271
Albums Rated
3.14
Average Rating
25%
Complete
818 albums remaining
Rating Distribution
Rating Timeline
Taste Profile
1950
Favorite Decade
Country
Favorite Genre
US
Top Origin
Wordsmith
Rater Style ?
78
5-Star Albums
57
1-Star Albums
Breakdown
By Genre
Top Styles
By Decade
By Origin
Albums
You Love More Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
They Were Wrong, So We Drowned
Liars
|
5 | 2.12 | +2.88 |
|
Black Metal
Venom
|
5 | 2.46 | +2.54 |
|
Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water
Limp Bizkit
|
5 | 2.51 | +2.49 |
|
Tragic Songs of Life
The Louvin Brothers
|
5 | 2.58 | +2.42 |
|
Follow The Leader
Korn
|
5 | 2.65 | +2.35 |
|
KE*A*H** (Psalm 69)
Ministry
|
5 | 2.7 | +2.3 |
|
Kings Of The Wild Frontier
Adam & The Ants
|
5 | 2.83 | +2.17 |
|
Mask
Bauhaus
|
5 | 2.85 | +2.15 |
|
Arc Of A Diver
Steve Winwood
|
5 | 2.87 | +2.13 |
|
Will The Circle Be Unbroken
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
|
5 | 2.98 | +2.02 |
You Love Less Than Most
| Album | You | Global | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rage Against The Machine
Rage Against The Machine
|
1 | 3.98 | -2.98 |
|
A Night At The Opera
Queen
|
1 | 3.95 | -2.95 |
|
Back In Black
AC/DC
|
1 | 3.84 | -2.84 |
|
Abraxas
Santana
|
1 | 3.72 | -2.72 |
|
Appetite For Destruction
Guns N' Roses
|
1 | 3.71 | -2.71 |
|
Transformer
Lou Reed
|
1 | 3.66 | -2.66 |
|
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
|
1 | 3.66 | -2.66 |
|
Hounds Of Love
Kate Bush
|
1 | 3.63 | -2.63 |
|
Ill Communication
Beastie Boys
|
1 | 3.63 | -2.63 |
|
Maggot Brain
Funkadelic
|
1 | 3.6 | -2.6 |
Artists
Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Steely Dan | 3 | 5 |
| Beatles | 3 | 4.67 |
| Dire Straits | 2 | 5 |
| Elliott Smith | 2 | 5 |
| Talking Heads | 2 | 5 |
| Nirvana | 2 | 5 |
Least Favorites
| Artist | Albums | Average |
|---|---|---|
| ABBA | 2 | 1 |
| The Kinks | 2 | 1 |
| Beck | 2 | 1 |
| Big Star | 2 | 1 |
| Beastie Boys | 2 | 1 |
| Lou Reed | 2 | 1 |
| The Rolling Stones | 4 | 1.75 |
| Queen | 3 | 1.67 |
| Elvis Costello | 2 | 1.5 |
Controversial
| Artist | Ratings |
|---|---|
| Metallica | 5, 2 |
| The Prodigy | 4, 1 |
5-Star Albums (78)
View Album Wall
Popular Reviews
Venom · 5 likes
5/5
Fuckin’ Venom!
While this record may not sound anything like modern black metal, or even the original wave of Norwegian black metal, it’s still insanely influential. It’s more of a speed/thrash metal record, but it’s got a lot of aspects that really defined the later iterations of black metal.
There isn’t a single bad song on this album. In fact, there’s not a single song on this record that doesn’t fucking rip.
Deep guttural vocals, tremolo picking, heavy drums, and some of the best satanic imagery of the 1980’s.
I can’t say anything bad about this one.
Easy 5*. Hail Venom.
Funkadelic · 4 likes
1/5
This is an interesting album that I am fully prepared to admit I don’t really get.
It’s experimental, certainly, but I found a lot of it to be unenjoyable to listen to.
I’m amazed that I actually got the whole way through “Wars of Armageddon”, the last song on the track that is about nine minutes and forty three seconds longer than it needed to be. It’s like a drug addled nightmare on the streets of 1971 New Jersey.
I don’t plan on ever listening to this one again.
1*
Steve Winwood · 2 likes
5/5
This is just the third artist on this list so far that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing live in concert. Steve Winwood opened for Tom Petty in the Saddledome back in 2008, and I’m still genuinely not sure who put on a better performance, both were phenomenal.
But I’m not here to review live shows, I’m here to review this particular album, Arc Of A Diver.
This is a soft yacht rock record that I really enjoyed listening to. Steve Winwoods voice is smooth, slightly soulful, and very pleasant. The songwriting is insightful and shows a clear talent. Musically it’s exceptional, my favourite aspect in that regard is the organ that’s played throughout.
There are moments of funk that keep popping up all throughout this record, but there’s moments where it feels like you’re in a disco in 1977, and others where you’re sitting in a lighthouse staring out at the ocean. It’s a really cool fusion of styles and feelings.
My only complaint about this record is that it doesn’t contain the song “Higher Love”. Aside from that, it’s truly excellent.
5*.
James Brown · 2 likes
5/5
The godfather of soul himself, James Brown. This is such a great example of an excellent live album. Every single musician is right on time. The whole album is tight, funky, and absolutely dripping with soul.
The instrumental bridges being listed as their own tracks is super interesting too.
It’s short, but it’s sweet. At 31 minutes it certainly comes nowhere close to overstaying its welcome, and I found myself wishing it was a little longer.
While it’s certainly not my favourite album we’ve listened to on this list, it is undeniably great. James Brown is one of those influential figures in so many different genres of music, a true legend.
5*
Fiona Apple · 2 likes
5/5
Wow. This was a mind blowing listen.
I’ve always been rather fond of Fiona Apple, though admittedly only from the radio singles I’ve heard here and there. I’ve never actively sat down and listened to one of her records, and man am I ever glad I did.
This is an absolutely gorgeous record. It’s impeccable from top to bottom. The tone is dark and defiant, it’s introspective and sharp as hell, but there’s this overarching softness and vulnerability to it.
Instrumentally it’s excellent, you can tell that the musicians working on it really felt the music, and it sounds like it was a very fun album to record. Fiona’s piano work is absolutely fantastic. “Shadowboxer” stands out as my favourite song instrumentally, its slow and driving piano riff is equal parts smoky jazz hall and film noir waltz. It’s such an intensely dark song, and it’s so beautiful in that darkness.
Vocally it’s absolutely incredible, Fiona’s voice is so soulful and deep, and every note feels very intentional in the best way possible. The breathy vocalizations on “Slow Like Honey” are enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
Lyrically this album is absolute poetry in its purest and most wonderful form. It’s emotional and sad and powerful, it’s deep and brave and confessional.
One listen to “Pale September” and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
I truly feel richer for having given this album the time it deserves. I’m looking forward to diving further into Fiona Apple’s discography in the future.
I’d give this one 6* if I could.
1-Star Albums (57)
All Ratings
Oasis
2/5
It’s generic rock flavoured Brit-pop. There’s really not a lot more to say about this record than that. It was clearly written with the intent of generating radio singles, and I’m not overly sure if it succeeded. I’ve seen Oasis live and yet I still didn’t recognize a single song on this album. It’s not particularly helpful that they all sounds strikingly similar, and it seems to be a distinctly different style of rock flavoured Brit-pop than the sound they later found extreme success with like “Champagne Supernova” and “Wonderwall” from the album released after this one.
I don’t care for it, but I don’t hate it. It’s just generic and boring.
2 stars. Meh.
A Tribe Called Quest
2/5
This is an album that I was surprised about.
I’ve heard a lot about A Tribe Called Quest over the years, but I never really took the time to listen to them. What was surprising to me was how awful a lot of the lyrics were. “I left My Wallet in El Segundo” is a prime example of this. Incredibly lazy and super predictable rhymes, a boring story that seems to go absolutely nowhere, I just genuinely hope I never have to sit through it again.
There are a lot of positives on this album, instrumentally it’s fantastic. Once you get passed the obnoxious and annoying baby crying, “Push it Along” kicks off with a wicked break beat and a properly groovy bassline. There’s a lot of really good musicality throughout.
Unfortunately the rapping in this album really missed the mark for me.
2 stars.
John Coltrane
5/5
A truly profound piece of Jazz music. It’s an emotional rollercoaster. Full of Coltrane’s signature tenor sax, but he always plays in a way that doesn’t feel overbearing. Every member of the band is clear as a bell, and they’re all equally important to the overall tone and wonderful freedom expressed through music here.
This is the sort of suite that one can listen to multiple times, and pick up on different beautiful details every time.
I don’t believe the almost avant-garde/free jazz sections are for everyone, but it’s incredible to anyone who finds joy in that smoky post war jazz sound.
Isaac Hayes
5/5
This record is just so damn cool. The production quality is mind blowing for the age of the album, and it really holds up in the modern age.
I think the opening track genuinely deserves the 12 minutes of run time it was allowed. It’s a beautiful version of “Walk on By”
The second track, which I will not attempt to spell, is just cool and groovy and everything you’d ever want from Mr. Hayes.
The string section on “One Woman” fits in so nicely, it’s as close to a perfect r&b song as I can imagine.
I’m not entirely convinced that “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” needed to be 18 minutes, and I say that as a prog metal fan. It’s a great song, but I did find it a little difficult to get through the entire thing.
It’s hard to imagine giving this record anything less than the 5* it deserves. Isaac Hayes at his best.
R.E.M.
5/5
Green
REM’s sixth LP kicks off with the sarcastic and almost snarky “Pop Song 89”, a clear shot at the modern alt-rock of the day. Catchy chorus but not particularly substantive, I guess on purpose.
The folky “You Are the Everything” has a particularly unique timbre amongst REM’s body of work, and may be their second best song to make use of the mandolin.
“Stand” is a logical choice as a single from the album, Michael Stipe’s clever lyricism is used in full force, almost to a silly degree.
“World Leader Pretend” is a great example of the baritone end of Stipe’s vocal range. It lies somewhere between a depressing ballad and a protest song, but it’s hard to dislike such excellent use of a slide guitar.
“Orange Crush” stands out, in my opinion, as the greatest song REM ever recorded. The biting political commentary, the brutal wordplay, and the beautiful chorus makes for a song that I’ve spent genuine hours listening to on repeat.
“Turn You Inside-Out” is a song I believe could have been successfully released as a single, the minor key grunge drips from the power chords, the shouty background vocals fill space without being overbearing. Good song.
“I remember California” is a hauntingly beautiful showcase of not just Stipe’s lyricism, but his arrangement abilities as well. This song creeps into my head occasionally and I’ve never been mad about it.
The untitled track to finish the album, in my opinion, captures the helplessness and despair of being far from the one you love. A love song of deep sadness, but hope as well.
If not for orange crush, it would be incredibly difficult to pick a favourite song from this record, as just about every track is tied for second place. I would say this is arguably REM’s greatest work.
5 stars.
ABBA
1/5
Listen, Sweden has given the world some truly wonderful things, IKEA, zippers, Bluetooth technology, and the king of automobiles the Volvo 240. Without the Swedes we never would have had Alfred Nobel! Unfortunately, I don’t believe anything they ever do will make up for unleashing ABBA upon this world.
This album in particular is an uncomfortable mess of toxic positivity and far too many major chords. The melodies are grating and repetitive, the lyrics often vapid and meaningless. Fernando is the only song that doesn’t entirely suck.
I genuinely needed a palate cleanser after this one, and it’s a good thing Graceland exists.
I’d give this album 0 starts if I could.
Fugees
3/5
An obviously classic hip hop album that’s inspired countless artists throughout the years following.
For some unexplainable reason I still struggle to enjoy most female rappers, this isn’t an exception.
Lots of good flow and lyricism, I particularly enjoyed the shot at newt Gingrich out of nowhere.
Killing me softly deserved so much better.
Three stars.
Fats Domino
2/5
A legendary performer by all accounts, in my modern perspective a boring album.
I understand that this era of early rock n roll was extremely important in the development of the sound, but it really doesn’t do much for me. Lyrically pretty empty, sonically it’s fine.
Not something I’d ever go out of my way to listen to again. 2 stars.
Cee Lo Green
3/5
Cee Lo has always been an artist I liked in passing, but I never sought out his music aside from a few radio singles. Turns out he’s a lot more than that one Gnarls Barkley song and “Fuck You”.
Features from Pharrell, Timbaland, TI, Ludacris and many more add a lot of variation and fun to the album.
The Guess Who song “These Eyes” being sample on “the Art of Noise” made my little Canadian heart very happy.
“Scrap Metal” is a delightfully brutal diss track, admittedly I have absolutely no idea who it’s intended towards though.
“Die Trying” is probably my favourite track on the album, showcasing Cee Lo’s underrated southern rap flow. A few verses are almost reminiscent of OutKast, in the best way possible.
Admittedly, a few songs miss the mark, “Glockapella” is almost comedic in its attempt to be hard.
I’ll be listening to a few tracks off this album again for sure, but as for an entire album, I don’t think it’ll get played again.
Taylor Swift
1/5
It’s a pop record. I am not the intended audience for this album, nor will I ever be.
It’s clearly a good album from a production standpoint. It’s also fun, I guess. That’s about all the nice things I have to say about this album.
Its lyrics are unapologetically self obsessed and strike me as being taken straight from the diary of a high school girl, which I guess is half the point? There’s not a single profound idea spoken, but clearly swifties aren’t on the hunt for anything novel.
I wasn’t looking forward to the album, but I listened to it with open ears. If I never hear it again, it will be too soon.
1 star. Yawn.
Dire Straits
5/5
It’s a strange situation when a bands best album is also their last good album.
Mark Knopfler is one of the greatest guitarists of his generation, but his song writing chops really shine through on this record.
It’s a fun rock and roll album with almost a pop flair to it, incredibly easy to listen to. At the same time, the lyrics cover some heavy topics, specifically the Falklands war, which was going on at the time Mr. Knopfler wrote the title track.
“Money For Nothing” is a classic radio rock staple, for good reason. Incredibly catchy guitar hooks, memorable melodies, and who doesn’t love a guest appearance from Sting?
My favourite song on the album has to be “Walk of Life”. This track has the ability to make me feel happy almost entirely regardless of my current emotions. It’s equal parts cheerful, nostalgic, and just a generally beautiful song about a boy busking in the subway.
This is an album that I will continue listening to in its entirety, and I’m thankful it exists.
10/10
Depeche Mode
2/5
I’ve been noted as a big fan of new wave/vaguely goth synthpop, but I really struggled with this album.
I like the heavy use of big reverby drum samples and the spooky synth, but that’s about all the good things I can say about it.
The vocals feel cheesy throughout most of the record, and I found it to be lyrically unoriginal and uninspiring.
It’s not objectively bad, it’s just a concept that’s been done so much better by so many other artists.
This one is best left in 1987.
2 stars.
Arcade Fire
2/5
A French Canadian indie rock band. Huh.
I went into this album with very little knowledge of Arcade Fire, having only heard a few radio singles over the years.
I found this album to not be unenjoyable to listen to. Sonically it’s pretty standard indie fare, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
My biggest gripe with this album is that Modest Mouse already exists, and makes far more interesting music. A lot of the vocal styles almost channel Justin Haywards work with the Moody Blues, which is in fact a huge compliment to the not actually Canadian, and apparently sex pest, Win Butler.
The title track is worth another listen, but aside from that I think most of this almost is generally forgettable.
Not bad, but not groundbreaking by any means.
I’d give it 2.5 stars if I could, but unfortunately we live in a world where I can only dream of half stars.
Sigur Rós
5/5
Dreamy, almost ethereal post rock. I really enjoyed the experience of listening to this album.
I’m sure I would’ve enjoyed it even more if I spoke Icelandic, but damn is it pretty.
The overarching timbre and soundscape is really something to behold, with quite a few almost cathartic crescendos really driving home a sense of relief.
“Hjartað hamast“ stood out as my favourite track, the cool hammondy organ playing throughout is perhaps my favourite instrumentation on the record.
The falsetto vocals are really interesting, without speaking the language they almost sound more instrumental than lyrical.
I actually fail to find any gripes with this particular album, and I’m looking forward to putting it on during long nighttime drives.
5*
The Magnetic Fields
1/5
I’m a little unsure how exactly to review this “album”. It’s a collection of too many songs.
Between a lot of lazy instrumentation and the kind of vapid, almost meaningless lyrics you get from a guy writing 69 love songs in a row, it was genuinely a real chore to get through them all.
This genuinely feels more like a self obsessed art piece far more than it feels like an actual music album created for enjoyable consumption.
There’s some catchy hooks here and there, but god it’s few and far between.
Hopefully this album will be as forgettable as I think it will.
One star.
The Mothers Of Invention
1/5
I don’t like to generalize, I feel most musical projects are subjective and nuanced, but this “album” really just boils down to “weird for the sake of weird”.
It feels like the rantings of a sarcastic 14 year old edgelord who thinks they are far more intelligent than anyone else in the world, I guess this is a time when someone who just insults everyone is considered to be groundbreaking? Dunno. But we certainly get it, this guy hates hippies.
There’s a lot of jokes in here that continue that 14 year old line of thinking.
Occasionally there’s some really interesting psychedelic music, but it’s certainly not densely packed.
Parts of this album actually made me consider selling all my hifi equipment and cancelling my Apple Music subscription, it was so unenjoyable.
This is not for me.
1 star.
Cream
4/5
I don’t really consider myself a huge fan of Eric Clapton, but it’s hard to deny that he’s had a hand in making a ton of really good music. From the Yardbirds to Derek and the Dominoes and everything in between. This album is definitely no exception.
He shares vocal duties with the venerable Jack Bruce, and they both do a very excellent job of matching vocal styles to the groovy basslines of Bruce, the precise yet still psychedelic style of Clapton, and the tight but funky drumming of Ginger Baker.
The classic hit single on the album “Sunshine of your Love” stands out for good reason, the main guitar riff alone is iconic, but it’s far from the only great tune on the record. “We’re Going Wrong” is one that particularly stood out to me, emotional but not cheesy, huge drums, and a really lovely tempo dropping bridge. “Outside Woman Blues” is another track that I really enjoyed.
If I had to pick one negative on the album, it would be the song “Mother’s Lament” a weird little cockney jingle that I don’t particularly care for.
I’m not confident in calling this a perfect album by any means, but as far as the bluesy psychedelic rock genre goes, it’s pretty damn good.
The Jam
3/5
One would seriously think that I would fall in love with a late 70’s new wave album with an early punk rock flavour.
I liked this album, but I certainly didn’t love it.
Some fun lyrics, some fun simple music, but it’s really nothing more than that.
“English Rose” really didn’t seem to fit the album at all, nor did it seem to suit the band playing it.
I’ll take the word play and musical complexity of Joe Jackson and Men at Work over The Jam any day.
It’s fine, but boy is it forgettable.
3 stars. Yawn.
Jimi Hendrix
3/5
I’ve had some longstanding beliefs towards Jimi Hendrix, and I tried to put them aside for my listening of “are you experienced”. I’ve always thought he was a brilliant guitar player for his era, certainly ahead of the times stylistically. There’s legends that his guitar playing live was so incredible that it through Eric Clapton into a rage, which is a hilarious mental image. Beyond that I’ve always found his vocal style to be incredibly stale and one dimensional. His lyricism is on par for the genre and time period, no more, no less, in my opinion. Certainly nothing mind blowing or universe shattering.
Upon completion of this album, I really struggle to change a single one of those beliefs. It’s fine. It’s groovy, it’s psychedelic, and the musical style was inarguably influential on thousands of artists. But to me it’s just.. kinda boring. I think the flat vocals are really what bury my interest.
“The Wind Cries Mary” would be my favourite track from the record if I was forced to pick, but I can’t see myself listening to any part of this album again if I can help it.
I recognize the contributions to rock n roll, I recognize the talent of Hendrix. At the same time, I recognize that this is not for me.
3*
Shack
2/5
Based on the album cover I was really hoping for some Celtic influenced maritime shanties, unfortunately all I got was run of the mill 90’s British alt rock.
That’s not to say that it’s a terrible album in my eyes, but the album art really raised my expectations.
The title track, I suppose, was vaguely in the direction I had hoped, but not in any way that I could get excited about.
I liked the folky timbre of “Daniella” but the vocals did absolutely nothing for me.
