Wow, I get why Bob gets talked up so much, I’ve never heard an album where some elements felts decades ahead while others felt perfectly plucked from the early days of recorded music. Great lyrics although the rhymes can come off as a bit silly sometimes. Didn’t expect so much harmonica but it worked well. My only major complaint is that it ran a bit too long, the song mobile in particular feels like it could’ve been cut in half. That being said I think this will only grow on me on continued listens
punk and new wave had a baby and it’s very British and will go on to influence all of alternative music for the entire 80s.
Extremely fun, all killer, no filler.
To all my fellow gen Zs (and millennials) , I’m very happy to report this album did not disappoint. After listening to Thinkin Bout You, I had fears that this wasn’t going to click with me, but with each track I was further convinced that the incessant praise frank has received is deserved. Pyramids especially is fantastic, the R&B equivalent of a prog rock song.
I guess he was right, the best song wasn’t the single.
Giving this an enthusiastic 5
I’m a huge funk fan, why did I not listen to this sooner?! Will be revisiting often for the foreseeable future.
Love Bowie but this ain’t it, not unlistenable but not essential in the slightest, he has 8 other albums on the list, this one doesn’t need to be here
MORE. POWER. TO. THE. PUSSY.
Not bad. Fun but Forgettable
This was my first time listening to this in full. But I already knew it was gonna be great. I mean. C’mon.
Interesting for sure. Had a lot of fun with it. Deserves to be on the list but it’s not outstanding
An album that’s way more interesting in concept than in practice, an album by a renowned bassist with multicultural influences and aspects of trip hop and new wave and several songs that feature Sinead o Connor sounds heavenly, in practice it’s kinda pretentious and boring, still enjoyed Sinead!
Glad I was in a good mood or this would’ve absolutely made me cry. Fantastic listen.
Not my thing but deserves to be on the list.
As someone who was a fetus when this style of r&b was popular, I recognized all of the synthetic instruments on this albums as the same ones they use for video games. So listening to this album felt like I was fighting Regigigas on my DS while Beyoncé was singing in the background. Also what’s up with all the weird interpolations?? Tarzan boy? March of the gladiators? This album feels like I'm having a fever dream inside of the Wii shop channel.
This kicks ass.
Pretty killer, a few tracks that didn’t click with me but otherwise great
Tbh I think every album needs more songs about buildings and food. Talking heads rules. This album isn’t an exception.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSS! One of the few albums on the list I’ve listened to before. This album is genuinely magical, it feels like you’re exploring a digital wilderness.
Had me interested 30 seconds in, a whole lot of fun, this is why I’ll never say I’ll hate a genre, 5 years ago I would’ve said I hated country, I hadn’t found stuff like this yet.
This album doesn’t make me feel like I’m on the beach, it feels more like a prairie, that being said, it’s still really good.
Sucks that every other heavy metal band that came after them saw this and thought “whoah.. loud guitars and dark lyrics” and not “whoah.. you can make an album that sounds badass and has a harmonica and a jaw harp” (don’t worry, I like metal, but y’know sometimes some more weird stuff would be nice)
Makes me remember that there are good bands to come out of the 2010s half of the “alternative” era . Still kind of has that apple commercial vibe but with a lot more flavor. Plus it’s not their fault this sound has become synonymous with advertising. Good stuff
Just some of the most polished music the 80s has to offer, somehow is both perfect and still has personality.
A few songs I really vibed with, the rest felt goofy by modern standards, but I get why its here.
Unbelievably whimsical and beautiful, Newsom manages to tell a story on every single song, this is the album you would get if a bard from the forgotten realms was transported to modern day earth. People were complaining about the length but ITS BECAUSE SHE’S TELLING A STORY! THE SONG ONLY ENDS WHEN THE STORY IS DONE!! Plus it’s not like it’s just the same verse chorus verse, she puts a lot of effort in making the music follow the story. Maybe it’s just cause I’m a nerd, but this is a ten out of ten
He’s got the Voice of an angel, only gripe is the songs can blend together
This album sounds like it was written by a group of whimsical gnomes
Got a machine head! It’s better than th- oh, never mind, wrong band.
It’s fine, first few songs are great and then it kinda peters out
Not my thing, but very influential both in grunge and in the fact it signaled how long 90s albums would become :/
An album that is inexplicably both unbelievably strange and yet I fully understand why it was so popular. The late 80s were kinda dire in terms of popular music, this is an exception
(Side note, but while listening to this I thought that living colour was kind of a rock parallel to public enemy, then lo and behold chuck d and flavor flav jumpscared me in the middle of a song)
Will be listening again
Sometimes. You’ve heard about an album your entire life, sometimes, said album is one of your dad’s favorite albums, sometimes, said album is lauded as one of the greatest albums of all time, sometimes, said album is made by two British asshole brothers. Sometimes, you come in with low expectations when listening to something that’s universally beloved, maybe just to be a contrarian, maybe because you dislike the people who made it, maybe because you don’t think it’ll live up to the hype. Sometimes.. people get things right, and sometimes universally beloved albums are good. Sometimes they’re one of the best albums you’ve ever heard.
Giving this a two not for it being extremely bad but rather that I don’t think I will have any memory of the album by tomorrow except for maybe the annoying high pitched noises on the title track
I think this is the first album on the list I danced to while listening to, that’s gotta warrant 5 stars
I think this the platonic ideal of a rock album
Higher peaks and lower valleys than ziggy stardust. But the peaks are so high it warrants a 5
Man, the singers are great, but Phil Spector really Killed this one. Just absolutely Massacred the production. Murder.
…Ok. What do you want me to say? It’s a really good Christmas album. That’s about it, I don’t have much to say, so I had to take a cheap shot. Just like Phil did with his ex wife!! HAH!
