I liked:
- Use of keyboard alongside the guitars
- Commitment to grooves and motifs
- Solos
- Song structures and flow
I didn't like:
- Vocals and lyrics
Favorite Track: Free Bird
I liked:
- Orchestral influences
- Vocals and lyrics
- Melodic lines
- Experimental song structures
- The way the rhythm section complements the melody
Favorite Track: The Age of the Understatement
I liked:
- Blues instrumentation and arrangement
- King's voice and guitar playing
- The performance of the rhythm section, especially piano and drums
- Audience interaction
I didn't like:
- Live recording
Favorite Track: Worry, Worry
I felt I couldn't appreciate the messages of the album fully due to the rock feeling overly hard and the lyrics difficult to understand.
Favorite Track: All Apologies
I liked:
- Use of piano
- Balancing melodrama without going overboard
- Tasteful use of electronica
- Still sounds like Lorde while definitely branching out significantly
- Vocal overdubbing, painting a sonic landscape
Favorite track: The Louvre
While I wouldn't say this is at the highest tier of songwriting, I still thorughly enjoyed my experience with the album.
Favorite Track: Us v Them
This is not yet the Beatles' best work, but I appreciate both the Folk and Baroque influences on their standard Rock sound.
Favorite Track: In My Life
I'm not usually the biggest fan of Grunge, but I appreciated some of the classical rock influnces in this one. I'd say I enjoyed it more than I did "In Utero", so I think I'd give this a 3 out of 5.
Favorite Track: Black
Definitely a step up from Rubber Soul, and I really enjoyed the string and horn arrangements by George Martin (I think). Feels a bit incoherent still, and only a handful of the songs I would still listen to, but definitely deserves four stars.
Favorite Track: Got To Get You Into My Life
I definitely see the vision he's going for, and I think he executed on it decently well. It just felt inauthentic, and it got a bit tiresome listening to a full album of Costello playing this miserable character. Still enjoyed some of the songs however.
Favorite Track: Waiting for the End of the World
I haven't listened to much hip-hop, but I'd say this was a solid introduction. Reminded me a bit of the "talking blues" stuff made by Woody Guthrie and the like. I appreciated having multiple different vocalists. Still felt a little "samey" to me, as someone who doesn't tend to focus on lyrics as much.
Favorite Track: What?
Reminded me a bit of Age of the Understatement, although I didn't feel like it did enough with the orchestra in order to stand out.
Favorite Track: Drive
I listened to this album multiple times, and it never felt too special to me. I tried to like it, but nothing stood out. Nothing was bad, and I definitely enjoyed the band's sound, especially on the guitar, but it felt a bit too generic to me.
Favorite Track: Bullet the Blue Sky
This one was a hard album to rate. It’s certainly a good album, but I don’t think it’s as good as any of even the lesser Beatles work. I liked the arrangement and production, but I found the songs to not be the most interesting. The political aspects weren’t my favorite, not because I disagree, but because it felt kind of virtue-signally to me, like Lennon was against the Vietnam war just because being against the Vietnam was what artists did at the time.
Favorite Track: How Do You Sleep?
Sounds very nice. Reminds me a bit of the Grateful Dead with their Americana sound and extended instrumental jams. Doesn’t go above and beyond in any particular aspect, but it doesn’t really need to. Solid four stars.
Favorite Track: Down by the River
I find that singer-songwriters tend to be a little hit-or-miss, and how well they are appreciated depends more upon the listener than the artist. This album felt like more of a miss for me personally, but I can see how it would speak more to other people.
Favorite Track: Soap Star Joe
Took me a couple of listens to feel like I understood it in the slightest, but this is prog-rock if I've ever heard it. I wasn't even all that surprised to learn that it was inspired by Sibelius. Choosing a favorite track is weird, because this doesn't really have tracks in the traditional sense, but I guess I'd just say Side A?
Favorite Track: Close to the Edge (I. The Solid Time of Change, II. Total Mass Retain, III. I Get Up, I Get Down, IV. Seasons of Man)
I’m honestly quite sad that I haven’t listened to this one before. Reminded me a bit of Blue and Graceland. Some things I liked:
- Tasteful production. The producer added enough to complement her singing and guitar, without overdoing it.
- Chapman’s voice is beautiful and warm-sounding.
- The lyrics feel warm and inviting, but then devastating at the same time.
