I am not a fan of Bruce Springsteen at all; he just seems to lack the kind of insight into human nature, the ability to make a song embody a situation rather than just describe it. I'm sympathetic to the blue collar concerns in his lyrics- he just seems like a second-tier songwriter who somehow hit it big. That said, this album is as close as I've heard to him getting it right. If his career had devloped from this point, instead of this point being a deviation, then I might be a fan. it's still a bit too slow, and the lyrics a bit too literal, but I can feel the pain and anger in them. and the two songs about cops were amazing. so all in all a decent record from Bruce. I know it stands tall in his discography, and the critics will give it 5 outta 5. but this is just my opinion.

Oh, fuck off. Are you sure the book this site derived its list from wasn’t titled “1001 albums to avoid like the plague if you want to retain even a shred of optimism about human potential or the value of existence over nothingness.”? Ray of Light is the only half decent Madonna album. Throw this and the rest on the metaphorical fire.

Sounds like over produced radio friendly frat boy rock. It belongs to the parts of culture I despise the most, and that’s all I can hear in it. I do like their one song “Don’t Shoot Me Santa Claus” as a guilty pleasure, but that track isn’t here.

The more austere tracks on this album re as beautiful as her best work- and while I’m not a big fan of hers, I do appreciate her. The full band stuff sounds like 70s AOR and I do not care for it- they aren’t bad songs, but the production kills them for me. And she’d do jazz better once she hooked up with Charles Mingus.

So far better than I remember it. Much better for me, more austere than Bryter Later. A little bit too soft and dreamy- I still like his demos and Pink Moon the best, but this is a good representation of his work. A nice listen.

An important album for the band, establishing them as less hardcore punks and more rappers... and their style of trading lines and being not altogether serious is here. but the music is so-so, and the lyrics are juevenile. I liked this album when I was a kid, but Paul's Boutique and Check Your Head just crush this thing. I'm not going to listen to it again.

green onions song is lightning in a bottle/ more onions is the afterglow. the rest of the album is so-so. if you like soul music or organ music, it probably does a lot for you- it's all very well played by a super-tight band. it's just not my thing. I dig it a bit more when the blues brothers stand in front of them....

I am not fond of heavy metal in general, but I grew up in the 80s, so I have some nostalgia. I did listen to Metallica from Master of Puppets through the Black Album and liked them then- they're still in my iTunes library. Going back to Master of Puppets now- it sounds sort of monochromatic and dry- and like every song is at least two minutes longer than it has to be. there are some good moments thorughout, but it is a real chore to listen to. I'm afraid to go back to And Justice for All now... it was my favorite back in the day...

I don't love all psych flourishes here, but this is an obviously restlessly creative band, and it's an entertaining record- if you don't like one song, wait a minute things are about to change. Lots of looping sounds here, kind of minimalist in parts- but mostly a pretty solid rock 'n roll album.

Nope. I hate this fucker. I know it's his best album. I don't care. I've heard plenty from this record, clearly his one of his most introspective albums, but still full of that shock-for-shock's sake shit he deals in. I know he's influential- but I'd aver it's mostly for the worse in the culture that he ever had any career at all. Burn it.

Horror show 80s production; white kid funk and island music out through a blender of super-80s synth. Unlistenable.

System's first album; Sugar is a great tune of course, but the work here is immature and not a lot of fun to listen to at album length. This was never the most lyrically nimble band, but it's embarrasingly bad here. The next album would be a masterpiece, and the albums after that a step downwards from which they would almost never record again. an extremely high potential, highly frustrating band.

not the most sonically varied album is this R.E.M debut; they'd broaden their palette in the 90s- but it's got plenty of youthful energy and a couple of indelible songs (radio free europe being the standout). And there's not a bad track on it really, quite pleasant to listen to. the only downfall is the saminess of the track list. it's an auspicious beginning for a major band, and I'm glad to have finally heard it all.