..Fuck that guy.
New Order has the special ability to combine every good part of the 80s into one great package. It’s the musical equivalent of a gumbo, and I loooove gumbo. Say what you will about the very 80s synths, but to me that’s the gumbo’s spicy sausage, not everyone’s gonna like it, but man it’s good when it works.
How the hell do you make a double album with 21 tracks where none of them feel phoned in!? Stevie Wonder cooked with this one. My compliments to the chef
Ew, ew ew ew nope. First album on the list I couldn’t get through, even without the…. context… I don’t want two French people whispering in my ears rock plays in the background. Ew. Maybe it belongs on the list. I dunno, ask the French. It doesn’t belong on my list, that’s for sure.
Feels like they were just getting started :( it’s a great album nonetheless. Excellent and abrasive, Kurt sounds strained on some of the songs, and it suits the album’s sound well. Wish we could’ve gotten more
Four Bowie albums?!???? I’m only 40 ish albums in! Anywho, love Bowie and I appreciate the gospel and funk influences on this one, but it’s not the cream of the crop, still great
Steely Dan has gotta be one of the top 5 funniest bands of all time, an imagine being insane perfectionists, insanely critically adored, and extremely divisive all while making this gentle jazzy soft rock. That’s fucking hilarious. The best part is that the critics are right
Everyone say thank you to D’angelo for inventing sex
Ok this is getting ridiculous, this is my fifth Bowie album and I’m not past 50 yet, anyway Bowie stays winning, he’s a one of a kind artist, but this one faded into the background more than the others I’ve gotten, even the one I rated lower was more memorable.
Sometimes the theatrics really work and sometimes they really don’t, i dunno. Kinda hit or miss but still fun
New order stays winning, especially like the opener
I’m glad I wasn’t in high school when this album was popular. Probably would’ve gotten called a lot of slurs for not being a fan.
EDIT: looking back, I think the subject matter brushed me the wrong way, as much as I don’t want to ever listen again, I gotta give Marshall props for his rapping skills, cause they’re pretty fantastic. Still don’t like it so it’s bumped up to a 2
Duran Duran is such a singular band, they’re one of the most iconic groups of the 80s. This album is amazing front to back and is unmistakably Duran Duran.
If you don’t like this album you can go funk yourself
Sometimes abrasive, sometimes beautiful, probably one of my favorite albums of all time. Also it might be sacrilegious but I prefer this version of hurt
Going in expecting generic pop music with a great singer from what I had already heard, I was proven wrong, the album cuts are absolutely amazing, in my opinion better than the singles but that also could just be the fact I’ve heard them for a good 15 years now in the grocery store
My dad’s favorite band, so it’s hard not to have an attachment to them, but some of the singles are worn out for me, plus I think I like their earlier stuff, sorry dad. Still good though
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUGH!
This is some good shit, never would’ve found this without the list, this is how you mix the blues with alt rock, the black keys could learn a thing or two
These guys can certainly write a much better song than their contemporaries, to be fair though that’s not that hard when your contemporaries are mötley crüe and poison. Not to say they’re not good songwriters, they make that pretty clear, even with some sleazy lyrics. It’s solid, rock on and so forth
It’s freezing cold today, so this album felt like a little out of place, but I think the second best place to listen to this album other than a tropical beach is in the cold, actually, because it feels like a nice warm blanket and puts a smile on your face. Just a pleasant album all around :)
Pretty cool stuff, I had only heard strange brew and sunshine of your love, and to be honest I wasn’t a huge fan of strange brew, but as a whole album this was a very good time.
Can’t say I’ll listen to this again soon, but it’s interesting enough that I’ll be thinking about it for a good while, I don’t think this should be the lowest rated album tbh
The Problem with coming late to something influential is it loses what made it so important, so honestly I didn’t really get much from this album :/ but it certainly deserves to be on thelist
Pleasantly surprised by this one, then again, when an album is described as power pop, there’s a 90% chance I’m gonna like it, great stuff.
I try to be critical of these albums, but it’s hard when you make something this weird and fun. Excellent songs, just a great time all around. I’m gonna have given 500 of these albums a four or five when I’m done with this.. geez
Yeah he sucks, but I’m not gonna boycott an artist because they’re a terrible person, then half the list would be null. Plus I don’t see you guys boycotting the Christmas album made by an actual convicted murderer. Anyway now for the actual review. This is some of the best hip hop production I've heard. Insane lyricism, kinda feels like every important rapper from the early 2000s showed up in this one, some emotional moments, some super fun ones, this is one of the best rap albums I’ve ever heard to be honest. Sucks that Kanye would go into a downward spiral 20 years later. But I’m not gonna let that deter me from saying this album is excellent.
A fun listen, felt like a mix of blues, singer songwriter, alt rock, and country with jack white’s special twist. A lot of fun, you can really feel the love for all sorts of music coming from this album
This whole album felt like a slow climax to a peak, like in a film, but ironically the most climactic songs were the parts I was least interested in, i was a big fan of the quiet ambient parts, they felt hypnotic in soothing with a rock twist. But the more boisterous rock parts weren’t bad but not as interesting. All and all a good album that I will revisit
Fun fact! Brian Warner went to high school about 30 minutes from where I live, not just that, that high school is also my older sibling’s Alma mater, and he was on the baseball team with my friends uncle! …These facts would be a lot more fun if he wasn't a terrible person… anyway the album itself is pretty good, if you’re working with Trent reznor it’s hard not to be, only issue is it’s length and the awful, awful lyrics.
..I really love R.E.M. but honestly? This one didn’t really do it for me, there were a few great songs, but it fell a little flat. The one I love and it’s the end of the world are still amazing though.