This album felt a little all over the place within that 90’s alt rock genre, and not in any particularly good way either. It sort of felt like a group of people throwing shit at the wall to see if they could get a hit single. I honestly haven’t looked to see if they got one, but I wouldn’t bet money on it.
2 stars.
Ray Charles
4/5
This is definitely split into two halves, and I have separate thoughts on both.
The first half is definitely higher energy, big band, and very fun. These hep cats were surely outta sight. Musically I really enjoyed this section, but from a production standpoint I found it left a lot to be desired. The horns were often clipping so bad that they distorted, and the vocals suffered from a similar problem. “‘Deed I Do” stood out as my favourite groovy track here.
The second half of this record was really something else. Half a dozen truly beautiful piano ballads. Sonically I felt this half was much more enjoyable, and from a production standpoint it was far better.
I struggle to pick a specific favourite track on this half, but “Tell Me You’ll Wait For Me” stood out for a lot of reasons.
I enjoyed this album, and it was a fun switch once the second half started.
If I could rate them separately I’d give the first half a 3 and the second half a 5, so I think the mean of the two is an accurate rating.
4* will be listening to the second half again.
Butthole Surfers
4/5
Oh yeah, this one almost defines weird for the sake of weird. Is it a punk rock album? Is it grunge? Is it a psychedelic rock album? Is it just noise? Nobody has a single clue, and that’s the key defining characteristic of this album.
Musically it’s just straight up bizarre.
It’s almost the OG edgelord album, but it’s not at all unenjoyable for me to listen to it.
It’s almost intentionally controversial, and it’s clearly born of an incredible amount of drug use, but there’s so many references and unique little quips in this album, I’m positive that the majority of them went over my head. It’s clever in its strangeness.
It’s not something that I’ll ever add to my regular rotation, but it’s definitely a record that I’m glad exists.
4*
5/5
Oh fuck yeah, it’s Limp Bizkit baby!
I would have a really hard time honestly saying that Limp Bizkit is a guilty pleasure of mine. But that’s only the case because I feel absolutely no guilt!
Like a lot of their records, this one kicks off with a weiiird intro. Not much to say about that one.
But then we immediately drop into “Hot Dog” which is an impressive lyrical exercise on using the word “fuck”. It’s also a delightful little shot at Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails, so much so that Trent was actually given a writing credit on the song. Wes Borlands signature guitar tone absolutely shreds this tune, and the rest of the album for that matter. It’s hard not to bob your head along with this one.
“My Generation” starts a little slow, but pretty quickly slams into that classic Nu Metal sound that we all know and love. Later in the song we get some DJ lethal scratching, which is just delightful.
“Full Nelson” is a pretty standard Nu Metal track. I’m not a huge fan of Fred Durts lyrics on this one, almost a hair too self pity for me, but the chorus is catchy as hell.
“My Way” is my favourite song on the record. The post grunge vibes hit hard, and you can see the inspiration Fred drew from Aaron Lewis in the verses on this one. Sam Rivers bassline really makes this song what it is, and its further proof of my long held belief that he’s severely underrated as a bass player, far more talented than most root note kings of the era.
“Rollin’ (Air Raid Vehicle)” holds a special place in my heart as it was used as an entrance theme for the Undertaker during his American Badass era in the WWE. 10 year old me loved this song, and 30 year old me loves it just as much.
“Livin’ it up” makes use of a sample of the Eagles “Life in the Fast Lane” and it’s just objectively fun. Another excellent example of Wes Borland’s punishing guitar tone here.
“The One” is a bit of a strange track, not much to write home about, perhaps more of a space filler than anything.
“Gotcha Groove On” may be one of the most 2000 things I’ve ever heard. Xzibit doing a feature with Limp Bizkit was a bit mind blowing to me the first time I heard this record, decades ago. Yo dawg we heard you liked gettin’ your groove on.
“Take a Look Around” is a sleeper pick on this album, super catchy bassline and the little guitar hook throughout is such an ear worm, it’s hard to ignore. “I know why you wanna hate me, ‘cause hate is all the world has seen lately” is one of those lines that ain’t remotely profound, but it’s just as true now as it was then.
“It’ll Be Ok” is perhaps a great example of Fred Durst’s more emotional side, it’s a pretty song with a banger of a chorus. Wes Borland’s clean guitar playing here is technically challenging as it is beautiful.
“Boiler” is almost haunting, another pretty classic Limp Bizkit track. More DJ Lethal is always more better.
“Hold On” is one of my favourite LB tracks, Scott Weiland (RIP) bares his soul here, and the duet between him and Fred Durst is shockingly great. The harmonizing really does it for me.
Then we’ve got the most ridiculous remix of “Rollin’” with Method Man, Redman, and DMX. What an insane thing to even exist. We are truly blessed by the nu metal/hip hop gods.
The outro is far weirder than you’d expect, which is saying something. Not worth talkin’ about.
This album is just absolutely bonkers and I’m so glad it exists. I have heard and I even understand every criticism of Limp Bizkit, and I just don’t care. It’s a fun nu metal album and no one can stop me from loving it.
5 stars.
The White Stripes
2/5
Well this is not very enjoyable.
I have respect for Jack White and everything he does for the music industry, namely actually pressing decent quality vinyl records, but dear lord is his voice ever annoying.
He’s got this weird whiny early Beatles John Lennon style that I just can’t seem to enjoy listening to.
Musically it’s.. fine.. nothing groundbreaking. Meg Whites drums continue to be the bare minimum. The guitar riffs are full of boring powerchords and again, very boring.
Full disclosure: I had absolutely no idea that “We’re Gonna Be Friends” was a white stripes song. It’s perhaps the only redeeming part of this record. Delightful little folk track that, despite being overused in every indie movie of the era, is still really fun to listen to!
I won’t be listening to this again.
2* but only cuz “We’re Gonna Be Friends” is catchy as hell.
Motörhead
5/5
Arguably the only truly great band to come out of NWOBHM, Motörhead’s third album is an absolute speed-thrash masterpiece.
It’s tenacious, it’s fast, and if you’re listening to it correctly, it’s fucking loud.
Lemmy's vocal style truly stands alone, and he spends a little more time singing and a little less time yelling on this album compared to the first two. His gravelly vocal fry is unmistakable.
Fast Eddie’s rock n roll guitar is an absolute perfect fit to the songs as written, and his live performances are somehow even better.
Philthy Animal’s drums are almost pre-thrash metal, but they’re mixed in so perfectly and his fills are always right on the money.
The title track off the album is so legendary it’s impossible to say anything about it that hasn’t been said before. Just an incredible song.
My personal favourite on the album is “(We Are) the Roadcrew” an ode to the roadies not just that worked with Motörhead, but roadies all over the world. The unsung heroes of the rock n roll world certainly deserve such a great chorus.
“Fire Fire” is another song on this fantastic album that really stands out. I can’t say enough things about Lemmy’s lyricism, arrangement, and artistic capabilities.
There’s not a single song that lasts a moment longer than it needs to. I’m not sure I could even complain about a single thing on this album if I tried.
The most deserving album so far of a 5* rating.
The Velvet Underground
2/5
Late 1960’s beatniks. The original pretentious hipsters who thought they were far cooler and more important than anyone else. Slow, uninspired, vaguely folky counter culture tunes. I guess it’s art-rock?
Lots of weird instrumentation and noise, but I never found it to be used tastefully or even appropriately. I think the involvement of Andy Warhol is distinctly evident on this album.
I’m more interested in the songs lead by Lou Reed than I am of Nico, but neither did much for me.
Venus in furs is fine, but I’ve heard covers I like much more.
I struggle to find a lot to say about this album honestly.
2*… whatever
Marty Robbins
5/5
Marty Robbins, one of the coolest crooning cowboys in classic country. This album is just wonderful. Big Iron is a song so good that it may be more popular now than it was when the album came out 65 years ago, if that’s not evidence of its excellence, then I’m not sure what is.
This record is such a great mixture of uptempo cowboy tunes, deeply depressing western ballads, Spanish guitar, and incredible vocal melodies and harmonies.
Easy 5 stars.
Nick Drake
4/5
This record was absolutely nothing like I expected it to be. Not that I had ever even heard of Nick Drake going into it.
It’s a very pretty album musically, the fingerpicked guitar is very beautiful, and the orchestral arrangements fit very well. Some of the brass sections in particular stand out to me. For what is essentially a folk album, it gets almost jazzy at points.
The lyrics on the other hand are almost verging on total nonsense, Mr. Drake is evidently the absolute king of run-on sentences. As a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I’m not sure it’s entirely fair to dislike gibberish lyrics, but a lot of the lyrical phrases are written weirdly clunky and awkward. I enjoyed the album, but it would certainly be a strange one to sing along to.
Northern Sky is my favourite track off this record, it’s almost reminiscent of Cat Stevens.
Solid 3.5 star record, I guess we’ll round up.
Deep Purple
5/5
When it comes to early heavy metal, I would argue Deep Purple had as much of an influence as anyone, including Black Sabbath.
Machine Head is unquestionably the best album they released, which is an exceptional compliment, considering the quality of music they have continued to release into the present day.
The album kicks off with what may be the greatest driving song ever recorded, “Highway Star” Big drums, scorching guitar work, and unbelievable organ.
The album also includes the first song everyone in the world learns to play on their first electric guitar, “Smoke on the Water” is still a great rock n roll song, despite the overplayed intro riff.
Shortly after that we hit the second greatest driving song ever written, “Space Truckin’”
As far as early heavy metal/rock n roll goes, in my opinion, this is about as good as it gets.
5 stars
Amy Winehouse
1/5
This may be the most vapid, self absorbed, and unenjoyable album I’ve heard this year. I did a quick bit of reading about the album before jumping in, and I was promised “jazz”. I fought my way through the record and was left wondering where the jazz is. It’s soulful, I guess? But not in anything more than a superficial way.
It’s really impressive just how much Amy Winehouse loved to write songs about herself. It felt like 80% of the lines in this album contained the word “me”, “I”, or “my”. The only discernible story telling or meaning is how much she loves shitty dudes who don’t give a fuck about her and whining about how hard her life is.
I truly believe this albums title is an affront to the legacy of Sinatra. I would say the music contained herein is to Frank Sinatra as Oasis is to The Highwaymen. That is to say, entirely unrelated, yet far far worse.
I’ve heard for years how incredible her voice is but I don’t really understand, maybe her other album is better? The vocal delivery on this record is just an obnoxious imitation of far more talented singers like Billie Holliday, Ella Fitzgerald, and my personal favourite Nina Simone.
54 minutes of my life that I fear I won’t get back.
1*.
Kendrick Lamar
5/5
This is just so much more than a hip hop album. It’s a true master class in just about every aspect it touches. It oscillates between soul, funk, jazz, and some of the purist rap you’ll ever hear.
It almost feels like a fools errand to attempt to reduce this album to a few paragraphs, as there’s nothing one can say that hasn’t been said already.
It’s an album with a clear vision that comes together to form one of the most powerful pieces of art in the past century.
I could write a lot of words about this record, but nothing compares to the feelings this album inspires in you, and it’s impossible to explain the experience.
10/10
Stereolab
3/5
This is a weird one.
It doesn’t strike me as the kind of album that I would sit down and put on for the sake of enjoying the music. It also doesn’t strike me as an album that I’d put on in the car. I’m not sure I would ever actually intentionally play this record again. But there is something to it. It almost feels more like a soundtrack than it does anything else.
It’s poppy and definitely well produced, it certainly is capable of conveying and inspiring certain feelings, but the almost ambient soundscape of it feels better suited for scoring an indie film.
Lots of fun instrumentation, excellent vocals, and they clearly had a lot of fun making it. My biggest gripe is the reliance on a loop pedal, and the seemingly endless repetition therein.
I think it’s mostly just not for me.
I want so badly to rate this album 5/10, but I guess I will continue to round up.
3*
Ute Lemper
2/5
Wow this is not good. It’s awkward and out of tune, yet weirdly charming?
Ute Lemper clearly put a lot of effort into this album, so points for that I suppose.
The song partly titled “Tango Ballad” is perhaps the single worst song I’ve ever heard. I don’t even care enough to look up the name of the male singer here, but dear lord, abomination almost comes close to describing that vocal performance.
I’m not sure how I can really explain this album, it’s terrible but I don’t hate it.
It’s a very conflicting feeling.
I’ll never listen to it again, though.
2 stars.
Pixies
4/5
Wow. I’m not sure what I expected going into this record, but it wasn’t this.
The opening bassline really surprised me. I didn’t know Pixies were such a surfy band. As a matter of fact, Kim Deal’s bass blew me away pretty much the entire album.
Most of the playthrough I was thinking about how much this reminds me of nirvana, and upon further reading, this album was apparently quite influential on Kurt Cobain, which checks out. It really feels almost like a wonderful precursor to the grunge movement.
There’s a really neat contrast between soft, quieter moments but they almost always seem to lead into violent crescendos.
It’s as punk rock as it is rock and roll, and that’s a balancing act that often ends up cringy and lame, but this album really pulls it off well.
This is an album I really want to listen to a few more times, as there’s so many interesting instrumental nuances within the chaos. So far “I Bleed” stands out as my favourite track.
4*
Steely Dan
5/5
Steely Dan stands alone as the most magnificent rock band of all time. It’s a hill I will happily die on.
So much has been written about this record that I feel it’s almost a waste of time to try to elaborate further than the fact that this is a top 5 album ever for me. It’s not my favourite Steely Dan record, but it’s still head and shoulders above everything else on this list.
“Kings” and “Change of the Guard” are my personal favourite songs from this album.
I’d give it 10 stars if I could.
Songhoy Blues
3/5
This is a really interesting album with a really interesting story.
A group of fellas so determined to play rock and roll that they are forced to leave their own country due to shariah law.
It’s old school blues/rock n roll, but there’s some very clearly defined African influences as well, which makes for a fun album to listen to.
I’m definitely more impressed by their story and commitment to the music than I am by their actual songwriting, which is honestly nothing special.
It’s a fun album and I think it’s pretty well done, but I probably won’t be listening to it again.
3 stars.
The Divine Comedy
1/5
I’m going to put exactly as much effort into reviewing this album as there is quality music on it.
Nick Drake
3/5
Well I certainly wasn’t planning on listening to Nick Drake again so soon, but I guess this is what the 1001 albums gods have given me.
I’d say this album is fairly indistinguishable from Bryter Layter, maybe a little bit darker in both tone and lyricism, but it’s certainly not distinctly different.
More beautiful fingerpicking, simple lyricism, almost monotonous vocal delivery.
It’s a pretty album, no doubt, but it doesn’t really invoke anything in me. Even from song to song it has this overarching sameness that I don’t find appealing.
I’d probably be more apt to give this album a more favourable review if I hadn’t just listened to and reviewed the album he released directly after this one. I would say his music is better enjoyed in smaller doses.
Whether or not that makes for a fair review is unclear, but it’s my review so I can make the rules.
3 stars.
Queen
2/5
It is a universally accepted fact that I do not like the band Queen. Freddie Mercury’s vocals have never done a thing for me. I find their radio singles to be annoying generic musical-theatre style rock music and I think it’s boring.
Unfortunately I have to admit that there’s parts of this particular record that I don’t hate. It’s significantly darker in tone than what I’ve grown to expect from the band.
“The Loser in the End” stands out to me as actually surprisingly decent rock n roll song.
Overall I enjoyed the first half of this record far more than the second half. Upon further reading I realized that side A was not written by Freddie Mercury, but side B was.
Maybe it’s not that I don’t like Queen, but maybe Fred and I are just incompatible musically.
Roger Taylor’s vocals are actually pretty enjoyable.
Nothing groundbreaking, but maybe going into this album with a reasonably open mind has helped me learn something about myself, and my relationship with the band Queen.
Side A: 3*
Side B: 1*
Averaging it out gives us my rating.
Booker T. & The MG's
5/5
This is a really exceptional record.
It’s almost hard to believe that Mr. Booker T Jones could have written such a legendary song as “Green Onions” at just 18 years old. He was still in high school for goodness sake. The tone he got out of his Hammond B3 organ has been imitated and duplicated ever since, but no one has come close to the soulful playing of Booker T.
I’ve always really admired the amount of emotion he can convey through such a simple instrument. I first noticed this when I saw him play an exceptional set opening for Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings at the Saddledome back in 2009. Most of this album consists of covers, but the way he plays them really makes them feel like more than the originals.
Everything else instrumentally here is top notch, the drumming is steady and funky, and the guitar playing is almost on par with the emotional power of the lead organ.
I own a few copies of this record on vinyl, and it still gets semi-regular playtime.
5 stars.
Hawkwind
1/5
My love of lemmy might be entirely cancelled out by my dislike of most live albums.
This is some kind of scifi proto-punk, but I don’t think I care for it. It feels lazy and uninspired. The recording quality is pretty poor as well.
I like the distorted basslines, but that’s about all I can say that’s good here.
There’s so many.. noises? Sound effects? I dunno, but it’s very unpleasant.
“Space is deep” is about as deep of a sentiment as these lyrics go.
I’m sure glad Motörhead exists, because it would be very depressing if this was Lemmy’s only legacy.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
3/5
This is certainly one of the better albums that Neil Young has released over the years.
It’s a bluesy/folky number that’s both catchy, and surprisingly raw. In a time period in the music industry where everything was getting a little more overproduced, this is definitely not.
The lyricism is simple, but certainly effective at conveying love, longing, hope, and sorrow. It’s really quite a pretty album.
“Down By the River” stands out as my favourite track on the album.
3*
Brian Eno
2/5
Yeah it sure is ambient. At least the album title is accurate.
I have absolutely no idea why anyone on earth would consider this to be essential listening.
It’s pretty I guess? But it’s just so boring.
It’s muzak and I don’t think it’s anything more than that. More elevators music than airport music.
Skilled piano playing, odd vocalizations?
Yawn.
2*
Nanci Griffith
4/5
I really liked this one. It feels like a really good folk singer trying her hand at country music, and I think it works really well.
“St. Olav’s Gate” has a really fun almost bluegrass feel to it.
The steel guitar on “Goin’ Gone” is absolutely immaculate.
“Love’s Found a Shoulder” stood out as a delightful waltz too.
There’s a lot of really talented musicians on this record, and Nanci Griffith’s voice complements them quite well.
I will definitely be listening to this one again.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
I have really conflicting feelings about this album.
“Gimme Shelter” is perhaps one of my favourite songs of this whole era. It’s just immaculate from start to finish. The instrumentation, the vocals from both singers, and everything else about it is incredible.
The rest of the album verges on unlistenable. Keith Richards attempts at bluesy vocals are just so annoying.
“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is a decent track to close off the album, but it pales in comparison to the opener.
This record is like a sandwich where the first slice of bread is an incredible and soft homemade sourdough, the toppings are nothing but expired hamster food, and the top slice is some wonderbread.
Gimme Shelter: 5*
Tracks 2-8: 1*
You Can’t Always.. : 3*
I think that averages out to 1.666666666* so we’ll just round up.
Simon & Garfunkel
4/5
I think this album is significant proof that Paul Simon is the superior member of this duo.
It’s a beautiful folk record that hits on tons of different styles, but it does so in a way that feels natural and not at all forced.
My only complaint here is that it’s not a Paul Simon solo record.
Favourite song on the record: “The Boxer”
Least favourite: N/A
There’s really not a lot left for me to say that hasn’t been said. It’s Paul Simon’s world and we’re just living in it.
4*
The Damned
2/5
I get that the damned were an influential punk rock band, but listening to this through a modern lens is pretty lame.
It’s essentially the first pop punk album.
Lazy songwriting that feels more like an appeal to the general masses disguised as punk rock than it does like genuine punk. There’s nothing here that pulls me in the way some other classic punk rock records do.
I’ll put this on the pile of garbage brit-punk just barely above the clash and the sex pistols.
I’ll stick with wire, the UK subs, and the dickies.
Happy Mondays
2/5
I’ll never understand how the Brit’s can honestly say something like, “oy bruv this new band Happy Mondays is a madchester baggy band innit.”
My brother in christ, this is just shitty generic 90’s alt rock.
I really have nothing more to say about this album than that.
2*
Fiona Apple
5/5
Wow. This was a mind blowing listen.
