Liked songs: Mysterons, Sour Times
I really liked the tone of the album; very dark, lots of space in the mix, simple song structures but great execution. I will be coming back to this album
liked (not "Liked") songs: Sledgehammer, Don't Give Up (Kate Bush!), Big Time, In Your Eyes
This is the Picture is a too-long interlude.
Overall, classic Peter Gabriel album. Probably more like a 4.25
now i wanna sniff some glue
I have to give them credit for originating the punk sound, but this really isn't an album I would ever choose to listen to again.
Somewhere around 1.5
liked songs: Dirty Boys, The Stars (Are Out Tonight), If You Can See Me
Not all of the songs are Bowie's best, but it's overall a good album. I think I still prefer Blackstar in terms of newer Bowie.
3.25-3.5 ish
liked songs: Natural Mystic, Waiting In Vain, Three Little Birds
Now THIS is reggae
It's very good, just not my taste. Still better than the Ramones
2.5
liked songs: most of them
This is such a happy, uplifting double LP. It's good, but it does run a little long and some of the songs start to sound similar.
3.5
liked songs: Blowin' in the Wind, Masters of War
I liked this album more than expected. Obviously, Dylan knows how to write songs. I still don't like his voice all that much, but the songs stand on their own.
3.5
liked songs: Check the Technique
High point: all of Check the Technique
Low point: \"Forget it, I think she heard my voice already / You can let her in but I'm tryna cook spaghetti\" (from What You Want This Time?)
For the most part, there are some good songs with quality lyricism on display.
Probably right around 2.75-3 for me.
No liked songs.
Cons: Why are so many punk/hardcore bands allergic to singing (or screaming) in key? Why does the drummer only know 1.5 songs?
Pros: Guitar and bass are competent and even have some interesting things going on.
At least it was over quick
1.5
Mostly good, with some songs I knew that I didn't know I knew. A few of the later songs run a little long.
3.5
liked songs: Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, You Can Call Me Al, Homeless
disliked songs: I Know What I Know (this is one of the most annoying songs I've heard in a long time), That Was Your Mother
I really don't like Paul Simon's lyric choices.
The album is very well produced and mixed.
2.5
Definitely sounds like Bo Diddley - because the first half of the album is a Bo Diddley cover. I like what the band does, I just wish they would've used more than two chords.
3.25
liked songs: most of them
I was pleasantly surprised by this album. I've never listened to any Bee Gees songs that weren't disco, but this was actually a great album.
4
liked songs: other voices, change yr mind, american dream
I got some major Talking Heads vibes, a little bit of Bowie, and a little of something new. I might have to dig into their discography, this was a pretty good album.
3.75
liked songs: Moondance (if I have to pick one)
I was sort of just waiting for it to be over. I'm not a huge fan of Van Morrison's voice or his style of music.
2
liked songs: Sulfur, This Cold Black, Snuff, Child of Burning Time, 'Til We Die
I really don't like the thrashy parts of the album. There are a number of good songs, but this is definitely not the band at their best. Overall, just good.
3
liked songs: She Bangs the Drums, Bye Bye Bad Man, Made of Stone, I Am the Resurrection
This was a good album
3.5
liked songs: Derelict
Some of the songs were more annoying to me than anything else. There are definitely interesting things happening, but I don't understand how this makes any list of the best albums ever.
2
liked songs: Crystalised, Fantasy, Infinity
Very good album, very cohesive, and just about exactly what it should be. I do wish that a couple of the songs would have built up just a little more, but I really enjoyed this.
4.25
liked songs: Rock Music, Velouria, All Over the World
It's the Pixies. Not quite as good as Doolittle, but still excellent
4
liked songs: Last Child, Combination, Nobody's Fault
Solid.
3.5
liked songs: all 4 of them
This album is fantastic
4.5
liked songs: Dirge
Very meh. I'm not sure what it is about the sound, but something about the production felt annoying to me. I wasn't very engaged with any of the songs, and the guest singer spots didn't do anything to save the songs.
1.5
Everything written about this album keeps referring to it as "rock & roll". Is the rock & roll in the room with us right now?
I'm Set Free has the worst guitar solo I've ever heard.
I think The Murder Mystery is about awful vocalists murdering an extremely simple melody. The mystery part is about why anyone would want to listen to this.
I wish I could unlisten to this. Unfortunately, I know there's another Velvet Underground album on this list coming up at some point. At least that one has a good album cover to look at.
1
Liked songs (as in, actually added to Spotify Liked Songs list): Trampled Under Foot, Kashmir, In the Light, Ten Years Gone
Not much to say about this album. No dislikes.
4.5
liked songs: Freeze Tag, Small Blue Thing, Straight Lines
The first song set my expectations low, but I was pleasantly surprised by the rest of the album. I actually liked the stripped-back approach to the songs, and I really liked the guitar tones.
