Excellent musicianship, of course. Structure with no structure. I’m guessing this set the stage for great jam bands of the 70’s and beyond. But, in the end, jams are indulgent & you have to be willing and ready to go along for the ride.
This album introduces the REM sound. But they refine that sound in later albums. It’s a good effort, but here they sound like a very interesting and talented bar band that hasn’t yet figured out what its point is.
Another “here’s a new sound” album. Listening to Bowie is always interesting and a joy. But he hasn’t yet come into his own on this album.
Fantastic opening and closing with some high points in between. Not a “must have” as an album because it’s a bit overindulgent in places. It actually feels like the soundtrack to an interesting stage-play. Great, but not as funky as WAR can get.
Beautiful, musical, & sharp from beginning to end. Has a strong through-line (like an album should). Everything is Everything, and this album is everything. Desert-island album.
Cyndi Lauper can sing!! I don’t necessarily love her voice — but lady hits those notes, every time. This album so very creative & it showcases Lauper’s huge & diverse musical range — it could have been named “She’s so unusually talented” Also, the album made an important contribution to female empowerment in the 80’s through 90’s — not to mention its influence on the lgbtq movement. The album could also have been named “Everyone is so Unusual & Just Wants to Have Fun (show them respect)” This is a powerhouse compilation with some great songs. I’m not the target audience and, i prefer smoother vocal styles, so it’s not a desert island album for me. But this is creative transgressive and well executed pop music. Great album — much respect.
This album is politically active & eerily prescient. REM foresees the growing corruption of politics into warring factions weaponizing misinformation and the cynicism & disdain for political engagement that results. It may also (unwittingly?) encourage the anti-intellectual nihilism (“If you believe they put a man on the moon”) that started in the Reagan 80’s & came to define American politics in the 2010’s. If Murmur suffers from REM not yet having found its purpose, Automatic for the People suffers from the opposite — its delivery is a bit too “on the nose” and earnest. The lyrics are all audible, and in some cases, there is no effort to be poetic. This is a moment where an edgy band lost its musical edge for a moment. There is inspired music here, though. If you Believe is *such* a great song! A solid album that people should hear for its insightful political commentary — but not “great” as an album.
What you get when you mix whiskey, red bull, & misogyny in an angry & maybe not-so-nice “bro”? This gets a 2 (“Did not need to hear this but I got all the way through”). There are a few good grooves, and some interesting lyrics. And the album clearly inspired a decade+ of imitators. But, most of the tracks sound similar — guitars layered over a sinister bass drone (which never achieves the dark vibe of, say, Deep Purple) with gravelly-voiced dude belting out his anger/pain/wounding. They do a good job doing what they do— i can understand why this is an influential album — but it’s overwrought, humorless, and repetitive.
Sonic wonderland! Sharp rhymes, cutting insights, slick samples, non-stop rhythms with tight transitions. Serious messages wrapped in creativity and humor. What more can you ask from an album? An essential classic.
I can’t hear Ray Charles sing without smiling. And this album is influential because it was such a departure from Charles’s usual genre. But the arrangements on this album — all sweeping strings & stilted choruses — are super dated and out of place. The same kind of arrangement works and sounds so natural on the Billie Holiday album in this collection— but here, it’s a painful distraction from a great performer. It’s a 3 on the strength of Ray Charles’s singing and playing and on execution of the concept—reinterpreting country/western songs in a very different style.
So much diversity on this album that it’s hard to find a throughline. It opens with a great rap piece (Dance or Die) and migrates through some really smart R&B (Locked Inside), though it’s hidden under a too standard pop melody and production. Then we’re on to what might be a Bond theme (Sir Greendown) + some very proper-sounding British torch songs (Oh, maker). Symphonic pieces are mixed in with tunes that give Pharrel (Tightrope) & Outkast a run for the money. Definitely hear some of Bowie’s influence, which is well applied. It’s a lot. But, Monáe is so talented, her delivery is so energetic, and the production is generally so interesting, that it makes me want to stick with it and understand what she’s up to. It’s a high 3, verging on a 4 — but I might come back to this and raise the score.
How did i miss this growing up? I guess I was just put off by Ozzie’s shtick? (And I’m not a big fan if his voice). But man, this album rocks! Tremendous licks & great musicianship all around (but, Ozzie’s voice 🙄). Black Sabbath was clearly leagues beyond the many imitators that followed. Needed to hear this great album before I died (4⭐️), but not sure it’s coming to the desert island with me. But maybe…?
Nice sounds, nice songs. This album is in my core genre, but there’s not a lot that’s surprising about it. I like it (3) but, I’ll take Neil Young to the desert island instead.
Tasting notes include The Clash, INXS, Peter Gabriel/Genesis, and do i detect a whiff of LCD Soundsystem? But this doesn’t hold a candle to any of those artists. I could not get through this album, but that might be partially due to my current setting — if i was dancing at a party, club, concert, I’d might appreciate this sound. But, listening to it closely for musical entertainment, as a whole album, straight through — no thanks. (1). [note — this listening experience stuck with me in a bad way, so i had to come back to downgrade.it to a 1).
