The atmosphere achieved by this album is nothing short of brilliant, especially considering its genre. No electronics or funky effects, just expert instrumentation and layering.
The vocals are the more obvious stand out. His voice is smooth as butter, setting the standard for this type of music. Wonderful background vocals as well. So much emotion behind it. Great lyrics as well, political and unflinching, while also feeling personal and intimate.
While it's obviously a seminal R&B record drawing from jazz and other historically African American genres, I feel a lot of influence in modern rap and hip hop. People like Kendrick Lamar must have listened to a lot of Marvin Gaye.
A lot of the tracks flow right into each other, more of that jazzy influence that makes it feel like a cohesive story.
I'm blown away by all of the different instruments. Stellar percussion. Moments where the strings, flute, sax, horns, get to stand out. And then his voice is an instrument in itself.
It's a masterpiece, plain and simple.
It's impressive how powerful the songs can be with such simple instrumentation. Sure there's a horn section and an organ, but so much of it is driven by drum and bass.
The vocal performance has a chokehold on the audience. The screams are captured so nicely on the recording. At times there's this conversation going between James and the audience, they're participants in the performance. Special.
The band is tight, electric, like there was a current running through them and each hit was a burst of energy.
Vocal control is off the charts good and gets better as the performance goes on. Gritty when it needs to be, clean when it needs to be. It can be soft and intimate one moment and blaring the next.
The moment he launches into the medley of his best known song is so much fun, you can feel the thrill sweeping the audience. It's a textbook on how to design a live performance.
Obviously there's tons of great musicality on display here and some great bits of songwriting, but this album isn't essential listening because of the music. It's the experience that you get to be a part of. Live performance at its peak.
This album is obviously a landmark in the funk/groove genre. It doesn't resonate with me the same as others in adjacent genres as I don't connect with the songwriting itself. There isn't a ton that feels memorable from a catchy standpoint. However, the vibes are immaculate. I read somewhere that it's "more progressive rock than critics like to admit" and I feel that for sure. Sometimes it feels like if Jimi Hendrix joined Pink Floyd.
Unfortunately the repetitive nature doesn't vibe with me as strongly. But the bass and guitar playing and the groove generated by the drums make it engaging. The bass especially is just crazy good, not a ton of albums have that attribute but maybe in funk it's not possible to have a great album without great bass.
For its instrumental mastery, vibes being created, bringing this kind of music forward, and the tight interplay of the band, along with what I'm sure was major influence on the genre, it's easy to see why this album is on the list. As far as something that moved me and makes me want to recommend it to others, it falls a little short of the others. I'm glad I listened to it, but I don't imagine returning very often.
What a perfect sound. The original pop punk band? Sets a standard on how to blend the punk sensibilities into something mainstream and fun.
Beyond that, they are clearly inspired by all the other genres of the day, disco, new wave, etc. And a lot of the songwriting could receive only minor production updates and not sound out of place today. There's a timeless quality to a lot of it.
Debbie's voice is so great, doesn't even need harmonies or anything complicated, just enjoyable to listen to.
A very good album. Maybe even great. A few songs did stand out but ultimately it didn't blow me away as something fresh in its genre. Often felt like an evolved Nirvana record, which is a compliment. But rarely did it feel like something that was pushing us forward. I'll think of it fondly and probably return to some of these songs, but when we're talking about the greatest albums ever made it's tough for me to count this super high.
I'm nearly inclined to give this 5 stars because it's crazy how influential it was. There are sounds solidified on this album that resonated in punk and punk-adjacent music for 30 years. What I mean by that is, of course we're still hearing these sounds and ideas today but for 30 years after this album came out it was still part of the cutting edge and mainstream sound of punk rock. With the exception of maybe Nirvana, The Clash might be the most important band to debut after 1975. The only reason this album doesn't get 5 stars is because London Calling exists and does everything this album does, but better.