3.5
disliked songs: Ruby Baby, New Frontier
Holy drum machine, Batman.
Displeasing vocals.
How can an album with so many interesting chords be so boring?
1.25
90s electro/club music isn't really my thing. The songs are all about two minutes too long, which feels like an eternity when the drums are playing the exact same beat every measure.
1.5
liked songs: Maggot Brain, Hit It And Quit It, You And Your Folks, Me And My Folks, Super Stupid, Wars Of Armageddon
This slaps.
There's some really cool rock/funk/psychedelic fusion happening here that's just very satisfying.
4
liked songs: With A Little Help From My Friends, Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, Within You Without You
There's a huge range on this album. Some stuff is really interesting and creative, and some of the songs I found to be very rudimentary.
2.5
liked songs: Emerald, Massacre, Cowboy Song into The Boys Are Back In Town, Baby Drives Me Crazy (for Huey Lewis)
This was fun. Apparently, there is some controversy about how much of this album was overdubbed in the studio, but it was still a good time.
3
liked songs: All I Really Want, Hand in My Pocket, Forgiven, Head Over Feet
Liked songs: You Oughta Know, Ironic
This album is so 90s and I love it. Great vocals, great songwriting, influenced tons of other acts. There is a reason this album was so popular when it came out and why you still hear the songs being played today.
4.25
This was a good live album. Not exceptional, but it did everything a live album should do.
3
liked songs: Station To Station
This is a very good Bowie album... But still not his best.
3.75
liked songs: Everlasting Light, Howlin' for You, Ten Cent Pistol
Very good. I actually liked how stripped back the production of this album was; the songs shine on their own.
3.75
liked songs: Do The Strand, Grey Lagoons
Mixed feelings about this one. I like how adventurous this is in some ways, and I love a good jam session, but The Bogus Man and For Your Pleasure just don't do enough to stay interesting. Other songs with shorter runtimes are more enjoyable because they put the right length of weird in.
2.5
liked songs: Weary
I have to give this album some credit. Great production, especially the vocal layering, good structure/flow. I give Solange credit for a great vocal performance and putting together a cohesive piece of art with a good message.
Unfortunately, this genre doesn't really do much for me. I liked Weary, but the rest of the album didn't really grab me at all.
2.5
liked songs: The Perfect Kiss (frogs!), Sunrise, Sub-Culture
Very good
3.75
liked songs: I Started Something I Couldn't Finish, Girlfriend in a Coma, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me, Unhappy Birthday
Fantastic. Give me 14 of em right now.
4.5
Liked songs: Debaser, Wave of Mutilation, Here Comes Your Man, Monkey Gone to Heaven, Hey, Gouge Away
liked songs: all the rest
I love this album
4.5
This isn't a bad album. It just isn't a great one. I didn't not like it, but most of the songs blended together for me and I struggle to pick out particular parts that I may have enjoyed.
2.25
I'm going to (attempt to) ignore the fact that Kanye is kind of a piece of shit for this review. I'm trying to give this a fair shot.
Dark Fantasy is a decent album opener - I'll give Kanye credit for surrounding himself with lots of talent. My only note on this one is that Kanye must be absolutely tone deaf. His rapping has always been his talent, but he can't hit a note to save his life.
Gorgeous is boring.
I'm torn about Power. On one hand, it does a really interesting job taking a classic King Crimson song and transforming a song around it to modernize the sound. On the other hand, King Crimson did all the hard work here. How much of the reason that this is a good song is because of people other than Kanye?
All of the Lights is fine until, again, Kanye tries to sing. Fergie is great on this track. It is a good song overall.
Monster and So Appalled are fine. Very rap, which isn't really my genre.
All the substance of Devil in a New Dress is sampled.
I think Runaway is the first genuinely great song on the album. For as long as it is, it's cohesive and impactful.
Hell of a Life isn't a huge standout for me, but I do think it's a significantly better use of sampling than some of the other songs on the album. The inspiration/borrowed melodies and sounds are obvious, but the song is still original; it's not just rapping over a backing track of someone else's song.
Blame Game is not interesting. The outro spoken word part is gross.
Lost in the World is actually pretty good. Thank you to Bon Iver for the melody and sample on this one.
Kanye's ego is absolutely fucking ridiculous. Anyone who didn't see his complete psychotic breakdown coming, even back at this point, is deluded. There are moments when I can see what people mean by his "artistry" on this album, but his head is too far up his own ass most of the time to let a song, never mind an album, be completely good.
Credit where credit is due; Kanye can put together a solid group of talent. The best songs on this album had some heavy lifting by other artists and sampling. Unfortunately, I don't think this proves that Kanye is a good artist, and I don't know that I can call this a good album.
2.5
This isn't really something I'd choose to come back to, but it's an album that everyone should listen to once.