Favorite Track: Behind the Wall
Some songs were really good. Others felt uninspired. I liked Nick Cave's voice on some tracks, and the piano and backing vocals worked quite well. Overall, I kinda liked parts of it, but it isn't consistent enough quality wise.
Favorite Track: The Lyre of Orpheus
This is one of the few times that I hear string arrangements in pop music and I don't cringe a little bit. I find that strings are well suited to the complex arrangements found in classical music, and when they're used in pop music, it's often to give the aesthetic of depth without actual providing any. However, this album felt like it mostly really used the string section to great affect. Other than that, the production was really top tier, but some of the lyrics were far too on the nose for my tastes. Overall, the album was really great at its best, and slightly cringe at its worst.
Favorite Track: Atom Dance
I’m probably giving out too many 5s, and I can see the argument for giving this a 4, but this album is truly something epic, and I feel like the sheer scale of it is enough to push it into 5 territory.
Favorite Track: You Don’t Love Me
I hadn’t heard of Arcade Fire at all until this challenge, but I definitely intend to explore more of their discography in the future. I really enjoyed this album, and it reminded me of Automatic For The People, which I expected, but also of Bruce Springsteen, which was a pleasant surprise.
Favorite Track: Windowsill
Loved the style, though it was just a tad soft for my tastes. Side A, was great, while Side B was just quite good.
Favorite Track: Silver Raven
This is the first album that I've already listened to, and the easiest 5/5 yet. Choosing a favorite track is hard because almost all of them are top-tier, and "Friend of the Devil", "Box of Rain", and "Truckin'" are all among my favorite songs. However, in the end, I don't think anything can beat the track I ended up choosing.
Favorite Track: Ripple
Based on how acclaimed this album is, my expectations were high, but were somehow still surpassed by this great album. I expected the album to be good, but I didn't expect it to be so experimental, political, and full of songs that would be the highlight of almost any other album.
Favorite Track: As
This album is one where I appreciate that the band had something unique going on more than I enjoyed the music itself.
Favorite Track: You Suffer
Woah look at me here, putting the 19 minute jam as my favorite track! Who could’ve seen that coming? In all seriousness, Side 2 brings it up to a 4 for me. I liked the baroque influence (if more bands started including harpsichord solos, the world would be a merrier place), and some of the flute/saxophone stuff.
Favorite Track: Revelation
There seems to be a bit of confusion around the genre this occupies, with Wikipedia saying it’s blue-eyed soul, while the generator classifies it as pop and psychedelic rock.
If viewed as a pop album, it’s pretty good (although pop isn’t usually my thing). If viewed as a soul album, it’s decent but doesn’t compare to likes of Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles. If viewed as psychedelic rock, it falls significantly short of where psychedelia was at the time (for comparison, Sgt Pepper released this same year). Overall, it sounded nice but didn’t feel too exceptional, especially for a list like this.
Favorite Track: Groovin’
Certainly a fun album. Glad I listened, but likely won’t listen to again.
Edit: On second thought, this album is awesome! +1 star for being that gorilla from the Jungle Book.
Favorite Track: Buona Sera
I initially thought that this album would be a 2, but I wasn’t able to find the time to listen to it all the way through for a bit. This led to me listening to bits and pieces of music for a few days, before I managed to listen to it all straight. This repeated exposure gave me a better appreciation for the music, and the album is now bordering on a 4. I’m still not a huge fan of the songwriting or his singing style, but I really enjoy the warm, nostalgic feeling that this album gives me.
Favorite Track: When The Stars Go Blue
This album is one where I know it's at least a 4, but I could see it going up to a 5, if I find myself going back to it frequently enough. This also inspired me to check out more of Keith Jarrett's stuff, who I'd never heard of before. I really appreciate his playing style, which reminded me a bit of Gould. I'm putting my favorite track as the last one mostly out of necessity, because while I prefer part 2, it's split across 2 tracks and so doesn't really function as 1 song. I also really got a kick out of the synchronized clapping at the end.
Edit: I'm moving it up to a 5!
Favorite Track: Part II c
Not very interesting to me, and not very memorable. I’ve already forgotten most of the album.
Favorite Track: God Put a Smile upon Your Face
Nothing too special. I liked the singing and vocal harmonies, as well as the pulse and groove of the band.
Favorite Track: Helter Skelter
I appreciate that this album attempts something new and different, and it didn’t sound bad, but man was it a chore to get through. Did Hollywood Symphony really have to be 15 minutes long?
