Cohesive without being same-y. I can see why the popular songs on it are the ones they are, they're both clear standouts.
Instantly made me want to dance, I haven't danced blues in so long. So many moments that felt familiar when I know I've never listened to these songs before - makes sense to read that this album was inspiration for lots of contempories. If you cut out the very beginning and end, you could have convinced me that the first part of the album was recorded in a studio, the sound is so clear. That is until the music starts to get more upbeat and the squealing, cheering, and clapping fans can be heard. The studio recorded tracks at the end of the album make that extra energy in the live recorded tracks more apparent.
Lots to sink your teeth into. Dense with layered samples and definitely designed to be listened to in full with each track blending into the next. Nodding along throughout. Enjoyed the references to the first track in the last, making it almost cyclical. The odd sample grated on me (such as the vocal sample in Radio) but I can hardly complain as each sample comes and goes relatively swiftly. Frontier psychiatrist was the clear standout to me, had me grinning.
Honestly pretty disappointing. All felt very same-y. Levon and Razor Face in particular just felt like slightly worse copies of Tiny Dancer. Indian Sunset was promising until the lyrics started... By far and away my favourite of the tracks I hadn't heard before was Madman across the Water.
Smooth and easy to listen to, if a bit sweet in places. Was expecting more of the album to sound like Superstition but it just kind of comes out of nowhere with a very different feeling to the rest.
Heavy but polished. I can imagine it would sound amazing blasted through massive speakers at a concert. There's lots of really pretty guitar lines I didn't quite expect going in, like the start of The Unforgiven and the interpolation of America from West Side Story at the start of Don't Tread on Me.
Very engaging. Normally when I'm listening to an album, there's points when my mind wonders elsewhere for a bit, but it couldn't do so here. Nothing ever felt repetitive and there was always new and unexpected parts coming in later in the songs
Simple music made to compliment beautiful lyrics - like sung poetry.
Really made me wish I was in the room when it was recorded. I've generally avoided live recordings, but I'm realising now that that's the opposite of what I should be doing when listening to jazz or blues. It feels so warm and human. I love the off script moments and the into telling the audience that for that night only they're Mercury recording artists too - it all gives such a lovely feeling of time and place. Beautiful cozy voice.
Really drives home how versatile the standard reggae beat can be. Discusses heavy topics with a comforting confidence and optimism.
I enjoyed it. Sounded exactly as I expected it to based on the two songs I already knew. Listening to a hidden track on a streaming service feels weird.
Very atmospheric with lots of cool riffs. Would make a great sound track for a game/series/movie. A bit too much repetition in places, there were quite a few tracks that in my opinion could be cut down slightly and still retain their overall feeling.
Real variety in sounds and style across the tracks, with some great instrumentation choices. Strong blues, soul, and country influences throughout give it cohesion.
So much promise that repeatedly gets squandered. Instrumentals start out interesting, plateau for ages, then finally start to build just in time for the track to end. The same choir is pulled out over and over to add drama but it falls flat the more the same trick is used. The singer has neither range nor an interesting tone and sings like he thinks he's doing something when he's really not. Sometimes the stars align and things sound great for a bit, only for it to slip away again. Lyrics extremely hit or miss, like if Ian Dury woke up one day and decided he was Leonard Cohen.
Like taking a pure distilled shot of the 80s. Impressive that every single instrument is him. Fun.
Fantastic vocals, great band, and a well constructed set, but this is my least favourite of the live recorded albums I've had so far. James Brown is obviously excellent at audience interaction, it sounded like they were having a blast, but all the screaming is not my cup of tea. Compared to other live recordings from the same era, I think the recording quality could have been better.
I knew a surprising amount of songs from this album considering I wouldn't think of myself as being very familiar with Dire Straits. It's got a lot of their biggest hits on it, some great songs. Striking how long all of the tracks are here, averaging ~6 minutes each, especially considering the increase in sub 3 minute songs released lately. That said, I do feel like some may benefit from being slightly tighter though. For example, turns out I'm familiar with the shortened radio edit of Money for Nothing, and I think I prefer it to the full version, as atmospheric as the intro is. The title track is such an amazing song and a great closer to the album, though I must admit that there's a cover version I prefer to the original.
Repetitive and feels dated, the production especially. Some of the synth lines and samples sound straight out of a sega game. Uncomfortably over sexual in places.
Very sonically interesting with lots of satisfying dissonance.
Very interesting to read about the circumstances surrounding it. It's best enjoyed as an art piece rather than an actual listenable album. Worth listening to once but only once.
Great use of strings, especially in 7 kettles. Pleasing to listen to but no individual song really grabbed me.
A genre typical album in a genre I don't typically like. Not for me and I don't feel I can properly judge it. The tracks all sound distinct from one another, which is a good sign I guess when thrash metal often blends into one to my ears.
Some great songs, especially Paranoid, absolutely the right choice for the title track. I find Iron Man a bit disappointing, I feel the rest of the track doesn't live up to the iconic riff.
Very pleasantly surprised! Not what I was expecting based on the title and band name. Very American. Mainly funk and soul based, but has lots of additional influences from track to track: rock, jazz, a bit of country. Enjoyed the reggae vibes of The Cisco Kid in particular.
The first track made me wonder if the album was going to be instrumental. The second track made me wish the album was instrumental. The third track made me ask where this perfectly good singer had been. The remainder made me question why they had decided on these vocal deliveries and lyrics. The instrumental was rarely interesting enough to break me out of my confusion around the vocals.