Also, I never don't like a House of the Rising Sun cover.
3.5
liked songs: all of them
Now THIS is a live album. The production, flow between songs, audience sound, "mess ups" and little moments here and there all make me feel like I'm sitting in the jazz club where this was recorded.
Sarah Vaughan is such a huge talent. Her voice is incredible. The backing trio is talented, but doesn't overdo it and lets Sassie's voice shine through.
4
Feels like drinking moonshine at the saloon.
I actually don't mind this album, it sounds like country as it should be.
3
liked song: I've Got To See You Again
It's good. A little slow, but I do like the chill bluesy vibes. Norah is very talented.
3
This blows. Jesus this was a long 35 minutes. And it only got worse after an awful start.
1
This is the Sex Pistols review because I'm dumb.
It's early punk, but honestly I liked this more than some other punk from the same time. It's definitely more interesting and varied than some others (Ramones...)
The album is a 3 for me, but since I already messed up the ratings for one album, I'm giving this the rating for the album it actually is (see the Sex Pistols album for my Smashing Pumpkins review)
Liked songs: Zero, Bullet With Butterfly Wings, 1979
liked songs: Tonight, Tonight, Jellybelly, An Ode To No One, Love, Porcelina Of The Vast Oceans, Bodies, Tales Of A Scorched Earth, X.Y.U., By Starlight
Fantastic album. Yes, it's long. But it's so good that it doesn't matter.
Depending on the day, this is probably either the best or second best Pumpkins album.
4.5
Liked songs: Rio, Hungry Like The Wolf, Hold Back The Rain
liked songs: all the rest
Great album. There's a very specific sound to it that carries throughout all the songs that I just like.
4.25
liked songs: I Don't Know What It Is, Go Or Go Ahead, Vibrate
This was a really interesting album. I agree with the Wikipedia description of this being Baroque pop/"popera". Rufus has a great voice and great compositional skills, and the end result is a great production.
3.75
It's a Christmas album. I can tell that a lot of the songs here have had major influence on later versions of the same songs, which is neat.
2
liked songs: Paper, Life During Wartime
This album is... fine. I like Talking Heads in general, but I don't think most of this album is really their best work.
2.5
liked songs: Soubour, Al Hassidi Terei, Nick
I got a lot of King Gizzard vibes from this album. It's a really solid blues record, fun guitar riffs, catchy melodies.
There's so much good music out there that isn't in English, but it can be hard to discover when you don't know what to look for. I'll probably be giving the other Songhoy Blues albums a listen.
3.75
Aretha is extremely talented.
That said, I know this is from the 60s but there are some odd production choices. Like, why are the drums panned completely to the right? I felt off-balance the entire album.
Overall, it's good.
3
liked songs: Comme Si, Girlfriend, Follarse, What's-her-face
I broke up listening this album into two separate sessions, one for the English versions and one for French.
I got a little bit of Michael Jackson, a little more Maggie Rogers, and a lot of influence from queer-associated acts from the 80s (Depeche Mode). I liked a handful of the songs, some stuck with me more than others. Interestingly, I don't think one version of the album was entirely better than the other; some songs I felt worked better in (what I assume is) the original French, and others I liked better in English.
This was interesting enough for me to come back to some of the songs. Good vocals, great production.
3.25
I'm putting this on next time I have trouble falling asleep.
Just not engaging to me at all. It's not bad, but I didn't think it was particularly good either. The instrumental parts were fine, and a couple songs were a little more interesting with a jazz vibe, but vocals and song composition didn't do much for me.
2.25
liked songs: Rags to Rags, Mental
It was fine? Not a big fan of the singer's voice. Not the most interesting songs for me either.
2.5
liked songs: both
This is the kind of music you just have to exist in. There's so much going on that it would be impossible to identify everything in the first listen. The layers of guitar flowing in and out of keyboards, relatively simple basslines, and relatively unorganized solos evoke a sense of floating. The use of discord and harmony is so well done, preventing total resolution at any point.
This is a master of his craft surrounded by top-tier talent. Miles Davis is an all-time great trumpet player and band leader, and an even better composer.
4.25
liked songs: California Dreamin'
ALL THE LEAVES ARE BROWN
This album is so 60s. It's not bad, it's just very 60s.
3
liked songs: The Cisco Kid, City, Country, City, The World Is A Ghetto
This was a really cool album. It's a really cool collection of pieces, and I completely understand the "progressive soul" genre label.
4
Liked songs: 15 Step, Bodysnatchers, Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi, All I Need, Reckoner
liked songs: all the rest
This is basically the best of "newer"/more electronic/synthy Radiohead (i.e. post 2005) (although I also love TKOL). Big vibes the whole way through.