I like the acoustic blues plenty- recorded in the 30s and 60s- all favorites. the Mississippi juke joint stuff recorded in the 90s is fire too. but this boogie-woogie Chicago style blues rock like here--- can't stand the stuff. just like sandpaper in my ears. there's no blues emotion here- just whisps of the form- it's overworked and underformed. hate it. though I don't disdain BB King himself- so it can have one extra star out of respect.

Much better than the BB King disc. I’d prefer a more stripped down version- but Muddy Waters in any context is good blues.

Loved it. A bad idea boyfriend heard of but never heard. Poly Styrene must have been Corrin Tucker’s favorite…

Read the lyrics to Born in the USA for the first time- so it’s about the mistreatment of the middle class, and in particular Vietnam Vets upon their return. More progressive than US Fascists seem to think. Two issues: musically it’s extremely obnoxious- just a terrible fucking song. AND it’s viewpoint is parochial- focused on the poor vets- but while they are victims- haw about the millions of Vietnamese lives disrupted and ended in the “kill anything that moves” doctrine that war was waged by. Fuck the USA. Also- this album’s production is 80s in the bad way, and Bruce is always singing anthemically- it’s wearying. He chills out on “I’m on Fire” probably the best track on the record. I didn’t know “Dancing in the Dark” was on this record- obviously the biggest hit (504 million views!). It’s catchy and were it arranged and performed in the 1950s I’d probably love it. As is it’s the most synth and sax laden but of 80s schlock imaginable. Put this goddamn album in the discount bin or burn it. My enjoyment- one star. For its earnestness, I’ll give it one more.

Vocals are too low in the mix most of the time- indistinct and flat; shitty 80s synthesizers are poured all over every song. Really unpleasant to listen to. the title track and closing track are tunes strong enough to stand out to me despite the production- so maybe if the whole thing was re-recorded by an actually decent band, even more songs would reveal themselves. but yeah, I profoundly dislike this.

A good one; strong songwriting, decent singing, powerful emotional core.

A decent sound that surpassed what I expect when I hear the genre is rap-rock. Still, it’s lyrically super shallow and I got about six songs in and had to wave the white flag.

Boogie woogie blues that George Thorogood got his shtick from. I don’t like him, and I don’t like this. Jimmie some Mississippi John Hurt or Skip James or Taj Mahal or RL Burnside. Keep this shit to yourselves ye drunken vapid party people.

I listened to more than half of every song (except pyramids, only ⅓ of that monster), waiting to hear anything that would make it clear to me why this guy is so acclaimed, and why people so fervently wait for his mercurial ass to just release a fourth album already. BUT- no. All I hear is competent pop r&b. Nothing I would normally listen to, or am I interested in starting. Kinda crap actually; it’s ok with me if he can’t get himself to produce any more music. if someone perused my reviews thus far they'd think I hate almost everything... it ain't true. I have a music library 6000+ albums and growing- all of which I like quite a lot. but I haven't liked much pop music since the early 60s. the music seems tainted by market expectations. Not Frank Ocean so much- he's an earnest singer influenced by other capitalist pap. so he does a better job of making it, but it can't help but be what it is.... i'm sure i'm missing something- but i gave it a real good chance....

A strong psychadelic folk/rock album. of course I was very familiar with the White Rabitt and Don't You Want Somebody to Love, but I was unfamiliar with the whole ouevre of Jefferson Airplane's mach 1 run of the late 60s early 70s. Turns out that this is a very tuneful and well-written record. I'll be keeping it in rotation in the future to get to know it more deeply.

ok. i'll listen to it- but for christ's sake, why is ithis shit in the book? why do you make me suffer? OK- i've skimmed it- and that's all I can take. Positives: she has an amazing voice and great phrasing. some of the songs, especially the closer are very well structured pop songs. Finally- all real instrumentation- no synths or overproduction. BUT- the songs are all hallmark-movie level love songs filled with non-specific lyrics that could apply to anyone at anytime- which is I guess how it gets billions of streams. She sings them with gusto, but they all seem hollow.... and man, well structured or not- if I can't buy your heart is in it- you just annoy the hell out of me. which this record does. it was calculated for mass appeal down the second. hundreds of millions of people seem to love this record. everyone has terrible taste.