Some bangers in here. Production is highest level. The youthful flip flop between sexual naivety and aggression comes across as a little dated now. We’re living in a different world musically. A three for me.
You can tell this album is a 5 in the first :30 seconds
That voice! She could sing the phone book and it would be a 5. But it’s a great album in its own right — nothing is forced. Even the dated orchestral arrangements are on point and work well with her delivery. I can’t say how influential Ms Holliday has been, because frankly, there’s never been anything like her before or since. This is coming to the desert island with me. An emphatic 5.
A great concept album that’s well executed. The music is great too, although a lot of the pieces are there simply to move the plot along. Undeniably influential on rock operas and concept albums that followed (eg, the Wall).
Seems like a great and influential classic in the rave scene. Very interesting samples mixed over endless industrial beats. But this is not music for sitting around and listening to — it’s music for dancing. Hard to score against music intended fir a different purpose. I’ll give it a 3, but could be a four based on its influence in the club/dance/rave scene. Or it could be a 2 because you just can’t listen to a whole album of this stuff repeatedly.
Ugh. I hate this sound. I think the Smiths might be a major reason that I stopped listening to pop music in the late 80’s and 90’s. I mean, the instruments are played well and the underlying music is fine. But that crooning, preening, emo “tra la la,” talk-singing that is the same on every song is SO grating. Plus, you can tell the lead singer doesn’t care about the rest if the music as his vocals are disconnected from the rest of the mysic in almost every imaginable way (rhythmically, at the sound mixing level, melodically). It’s a 1.
Solid modern R&B musically, hi production value, backing lyrics that are straight porn. I don’t need the graphic play by play of sex acts with my R&B. Not sure what got this on the list other than shock value. I realize many many bands have nasty lyrics and themes — but the metaphors, word play, & double entendre make it more interesting than this.
Good fun rock and roll (Alternative Rock) Sounds like an (better) inspiration for the Rembrandts. Maybe it laid the foundation for the “Garden State” sound? Guitar work sounds very Boston (the band/album) to me. Also, the REM influence is clear, but with “surf rock band” energy.
Cartoonishly simple music and overwrought lyrics. Most songs sound the same and the others are barroom anthems. Lead singer has pipes, but almost all lyrics are spoken rather than sung. Still, it’s better executed than i thought it would be.
This is a great album — sounds better in headphones than i imagined it would. Good studio artistry happening here. Not really my style of music — over-earnest, overproduced, too poppy. But it’s a solid 3.
Kings of Leon have a sound. The sound is layered guitars over propulsive rhythms. Sometimes they do really good things with that sound — other times it’s boring.
Important because… early Björk. Lyrics are kinda hilarious. She’s great and the music is interesting. But not sure I’ll listen to the whole album again. Solid 3.
A classic. So influential on the rap and rock that followed. Rhymes and rhythms are *tight*. On the downside, it’s definitely “of an era” that’s passed, so a little dated. But it’s still great! A 4. Will listen to it again.
A crooner, with an influential sound. Seems like the basis of a lot of modern country that i do not like, though this is basically just songs from a singer/songwriter. Doesn’t stand up against Johnnie Cash, Merle Haggard, or Hank Williams.
The Who really love the concept album. Unfortunately, their songwriting does not always reach the heights of their imagination. There are some gems here, and the sound effects prefigure autotune and digital voiceovers. I’m down with the anti commercialization, but I’m not buying this album. It’s a 2.
Musically interesting. Mostly torch-songs. Worth another listen.
This album is extraordinarily creative music, laid over a blues-rock chassis. I feel like every rock, modern pop song i’ve heard since this album is somehow contained in these songs. Not all the songs are easy to listen to, and Vleit’s voice is not super pleasant. But this is good — really good!
In the early days of Pandora, I found that the playlist for all my stations would converge to the Black Keys. I liked what I heard, but never chose to listen to them proactively. Why?!?! The Black Keys are like Doritos for my ears — designed in some chemical laboratory in New Jersey to be the perfect mix of rock, blues, and soul. Always grooving hard, but remaining in the pocket. Nothing is forced. 5 stars.
A great album of fantastic songs. Dylan is unmatched in the song-writing department. But he definitely is matched in the singing department, which is why so many of his songs become popular hots when covered by those who can sIng. It’s a 4, for sure — but it’s not recommended for heavy rotation.
Elvis is the Bob Dylan of the garage-pop genre. A truly amazing song-writer. He’s not a tremendous vocalist but he’s better than many and the passion he has fir his characters is obvious and endearing. This album lacks the recognizable hits on many of his albums — but he’s channeling Roy Orbison, REM, and others into his world of loveable ruffians. It’s a 3, but might be a 4 on a second listen.