Ooh today is gonna be a good day. Honestly didn’t start off as amazing as I was expecting. It obviously began with the great hit Come Together which is of course a great start and a great song but I think I’ve heard that song enough to where it’s kind of lost much of its greatness to me. Something is of course also an amazing follow up and Maxwell’s Silver Hammer did not disappoint either. But then Oh! Darling came on and I was impressed. That song hit. That’s when I knew this album was something special. I don’t think a better song could also have been written about an Octopus’s Garden so I must applaud the band for that. The ceiling for such a song is still pretty low hahaha. But now I’m kinda mad though cuz upon hearing I Want You (She’s So Heavy) I’m honestly wondering where have half of these Beatles songs been my entire life. Like this song is BUS and I frickin grew up on Beatles, like I heard this band a BUTT ton growing up and know all of the hits by heart and you’re telling me I was deprived access to these absolute bangers like Oh! Darling and I Want You (She’s So Heavy). Genuinely upset, but also so glad I get to experience it today now for the very first time. Ahh and then the number one hit of all time, Here Comes The Sun, I hadn’t heard this song in so long when the happy-go-lucky guitar began playing it was like a warm blanket of good times and nostalgia flooded me. Overplayed and overloved as it may be, you cannot deny the amazing song that it is. It is truly a well needed message of hope this world needed and still needs more than ever. Listening to it literally feels like the sun is coming, I feel a warm rush over my body like the sun really bathes my skin and a vision of better times appears. The album then moves onto Because, a sweet song of love with some cute and clever lyrics I enjoyed. Did not expect that fun little switch up in You Never Give Me Your Money, I liked it cuz otherwise I was about to be like lowkey this song is feeling kinda boring. The Beatles got it though, I’m learning they definitely know how to make a song. Sun King is a warm and lovely transition followed by the fun short skit-like song of Mean Mr. Mustard. The nonstop smooth transitioning of short song into short song at this point of the album is really interesting to me. It works really well in the album and provides a really interesting segment. Really fun vocal deliveries in Golden Slumbers from Paul I greatly enjoyed. Things feel like they start to build up into something grandiose with the orchestral and dramatic vibes of Carry That Weight. It’s intense and suspenseful. And it’s all so beautifully resolved in The End. So apropos, I love it. And with great, albeit simple, lyrics to end it all off: “in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.” A great reminder and really drives the point of this album in so many ways. First the basic and blatant one, that we must love. Although a simple reminder, it is a much needed one. Its a reminder that has aged like wine, all the more needed the more and more this world has progressed. If anything, this album is more relevant for this reason today than it was even upon its creation. The other lesson I learned from this album is from its simplicity. The instrumentation, the lyrics, the vocals, all of it, are so incredibly simple and the themes too, they are all so simple, and yet in their simplicity there is so much meaning and beauty. I mean there is a massive stretch in this album of tiny short 2 minute or less songs that just blend into each other so well and form a tight and cohesive and enjoyable part of the album. But the songs are so short and so simple. Nothing is inaccessible and nothing is hard to understand and thats what makes this album so wide reaching, influential, and just profound. A great album and certainly one for the ages. Also bonus points for arguable the greatest album cover art of all time. Incredibly iconic and infinitely influential.

I’m in awe. Words cannot describe the album experience I just had. I sobbed when I finished listening. Tears literally fell from my eyes. Leonard Cohen does not miss, even at 82. Especially not at 82. I think this is actually my favorite album I have had the privilege of listening to so far on this list. What a stunning and just perspective altering work of art.

I mean this is just a 5 star album through and through. Home of countless classic bops and grooves, I couldn’t help but smile or dance listening through the entire double LP. Literally walking while listening to it I think I had an actual spring in my step. There’s certainly a reason this album gets all the praise it does. For a man who had no sight, he sure had a whole lot of vision. Okay holy cow I get the Stevie Wonder hype completely now. Dang these are truly songs written in the key of life, it feels like in each of his songs he tunes into some part of my soul and just sits there and lets me explore it along to the bodacious vibes he so graciously gifts me.