I’ve always been rather fond of Fiona Apple, though admittedly only from the radio singles I’ve heard here and there. I’ve never actively sat down and listened to one of her records, and man am I ever glad I did.
This is an absolutely gorgeous record. It’s impeccable from top to bottom. The tone is dark and defiant, it’s introspective and sharp as hell, but there’s this overarching softness and vulnerability to it.
Instrumentally it’s excellent, you can tell that the musicians working on it really felt the music, and it sounds like it was a very fun album to record. Fiona’s piano work is absolutely fantastic. “Shadowboxer” stands out as my favourite song instrumentally, its slow and driving piano riff is equal parts smoky jazz hall and film noir waltz. It’s such an intensely dark song, and it’s so beautiful in that darkness.
Vocally it’s absolutely incredible, Fiona’s voice is so soulful and deep, and every note feels very intentional in the best way possible. The breathy vocalizations on “Slow Like Honey” are enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
Lyrically this album is absolute poetry in its purest and most wonderful form. It’s emotional and sad and powerful, it’s deep and brave and confessional.
One listen to “Pale September” and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
I truly feel richer for having given this album the time it deserves. I’m looking forward to diving further into Fiona Apple’s discography in the future.
I’d give this one 6* if I could.
The Zombies
3/5
This is a fun lil psychedelic record. A lot of the album is sort of Beatles-esque, but given how world-changingly popular the Beatles were at the time, I think most UK bands drew some inspiration. It’s fun but it’s not particular exciting or unique.
Obviously “Time of the Season”, the biggest hit single off this album, stands out for good reason. It’s strange in that it doesn’t quite feel like part of this album, when compared to the rest of it. It’s just head and shoulders better than the rest. This song alone definitely adds a star to my rating.
If you’re ever interested in the absolutely insane link between ZZ Top and the Zombies, google “fake zombies” and enjoy the rabbit hole.
3*
Missy Elliott
4/5
I’m still not a huge fan of female hip hop artists, and I still struggle to put into words why. But this album was more enjoyable than I expected it to be. You can definitely hear Timbaland all over this record, and it’s certainly something I appreciate.
It’s funky, it’s fun, and there’s some really excellent features throughout.
Jay-Z’s work on “Back in the Day” is particularly notable.
It’s not particularly for me, but I can very much appreciate it as an excellent album thanks to Missy Elliott’s skill in both lyricism and songwriting, and the top tier production value.
James Brown
5/5
The godfather of soul himself, James Brown. This is such a great example of an excellent live album. Every single musician is right on time. The whole album is tight, funky, and absolutely dripping with soul.
The instrumental bridges being listed as their own tracks is super interesting too.
It’s short, but it’s sweet. At 31 minutes it certainly comes nowhere close to overstaying its welcome, and I found myself wishing it was a little longer.
While it’s certainly not my favourite album we’ve listened to on this list, it is undeniably great. James Brown is one of those influential figures in so many different genres of music, a true legend.
5*
The Temptations
5/5
Another excellent soul record that I feel is far too short!
It’s funky and it’s cool, and it’s almost vaguely psychedelic at points. I really enjoyed this record. I must admit that “Run Charlie Run” caught me off guard a little bit with its lyrics, but the black power movement at the time was a hell of a beast.
I don’t even really have a lot to say here, this album really speaks for itself. Excellent all around.
5*
Queen
1/5
Yay, another Queen album.
While “Queen II” had some redeeming qualities, mainly that the first half of the record was decent rock music, this record has really nothing going for it aside from Bohemian Rhapsody. The problem for me is that the only redeeming song on the album is so wildly overplayed that I could go the rest of my life without hearing it again, and I’d die perfectly content.
I just don’t feel like the world has ever needed rock operas, and this is a very good example of why. I dislike almost everything about Freddie Mercury’s vocal style. I understand that he’s technically gifted, and has an impressive vocal range, something about the way he sings just really rubs me the wrong way.
I really hope I don’t have to listen to anymore Queen after this.
1*
Goldie
3/5
This is a wild album to include on this list.
I don’t dislike it overall, and it’s hard to believe someone was making drum and bass like this 30 years ago, truly a very influential album.
The opening track is shockingly soulful, and the breakbeats throughout really work for me. I’m not entirely sure it needs to be 21 minutes long, but as a DJ, this would be the absolute perfect bathroom break track.
“Saint Angel” hits a little more aggressively, and feels like it would be at home in a goth club, the matrix soundtrack, or an edgy credit card commercial. I dig it though.
“State of Mind” is where the album starts to lose me a little bit, it feels more pop than dance music, and I’m not overly into it.
The rest of the album is sort of hit and miss, I’m not sure it’s really worth reviewing this one track by track, but it’s got some highs and lows for sure. The piano in “You And Me” feels very Felix Da Housecat’s remix of “Sinnerman” in a very good way.
I don’t know if I’d actively listen to this again, but if I was for some reason ever forced to start DJing again, this could be a good album to keep in my back pocket for just the right show.
3*
The Police
5/5
I don’t think I can overstate how much I love this album.
Stewart Copeland’s drumming alone is enough to get this album 5 stars. It’s just so unique and, at the time, there was really nothing like it in popular music. The high hats in “Walking On The Moon” are just unreal.
Andy Summers’ reggae influenced guitar licks are both skillful, effortless, and beautiful. His more new wave style playing hits all the right spots in my brain. It’s never overcomplicated, but it’s always impressive.
Sting himself deserves more credit for his basslines, songs like the title track are just dripping with the kind of funk you really shouldn’t get from a British white boy in the late 70’s.
I already mentioned the reggae and new wave tones this record hits on, but there’s so much more than that too. It’s an early punk record as much as it is a rock n roll record. It has so much depth and so many layers that one really has to listen to it start to finish, multiple times.
I could easily go through and do a song by song review of this one, pointing out every little detail that tickles the listening part of my brain, but it would truly be too long to post here.
I’m really glad that I got to listen to this record today, as it seems this album has the power to make any day good.
This album deserves far more stars than I’m allowed to give it.
Isaac Hayes
3/5
This is an excellent soundtrack. Full of funky grooves and soulful melodies.
I do not, however, understand why it’s on this list. The vast majority is just instrumentals, and it’s clearly more of a score than it is an album for general musical consumption. I would agree that Shaft should be on a list of 1001 movies to watch before you die, but I don’t think this record fits here.
I enjoyed it, and I have a ton of respect and admiration for all the musicality that went into making it, but I am not gonna be listening to this again.
3* I guess???
Sam Cooke
4/5
I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting here, more live soul, funk, or jazz perhaps? But this ain’t that. This is proper rock n roll in its purest form.
Really incredible live album, it’s hard to believe they waited 20 years to actually release this recording.
Sam Cooke is clearly charismatic and extremely talented. I enjoyed this album a lot more than I expected to. Musically it’s tight, soulful, and very fun to listen to.
4*
Gorillaz
3/5
It’s an interesting album, all over the place stylistically, and at times it feels confused about its own goals.
I’ve always liked Damon Albarns voice, and that holds true through the entirety of this album.
Del the funky homosapian has some excellent rap verses in this one too.
“Clint Eastwood” is obviously a classic song, and quite clearly the strongest track on the record.
For the most part though, this album feels extremely 2001 to me, and I don’t mean that as a compliment.
I vastly prefer the content on demon days.
Neat concept, not my favourite execution.
3*
The Kinks
1/5
I’ve never been a fan of the Kinks, and listening to this album has only served to reinforce those feelings for me. If I wanted to listen to the Beatles then I would.
This feels like a very insincere attempt to capitalize on the insane popularity of the Beatles during this time period. It’s almost identical musically, just without the magical songwriting duo of Lennon-McCartney.
I’m not surprised that this album was initially considered a flop, but I have absolutely no idea how it ended up being popular.
1*. No bueno.
Van Morrison
1/5
I don’t expressly dislike this album or van Morrison on musical talent. He’s clearly a very talented musician and a great performer. His whole schtick really strikes me as profiting off of a music genre and culture that he is very much not a part of. The way he emulates the singing voice of someone that he very clearly isn’t rubs me the wrong way.
Further than that, I just didn’t enjoy listening to this record and it genuinely felt like a chore to slog through it.
Not a fan.
1*
The Clash
3/5
I don’t know if I would expressly consider this a punk album at all. The opening track, is obviously a smirky, spiked hair, and patch pants adjacent tune, but the rest of this record is really all over the place. From new wave to britpop to ska, and back again.
It’s not bad, per se, and I’ve always had a soft spot for a few tracks, but it’s definitely not in my top ten for punk records of the era.
Not amazing, but not bad.
2.5 stars.
Alanis Morissette
5/5
This is almost post grunge. The vibes on this album are absolutely immaculate, and the perfect lens to view this period in time through. Almost every song on this record is instantly recognizable as Alanis Morissette. There’s also no bad tracks on this album either, in my humble opinion.
I’m a huge fan of her voice, and the distinct vocalizations present were definitely both novel for the time and trend-setting going forward.
Nothing but good things to say here, 5*
Air
3/5
This is a weird record. I don’t expressly dislike it, in fact, at times I find it quite charming and enjoyable. There’s some really neat vocal melodies throughout, which I think is my favourite aspect of the album. There’s also some very interesting synth work that truly feels ahead of its time.
It does at times feel quite disjointed though, as if more of a collection of songs rather than one cohesive unit. I’m not sure if that’s necessarily a bad thing, but I don’t think I care for it.
I also do not care for the vocoders on “remember”. Its inclusion feels more abrasive than tasteful.
There are some really interesting soundscapes created here, and at times it feels far more atmospheric than it does melody or groove driven.
Not something I’m likely to listen to again, but not something I hate either. 3*
John Lennon
2/5
Parts of this record really capture some of John Lennons earlier magic that was on full display during his time with the Beatles. Other parts of this album, to put it bluntly, do not.
Lots of repetitive lyrics, decent melodies, and some really groovy tracks.
How many times can you say the word “well” in one song?!
The track that really rubs me the wrong way here is “God”. Boring, contrite, and just entirely self absorbed lyrics that almost come to some semblance of a point, but it’s really just total nonsense.
I know this isn’t exactly a hot take, but I think the lack of Paul McCartney really hurt John Lennons songwriting.
Not an album I’ll be listening to again.
2*
Santana
1/5
I just can’t imagine how it’s even possible to make the electric guitar sound so wanky, but here we are. Faux feeling is included everywhere on this album, technically proficient playing but there’s just no true emotion behind it. It just feels so empty and emotionless.
Genre wise this album is a bit all over the place, I can appreciate the Latin rhythms, but there’s attempts at harder rock or even heavy metal falls so flat on its face that I don’t understand how anyone could enjoy it.
Santanas singing is flat and uninspiring.
Will not be listening to this again, as I don’t like torturing myself.
0*
Hole
4/5
It’s a little less grunge and a little more pop than holes previous albums, but it’s good. Similar vein to the post grungy femme pop rock that bands like Veruca Salt were doing around the same time period.
Super catchy title track, and the rest of the record stands up quite well.
I’ll leave my personal feelings about Courtney Love completely out of this review.
An album I’ve listened to previously and will probably listen to again.
3.5*
Willie Colón & Rubén Blades
5/5
All I knew going into this album is that it’s a “salsa album”
I had absolutely no idea that it was going to be this funky!
This is the first record in a very long time that made me wish I knew how to dance to it. The rhythms throughout are totally and completely infectious.
It’s smooth, cool, and very very fun to listen to.
The horns on “Dime” really stand out to me. However they were recorded gives them a very cool feel, intangible delight.
My only complaint about this one is that I wish it was longer. I can’t overstate how fun this record is.
Sex Pistols
3/5
It’s classic Brit Punk, perhaps the most famous punk band and record of all time.
My main problem with the Sex Pistols is that so many other bands have done the same thing, but so much better.
It’s not that this album is bad, it’s a classic for a reason, I guess it just feels so formulaic and tame by modern standards.
“No Feelings” is and has always been my favourite track on this record, but there’s several live recordings that, in my opinion, are far better than what’s on this album.
3*
Michael Jackson
4/5
I have very mixed feelings about this album.
On one hand there are some excellent songs, “the Way You Make Me Feel” is incredibly catchy, the vocal melodies are delightful, and the whole song is written so exceptionally well.
“Smooth Criminal” is a classic by every definition(ignoring the fact that Alien Ant Farm covered it and did a way better job).
Michael Jackson was such an incredibly talented artist, there’s a reason he was literally the most popular musician on the planet at one point.
But on the other hand most of this record just feels really dated. A lot of brutally 80’s synths and drum samples that were rightfully left in that decade. It just feels old, and not in any sort of timeless way.
The singles stand out, the rest of the album suffers, I think.
I’m glad I had an excuse to dig this record out of my collection of LP’s.
3.5*
Elastica
2/5
I don’t know if I have a lot to say about this record.
It felt promising at the start but it’s just.. unremarkable. Some good femme-grungey vibes throughout, but nothing strikes me as particularly catchy or memorable.
I don’t dislike it, but I don’t love it either.
I’m a little perplexed at the existence of “Indian Song”. That’s a weird thing to write and record.
2 stars.
Buddy Holly & The Crickets
5/5
This is a classic rock n roll record. I’ve always had a big soft spot for Buddy Holly, and this album is absolutely no exception.
It’s interesting to me to look at the songwriting credits on this one, I noticed a correlation between my favourite songs on the record and Buddy Holly himself being the writer.
“That’ll Be The Day” is a song that I forgot I loved so much.
The whole album is really well written and recorded. The instrumentation is all on point, and nothing feels wrong with any of the mixes at all.
I really love the way Buddy Holly wrote, arranged, and sang his melodies. There’s something very comforting and warm about his vocalizations. The only popular artist I can think of with similar qualities is Johnny Horton, who I am also a big fan of.
Hard to say anything at all bad about this record, aside from the fact that it doesn’t include my favourite Buddy Holly song.
5*
Elvis Costello
2/5
How is this guy more popular than Joe Jackson? It’s that same new wave pop style, just nowhere near as good.
It’s not really a bad album per se, but I didn’t find it particularly inspiring. I think my main complaint is that I don’t really care for Elvis Costellos voice.
He’s a pretty good lyricist, the music is well written, the instrumentation is perfectly fine, but nothing here blows me away. There’s feeling, but it only ever feels skin deep. I guess that perceived shallowness is my second main complaint.
Not something I really care to listen to again.
2*.
Eminem
5/5
This is truly a classic hip hop album. It’s a little more serious in tone and content than Eminem’s first record. It’s introspective, emotional, violent, and aggressive. It’s easy to see how this isn’t for everyone, but there’s a reason this record has sold over 25 million copies, and is one of the best selling albums of all time.
There’s a lot of lyrics that certainly would not fly today in the mainstream, but this is absolutely a product of its time, not that it wasn’t insanely controversial at the time.
I can understand how one would consider a lot of this album to be childish and immature, but I think it’s far more complex than that.
It’s hard to not love the contrast between Dido’s beautiful singing and Eminem’s devastating storytelling on “Stan”
I also love Bizarre’s feature on “Amityville”.
It’s hard to overstate just how influential and important this record is.
5*
Joan Baez
4/5
An apparently quite well known album by an artist that I’ve never heard of.
This is really excellent traditional folk music. The guitar playing is spectacular, and frankly my favourite part of the whole album.
Joan Baez’s voice is really something else too, almost ethereal? I could see it not being some peoples cup of tea, but I found it really enjoyable.
My only real gripes with this album are few and far between. I don’t particularly care for the cover of “House of the Rising Sun”, I think it felt a little draggy and too downtempo for what it is.
My only other complaint is the relative sameness throughout the record, but I guess that’s part and parcel of this era of folk music.
4*.
Beth Orton
2/5
I had really high hopes 30 seconds into this album. The instrumental intro on “stolen car” is super post grunge and has a really cool tone. Unfortunately everything is way downhill from there. From then on this album is just so boring. Beth Ortons vocalizations sound to me like she’d rather be anywhere else but a recording studio.
Quite the bait and switch, I would say.
Nothing really stands out on this album, it’s just aggressively the same the whole way through. Not for me.
2* but only because that initial intro is cool.
Creedence Clearwater Revival
5/5
Hard to find much fault with this one. CCR and John Fogerty have a really excellent way of blending genres together into one wonderful commodity.
There’s so many influences on this record, from old school rock n roll to country and folk, all the way to R&B. It also benefits from having my favourite CCR song, “Lookin’ Out My Back Door”.
It’s a classic record, top notch instrumentalism and production, combined with Fogerty’s distinct and unmistakable voice. There’s not a single bad track on the entire record.
I’d like to give it 4.5*, but I don’t actually know why I’d dock half a point, so we’ll round up either way.
Shuggie Otis
2/5
This was another artist that I've never heard of previously. I'm not sure what exactly what I was expecting, but it seems pretty straightforward. It's funky and it's soulful, but honestly I didn't find it to be particularly attention-catching. I genuinely struggled to pay attention to this album, it felt like the whole thing was buildup to some crescendo that never actually happened.
I appreciate the vibes, I appreciate the musicality and the talent that went into making it, but I just really wanted something more than this album could give. I really found myself bored by this record.
It's not bad by any means, there's no objective negative qualities, it just really failed to strike a chord with me.
2*
Beatles
5/5
Hard to complain about this one. Tons of excellent singles, and a few really great deep cuts. The movie is also pretty fantastic.
“Can’t Buy Me Love” is one of my favourite Beatles tunes, the wistful chorus melody is one of the best things to come from the Lennon-McCartney songwriting partnership.
I think the only complaint I can come up with is that this album isn’t Rubber Soul.
There’s a good reason that the Beatles were far and away the most popular band in the world for a very long time.
There’s really not much more to say about this record, it’s just super enjoyable to listen to.
4.5*
The Clash
2/5
Yeah it’s definitely an early punk rock album.
It was a groundbreaking piece of counter-culture at the time. Through modern lens I’d call it mostly a snoozefest, honestly.
Musically it’s pretty lazy, but it’s hard to fault a punk rock record for powerchords and simple drum beats.
I honestly don’t have a lot to say about this record, I’m a fan of a lot of punk rock bands, but The Clash just ain’t for me.
2*. Could be worse.
Beck
1/5
Strange album.
It feels like Beck was so preoccupied with jamming every possible genre, instrument, and sound effect into this record, that he forgot to actually make a cohesive album of good songs.
It’s eclectic, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but it feels so random and disorganized that it’s really hard to enjoy it.
“Hotwax” is almost offensive in its attempts to capture some kind of backwoods country western sound.
I think I can mostly sum this record up as if you took Modest Mouse, made them terrible somehow, and tossed that in a blender with every early 90’s white boy rapper.
1*. No bueno.
The Mars Volta
5/5
Holy shit. I’ve always known of The Mars Volta, but I never actually sat down and listened to them. I am so happy that I did. This feels very different from literally everything else we’ve listened to so far from this list, and this might be the most excited I’ve been after listening to an album to review it.
I almost want to consider this album post-hardcore, but it has so many really cool aspects that works so well together. The guitar is frantic and evil and dissonant, but it somehow fits the theme of the album just perfectly. The bass is incredibly funky, and upon learning that the best bassist in the world, Flea, performed on this album, it makes a lot of sense. The vocals are almost as frantic as the lead guitar, but there’s something really beautiful and familiar about them, almost vaguely Coheed and Cambria-esque. I’m a big fan of Cedric’s vocals.
There’s a really cool blend of jazzy Latin rhythms peppered into this record too, the brightness of that really keeps the album from being too dreary.
From a songwriting perspective this album is almost a master class on concept albums. The story told throughout is as fantastical as it is dark. It’s certainly an excellent reminder to avoid mixing morphine and rat poison, if nothing else.
I’m really excited to sit down and listen to this album again, I feel like it deeply deserves multiple attentive play-throughs.
This is a very easy 5*.
Björk
5/5
This was a really surprising album. I had absolutely no idea what to expect going into it, but I found myself having a pile of fun while listening to it. It’s funky, it’s tribal at times, and it’s undesputedly catchy. Bjorks vocals range from soft and gentle to almost violent, but it never feels unnatural or too much. It’s also an incredibly interesting journey of a record, which is something I value quite a bit. Looking forward to hearing this one again.