Favorite Track: Persian Love
From the Wikipedia page for this album: “ The lyrics on the new album marked a dramatic departure from the dense Romantic poeticism and Tolkien fantasy imagery of Bolan's first five albums, including the most recent T. Rex album”.
Let me tell you, they should have stuck with the Tolkien stuff, since that would have been much more interesting than this. Nothing against this, but dense poetic fantasy music rules.
Overall, this was fine but not took memorable. Side B was much better than Side A.
Favorite Track: Bang a Gong (Get it On)
Listening to Songs in the Key of Life before this album was both a blessing and a curse, because while it meant I understood his style before listening and had a decent idea of what to expect. On the other hand, I was pretty sure my expectations would be disappointed. However, this is not what happened. While these songs are certainly not in the key of life, this was a fantastic album that would be the highlight of any other artist’s career.
Favorite Track: Superstition
*distorted guitar starts playing* 2! 3! 4! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
Favorite Track: Credit In The Straight World
It's interesting listening to recordings from the Rolling Stones before they had many of the defining features that made them so special in the first place. I didn't realize how much the Jagger-Richards partnership defined what I appreciated about the Rolling Stones, but here we are. Another interesting observation I had was about how so much of the Stones' "hard rock" sound was just the electric blues being heard by White people for the first time. My favorite track was "Now I've Got a Witness", because the instrumental nature of it forces the band to really explore their own sound. On the whole, it's a fairly standard early 60's rock and roll album.
Favorite Track: Now I've Got a Witness
I liked this album. I was really interested in the use of multi-tracked vocals, which aren’t super common in acoustic music like this.
Favorite Track: Between the Bars
Why did this album get much better halfway through? Anyway, I never thought Synth and Harmonica could go together so well.
Favorite Track: Bitter Sweet
This album put me to sleep in the best possible of ways.
Favorite Track: Sunday
I really liked the production and arrangement. I wasn’t a huge fan of the songwriting, but that wasn’t bad by any means. Definitely better than I expected. Choosing a favorite track is difficult because the tracks mostly sound pretty similar.
Favorite Track: I’ve Got to See You Again
This album sounds very nice. A lot of the major innovations from it sound fairly standard to my 21st century ears, but it's good to remember that the Beach Boys were the first to do many of these things. Solid 4 stars.
Edit: I was listening to this after Brian Wilson’s death and I must say I totally underrated the lush production and arrangement. Reminded me more of Bach than most pop music out there. +1 star in honor of Brian Wilson, and I’m sorry for not fully recognizing your genius in life.
Favorite Track: Sloop John B
This album is the first instance of “Blue-Eyed Soul” feels like it belongs in even the same discussion as the likes of Stevie Wonder or Michael Jackson. Karma Chameleon is, of course, a classic, but the rest of the album is pretty solid as well.
Favorite Track: Karma Chameleon
I kinda liked this less edgy version of hard rock, but it didn’t stand out too much. Of Course really carries the album.
Favorite Track: Of Course
Best swing album I’ve ever listened to.
Favorite Track: After Supper
I perhaps haven’t given U2 their fair shot earlier. I prefer this one to The Joshua Tree, and I developed a new appreciation for “The Edge”’s guitar playing and tone. I felt like to rest of the band and producer did a better job at complementing his sound.
Favorite Track: Seconds
The best tracks on this album are an incredible and interesting mix of Disco, Electronic, and Hip Hop (especially the ones featuring Lisa Stansfield). Unfortunately, many tracks just feel dull and like they’re trying too hard to be interesting.
Favorite Track: Stop This Crazy Thing
Y'know, there's something pretty charming about when a band just doesn't give a twig and makes the crazy experimental music that they want to withouth worrying about listenability. Unfortunately, it also means that the album is lacking in listenability.
Favorite Track: The Sad Skinhead
This was my introduction to punk music, and from what I’ve heard, this is a pretty appropriate introduction. I certainly liked the way they flip on its head the classic rock trend of trying to make the music into something more epic and grand than it needs to be.
Favorite Track: Beat on the Brat
I’m not usually into this sort of virtuosic singing style, but the vocals combined with the great mixing and production make this one great. This is the closest I’ve heard to replicating Stevie Wonder in the last 40 years.
Favorite Track: Breakdown
It’s a testament to how great Bob Marley was that even the palest of imitations is still a pretty solid album.
Favorite Track: Ride On and Turn the People On
This one is right on the edge of being a 5 for me. Lovely music and a beautiful message. Side A was probably a 5, while Side B is a very high 4.
Edit: I'm moving it to a 5!