The rock organ has completely lost all appeal to me. Also I prefer chives.

Edgy, provocative, and humorous. An album that leaves me feeling strange and rather disoriented. Certainly never a dull moment. Where Is My Mind? stood out to me.

My first experience with reggae and I can see the appeal, however I’m not sure how much its my thing. Some great tracks I really enjoyed while others felt boring and redundant. The last two were my faves, High Tide or Low Tide and All Day All Night.

Ooooh baby no way, third album in and it’s not only one I’ve already heard but absolutely one of my favorite albums of all time and even one of the albums that really led to me diving head first into music. This album is fundamental to my music taste. It’s been over half a century since this masterpiece came out and still nothing has even come close to recreating its beauty and artistry. Dylan is a poet and that is unarguable. This album is truly enchanting. Dylan’s distinctive voice paired with the folksy tunes, poignant harmonica, and delicious organ (especially in the likes of Stuck Inside of Mobile) create a charming atmosphere I honestly can’t understand how anyone could dislike. People say how this album sounds “too old” for them but honestly my first reaction to this album was how on earth is this album as old as it is, it feels and sounds just as relevant, revolutionary, and powerful today as I’m sure it was when it released in 1966.

Originally was kinda annoyed by this album, and the first half still kinda annoys me for some reason, I think it’s mostly just the mix of his voice not being my favorite and all the weird sounds he used with the strange vibes, but the tail end of the album had some good songs I did actually enjoy quite a bit after some more listens.

This is an incredibly entertaining album from beginning to end. Exciting guitar riffs, Hetfield’s rough and angry voice, all coated in a beautiful simplicity combine to make a record that is really quite enjoyable. I honestly didn’t really know exactly what metal was before listening to this album and I’m very glad my horizons have been expanded because this was hype (after reading up a bit more on it apparently this is quite a change of pace for Metallica who were pioneers of the thrash metal genre, something quite different from this, but I’m still excited to experience that as well). Will definitely return to this and continue to enjoy it. Also despite its immense popularity I actually didn’t really love Enter Sandman too much.

My golly did this album have some bangers. Also was not expecting the album to turn folk all of the sudden there?? But I lowkey loved it. Score could def become a five with more listens, I liked this way more than I was expecting

One hell of a vibe. Smooth buttery and warm, an enjoyable listen fs

Mid af. Really boring, nothing interesting, or standoutish.

I think reggae is growing on me more but I’m not sure how great this album is still for me. It’s fun stuff but I can’t ever imagine myself returning to this.

This is the kind of thing I think I could really enjoy but just with a couple listens I couldn’t really differentiate between a lot of the songs. I enjoyed the punky hard rock sort of vibes though and the strong accent of the singer was fun to listen to. So overall wasn’t too memorable butt really not too bad.

I enjoyed it a lot at first which I didn’t quite expect to seeing as I couldn’t understand a thing he was saying, but then because of that I think I lost a lot of interest later into the album. I must say it was still quite good though and I really did love the music and the guitar and everything. Great stuff fs, just mildly unnoticeable.

I mean this is just a 5 star album through and through. Home of countless classic bops and grooves, I couldn’t help but smile or dance listening through the entire double LP. Literally walking while listening to it I think I had an actual spring in my step. There’s certainly a reason this album gets all the praise it does. For a man who had no sight, he sure had a whole lot of vision. Okay holy cow I get the Stevie Wonder hype completely now. Dang these are truly songs written in the key of life, it feels like in each of his songs he tunes into some part of my soul and just sits there and lets me explore it along to the bodacious vibes he so graciously gifts me.

Feels very dramatic at times with his powerful and emotional voice, which can definitely be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what you like. I didn’t hate it myself but I didn’t love it either. The music itself isn’t much interesting to me though. Feels like I’m getting serenaded on some Italian villa. Alright I’m getting sick of this voice and music now I just want the album to be over. Yeah this was pretty uninteresting, I am not a fan of the overuse of the dramatic voice with dramatic violins and then the occasional just weird track where he puts some weird ahh beat on to sound a little creepy or something and starts singing some really strange lyrics about like sex and stuff (I didn’t like Next if you couldn’t tell lol)

I don’t really know how to review jazz really but I liked this, it was pretty good.