I wish I had time to really dig into my thoughts here and listen 2-3 more times to do so. For now I'll just say that it might have the best 3 opening tracks of any album of its ilk, that includes Bruce and the like. The Edge is on another level here, Bono has fully matured, and the band makes simple instrumentation sound like an orchestra.
In the context of this list I'm a little tempted to give this one 3 stars because the songwriting isn't amazing beyond a few songs. But with the context - coming out a year after Kurt died/In Utero, Dave doing everything on it, and a lot of the sound working to define the next decade of alternative music, makes it a landmark release. And the sound and feel of everything is so so good.
Really close to giving this a 5/5. A masterclass in beats and rapping. I know a lot of it isn't his most famous stuff, but this is some of my personal favorite stuff I've heard from him. The thing holding his albums back for me is that they're too long. If it was a solid 10-12 tracks, less than 40 minutes, just the best stuff, I probably would give this a 5 but I feel that there's filler here and particularly in the second half things don't flow as well.
I started this album and thought it was dumb, but once I got into the groove, read up on him a little bit, I started to get it pretty quickly.
Still, it's not resonating with me in a profound way. There are moments that have stellar singing and I like the avant garde feeling of a lot of it, probably setting up a lot for future artists. So based on the influence it must have had I need to give it some props. But the actual songs and music are rarely stand out to me, unfortunately. A couple bangers for sure, but it's more the willingness to go absurd or creative that stands out than the songwriting.
The best way I can describe this is - it's their The River. Double album, connected storytelling, not many incredible standout tracks, but all together it's incredibly strong and lets them experiment and weave. Fantastic album.
These three voices together are pure magic. However, I was a bit tempted to give this 3 stars because the songs don't really pop, can feel a little bland at times, and there's nothing genre pushing in here. However, I have to give it props for being the best example of expert country pop vocals. Their harmonies are too good for me to put it down. I'd probably give it 3.5 if I could.
I'm rounding this up to a 4 because I really love how well produced it is, the different voices (literal and metaphorical) heard throughout the album. Great instrument sounds and use of keyboards in an excellent way, not just as background. The songwriting isn't groundbreaking and the influences are pretty obvious, Pink Floyd being the most glaring, while also riding the line of Yacht Rock. But I can't deny it's enjoyable and exemplifies this era of music so well. It's a 3.5 to me, if there was one more breakout song I'd feel more enthusiastic about 4 stars.
The beats are so clean, the overall production smooth as glass. It feels like less sampling and more like composition. The opposite of Wu Tang and other contemporaries, but still part of the same story. Even when they are using samples, it's so damn clean. The rapping is such a great bridge between the late 80s/early 90s stuff and what we would get in the late 90s into the 2000s. Obviously very influential, a turning point. Just a stellar album all the way around. Maybe a little bit of filler, but not enough to ding it. He's obviously one of the best rappers, incredible rhyming.
While I'm not giving this 5 stars, it might be the one I'm most interested in returning to. The ethereal sounds, sometimes bordering on the Daft Punk era of EDM, other times sounding like Angelo Badalamenti, and often tapping into the other Northern European sounds, it's a journey.
I really wanted to love this album, and at the beginning I was into it, but I had trouble getting through it unfortunately. That could have something to do with my personal tastes, but it's meaningful. I see this as the perfect transition album between 80s hair metal and 90s heavy metal. It's clear that bands like Avenged Sevenfold worship these guys, and that they were really trying to take the things they liked about the 80s and inject it with raw energy, making metal abrasive again. Dimebag kills it and I love the sound. It's just that the songs aren't as gripping as I'd hope. It's an odd one too because depending on how a song was striking me I considered 2 or 4 stars, so I think 3 is the right answer for me.