Favorite Track: The Heathen
It's like metal but with funk vocals instead of screaming? Count me in!
Favorite Track: Cult of Personality
This doesn’t sound like electronica and hip hop had a child. Rather, it sounds like they thought about having a child, but were too tired so they just went to bed.
Despite how painfully boring this is, it gets +1 star for the Fiddler On The Roof Episode eference.
Favorite Track: Daydreaming
This is the first Joni Mitchell album I've listened to that appealed to me--I respect some of her other music, but it's not as appealing to me. I felt like she was just a couple of steps and technological advancements away from full on folktronica (which is possibly my favorite genre).
Favorite Track: The Jungle Line
This is the first proper disco album I’ve gotten, and while I haven’t listened to much disco so I may have just gotten lucky with this one, I think disco may be one of my favorite genres. I truly cannot understand why disco was so hated back in its day. I feel like this album had everything: long instrumental solos, impressive and beautiful vocal harmonies, and saxophone! While it doesn’t quite blow my mind enough for 5/5, it’s still a great album!
Favorite Track: Le Freak
Great band name, great album cover, great song titles.
But I'm here to judge the music. At first, I was ready to give this a 1/5. I was sure there was something in there that people could enjoy, but I didn't think I was one of those people.
Then I came to the realization: this band knows what they're doing. Moreso than most bands I hear, they have a vision and they stick to it. Despite the fact that the vision didn't land with me, I considered rating it higher out of respect for the artists.
However, putting this at a 2 or 3 would be to put it among the bland and uninteresting albums I've encountered on this journey, and in some ways, that feels even more offensive than giving it a 1. So out of respect for the same respect for the artists that lead me to consider giving it a higher rating, I'm choosing to leave it at a 1. Definitely belongs on the list, and I'll die a happy man if I never have to listen to this again.
Favorite Track: Wonderful Rainbow
I'm a little confused by this album. What does it exactly have going for it? It's not interesting, not exciting, and it stimulates me on neither an intellectual level nor an emotional one. However, it's also not calming or ambient and doesn't really work as background music.
Favorite Track: Wilmot
IT’S THRILLER!!!!!!!
Favorite Track: Wanna Be Starting Something
The History of Soul Music:
Ray Charles: I can be fun and smooth at the same time!
Stevie Wonder: I can be furious and smooth at the same time!
Maxwell: I can be smooth and smooth at the same time!
Seriously, there's such a thing as too smooth. I knew I'd one day get a mid Soul album, but it's still sad that Soul will be dethroned as my top genre. It's ok though. I'll get another Michael Jackson or one by The Temptations and it'll cancel out.
Favorite Track: ...Til the Cops Come Knockin'
This album was so weird and experimental but also so comforting and inviting at the same time. I at first thought it was a bit too chill to earn a 4, but some of the later tracks really took me on a journey. I especially enjoyed the whistling, vocals, and occasional harpsichord.
Favorite Track: Oompah Radar
This one is a difficult one to rate, because it feels intuitively like a 4, but it reminded me a lot of My Aim is True by Elvis Costello, to which I gave a 3. In the end, I decided that while I prefer it over Elvis Costello, it's still a high 3.
Favorite Track: In The Colosseum
At first, I thought this was an album by a great studio band that wasn’t quite as good live. Then I learned that this was a studio album and I was left thoroughly confused.
I liked Janis Joplin’s voice. The rest wasn’t too special.
Favorite Track: Turtle Blues
Meh. The singing wasn’t great but wasn’t terrible. The songwriting wasn’t great but wasn’t terrible. Not much of interest to me.
Favorite Track: Die Dreigoschenoper: Tango Ballad
This is one of the few albums I’ve heard that are long and boring, but in a good way. This album feels like it works best when you shed the expectation of it being full of non-stop entertainment and variety, and just let each track take you on a journey.
Favorite Track: Crash and Carry
Not quite as good as the Scream, but I liked it for similar reasons as that one. Once again the vocals are the most interesting part.
Favorite Track: Sin In My Heart
The sheer breadth of this album, from the Ska rock of Ob-La-Di, to the folk style of Blackbird, to the Ragtime influenced Martha My Dear, to whatever the hell Revolution 9 is, give it a place among the greatest Beatles projects and among the greatest albums of all time.
Favorite Track: While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Ooh… I still really like this for the same reasons that I like Purple Rain, but I didn’t enjoy it quite as much. Maybe it’s the fact that it stretched on just a bit too long, or that the lyrics were more overtly sexual (which I understand is a lot of what Prince music is about, but it’s still not my favorite). However, it still sounds great and the title track is excellent.