The Black Keys
2/5
This is definitely a Black Keys album, I’m not really sure what more there is to say about it. It’s sort of a disappointing departure from their earlier lofi stuff that was a little more aggressive and varying.
This album really suffers from an overarching sameness that really makes me not what to listen to it. Every song sounds so similar that it’s a struggle to tell them apart. It’s not that the music is bad, it’s a cool funky blues sound with lots of fuzz, but it’s just so monotonous.
I don’t really dislike this album, but I also don’t feel it needs to exist as more than just a couple decent singles.
2*
The Last Shadow Puppets
2/5
The first thought I had while listening to this record is that it sounds just like the Arctic Monkeys, turns out it’s the same vocalist, that makes sense. I don’t really dislike this album, but i am getting a little tired of the generic British pop rock that this list seems intent on bombarding me with.
It’s fine, it’s catchy and fun, the Beatles influence is very obvious. It’s also just kinda boring? There’s nothing to set this apart from dozens of other bands that sounds exactly the same.
Not something I’ll listen to again. 2*
The Chemical Brothers
3/5
Why did anyone even bother to write a soundtrack for The Matrix, when this album already fit the bill perfectly?
There’s some cool breakbeats and some fun music in this record, it’s not something I really care for. I can respect how groundbreaking this record was at the time, but it’s just so boring in retrospect. Electronic music is a genre that has evolved so quickly and so violently since the mid 90’s, this just feels antiquated, and not in a charming way.
It’s fine I guess. 2.5*
AC/DC
1/5
There’s just absolutely no redeeming qualities here. Brian Johnsons vocals just hit the annoyance nerve in my brain so directly, it’s almost impressive. 0* if I could.
Neil Young & Crazy Horse
1/5
I don’t like Neil Young as a person. I find him whiny, self important, and incredibly annoying. I like a lot of Neil Young’s music, but this album is not a part of that. Neil Young doing acoustic folk music is very very enjoyable, but Neil Young doing this weird rock offshoot is not something I can bring myself to care for. His half singing half yelling schtick on this record is not good. It’s certainly not the worst album on this list, but it ain’t great.
1*
Various Artists
5/5
There’s really nothing to say about this album other than it’s full of nothing but absolute Christmas classics.
You really don’t need any other Christmas album. Every single song is an easy 5*.
Justin Timberlake
4/5
This is just a fun mindless pop record. It retains enough of that NSync vibe to be boy band-esque, but there certainly a little more maturity to be found in this album. There’s a distinct R&B sound that shines through, and it’s hard to complain about it.
It’s nothing groundbreaking, nor is it particularly novel, but it is very well produced. The prince of pop killed it with “cry me a river”.
It’s easy to nitpick and find faults with this album, but in this particular case, I don’t think there’s any reason to. It was made for the mainstream pop charts, and it succeeded in an excellent way.
4*
Kanye West
3/5
This is a good hip hop record. I know it’s a pretty commonly expressed sentiment, but I really do miss the old Kanye.
My biggest complaint about this record is its inconsistency. There’s some really top tier singles, a few good songs, and the rest of it feels a lot like filler. As far as the singles go, “Jesus Walks” is clearly the best track on the record, but I personally feel it still pales in comparison to some of Kanye’s later singles.
It’s really well produced for a debut record, and you can tell Kanye had a very unique approach and vision when it comes to actually making music.
Not my favourite Kanye album, but certainly nowhere near the worst music he’s made.
3/5
Guns N' Roses
1/5
The only thing worse than guns n roses in 1987 is guns n roses in the modern day.
Axl Rose is the single most arrogant, untalented, and frankly embarrassing vocalist that’s ever recorded an album. He’s a stain on the music industry as a whole and the world is certainly a far worse place with him in it. His singing is annoying and unlistenable.
The riffs on this record are boring and predictable. Slash’s talent is entirely just the fact that he memorized a basic pentatonic scale and used it for every single solo.
The drumming is absolutely standard and also very boring. The bass is so low in the mix it’s hard to tell if there even is a bass guitar.
There hasn’t been a worse album on this list yet, and I really don’t think there will be.
Down with guns n roses.
0*.
5/5
This is probably my favourite Bowie record, the fact that it’s such an excellent concept album really helps.
It’s really well written, recorded, and performed. The vibes are decidedly immaculate. “Suffragette City” is almost a very early punk rock song, and my favourite track on the album.
I don’t know if I really have a lot more to say about this record. Catchy hooks, deep verses, and it’s very entertaining. One of those albums that has the capability of holding your attention through the entire run. At 39 minutes, I found myself wishing it was longer.
Neil Young
2/5
Man I really don’t like Neil Young’s more rock focused albums. Someone should have taken this guys amps away from him a long long time ago. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Neil Young should only perform or record by himself with an acoustic guitar. I’m not even sure what it is, but the second you put a band behind this guy he becomes almost unlistenable to me.
I liked the banjo in “For The Turnstiles”. Didn’t care for the exaggerated off key vocal style.
“Vampire Blues” is a hypocritical hit piece aimed squarely at the oil industry, I wonder what Neil would have his records pressed on if we didn’t have vinyl anymore.
“Motion Pictures(for Carrie)” and “Ambulancee Blues” are the only redeeming tracks on the record. Much simpler and stripped down music that lends itself very well to Neil’s musical talent, and frankly the forte he should have always stuck to.
2*
Bad Company
1/5
Oh my god, this album has absolutely no place on a list of albums one MUST listen to. I disagree with the inclusion of a lot of records so far, but this feels the most egregious, weirdly.
Bad Company by Bad Company is the single most generic 1970’s rock album ever made. It’s so so boring. If you asked AI to make the most generic 1970’s rock album, this is exactly what you’d get. It’s not soulful, it’s not funky, there’s no exciting aspects or neat musical sections, it’s just.. straight forward, monotonous, and dull.
Hard pass on this one.
1*.
5/5
Usually I’m aware of a bands earlier works, and know very little about their modern releases. Liars is the complete opposite. I’ve been a huge fan of their newer stuff since about 2014, but I’ve never ventured back further into their catalogue. I’m glad this list gave me the opportunity and reason to.
This record is sort of exactly what I was hoping for when it came to old Liars. It’s slower and less electronic than their newer stuff, but it has the exact same post-goth tinge to it that I absolutely love. The vocals are spooky and ominous, the lyrics ride the line between the occult and nonsense so well. There’s some really cool utilization in this record of the 60 cycle hum that I find really interesting too.
I really enjoyed this one. 5*.
T. Rex
2/5
Hey this is the bang a gong record, neat. First and foremost I do not like the vocal style employed on this album, the vast majority is this weird breathy throaty speak singing that I just can’t enjoy.
Musically I think this is a pretty big standard bluesy rock n roll album straight out of the 70’s. There’s some extremely obvious Beatles influences going on, which doesn’t do a lot for me. It’s fine, but nothing at all to write home about.
I really struggle to find anything more to say about this album. 2.5* but I feel so strongly that it doesn’t deserve 3* that I’m going to round down for once.
Adele
4/5
This is a beautiful and truly heartbreaking record. Adele’s lyricism is just as poetically striking as it is devastating. I really appreciate an artist who is able to bare their entire soul to the world, and this is absolutely that.
I feel that musically this album suffers from a lot of overarching sameness, I struggled at times to tell different songs apart. Instrumentally it’s very well performed, and the production value is as high as you’d expect for such a high profile artist.
I enjoyed my listen through, but I don’t believe I’ll be listening to this again.
4*
Pet Shop Boys
1/5
This is the sort of euro-trash bastardization of new wave that really turns me off. It’s weak and bubbly and entirely unenjoyable to my ears. There’s no real unifying theme or sound here, it’s just every stereotypical late 80’s synth sound crammed into two hours of bullshit.
I can’t believe I listened to the entire thing, including the remixes at the end.
May I never listen to it again.
1*.
Venom
5/5
Fuckin’ Venom!
While this record may not sound anything like modern black metal, or even the original wave of Norwegian black metal, it’s still insanely influential. It’s more of a speed/thrash metal record, but it’s got a lot of aspects that really defined the later iterations of black metal.
There isn’t a single bad song on this album. In fact, there’s not a single song on this record that doesn’t fucking rip.
Deep guttural vocals, tremolo picking, heavy drums, and some of the best satanic imagery of the 1980’s.
I can’t say anything bad about this one.
Easy 5*. Hail Venom.
The Go-Go's
5/5
Why didn’t anyone ever tell me that The Go-Go’s were so good?! I’ve heard the singles off this album on the radio and everywhere else they get played, but they’re not even close to the best tracks on this record. This is equal parts new wave, surf punk, and good old fashioned grrl power!
As a big fan of Best Coast, I really enjoyed listening to this record, and I also enjoyed discovering how influential this album and band were on a lot of my favourite surf band.
I think my favourite track is “You Can’t Walk In Your Sleep(If You Can’t Sleep). The bassline drives the whole song, the lyrics are catchy and witty. I really struggle to complain at all here.
I’m going to have to dive further into this groups discography, I think.
I don’t know what I was expecting, but this album really blew my expectations away. 5*
Steve Winwood
5/5
This is just the third artist on this list so far that I’ve had the pleasure of seeing live in concert. Steve Winwood opened for Tom Petty in the Saddledome back in 2008, and I’m still genuinely not sure who put on a better performance, both were phenomenal.
But I’m not here to review live shows, I’m here to review this particular album, Arc Of A Diver.
This is a soft yacht rock record that I really enjoyed listening to. Steve Winwoods voice is smooth, slightly soulful, and very pleasant. The songwriting is insightful and shows a clear talent. Musically it’s exceptional, my favourite aspect in that regard is the organ that’s played throughout.
There are moments of funk that keep popping up all throughout this record, but there’s moments where it feels like you’re in a disco in 1977, and others where you’re sitting in a lighthouse staring out at the ocean. It’s a really cool fusion of styles and feelings.
My only complaint about this record is that it doesn’t contain the song “Higher Love”. Aside from that, it’s truly excellent.
5*.
Tina Turner
5/5
Another really fun album this week, wow. It feels like the slog through shitty britpop fans might finally be over, or more likely temporarily on hold.
Tina Turner was such an incredible vocal powerhouse, it’s hard not to get goosebumps from her singing.
This is an album with some really incredible singles, but also some underrated deep cuts that deserve a little more credit. It’s soulful and bluesy, but it’s got that 80’s energy coming from the electric guitar style and all the synths. It’s such a fun sound throughout, it’s really hard to find any fault at all.
The way she reimagined the classic Beatles tune “Help” is really quite striking. It’s a beautiful version of an already excellent song. The kind of cover where an artist really makes it their own.
This album really earned its 5 stars here.
Eurythmics
2/5
It’s a synth pop record masquerading as new wave. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s definitely not my thing.
Everyone knows the title track, it’s a classic, as an aside though, I think the Marilyn Manson cover is better. But the rest of the album is almost entirely unknown, and I think there’s probably a reason for that. My hypothesis is that it’s because most of the rest of the album is just boring.
Regarding the title track, who the fuck pronounced the word “this” as “these” they’re two totally different words and frankly I think the title and lyrics should be revised to read “these”.
I probably won’t ever listen to this again.
2*
Television
1/5
What do you get when you cross iggy and the stooges with the Rolling Stones? Nothing good.
The vocals are this weird snotty Mick Jagger ripoff sound that is nothing but aggravating.
The guitar playing is pretentious and annoying. Everything else is boring and predictable.
I really hope to never hear this band again.
1*
Manu Chao
2/5
Holy shit this is the “King Of The Bongo” guy?! That’s crazy. I have no idea why I know this song, but memories of it were buried deep in my subconscious.
As far as the rest of this album goes, it’s definitely Latin flavoured, but aside from that it feels fairly generic. There’s a real lack of passion in his voice, which I feel doesn’t jive at all with this style.
There’s voice used throughout that feel super out of place and clunky.
This feels like the soundtrack that a taco restaurant owned by white guys would play to try to sound authentic.
It misses the mark for me.
2*
Frank Sinatra
5/5
A beautiful record full of classic blue eyed heartbreak and pining, unrequited love. It’s hard to find fault with someone as influential and legendary as Frank Sinatra.
Not the most well known songs of his, but it’s still an excellent album.
I couldn’t imagine ranking anything he’s done any less than 5*.
Radiohead
4/5
This is a groovy, weirdly intimate, and dreary art rock record. Weird time signatures, Thom Yorke’s signature vocalizations, and lots of weird.
I don’t dislike this album at all, but I’m not sure I 100% get it. I like it, but it doesn’t give me the same feeling deep in my gut that earlier Radiohead did.
Lyrically it’s both deep and clever, if not a little distressing at times.
I’ve only listened to this album a time or two prior to being assigned it, and I probably won’t be rushing back to it. I appreciate it for what it is though.
3.5*.
Coldplay
4/5
I know that it’s sort of a meme to shit talk Coldplay now a days, and I’m certainly not here to defend their more modern releases, but in my opinion this is a really pretty record.
Chris Martin’s voice had a certain smoothness to it that’s really pleasing sonically.
It’s not the most exciting record, nor does it really push any boundaries, but it is really nice music. I enjoyed every song, start to finish. I think this album really earned all the record sales it had.
I never really paid attention to this record previously, but I am pretty happy I listened to it now.
4*.
Faith No More
1/5
Ugh. I can’t stand most of this album.
“Epic” is the kind of song that makes me immediately change the radio station, it’s such a terrible Red Hot Chili Peppers knockoff. Mike Patton is not a bad vocalist, in fact I think he’s very talented, but why the fuck is he trying to hard to sound like Anthony Kiedis on this track? It’s horrific and I hate it.
The only redeeming thing on this record is the cover of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”
Everything else is grating and unpleasant.
1*
Sade
5/5
Smoooooooooth operatorrrrrrr. Why does “Smooth Operator” sound weird on this album? Was the radio version that I’ve come to know and love a different mix entirely? Weird.
This album rules, Sade rules. It’s smooth and it’s groovy. There’s so much I could say, but I’m sure it’s already been said a thousand times. 10/10
The Specials
5/5
Second wave ska in all its skankin’ glory. This era of ska is essentially defined by The Specials, with a bright rude sound, they deserve every ounce of recognition they get. It’s almost hard to describe how influential this album was on so many great bands. Third wave ska bands like Mustard Plug and The Blue Meanies owe so much to The Specials.
Aside from the obvious bouncing ska basslines and up-picked barre chords, there’s an almost new wave sound to this record that was really unique to the ska/punk scene at the time.
Really technically sound album, and Elvis Costellos producing chops are evident.
For me personally, this is a 5* album. Glad I got to listen to it again.
The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
4/5
I’m not sure what exactly I expected going into this record, but from the very first agonizing wail, my curiosity was piqued.
This whole album has a loose, almost sloppy live feel to it, and it works really well. This is by far the most punk rock record we’ve reviewed so far. I’m honestly a little shocked I’d never heard of it before.
It sort of vacillates between this greasy blues-rock and fast punk rock. It’s like some rockabilly dude with a pompadour and a 55 Chevy Belair’s perfect cruising album.
There’s points in this album where it gets a little off base for me, “Rocketship” is a song I particularly didn’t enjoy.
Actually you know what, this sounds like an album Elvis would have recorded if he was born about 20 or 30 years later and read The Outsiders a few too many times.
Not a bad record at all, pretty enjoyable listen. 3.5*.
Metallica
5/5
Is there anything more to say than “Hell yeah!”? This is arguably Metallica’s last good record. Almost entirely straight thrash with only a little of the weird boring melodic bullshit that they leaned on heavily in later years. The title track on this album is objectively one of the best songs they ever recorded. “Welcome Home(Sanitarium)” is the only weak track. Everything else on this record fucking rips, and while it doesn’t catch the lightning in a bottle like “Kill ‘Em All” did, it’s still pretty great. If the band called it quits after releasing this one, I think they’d be up there as one of my favourite thrash metal bands ever. Fun to revisit this album, it’s been a while since I listened to it front to back.
4.5*.
4/5
I think I get this album and the intentions behind it. I can feel the powerful emotions that were barred on display, the openness and vulnerability put out into the world in the lyrics. I’m just not sure if it’s really for me.
PJ Harvey is clearly an incredibly talented vocalist, lyricist, songwriter, and musician. Sonically I appreciate every aspect that was put into this album. Thom Yorke’s vocal appearances on this record are really cool too, and he fits the vibe absolutely perfectly.
I just had this nagging feeling the entire time I listened to this album that I wasn’t feeling the feelings that I was supposed to. I’m not really sure how to put it into words, but I found it difficult to fully connect with this album, like I was sitting a room away from someone else who was blasting this record and really feeling it.
None of that is to say I didn’t enjoy it, I just feel like it didn’t hit me like I think it should have.
3.5*
James Taylor
4/5
I’m not sure I’ve ever listened to these earlier James Taylor albums before. Sweet Baby James is remarkably beautiful. It’s a folk album, first and foremost, but there’s elements of soul, country western, blues, and even some bluegrass influences. It’s a far cry from the yacht rock I’ve come to expect from Mr. Taylor, and I really enjoyed it. The guitar work is fantastic, the singing is perfect for the music, and everything is arranged dead on. The horns on “Suite for 20 G” are an example of the excellent instrumental decisions made on this record.
This is one of those records that I’m really glad I was exposed to by this project.
4*
Scott Walker
1/5
This is pompous, self important, overbearing, and just generally unenjoyable to listen to. I guess there’s some political commentary sprinkled throughout, but finding any sort of subtlety is like milking a concrete slab.
I don’t understand why this album was included on this list, but that seems to be a reoccurring question for me.
Hard pass.
The Smashing Pumpkins
5/5
This is a hell of a record. A triple LP clocking in at just a hair over two hours. In my opinion this is Billy Corgan’s magnum opus. There’s so many very good singles on this album, it’s genuinely pretty incredible. This album seems to shift through different feelings throughout, at times it’s orchestral, at times melodic and beautiful, and at times aggressive, gritty, and raucous. Some songs are admittedly relatively snoozy, but there’s certainly more bangers than not.
I find it really hard to find fault in this record, and I say that as someone who isn’t really a huge fan of the Smashing Pumpkins.
“Zero” has always stood out as my favourite song on this record.
“Emptiness is loneliness and loneliness is cleanliness and cleanliness is godliness and god is empty, just like me” is still one of the most iconic lyrics ever written. The song also has the added bonus of now reminding me of my significant other, in a roundabout way.
I can’t really justify giving this album anything less than full marks.
5*
Sonic Youth
1/5
I’ll never forgive Sonic Youth for the way they treated Nardwuar. It feels wrong giving them the fraction of a fraction of a cent they’ll earn by streaming this album, but journalistic integrity can’t take a break for incredibly correct morals.
This is a super mid indie rock album that’s desperately trying to sound edgy and cool while still towing the company line of their first mainstream recording contract. I don’t care for it, nor do I care to be reminded that it exists. The pandering towards the grunge scene is clearly evident, and it’s very clearly inorganic and disingenuous.
Wish I could give this album 0 stars because of its lack of any redeeming qualities.
Big Star
1/5
This is such a boring and excessively generic 1970’s album. It feels like elements of a dozen other bands aggressively slammed into each other. It’s not really novel or exciting, it just suffers from this overarching sameness. I don’t think it can be overstated how bored I was during this record. At least the one song got used for that 70’s show?
1*
Big Brother & The Holding Company
1/5
I genuinely had no idea that Janis Joplin released music under a band, rather than solo. It took me until the fourth track to actually recognize anything on this record. I have to say that I don’t particularly care for this record. The instrumentation is fine, if not a bit over distorted for what it is. There’s definitely some Beatles influences that are very prominent throughout, that “Heiter Skelter” sound is clearly borrowed.
I don’t enjoy Janis Joplins singing on this record, it reminds me of a screeching cat.
This one is not for me.
1*
The Thrills
4/5
This is definitely an early to mid 2000’s indie record. I like it, it’s possibly the least abrasive album we’ve heard so far, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s the sort of band you’d expect to be heavily featured in an episode of the OC(upon further research, this is correct)
It’s got moments of dreamy brevity, some really catchy basslines, and some beautiful melodies.
Not a band I’d ever paid attention to before, but it’s an enjoyable record.
