I cannot hate this album, no matter how many times I hear Jump. For a guy as proficient at guitar as Eddie Van Halen to push such a synthesiser-forward album is impressive. Innumerable catchy hooks and riffs make almost every song on this album hard to skip. Panama, Hot for Teacher, and Drop Dead Legs are standouts for me. Top Jimmy is such an insane performance from Eddie and Alex. Girl Gone Bad is another crazy instrumental, I always am having a great time listening to it. House of Pain is the only song on this album that I think is subpar, just a bit naff.
In saying all of this, David Lee Roth across the whole album has such a cunty voice, it makes me uncomfortable. I do not need him to explain letting off the handbrake in such a sultry voice. Or all of his orgasm adlibs. I do not know exactly what it is, the timbre, the tone, the delivery? Fucking freak.
Album rocks though.
Listening to MJ is so funny, because it becomes very evident when he wrote a song versus when Quincy or Rod Temperton wrote it. MJ writes absolute nonsense lyrics that are so fucking funny. Wanna Be Startin' Something is the best example of this.
I mean, what needs to be said about this album. It's one of the greatest pop releases of all time. Quincy is a god at production and guided this album into the promised land. If you ever doubt Quincy's influence, check out the original version of Thriller on youtube (it's called Starlight and it is some Jehovah's Witness propaganda). MJ's vocals are infallible, and the harmonies are so intricate and lush. The melodies and counter melodies are so perfectly done, it is hard to imagine the amount of talent that went into how some of these songs were written and arranged. Human Nature might be the greatest pop song ever written and performed. Lady in My Life might be the most underrated song in history also, but it is a tough act to follow up such an impeccable tracklist.
Add onto this the brilliant music videos that were partnered with this album, Thriller fucks.
FUCK THE GIRL IS MINE THOUGH, THAT SONG IS SO FUCKING SHIT GOD DAMN. FUCK YOU PAUL.
This album is too perfect to not give a five, even with that shitty song. The other songs are too incredible.
I think this album is pretty overrated. There a few Steely Dan songs that I adore, but generally, I find their music really hokey and conceited. This album is an example of that.
Do It Again kind of just drags on, I have no idea why it is 6 minutes long when 1/3 of the song is two terrible solos. The melody of this song is grating, and I think the vocals feel really strained.
Reelin' In The Years is another song I feel similarly about. I just do not enjoy it. The melody is annoying, and the vocals just irritate me. The guitar ornamentation around the track is boring, and the tone/timbre of the guitars are just not great.
The rest of the album is okay, and has some moments here and there that I enjoy, but generally is pretty whatever.
Dirty Work, Turn That Heartbeat Over Again, and Brooklyn however, are great songs.
Aja and Groucho are two way better projects, where I feel that their songwriting and production matured.
In closing, they are talentless hacks who have thrived off of surrounding themselves with incredible session musicians like Bernard Purdie, Larry Carlton, and Chuck Rainey.
5 misses and 2 fucking terrible songs, but 3 songs that I revisit very often.
Is Sting the worst part about the Police? Yes. Is white fella putting on a patois accent corny? Maybe. I still think he delivers some memorable vocal performances, particularly on the two big hits, but also on No Time This Time and Does Everyone Stare.
Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers are great as per usual. Copeland is by far my favourite part of the Police, and his drumming is tight and rudiment-filled throughout this project. Tons of great, rhythmic, and unique sounding songs on Regatta De Blanc. This album is nowhere near Zenyatta Mondatta or Synchronicity, but it is okay still.
Contact, Deathwish, and It's Alright For You are the worst tracks on the album. Every other track, I either didn't mind, or really enjoyed.
Definitely my least listened to Police project, but still very solid.
This album sounds like music that plays in a shitty Adam McKay movie. I got tired of being yelled and squealed out across the first half of the album. Some of the more focused numbers were solid, but a lot of the tracks felt too eclectic. I feel like this chaotic songwriting gets marketed as 'high-energy', but it is just all over the place to me.
The second half of the album was more enjoyable, from She's So Loose onward. The songs slowed down, there was more variety in the instrumentation, and the melodic and rhythmic ideas were more cohesive. The lyrics were not particularly noteworthy, but that does feel a bit asinine given that the lyrics aren't generally at the forefront of this genre.
In saying this, this album does not seem particularly special, especially when sat next to its peers from the same year like Melon Collie, What's The Story... etc. Overall, it was okay, but nothing incredible, and I won't be listening to it again.