I don’t really have much to say for this one, it’s a great album made by a band that would change music forever
One heck of a weird album, a raspy British old man whispering over discordant jazz was not something I knew I wanted
A wonderful quiet acoustic album with an excellent singer, I don’t really have much else to say except I’ll listen again
Psycho candy by the Jesus and Mary chain but it sounds like it’s being played in an empty auditorium except actually that’s just what the album sounds like
The production on this album is INSANE. Yeah I know it’s cheesy, whatever I don’t care. Just listen to it, you can hear every single instrument, they all sound crisp. And it never drowns out baker or the backup singers. This album is luxurious, it’s like drinking a cold glass of water at 3 AM when your lips are dry.
Ughhhhhh. The type of songs to sell a MacBook Pro. The type of songs they would play at a new coffee chain that’s has “locally sourced beans”. The type of songs that would be in the background of an Obama 2012 campaign ad. The type of songs I would hear in the car while my dad was listening to alt radio and I would think “this is boring. when are they gonna play the one about the pumped up kicks?”
Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Laaaaaast niiite, i heard this album. It was very good. I really enjoy the clean guitars mixed with Julian Casablanca’s raspy vocals. Solid all around, will listen again
This is some Killer Klowns from outer space ass music, not bad honestly, compared to other abrasive albums on this list idk why this is one of the lower rated ones. It’s fun, a solid thumbs up from me
This probably would’ve hit me a lot harder at the time, but we live in a world with machine girl so this is pretty tame by comparison and the songwriting isn’t that good to make up for it
Good. Makes me smile whenever I think about it, think that’s worth a five
If this album was just around the bend girl and the title track it might be a 5, but there’s a few stinkers and it goes a bit too long. Will be for sure revisiting some songs, just not the whole album
The thing about some early punk albums is that they can kinda blend together. Blondie does not have that problem. The bits of pop, disco, new wave, and I think even a bit of reggae?
An great showing from a fun band
An insanely good live album. I made a realization, I think I really like thin Lizzy? Like really like them. Gonna have to check more of their stuff out. The transition from cowboy song to the boys are back in town put a massive grin on my face, but this album does run quite a bit long. That being said Thin lizzy deserves more love. RIP Phil lynnot
I don’t get the people who say this is generic, like if you’re gonna levy that against some of Foo Fighter’s biggest songs, yeah I get that 100% but this album is interesting! The songs sound different from one another, there’s one where Grohl is screaming, the opening track has a power pop-y chorus. it feels like it takes in a bunch of different genres and puts it into one emotional and excellent package.
Love it! It’s got a very whimsical sort of off kilter approach to rock and electronic, with a bit of jazz thrown in for good measure. I can hear the influence on this one, a lot of bands I grew up loving definitely loved this album
This did absolutely nothing for me, I don’t mind stripped back, minimalist albums, but I’m not a fan of this one
She’s a good singer, production sounds dated, I don’t really have much to say, it’s fine?
What a wild album, the multicultural influences from all around the world are really cool, mad respect for actually working with artists from said cultures, also really like Paul’s meandering vocals. I don’t think this album should work, but it really does
This album starts strong with two great songs and then just kinda meanders for the next hour. Good background music
Oh thank god. I really thought I was just gonna not get bob Dylan after the last two albums, but here we go! First off, it’s the first of his albums that hasn’t felt like it dragged, despite being nearly an hour long, the songs are much better than anything I’ve heard off the other two, and his writing is still on point. Keep it up bob! Hopefully I enjoy the rest of your albums this much?
love it, kind of feels like a country twinged lullaby, like Willie is singing me to sleep while I look up at the stars. Weird to say this about one of the most acclaimed country artists of all time but he doesn’t get enough credit for his beautiful voice
One of the most loud, abrasive, and aggressive albums I’ve heard that’s still approachable to the average music fan, not to mention they did all of this with just a guitar and a drum set. The same way Nirvana showed that you could be unbelievably loud with just three people, Meg and Jack show on this album that you can be even louder with just two.
Yes this album is corny, unfortunately corn is delicious especially when you but some smooth synth butter and some rock n roll salt
This white boy can, in fact play that funky music. Extremely well at that.
Tons of undeniable classics, great riffs, and an excellent vocalist. I have no complaints.
Never listened to a full Costello album, but I know for a fact he has better stuff than this. Still solid showing I suppose, also can tell that they might be giants were very much influenced by him, so that’s a plus.
Psychedelic sixties rock mixed with ‘00s indie pop. Great stuff. Two weeks is one of the best songs ever made
I knew the singles of course, I didn’t expect Santana to be so jazzy! What a wonderful album, had a great time with it.
Fears for tears
Simpler minds
Depeish mode
Uncultured club
Old order
Frankie doesn’t go to Hollywood
Oh, they’re Australian?
Nick cave and the worse seeds
Men slacking off
INXEEDINGLYSMALLQUANTITY
Empty house
Bleh. This sucks
If toy story was set in the American south at the turn of the century. Pretty damn good apparently
Ahh.. the album that made me an insufferable jazz nerd in high school. Need I say more?
A bridge between the golden age and the worlds beyond. I’m biased towards jazz rap, but it’s hard to be critical when both members are bringing their A game to producing and rapping. 8/10
Oooouuughhhh… I love electronic music so muuuuch
I went to a concert of theirs a couple months ago, I was freezing cold and had a migraine so I laid down on the blanket we brought, and just kinda dissociated to the music, it’s pretty good dissasociating music
Speech is a good rapper. But maaan.. the lyrics are so annoying and preachy… it really took away from my enjoyment of the album, especially because the production is really interesting and unique! It’s not like they were trying to be a tribe called quest, I know they get compared a lot but they’re definitely distinct. This would be a five if the lyrics were less annnoying
Elliot smith style songwriting with its own unique sonic palate, right up my alley and it was a strike
This is a perfect argument for why album experiences are so important, none of these songs on their own would be five starts except maybe Folsom prison blues, but together along with all of the banter, noise, and applause it makes for a wonderful experience that put a smile on my face, whether that was from genuine emotion of the songs being delivered to prisoners or when everyone started cheering during the song about being on cocaine and killing your wife. No notes.