Probably the first great Beatles album; the first two are fine, but just collections of pop songs. This one is too, but these songs were written in a compressed time period and they sound like they belong together. It's also nice that this and Beatles for Sale both have tolerable stero mixes. I'm not going to write a review here- if someone likes the early Beatles, which I do, then there's not a bum track on this record- it's 30 minutes of sonic joy. I'm only withholding a fifth star b/c there are better Beatles albums to come....

It’s techno; nice samples provide an olden times vibe in spots. Wish it was more haunted…. Still it was good to work to.

some decent songwriting here- in the vein of rock n' roll stompers. vocals are often a bit higher pitched than I like; they're kind of like a dollar-store led zepplin with really stupid lyrics. anyway. nice to experience the band whose song dominated a year of my youth via quiet riot. but i'll never listen to it again.

well geez. I know this record back and forth. One of my top 3 for Dylan- "It's all Right, Ma" and "Gates of Eden" and "It's all Over Now Baby Blue" are probably the best closing triad of any album ever. Even the lesser known cuts are gems- Love Minus Zero/No Limit is one of his more beautiful love songs; his 115th dream his liveliest farce. i'm not qualified to talk about how good this record is. 5 stars goddamnit

They’re an ok band. I skimmed all their early records; for me there’s too much keyboard and too many mid-tempo tunes. I don’t care for it, but I’m glad to have heard it.

it's ok. I like the 60s production: the jangly guitars and the harmonizing they do. but the songs are slight in concept and super literal in lyrical meaning. it really is bagain bin 60s pop, which means I like it better than most anything in the last twenty years of pop music, but I'd never choose to listen to it again.

an album that highlights how absolutely tragic this man's early death was; he's not just a brilliant guitarist but also a brilliant songwriter. Little Wing is one of my favorite songs of all time (first heard the instrumental by Stevie Ray Vaughn); But there's classics abounding on this thing. Even the less famous songs, even the song that Noel Redding leads go down easy because the band is so effortlessly muscular. Again, that we only got three records and he died before fully transitioning into what would come next- the mind boggles at what could have been. If I were to lob one criticism at it- several songs are only 2-3 minutes long, and I really think they could have been doubled in length because Jimi can stretch any tune out and make it even more brilliant.

I listened to about half of it. It’s fine. Nicely played UK pop rock. Boring mostly, it made little or no impression on me. I listened to a bit of their 2025 record after this where they sound more grizzled and tempered by the woes of the world- and it’s an improvement.

Solid high energy punky rock ‘n roll. A bit one-note, but if you’re in the mood for what they do, they absolutely deliver. Very enjoyable.

I am not a fan of Bruce Springsteen at all; he just seems to lack the kind of insight into human nature, the ability to make a song embody a situation rather than just describe it. I'm sympathetic to the blue collar concerns in his lyrics- he just seems like a second-tier songwriter who somehow hit it big. That said, this album is as close as I've heard to him getting it right. If his career had devloped from this point, instead of this point being a deviation, then I might be a fan. it's still a bit too slow, and the lyrics a bit too literal, but I can feel the pain and anger in them. and the two songs about cops were amazing. so all in all a decent record from Bruce. I know it stands tall in his discography, and the critics will give it 5 outta 5. but this is just my opinion.

Michael Jackson is a hard NO. Disco is an even harder NO. Michael Jackson’s disco album is a FUCK NO. I managed to skim it for a minute. That was a minute I’ll never get back.

What can I say? This is an interesting eclectic band- that is all brains and no heart. Bowie did things like this in the 70s- and much better. I think there's something here, but other than the one big one, "Once in a Lifetime", I'm just not into this music. I personally find David Byrne annoying and the songwriting underbaked- it just does nothing for me.