Favorite Track: 1999
Just a touch better than being standard British 80’s synth pop.
Favorite Track: It’s a Sin
I should really be listening to more Prince. Great Album. Reminded me of Stevie Wonder a bit.
Favorite Track: When Doves Cry
This album is kind of harsh on the ears at points, but it also has a lot of great energy to it.
Favorite Track: Narayan
I liked this one. It certainly didn’t feel like a typical hip hop album, but I really liked the groove that they got into, and it was fun trying to count the beats until a certain little lick plays again. The singing and rapping worked really well too.
Favorite Track: Connected
I’m not sure what I was expecting when I heard this was Jazz Rock, but this was 🔥. I liked the mix of English, Spanish, and Instrumental tracks.
Favorite Track: Se a Cabó
Other than Celia Cruz, I hadn’t really listened to much salsa music, but this album (along with videos of salsa dancing) really turned me onto the genre as a whole. I really liked most of the songs, especially the last two and my overall favorite track. Despite what people may say, the tracks do *not* all sound the same.
Favorite Track: Pedro Navaja
This album was hard to listen to, because both the beats and the rapping felt far too abrasive and in-your-face. While I understand that this is kind of the point of the album and that it’s not *supposed* to be easy to listen to, but it does raise the question: at what point have you gone too far in trading listenability in service of a political statement.
Favorite Track: Party For Your Right To Fight
Before this, I had mainly just known War Pigs and Iron Man, and while I enjoyed them, I never felt the need to dive deeper into their discography. I'm glad I got this album, because it really solidified in my head what Black Sabbath was and why they were great. There were no bad tracks, and it took me two listens to even pick a favorite. I ended up going with the last track, because it most exemplified my favorite parts of the album.
Favorite Track: A Bit of Finger / Sleeping Village / Warning
I’m really glad this album is included in the list, because we all know how underrepresented music from anywhere other than the US, UK, and Canada is. I grooved with the rhythms, but felt that the jazz horns and all that weren’t too interesting. Overall, though, great album.
Favorite Track: Egbe Mi O (Carry Me)
I think Sinatra’s voice works much better in this intimate setting than in the usual grandiose big-band stuff that he’s best known for. I vastly prefer Bossa Nova Sinatra to Swing Sinatra.
Favorite Track: The Girl From Ipanema
Well this is certainly a different take on punk than the Ramones.
Land: Horses / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer(de)
I’ve kind of struggled to get into Frank Sinatra. I can absolutely tell that he is one of the great singers, but his music doesn’t usually appeal to me, for the same reason that most other pop music doesn’t appeal to me: it just sorta sounds shallow and simple. It’s also hard to fully appreciate the complexity of the jazz ensemble when the center is around the simple lyrics and melodies that Sinatra sings.
Favorite Track: We’ll Be Together Again
I’ve been a fan of the title track for a while, but I’d never really gotten around to listening to the album yet, so I was quite delighted to get this today. While Planet Rock is still the best song (of course), the rest of the album was definitely good enough to warrant a 5 star rating. One unexpected thing that I enjoyed was how disco-influenced everything is, and that allows it to bridge the gap between the Progressive Soul from the 70’s that I enjoy with early hip-hop like this album.
Favorite Track: Planet Rock
I vibed with this album. Reminds me a bit of the film Boy and the World, because they both feel like they tell an abstract story through collage.
Favorite Track: Frontier Psychiatrist
I really liked this album! It’s the best modern hip hop album I’ve heard so far. I really liked the R&B and Soul influenced sound, and the production was really good.
I didn’t realize until halfway through that Q Tip is a member of A Tribe Called Quest. I may have to give The Low End Theory another listen and see if my experience is any different!
Favorite Track: WeFight/WeLove
I hear about how in the 50’s, people called Rock and Roll the devil’s music and associated it with violence, and then you listen to Buddy Holly and it’s the tamest stuff you’ll ever hear! Anyway, I’ve got nothing to say against this album. I’d certainly believe that this was the coolest thing around back in the 60’s.
Favorite Track: Rock Me My Baby
This is one of the threes I've given that I can most see the argument for it being a 4, because I can totally see how this might have a higher rating if someone else rated it. It had some nice energy to it, but felt lacking in substance. I dunno. I may move it up later.