Everyone say thank you to miles Davis for inventing being cool
I am fROMOHIO, so I gotta say, I’m honored that the album named after our “great” state is this good. Helps that I love 80s alternative and good bass licks.
Not my favorite electronic album, mostly because it’s too over the top for my tastes, there isn’t really a breather until the second to last song. Still. This is good, undeniably a great album. Kinda clicked for me when I read people talking about psychedelics in the comments, made a lot more sense. Still, I don’t do shrooms, and I can’t dance, so this is only a 3
Wanted to come up with a pun based on a lyric off of this album but I can’t make anything mor memorable than Mr. D-O-double-G can. Fo’ shizz
Pleasant, perfect for the shift to spring that’s happening right now. That being said it kinda feels like a kids album at some points. Inconsistent but nice
This would be an amazing, catchy, and well written album if it was just the full tracks if they cut the interludes. Seriously all of the interesting political commentary comes from the full songs! And the interludes just kinda feel like afterthought that make the salient message feel heavy handed. Would be 10/10 if they trimmed the fat, instead It’s like a 7
Just gonna straight up quote another review cause I agree with it
“ok it seems like a four-worthy album to be honest but i really don't have the urge to listen to any of these songs again and its not” my type of music so three it is.”
My thoughts exactly
Nile Rodgers is the most influential guitarist of the 70s, yes I understand the gravity of that statement, fight me. But that’s not to downplay the other musicians on this album because hooooooly shit, everyone sounds flawless on this album. Before you could electronically program your dance music, they just had to record this shit raw! Huge props, disco never died, Nile became disco.
Look man. It’s a five. I know it’s a five, it’s John Coltrane. I’ll get back to you when I’m done, but look at my fucking highest rated albums. I know what I’m gonna give it. I don’t need to listen to the album to give it a rating, but I’m gonna because it’s gonna kick ass.
Update: FIVE. STARS.
Kinda jangle pop-y, reminds me of smashing pumpkins too. Both of those are good things to be reminded of
There are plenty of artists who have had sex on an album. Prince is the only artist who has, and ever will have sex with an album. Good shit.
100% REAL UNCUT ROCK AND ROLL! THIS AINT YOUR GRANDMA’S ALBUM! 🚙🚛🔥🔥🔥🦅🔫🔫
Always thought these tres hombres’s music was more in line with AC/DC than it was with Hendrix. I’m still hesitant about their 80s stuff, but I’m certainly much more of a fan after this album. Good stuff. Muy bueno
There’s a certain kind of retro styling that pisses me off, like the Michael buble or Greta van fleet types who love the classics but don’t innovate whatsoever. Amy winehouse was not one of those types, the mix of modern r&b, hip hop, and a bit of rock with the classics of jazz and r&b she’s paying homage to blend together perfectly. An excellent album. R.I.P.
Get why it’s here, but this is just kind of background noise, especially compared to Sinatra’s other album on the list.
Look. I get that grimes important or whatever in the UK. But I’m pretty sure Dizzie Rascal is already on the fucking list and he raps extremely British and helped invent grime but he’s actually good. Fucking bollocks innit?
Love the banter, blues can be a bit repetitive but bb king is an insane player and so charming that it never gets old.
Damn. Insanely good. I kind of hate when things are theatrical for the sake of it, but this album earns its melodrama, everyone is bringing their A game. This deserves to be hailed as an indie masterpiece
The best way I can describe this album is inviting, it feels like you’re having a conversation with a close friend over some coffee, you can both air out your woes and then just sit back and relax and pet the cat. Oh yeah, and there’s also the song about the guy with the shotgun
I was expecting a classic album full of iconic songwriter tunes. I got that, but I also got Jamaican jerk off, a prog rock intro, and two country songs at the end. Never change Elton John, never change.
I don’t know man. It’s purple rain. What do you want me to say? It’s perfect.
7 year old me thought this was the coolest shit ever. It’s still pretty awesome.
Curse this list for making me think that any album by an obscure British band that’s over an hour is gonna suck ass. This was excellent, a mix of most of my favorite genres together into something that works perfectly as a full package. Could’ve been trimmed down a bit though, I mean, 17 songs? Really? At that point make two albums. Anyway still great, love it.
Fuck yes. James brown era funk, jazz improvisation, African rhythms, impeccable drumming from Ginger Baker, Fela giving a once in a lifetime wailing performance and an unstoppable horn section. Fuck. Yes.
This is exactly the stuff I was hoping to find when doing this challenge, weird stuff I would’ve never found otherwise. BRASIL NUMERO UNO!
I’ll keep it 300 (perhaps, akin to the Romans), I don’t wanna talk anymore about the guy who made this, so I won’t. The songs however, I could gush for hours, how the hell do you gather all of these eclectic musicians and influences together into something extremely abrasive, hype, and beautiful?? Those are three adjectives that probably shouldn’t all be on the same album. Also daft punk worked on it, so even if you ignore everything else I said, automatic 5 stars.
Wait, you guys weren’t joking when you said this was one of the greatest albums of all time?
David Lee Roth screams like a mountain lion mauling an elk.
Does anyone know where the bass went? Do we need to call a search party?