4.5
liked songs: This Love Affair, Gay Messiah
This album does not hit quite the same way that Want One does. Some songs feel like they drag on way too long (Old Whore's Diet). I expected more of a continuation of that album, but this is not that. There's still good stuff in here, but the overall quality is not the same.
2.5
liked songs: Respect, A Change Is Gonna Come, I've Been Loving You Too Long, My Girl
Pretty good!
3.5
liked songs:
Here we go again.
We Don't Care was a hard listen. Surprisingly, Kanye's rapping and singing was fine. The kid's choir, however, may qualify as cruel and unusual punishment.
All Falls Down was fine. It's very 2004.
Spaceship had a neat bassline, but why the plastic garbage can sound effect?
I have many thoughts on Jesus Walks, but they all boil down to Kanye's ego.
Never Let Me Down was decent.
Get Em High sucks.
The New Workout Plan was a funny track. Interesting string arrangement.
Slow Jamz was the most musically interesting track so far.
Breathe In Breathe Out... Ludacris' part made me want to "peace ouuuuuuuutt..."
School Spirit (+ skits): Kanye, why do you hate education so much?
Two Words and Through the Wire were fine.
The samples on Family Business made me irrationally angry because they were so annoying and so far up in the mix. Which is a shame, because the guest vocals/arrangement were actually good.
Last Call... Kanye, my dude, this could've been an email
Again, I think the only real credit I can give here is for some very talented people that worked on the album (John Legend, Miri Ben-Ari, a lot of others).
1.5
liked songs: Dead End Street
This album is... fine. It's very 60s and not super interesting to me, but there's nothing wrong with it.
2.5
liked songs: all of them
What is there to say about this album? It's fantastic front to back, no misses. Peak Led Zeppelin.
5
liked songs: Regular John, The Bronze, Mexicola, Spiders and Vinegaroons
This was a fun one. Very stoner-y, which is kind of the reputation that QOTSA has. I want to re-listen to this one with an edible.
3.75
liked songs: all of them
This is up there as one of my favorite albums of all time. For me, this is the pinnacle of early progressive rock; it's a fantastic show of musicianship with excellent variety between songs.
The highlights are, obviously, Roundabout, South Side of the Sky, Long Distance Runaround, and Heart of the Sunrise. However, everything that comes in between (even the goofy Five per Cent for Nothing) is also fantastic. As widely varied as the individual compositions are, they hold the highlight tracks together perfectly.
It also goes without saying that each band member is at the absolute top of their game on this album.
Since this is the deluxe version of the album, I can also say this: the Yes cover of America is a thousand times better than the original.
5
liked songs: Carry On, Almost Cut My Hair, Woodstock, Deja Vu
Honestly, Our House isn't that good but the rest of the album is pretty neat. Lots of cool vocal harmonies, and good variety (probably because the songs were written by 4 different individuals).
Very good.
3.75
liked songs: No Other,
Not a big fan of Clark's voice. It's very competent music, but nothing groundbreaking. Not really for me.
2
liked songs: Blue Rondo a la Turk, Take Five, Kathy's Waltz, Pick Up Sticks
Per Wikipedia: "Brubeck was nearly expelled when one of his music professors discovered that he was unable to sight-read. Several others came forward to his defense, however, arguing that his ability to write counterpoint and harmony more than compensated, and demonstrated his skill with music notation. The college was still concerned, but agreed to allow Brubeck to graduate after he promised never to teach piano."
4
liked songs: the intro to Bluebird Wine
Emmylou Harris has a very good voice. This is, objectively, a good album with good music.
I really did want to like this, but the country/folk on this album is really not for me.
2.25
liked songs: Ms. Jackson, B.O.B. - Bombs Over Baghdad, ?
There was a wide range on this album. The songs I liked are OutKast at the top of their game. Some of the others... We Luv Deez Hoez absolutely blows. I actually liked the Interludes on this album.
BREAK
2.5
liked songs: Human Behavior, Aeroplane, Come To Me, Play Dead
I really like Björk's voice on this album; there's very heavy Kate Bush influence which works well. The sort of house music underneath, unfortunately, isn't really my thing. I appreciated the more adventurous tracks.
3
liked songs:
Home of the Bodybag made me think I would hate this album. First Impression made me think I would actually love it. It's more something in between.
The good things: The samples throughout are well utilized. Most of the intermission tracks are actually pretty funny. I appreciate the risk of putting a Black Sabbath worship song on an otherwise completely rap album with Body Count.
The bad things: Why is so much older rap/hip-hop about making an album? We get it, I know you made an album because I'm listening to it right now.
It's not a bad rap album. I probably won't come back to it, but it was worth the listen.
2.5
liked songs: Fever
I understand this being groundbreaking if the only music you had ever heard in your life was church hymns, but holy hell this is boring.
In reality this isn't that bad, but I really don't like it.