Favorite Track: Animals
I was initially quite skeptical of this album, feeling like it was trying to be overly artistic, but later in the album, I was hit with so many great tracks (especially the final two) that were just epic and deeply moving that I warmed up to it quite a bit.
Favorite Track: The Asphalt World
This album is really my first introduction to “shoegaze” or”dreampop” or whatever you call this genre. I overall liked some of the effects and techniques, such as the use of reverb, but I felt like this album didn’t explore these ideas to their fullest potential. I only really liked two tracks, of which one was the closing track.
Favorite Track: I Wear Your Ring
Good album! I liked the way they blended both their voices but also the various instruments that are included, creating a clean sound.
Favorite Track: Rikki Don’t Lose That Number
I liked this album more than I thought I would! I’ve getting more into this style of pop lately. This album had the perfect balance between cohesion and diversity! I was surprised to realize that “kids” was on this album, but it didn’t even end up being my favorite track!
Favorite Track: The Handshake
It’s interesting getting a second album from a band, but much later in their career. They hardly even feel like the same band anymore (especially Side A). Still great, just for different reasons. I liked the more acoustic and almost Dylan-esque style this one has.
Favorite Track: Bummer in the Summer
Of the "Big Three" of farewell albums (being this one and those of Johnny Cash and Leonard Cohen), this is the one I was least familiar with. I find that for both Cash and Cohen, their final works are among my favorites of theirs, so I was excited to get this one generated. I found it a bit different from the others... where "When The Man Comes Around" is about Cash looking back at his life, and "You Want It Darker" is about Cohen looking at his impending death, this feels like an album by a ghost who is already dead. I found it less devastating and more... haunting. I think part of this relates to the cultural context in which Bowie died just a day or two before the album's release, whereas Cohen lived for another few weeks and Johnny Cash lived another year. However, it can also be heard in the music. From the lyrics ("Look at me, I'm in heaven") to the music videos, to the much grander Jazz instrumentation, this album feels like it, more than any other work by any other artist, is meant to mythologize Bowie's life and death, where he's fully embracing his mythical persona and abandoning the material world.
Also shoutout to the Jazz musicians who he got to perform on the album. They really tie it together.
Favorite Track: Blackstar
Woah! Folktronica! I'm not going to give an album 5 star just out of the genre, but if there was ever a case to, it's here. Most tracks are pretty solid, but at its best, this album absolutely rocks. The production was pretty good, although a bit inconsistent. Overall, great album!
Favorite Track: Stolen Car
I’d never really heard much Madonna before, but I really liked this unique blend of Electronic music and Singer-Songwriter.
Favorite Track: Skin
Metallica is actually the perfect name for this band and this album because it represents the pinnacle of what metal should be. They go beyond just screaming and shredding to create something musical and melodic while still keeping the aesthetic of metal.
Favorite Track: The Unforgiven
This album is quite eclectic, but I liked it! It seemed like they were having fun exploring all the different genres that they do in the album.
Favorite Track: Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think)
This is a fun album! One thing I’ve learned through this challenge is that prefixing a genre with “dance-“ usually makes it better, and this is one of those cases. I liked the various influences on the sound.
Favorite Track: Run
It was... alright. The Celtic fiddle breakdown in track 2 was by far the best part, but I'd rather just listen to Clannad for that sort of thing.
Favorite Track: I Am Stretched on Your Grave
This reminded me a bit of Bob Jovi, though not quite as good. They did get good use out of the guitar playing, and were good at “tactically” deploying the guitar where it would be most effective.
Favorite Track: Eruption
This album just didn't really stand out to me much. I feel like Samba is pretty good, but this was just a bit too monotonous to do much with the genre. Only the first and last tracks realy stood out to me at all.
Favorite Track: Tropicália
Sometimes, I get an album that earns a 5 star rating mostly because of cultural impact. A good example of that would be Blackstar or The White Album. I like both of those albums plenty, but their cultural impact is really what brings them up to a 5. This album, on the other hand, feels like it was targeted directly at me. I wouldn’t be surprised if it has a low average rating, but I’m always in the mood for Celtic fusion music, especially when it’s with a genre I typically do not like, such as punk.
Favorite Track: Medley: The Recruiting Sergeant / The Rocky Road to Dublin / Galway Races
Oh man. This album is honestly bordering on a 5 for me. Each song has so much force behind it that it almost approaches metal at some points. The use of percussion, the vocal mixing and overdubbing, the melodic style, and the repetition really turn give this album a great deal of power. I wasn't a huge fan of the lyrics, but they weren't bad by any means. Great album!