I first heard a Smiths' song when Radiohead covered the Headmaster's Ritual- and so this is the first album I looked for, and it remains my favorite of the four Smiths albums (though some of the singles might eclipse any of the material here). It's a great record- Barbarism begins at home is a bit overlong, and from the first 8 tracks that's the only bad thing I can muster. Most of the album is so great in fact that the lumbering, preachy, joyless, maudlin album closing vegan dirge that somehow became the stupid title of the record- not even that colossal piece of shit can stain the rest of the record. it does take a star off though. I mean, fuck industrial capitilist farming for it's cruelty to animals and it's degridation of all our food quality as well. but vegans can bite it too; nature is cruel, I don't care for it myself, but all of natural slection is red in tooth and claw. Have as many cries about it as you like, the universe is stubbornly indifferent.

I listened to two songs fully, then skimmed the rest of the record. Yep. I hate everything about this. I don't like synthetic pop music as a rule, but add vapid technical show-off lyrics, and drench it all in 1990s mainstreem cool.... ick ick ick. 0 stars or one if I must.

My dad liked this album a lot. My first boss loved it too. The lyrics are clever, and somewhat thoughtful. Ok, that's the end of the compliments. The music is light jazz/light funk/yacht rock shit for yuppies. Fuck this band right to hell; they are literally everything I hate in music all in one package- and what's even more irritating is that b/c of all the old people in my life digging this record, I've heard it a lot, so I know all these songs back and forth and my brain gets a little hit of dopamine when I hear them. It reacts like listening to this garbage is pleasant. UGH.

What can I say? 50% I like this; nice, no-nonsense rock ‘n roll with a bit of punk energy. And the songs are pretty well written too. But I don’t like the sound of it at all. Not Costello’s voice/persona and not the rinky-dink keyboard that pervades the whole record. Not for me.

For what it is, the last writings of a mentally ill man in the throes of addiction, it’s necessarily of variable quality, but when it hits it hits. Surreal psychedelic folk- it goes down nice. Pink Floyd was a lesser ban without him.

A lumbering drunken ox of a rock n roll band. Don’t like them at all. Two stars for being not shitty prog or rap metal.

it's not for me. I know Bill Callahan from the Smog Days and his quarantine collab with Will Oldham. I like him OK, but something about his voice/persona and the songwritng, while it is so so close to so many other artists I enjoy, it constantly sits just to the left of something I would ever actually want to listen to. ah well. close but no cigar.

I am not a huge Beach boys fan, but this album is solid throuought. Sloop John B, I just wasn’t made for these times, Caroline no…. All stone cold classics and a remarkable turnaround from their early days. Too bad that they never reached this height again

decent vocals and sometimes even decent songwriting. arrangements are poppy trash tho'. could only make it halfway through. i'd give it 2.5, but if I can only give whole stars, it gets rounded down.

Nope. I like the sound of Sonic Youth, even as they restrain themselves and try out more conventional rock songs, they tune their instruments differently, they let feedback fill all the empty spaces in songs… decent noise rock sounds. But the songs aren’t that good, and the lyrics are embarrassingly bad, sing-songy literalist and full of forced rhymes. The songs’ concerns are not interesting, and the music doesn’t make up for it. And any time Kim Gordon “sings” it pains the ear. Sonic Youth is best when they shut up- gummies the SYR series over this any day.

really having a loser of a week aren't we. this may be the most annoying album I've ever heard. sing-songy children's choir faux adult pop music. do people actually listen to this shit? FUCKING AWFUL. if the next few albums are anywhere near this level, i'm done with this project. I wish I could give negative stars.

it's sixties pop rock. unremarkable, but not awful. kind of boring is the biggest problem- also the rinky-dink organ that pollutes the songs isn't helping. there's a nice variety of styles here, but they're all aimed in the same direction. I guess if I were twenty years older than I am, and I heard this as a kid, I'd be nostalgic for it, it is redolant of that era- but it's far from the best the era offered. 3 stars (2.5, rounded up)

The first decent album recommended by the site in a week. Good experimental rock 'n' roll. Of course I've heard of the Pixies and I know some of their songs, but I never listened to a whole album before. I'm not real fond of Black Francis' high pitched singing voice- Kim Deal fares much better here, but it's not a deal breaker. This is a good album that I'll listen to again. 4 stars.

