Quite the album to start on, while I prefer In Utero, there is a reason this album is so well regarded. Such an angsty, aggressive and dark album, alongside strong hooks, an incredible backing band and Kurt Cobain's iconic vocals. It was nice to revisit, though my thoughts on it hadn't really changed, really great album, though it lulls a smidge in the middle.
4/5
There’s not much I can say about this one, it’s an absolute classic in hip hop, and it definitely deserves its title as one and all the respect it is given. However, it’s far from the greatest of the genre. A great stepping stone, responsible for much of what hip hop has today, but definitely not perfect. A handful of instant classic songs alongside plenty of others that just don’t reach the same heights. I feel like I’m being a little too negative here, I don’t hate this album, not at all. I love so much here, and it’s definitely a worthwhile listen, but hip hop has grown and evolved so much since then.
Such a lush and full album. Every moment is milked for all it is worth. Stevie Wonder is a fantastic vocalist, and even though some of his performances here aren't perfect, this album shows how good he can sound. Some truly funky tracks and some more spiritual, and some more somber and lovelorn. You Haven't Done Nothin stuck out to me for those fantastic instrumentals, great build up in that one too. Just a really well rounded record. Not absolutely astounding, but pretty great.
If you know anything about me, you'll know I'm quite partial to Bob Dylan and his expansive catalog. He is by far my most listened to artist recently. Though honestly, Highway 61 isn't my favorite of his albums, it would be my favorite from 99% of all other artists. Just literally the coolest album of all time. No matter how many times I listen I always find it so incredibly charming and intricate. Some of Dylan's best songwriting here, especially on songs like Ballad of a Thin Man and obviously, Like a Rolling Stone. Not a moment is wasted here, and it makes for one of the best records of the 1960s. The fact that he released Bringing it All Back Home AND this album within a single year shows how incredibly talented he is.
I was super impressed by the first song, but by the end of the first half I was a little eh on it. But the B Side is an absolute masterpiece, 5 back to back great songs. This is a fantastic singer-songwriter album with some incredibly strong pop choruses. If the front half were as strong as the back, this could easily be one of my favorites. Great record nonetheless!
The great songs are like some of the very best in the skate punk genre, but near the back half the album really slumps, it’s sorta disappointing. If they cut the worst of the back half it could easily be an 8 or a 9 out of 10. Still, some fantastic and exciting stuff here, but the front half is doing most of the legwork
I don't have much to say about this one, not because it was bad by any means, it's just mostly samey the whole time. Some really solid funky jangle pop. Worth a listen just for how great the title track is.
Great instrumentation, some really solid songwriting, and one if the worst vocalists I’ve heard in my life. Cannot get over how terrible he sounds. Not a fan. I’d love this album if they had someone else…🫤
Just a really well done instrumental album. Some real soulful easy listening type stuff. Just gets you in a groove while listening, and the album flies by because it's simply just fun to listen to. Some great covers of some classic songs here too. Don't let the general consensus on this one fool you, everything after the opener is definitely worth your time. Though I do agree that the title track is by far the best song here, it's just so incredibly slick and cool.
Man.....I was blown away by that 180 the album took after the first track. So Far Away isn't terrible by any means, but it doesn't sound all that much like the rest of the album. Sorta a boomer-bait song. Money For Nothing is the real start of the album. An instantly catchy almost a little new wavey hard rock track that was so good, I had to listen to it a second time before moving on. The rest of the album dips its toes in to all sorts of genres that make it for a really enjoyable listen. Lots of very atmospheric soft rock and some Americana adjacent stuff too. The title tack, which is also the final, is just as good as Money for Nothing, but for entirely different reasons. Its a seven minute long swansong for the album that is by far the proggiest track here. It ends with a beautiful ambient section that gave me chills. A seriously great listen.
I mean...its Hounds of Love. One of the very greatest pop albums of all time. Infinitely replayable, it's crazy how much more I love this album with each listen. It has many of the best songs in her catalogue, and some super artsy experimental stuff near the back half that leaves you feeling a little dazed after listening. It's a truly awe-inspiring album, and I'm definitely far from the first to say this. Although, in my humble opinion, The Dreaming is her very best album, I totally get why this one gets all the praise, it totally deserves it. Was incredibly glad to have the opportunity to hear this again.
also....wtf why does this only have a 3.5 here.....
I mean...it's not a super interesting listen. Strange that this is the album here and not one from like Slapp Happy or something. meh
Seriously just some of the most fun music to listen to, every single song here is meticulously crafted into the very most funky, dancey and impressive New Wave music to ever be released. This isn't even my favorite album from Talking Heads but somehow manages to be one of the greatest albums ever created, that shows the insane level of creativity and musical talent shown by every single member. A must listen for anyone into any kind of music just because of how much of today's music has been inspired by it. One of the greatest of all time.
By some crazy stroke of luck, after listening to this album for the first time literally today, it came up as my album of the day for tomorrow, so I decided I'd just write down my thoughts now. I've been a fan of Tom Waits' music for quite a while, his unique flavor of singer-songwriter in his earlier career, and his super experimental stuff later. Both are great eras, and this was the transition between them. Very reminiscent of it's successor Rain Dogs, similar production, sound, vocal delivery etc. And while I think he struck that perfect balance on his following records much better than on here, that doesn't make this anywhere near a bad album. Seriously enjoyed it, and is definitely one I'd recommend to people trying to get into his music, as it's probably a little more accessible that what would come after.