Favorite Track: Relay
I oftentimes listen to an album, think it’s really good, and resolve to explore more music from the artist. Unfortunately I often forget to, and just move on with my listening (sorry Arcade Fire!). It’s nice to get another CHIC album so soon after I rated the first, and it was truly a delight to get this one when I opened the website and rated my previous album.
I love disco. I really don’t understand why it was so hated. This album wasn’t that different than the first, and if I decided to move one up to a five (which I honestly may), I would go with C’est Chic. However this one is still super solid, and had a few absolute banger tracks. I feel like when my biggest criticism of an album is “too short”, it’s probably a good album. I hope they have a third album on the list!
Favorite Track: My Feet Keep Dancing
Ehhh… they sorta had something going on, but this got a bit boring. I’m between a two and a three… I don’t really harbor much in the way of negative feelings towards this album, but there’s not really that much I liked either. I think I’ll go with two, but I can see the argument both ways.
Favorite Track: A Reflection
I like this acoustic Nirvana more than In Utero. It was also quite haunting hearing Kurt Cobain’s banter with the audience knowing that he died before this album was released.
Favorite Track: Where Did You Sleep Last Night?
What an absolute delight to get this album today! I've been waiting for this one for so long. This was the first Simon and Garfunkel album I heard, and the first CD I ever bought, and quite possibly my favorite album of all time. I even just finished up arranging the title track for a chamber ensemble just the other day! In addition, it was how I came across this challenge in the first place! I had searched the title of the album in Google and found the 1001albumsgenerator page for it.
I listen to this album every couple of days, and for good reason! Each track is so good! Even the weaker ones like For Emily are still absolutely beautiful songs in their own right. The perfect blend of sincerity and satire, melodrama and exuberance, timelessness and timeliness.
Each track seems to contrast the next: Patterns is dark and dramatic, while Cloudy is simple and content. Homeward Bound sincere in it's message while The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine is ironic. The 59th St Bridge Song is a reminder to appreciate the simpler things in life, while the Dangling Conversation grapples with our relationship with large scale of culture and history. Flowers Never Bend is sincere and expresses a profound message, while "A Simple Desultory Phillipic" is satirical and seems to be mainly about poking fun at Bob Dylan. For Emily is about love transcending space, whereas A Poem on the Underground Wall is about expressing thoughts and ideas in the material world.
And to cap it off, the first and last tracks both hold this contrast inside themselves. Scarborough / Canticle and Silent Night / 7 O'Clock News both set old folk tunes against timely critiques of the present day. In doing so, these two tracks end up being the ones that best encompass the themes and totality of the album, and thus one of them will be the one I choose as my favorite track. While I really like Silent Night and it was part of what first sealed this album for me as one of my favorites, there is simply no way of matching the sheer beauty and contrapuntal harmony of the opening track.
Favorite Track: Scarborough Fair / Canticle
I mostly feel similarly with this album as I did to Snivilization. Both great albums! I don't think I prefer this one quite as much, but it has some truly standout tracks. I also liked the polyrhythm thing they did at the start and end. Pretty cool!
Favorite Track: HALCYON + ON + ON
This is the first straight country album I’ve gotten, since I’ve only really gotten country-rock before. As far as country goes, this is certainly not the worst! I liked how it reminded me of Joni Michell. The vocal overdubs worked better than I thought they would too. I like albums that don’t feel the need to oversell themselves in the manner of Pink Floyd and the like.
Favorite Track: Lookin’ For The Time (Workin’ Girl)
Singer songwriter’s can be a bit hit or miss… this one had some good moments, but was more of a miss.
Favorite Track: The Ballad of Lucy Jordan
Very good album. At least four stars. Putting 1 star so I remember to listen again and give a full review.
This album is nearly perfect, meaning the name is a lie. Since lying is evil, that makes this album no longer a good album, causing it to live up to its name.
Favorite Track: Smooth Criminal
Truly a masterpiece. One of my favorite albums.
Favorite Track: Road
It’s cool to hear this earlier piano-based rock before the guitar really took over.