Steve Earle goes on to do albums I like a lot more, this one is just a bit too mainstream country in arrangements and production. It speaks to how good he is that I could listen to the whole thing anyway (I usually wouldn't get more than thirty seconds into an album that sounds like this). on the deluxe edition he does a killer version of State Trooper too. anyway, everybody starts somewhere. I like Steve Earle a lot- this record, not so much.

I knew a couple of these songs as covered by others. This album could do with a bit more stylistc diversity, but the one mode most of it is in is amazing- moody, mealnacholic, classical sounding guitar picking. and cohen sounding so young with his voice in a higher register than I'm used to. anyway. I loved it.

I haven't listened to this record in decades; It was nice to come back to it. It is definitely lacking in tonal variation, but if one is in the mood for a blend of free jazz mixed with hardcore- this is the album to go to. Zorn's mid 80s to late 90s output is mostly stellar, and this is not exception. An exhilarating and enjoyable ride. i'd give it 94/100, but 4 stars is our closest approximation.

I like some Sinatra albums; yes, he's a great singer. no, these upbeat orchestral pop tunes nothing for me. his more melancholy stuff hits harder. this is OK.

Ok, for reference- I like jazz. I don't understand it on an academic level, but it just sounds good to me- I've got more jazz albums in my iTunes library than any other genre (1500 or so). So I get this right away. Mid 50s hard-bop and bebop with Latin rhythms. It's not bad, but Latin Jazz has never done anything for me- that beat isn't awful, but it is like putting a straitjacket on the rhythm section. again, not terrible- just nothing I'd usually willingly listen to.

more Elvis Costello. Dammit. I don't care if it's his best album (if it is)- I do not like the guy. at all. I'll try it- briefly. If it isn't as dominated by low-grade keyboards as the last one maybe it'll be tolerable.... Ok, I listened to the first five tracks. It sounds decent this time, but I DO NOT like his vocals or inflection or phrasing or something. This music is not for me. It’s for the classic rock loving drunken thick necks that I grew up around.

Austere, boring as shit, thin sounding German techno. Music for AIs to relax to after they’re done harvesting all the world’s data. From both musical and cultural perspective, I couldn’t hate it more than I do.

Oh, fuck off. Are you sure the book this site derived its list from wasn’t titled “1001 albums to avoid like the plague if you want to retain even a shred of optimism about human potential or the value of existence over nothingness.”? Ray of Light is the only half decent Madonna album. Throw this and the rest on the metaphorical fire.

The songwriting is pretty decent, and Cyndi is a powerful and authentic vocalist. I like this album, but goddamn the 1980s electronic drums get monotonous. The arrangements are mediocre at best. Still within the constraints of 80s production the songs still shine through. Even the non-single cuts are high quality- unlike a lot of 80s albums, I was able to listen all the way through. Even the B-side is quite good- a fast paced almost rocker. (remixes on the 30th anniversary edition were dreck; the demos superfluous- but this doesn't count against the original album)

Pretty decent shoegaze influenced rock music; vocals are a bit thin when they should be soaring, but most of the time more than suffice. I've only listened to it once, so my opinion won't get more specific. Nothing in it grabbed me and demanded that I listen to it again, but it's more than serviceable and sounds like the kind of music that will be someone's favorite somewhere.

boring techno with occasional unmemorable vocals. wouldn't bother me if it were in playing in a movie (though it would probably cast doubt on the quality of the movie) nothing I would usually opt to listen to, nor will I start now. blech.