I wasn't sure I was into this at the beginning, then it clicked into place for me. A tor de force in angry girl rock, the attitude of fuck it I'll do what I want, say what I want, not worried about convention or being easy to listen to. I really think it kicked open the door for a lot of other bands and artists that would emerge throughout the rest of the 90s and beyond. And the fact that this came out in the early 90s when there was really a derth of good rock music is also striking. Unfortunately, I did find that it started to overstay its welcome. 18 songs is just so much, I'd have rather listened to 12 really strong songs. Still, have to bump it to 4 stars.
Looking at other's reviews, this is one of the most polarizing albums, and I actually see both perspectives. It can certainly be vapid and over-produced at times, giving us sort of the worst of metal and the worst of rap all at the same time. However, it being accessible for the mainstream is an accomplishment. The big songs on this album hit hard, being catchy and aggressive, often packing an emotional punch. There are some weaker tracks to be sure. I understand that this polished edginess rubs people the wrong way, and I'd hesitate to call myself the biggest LP fan. But Chester's vocals are visceral and that's what keeps me coming back.
I liked this album fine, especially the first couple tracks. But to me it was just a sort of cheesy distillation of a lot of stuff that already exists or that is just better. Phil Collins, Billy Joel, Huey Lewis, the list goes on of more interesting people in a similar genre. Some good songs and moments, but just fell short of what I'd want from this list.
Morrissey is a paradox. He's simultaneously old fashioned and modern. He's cheesy and edgy. Safe and daring. I know there are albums of his that I think are a little better than this one, but it exemplifies why he's reached this level. One of the most unique and specific lyric styles of anyone in his realm. I do think the album is a little bloated, but still great nonetheless.
It's an excellent album. Michael Stipe is a criminally underrated singer/frontman. I don't have a whole lot else to say other than the vocals were enthralling throughout. The last 4 songs aren't quite as strong as the first two thirds of the album, but that's not enough to pull it down, especially since I do like the last song quite a bit. A unique album for its time and just a great listen.
I'll start by saying that there's no way to give this album 3 stars. It's either amazing or just bad music. I have to go on the lower end because I didn't feel like there was enough of an attempt to bring more cohesion to what are very interesting sounds and techniques. That's probably part of the point, but that doesn't get it done for me. As an art installation, an experiment with equipment and soundscapes, it's a very cool piece of work. I don't have a problem with it being on this list or anything like that, and I'm sure thousands of people hear it with the right mindset and at the right time of their life and it's deeply inspirational for them. Trent Reznor and Johnny Greenwood I'm sure were influenced either directly or at least indirectly. But it's missing the mark for me to feel like what they did holds weight. Maybe if I knew German?
Wow! I knew the name, but did not know that this is what it was all about! If I didn't know better, I would have assumed this was the late 70s or even much later. The fact that they were this aggressive and raw, but also tight, at this point in history, is so awesome. There's a mix of jazz, R&B, blues, hard rock, and more on here.
What a refined sound, a great culmination of the previous 15 years or so of music. The vocals and performances are perfection. Unfortunately though I don't feel the songwriting is strong enough for this to be a top top album. For that reason I want to give it 3 stars. A couple of the better songs are covers and not particularly interesting covers. When compared to something like Stevie Wonder, this feels a bit ordinary. These guys are legends though.
Ethereal. Chilling. Entrancing. Imaginative. Genre-spanning. I would put this in the 4.5 stars category I think. Not as widely appealing and era defining as what I think a 5 star should be.
I dunno, this is without a doubt a good album. I'm just not feeling how it could be considered leagues above others of its genre. The second half is sorta weak as well. I dig this band, there is good stuff going on. But it doesn't feel like a breakthrough or a must listen.
What a cool album. Definitely falls in line with the approach of The Beatles, ELO, Flaming Lips, and so on that explore the intersection between dreamy psychedelic vibes and utterly listenable pop rock. I wish there were a few more stand out tracks, but they do a great job and I love the production.
I guess I appreciate this album, but it's all over the place. I can see how certain aspects would be influential, but it's more the overall approach and the willingness to go more daring and delving into jazz than it is an actual great execution of those ideas. And the 19 minute jam to end the album doesn't make for a super listenable experience. Still, a bunch of great musicians that do some interesting things and make an album that uniquely theirs. I can't hate on it, it just doesn't reach the heights of a lot of its contemporaries.