Literally so good I bought the vinyl.

Pretty mundane throughout, especially with the lyrics, though definitely not with the vocals which do help a lot to compensate for the often repetitive lyrics and instrumentation. Just leaves it feeling like most of the songs drone on for way too long even though they aren’t awfully long. Also RIP Chris Jasper, apparently he died the day I got this album. Okay actually just listened to this a second time and my opinion is completely changed. The funk is now within me. This slaps.

Kinda gives George Ezra but slightly more decent. The album has some good songs (cold desert was a special stand out) and some really not good songs (the oh oh ohs in the background of use somebody annoy me a lot) making the album feel kinda inconsistent. Honestly as an album though it was really not great at all.

With someone as renowned as Miles Davis you expect an album from him to be sensational. And with a taste for jazz like mine you’d expect me to love it. This, however, didn’t stand out to me so much, nothing really piqued my interest. That’s not to say it was a bad album but it just wasn’t quite what I was expecting or hoping it would be. I think I need to understand jazz better to really be able to appreciate the beauty of this album, but for now this album is just alright. Update: after more listens I definitely appreciate this album a lot more. Double update: I get it now. The mere thought of dying without having heard this album in my life is nightmarish to me.

The rock organ has completely lost all appeal to me. Also I prefer chives.

Central Reservation is solemn and sacred through every element of its creation. Orton’s hazy singing and soft dictation, her lonely and emotional lyrics, and her gentle guitar weeping coated in an electronic glaze all comes together to form the most gentle and yet profound work of art I have discovered so far along this musical journey. Also this is album is pretty much exactly my taste in music so there is a significant amount of bias in reviewing this. But that’s the point in preferences soooo.

First song feels like 80s Halloween and I’m not here for it. They really aren’t seeming to want to depart from this whole 80s Halloween theme. Why the frickin accordion and organ. Whyyyyy… Nah okay I figured it out this is what this is: this is what people call “meaningful” and “artistic” because it’s some British dude “singing” weird creepy lyrics in an overly edgy way over some minimalistic poop beat. But because it’s British and weird and edgy it’s “art”. Nah this is crap.

Ooh today is gonna be a good day. Honestly didn’t start off as amazing as I was expecting. It obviously began with the great hit Come Together which is of course a great start and a great song but I think I’ve heard that song enough to where it’s kind of lost much of its greatness to me. Something is of course also an amazing follow up and Maxwell’s Silver Hammer did not disappoint either. But then Oh! Darling came on and I was impressed. That song hit. That’s when I knew this album was something special. I don’t think a better song could also have been written about an Octopus’s Garden so I must applaud the band for that. The ceiling for such a song is still pretty low hahaha. But now I’m kinda mad though cuz upon hearing I Want You (She’s So Heavy) I’m honestly wondering where have half of these Beatles songs been my entire life. Like this song is BUS and I frickin grew up on Beatles, like I heard this band a BUTT ton growing up and know all of the hits by heart and you’re telling me I was deprived access to these absolute bangers like Oh! Darling and I Want You (She’s So Heavy). Genuinely upset, but also so glad I get to experience it today now for the very first time. Ahh and then the number one hit of all time, Here Comes The Sun, I hadn’t heard this song in so long when the happy-go-lucky guitar began playing it was like a warm blanket of good times and nostalgia flooded me. Overplayed and overloved as it may be, you cannot deny the amazing song that it is. It is truly a well needed message of hope this world needed and still needs more than ever. Listening to it literally feels like the sun is coming, I feel a warm rush over my body like the sun really bathes my skin and a vision of better times appears. The album then moves onto Because, a sweet song of love with some cute and clever lyrics I enjoyed. Did not expect that fun little switch up in You Never Give Me Your Money, I liked it cuz otherwise I was about to be like lowkey this song is feeling kinda boring. The Beatles got it though, I’m learning they definitely know how to make a song. Sun King is a warm and lovely transition followed by the fun short skit-like song of Mean Mr. Mustard. The nonstop smooth transitioning of short song into short song at this point of the album is really interesting to me. It works really well in the album and provides a really interesting segment. Really fun vocal deliveries in Golden Slumbers from Paul I greatly enjoyed. Things feel like they start to build up into something grandiose with the orchestral and dramatic vibes of Carry That Weight. It’s intense and suspenseful. And it’s all so beautifully resolved in The End. So apropos, I love it. And with great, albeit simple, lyrics to end it all off: “in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make.” A great reminder and really drives the point of this album in so many ways. First the basic and blatant one, that we must love. Although a simple reminder, it is a much needed one. Its a reminder that has aged like wine, all the more needed the more and more this world has progressed. If anything, this album is more relevant for this reason today than it was even upon its creation. The other lesson I learned from this album is from its simplicity. The instrumentation, the lyrics, the vocals, all of it, are so incredibly simple and the themes too, they are all so simple, and yet in their simplicity there is so much meaning and beauty. I mean there is a massive stretch in this album of tiny short 2 minute or less songs that just blend into each other so well and form a tight and cohesive and enjoyable part of the album. But the songs are so short and so simple. Nothing is inaccessible and nothing is hard to understand and thats what makes this album so wide reaching, influential, and just profound. A great album and certainly one for the ages. Also bonus points for arguable the greatest album cover art of all time. Incredibly iconic and infinitely influential.