3.5*
Sebadoh
4/5
I really enjoyed this album. It’s a fun indie rock record that at times verges into grungey post-rock. Fun guitar work with some cool blues influences. Lots of fuzz and noise throughout.
Vocally it’s abrasive yet melodic, and the delivery feels incredibly genuine.
“Telecosmic Alchemy” stands out as my favourite track on the record.
I hear some resemblance to bands like modest mouse throughout, but it doesn’t feel like a copy of anything.
This is a record that I’ll almost definitely listen to again.
4*
Miriam Makeba
4/5
This is a pretty record. Miriam Makeba’s voice is really quite beautiful, and the instrumentation behind it is wonderful.
The cover of “House of the Rising Sun” is a high point on the album for me.
The incessant male laughing on “One More Dance” is a definite low point. My god what an annoying thing to include in a song.
I’d give this album full marks if it weren’t for that.
4*.
Elliott Smith
5/5
This is already one of my favourite albums ever made. I absolutely love Elliot Smith, and I consider Either/Or to be his greatest work.
This album consists of nothing but brutal honesty, Elliot consistently shares his deepest emotions, fears, and traumas. A lot of songwriting on this record focuses on the topic of abuse he suffered in his younger years, and the way he bares his heart open to the world is very striking.
Musically I think this is just a beautiful record, it’s raw and genuine and real, it never feels forced or overproduced.
This is one of those albums that you feel more than you hear. It’s so incredibly powerful that I’m afraid my words here cannot do it justice.
It’s literally impossible to pick a favourite song on this record, because each song is just as incredible as the last.
I’ve probably listened to this record a thousand times in my life, and I’m sure that I’ll continue to play it regularly for the rest of my life.
Rest in Peace, Elliot.
5*
50 Cent
5/5
This is an iconic album, truly a classic hip hop record. It’s no surprise at all that this debut solo album sold so many records. 50’s vocal style is so unique, he has this calm musical cadence is his voice that’s so hard to pinpoint, but it’s good.
The features on this record are definitive of successful hip hop of the early 2000’s, Eminem’s work on “Patiently Waiting” stands out as excellent among excellence.
I have to say this album has really aged well in my eyes, and it brings back a lot of memories of listening to G-unit as a teenager.
4.5*
G. Love & Special Sauce
1/5
Everything about this album feels inorganic and unfortunately designed by committee. I don’t understand who this album was made for? It’s not catchy, it’s not groovy, and it’s mostly just awkward and uncomfortable to listen to. The vocal style is so forced and weird.
The lyrics are asinine and poorly written. The guitar playing, drumming, and all the other instrumentation is lazy and predictable.
This is not something I hope to ever listen to again.
The Rolling Stones
2/5
I understand that the Rolling Stones, and this album in particular are considered to be wildly influential and important to a lot of music that can afterward. I also understand that I just don’t care for it at all. “Under My Thumb” is the only redeeming part of this record, and that’s mostly because of Streetheart’s unreal cover of it. Maybe there’s some Canadian bias in my preference of the cover, but that’s the way she goes.
2*
LL Cool J
3/5
I don’t know that I have a lot to say about this album. It’s clearly a hip-hop classic, and it’s both well known and well loved. I just never really found myself enjoying it.
It’s a weird thing to listen to an album you know is good, without actually feeling it at all.
Ministry
5/5
Oh, early 90’s industrial, what a wonderful thing you were.
This is such a fun record, and ministry has always had a soft spot in my heart. Al Jourgensen’s shouty guttural vocals overtop of a vicious drum machine and various other synths, with fast aggressively palm muted guitar riffs is really something to behold.
I’ll be the first to admit that their subject matter can veer a little sophomoric at times, but it’s more than made up for just in sheer intensity.
Theres this overarching rockabilly vibe that weirdly fits in with the industrial aesthetic so well, it doesn’t make any sense, and I think that’s what makes it so good. The mixture of Americana and Crowley style occultism is something that feels so right as well.
The influence that Ministry had on bands like Drowning Pool and White Zombie is clear and evident, and frankly it’s something worth appreciating.
4.5*
The Chemical Brothers
2/5
Another Chemical Brothers record, another matrix soundtrack.
See my previous review of the Chemical Brothers, my feelings towards this one are literally identical, this album just had more vocal samples, I guess?
The Band
5/5
I will be forever grateful that Bob Dylan chose not to sing on this record. The Band is such an incredible band, and the fact that they were able to develop their own style and share vocal duties amongst themselves really led to something special.
As someone who has always loved The Band, and watched the Last Waltz multiple times, I’m really glad this record came up. It’s this wonderful combination of blues, folk, and rock n roll. There’s so many other influences sprinkled throughout, but it’s really hard to describe as anything other than just “The Band”.
In my opinion Robbie Robertson is incredibly underrated as a guitar player, and I think this album is a really good example of how talented he was. The solo on “To Kingdom Come” alone is enough to push him into the upper echelons of 60’s and 70’s guitarists.
I’m really happy to have listened to this album again, and I’m also very happy that it exists.
5*
Fairport Convention
2/5
I had high hopes the first few seconds of this album that it was going to be a fun folk record, those hopes were quickly dashed by the realization that this is just another boring britpop album, merely tinged by the popular folk sound of the time.
It’s like the acoustic parts of “Yes” mixed with a far worse version of Jefferson Airplane.
Not really an album for me.
2*
Jane Weaver
1/5
Is this the newest album on this list? It’s got to be so far, at least. Why does it sound like this was written and produced in the mid 2000’s?! There’s some pretty impressive vocals on display here, but that skill is almost constantly overshadowed by cheesy synths and boring baselines.
Every drum beat sounds like a generic preset that came with the 2010 version of fruityloops. The songwriting is generic and uninspiring, lyrically and musically.
I guess this would be good background music for a telecommunications conference? Not for me.
1*
Queen
2/5
I’m going to admit something relatively embarrassing here, the song “Killer Queen” is one that I actually like quite a lot. I’m not entirely sure why, given that I can hardly stand any of the other music that they released.
That song is certainly the only redeeming quality in an album filled otherwise entirely with boring slop. There’s a few attempts to branch out into different genres, but it falls completely flat for me.
I really hope I don’t have to listen to anymore queen.
2* but only because “Killer Queen” is good.
LTJ Bukem
2/5
I don’t understand why a compilation is on this list. It really doesn’t make any sense to me.
Regardless of that, this is just boring late 90’s/early 2000’s drum and bass, and I don’t care for it at all.
It’s technically sound, and the production on every track is fine, but I really struggle to care about this album enough to write about it.
DnB has always been a snooze fest to me, even when it was new and novel.
2* I guess?
Bauhaus
5/5
One of the best goth-wave albums ever produced, it’s really quite difficult to find any objective flaws in this one. It’s perhaps a little more consumer friendly than Bauhaus’s first album, but it still hits all the right notes.
In a world of Joy Division and the Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus put their own spin on the goth rock sound of the time, and really stood out. There’s no doubt that this album is still inspiring music being produced, and I don’t think that will ever change. Modern albums like Ceremony’s “The L Shaped Man” owe a lot to Bauhaus, and this record in particular.
It’s an album that is equal parts a wonderful window into its own time, and timeless.
Deep, dark, brooding, and just spooky enough.
5*
N.W.A.
5/5
It’s almost a futile endeavour to attempt to write anything that hasn’t already been said about this album. I would have a difficult time arguing with anyone claiming this to be the best hip-hop album of all time. There’s certainly rap records that I personally enjoy more, but “Straight Outta Compton” is so influential and objectively great, it’s hard to deny it.
I’ll leave the technical and musical analysis of this record to those more knowledgeable about hip-hop than me, all I’ll say is this is an easy 10/10.
The Flaming Lips
5/5
This is a VERY strange record. It’s a lot of relatively unrelated elements brought together. Things like weird electronic samples, soft pretty vocals, bright synths, funky basslines, and huge drums all combine into one cohesive record that, on paper, shouldn’t work. The incredible thing about it is just how well it all works together.
I have absolutely no idea how to sort this album genre-wise, but I really enjoyed listening to it. It’s unlike anything else I’ve ever listened to, although I can hear elements that feel influential on a lot of the weirder modern music that I enjoy, like Jack Stauber and Bill Wurtz.
This is truly a wonderful piece of art, and I’m glad I was exposed to it from this project.
5*
Green Day
4/5
This is one of those records that I come back to occasionally, knowing full well that it never fails to bring a smile to my face.
I’m not a huge fan of the radio singles off this one, however there are some very bright deep cuts, songs like “whatsername” and “St Jimmy” are some of the best music Green Day ever released.
What I really want to talk about is the rock opera contained within this album, “Jesus of Suburbia”. At over nine minutes, it’s a far cry from the minute and a half punk rock songs of yore. It is however, as I believe, the single best work that Billie Joe Armstrong has ever created. I can understand criticisms of this track that I’ve seen, people saying the metaphors are weak, and it’s not real punk rock, but I just don’t care. It’s a product of its time, and it’s really an accurate reflection of how young folk were feeling about the world at the time. The section of this song beginning at “Dearly Beloved are you listening?” Is my personal favourite, the simplicity of it musically combined with the brevity of the lyrics really tickles a specific part of my brain.
I really like this whole song and I think it alone is worth five stars.
Unfortunately I have to take a star off this album due to the incessant and never ending airplay that “Wake Me Up When September Ends” got when it came out.
Big Black
2/5
Let’s talk pros and cons of “Atomizer” by Big Black.
Pros:
I found this album lyrically interesting.
Parts of this record feel sort of post-hardcore.
There’s an overarching feeling that resonates throughout the album, one of hopelessness and despair, that really hits hard.
Cons: 90% of the music on this album is incredibly grating, unenjoyable, and unfun to listen to.
Gonna have to pass on this one.
Parliament
4/5
Space Funk has never sounded so good.
Steady drums, funky driving basslines, unbelievable horn sections, and groovy vocals, it’s hard not to bop your head to this one. The overarching theme essentially boils down to “black people go to space” and it somehow works exceptionally well.
4*
The Afghan Whigs
1/5
Generic early 90’s alt-rock. Nothing at all novel or exciting about this one.
It’s not musically bad, but the vocals certainly don’t do anything for me.
It’s like if U2 and the Smashing Pumpkins had a baby.
Not an album I enjoyed nor will I listen to it again.
The Strokes
4/5
The early 2000’s was truly the golden age of Indie Rock, and this album is absolutely no exception. I really liked listening to this record, and for some reason I’d never really paid any attention to the Strokes previously.
I’ve always been a big fan of some of the indie bands from this era; Death Cab, Modest Mouse, and Franz Ferdinand to name a few. This particular album has all the same vibes that I’m used to, but this undercurrent of almost post-punk. The verging on monotonous vocals they employ at times fit the music so well.
This is a record I’ll probably revisit in the future.
Daft Punk
5/5
This is simply a classic record. As a retired DJ, it’s hard for me to imagine a world without Daft Punk’s music.
I genuinely believe there’s an argument to be made that this is the best electronic music record ever made. It really set the tone for a ton of house and techno ever since its release, even to this day.
It’s really difficult to overstate how inspirational and influential it is.
It’s full of the sort of songs that work just as well as background music while you’re working as they do full blast in a club full of people. It’s powerful and it’s just pure fun.
5*
Charles Mingus
4/5
This is a wild record, to the point that it almost gets overwhelming at times. It has this really special feeling to it, almost spiritual in a ritualistic sort of way.
It’s not an album that you can listen to passively, given its repeated and quite violent smacks to whatever part of your brain processes music.
I truly believe this album belongs very high on the list of albums to listen to before you die, and its inclusion here is a no brainer.
This album is definitely art, there’s no other way to put it. It’s almost beyond description with words, and I’m glad I got to experience it.
I’m not really sure if I’d listen to it again, but I don’t think that takes away from its artistry and beauty.
Derek & The Dominos
5/5
If you told me that there was an exceptional bluesy rock n’ roll album full of incredible ballads and love songs purely to exhibit Eric Clapton’s sheer mastery of the electric guitar, I wouldn’t doubt you for a second.
Clapton is truly on the greatest guitar players of all time, and any argument otherwise is laughable.
Korn
5/5
Come on! What’s not to love about this record. Jonathan Davis’s tortured melodic vocals and violent guttural screams combined with Brian Welch’s dissonant and outrageously heavy guitars really made for something special.
Arguably the first Nu Metal band, it’s impossible to imagine any band coming close to mimicking the magic of Korn.
I’ve always loved this record, and I really enjoyed this excuse to sit down and listen to it beginning to end.
“Reclaim My Place” is my favourite song on this album, it’s just such an excellent exhibition of what makes Korn so special. Jonathan Davis repeatedly yelling “what the fuck?!” takes a great song to the next level.
5*
Meat Loaf
5/5
This is the album that I always want Queen to sound like when I am forced to listen to them.
It’s definitely somewhere on the musical theatre adjacent scale, but I don’t think it’s far enough on that scale to lose any points.
Meat Loafs voice is this combination of powerful and gentle that really works for me. The songwriting is clever and oftentimes far more tender than I think it gets enough credit for. There’s some really profound love songs on this record.
It’s a fun rock n’ roll sound, musically. I find it often approaches cheesiness but never crosses the line into anything cringey or uncomfortable. Really it’s just a fun record.
“Paradise By The Dashboard Light” is one of my favourite songs of all time, and I feel absolutely zero shame about that. It’s the perfect rock opera and such an excellent song for belting out at the top of your lungs while driving down the highway late at night. Freddie Mercury could have only dreamed of crafting something so good.
Aside from that song, I’d give this album somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4, but I love that song so much that I believe it alone is worth 5*.
Kate Bush
1/5
Musically this is a fun, artsy, new wave-esque pop record. It’s well written, well played, and well produced.
My main gripe with this record is that I simply cannot stand Kate Bush’s voice. The way she enunciates words just strikes some primal part of my brain that screams at me to turn it off whenever I hear her.
I really did not enjoy listening to this album as a result.
The fact that I powered through it should show my respect for this project.
1*.
The Libertines
2/5
This isn’t a terrible album for what it is. Extremely British pop-rock that is trying a little too hard, but it’s not totally horrible.
“The Man Who Would Be King” has kind of a cool swingy Arctic monkeys sound to it. “Narcissist” almost has a sex pistols feeling throughout.
The rest of the record is pretty forgettable to me though.
Not an album I’ll listen to again. 2*.
Jurassic 5
2/5
This is an album that I’ve never heard of before, by a group that I also haven’t ever heard of. I’m not really well versed enough in hip hop to meaningfully articulate what I do and do not like, but largely I think the rapping on this album falls into the latter category. I found it to be boring, I guess.
The Big Daddy Kane and Nelly Furtado features were cool, though.
Musically I actually enjoyed this record quite a bit, lots of really cool chill and also very funky beats, and some really fun samples.
I don’t think this is one that I’ll be going back to anytime soon.
2*
Curtis Mayfield
5/5
It’s wild listening to an album that is simultaneously ahead of its time, whilst also sounding so entirely timeless.
Right off the bat you can tell exactly what you’re going to get with this record, which is funk, soul, and a whole lot of feeling.
The message about urban gun violence in “Billy Jack” feels more relevant now than ever, which is impressive for something released in 1975.
The instrumentation throughout this record is absolutely stellar, and every musician played their part perfectly.
I can’t find a lot of fault in this one.
4.5*.
The Louvin Brothers
5/5
It’s about time we got a proper country music record on this list.
This is such an incredible record, but full disclosure: I’ve been a fan of the Louvin Brothers for a long time.
I think the most striking aspect to the Louvin Brothers music isn’t their picking skills, incredible songwriting, or their talent for arranging traditional folk songs into heartbreaking country music. The thing that really stands out most to me is their use of vocal harmonies, which has been incredibly influential in country music since.
It’s a beautiful and powerful record full of love, loss, heartbreak, and good old fashioned gospel.
I’m glad I had an excuse to listen to this.
5*
Roxy Music
2/5
What a strange album.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a fan of Roxy Music’s later albums, records like Avalon and Flesh + Blood are really enjoyable and stuff that I happily listen to.
This record doesn’t really fit that category to me. It’s aggressively all over the place stylistically, and I constantly found myself feeling lost and not having fun. There’s some great hooks throughout, some moments that are enjoyable, but as a whole work it feels really disjointed to me. I’d say I enjoyed the first half of the record more than the second, where things really devolved into over-synthed madness.
I can understand why one would enjoy this record, but it’s not for me. 2*
Beck
1/5
Well that was.. forgettable? Is this really the same guy that sang “Loser”? Not that any of it is good, but damn this sounds different.
I found myself feeling inescapably bored throughout this entire record, the silence at the end of it was possibly my favourite part.
There’s some pretty guitar playing at times, I guess.
1*
The Prodigy
4/5
Heavy guitar riffs over breakbeats? Vaguely evil synths over distorted hardcore basslines? This albums got it all.
I thoroughly enjoyed this one from start to finish with the exception of “One Love” which I feel should have been omitted from the record entirely, man was that a real vibe killer.
I do feel like the flute work on the track “3 Kilos” deserves a shoutout. It’s like if the dude from Jethro Tull was rolling on molly at 3am in an abandoned warehouse rave, exceptional stuff.
I really like this record, I’m glad I was exposed to it from this list.
4*
Steely Dan
5/5
I love Steely Dan, one of my favourite bands of all time, there’s literally nothing out there that compare to the sheer perfection that Fagan and Becker accomplished. I could write a long review about every aspect that I love in this album, all the little decisions that they made that make it truly great.
I’m not going to do that, but I am going to talk a little bit about my favourite all time moment in a Steely Dan song, which conveniently enough is on this very album.
The song “King Of The World” is perhaps the greatest song ever writing about living in a post apocalyptic world, wondering if you really are the last man on earth. The moment that hits me right at the base of my skull where it connects to my spine happens at almost exactly three minutes into the song. There’s this tiny little crescendo at the tail end of the line “might as well die” where the trailing edge of the lyrics in this bridged is reverbed into this very brief climax leads into the third verse, and it’s just such an incredibly little detail that gives me goosebumps every single time I hear it.
Needless to say I love this album and I’d give it 10 starts if I could. Absolutely incredible that I am alive at a time when I can enjoy this music whenever I want.
5*
Joan Armatrading
5/5
This is a really stellar record. I’m honestly shocked that I’ve never heard of Joan Armatrading before, and I’m a little more shocked to find out that she’s British.
This album really sweeps a broad spectrum of genres, it touches on funk, pop, rock n roll, new wave, even occasionally folk. Normally when an album attempts to hit so many different styles it falls flat for me, but I think it was done incredibly well here. Not one genre felt out of place with Joan’s voice. The production value is excellent for the time, and it feels very well performed.
I really struggle to find any faults here, I really enjoyed listening to this record.
The saxophone solo on “Love and Affection” really pushed this song over the 4* edge and right up to a perfect score.
5*
Beastie Boys
1/5
I grit my teeth and sat through all 53 excruciating minutes of this album, I deeply regret every single second of it.
I cannot imagine anything more grating, maybe pushing a half inch space bit in my cordless drill directly into my skull, but I think it would be awfully close.
I cannot overstate just how annoying I find the beastie boys, and I really truly hope I never have to listen to any of this garbage again.
0*
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
5/5
When I think of nitty gritty dirt band I think of Cadillac ranch, fishin’ in the dark, and line dancing in elementary school. I am a little bit ashamed that I didn’t know this album, chock full of genuine country music legends, existed.
This is banjo pickin’, guitar strumming, fiddle playin’, harmonica blowin’ excellence on just about every level. Really exceptional stuff.
I enjoyed every second of this two hours and ten minutes, and I’m really glad I got exposed to it from this list.
I could drone on and on about each and every artist included on this record that I absolutely adore, but I think for the sake of time I’ll just say this: this record is an absolute treasure, and I’ll definitely be listening to it again.
5*
Mudhoney
4/5
I’m sure the direct influence that this album had on nirvana, and the Seattle grunge scene in general has been beaten to death already, but I’ve always found it really interesting to hear the aspects of this record that Kurt Cobain clearly resonated with. There’s other direct influences to find here too, the vocal performance on “No One Has” clearly inspired guys like Layne Staley and Chris Cornell.
It’s also neat to consider what influenced the guys in Mudhoney, I get the distinct impression that they listened to a lot of Iggy and the Stooges while writing this record.