Favorite Track: Tutti Frutti
A while back, I read the book "Ready Player One", and I remember one section that referenced some band releasing a 7 part rock epic about some city or something. I remember thinking it seemed like a neat concept, but knowing that life's too short to listen to every weird concept album from the 70's. Well here I am, listening to 2112 by Rush, and... it's pretty good! I can see why some people would absolutely love this sort of thing. I like prog, power metal, and rock trios, but this album doesn't quite do enough musically to earn a place amongst my favorite albums. The acoustic guitars that were used alongside the electrics were pretty cool, which give the album a softer and more intentional feel to it, and I would have liked to see them explored a bit more throughout each track rather than mostly at the beginning. I hope to listen to it again a few times, though, because I'm certainly enjoying it, glad it exists, and believe it belongs on this list. And who knows? It may click all the way in a future listen and earn that fifth star!
Favorite Track: 2112
Very fun! Well deserved 4/5 stars. I really like this style of soul music.
Favorite Track: Runaway Child, Running Wild
Solid live album. Jazz trios are cool. Shoutout to the bassist.
Favorite Track: Gloria’s Step
My favorite rap album of all time, and a top ten album overall for me. Combination of great production and storytelling and a good overall message. It’s also cool the way each track stands on its own, but the sequencing shows the album musically heats up over the course of the tracks. I also find I’m able to justify the more “gangsta” songs, like Backseat Freestyle, because of the way they fit into the overall album. As someone who’s not usually a big rap fan, I’m glad I’ve been able to get multiple 5 star albums out of the genre through this challenge.
It also makes me sad seeing so many reviews saying something along the lines of “why is this socially conscious of when the lyrics are so offensive?”. It’s fine if you aren’t interested in literary analysis, but you can’t refuse to look deeper then the surface and then act like there isn’t anything deep at all.
Favorite Track: Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst
This is really fun! I like it when artists don’t take themselves entirely seriously and just make cool music. It reminded me of Africa Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force a lot. Seriously considering a 5, but I'm leaving it at a 4 for now.
Favorite Track: Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)
:(
As much as I would like to, I just can’t give this album 5 stars. It had so much potential, with all the Dylan covers and the 12 string guitar and the harmonies, but… it just doesn’t quite get there for me.
The album is dragged down by how badly they butchered the title track. They had probably my favorite song ever, and they:
- Removed the best verses (probably due to studio constraints)
- Didn’t even play on the track themselves (also due to studio constraints)
- And abandoned every musical aspect that made the song good in the first place
Ah, well. Still liked it. Can’t go too wrong with Dylan, Gene Clark, and David Crosby contributing to one work of art.
Favorite Track: I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better
Oh man.
I've only ever listened to Born to Run before, and I've kind of avoided the rest of his discography ("What could be as good as Born to Run?"). The most I knew of this album was The Band's cover of Atlantic City. This was a mistake. This album showed me another side to Bruce that I didn't expect. There are a number of great qualities in Born to Run, but I wouldn't really describe that album as "beautiful". This album, on the other hand? Everything from the cover, to the production, and the songwriting contribute to the same sort of dark, melancholy Americana. It was cleary inspired by Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan, but it also clearly has its own vision and takes inspiration from other media as well. What a great album! I may have a new favorite Bruce album.
By the way, if you like this, definitely check out "American IV: The Man Comes Around" by Johnny Cash. Definitely a similar vibe.
Favorite Track: Atlantic City
I'm generally a fan of soft rock, and I certainly get that in this album. Hotel California is great, and there are a couple of other cool tracks as well (gotta love the reprise of Wasted Time coming right after the original), but too much of this album feels bland to me as well. I'd give the album 3 stars for Hotel California, and 1 star for the rest of the album.
Favorite Track: Hotel California
What a funny coincidence! I've had Judy Blue Eyes stuck in my head all day, and now I generate this. That first track alone is enough to earn the album 4 stars, and the question is now about whether the rest of the album does enough to get that fifth star, and I believe it does.
Great harmonies, influenced the Dead, and close to the pinnacle of this sort of Folk Rock scene.
Favorite Track: Suite: Judy Blue Eyes
Fuck Kanye
Favorite Track: Runaway
Excellent! One of my all time favorites. May write a more detailed review later.
Favorite Track: The Boy in the Bubble
One of the great 70’s rock albums. Eric, progressive, cinematic, while maintaining the connection to classic rock and its other influences, including disco. I love disco.
Favorite Track: Mr Blue Sky
This album serves as a great send-off to his folk era, both exploring the new opportunities that going electric offers him (Subterranean Homesick Blues, On the Road Again), reiterating his older songwriting style from Another Side of Bob Dylan in tracks like She Belongs to Me and Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream, along with the best acoustic output of his career, including what I consider his best song.
Favorite Track: Mr. Tambourine Man