Fever is good, but the original is better.
2
liked songs: Sitting On Top Of The World, Fear, Be
This was pretty good! I'm impressed that Lenny Kravitz played like 95% of the instruments on this album himself. It's very strong for a debut.
3.5
liked songs:
I definitely recognized Big Iron. I can't say I'm a big fan of this genre (cowboy country??).
1.75
Liked songs: all of them
I love this album.
5
liked songs: champagne problems, 'tis the damn season, tolerate it, no body no crime, closure
This is a very good album, but I can't not compare it to folklore and it's just not quite as good. A good handful of the songs here just don't get to where they're going; they sort of just build to nothing.
That said, this is still top 3 Taylor Swift albums for me.
3.75
This was not good.
I wish they used more than one measure's worth of a sample stretched out for an entire song. I was just bored listening to this.
1.5
liked songs: Lose Control, I'd Give You Anything, Oh Yeah, Lost In You
Starting an album with the TIE fighter sound is such a power move.
Overall, this was a fun 90s alternative sounding album.
3.5
liked songs: Zero, Shame And Fortune
When Heads Will Roll started, I went "oh, I know this song".
It was fine, honestly. Nothing all that groundbreaking.
2.5
liked songs: pretty much all of them
This album is excellent. Short, sweet, and a near perfect debut album. There's some really neat subversion of expectation with chord changes early in the album.
I think the only negative here is the vocals, because I'm really just not a fan of David Lee Roth. But, he does fit the music well enough to the point that the vocals don't actually take anything away from the cohesiveness of everything else.
4.5
liked songs: Under Wraps
I like the concept; make a soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist. I don't love the execution. Too much of this is just noises.
1.5
liked songs: Old Times Good Times, Cherokee (7!)
A lot of this album is just ok, but the two songs above are great standout tracks.
2.75
I had no expectations going in, but holy shit.
I Against I and House of Suffering are both really good hardcore punk (and borderline prog?) songs.
Re-Ignition sounds so much like a Coheed and Cambria song that I can't believe this album came out in 1986. The influence that this sound had on the first several Coheed albums is so strong, I can't believe I had never heard of this band before.
I definitely hear some Faith No More on Let Me Help.
The rest of the album was also very good.
4
I found it hard to keep paying attention to this album. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that interesting either.
2.5
liked songs: Five Years, Starman, It Ain't Easy, Ziggy Stardust, Suffragette City
Excellent.
4.5
liked songs: Bobo On The Corner, the instrumental parts of Root Down, Sabrosa, Futterman's Rule
I CAN'T STAND IT
But for real, I find the Beastie Boys' rapping nearly intolerable. I genuinely hate their voices. Without a doubt they make some objectively good music, but I really just don't like this. The instrumental jazz/funk rock tracks carry this album to a higher rating for me.
Heart Attack Man is the exception - it's a great stupid song (just not quite as good as Bugs by Pearl Jam).
2.5
liked songs:
I don't think Nick Cave can sing in tune.
The music itself is interesting, sort of like a western/rock soundtrack. Not my favorite album, but it's not bad.
2.5
liked songs: nope
There were a few small elements of something really good here. Unfortunately, most of the album is just bullshit. I wish I was exaggerating, but this fucking blows.
1.25
liked songs: Real People, It's Your World
This wasn't bad. I liked the songs that had more jazz undertones. I hated The Food; yet again, Kanye proves that he's a shit singer.
2.5
This was fine. I definitely liked it more than some other punk stuff (Ramones...) but I didn't love it.
2
liked songs: Requiem, The Wait, Complications, Primitive
This isn't my favorite Killing Joke album, but it's such an impressive debut. The sound that they put together here has been hugely influential on a ton of other acts (the one I hear most is Nine Inch Nails).
3.75
liked songs: yes
Great
4.25
liked songs:
I was expecting worse based on the album name and cover, but this wasn't horrible. Definitely too repetitive and not super interesting, but I appreciate some of the textures and soundscapes that are created here.
Big points off for too many "wet" textured sounds.
2
liked songs: Body And Soul, Banana Split For My Baby (for the lyrics alone)
Very 50s, not bad.
2.5
liked songs: Blister In The Sun, Kiss Off, To The Kill
Punk Unplugged. It's fun and different, definitely carried by the lead singles though.
3
liked songs: Fotzepolitic, Road, River and Rail, Frou-frou Foxes in Midsummer Fires
Dreamy, floaty, Kate Bush vibes. I generally liked the sound, especially the vocals, but the album is very samey. I felt like I kept hearing the same chords and exact same guitar tone in every track.
3
liked songs: Drown in My Own Tears, Baby, Baby, Baby, A Change Is Gonna Come (fantastic cover/reinterpretation)
Very good. I love Aretha Franklin's voice, even if I don't come back to her music often enough.