This is definitely a pivotal and important album in the evolution of punk rock into grunge in the late 80’s and early 90’s, and it’s definitely been a while since I last listened to Mudhoney.
I like this album a lot as is, but when you consider just how culturally important this record is, I think it makes it that much more special to me. Fun listen, but definitely not for everyone.
4*
3/5
Sonically this album is very interesting, the use of electronic drums mixed with analog ones, the interplay between synths and guitars, and the general massive atmospheric feel to this record are all really cool things to find in an album.
My main complaint with this record is that on most songs the lead singer uses a vocal style that is virtually identical to Bono from U2, and after realizing that, I don’t think I’ll ever hear this band the same way again.
There is, however, one exception in “Supermassive Black Hole” where he sings in an almost falsetto tone, and I strangely find myself enjoying that quite a lot more than the rest of the record. If there’s muse albums where he does more of that, colour me interested.
Aside from that though, I don’t think this album is really for me, the vocal style complaint may seem silly, but it just throws the whole vibes off for me, and I can’t enjoy it.
2.5*
Beastie Boys
1/5
No. Just absolutely not. Two beastie boys albums within a week is just straight up cruel.
Once again I slogged my way through this pile of garbage and hated every second of it. The only redeeming quality in this album is the guitar riff on “sabotage”
Everything else feels like it was designed very specifically to annoy me.
I really hope that this is the last beastie boys album on this list, words cannot accurately describe how much I hate this.
Buffalo Springfield
2/5
I think this is the most unremarkable album yet. I really fail to understand how this album qualified for this list. Buffalo Springfield Again by Buffalo Springfield is just such a boring and generic album for its day. The lyrics all feel kind of lazy and predictable, and I really struggled to feel anything at all while listening to this. Nothing about it is objectively bad, annoying, or hard to listen to, but I just.. didn’t enjoy it. I’ve stated before how hit and miss Neil Young is for me, and this one is definitely in the miss column.
2* I guess?
Paul Simon
5/5
Paul Simon is one of those incredible artists that I’m really grateful to exist at a time when I can hear his music whenever I want.
This album has such a diverse variety of styles and sounds, but Paul’s voice keeps grounded in one incredible vibe. His songwriting is immaculate, and lyrically this album is simply fantastic.
Musically everything is played perfectly, no instrument feels overstated or too aggressive in the mix either.
This isn’t my favourite Paul Simon record, but it’s still an easy 5*.
Talking Heads
5/5
What does one even say about the Talking Heads? They’re such a unique musical entity, often imitated, but David Byrne is simply uncopyable. There’s a certain magic on the first few Talking Heads records, and this one almost perfectly encapsulates that magic. It’s a little more up-tempo and poppy than their first record, but it’s still very much a weird and fun new-wave masterpiece.
There’s not much more to say here, it’s an excellent album with unreasonably high levels of replayability.
5*
1/5
Yawn. This is the kind of euro-trash that gives new-wave a bad name.
It’s all so disingenuous and it feels aggressively designed by committee, like record execs saw what was popular at the time at wanted to cash in on far better new-wave bands success.
This music was clearly designed for radio airplay, and that kind of thing is just always so evident. It’s like what Pearl Jam was to the grunge era, entirely forced and unenjoyable.
This album doesn’t even really deserve to be critiqued from a production standpoint.
I didn’t enjoy a second of this album, and I look forward to forgetting it exists.
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
2/5
I liked this album more than anything else we’ve listened to that featured Neil Young.
I’ve said before that Neil Young’s is far more suited to predominantly acoustic music, and this album continued to prove that true.
There’s some dark folk vibes throughout this album that resonate at times, but it’s a little disjointed overall.
It almost feels more like a compilation of the four artists, rather than a cohesive body of work.
I’m not entirely convinced that this album deserves to be on this list, but I guess there’s a lot worse.
2*
Radiohead
3/5
I can appreciate this record for its impressive production quality, relatively novel music, and interesting lyrical themes. It’s really well done, and there’s no technical faults to be found anywhere within. I appreciate Thom Yorke’s singing as well, it’s a very unique style.
Unfortunately I just don’t vibe with this record, I found myself bored quite often while listening to it.
“Exit Music (For a Film)” is a really exceptional track that I’ve always really liked, it’s as emotionally powerful as it is beautiful, really the best thing to come from this album by far.
I want to give this album 3.5*, but rounding to a four just feels incorrect based on how I found myself feeling while listening to it. Let’s call it 3.49 and round down.
Dinosaur Jr.
1/5
I normally have a soft spot for late 80’s/early 90’s alt rock, but I really struggled with this record. I don’t believe I’ve ever listened to Dinosaur Jr. before, and in retrospect it seems that was a wise decision on my part.
I found this album just sort of generally annoying, there wasn’t any enjoyment for me, it’s like a generic and boring version of nirvana.
Not a record or band I ever plan on listening to again.
1*
The Darkness
2/5
This is a very strange album.
I genuinely think the 80’s should be left in the 80’s, anything desperately trying to revive glam rock is really not for me.
That said, the song “I believe in a thing called love” is a classic and I cannot find a single fault with it specifically.
The rest of the album just doesn’t hit a single positive note for me.
Gonna have to pass on this one. 2*
Screaming Trees
1/5
This album is odd to me. I like it from an instrumental standpoint, it’s got this cool light grunge-esque feel throughout. Simple drums, lots of crunchy powerchords, very basic root-note basslines, and it all works very well. My issue with this album is the vocal style doesn’t match the music to me at all.
The lead singer sounds disinterested and bored, and not at all in a good way.
It sounds like a dad-rock band playing covers at the local bar, from a vocal standpoint, and I just can’t get over that feeling.
We’re on a real run of uninspiring albums lately, but this one takes the cake strictly thanks to those terrible vocals.
I won’t listen to this again.
The Cure
4/5
Now we’re talking. This is one of my favourite early goth-wave records.
Seventeen Seconds has a really cool dark sound consistently throughout, without ever feeling overbearing or cheesy.
The electronic drums combined with Robert Smith’s vocals make for a really interesting and highly enjoyable combination. The guitars are gritty without being silly or overpowering to the rest of the music. The synths are spooky and almost gentle.
This album is truly a breath of fresh air compared to some of the garbage we’ve been forced to slog through on this list lately.
There’s also no doubt in my mind that this is one of the few records that truly belongs on this list.
I had fun listening to the album again and I’ll certainly be doing it again in the future.
ABBA
1/5
It’s like the entirety of the history of Swedish musical theatre was condensed into one poppy little ball of insufferable sunshine.
I have to admit that there’s a few abba songs I don’t entirely despise, but this album doesn’t feature any of them, thus, no redeeming qualities are anywhere to be found.
1*
Björk
4/5
I’m not entirely certain I enjoyed this album anywhere close to as much as the last Björk album we listened to on this list.
This album had a delicate beauty to it, especially compared to the relatively high energy bangers on the last record we listened to.
I don’t dislike this album at all, but I had some preconceived notions of Björks music going into this, and I didn’t really get what I was hoping for.
Along with the delicateness and softness of this album, there’s a really interesting low fidelity sound throughout, it’s a very cool record sonically.
I still the vocal style employed throughout, the uniqueness of her accent and her very specific variety of vocalizations work really well with the music that was produced, and I still enjoyed it a lot.
3.5* will apparently get rounded up this time.
Norah Jones
3/5
This album is peak Gilmore Girls vibes.
Norah Jones has a beautiful voice and a knack for lyricism, and I think she’s a very talented artist.
I did however find myself getting a little bored by halfway through this record, like the songs were all blending together into one gelatinous mass. It’s not a bad record, musically it’s really well done, and the production is fine, but I think it suffers from an overarching sameness.
I actually struggle to rate this album, 2 seems too low, 3 seems too high, but I think 2 seems further away from the truth than 3.
3*
Radiohead
2/5
I’m not sure how to describe this album as anything other than consisting of nothing but the generic Radiohead music that I don’t really care for.
It’s as good as any other Radiohead record, but nothing on this particular record comes anywhere close to how good their best music is.
I’m not sure if I’ve just listened to too much Radiohead because of this list, or if this is just a weak showing by the band, but I don’t really have any desire to hear a single song from this album ever again.
2*
Elvis Presley
3/5
I don’t think I’ve ever actually sat down and listened to an Elvis album start to finish before, but I do know a fair number of his songs pretty well.
I’ve always found it very interesting that he was the original artist that the looney-tunes Baptist Christians considered to be satanic and evil, which is impressive considering how devout in his faith he was.
As far as this album goes, there’s a ton of classic country standards performed in a very soulful style. Honestly that’s not what I expected at all coming into this record.
Everything musically is well done here, instrumentally it’s nothing groundbreaking or exciting, but it’s well done.
My main gripe with this album is just how cheesy the vocals are, especially on songs that I really love when they’re performed by other artists. Songs like “I’m Movin’ On” and “Gentle On My Mind”. I understand why people enjoy these covers, but they just don’t work for me.
I think Elvis’s cocky timbre is far better suited for his earlier rock n roll style, and I will continue to prefer that.
2.5 stars rounded up, I suppose.
Funkadelic
1/5
This is an interesting album that I am fully prepared to admit I don’t really get.
It’s experimental, certainly, but I found a lot of it to be unenjoyable to listen to.
I’m amazed that I actually got the whole way through “Wars of Armageddon”, the last song on the track that is about nine minutes and forty three seconds longer than it needed to be. It’s like a drug addled nightmare on the streets of 1971 New Jersey.
I don’t plan on ever listening to this one again.
1*
Led Zeppelin
4/5
I think it’s hard to argue with the absolutely insane amount of success that this album has enjoyed over the last four and a half decades. There’s more recognizable songs to the general public on this record than not, by a wide margin, and that alone I think is incredibly rate.
I have to admit that I prefer earlier Led Zeppelin albums, just as a matter of subjective personal taste.
I also think that I listened to this album far too many times in my early teen years, and I’m almost suffering from some sort of self inflicted Led Zeppelin fatigue.
Objectively there’s not a bad song on this record, every choice feels like the correct one, and musically it’s pretty incredible.
This record has been so unbelievably influential on not just rock music, but heavy metal, blues, and just about any other genre of music that utilizes distorted electric guitars or wailing bluesy rock vocals.
I have to single out my favourite track on this album, “Going to California”. It’s such a beautiful piece of acoustic music, and everything about it is just perfect.
I enjoyed revisiting this record quite a bit, but I don’t think it’ll be back in my regular rotation anytime soon.
4*
Paul McCartney and Wings
4/5
When you compare John Lennon and Paul McCartneys post Beatles works, I think it’s pretty safe to say you know exactly who was the superior songwriter of the two of them.
Not just songwriting, but vocally Paul McCartney is really a step above his former bandmate. I had so much fun listening to this record, it’s the closest thing we’ll ever get to another Beatles record, but in some ways it feels more than that. Not to say that it approaches the sheer magic of albums like Rubber Soul, but this truly is a great album.
4*
Hot Chip
3/5
A vast majority of this list so far has been vapid, annoying, and generally boring 80’s and 90’s britpop, it seems here that we’re finally getting reprieve with.. 2010’s britpop?
Okay admittedly I kinda enjoyed this record. There’s some really funky synthy basslines throughout that certainly make you want to move.
I am not a massive fan of the lead vocalists voice, but it’s nowhere near the worst vocals I’ve heard so far.
This is a fun, if not a little forgettable, synth-pop record. It feels like it would be at home on the soundtrack of a lighthearted mid 2010’s indie film.
3*, not bad.
The Doors
3/5
The older I get, the less I enjoy listening to the Doors.
I still like a lot of their music, but this album doesn’t really contain any songs that I care for. Jim Morrison just gives me such weird vibes through this album that I struggle to enjoy it. Compared to stuff like their self titled debut album, this just doesn’t have the same passion and excitement that was present earlier. Like they were just phoning it in for the sake of fulfilling record contracts.
It’s all relatively fine, production and music wise, but I just found myself bored a lot while listening to it.
3* but only because Roadhouse Blues on its own is a great song.
Adam & The Ants
5/5
This is one of those albums that I don’t need to listen to in order to review and rate it, however, I listened to it twice today just because I love it so much.
Perhaps the only notable pirate themed new-wave band to make its way out of the 1970’s, it’s really hard to imagine not falling in love with this record.
Between Adam Ant’s incredibly dynamic vocals that switch effortlessly between shrieks and smooth tones, the fantastic percussion, and Marco Pirroni’s perfectly overdriven powerchords, there’s really nothing I can find fault with.
Full disclosure: this has been one of my favourite albums since I was a small child, so I may be hearing it through rose coloured headphones, but I genuinely believe this record to be objectively great.
There’s only a few other new-wave albums I’d put on the same level as this one, and certainly not a single one that surpasses it.
It’s this wonderful combination of being incredibly cinematic yet still something you can and want to dance to. Did I mention Adam Ants dancing prowess? If you haven’t seen any of their music videos from this era, you owe it to yourself to watch them.
5*
Scritti Politti
2/5
Super cheesy, saccharine, and very much not for me. It’s synthy pop music, it’s upbeat, it’s well produced, and I do not care for this vocalist at all.
I’m not really sure what else there is to say about this record. It’s not objectively bad at all, I could see a lot of people enjoying this record, even though I didn’t.
It’s certainly a product of its time.
I am genuinely struggling to say anymore about it.
2*. Not the worst thing I’ve heard on this list by a long shot.
David Bowie
3/5
I didn’t immediately recognize any of the song titles on this record, not that I’ve ever considered myself to be much of a Bowie fan, but I was certainly curious going into this record to see if I’ve been missing out on something great.
I recognize the song “Golden Years” but admittedly I didn’t know that it was a David Bowie song. It’s just one of those generic mid to late 70’s tracks that you hear on the radio or in movies, but never really listen to. Or at least that’s what it’s always been to me.
This album is certainly interesting. It sort of vacillates between a few different styles, but all of them feel natural and unforced coming from David Bowie. I find it interesting how influential this style was on later artists, even up to recently released music. I can hear an incredible amount of similarity between the vocal style on “Stay” and Jack Stauber.
I’m not really sure I’ll ever listen to this album again, it’s not really something I’d choose to put on, but that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy listening to it. It was a fun experience and I’m glad I did.
3*
Carpenters
2/5
Yep, this is definitely a pop record from the early 1970’s.
It’s fine, I guess, the vocal harmonies are pretty and everything is well written.
I never really felt pulled in, and I found this album super easy to tune out. I don’t want to call this record boring, but it certainly doesn’t inspire any particular emotions in me.
2*
Country Joe & The Fish
1/5
Well that was annoying.
Not just annoying, that was genuinely obnoxious and difficult to get through.
I guess if I was a teenager in the late 60’s smoking some terrible dirt weed in my friends older brothers bedroom this would seem like the coolest thing in the entire world.
Fortunately, I am not that.
1*
Massive Attack
1/5
Well that was.. boring?
I’m not really sure how else to describe this record. The entire time I spent listening to it, I just couldn’t wait for it to end.
I found most of the lyrics to be uninspired and predictable, any hooks were mediocre at best, and everyone playing and singing and rapping sounded almost as bored as me.
1*
Joe Ely
2/5
I suppose this isn’t a terrible country album, but there’s something about it that feels weirdly and vaguely inauthentic. It really feels like a guy playing country music, rather than a country music singer playing music.
That’s not to say it’s objectively bad or unenjoyable to listen to, but it’s not really something I personally enjoyed.
It’s almost like this is a turning point when country music started going down a very questionable road, which has led to the absolute nightmare of the current Nashville music scene. Is this proto-pop-country? Unclear but I won’t be listening to it again.
2*
Metallica
2/5
This is everything that I dislike about Metallica distilled into a live album that is waaay too long.
I really just don’t enjoy this combination of symphonies with thrash metal songs that clearly were not written with anything like this in mind. It makes my brain feel like I’m listening to two different songs playing at the same time, and honestly I find it kind of overwhelming.
I’ll continue to enjoy “Kill ‘em All” and “Ride the Lightning” while ignoring pretty much everything else Metallica has done.
2*
Eagles
5/5
I don’t think I can name a single complaint I have with this record. It’s truly a classic.
It’s really hard to overstate what a massive positive impact Joe Walsh joining the eagles had.
The title track is legendary, but the rest of album really stands up. A bunch of musicians from the south recording an album about California in recording studios in both LA and Miami makes this, in my opinion, one of the best and most American rock albums of all time. It’s got just enough of that country twang shining through to differentiate itself from a lot of contemporary albums, but it never feels forced or fake.
The song “Wasted Time” has always stood out to me as being crushing and beautiful at the same time. It’s far and away my favourite Eagles song.
This is one of those records that I’ll put on every few months, and I love listening to it every time.
5*
Beatles
5/5
In my mind this was the Beatles at their peak, and I genuinely believe this to be the greatest album they ever recorded, which is high praise.
I also realize that there is absolutely nothing I could say about anything the Beatles have done that hasn’t been said before, so with that in mind I’ll keep this review relatively brief.
I love this album a lot, I listen to it fairly regularly, and I will continue to do so.
Fuck John Lennon.
5*.
M.I.A.
3/5
I don’t think this record is for me, and that’s okay. It certainly wasn’t made for me, so I think myself and this record will agree to disagree.
I understand the aspects of this record that people would enjoy, and I can see how it could be fun to listen to.
The snotty obnoxious vocals and annoying samples just don’t do anything for me.
I will, however, admit that I really liked the percussion throughout this album, the deep kicks and over the top clicky clap tracks are super well done, and fit the vibe and style of the music incredibly well.
This whole album, musically, is really well done actually, but I just don’t vibe with it.
I want to give this 2.5 so bad, but I guess it’ll get rounded up.
Big Star
1/5
I audibly laughed out loud when the vocals kicked in on the first track.
Why on earth is this album included in this list? It’s the most generic 1970’s pop-rock I’ve ever heard.
Musically it’s entirely predictable, boring riffs and root note basslines.
Lyrically it’s uninspired and vapid.
I can’t even honestly bring myself to write anything more about it, it’s just so terribly mid.
Not gonna be adding this one to any playlists anytime soon.
1*
Cat Stevens
5/5
One of my very earliest memories as a child was my dad singing me to sleep with the song “Tea for the Tillerman”.
10/10 album no notes.
PJ Harvey
3/5
I like this record more than I expected to.
It’s got a vaguely 1960’s garage sound to it that I really like. The organs in the title track really stand out in that regard.
It’s definitely not a cheery subject matter, given how relatively upbeat the music itself is.
I’m not sure if we needed an indie rock/pop album about World War One in 2011, but I’m not particularly upset about it either way.
This was an interesting listen.
3*
The Avalanches
4/5
This is probably one of the most fun records to listen to that we’ve been given from this list so far.
I had absolutely zero idea what to expect going into this one, and it was truly a wild ride.
Almost schizophrenic electro-grooves. This album really is all over the place, but it kept my attention the entire time I listened to it.
It’s also one of those record where you can tell they had a lot of fun making it, and that really shines through.
The sheer number of samples involved is almost overwhelming, but I enjoyed it all nonetheless.
4*
Coldplay
2/5
This is certainly not a bad album, but I certainly didn’t enjoy it anywhere near as much as their other album we reviewed previously.
I really don’t have a lot to say about this one, I found myself bored by most of it.
It’s fine I guess.
2*
Nirvana
5/5
This is probably my least favourite Nirvana record, which is really not saying anything at all because I believe it to be damn near perfect.
It starts a little slow with four of the first five songs being relatively overplayed radio singles, but the second half of this record is absolutely fantastic.
From Krist Novoselic’s snotty sarcastic lil’ vocal cover of “Get together” to kick off the track “Territorial Pissings” to the almost sludgy breakdown in “Drain You” the next few songs are excellent and well worthy of radio airplay.
“Lounge Act” is far and away my favourite song on this album, the power and raw grit that Kurt Cobain spits into the second verse alone make this track exceptional, but everything else about it just works so well. The groovy bass line, the simple yet frantic drums, and the sloppy power chords all come together into something that is truly far greater than the sum of its parts.
“Stay Away” is a pretty standard grunge track, but it certainly holds its own. The call and answer style verses with two very different styles of Kurt Cobain’s vocals adds some really interesting depth.