My first inclination was to say this is a parody of American rock music, but honestly? I think this is an earnest tribute to it. Either way, these silly Norwegian guys made a great rock album. Get them some pizza already!
I’m heavily biased towards drum n bass, so I won’t even try to be objective. I had a great time with this album, this sort of music lulls you into a flow state where you can focus of the music and do whatever you want, it’s the perfect work music for me, but it’s also just the perfect chill out and relax music.
Only reason it’s not a five is because of the deluge of other excellent jazz rap artists on the list, no disrespect to common, just not my absolute favorite, will probably listen again
SO, this a pretty good album, amirite?
*I am pulled off stage by a pack of rabid chimpanzees*
Jamiroquai is my favorite band ever. Nothing I say is going to be remotely objective.
This album makes me want to push morrissey into a locker. That’s being said it’s still four stars, so take what you will from that.
Fuck off.
EDIT: ok you know what, I was gonna go easy on this album, but why is this on the list?? Like, this isn’t particularly early for this style of music, it isn’t remotely good, I gave it a two at first because it’s listenable, but no. Fuck it. This gets a one for sheer bewilderment that it’s on the list
Most of the music from the cure that I’ve heard has been lush and gorgeous, so this minimal, haunting album was a really interesting departure, not my favorite cure album, but certainly a cool one.
Meh. It’s like, fine?
Starts off with two absolute ragers, then just sputters out.. really promising then just throws away that promise, still love you The Hives!
Repetitive but solid, liked bb king’s live album more.
Helps me prove my hypothesis that the Beatles had better albums, but the stones had better singles. Gimme shelter is probably one of the best songs of all time but gun to my head if you ask me to name more than 3 songs on this album I’d tell you to pull the trigger. Still love gimme shelter
I feel like I should like this a lot more than I do.. influenced by a lot of bands I like, good production, experimentation.. but to be honest I felt nothing for most of this album.
Comparing this to and justice for all, there’s a noticeable difference in song structure that makes this one significantly more enjoyable, these are heavy metal prog rock epics, excellent.
Curse you morrisey.. I’ve given one of your band’s album five stars.
Before listening to this one, I thought “great, another mid album from an artist past their prime that tries to recapture their past glory and tricked critics into liking it.” After listening… uh… what? This is fucking wild, absolutely bizarre album and a great one at that. Gotta love a excellent songwriter who’s not afraid to fuck around.
Oooooh. Ok. I get blur now.
I always was confused by them, and how I never really clicked with most of their big singles despite liking britpop and especially loving Damon albarn’s later project, gorrilaz, but this listen helped me understand what I was missing, their singles fit in a lot better when listening to their frankly bizarre albums, I love how strange they get with instrumentation, melody and chord choices. The summary mentions the Beatles and kinks, which I certainly hear, but i also hear madness and cardiacs, which was unexpected, but extremely welcome. I understand why they’re so beloved in the UK.
This album is a microcosm of why grunge is such a weird genre to talk about. Because… it’s not really a genre in the first place? I mean, think about the “big four” of grunge, sure they all have things in common, but think about where they emerged from in terms of rock music
Nirvana came from punk and alternative, Pearl Jam from a more classic rock background, Soundgarden from heavy metal, and the subject of this album, Alice In Chains, I mean, they came from hair metal! Y’know, the thing grunge supposedly killed? And it’s not like you can’t hear it, I can certainly hear the sleaze from Guns N’ Roses and Motley Crüe, just with a much less glamorous coat of paint and some sludgier riffs in odd time signatures. That’s all I really have to say tbh, I wrote of all of this cause I don’t have a ton to say about the actual album, it’s great! I’d have a lot more to say if this was jar of flies.
Beautiful. Maybe it’s cause I’m a nerd but the bardic whimsy Tim has here is nothing but charming and engaging, and his writing is gorgeous.
Very good, probably will only get better with further listens. There’s a song about chess on this one! This album is a nerd’s wet dream
Put me in a flow state, most albums can’t boast that they put me in a flow state, didn’t even notice it had finished, and yes that’s a good thing in my opinion
Every time I hear a good blues rock album on the list my hatred for the black keys grows stronger. By the time their album gets generated for me I should be able to turn Patrick carney into a toad with just my mind!
Actually? Kinda great. I was going into this thinking it was gonna be pretty lame, but I guess I underestimated Aerosmith.
Deserves all the praise it gets, a telltale sign of a great album is if a bunch of bands try to rip it off. Just like nirvana made a bunch of terrible copycats, I can hear all of the insufferable soft indie British bands that tried to follow in their footsteps. Fantastic.
Kind of an English take on country, neat! Might have to listen again but I didn’t really grab my attention. I certainly appreciate what it’s trying to do.
By Jove! These young gents speak so nonchalantly about such horrible crimes such as marijuana inhalation and acts of violence! I must inform the authorities posthaste!
Reminds me of when I played tuba for my high school’s showing of Chicago.
Genuinely a spiritual experience of an album. Holy hell what an absolute destroyer. Motherfuckin’ righteous rust belt rage.
3 excellent musicians make 1 pretty good album
I dunno, the stones are such a tricky band to categorize, cause when they’re great, it’s amazing, and when they’re not.. it’s just.. meh.. and this album had a few greats and a solid amount of meh.
The latter half of the 2010s is one of my least favorite eras of popular music ever, and based on other reviews of this album I was ready to absolutely hate it, but nope, I’m pleasantly surprised, do I think it’s groundbreaking? Probably not, but it’s certainly very good and I appreciate what it’s doing.
Hoooly… I knew the reputation this album has but wow. woooow. This is several times better than I could have expected. These beats are so clean you can eat off of them and the rhymes should be studied in English classes.
I cannot believe this was made in 1967 holy shit. Jimi Hendrix basically invented the 70s.