3.75
liked songs: The Age Of Pamparius, Get It On, most of the rest
A strong start musically to the album nearly ruined by god-awful lyrics ("motherfucking pizza tonight"? really?).
I really wish there was an instrumental version of this album. All of the songs are well-written and have great energy. The lyrics are just... troglodyte-tier garbage. The vocal performance isn't much better than the lyrical content, either.
As an aside, I don't know why so many punk acts seem to think you're not allowed to have a good vocalist to make punk music. Is that the Ramones fault?
3.5
liked songs: Sharp Dressed Man
I know this is a "classic," but I'm really not a fan of the monotony of this album. Same chords, same drum beats, same synth sounds, same guitar tone for most of the songs. I know that having a sound is usually a good thing, but there's just no variety here. It's otherwise competent, if unextraordinary.
2.25
liked songs:
Bob Dylan can't sing and this album proves it.
This actually blows. I can't even say that the songwriting is decent, because it's not.
1.5
liked songs: most of them
I definitely hear some production similarities to the Pixies; there's a lot of quiet/loud/quiet on this album.
Very good.
4
liked songs: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, With Or Without You,
I like the first few songs on the album, but it gets kind of samey after that point. There's a little more variety with the last two tracks, but they don't really do much.
2.5
liked songs: Cloud Nine, Runaway Child, Running Wild, I Gotta Find A Way (To Get You Back)
I liked several of these songs, especially the ones that pushed the boundaries of 60s music. I really disliked the drums being panned hard to the right; I don't know how anyone ever thought that was a good idea.
3.25
liked songs: Day of the Lords, Shadowplay, Wilderness, I Remember Nothing
This is such a unique album. In every song, there's a ton of space for all the weird instrumentals and sounds to breathe. While I wouldn't call Ian Curtis's vocals conventionally good, they absolutely fit the strange, dark mood of the album.
3.75
liked songs: Overture, Eyesight To The Blind (The Hawker), Pinball Wizard
First off, I disagree with calling this album a rock opera. It's just a concept album. And yes, it tells a long, extended story over many different songs, but it doesn't have the sense of scale or pomp needed to call it an opera.
Second, I broke this album into two listens and I was still bored. There's some standout tracks (which include their huge hit single and a cover), but I can't say I loved most of them.
Overall: meh
2.5
liked songs: Boiler if there were no vocals
Per Wikipedia:
"The song "Hot Dog" features the word "fuck" 47 times; Durst points out in the lyrics "If I say "fuck" two more times, that's forty-six "fuck"s in this fucked up rhyme""
"...Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water was listed in the book for 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, but later removed in recent editions of the book."
It's a shame that Fred Durst is the worst fucking vocalist/lyricist ever, because the instrumentals on this album are decent. Otherwise, this is just Korn at home.
LAdiEs AnD geNtLEmeN...
2.25
liked songs: Frustration, Tainted Love, Bedsitter, Where Did Our Love Go?, Torch, What?
Great synth sounds throughout.
Sex Dwarf could have been an original song on 30 Rock.
3.75
liked songs: Movin' Out (Anthony's Song), The Stranger, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, Vienna, Get It Right the First Time
Fantastic.
4.5
liked songs: The Headmaster Ritual, That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore, Well I Wonder
Very good. Not my favorite Smiths album, but still good.
3.75
liked songs: The Kid from Red Bank, Flight of the Foo Birds, Double-O, Whirly-Bird, Splanky
Solid.
4
liked songs: all of them
This might be the worst Led Zeppelin album.
4.5
This was fine for a soundtrack. I do like the overall sound, but it didn't particularly do anything groundbreaking in a musical sense. Maybe watching the movie would make me appreciate it more.
2.5
liked songs: Mea Culpa
There's a little too much going on here. Not in a cool soundscape way, like in a cluttered mess way. The sounds used just don't go together. Some of the sample work in interesting, and the idea of using samples to replace actual vocals is creative, but I don't think it's very good.
1.5
liked songs: Norwegian Wood, Think For Yourself
This wasn't bad, but I apparently only like the George Harrison songs. Drive My Car and In My Life are decent songs, but I think I've heard covers of both that vastly improve on the originals.
2.75
liked songs: Manimal, Our Way
This is kind of terrible but also somehow fun. A number of the songs are run-of-the-mill untalented punk, but there's a few pieces of sneaky musicinship in here. Also, Pat Smear???
2.5
I would call this regressive music. It's doing the same thing as thirty years before, and makes no improvements whatsoever; in many ways, it's just worse.
1.5
liked songs: Let Me Love You, Ol' Man River, Greensleeves, Beck's Bolero, I Ain't Superstitious
Good originals. Good covers.
3.75
liked songs: all of them
This is their best album.
