Before listening to this album, I had never considered myself a Stones fan ... and I still don't. I don't hate any of their music and I don't love any of it. This album has a few nice moments, but the issue is that Mick Jagger has no singing ability at all. It's honestly extremely impressive how successful he has been in spite of that.

Sorry, I just don't get Neil Young.

no

Couldn’t decide if it wants to be boring or annoying.

This is one of my all-time favorite albums—one of the greatest vocal performances by one of the greatest recording artists of all time. I've listened to it so much over the years that it doesn't really hit the way it used to, but still. I remember hearing Ray's version of "You Are My Sunshine" for the first time and feeling like a musical hole had been ripped open in my brain (in a good way). Every fucking note this guy sings here is just perfect. I don't love the choral stuff, but it works anyway—Ray is just that good. At this point, the ballads hold up the most for me, especially "You Don't Know Me" and "Someday (You'll Want Me to Want You)." The way his voice just overflows with emotion ... the guy was unbelievable!

I’ve never been a Kanye guy but I enjoyed some of the songs here more than I expected. I like the insanity and aggression of it more when I realize that it’s sincere—he is actually insane.

At times they sound like a cross between Elvis Costello and Steely Dan, and there's no shame in that. I wish the lyrics tried either a little harder or a little less hard. Musically there's some interesting stuff going on. This is a provisional score — I could see it going up or down on further listens.

Not bad

It's a normal part of life for a lot of men: you get a little older, get married, have a kid, drift apart from your high school buddies—and so you start a mediocre rock band. It's just a bummer when the man is Paul McCartney, he's still in his 20s when he starts the band, and his high school buddies were the fucking Beatles. I really wanted to like this, but the songs are just so boring. Paul and John needed each other.

Really apt album title.

I have to criticize you like I should. One bonus star for two undeniably iconic tracks, otherwise pretty unlistenable.

Imagine if you were talking to someone and they said this was their favorite album.

I know it's heretical to give this any less than five stars, but I think if we're being honest we should admit that it's a challenging and uneven album. The highs are Mt. Everest, but there are lows. And Jimi really should have taken vocal lessons.

Silly but a lot of fun. And I understand Tenacious D a bit better now.

Pleasant but a little dull. Love Stanley Turrentine, but in the proper dosage.

You have to wonder how often Stan Getz got laid while playing his own record.

Pretty cool background music, but too many songs that sound like 5 minute intros to another song.

I’ve never understood the adulation for this record, which inspired a lot of self-serious noodling in the world of jazz over the ensuing years.

Expected to love this, but there are a LOT of skippable tracks for me and I don’t get why they spend half the album rapping into a fuzzy landline connection. Still gets 3 stars for overall vibe and Sure Shot, Sabotage, Root Down, and Get It Together, but it’s a soft 3.

Sounds like they grabbed a random guy off the street and asked him to sing.

I’ve always found Pink Floyd unobjectionable but boring.