Appreciate the fusion of electronica and classic Brazilian music
HE SAID IT!! HE SAID THE NAME OF THE ALBUM!!
Unique in all the best ways, lots of piano, organs and other keys which is appreciated, and surprising indebted to gospel. Not to mention the obvious,Joplin’s legendary voice.
Fuck yes sir
He’s got an ineffable charm and a knack for great lyrics, so despite the fact that the instrumentals don’t do much for me, I enjoyed this quite a bit.
75% of my radio consumption as a tween was alt nation, so I heard a lot of shitty imitators of this. It would be hard to put that bias aside, buuut when you have hooks and production this good it’s pretty easy see the true quality.
The fabled dickhead who makes completely middle of the road music. Usually dickheads either makes really good or really bad music.
Truly innovative in every sense, this did not feel like a double album, which is the highest praise you can get from me
Meh, it’s good and I understand the praise, but there’s a reason why their earlier thrash stuff is more acclaimed
Microphone check one two what is this? This album is great but you already knew this.
You ever think about how this came out before thriller?
Kinda weird when the minions showed up but otherwise this album is pretty fantastic
The rock n roll equivalent of ambient music. That being said they’re good players at the very least.
It’s like you smashed every 70s singer songwriter guy into an incomprehensible mush
I know for a fact there are at least 10 other garage rock revival bands on this list, some with multiple albums. There is no reason for this to be here. Giving this a two only because the first song is good and they’re competent musicians.
Genuinely a very beautiful album, sounds ethereal
This is one of those albums where you had to be there to appreciate it in full cause I’m sure this hit a hell of a lot harder when you had Barry manilow and captain and tenille on the radio and you heard this for the first time. To be fair, I grew up with a lot of pop shlock as well, but even though the black eyed peas were on the radio, you could just switch stations and blitzkrieg bop was probably playing. So it doesn’t really hit as hard for me as it probably does for the boomers and gen X’ers. There’s a few good songs here.
Actually I think we can narrow this list down to one album, just listen to this one and you can die, all good. You’ve succeeded, you can die happy. I think every rock band should have a DJ.
Ok in all seriousness I unironically really enjoyed this album, I personally don’t get what’s so repulsive, especially compared to the other nu-metal offerings on this list, maybe a little self serious and corny, but not abhorrent like Mr. Rock, who I’m sure I will have choice words for. Maybe it’s nostalgia but this shit goes hard.
Not at consistently good as elephant, but keeps the same wild and enjoyable energy
The Brits are right on this one. I wish this kind of electronic music persisted but ever since labels have been cracking down on sampling it’s pretty tough to do. Anywho I really enjoyed this, i was expecting something a bit more hip-hop forward, but the first rap verse isn’t till song 3 if I remember correctly? This album is pretty hard to categorize into one thing, it’s like a more upbeat version of trip hop I guess, whatever it is it’s great, and intriguing.
I’ve put off writing this for like a week while I get ready to come back to this challenge and couldn’t come up with any words for this album. I don’t know. It really speaks to me in a special way.
I made a go funk yourself joke a couple albums back with off the wall but it applies even more. It is kinda a glorified jam session but they throw so many ideas at the wall it might as well be musical Jackson pollock. Honestly? It works surprisingly well. Would get funked in all my orifices again
Kinda weird, but the album didn’t really click until the last song when I realized it was about all the aspects of love, starting with sex, obviously, and then ending with a solemn goodbye, with that in mind it really bumps this album up for me, I already knew I was going to give another album of his a five, can’t wait to listen to that one again, but this is fantastic as well and the added context makes this album so much better in my mind.
Usually I like weird stuff but this one straight up made me so anxious I couldn’t finish it. Giving it a two cause I respect what it’s doing
Fantastic combo of various electronic genres, kinda feel like a precursor to mashups with how it recontextualizes other songs. Thoroughly enjoyed.
…I dunno. Is there something about this one I don’t get? I really want to love this band but most of the time they’re good but that’s about it. Enjoyable but forgettable I s’pose
Why would you ever listen to this band noodle for an hour straight on songs you’ve never heard before when you can listen to American beauty which literally came out a year after? I get that live performances are what made the band famous, but I much prefer them when they’re playing songs and not twenty minute solos.
I’m in love with this album. I appreciated red headed stranger, but this album really welcomed me in. There’s something so inviting about the quiet, toned down covers that Willie does here and it feels effortless and almost ethereal sometimes. I wish the snow hadn’t melted a few days ago cause this song is perfect for cuddling while looking out at the snowy city.
Honestly? A little too tame for my tastes. I mostly disagree with the take that electronic is too repetitive but this is just kinda meh.
Quite enjoyed this one but it doesn’t really stick in my mind save for ladies first, no disrespect to her queen. I just enjoy some of her native tongues compatriots more.
This kinda goes. Love me some weird experimental stuff and Cajun jazz influenced psych rock is one hell of a combo.
This is an absolute headbanger. The combination of groove metal with Brazilian instruments is a fantastic choice, but I wish they leaned into it more, it feels like most of the time the more traditional instruments are separate from the metal tracks. Wish they were combined more often. Otherwise great!
Little Richard made the exact same chord progression interesting for 30 minutes and all he had to do was scream, slam on the piano, and hire a bangin’ horn section. Good shit
There’s something here, but I don’t think it ever gets fully realized. I think for the most part this album just plays it too safe, I think if they leaned more into their garage rock and country influences and tried less to sound like the other bands of the time, it’d be a lot better.
Based on the reviews of this album, nobody can seem to agree if it’s good or bad, if it’s too weird or too boring, if it’s too glam rock or not glam rock enough. Personally I loved this album and don’t really get the hate. This is like three doors down from Bowie and everyone (rightfully) loves him! Also the song that sounds like monster mash is good, why would more songs that sound like monster mash be a bad thing?