4.5
liked songs: Four Women, What More Can I Say?, That's All I Ask, Wild Is The Wind, If I Should Lose You
Very good.
4
liked songs: Fascination, Fame
Not a big fan of the cover of Across The Universe.
This is an ok Bowie album. Far from his best.
3
liked songs: front half
This was pretty good. There was some decent songwriting, but I do wish some of the better songs were just a little longer.
3.5
liked songs: all
Nearly perfect. 0.1 off because the love version of YYZ is that much better.
4.9
liked songs: most of them
Very very good. I knew I liked the song Aqualung, but the whole album is fun. This also sounds excellent for something recorded over 50 years ago.
4.5
liked songs: Sit Down. Stand Up, Backdrifts, Myxomatosis
Good but not excellent.
3.5
liked songs: Intruder, Games Without Frontiers
3.5
liked songs: Up The Beach, Ocean Size, Idiots Rule
I'm not a big fan of Perry Farrell's voice. The music is pretty good.
3.5
This might have been more interesting if I understood any of the wordplay going on, but musically this just isn't interesting.
2
liked songs: Father to Son, The Loser In The End, The March Of The Black Queen
Very good. I like this era of Queen a lot.
4
Competent but not for me.
2.5
almost liked songs: Some Of Them Are Old, Here Come The Warm Jets
This just isn't enjoyable. The sounds on this album are far too annoying; effects, instruments, vocals, they're all annoying.
1.5
liked songs: American Idiot, Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Give Me Novacaine / She's a Rebel, Extraordinary Girl / Letterbomb, Wake Me up When September Ends
Am I crazy for saying this is Green Day's best album? It has plenty of their punk roots but with just enough variety in the songwriting that it doesn't get boring and same-y.
4
I understand this album may be important, but I didn't find it all that interesting.
2.5
liked songs: The Love Below (Intro), Love Hater, Prototype, Hey Ya!, Good Day, Good Sir (Interlude), My Favorite Things, Take Off Your Cool
I got whiplash when Speakerboxxx ended and The Love Below started. Not a big fan of the offering from Big Boi, but I have to say I'm impressed with André 3000's half. There's some crazy range and really interesting songs (not to mention Hey Ya!).
Speakerboxxx: 1.5
The Love Below: almost a 4
Average: 3
liked songs: first half of the album (through Easily), Road Trippin', Over Funk,
The first 7 tracks of this album are perfect 5/5 bangers. As seems common for the band, the other half of the album isn't nearly as strong; the songs aren't bad, but they do not hold up to the high standard set by the earlier tracks.
That said, this is probably the best Chili Peppers album. The highs are so high, and the lows really aren't that low.
4.5
liked songs: all except for We're Not Supposed To
I was very pleasantly surprised by this album. Tight, compentent, catchy songwriting, fun and interesting bass lines, and a uniqueness that I can't quite describe.
4
liked songs: Walk On, Revolution Blues
Good. The slower songs are definitely less interesting.
3
liked songs: Spanish Castle Magic, Ain't No Telling, Little Wing, She's So Fine, Bold As Love
Very good
3.75
liked songs: Time to Pretend, Weekend Wars, The Youth, Electric Feel, Kids, Of Moons, Birds & Monsters
Very good pop
3.5
liked songs: Smokey River, I Have No Time, Do You Hear Me Now, Casbah
Really cool guitar work. For folk music, this was very good.
3.75
Not a lot happening here. It's decent, but not particularly engaging.
2
liked songs: most of them
The vocals are the obvious standout, because they're amazing, but I like a lot of what's happening here. The instrumentation (strings!) is great, good songwriting, interesting melodies. My only complaint is that there were 1-2 too many slower songs.
4.25
liked songs: Through With Buzz
Good
3
liked songs: most of them
Very good new wave stuff.
3.75
liked songs: all
Very cool jazz/pop album. Especially interesting with the many tempo changes mid-song.
3.75
liked songs: Play For Today, Secrets, M,
I like the overall sound a lot, but not all of the songs really stand out as that good.
2.75
this blows
There are a few moments of something decent here, but for the most part, see above.
1.5
liked songs: Come Out and Play, Self Esteem
Punky and gets a little same-y by the end of the album. It's well done for this kind of music, but I wanted more variety.
3
I liked I better than IIa/b
Very cool.
4
liked songs: The Girl From Ipanema, How Insensitive
Good
2.5
liked songs: Allergies, the end bit of Train in the Distance
Some of these songs are decent, and others are... I don't know, corny? Paul Simon is really hit or miss for me. Mostly miss. I hate Cars are Cars.
2
liked songs: Going Up, The Pictures on My Wall,
Not bad, not great.
2.75
liked songs: parts I-III
Great album
4.25
I liked some of the samples, good lyrics for at least some of the songs. Overall this wasn't bad, but I didn't love it.
