guy. But there are other reasons.
The Replacements
5/5
The songs. That's really the biggest leap forward here. Sure the arrangements are a little more thought out. The emotions really push through whether it be love, or anger or despondence. You feel everything they are feeling. It's like a roadmap for youthful (or human) emotions. Starting with a confident declaration where anything seems possible if you lay it on the line and ending with...an answering machine...where no human response is forthcoming. Just an endless loop that slowly fades. Along the way you get the full gamut. I am confident 8 of these songs ended up on mix tapes over the years. My "favorite" is ever changing. And even the throw aways feel integral to the album. The greatness is only bolstered by this new mix. This album sounded thin back in the day. It's a revelation to hear these songs sounding fuller. Like you itting in their midst - feeling what they're feeling. I am along for the ride. There may come a day where I am no longer transported back to visit with teenage me when I hear the solo and fade out of Sixteen Blue - a song i first heard as a confused high school sophomore standing in my parents kitchen. But today is not that day.
Ice T
3/5
My head is not really in the game today. I defer to the GOAT Robert Christgau on this one to get the view from 1991...
"Learning and diversifying, remembering where he comes from and sticking to what he knows, Ice-T wins big as the old school shakes out. He won't desert the hards because a hard he remains; his violence is pervasive and graphic because he knows brutalization from the inside. But he's nothing if not a moralist, and so the new jack drunk dies in his Benz, the cops break down the gangbanger's door, his gays are left to live their own lives, and his prematurely ejaculated sex jam is a dis on the horny fool who slavers for it. Since most of what I know about the hard audience comes from rap records, I can't guarantee he'll get away with it. But I can guarantee that this one has something to teach everyone who can stand to listen to it and almost everyone who can't."
These men speak truth - both Ice -T and Bobby C - something we could use a little more of is 2025.
If nothing else you got to respect that.
Faust
5/5
Listening to Krautrock (the song not the genre) at the right volume (loud and room filling) can be a near religious experience. It's so physical. You feel the beat and analog textures more than any melody. Notes rise and fall. Beats persist. Beats change. It's like feeling an evolving heartbeats. It all becomes overwhelming. And then entrancing. And then you are just lost. Until you catch yourself. Or is that even you? You look familiar but ...buh buhmp...I can't see the resemblance...buh buhmp...buh buhmp buh...buh buhmp buh...buh buhmp...and then when you snap back to what seems like reality...buh buhmp buh...buh buhmp...unless things have flipped and that being lost and falling is reality and this is just...buh buhmp buh...buh buhmp...over.
The Rolling Stones
5/5
Can't really make em better than this.
Elbow
1/5
I've tried over the years. It's bit like Talk Talk they tell me. There's a touch of Peter Gabriel they say. A less moody Tindersticks maybe? With some distance it's more like another mercury prize winner that had a penchant for neat sounds before slowly disappearing through the aughts that I pray to God is not on the list - Gomez - fronted by a less rocking Sting (post All for Love). It's neat but not sure this is better than Pretzel Logic.
A Tribe Called Quest
4/5
Just like Ringling Brothers daze and astound captivate the masses cause the prose is profound...and so is the beats...it's a new year!
Adele
2/5
I can hang with 21. This - I just can't. Too many similar sounding ballads that share a nearly identical sentiment - a sentiment that has been shared many times before with nothing to make them stand out. Her voice is great and all but I just feels so smooth here with no grit. That being said - what the hell was I doing at 25?
Siouxsie And The Banshees
3/5
The album where they grow up but don't leave any of the intensity behind - or probably even builds a bit on past outings (Monitor - are you kidding me) Songs are more confident. SSs voice rings out of the speakers. Creative arrangements. It's a new day. Badass.
Otis Redding
5/5
This is like a "how to" that so many have followed. Or attempted to. An album that can make any mood better.
The Only Ones
3/5
A bridge between what came before and what lurks ahead. They were early to the funny voice game inhabited by Alex Chilton, Robyn hitchcock and Jonathan Richman - other artists also caught between two decades that wrote quirky pop songs. And they definitely listened to some New York Dolls. Another Girl remains a masterpiece.
The Mamas & The Papas
3/5
The recording itself is the work of art here. Sonically thrilling. Harmonies soar. Singles bang. Everything else is pretty meh.
Beastie Boys
4/5
I love the millions of young kids saw the video for Sabotage and took the journey with this album. There is a 10 song version of this album that is simply all killer. But then there's a bunch of other stuff. Its certainly in line with 90s CD bloat. While most other artists just add in songs nobody needs to hear just so you feel like your getting more value i do think the jams are additive here. Not every whim is a classic but they are pieces of the puzzle. Not to overthink it because they seem to be having a great time.