I feel like I need to come back to this one. It didn’t really grab me in the first have but the second half was quite good and it’s a clear influence on a lot of music I love. Not sure how to feel about it yet. A tentative three stars?
Too much boys for one sitting. Nothing but respect for them and I wouldn’t mind listening to one of these songs if I’m at a party or something but yeesh all of them in a row is grating. I’ve heard great things about Paul’s boutique so hopefully I like that one better!
I enjoyed it except for the parts where the white boy got a lil bluesy with it.
Man. This album is a beast. The whole thing feels like getting suffocated by a wall of guitar riffs and ozzy’s wailing, kind of parallel to the amount of drugs these guys were doing. I imagine these songs sound like how they felt. That’s also not to say they aren’t still headbangers, cause they most certainly are. But there’s many times where the riffs slow down and just swallow you ala she’s so heavy by the Beatles. Black Sabbath are one of a kind.
Yall mind if a white boy gets a little.. *bluesy* with it? Cause I do. It’s not very exciting.
“Hey, what album is next”
“It’s one by Cee lo Green!”
“Oh! Is it a Gnarls Barkley album? Or one with Goodie Mob, or the one that has Fuck You on it?”
“No. It’s the one where him and ludacris interpolate carol of the bells, he raps over an Aphex twin type beat, does slam poetry, and has a song called glockapella”
“what”
The the the the the the the. The the the the the the the the. The the the the the the the! The the the the? The the.
I actually listened to this one separate from the challenge a few months back, not knowing it was on the list. So i went into this relisten already knowing what rating I was gonna give it. This album is absolutely gorgeous, all of the singers are ethereal, the mix of physcadelic rock, folk, and traditional Brazilian music give this album a unique feel that I’ve never seen elsewhere. I should really do a deep dive into Brazilian music, because everything that I have heard I’ve loved.
There’s like three songs on here that sound like truck commercials scored by the black keys and then every other song on here is a beautiful intricate weaving of American blues with Malian music from a group of excellent musicians. It’s like biting into a new food that’s delicious but every few bites it’s nothing but cucumber in your mouth. I personally hate it even though others don’t but also like why is it here because it doesn’t mesh super well with the rest of the dish. Either way I’m glad I learned about it.
This is what I’m here for. Genuinely some of the most beautiful songwriting I’ve ever heard. I need to listen to everything this band has ever released.
All around meh. A few hitters but most was in one ear and out the other.
Hate. Let me tell you how much I’ve come to hate the black keys. There are approximately 10,000 microbreweries and sports bars in the greater statistical area of northeast Ohio. If Tighten Up was played across every single nanoangstrom of those establishments, on every alt rock station, on every truck commercial, on every bumper between the coverage of Browns games, in every dingy record store in an old brick building, that would not equal one billionth of the hate I feel for this band in this microinstant. This fake blues band, this whiter white stripes wannabe, this insult to the city of Akron that somehow every other person around me thinks is good because they’re from the same area as us. I cannot begin to describe how often I’ve had to hear this band for the past fifteen years of my life. Hate. Hate.
Rating is mostly down to personal taste and knowing their career trajectory. They’ve got much better stuff in the tank.
Nick drake made a perfect album with two instruments, his voice and his guitar on Pink Moon, and here he made a perfect album with every instrument they had in the studio that day. What a fabulous songwriter no matter what situation.
Nothing I love more than gettin a nice girthy helping of Steely Dan
An apt title, cause this would probably scare the shit out of a lot of folks back in the 70s. I especially loved the song that was a paranoid rant about animals. Talking heads are just a blast man.
Very solid record all around. I prefer a more experimental brand of jazz but there’s nothing to complain about here.
Morrissey pays tribute to the generation he inspired by ripping off their music in a one man broadway show where he complains about politics. Turns out listening to Morrisey mope around when the songwriting isn’t fantastic gets pretty grating especially when it’s TWELVE SONGS. Makes me want to listen to the smiths instead.
Fantastic songwriting in a style I adore with points that are still salient today. Change doesn’t happen overnight. Keep fighting.
This album makes me wanna say hell yeah brother. Which is something I don’t normally say but it feels warranted. These guys are just better than most of their contemporaries. At least at by this point in their career
Brilliant is pretty apt for this album. Everything down to the title and the cover is almost inquisitive and curious. I feel like a noir detective listening to this. It’s off kilter and strange but still well put together in that classic 50s jazz style way before the genre imploded into beautiful chaos in the 60s and 70s. Love it. I’m glad someone with as badass a name as thelonious became a renowned musician.
White boy spits worst bars ever, asked to leave blues night at the Applebees
I’m a sucker for a goat post punk album, and to no surprise these goths absolutely delivered. Siouxie’s voice is absolutely entrancing and the guitar work is some of the strangest and most transfixing I’ve ever heard. This album is also surprisingly ahead of its time, some of the instrumental remind me of alternative music that would come 30 years later. This album rules, it’s like if the B-52s were witches and they were hunting you through a dark London forest.
It’s like listening to a cover band at a margaritaville. The songs are fine, the arrangements do absolutely nothing, and it’s vaguely island themed while still being rock. Boring!
Daft punk dared to ask the question on their divisive 2005 album Human After All: what if dance music hurt to listen to and it was badass? Although the punks crafted a project that not everyone enjoyed, the fellow Frenchmen Justice proved naught two years later that yes, that is in fact a good idea and is badass.
Hmmmm. I dunno. Certainly didn’t hate it. But it felt a little too pretentious for me. Like I’ve said with a lot of other punk adjacent stuff, I’m sure this would’ve done a lot more for me back in the 70s, but I did like some of the songwriting and I think smith has a very fun voice. But some of this kinda felt like slam poetry over rock riffs. All around meh?