2.5
liked songs: none. They all blow.
What the actual fuck is this. It's completely devoid of musicality. It's the dumbest fucking plot for a "concept" album I've ever heard.
If this was a satirical album, it might be a little funny. But this sucks so bad. I'll never get these 50 minutes back. How could anyone willingly listen to this?
0
liked songs:
More than a little silly, and a lot Brian Eno. Not a fan of the vocals. Or compositions.
2
liked songs: Independent Women, Pt. 1, Survivor, Gospel Medley
Generally good production and layering. The vocals are obviously a strong point, but some of the songs start to get awfully repetitive after 2 minutes.
Bootylicious was a very annoying use of a potentially great sample.
3
liked songs:
I like the folk sound of earlier Dylan better. Very repetitive. I don't like his voice, song structure, or the harmonica.
2.25
liked songs: Ramble Tamble, Up Around The Bend, Who'll Stop The Rain
Pretty good
3.5
liked songs: several
Very dark, dissonant, shoegazey. I liked it for the most part.
3.5
liked songs: Sierra Leone, Sweet Life, Lost, Monks, Bad Religion
I wasn't optimistic during Thinking About You, but the next few songs are very harmonically interesting. R&B definitely isn't my favorite genre, but this album held my interest for the most part.
3
liked songs: 21st Century Schizoid Man, Epitaph, The Court Of The Crimson King
Moon child gets too noodly, but otherwise this is a pretty good album.
3.5
liked songs:
Subtitling your debut album "IV" is hilarious.
This is a sort of goofy sort of punk-but-with-keyboard album. It's ok.
2.5
liked songs:
Oh, it's that song. Neat.
I think two songs with onions in the title is too many.
Not a whole lot of anything interesting going on. There's only so many times in a row you can listen to a 12 bar blues.
2
Brian Wilson is talented, without a doubt. I think the Beach Boys formula just doesn't work for me.
2.5
liked songs: All of Me
Not a bad set of covers.
3
liked songs: Walk This Way
Some of the songs are ok, but that's about it. I know this is kind of iconic hip-hop, but it's not amazing.
2.5
This wasn't entirely bad, but it certainly wasn't good.
1.5
liked songs: Violence
Pretty good
3.5
Not bad, but gets kinda same-y
2.5
I don't love the Bob Dylan vocals with the somewhat generic sadboi indie music.
It's not bad, but it's not very exciting.
2.5
liked songs: Milonga Is Coming
This was a really cool album. Jazzy, tango-y, untraditional instrumentation, and songs with so much going on but with great melodies anyway.
4.25
"the fear of being eaten by a sandwich"
4.5
liked songs: As Yet Untitled (I think?)
Some stuff to like here, but I didn't love it. It felt like it was trying very hard but didn't execute well.
2.25
liked songs: Time After Time, She Bop
Meh
2.25
liked songs: Everything Put Together Falls Apart, Peace Like A River
Some good and interesting, and some odd Paul Simon choices that I just don't seem to like.
2.5
liked songs: America, Fakin' It, A Hazy Shade of Winter
Look, I liked this better than I expected. The flow of the album is very good, as is the production and songwriting.
I find it interesting that the "concept album" side is only 15 minutes long, but the conciseness is definitely a positive.
I still like the Yes cover of America better than this original.
3.75
liked songs: Hey Joe, The Wind Cries Mary, Highway Chile
Pretty good
3.75
liked songs: Black Cat
Vocals were good. Otherwise, rather long and same-y with the drum machine used getting very repetitive.
2.25
This is fine, but I doubt I'll ever listen to it again.
2.5
liked songs: all
Fantastic album. If you don't like this, you don't like Radiohead. Or being sad.
4.5
liked songs: Sometimes, Last Night
The vocals being "not trying very hard" but also clipping every time it gets loud is grating after a while. Otherwise not bad.
3.25
this was fun and a little silly
3
liked songs: first half
This was kinda dumb but also fun. It's good ska.
3.75
The whole fake live album thing is... a choice.
Don't hate me but I don't particularly enjoy Janis Joplin's vocals.
This is fine for 1968 rock n roll, but that's about it.
2.25
liked songs: Soldiers, I Let The Music Speak
Not a bad album, just doesn't have many hits on it.
3.25
liked songs: I'm A Man You Don't Meet Every Day, A Pistol for Paddy Garcia
Not my favorite thing I've ever listened to.
2.25
Squeaky, avant garde, and mostly just too out there for me. At times, it felt like the vocals and instrumentals were two completely separate compositions.
1.5
liked songs: pretty much all
Great album.
4.5
I'm not a big fan of Johnny Cash's music in general, mostly because most of his songs just sound too similar.
BUT this was a very good live album.
3.25
This should've stayed in the 80s. Yuck.
1.5
liked songs: all
Yep.
4.5