“On a Plain” shows the heavy influence that the meat puppets had on Kurt Cobain’s songwriting, even the vocal harmony’s in the chorus are reminiscent of the kirkwood brothers.
“Something in the Way” is a track that I recently learned has become super popular in the modern era, because of some movie or TikTok or something, I’m not sure. But regardless of that, this song is beautiful, raw, delicate, and an example of Kurt Cobain really baring his soul for all to see. The kind of whispered vulnerability is rare for nirvana, but it’s truly a beautiful song.
The last track on the record “Endless, Nameless” is the only song that i feel showcases the punk influences that really made grunge what it was. It’s caustic and abrasive and this style of music is what originally drew me into Nirvana.
It’s hard to complain about an album that is both insanely influential, but also something that I’ve grown up with.
6*
Lenny Kravitz
1/5
I’m not going to let my deep disdain for Lenny Kravitz’s absolutely horrendous cover of “American Woman” have any effect on this review, as that travesty was released on a different album.
Having said that, I really just cannot stand this guys voice. Musically this album is.. fine? Pretty generic late 80’s/early 90’s pop rock, definitely designed for radio airplay aspirations. But the voice is really what kills this record for me, I’m not even entirely sure why, but it’s just so grating to me.
Not something I’ll ever even consider listening to again.
1*
Tracy Chapman
5/5
What a beautiful record. What a beautiful voice.
I’ve genuinely only ever heard “Fast Car” from this album before, I am starting to regret that fact.
I don’t believe there’s any bad songs on this record, and the style is so dynamic and engaging. This is one of those records that demands your attention without ever feeling overbearing or aggressive.
Tracy Chapman’s voice is just so stunning, her vocal style is soft and smooth, but there’s this occasional vibrato that packs a real emotional punch.
It’s funny that an album can be so chock full of political and social commentary without ever coming off as preachy or obnoxious. That seems to be a rare talent.
I really enjoyed listening to this album, and I’ll likely listen to it again.
4.5*
John Martyn
1/5
This is funky, psychedelic, and just straight up weird.
Stylistically it feels a little all over the place, Mr. Martyn can’t seem to decide on a vocal style to use at all.
This disjointed mess of psychedelia is not something that i would ever search out, nor is it something that I’d ever actively want to listen to.
I really struggle to find any redeeming qualities, and throughout listening to this record I really just couldn’t wait for it to end.
Weird stuff.
1*
Kings of Leon
2/5
I have to admit I actually like some of Kings of Leon’s radio singles, and I’ve enjoyed one or two of their newer records.
This album, however, feels like a group desperately trying to find a style that works for them, but not quite ever getting it right. The vocals are far less powerful than I’ve come to expect from this band, and I found them almost grating.
Musically it’s.. not terrible, seemingly well produced anyways, but it’s still a little all over the place.
I’m glad that they stuck it out and put out some better music later on, but this one is a bit of a snoozer.
2*
Gillian Welch
5/5
Hauntingly beautiful folk music.
It’s really difficult to put into words just how beautiful this record really is. From the incredible voice, to the wonderful and soulful playing, to the top tier arrangement, this is really an album I truly believe everyone actually should hear before they die.
Gillian Welch is rightfully considered a modern day legend in the folk/country/almost bluegrass world, and I just can’t imagine anyone disagreeing with that.
I’m not really sure what else there is to say here, it’s a truly fantastic record and I am really looking forward to listening to it again.
Elton John
4/5
I am so tempted to give this album 5* on the strength of “Tiny Dancer” alone, but after listening to the rest of the tracks on it, I’m not sure that would be appropriate.
I am a huge fan of tons of Sir Elton’s music, but I didn’t recognize a single other song here, nor did I particularly love any of them.
There’s nothing bad about songs 2-9, and I enjoyed my listening, but they just didn’t strike me on any level aside from superficially. The title track is probably the strongest out of the bunch, showcasing Elton John’s incredibly powerful voice, but I can sort of understand exactly why I haven’t heard any of these other songs before.
I’m still gonna give this album 4* on the strength of “Tiny Dancer” though, because man is that song ever unreal.
The Go-Betweens
1/5
You know, I didn’t actually dislike the first track on this record, but man did everything spiral downward after that.
It’s a cheesy, vapid, and super lame attempt to cash in on late 1980’s alt rock popularity.
With such deep poetic lyricism such as: “you can have hearing loss when your boyfriend says he’s boss” and “this town is full of battered wives”
I’m really not sure who this appeals to aside from the record company execs that design this garbage by committee.
Hard pass, not enjoyable in the slightest.
1 star.
Siouxsie And The Banshees
5/5
I love this record. I’ve loved this record for a long time. It’s one of those essential post-punk albums that really defined the genre. Dark, moody, all enveloping music that has such a distinct feeling. This is sort of the peak of John McGeochs short tenure with the band, but his guitar playing really took them to the next level.
It should be noted that this album was expertly produced by Nigel Gray, who also produced the first three albums by the Police.
This is one of those albums that I don’t listen to often, but every so often I remember just how great Siouxsie and the Banshees really were.
5*
Johnny Cash
4/5
I have never listened to this album before, and I have to say it was an interesting experience. I think it’s a testament to Johnny Cash’s talent that a live album with a majority of songs I’ve never really listened to before, can still be so enjoyable on the first listen. There’s a number of classic Cash songs too, none of the versions on this record do I feel are the best versions. But it’s still a really solid live recording, and the banter/conversations between Johnny Cash and the inmates at San Quentin are really interesting.
I really enjoyed this record, but there’s quite of a few other Johnny Cash recordings that I’ll put on before this one.
3.5*
Carole King
3/5
I struggle to really define the genre of this record. It incorporates a ton of different styles and sounds, and it all works very well.
I like this album, I enjoyed listening to it, but it’s not one that I would actively seek out and put on.
Carole King has a very unique voice, but at times I found myself wishing it was just a little more powerful, but her singing is quite beautiful.
The songwriting is solid, and all the instruments are played very well here.
Fun record, but not anything overly special.
3*
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
5/5
Back in 2008 I had the very distinct pleasure of seeing Dave Brubeck perform in Calgary. I can remember very clearly that this was the only performance I’ve ever seen where the artist received a standing ovation before they even started playing.
Considering he was 87 at the time, I was absolutely blown away by the show.
Dave Brubeck is an absolute legend, and I feel truly lucky that I got to see him play.
This album is absolutely incredible, it’s complicated and jazzy, but it’s so easy to listen to. It makes you feel like you’re sitting in a dark smoky cafe in some far off country, in some alternate universe where everything is delightful. There’s so much that could be said here, but I think it’s impossible to really come up with anything that hasn’t already been said about this truly special record.
5*
Mott The Hoople
3/5
This is just a generally fun rock n roll record. There’s nothing particularly groundbreaking or novel about it, but that doesn’t make it any less fun.
The lyrics verge into silly territory occasionally, but the whole album is relatively lighthearted, it doesn’t take itself too seriously.
It’s not a record I plan on coming back to, but I didn't mind listening through this one at all.
3*
Dolly Parton
5/5
I don’t know if there’s really words to describe just how sweet and wonderful this album is. In my opinion this is Dolly at her absolute best, and it’s really no wonder she became such a truly incredible star of not just country western, but a star in the hearts of anyone who’s ever paid her any mind at all.
It’s upbeat, it’s genuine, and it’s beautiful. This record touches on love, heartbreak, weird love triangles, and lots of other relatable and real things.
Dolly’s songwriting, guitar playing, and incredible voice really come together in such a perfect storm, creating something that’s truly greater than the sum of its parts.
It’s important to note the influence and work of Porter Wagoner on not just this album, but in introducing the world to Dolly Parton, and we should all be thankful that he did.
Easy 5*
Mike Oldfield
1/5
I think the only redeeming quality of this record is the fact that it has the song from the exorcist on it.
I can’t think of anything else nice to say here. This is a perfect example of “weird for the sake of weird” and I did not enjoy it at all.
The bizarre rambling on the last track really sealed this albums 1* fate.
Napalm Death
4/5
Scum is a pretty tame metal record by today’s standards, but for the late 80’s this was actually pretty fucking heavy.
Fun deep guttural vocals, blast beats, and frantic pacing are the only things this record has in common with traditional death metal. The guitars are almost more of a hardcore or punk sound than anything, at times they almost verge into a post-hardcore tone.
This is a fun listen, it’s exactly as quick as it needs to be, but it’s not what I’m looking for when I’m in the mood to listen to death metal.
3.5*
Rage Against The Machine
1/5
Sure, this is groundbreaking politically charged funk-rock, and yeah Tom Morellos guitar style was novel and exciting and like nothing anyone had ever heard before. There’s blending of what many describe as “metal” with Zach de la Rocha’s rapping was also quite new at the time. This record apparently blew peoples minds when it was released, and its longstanding popularity is nothing short of impressive.
My main problem with Rage Against The Machine by Rage Against The Machine is that it’s whiny, annoying, and it fucking sucks.
1*
Can
1/5
I am really losing my patience for all this psychedelic bullshit. I bet this record would have been mind blowing if I was a 14 year old kid smoking weed out of a bong for the first time, but I ain’t that.
I really struggled to find any enjoyment at all here. In the words of AJJ: “simply lyrics and boring riffs, every choice is so obvious”
I guess some songs had some pretty technically impressive drumming, but that combined with a whole bunch of weird bullshit was hardly enough to overcome just how dreadfully bored I was throughout the entire listening session of this album.
1*
Frank Zappa
3/5
I normally find these albums that are “weird for the sake of weird” to be obnoxious, annoying, and off-putting. In a strange turn of events I found this album oddly charming, and almost delightful.
I have to say I enjoyed the instrumental tracks on this record a lot more than the ones containing vocals. I really did not care for the vocal style used here at all.
As for the instrumental tracks, there was really a lot to like here, you can tell it was recorded with relatively rudimentary equipment, but that almost adds to the funky charm of Hot Rats.
This isn’t something I’d actively seek out to listen to, but I certainly wouldn’t turn it off if it came on.
3*
The Beach Boys
4/5
I’ve always loved the surf, sun, and hot rod themes of the beach boys music. (As an aside, I firmly believe that Jan and Dean are the superior group as far as that genre goes) This Beach Boys record is a stark contrast to their earlier work though, and I found in interesting to listen to. I already knew and liked the song “Help Me, Rhonda” but I’m not sure I’d ever heard any other tracks on this record.
I found the first half of this album to be a lot more enjoyable than the second. For some reason, in my mind, the Beach Boys shouldn’t be singing sad, downtempo ballads. Not to say the second half is bad in any sort of technical sense, it’s incredibly well written, recorded, and produced.
Nevertheless, the first six songs are really a top tier selection, and I would gladly pick up a copy of this record just to listen to side A.
Side A:5*
Side B:3*
So we’ll meet in the middle at 4*
Willie Nelson
5/5
Willie Nelson is an incredible singer, he’s a phenomenal songwriter, responsible for an absolutely insane number of country/western standards. He’s a legendary performer who’s still putting on shows to this day, and yet It’s almost impossible not to be blown away by his ability to weave a terrific concept album with not only a coherent storyline, but a coherent storyline that includes a number of other old standards written by others.
It’s really an impressive feat, performed in the midst of numerous other impressive feats.
This album is rightfully considered a masterpiece, and I think we’re all lucky to live in a time when we can listen to and enjoy it.
5*
Talking Heads
5/5
I have to admit that this is a Talking Heads record that I never listened to prior to this list.
I am now realizing the true gravity of that failure. I expected to hear more upbeat, cryptic new wave, which I absolutely love, but something about this album feels darker, almost spookier than what I’ve come to expect from David Byrne and co.
There’s still plenty of funk and that new wave bounce, but this feels far more post-punk.
I really enjoyed listening to this record.
My favourite track is “Memories Can’t Wait”. I feel like it really embodies the dark and vaguely terrifying vibe of this record. I could picture this song playing in a dark 1980’s goth club in New York, and it sounds like something I wish I’d experienced.
5*, no question about it.
Donald Fagen
5/5
I think this record really showcases what an incredible musician Donald Fagen is. This was his first musical release without collaboration with Walter Becker, and I think it really proves how much of the magic of Steely Dan was from Fagen’s mind.
There just isn’t a bad moment on this record, let alone a song that doesn’t blow me away entirely.
The whole album is as groovy as it is precise. It’s jazzy, technical, sarcastic, and fun.
There’s really no other artist that can match the magic of Steely Dan, but Donald Fagen’s solo work certainly does. I love this record, and I’ll continue to listen to it relatively regularly.
IGY and Ruby Baby stand out as my favourite tracks on this one.
6*
Judas Priest
1/5
This is everything that I dislike in a metal record.
It’s like Rob Halford sat down one day and decided to write the cheesiest bullshit imaginable and call it metal.
I struggled my way through the 10 studio recordings here, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to listen to the live tracks that Apple Music is offering.
If I never hear another Judas Priest song, it will be far far too soon.
Yuck.
Brian Eno
2/5
This album kicks off with what I can only describe as a torrential assault against my ears of springy samples. I.. do not understand how this could be particularly enjoyable, but we power through.
The song “Mea Culpa” is actually kinda fun, there’s this spooky surf vibe to it, that if I ignore the bizarre vocals, works pretty well.
Things don’t really improve from here though, the endless annoying percussion samples that persist throughout this record were outstandingly grating.
The final track, “Solo Guitar With Tin Foil” is kind of a shockingly beautiful minimalist guitar track, and it felt like a beautiful oasis in the middle of a springy desert.
There’s definitely some positives here, but they don’t come close to outweighing the annoying samples.
2*
Patti Smith
4/5
This is just an objectively cool record.
It’s far more punk in attitude than it is in sound, but I don’t know if that’s a bad thing.
There’s a slew of different genres going on here, from dark bluesy guitars to beautiful piano ballads, it’s got a bit of everything, but it’s almost a minimalist record, with very simple chords, drum patterns, and root note-tied basslines.
The one thing that ties it together is the vocals of Patti Smith, which are incredible. Her spoken word sections are deep and powerful, her singing voice is a wonderful combination of grit and softness, it just works so well on so many levels.
This album feels very far ahead of its time and it’s clearly been quite influential.
I had a lot of fun listening to this one, and I’d probably listen to it again pretty happily.
4*
PJ Harvey
5/5
Kinda grungy, kinda indie, and some very confusing time signatures.
I had fun listening to this record, it felt almost like pre-art-rock in a way. Lots of really fun and bizarre song structures. PJ Harvey’s voice has that essential early 90’s female grunge tone to it, but far more dynamic than a lot of her peers at the time. I found the vocals to be really quite beautiful.
Not just the vocals, but the tone of this record is regularly turning on a dime, going from soft gentle ballads to powerful guitar rock and back again, it works really really well.
Excellent production value, every instrument sounds really nicely placed and levelled in the mix, and that only adds to the enjoyment of this record.
I was entirely uninformed about this particular PJ Harvey release going into this one, and I’m glad I had no judgements previously.
I haven’t really found any faults to declare here, as a product of its time I think this record is in pretty elite company.
5*
Lou Reed
1/5
We’ve listened to a ton of artists so far on this list, lots that I’ve enjoyed, many more that I’ve found to be unenjoyable for one reason or another. I’ve yet to find another vocalist that I despise more than Lou Reed. His vocalizations are just unreasonably annoying. I can’t even put my finger on why, but something about the way he enunciates words in his music is absolutely infuriating.
From a songwriting perspective this album is vapid, bland, and frankly just fucking bad.
Musically it’s boring, predictable, and just simple in the worst way possible.
I don’t ever want to hear Lou Reed again.
You should know that my 1* rating is incorrect, as it being above 0 implies some sort of redeeming qualities, but there just isn’t any. 1-5* rating is a mathematically flawed system and this album deserves negative stars.
Baaba Maal
3/5
I do not know a damn thing about Senegalese music, nor do I understand a word of this record.
It’s pretty, it seems very well done for what it is, and I will try my best to review it strictly from a musical standpoint.
The guitar playing is very interesting, there’s some melodies and chord progressions that I have never heard before in my life, and I find that very interesting. From my very narrow view of music, as a North American, it’s almost like listening to music from another planet.
Everything is technically sound, I think, the percussion is interesting, and I’m actually pretty curious to know what some of the percussion instruments used are.
The vocals are powerful, but not what I’d consider enjoyable.
I don’t entirely understand the inclusion of this record on this list, but we’re far past logic on that front by now.
2.5*
Tim Buckley
4/5
This is not at all what I expected it to be.
I’m frankly not even sure how one would correctly categorize this record. It’s groovy, occasionally jazzy, relaxing but upbeat.
The vibraphone used throughout really adds an extra dimension of vibes that is hard to quantify.
I really like Tim Buckleys smooth, almost croony vocals on this album too.
I didn’t have any idea this album existed previously, but I enjoyed it. It’s like some psychedelic amalgamation of dozens of musical influences, and it works very well.
4*
George Harrison
4/5
I’ve always thought George Harrison was the most underrated member of the Beatles, and beyond that, his vocals were always my favourite part. I think one of the reasons I like rubber soul so much is how heavily Harrison that album leaned.
This is probably top three for me personally as far as solo albums by former Beatles members. It’s got such a beautiful, almost haunting feeling that envelopes the entire almost two hour runtime.
Instrumentally Harrison’s slide guitar really stands out to me, it’s just a unique style and it fits so well into the mix that you almost can’t imagine this record without it.
I’m glad that I was given the reminder by this list to revisit this record, it’s one I almost forgot how much I enjoy.
4.49*
1/5
Ugh, I hate this record. To be totally honest with you, dearest reader, I hate the kinks.
Ray Davies’ desperate attempt to mimic the sound of the Beatles, to cash in on beatlemania, seems to be entirely overlooked and I don’t understand why.
The lyricism is shallow, vapid, and boring.
Every chord is predictable and uninspiring.
It’s like some bizarro universe where the Beatles had no redeeming qualities, but made records anyways.
Not something I ever care to hear again.
1*
Eagles
4/5
This is a record full of incredible highs and relatively middling lows.
The album starts out with what I would consider to be not just one the Eagles best songs, but one of the greatest country rock n roll songs ever recorded.
I hesitate to call the Eagles “southern rock” when as far as I know Don Henley is the only member who was actually from the south, but it definitely qualifies as country-rock anyways.
Regardless of genre or classification, “Take it Easy” is an excellent song and I will never not enjoy listening to it.
The rest of the album has hits and misses, “Witchy Woman” is objectively a banger, but songs like “Most of Us are Sad” and “Train Leaves Here This Morning” are a bit of a slog to get through.
This is overall a very strong album, and I don’t believe the lows really detract from the highs, but they do bring the rating down a bit.
4*
King Crimson
5/5
I’ve always thought this record was really fucking strange, but in the most appreciative and reverent way possible.
It’s a manic combination of rock n’ roll, very early heavy metal, prog rock, and jazz. There’s probably a dozen more genres one could pull out of the incredible and wacky soup this record is born from.
I really struggle to put into words how fascinating this album is, I can only imagine how someone listening to this for the very time in 1969 would have felt. It was so novel and incredibly different than anything that came before it.
This album has been ridiculously influential to a frankly inconceivable number of artists since.
I would love to say more about it, but I fear this is one of those records that I cannot do justice to by simply typing words. This albums inclusion on this list is unquestionable, in my opinion, its definitely a record that everyone should hear at least once.
5*
The Rolling Stones
2/5
I think the Rolling Stones are one of those bands that I just don’t really get. They have a few songs I like, to the point of singing along in the car anyway, but there’s nothing on this album that really speaks to me.
I can appreciate it for what it is objectively, a bluesy, relatively soulful rock n roll album.
It’s not bad, I just don’t enjoy listening to it.
It’s hard to rate something like this, do I go based on objective merit or my own personal feelings?
Since this is my review I am going to continue to vote based on vibes and my own personal feelings.
Not a record I care to hear again.
2*
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
2/5
This is a pretty record. It’s not exciting, novel, or boundary pushing, but it’s nice to listen to.
Musically it’s very simple, piano played over simple drums, the occasional sprinklings of other instruments here and there. But the instrumentals don’t seem to be the point here, it’s all just to draw focus to Nick Cave’s smooth, deep voice.