Far from a masterpiece, but it's really solid. There is plenty of really fun stuff here, and its nice to hear what the Bee Gees were doing back before their disco stuff. Neat listen, some really good songs, and some less good.
Really great alt-rock album with some almost breakbeat-type drum programming on many of the songs. Reminds me of what Bowie was doing around the same time with Earthlings. Some strong hooks and some really impressive vocals. I especially love that opener, easily one of my favorites of all time, though it was the one song i knew before going into this, so maybe I’m a lil biased.
Never really listened to Grateful Dead before. This one is......fine, but honestly not super mind blowing to me. Maybe it's because I'm not super well versed in their previous output, but this didn't do much for me.
System of a Down were probably the first band that I ever really got into. I was maybe 11 or 12 years old when I discovered Toxicity and played the whole thing three or four times every single day for a whole year. I fell in love with the band. I would listen to their entire discography front to back nearly every single day, though I'd often skip their debut as I just didn't like it. As time progressed, I moved on to other artists and shaped my taste in music, and rarely returned to System. It was maybe one or two years ago when I listened to their debut for the first time in years, and it instantly struck me as so incredibly creative and unique. The complete rawness of everything was incredible. The sickeningly catchy riffs and the character of Serj Tankian's voice was just something that I couldn't find anywhere else, at least at the level of quality here. Out of every track here, the opener Suite-Pee is not only the best here, but their very greatest song. Just that opening riff is one of the greatest moments in all of music. I cannot really point out a song here that brings the album as a whole down. This is by far their greatest record and one that I cannot stop myself from coming back to every few weeks. One of the very most important albums to me.
I wasn't super familiar with George Michael's work post-Wham, so I was pretty excited to hear what he did. I was pretty damn impressed! Really well written songs with some super groovy production. He's clearly going for a Prince sorta sound and vibe, but that's alright, I love Prince! Nothing absolutely groundbreaking, but a really fun listen with some ultra catchy songs.
Pixies are a band I've been trying to get into for about a year now, but every time I try, it just doesn't do it for me. I'm glad this album in particular showed up here as it was an album I hadn't tried to listen to yet. I was pleasantly surprised. I quite liked it. Chock full of short and sweet alt rock bangers with maybe even a little Surf Punk influence on a couple of songs? Really interesting music, whilst not being super unique. Though in truth, does music really have to be unique to be enjoyable? I think not. I find the biggest strength of this album are the long songs that are explored a little more than the others, especially with tracks like Is She Weird and the Happening that stand out from the rest for their interesting ideas. Overall a really good listen, and maybe a good gateway into other albums by Pixies? Hopefully?
Man, I've been meaning to listen to Sonic Youth for such a long time now, but for some reason I never have. Glad I got to start with this record because I absolutely love Kool Thing, by far one of the greatest Noise Rock songs of all time, and deserving of its fame. The rest of the album is pretty much just as good, especially Dissapearer which just blew me away. Overall, a super unique and exciting album that I'm glad I finally listened to.
Show tunes 🫤 just really not my kind of music man. Some well written stuff and David has a great voice, but I just do not like this genre.
I love Lou Reed so goddamn much. He is one of my personal favorite artists. I'm such a huge fan, to the point that I don't only tolerate Lulu, I actively enjoy it, solid 8/10 album. So you'd think that I'd just be absolutely in love with the Velvet Underground....right?
And yeah of course that is the case. All of their albums* are masterclasses in proto-punk and experimental rock. Super great listens and genuinely the most influential band of all time besides like the Beatles.
On this album they strip back their sound and go for a more folk rock approach, and I fell in love with it upon first listen. The songwriting is fantastic, Lou's vocals are the very strongest here than on any of his past and future work, and the band feels incredibly cohesive here. Everything stitches together in just the right way. This is my personal pick for the best album by the Velvet Underground, and is easily one of the best albums of all time.
Pretty neat new wave record. It's nothing like super exceptional, outside of that opener which is just incredible. But nothing here is like actively bad at all. Just a good listen. Excited to hear more from Japan
Went in expecting just a really great rock and roll record, but in truth, it's just so much more. So many different genres were explored here. Strong songwriting and great vocals from Mick and the band sound more cohesive here than I've really ever heard previously from a Rolling Stones record. It's far from a perfect album though, You Gotta Move is a huge stinker among the great songs here. Besides the weaker stuff, it's genuinely really great and deserves the praise and attention it receives.
Finding out how very much NOT overhyped this album is was a genuinely moving experience. Really cool energy from the crowd and a consistently fantastic performance. It is probably the greatest live album ever recorded, or at least among a very small few. An essential listen, that I hate myself for not hearing before today.
To preface this review, I'd like to mention how this album was reissued as recently as 2016 without the album cover being altered.....huh.......the album itself is pretty solid, nothing that absolutely blew me away besides Piece of my Heart. The rest of the album kinda lags pretty far behind that track though. I did like listening to this, but I probably won't ever do a full relisten on this one. Good record with some excellent performances, especially from Janis, but far from an essential listen.