Liked this more than I thought I would. The production is very slick, I'd say shout out to Timbaland but Missy Elliott has that covered! I can't think of another album that thanks you for listening at the end.
Nice, I liked it. Good background music.
Relaxed, atmospheric, and eerie. Smooth, sweet, and clear vocals.
Fantastic album. The reprise for wasted time is beautiful.
Lots of use of extended techniques and effects with the vocals, which more than made up for the limited vocal range. Good background music, nice to listen to while working. No individual track really jumped out at me.
For the first half, it sounds like they had written a great album then accidentally released the first draft instead. Empty soundscapes, lyrics that seem like placeholders. Like a jam session, but produced, which means it doesn't have the charm an actual jam session has. The 13 minute long track is taking the mick. Then it hits the single versions. Why aren't these the only versions! They actually sound finished!
Very same-y after a couple tracks
The funk albums I'd had so far were starting to convince me that I didn't like funk, then this one arrived! Pure fun, from the instrumental to the lyrics to the concept. Well produced. Hard to stop myself moving to the music.
Sounds exactly as I'd expect based on the songs I already knew. I liked it.
Lots of Carribbean influences, from the more obvious steel drums in the opening track, to more subtle things like the beats and rhythms. I honestly would have guessed this was British rather than American based on sound alone. Drags a bit in the middle. I've had fa-fa-fa-fa stuck in my head all day.
Smooth and relaxing. A real shame the full album isn't on Spotify, I'd definitely revisit it if it was.
It's alright. Really just highlights how far EDM has come since the 90s. I guess the rapid improvement of technology into the 2000s must have a lot to do with that. Another one with tracks missing on Spotify.
Beautiful songs, just wish someone else was doing the singing, especially on the title track. The Linda Ronstadt version for example sounds so much better in my opinion. Really liked Birds, which I haven't heard before.
Beautiful. I have a massive soft spot for folk. I only knew White Winter Hymnal going in, and always meant to get round to listening to more but never did. Now I wish I had sooner.
Chill, lots of blues inspiration. Interesting how different the feeling is on the live versions (added in the extended edition) Vs the recordings; they feel much heavier.
Full of hits and punchy. Each song individually is easy to listen to. Relentlessly high tempo and upbeat until Never Say Goodbye, then right back to it. Honestly I could have done with more variety. I can entirely see why this album was such a commercial success though.
Relaxed, easy to listen to, lots of sax. The best track saved for last, the middle of the album went by without much fanfare.
My second Marley album, I think I prefer Exodus but fantastic album nonetheless. Just puts you in a good mood, which is especially impressive considering the weight of some of the subjects it deals with. Peter Tosh's tracks on this are excellent too, especially Stop That Train. Accidentally listened to the deluxe edition, which has two disks with different recordings of the same songs in a different order, which is confusing if you're not expecting it.
Atmospheric. Weird. I liked it. Although, a poor choice for walking home alone on a pitch black country road with nothing but a torch for company.
Doesn't push the envelope quite as far as it could and gets caught in a musical no mans land as a result. Maybe it's because I had a King Crimson album yesterday, but this feels like it just doesn't do enough. Gets stronger as it goes through.
Nice, pleasant to listen to, but not particularly exciting.
That's more like it! This is the second Elton John album I've had, and the first one (Madman Across The Water) was a massive disappointment. Glad this one came along and restored my opinion of him. Full of hits and great songs I've never heard before ("I've Seen That Movie Too" in particular).
Fantastic album, hit after hit. Flows well with lots of variety.
Achieves what it sets out to, but not for me. Good beats. Well produced. I think he could do with more variation in his flow but I don't know the genre well enough to be confident about that. I am not the target audience for the subject matter. I feel bad putting in at a 2 for what's largely a matter of taste, but equally it wouldn't feel right to me among the albums I've given a 3.
Simple layered instrumentation creates a light but full soundscape. Good lyrics sung clearly. No frills vocal melodies. I like it.
Laid-back and groovy with a weird cult-y undertone.
Very aptly named; it's Layla and also some other songs. Love Layla. The other songs were simple, laid back rock tracks. Performed well but not exactly exciting.
Very weak start, the first four songs almost sound like one big long one. Picks up around the instrumental section in Welcome to Paradise, and I enjoyed everything from then on much more. I only recognised Basket Case when looking over the tracklist before starting, and I can see why, it's the standout track.
Very skillfully done fusion. You can pick out the different elements and their origins in each song, but they sound cohesive together; each song is a singular whole not a collection of disparate parts. Was dubious after the opening track, the lead English vocal delivery is rather forced and I was bracing for an entire album of that, but thankfully that's not the case. Unfortunately the slightly hamfisted lyrics do make a return, but they're easy enough to ignore.
This is Ace of Spades, and also a bunch of other songs that sound extremely similar to Ace of Spades. (We Are) The Roadcrew in particular sounds like all the parts of Ace of Spades rearranged with new lyrics. I like Ace of Spades and so I found this album alright, just very repetitive.
Excellent blues, fantastic voice. My second Muddy Waters album on this, I prefer live at Newport 1960 as it was more varied and lively.
If you've ever wanted to get a group of adults together to jump rope for an hour but are sick of the same old skipping-rope rhymes, this is the album for you. Great beats, fantastic use of samples, the vocal delivery... leaves something to be desired. I think I heard some triplets in there, that was nice. The vocals sound best at higher tempos.