1001 Albums Journey

Iconic. Iconic, iconic, iconic! Everything about this album is exactly what you would hope it is and also full of surprises you do not expect. This album features Nirvana sharing not only what the future of grunge would become, but also the blueprints left behind by its punk progenitors. Coming in and reviewing this album in 2024 feels like walking into a museum. This album is curated and beautiful and features many of the things that I was hoping to hear.

At first it felt like a great joy to hear these songs in the order they appear on the album. It gives them a sense of context and progression. The first song \"Serve the Servants\" hits like a ton of bricks. Nirvana has a way of creating sounds that fill your entire brain. One of the things I appreciate about listening to these tracks with headphones is how buttery the bass-riffs are. They have a warm, toasted quality. Getting into the familiar with \"Heart Shaped Box\" and \"Rape Me\" provided a nice reprieve from my perceived newness of the first tracks. \"Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle\" might be my favorite track that I hadn't heard yet with it's discordant, upsetting chorus, \"I miss the comfort of being sad.\" Unfortunately, by the end my ears began to get tired. The high levels of noise make for a quick dopamine hit but without start, stops, and silence- \"In Utero\" becomes hard to listen to. It's a solid album with so many tracks I love. However, those tentpole tracks are stymied by too many other songs using the same thematical and instrumental playbook. 4/5

To be honest, I came into this with my own set of feelings about Coldplay. In particular, I'm not a fan of their hit song \"Yellow\" which is on this album. I was excited to reassess my feelings about Coldplay. Oftentimes, I prefer earlier work by popular musicians because popular music doesn't always appeal to me. I am pleased to say that I was correct in my earlier assessment. While many tracks on this album are tolerable, they are made intolerable by the sameness that permeates this album. Lulling guitars and instrumentals with occasional falsetto for 10 tracks doesn't work for me. Every song on the album is better than \"Yellow\" but none good enough to build my enthusiasm. 2/5

This was a pleasant album with lots of great instrumentation and vocals. Sade's music trends to feel exciting and relaxing at the same time. The big single on this album, "Smooth Operator" is a straight banger. I just wish they'd have placed it in the middle or toward the end. But I suppose it might be tough for a band making it's debut to know what songs will stick.

While Queen Latifah's first album is a strong attempt it falls short. In later years we would come to know her for her wonderful singing voice, however- this album does not showcase that. Instead, listeners will note a fairly uninteresting rap album with several standout tracks. This album starts out middling and gets slightly better as it goes, however it never goes off. She almost eats a couple times with Ladies First, Latifah's Law, and Evil That Men Do. But it's kinda samey to my ears. For context, Latifah was only 19 when this album came out. Being so young she was not able to pull together an album that comes close to other rap and hip-hop albums of the era.

How do you quantify the ethereal and unexpected sound of FKA Twigs? This is the kind of album that purposefully subverts genre expectations. To call it experimental would betray it's listenability and beauty but to call it anything else would undersell it's playfulness. Twigs' vocal stylings on this album are less impressive than her next album MAGDALENE but it still manages to be a spirited album with a lot to love. This is nothing short of genius to me and I can't get enough of this style of music.

Strong start but winds up becoming uninspiring.

EZ 5

Jazzy! Funky!

I gotta say this album goes hard.

Let's be clear, I love punk. I also love dirty punks that create music on shoestring budgets. I also love when people combine punk with other genres to create new kinds of punk. But most of all, I love punk that is actually punk. The minutemen had a DIY "econo" ethos that carries through the music. This album was made by people who worked day jobs, booked late night recording sessions, and used records as a means to promote their music tours. These guys were the real deal.