Lyrically I found this album kind of bounced around, from pretentious try-hard poetry, to some actual relatively profound thoughts, to the sort of profanity that would make a trucker squirm a little at the dinner table.
I’m not sure it’s something that I’d care to listen to again, but as an overall sound I can understand the appeal.
2*
The Rolling Stones
1/5
It’s 1960’s Brit-rock. It sounds almost identical to all other 1960’s Brit-rock. The fact that so many Rolling Stones albums were included in this list is just.. too much.
It’s fine for what it is, but I really struggled to get through it. It’s just so.. vapid and boring. The only high points here are just appropriation of black music from the south, which I guess sums up a lot of rock and roll from this era.
Yawn.
Pass
1*
Fela Kuti
5/5
Absolute hell yeah.
This is the most fun I’ve had listening to an album on this list in months. (Ignore the fact that we’ve taken a months long break, this album is still an absolute riot to listen to.)
It’s groovy, it’s funky, and it’s downright delightful.
This is the kind of record you can put on in the background and it immediately makes any task or activity an order of magnitude more enjoyable.
The fact that 4 songs can pack in 54 minutes of music, and when it was over I was hoping for more, really says something.
I will admit I’m not well versed in.. I think this is Afro-beat? So I’ll save myself the embarrassment of trying to review this from an actual technical point of view, but man was it ever a good time to listen to.
5*
The Fall
2/5
A relatively post-punk record, this is one that I really wanted to like more than I did. There’s a fair bit of goth influence on this album, but I’m not sure it’s the particular flavour of that that speaks to me. It’s got all the classic elements, chaotic guitar riffs, driving basslines that have no shortage of groove, but the vocals just don’t really do it for me. I’m not even really sure how to articulate what exactly I dislike about the vocals on this record, but I just don’t vibe with it. Half the songs almost sound like the Beatles trying to play gothwave?
Not sure, won’t be listening again. 2* for the effort.
fIREHOSE
1/5
There’s bands that mix genres in a way that feels inspired, refreshing, or even novel. This is not one of those bands. This entire album feels so disjointed and out of sync with itself, I had trouble focusing on it.
It’s as if each member of the band wants to play a different style of music, and rather than collaborate, they just.. play different styles of music overtop of each other. The guitarist would clearly rather be in a funk-rock band. The bass player dreams of being in a punk band. The vocalist sounds like he’d love to be in a Beatles cover band.
I can’t fathom listening to another minute of this. Genuinely grating.
1*
Amy Winehouse
3/5
We previously reviewed Amy Winehouse’s other album, Frank, and I quite Frank-ly, hated it. My biggest gripe was of the lyrics which I found to be self absorbed, vapid, and boring. On Back to Black, I found that theme continued.
However, musically I found this album to be a little bit more interesting. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that “Rehab” is a song that I’m so familiar with that the pattern recognition seeking part of my brain was lit up, and that feeling continued throughout the listening session. I do have to say that I didn’t hate listening to this record, part of me is half tempted to give Frank another try.
The title track on this album is genuinely beautiful, musically haunting, and quite enjoyable to listen to.
I could drink red wine to this record, without question.
3/5
The Prodigy
1/5
Wow, compared to the previous “The Prodigy” record we reviewed, this feels so bland and.. empty I guess? Where’s the big distorted electric guitar riffs? Where’s the evil synths? Where’s the subtle feelings of unease and misanthropy?
This album really just feels like generic 90’s electronica made for the soundtrack of a mid video game of the Matrix.
Reminds me of a bad roller rink.
Not for me, honestly kinda disappointed.
Dire Straits
5/5
Honestly not my favourite Dire Straits record, but the fact that this is their debut record is truly mindblowing to me.
I can talk for hours about Mark Knopflers guitar proficiency and his incredibly unique playing and songwriting style, but that feels a bit like beating a very talented dead horse.
This album was as influential is it is delightful. The kind of music you can happily jam along to while drinking beers in a garage as equally as taking a dip in the private hot tub outside your luxury villa.
While “Brothers in Arms” may be a far better album as far as my tastes go, this one is still absolutely stellar.
Rush
5/5
The absolute greatest Canadian Prog-rock band ever to exist. This is not my favourite Rush record(Fly By Night and their self-titled debut are both next level masterpieces)
Every instrument on this record is genuinely perfect. Sonically, it’s mixed so well that you almost forget it was all recorded analog.
Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart are all extremely influential, and I don’t think I know a single Canadian musician who hasn’t been inspired by or looked up to at least one of these three.
I was happy to pull out my vinyl copy of this one for a listen.
4.5/5
Lauryn Hill
1/5
This isn’t something that was made for me, nor do I particularly want to hear it again. I understand why it’s critically acclaimed, but my tastes in hip hop do not lead me to come anywhere close to enjoying this album. The flow, timbre, and general vocal style does nothing for me. I’m not at all upset about the instrumentation and production value, musically it’s very good for what it is, but the vocals kill the record for me.
It was a slog to get through this and I’m glad it’s over.
Keith Jarrett
1/5
My initial impression of this album was “dinner music”
Over the course of listening to it things got a little more interesting, but the entire time that dinner music thought stuck very firmly in my head. Things get jazzy at times, but I never found myself really engaged or totally interested in the piano playing itself. I really need more from a record. An album of nothing but one single piano isn’t really for me. Sorry, Keith.
Saint Etienne
3/5
A surprisingly fun little pop album. Lots of interesting instrumental and sampled elements. The use of breakbeats works exceptionally well.
The vocals are a little.. boring? Not to any extreme degree, and maybe not even enough to detract points, but I would have liked something more, whatever that may sound like.
The cover of Neil Young’s “only love can break your heart” is a standout for sure, certainly more enjoyable than the original.
I am not in love with this record, but we can certainly be friends.
Al Green
5/5
I have to admit my shame in only ever listening to the hit single and title track “Let’s Stay Together” on this record. This was a welcomed and very enjoyable opportunity to dive a little further into Al Green’s music.
This album is truly phenomenal, it’s smooth, it’s cool, and it’s so soulful. In the same vein it’s also subdued and chill(for lack of a better term).
The vocals lack the powerful delivery of a lot of soul music of the era, but it really works wonderfully with Al Greens voice and the instrumentation itself.
Speaking of instrumentation, every player on this record is dead on, and the production value lends itself perfectly to the style of music. Nothing big and flashy, just solid, well produced music to groove to.
This is definitely an album I’d listen to again, and I’m looking forward to that.
Fugazi
5/5
The influence that Ian MacKaye has had on not just punk rock, but all sorts of alternative music truly cannot be overstated.
Minor Threat was an immensely important band to hardcore, but also to my own developing tastes in music as a preteen shithead.
Fugazi is not minor threat, they’re not hardcore, but they are equally as important to music.
While Ian Mackaye’s influence and style shines through on both artists, there’s something far more interesting about Fugazi’s post-hardcore compositions. It’s so much more musical, so much more rhythmic. It would be easy to dismiss them as just another 90’s four piece punk band, but I think their music is far deeper than that. This record is moody and dynamic. It’s as serious as it is fun.
This is definitely an album one must experience, rather than just read about. Needless to say I love it. 5*
Gram Parsons
3/5
My thoughts upon hitting play on the first track went something like this: “oh slide guitar, I wasn’t expecting this to be so country, wasn’t this guy in the byrds? Holy shit is that Emmylou Harris?!?”
Upon quick googling, it sure is! I had no idea she was involved in this project so extensively, which I guess was the intention of Gram Parsons’ wife when putting this record together after his death.
I have to admit I’m not entirely in love with parsons’ vocals, he’s got the style down for this rock n’ country style, but something about the timbre in his voice doesn’t do a lot for me. Emmylou Harris is definitely the bright spot vocally on this record, along with a pretty bitchin’ appearance by Linda Ronstadt.
Instrumentally I liked this album a fair bit, but it’s definitely bog standard through a lens of both country and rock n’ roll. No boundaries pushed here, aside from maybe the fusion in the first place?
Fun record, likely won’t be rushing to play it again, but it wasn’t at all unenjoyable.
Lou Reed
1/5
I meant it in my last Lou Reed review when I said I never want to hear Lou Reed again.
Unfortunately I still slogged my way through this 50 minute waste of tape.
Nice piano playing. I don’t think I can think of a single other nice thing to say here.
Arcade Fire
3/5
I’ve never really listened to Arcade Fire before, and I’m not entirely positive this record is going to be a catalyst for me to start.
Musically it’s.. good? I have no strongly negative observations to report, but I just found it sort of.. unengaging? Is that even a word?
Sonically it feels really vast, almost too big for its own good if that makes sense.
Vocally and lyrically I think it’s like if Bruce Springsteen had started an indie rock band.
I don’t hate it, but I definitely don’t love it.
This would get a 2 but they get a bonus point for being Canadian.
Prince
4/5
I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into this one. I’ve heard a few of the singles a fair bit, specifically the title track, but my knowledge of Prince’s music otherwise is extremely limited.
I expected the r&b grooves and the funk, but I’m not sure I was expecting just how new-wave this record is. The synths and drum machines really dominate most of the record in a pretty great way.
The energy dripping from this album is palpable, it’s almost hard to believe that it was released in 1982. Certainly ahead of its time.
I’m not sure if this is something I’ll go back to on my own, but it was definitely a fun listen.
New Order
2/5
I really wanted to enjoy this record. I love dark, gothy synthwave stuff. I just can’t get over the feeling that in a perfect world Ian Curtis would still be making music and New Order would not exist. There’s just something about this record that feels forced and inauthentic.
It’s technically fine, but “technically” is the refuge of nerds and perverts.
The vibes are off on this one and I found it unenviable overall.
Sister Sledge
3/5
Not what I expected given my only knowledge going to this record was “we are family”. This was a lot more funky than I expected it to be, shoutout to the unreal bassline on “Thinking Of You”. I also particularly liked the slower ballads on the album, “Somebody Loves Me” and “You’re a Friend To Me”.
Fun album! Not something I’m going to seek out or listen to again in the future, but this was overall extremely pleasant.
Elvis Costello
1/5
My previous criticism of Elvis Costello is mainly my distaste for his voice and vocal style. Unfortunately that criticism has only been exacerbated by this godawful production of the record at hand. The vocals are so intensely strong in the mix that I can barely hear any instruments. I thought at first it might be the fact that I was listening on my phone speaker, but after listening on both my home hifi system and the stereo in my truck, my findings have remained consistent. I have no idea who mixed and mastered this, but I hope they stub their baby toe on the coffee table this evening.
The rest of the record is.. fine..? But it’s so hard to judge when all I can hear is that goofy clown voice.
1*
Supergrass
3/5
I had absolutely no idea who Supergrass was going into this record, I have to say I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s chaotic punk-tinged pop-rock, like a mixture of the smashing pumpkins, blur, and jet. There’s a certain snotty energy to this album that feels very British, but that’s weirdly a positive. Like every British band, if you look hard enough, you can find Beatles influences peppered throughout. The song “Going Out” is, I think, the most egregious example of that influence found on this album.
Man that last song, “Sometimes I Make You Sad” is weird as hell though. I felt so unsettled by it I had to google it, turns out the only real percussion is a cymbal, the rest of the “drums” are just recorded grunts of the band members. That weird mandolin sounding guitar solo was just recorded at half speed on a normal guitar then sped up for the song. Weird, kinda fun experimental stuff. I’m not particularly thankful that only one song on the album was that odd though. I think the biggest thing this album suffers from is an overarching sameness felt throughout most of the songs. I’m on the fence between 3 and 3.5, but I think this one gets 3*.
Koffi Olomide
3/5
I don’t really have any frame of reference from which to accurately critique or praise this album. It’s from a genre and culture so far removed from anything I’m familiar with that any attempts to do so feels incorrect somehow.
With that said I did find it to be both a fun and very interesting record to listen to. The Congolese rhythms are certainly groovy.
I fear I don’t have a whole lot more to say about this one. Fun to listen to, won’t be seeking it out again though.
3*
Nirvana
5/5
This is one of those albums that I’ve loved for a very long time. Twenty years ago my cousin took me to see a screening of this concert at an old theatre downtown Calgary and it was extremely impactful on me. It was my first exposure to Nirvana beyond the usual modern rock radio singles and equally, if not more important, it was my first exposure to the Meat Puppets.
I’ve always loved how many covers they decided to include on this set list. Songs from David Bowie, the Vaselines, Leadbelly, and then the number of songs from Meat Puppets II, an album that’s since become one of my favourites.
This record is hauntingly beautiful, dynamic, and in my opinion the best live acoustic recording I’ve heard. I think the best example of just how good this record is lies in the cover of the folk standard that’s most commonly attributed to Leadbelly “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” which starts out slow, soft, and pensive. Over the course of the song Kurt’s vocals build and then crescendo in an almost violent storm of emotions that are so powerful it’s really hard to describe in words. You can truly hear the pain in Kurt’s voice in a way that’s so authentic it’s impossible to replicate.
My absolute favourite part of this album, though, is the inclusion of Curt and Cris Kirkwood, the brothers responsible for the Meat Puppets. I love the fact they were included in the covers of their own music not just because they deserved the exposure at the time, but because of the fact that their inclusion and subsequent exposure to me personally gave me the opportunity to fall in love with their music.
I couldn’t imagine rating this album anything less than perfect.
Machito
4/5
A delightful Afro-Cuban jazz record by a guy who I’ve learned is quite a legend in the jazz world!
This album is dynamic, engaging, and genuinely very fun to listen to.
I don’t think I’m particularly qualified to make any real judgements on this one from a content perspective, but I know I liked it.
Neil Young
2/5
Jesus, more Neil Young?!
This record is.. fine I guess? “Southern Man” is the only song that really stands out to me in any meaningful way. Every other song on this album just sort of melts together into one boring blob of sameness.
I think my previous criticisms of Neil Young apply here.
Elliott Smith
5/5
As a fan of Elliot Smith I never really gave this album too much of a listen before. It’s surprisingly upbeat considering it was the last album released while he was still alive. It’s not just more upbeat than his previous records, the entire tone feels very different.
It’s a beautiful record and I almost feel embarrassed that I hadn’t listened to it closely before now. Elliot’s lyricism is truly top notch here, and his voice is haunting and familiar as ever.
“Everything Reminds Me Of Her” hit me particularly hard.
I can see myself listening to this record again and again in the future, and I’m glad this project was the catalyst for me to finally give it a fair shake.
OutKast
5/5
It feels almost futile to review this record. It’s truly a masterpiece of southern hip-hop, and one of my favourites.
The concept of releasing two completely different albums as one double album is really cool and it’s so interesting to hear either member of OutKast’s songwriting on display.
Speakerboxxx, Big Boi’s half of the album, is what I would consider an essential piece of southern hip-hop history. There’s so many incredible features in this first half of the album. Everything from the lyricism to the flow to the overall vibe is impeccable.
The Love Below, the brainchild of Andre 3000, is such a stark contrast to the first half of the album, but it somehow works together so well. This second half is jazzy, funky, and occasionally psychedelic. It’s eccentric and weird and outrageously fun to listen to. Even if one was to ignore the massive and impossible to overstate cultural importance of “Hey Ya!”, this second half of the album would still be a 10/10 in my books.
This double album is absolutely deserving of the highest possible rating.
Cowboy Junkies
3/5
This is a band I’ve never heard of before, which is weird being that they’re Canadian, but alas. It’s a pretty record, the vocals are haunting and beautiful, and instrumentally it’s tight and very well played. The production is pretty standard for the era, nothing mindblowing, but good.
The covers on this album are all done pretty well, definitely a band taking songs and making them their own style, anyways. I’m not crazy about any of the original songs though.
I did find myself becoming quite bored throughout, this album would probably make decent background music in a restaurant, but otherwise it’s really lacking in hooks or anything to catch and hold my attention.
2.5*
Kraftwerk
4/5
This is exactly the sort of weird early techno synth-pop that I want the Germans to be making.
The fact that half the lyrics are just repeating the title of the song over and over again would not work in most genres, but on this record it’s perfect.
I can’t overstate how much I enjoy the bizarreness of this album. It’s just fun.
At 36 minutes long it certainly doesn’t overstay its welcome either.
I’m not sure I have anything else to say about this one, but that’s not a bad thing.
4*
Stan Getz
4/5
Remarkably smooth bossa nova. I’ve never heard this album before, but I’m sure glad I have now.
I’m not sure this is something that I’d actively seek out and listen to on a normal day, but something this jazzy and cool certainly has a place somewhere in my lifetime. I very much enjoyed listening, and grooving, to this one.
Pulp
1/5
Another slog through boring britpop. This album seems to have a particularly strong influence from Lou Reed, which really makes it that much worse.
The lyricism, the vocal style and timbre, it’s all so grossly Lou Reed, and for that reason I really struggled to sit through this one.
I’ll take just about any other boring britpop over this one, thanks.
The Lemonheads
1/5
Man, the opening guitar chords on this one gave me some hope that I’d enjoy this one.
Then the vocals started.
Listen, I get that the early nineties was a wild time for alt-rock and grunge but this vocalist should not have been signed to a record deal. His style is so outrageously boring and monotonous. He sounds like the act of recording vocal tracks in the studio is the most boring things he’s ever done, and he just wants to get it over with. There’s nothing there to make this enjoyable.
Instrumentally it’s just the same boring kinda distorted guitars, root note bass lines, and boring drumming.
I am genuinely baffled that this ended up on the list.
4/5
This is, objectively, such a weird fucking album.
I say this with love, as a fan of the Beatles.
I’m a huge fan of bands making whatever the hell they want, and I think this is probably one of the first instances of a band taking true creative and artistic freedom and running with it. As an album it does feel rather disjointed, and I freely admit it’s not my favourite Beatles record, but there are a number of really fantastic songs in this one.
I don’t remember the last time I actually sat down and listened to this record start to finish, and I’m glad I did it again, but I don’t think I will be doing it again anytime soon. It’s just hard to beat albums like Rubber Soul and Help! when I want a Beatles fix.
4*
The Auteurs
1/5
How can you make an album called “New Wave” and not have a single new wave song on it? This is false advertising and my lawsuit is forthcoming.
After listening to the Beatles for our last review, it’s startling just how bad the vocalist for “the auteurs” wants to be John Lennon.
According to some further research this is the guy from black box recorder? Damn, that’s a group I really like.
I’m curious how someone could go from making this boring alt-brit-pop to something so great.
Back to this album, it’s really boring. It was another record that I struggled to power through, and I don’t feel my life is any bit improved for having done so.
I guess it’s a little heavier than all the other britpop I’ve been forced to listen to, but that hardly makes it any more enjoyable.
Not for me.
1*
Steely Dan
5/5
This is truly one of my favourite albums of all time. I’m not sure how to appropriately review such a tremendous accomplishment of musicianship and audio engineering, but I’ll give it a shot.
This was the first Steely Dan record, in my mind, that veered away from the rock n roll influenced sound they released previously. Aja is a lot cooler, maybe even more relaxed in a sense? It’s as biting and intensely poetic lyrically as anything else they’ve done, but musically it’s certainly the beginning of a change in mood. If I remember correctly, this record had something like 40+ different session musicians playing on it, which is a testament to Donald Fagen and Walter Becker’s unrivalled perfectionism as much as it is to their awe inspiring insanity.
It’s pretty impossible not to love this album, Fagen and Becker’s almost preternatural composing abilities, the groovy basslines that ground the tracks while also carrying you through them. The bright and funky horn sections that you can’t help but vibe to. Fagen’s piano playing is obviously a highlight of everything he’s recorded, but it’s never overbearing in the mix. There’s also some really incredible vocal work on this record, for example Michael McDonald’s backing vocals on “Peg” are really something to behold.
I think that the shift I mentioned previously has lead to Walter Beckers guitar work being slightly less prominent, but every guitar solo on this record is absolutely flawless, no doubt thanks to a ridiculous number of guitar player tryouts and studio takes.
From an engineering standpoint everything is spot-on. I think this may have been the peak of audio production in the pre-digital era, and even in that modern era nothing, as far as I’m concerned, has surpassed it. This is almost always the first record I put on the turntable when I set up a new hifi system, and for very good reason.
I cannot personally find a single fault with this album, and I’ve spent more time than is probably reasonable listening to it. I am thankful that this one exists and I wish I could give this more than 5/5*.