As a zoomer, a lot of music like this sits in a total blind spot for me, cause I did not exist when most of it was made, and my parents were not into this kind of music. So I barely know anything about this stuff, let alone actually hearing it. My dad didn’t really get back into modern music till I could walk, and the stuff from the 2000s that I’ve gone back to listen to is mostly electronic and hip hop, or harder rock music. So a lot of this alternative soft adjacent kind of music that doesn’t get played on the radio has gone completely under the radar for me. Will all that being said, with all my love for other singer songwriters types (hell, I discovered badly drawn boy and Joanna newsom from this list!) I really thought I’d like this more. But it doesn’t do much for me. Maybe it’s too theatric? I can’t really but my finger on it but it’s just not my thing I guess. Gay Jesus kinda rules though.
Was gonna give my whole yadda yadda spiel about how punk doesn’t do much for me again but there’s some pretty damn good written songs on here! Too bad they’re called… that. “Master race rock” absolutely slams but I can’t be saying those words in that order in a public space. That being said there’s still some punk fluff that doesn’t do it for me but this is certainly one of the better ones so far! Sorry punks fans I just don’t get it.
Beats are immaculate, rhymes are a little underbaked, Q-tip is really the only one rapping on most songs. All of those issues get resolved a year later. Still pretty damn good.
I appreciate that they don’t waste any time. Punk just really isn’t my thing so this three is less a marker of quality and mostly just personal enjoyment. I had more fun with this one than the Sex Pistols or the Ramones. Is that just cause it’s shorter? Maybe. But I think it’s got a bit more oomph to it as well.
You combine a fantastic songwriter with a backing track of jazz, folk, and soft rock and you’ve got yourself a damn good blueprint for an album, reminds me of steely Dan if the lyrics were better
This rootin, tootin, outlaw shootin, bronco scootin, studded leather bootin cowboy sure can tell a damn good story! Only complaint is that the songs are repetitive, but that tends to happen with storytelling songs, since they’re focused more on the story than the musical ideas. YEEE HAW!
Uh… I have no idea what to say about this one honestly. I think it’s cool that it’s here, but i doubt I ever wanna listen to this again.
You have covers of two fantastic classic songs of the 70s on here, both that hold their own against the originals, and the Isley brothers were like “nah, that’s too easy” so they made That Lady, which blows them out of the water with an atomic bomb made of electric guitar and falsetto vocals.
Apparently I just don’t care for punk adjacent stuff UNLESS it’s from Michigan, then I reeeaally fuck with it. Not as consistently as the white stripes or Mc5, but I might just need to relisten.
Unless I find something that totally blows me away, this will probably be my favorite album when I’m done with this journey. None of the other albums in my top five are on this list. There something magical about this album and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I first listened to it.
This is the album that can heal the generational divide, gen X got into it when it came out, millennials rediscovered it when pavement was releasing stuff in the 2000s, and zoomer got into the band because harness your hopes went viral on TikTok. We gotta put gen alpha onto this early. Can they put pavement into the next K-pop demon hunters? Whether this album saves the world or not it fuckin rocks.
A lot of the longer lived new wave acts got a flair for the dramatics in the late 80s/early 90s. And I gotta say the beginning songs got my hopes up that this was gonna be smiths/depeche mode caliber. But nah, it’s just pretty alright. I get why some folks love it though.
I think if you cut the fat from this and I Should Coco you could mash em together into an inarguably fantastic album that deserves to be on the list. As it is, I liked both of them, but there’s absolutely no need for two Supergrass albums on the list.
Based on this album and other similar ones I’ve already heard on this list, the only reason Madchester was ever put on a higher pedestal than other 90s dance-adjacent stuff is cause it was being made by (PRESUMABLY) white dudes with guitars.
Not to say this is bad, it’s pretty pleasant, if not forgettable.
To be frank I would’ve much rather listened to his cheesy teenybopper stuff cause that’s a hell of a lot more catchy and interesting. And you know, that’s the stuff HES IN THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME FOR. Meh I’m being over dramatic it’s just mediocre.
After a certain point the vibrato in his voice actually started to piss me off. Saturday night fever better be on this damn list
Pleasant, but some of the deep cuts are forgettable, I listened to murmur first out of this band and so far it’s my favorite, but this is still great and a step above document.
The age old question is whether this album or songs in the key of life is better, on one hand, they have their key differences in terms of themes, musical decisions and length. On the other hand, why pit two bad bitches against each other?
Yknow, usually I think bands reach perfection via honing their formula and combining adventurous ideas with skilled songwriting. The police is like miking adult contemporary glop with experimental bullshit in a stand mixer on high and sometimes it spits out the best songs you ever heard and sometimes it’s too much of one of the two ingredients
I say this with alll the love and respect in the world to tribe, this album is so fun and enjoyable it makes the low end theory sound like harsh noise in comparison
Gets a four cause I don’t think I’d listen to it in full again but it fucking rips, this is quieter than most punk albums and it’s way rougher and abrasive and yet also much more pleasant to listen to. Not to mention it’s also very politically motivated, which I always respect. Big up to these guys, a little samey, but that’s admissible when you practically invent a new sound.
Something magical about an album that is so deeply discordant and yet every song enraptures me with how beautiful it is. It’s clear that every moment of dissonance and odd vocal inflection is intentional if not directly planned. There’s the tired old phrase that “art should comfort the disturb and disturb the comforted” which I think is a little silly but if there was ever an album to make that a reality it’s this. I remember nearly instance I’ve thought about the album for an extended period of time let alone listened to it. Love it