What’s Your Favorite Color? is an indisputable BOP. The rest of the album is alright.

I can’t believe I got two GOATED Beatles albums in three days. I am being BLESSED. Great album of course, pivotal pop album and incredibly influential on the entire genre even til now. Home of so many Beatles bangers and a groove the whole way through. In my ranking of Beatles albums thus far, however, I would say this one is below Abbey Road.

I gotta say I quite enjoyed this. I really quite enjoyed this. It felt similar to Massive Attack’s Blue Lines which is an album I already love so this was a familiar and welcome sound (albeit worse by comparison). The lyrics were pretty weak and at some points so was the music, but the wide variety of textures and sounds that come from this album more than compensate making sure it is never a boring listen.

Giving Gregory Alan Isokov and I am HERE FOR IT. OH MY GOSH BECAUSE IT IS!!! ONE OF US CANNOT BE WRONG IS A COVER!!! THIS IS CRAZY REVELATION MY WORLD IS CHANGED WHO IS THIS MAN I NEED HIM IN MY LIFE!!! BRO AND THIS IS THE GUY WHO WROTE FRICKIN HALLELUJAH!!?! Leonard Cohen you are my new favorite man. Okay actual review time. It’s probably worth noting that I am already quite predisposed to folk, a wee bit biased toward it, so needless to say I’ve listened to this album over 6 times now (in addition to some of his other works) since getting it for my album of the day. It deserves every one of those listens, and I will continue to listen to this album til the day I die. I mean the lyrics are some of the most poetic I have ever had the pleasure of hearing. His soft and quaint voice matches with his gentle guitar and it all just comes together to form some of the most calming, comforting, and nostalgic music I have ever heard in my entire life despite the fact I’ve never heard this album before let alone any Leonard Cohen. These songs sound like I may as well have known them my whole life. But these songs are so much more than that. There is an element of dark humor expressed in his vivid imagery and poetic writing, the irony of One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong comes to mind, a humor and irony that is so beautifully paralleled to the juxtaposition of the humorous lyrics and yet solemn guitar. You want to laugh and yet you can’t. This is the mastery of Leonard’s abilities. In doing so he permits us to recognize the humor of the scene he has laid out in front of us, and yet restrains our ability to mock it. This allows us as the listener to internalize and reflect upon the deeper meanings and applications of his words. Every joke has an ounce of truth to it. It’s an unbelievable combination of musical prowess and lyrical expertise that is just astounding. Through his debut, Leonard pushes the boundaries of folk, music, and even art. Thank you 1001 albums for introducing me to this folk king, you are truly doing god’s work 🙏

Bro it didn’t save my review I wrote but this is just bland hard rock that’s really hard to take seriously. Lyrical content is garbage and musical content has much to gain.