This is a landmark album in jazz and bossa nova, with two of the greatest instrumentalists on their respective instruments at their best. From the second you hear the opening of The Girl From Ipanema, to the closing saxophone run on Vivo Sohando, this album is phenomenal. The music is so fantastically evocative of a time and feeling. The control of dynamics really helps texture the album, with Getz and Gilberto (as well as the accompanying instruments) exhibiting a great deal of restraint in when they pull you in and push you away.
I know that a lot of people find bossa nova 'samey', but that core rhythm at the heart of each song is so integral to this sound/genre. I'm always blown away by how Getz & Gilberto are able to repurpose and recontextualise this rhythm to fit the mood of the songs.
Antonio Jobim's sparing chord ornamentation and auxiliary parts help to harmonically tie the pieces together, especially during the lengthy solos throughout.
Doralice, Para Machuchar Meu Coracao, So Danco Samba and Corcovado are standouts for me.
I really love this album, and I pray to god that there is some more jazz on the way.
Why is this album on this list? It's just a nothing album, it really feels like the musical equivalent of hotel room art. I don't know what else to say. It's just a boring album released at a time when there was a million better things to listen to. WHY IS IT ON THIS LIST MAN? Every track kinda bled into the next one - there were a couple of times where I hadn't realised that two or three tracks had passed. Album sucked.
I normally do not like live albums that much, but it is grossly unfair to lump this in with the rest of them.
This album is a banger, and the live aspects only add to the enjoyment of the songs and their impact. Johnny Cash is great as per usual, and he manages to have the crowd hooked from the jump. Every song is more or less perfect, but I particularly like Wanted Man and San Quentin. The album has the same song twice, more or less, but somehow still does not overstay its welcome, or lose its energy at any point. The inmates' participation is a fun bonus to the tracks too: booing the guard and the warden, cheering during San Quentin etc, it creates such a strong atmosphere.
Johnny Cash rocks, album rocks, glad he managed to get his glass of water from the guard.
A fun listen that gets a bit repetitive, but is still very cool.
I do not think I will revisit this project as a whole very often, but a couple of songs like Asabache and El Cumbanchero are fantastic. I find the departure from guitar and vocal driven music a nice change of pace, and it is so fun to just sink into a rhythmic and percussive project.
The call and response work throughout the album is great too, and reminds me of a ton of the Sega, Seggae, and Creole albums I grew up listening to.
Personally, this album gave me a ton of nostalgia for family events growing up. Fantastic listen, but idk how often I will revisit it.
This album is fantastic from one of the best discographies in music. Every Outkast album is a 5 to me, but I think Stankonia or ATLiens are my favourites.
The eclectic beat choices, the lyrical themes ranging from commentary on racial and social issues, to war, to stank hoes, this album doesn't miss. Spaghetti Junction, Humble Mumble, So Fresh, So Clean, We Luv Deez Hoez, and Red Velvet (GOAT Outkast song imo) are the best on this album, but every track is exceptional. Great feature list too, including Killer Mike, Erykah Badu, and Cee-Lo.
The only gripe I have with the album are the interludes. There are too many, and though there are some okay ones, they generally add nothing. At the very least, they are separate tracks that aren't tacked on to the end or start of any of the actual songs, so you can just skip them.
I really love this album, and I doubt that there has been a day that I haven't listened to at least a few tracks from this album since I first heard it when I was like 6. Shout out the Dungeon Family.
Amy is a wonderful vocalist, and deliveries an immense amount of character and power in her voice.
If you don't enjoy Soul or RnB, then this album won't seem special at all, but it is an immense project. Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi did a fantastic job in producing these tracks, and giving the album a timeless sound.
I like the touches of doo-wop and samples from the golden era of 60s soul. The 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' sample at the core of Tears Dry on Their Own is particularly great, and Amy does a good job of reinventing the wheel with this track.
The majority of this album being written solely by Amy is impressive too, and I think the songwriting is underrated and oft overshadowed by her vocal performances.
'Rehab' is exceedingly overplayed however, and I don't think I will ever enjoy that song. It is quite tragic considering the circumstances of her death, also. I think 'Addicted' is a pretty weak album closer too, and didn't particularly care for the track. I wish her rendition of Valerie was included on the original version of this album also.
Favourite tracks: Love is a Losing Game, Tears Dry on Their Own, Wake Up Alone