I don't know enough about jazz to give a detailed review, but Miles is always magical.
4.5 stars. Such excellent early wrap, feels extremely influential.
At the beginning I was pretty blown away and ready to consider 5 stars, but the middle started to sound pretty samey so it gets a very solid 4 stars from me. I did enjoy the last couple tracks a lot as well. So clean, so fresh, a great culmination of what came before while pushing into the future and becoming a phenomenon.
This is one of the ones I have a little trouble with being on this list. Without a doubt it's a very good record, great to hear a blues legend doing his thing late in his life and the collabs are fun. But at the end of the day, it's a retro throwback sort of album, not something that was current, genre pushing, innovative, inspirational, etc. So its place in music history and influence get low marks from me. But I like the sound and the way it feels a lot so it gets a good score. If I had more room to work with, probably a 7.5.
Greatest male vocalist of all time?
I just don't know. Maybe it's bad timing, but I was very bored with this album. It should be right up my alley, but it lacks the magic of others in its genre.
I do understand that this is an impactful album for people, and there are plenty of songs and moments that are gems, but for some reason it was a struggle for me to get through. 3.5 stars.
I just love this album sonically, the mix of acoustic instruments and electronic programming, sampling, scratching. Such great vibes. The rapping is really good too, I'm not sure why he's not more popular.
4.5 stars easy. That first song, Black Sabbath on Black Sabbath by Black Sabbath, might be the most important metal song ever written. It defines so much about the sound of the genre moving forward and so many other sounds and cultures probably don't emerge without it. The overall sound of the album is incredible considering this is 1970. As it goes, it gets a little boring and becomes more of this Led Zeppelin psychedelic blues thing without the darkness of some of the earlier tracks.
Pretty much impossible not to give this 5 stars. The bookend tracks are amongst the best of this genre/era, shades of Thunder Road/Jungleland as far as storytelling and thematic strength. The instruments across the album are so freaking tight. Having different voices and feeling is also a major strength for them. Pretty Maids All in a Row and Try and Love Again didn't hit as hard as the rest of the songs, but I'd like to listen to this album more frequently and really let them hit because there's still stuff to love.
It's just so cheesy. The uber clean production makes it very listenable and there are some nice tracks here, but it's just somehow lesser than the sum of its parts. Lyrics are hokey, it's all of the worst parts of Brit Pop. I thought about 2 stars, but the musicians and production gave it the extra star.
Unlike some of the other albums, this one feels greater than the sum of its parts. Only a few songs stood out, but almost every song was good to very good. I'm surprised they aren't talked about more, I'm looking forward to digging into this band a bit.
man, I wanted to like this album but it just didn't do it for me. Took forever to get through it because I was so bored with it. Had plenty of elements I thought were cool, but there are others that I feel do the same thing much better.
It's not my favorite sort of album to listen to, but it's pretty unbelievable in terms of the sounds and production work. Jimi with the guitar is pure magic. I've always said that his voice is one of the things that holds him back a bit, but I enjoyed it a lot more in the context of listening to a full album. His songwriting not being off the charts is what holds it back from a 5 though, still just excellent musicianship.
Initially I was sort of bored with this, feeling like more of the typical 60s folk rock that had brought them to the forefront. But there are a lot of cool little production things, more interesting lyrics, and an interesting development of their sound. The fact that it came out the same year as Sgt. Pepper's still kinda makes it look like a little league swing while the Beatles are blasting homers, but it's still a very cool listen. I'd give it 3.5.
Man oh man I loved this. My interest in post-rock has been creeping up in recent years and this feels like a definitive post-rock record. The genre influences are diverse without being too kooky, things feel tastefully woven together. It's a many-colored cloth of musical expression that took me on a journey.