You know, at least this album was really short. It was really just a headache though. I was 4 songs in and didn’t even realize I was they all sounded so much the same.

Quite long and not that interesting. It was listenable though.

Pretty basic soft rock stuffs. Not bad at all but not great either. Heavily carried by “Yellow.” Everything else is just quite alright.

I don’t really want to write a review for this one but it was alright, some good stuff for sure and probably deserves more than a 3 but I think I just didn’t listen to and digest it enough.

Starts great, ends great, but there’s a really long stretch there in the middle where everything was just a tad bit arduous to listen to.

Without getting really super into it, they do have a really great sound that I enjoyed. Feels like a returnable album fs.

I just cannot stand this style of vocals. Like in all truthfulness this is not the worst thing I’ve ever heard and in fact many parts of it are quite good, just that darn voice has to pierce through the entire frickin album.

I wanted to like this more than I did and it did have some great hits on it such as My Girl and I’ve Been Loving You Too Long, his voice was amazing ofc too, but the music just didn’t captivate me so much. It was good though and I can see the albums merit, I think I may just need to devote it more time and energy.

I like this Beck album significantly more than the other one. I think Beck has grown on me a lot and I may have judged the other one too harshly because now I really want to return to it. I really did quite enjoy this one though, it was a fun listen and very interesting the whole way through. Where it’s at was the highlight of the album fs.

Yeah this is good. I am a little bit of a sucker for the Talking Heads though, so I will note that bias. I love their goofy yet serious attitude and eccentric yet sophisticated vibe. And I think this album really nails that entire image so perfectly. And it being an enjoyable work of art at the same time is just a great plus. Will certainly be returning to this. 4 star but a very high 4.

I first listened to this album late last year because I was told it was one of the greats. And I remember listening to it and wondered how was this one of the greats. I felt as though I wasted my time with it. Needless to say, I did not love the album. In fact, honestly, I’m still not sure if I even love it. I’m still not sure if I even get it. Further, I honestly don’t even have half a clue what Elliot Smith is saying in his lyrics through this album. The music itself is not even that interesting or exciting. His voice is certainly nothing to write home about either. Nothing he does is really that innovative or creative. These common criticisms of the album I have shared and still share with many. And yet, beyond all of that, as I have listened to this album countless times since my first listen, I have noticed there is a resonating feeling deep behind the fleshy hollow gorges of my soul whenever I listen to this album that somehow, perhaps through the aether of the universe, connects me with the music contained herein. Truly, it is a beautiful, sacred, and hallowing experience listening to this album. It’s a quiet and careful experience, however, one that if you divert your focus away from it for even a second you risk missing out on the whole thing. It’s a simulacrum if Elliott’s own mental state, he invites us into the delicate space of his mind that is at such odds with itself (“either/or”) that even the slightest distraction will make it impossible to hear the quiet voices that are behind the brain static we coat ourselves with. The pure and raw emotional depth of this record is unparalleled by nearly any other music I have heard. His soul aches, and the voices, when you hear them, yearn. Power lies in subtlety.

I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised by this album. Not to say it was the best thing I’ve ever heard but it was significantly better than what I was expecting going into an 80s pop album. It was enjoyable and had some really good hits. Also it was nice to have another woman represented on this list so dominantly plagued by men.

I must say. I am quite impressed. I mean holy cow. A 2 hour double LP is certainly something to get through to say the least, but somehow this album managed to remain unique, entertaining, and quite varied through its entirety. There were soft sounds, angsty sounds, harsh sounds, experimental sounds, solemn sounds, playful sounds, and so many more sounds. And it made every second of the 7200 second album a really great experience. I would almost say the albums immense length is one of its biggest strengths in way because it meant the goodness of the album could last even longer. This is certainly an album I want to return to but I don’t know how much I realistically can because it is the length of a frickin movie lol. It certainly has the entertainment value of a movie though. I acknowledge this album is probably far from perfect and I wasn't able to fully process it because I could only listen once but I honestly think this album deserves a 5 just for being fully entertaining for 2 hours.

I think there was some good stuff on this album but I just didn’t really notice. All I could pay attention to was the massive bulge on the album cover. It was very distracting.

I mostly just don’t want to spend the time to actually review this which is probably reminiscent of a 2 but whatever I’m feeling generous today so it gets a 3. Most recent album we’ve gotten so far on this list and I’d never even heard of it which was kinda interesting.

I don’t think words could express the amount of joy and pride my grandparents would have knowing that this album holds up for a 19 year old male 69 years after its release in 1956 (TO THE DATE WILD COINCIDENCE). This album’s sound is emblematic of the hopelessly unattainable romantic American ideal. It’s hopeless romanticism (and blatant misogyny) is endlessly captivating and terribly idyllic. Nothing can seem to go wrong listening to this record. Call it ignorance, call it naivety, or call it that sense of childlike carelessness we long for from the day we lose it, either way the tunnel vision caused by this album is so narrow the listener is left nearly blind. But it is in blindness where beauty is found. Sorry I’m waxing poetic, I think the album is getting to me. Brilliant album and a true classic.

This is an album I’ve been meaning to listen to for a long long while so I’m gonna go through it song by song and then give my overall thoughts. Song by song: Willow was kind of a weak opener imo. Champagne Problems was a solid follow up though and very much made up for it. Gold Rush was great despite the chorus being kinda annoying but 100% the kind of thing that would be a BLAST chanting in the car with the girlies. Christmas song on this album?? Oh no wait it’s just titled that way. It’s a solid lamenting type song, very good depressing crying in the car vibe song. Ooh Tolerate It, we got a sad girl piano song here. I mean I was expecting it to be mid and let’s just say my expectations were met. No Body, No Crime is BUSTASTIC holy cow wow, I love the returning to her roots with this country addition and the whole story telling and everything. Good stuff, catchy, and fun as heck. Ah Happiness, you know a song titled that is gonna be about everything besides happiness. Well ig it was kinda about happiness in a way but it didn’t really give me much happiness bc it wasn’t a really great song, had a good development and progression but everything else I was not a fan of. Dorothea just feels forgettable. Not a big The National guy personally but actually I didn’t mind Coney Island so much. Ooh Ivy I am liking a lot though! Gives Invisible String from Folklore and I like it. I’m not so sure about Cowboy Like Me… Long Story Short was decent though. YO! I think Marjorie is a new favorite of mine, GREAT FRICKIN SONG. I don’t like the little vocal twang thing she tries to do in Closure, not a fan of that at all and also the song in general just sucks and really doesn’t feel like it fits in the album. And finally, we’re at the Bon Iver song, this is really what we were here for. Yeah, no that was another new favorite. Even better than what I was expecting and I was expecting the best song on the album so. Love love love. Bonus tracks: Right Where You Left Me, I mean this is just a good song. I am just a sucker for this alt pop country twang stuff with its little catchy hooks and classic T Swift imagery and great production. What can I say. And then It’s Time to Go feels like Last Great American Dynasty 2.0 which isn’t bad it just doesn’t feel necessary. Overall opinion: I mean this album is great. I knew I would like it because it’s Folklore’s sister album, but I would say it is overall definitely worse than its sister. It struggles with being consistently good, a lot of the songs are mid, however it also often pulls out some of the best songs I have heard recently. So it’s quite bipolar. For the most part nothing is horrible though and it was a fun listen through and through, Taylor knows how to make an enjoyable album fs. Don’t think I’ll ever return to it as an album but I’ll enjoy some of its singles certainly.

90s singer-songwriter with a strong rock influence. I mean what’s not to love! Well, a lot actually haha. But starting with what I liked: I think I’m just a big fan of Mann’s vocal style tbh, it feels a lot like stuff I heard a lot growing up. And I did listen to a lot of the 90s rock scene thanks to my dad’s taste in music. So that’s probably where a lot of my love for this album comes from. There’s a lot more stuff to like about this album though including the fun variety of styles explored and executed generally quite well. Like the funeral march style of Jacob Marley’s Chain or the heavier dramatic rock of Say Anything. Or whatever the vibes were of I Could Hurt You Now. The only issue is there’s also a lottt of songs on this album like Mr. Harris where I’m sitting here thinking why is this even on the album. It just feels like it adds nothing but runtime to the album. Also even the ones with their interesting styles aren’t even necessarily that good, they’re just eccentric. Overall though, I think there’s a lot of stuff on this album that could grow on me.

Based purely off of the album art and title I know exactly what I’m stepping into with this album. Yep, no way, lo and behold it was a 90s rap concept album about sex. It looks dated, sounds dated, feels dated, smells dated, and tastes dated. Not to mention every track goes on for way too long. It was excruciating getting through this. The one point I’ll give this album is these guys were obviously just having fun and vibing. “No more will I ever have to jack it cause instead, I can just take a sex packet.” This is peak.

Ughhhh I am not excited for this. I will be utterly surprised if I give this album anything more than a 1 purely for it having Mr blue sky on it. Ughhh and it just gets worse. It’s 17 songs long and an hour and 11 minutes. Yup. Easiest 1 I’ll ever give.

This stuff was actually amazing. I mean classic extraordinary Miles Davis right here. Partially inventing and pioneering an entire genre and absolutely cooking while doing so. This man was barely human. The only slight to this record is its format as two 20 minute songs makes it kinda hard to return to and enjoy casually. Amazing music though regardless. And also can we talk about how amazing the album cover is. I was leaning more towards a 4 but I think that album art pushes it to the 5 it truly deserves.

I’m in awe. Words cannot describe the album experience I just had. I sobbed when I finished listening. Tears literally fell from my eyes. Leonard Cohen does not miss, even at 82. Especially not at 82. I think this is actually my favorite album I have had the privilege of listening to so far on this list. What a stunning and just perspective altering work of art.

I find it really hard to rate these international albums. Given off of just vibes honestly this album was great. I loved the use of the main voice with the background “response” voices, even though I couldn’t understand the lyrics the use of the voice as an instrument really good. I loved also the actual instrumentation, it carried a lovely vibe with it I thoroughly enjoyed, especially through the guitar. My complaint however, and it definitely comes from my oblivious and ignorant ear as someone quite far removed from this kind of music generally, is that the whole album kinda sounds the exact same. There isn’t much distinction for me between one song and another and it makes the album feel like it carries on for far too long. It’s a good vibe in the beginning, but by the end it feels old. I definitely did like this album though a lot more than I was expecting and I’m glad I was exposed to it.

I don’t like how this is a double LP. It easily could’ve been just a normal LP, the entire second disc is stuff you would expect to hear on a deluxe extended version of an album and not stuff I felt I needed to hear at all. I mostly just feel let down after listening to this album because going into this I was quite excited it being an alt folk album from a guy I’d heard of before and it turned out to be not that good. Also I did not expect a country song to have pro immigration lyrics. How the genre has changed… The leftism of this whole album is really quite shocking in general, Billy is very blunt and in your face about it.

I love when I get the opportunity to review an album I’ve listened to before. I’ll be fully honest here though, when I first listened to it a while back I really tried, I listened probably 5 times in a row to this album and I just did not get it. I couldn’t hear what set this album above the rest. I’m happy to say after coming back to it today I now hear what puts this album above the rest. This is an incredibly beautiful and just soul-touching record. Every song is a ballad of passion and emotion that reaches and grasps to try and touch you. It’s desperate and it’s powerful. It pleads and it grieves. And it was a lovely album experience. Nothing less than five stars.

I lowkey wanted to hate this album but it really wasn’t that bad. Kinda long, but that’s cuz there doesn’t exist a non deluxe version for some reason on Apple Music smh. So just taking it at main album value it was pretty decent but nothing mind blowing.