Ok, this is from left field, and that should be a good thing, but I have a limited tolerance for German theatre, even though I know it's an influence on guys like Zorn and Waits, whom I love. This however, can't get into the vocals, and have no mood to hear her plow through 26 very theatrical war time drama songs. three tunes was enough to render the verdict. I'm starting to think that the author of the 1001 albums book has taken his desire to be ecumenical to a sinful extreme

the sound of a self-pitying junkie mistaking his self-hate for profundity and encoding it into heavily compressed techno metal to serve as a bible for all the other self-pitying junkies of the world to validate their addictions as a path to faux-profundity. musically and lyrically this is mediocre at best. The fact that it was so influential is a mark against the culture. People are shitty, and this album is their soundtrack. and he did really build it to be so lyrically abstract- all adjectives, no referents... that anyone could insert the details of their garbage lives and think that he's referring to them. God I hate this fucking record.

A bit punk, a bit of funk, and a scoop of pop-Beatles mixed in (I swear a couple of rhythm passages are directly lifted from the Beatles- and the deluxe edition has a cover of And Your Bird Can Sing) Anyway, after the last few horror show records this was perfect- a band I know of but never listened to, that turned out to be quite good actually.

Not awful, just bland dance music that I can’t imagine ever wanting to listen too. The sort of music that when AI produces it nobody will notice the missing human element as there’s almost none there to begin with. Whoever wrote the list could’ve had a bit more bias towards actual music over vapid electro jingles, despite feeling the need to be all things to all people, and ending up with a list that is equal parts brilliant diamonds and polished turds.

oh har har. the joke's on me. I get it. I bitched on the Basement Jaxx review that I wanted real music and not electronic jingles- and you said, "I know what technically fits the bill! here's every drunken frat boy in the 1980s favorite album to dream of glory to." this music is awful. shrieky vocals, empty lyrics, ostentatioius guitar solos devoid of purpose or soul and plodding lifeless drums. stupid cock-rock for stadiums full of stupid people. the boys are all technically competent, and you can, in moments, hear the better band that they could have been- there's a bit of punk energy that eeks out in a few moments that if the album wasn't overproduced to hell and the boys weren't set on chasing mainstream glory, could have made a better album. they certainly are capapble of writing catchy songs- if only they hadn't used their talents to evil ends. bring back the robots I guess; there's no hope for humanity.

torn between a 3 and 4 star review here- this is obviously a great record- and I love the mood of the music- the jazz samples are great, I like that there are no catch r&b choruses, no skits or nonsense, just beats and lyrics. I just wish they had more to say topically, most of the album is about personal stuff and the rap game itself. it's not bad, just not great. still, if I had to pick a rap album to listen to- this would be a good choice.

the book doesn't go to 2018. it barely goes past 2000, so what in the fresh hell is this absolute dogshit record? is this website taking the piss? is this the recommendation of someone who finished the list? if so, curse them for foisting this trash upon my consciousness. the world is awful enough as it is.

Pretty decent bluesy sixties rock that would be wholly unremarkable but for that Janis has and amazingly supple and powerful voice. Her early death is right up there with Joni Hendrix or Buddy Holly in how much it robbed the world- how much more she’d have done were she not taken in the first phase of her career.

No sir , I don’t like it.

These are some Indian ragas alright. I like Ravi Shankar (I like his daughters a bit better), and this is an interesting album and historical artifact. Not sure I'd pull it out to listen to often, but I like how he tries to explain to the western audience what the hell they're about to hear.

Stevie wonder is too pop in the 60s- and just turns into total schlock in the 70s. His classic period is utterly repulsive to me. I’m sure this is a minority opinion, but the songwriting, the textures, the vocals- none of it does a thing for me. Compares well to modern pop music perhaps, but that’s not saying much.

Johnny Cash might have had a dip in the quality of his records in the 1980s, but Cash in any other era is always 4-5 star material. And this record, with the added interaction with the prisoners- it's brilliant.

Metallica is a mediocre metal band, and Megadeth is their even worse spin off. Mustaine's voice is irritating, but not half as irritating as his arch righ-wing politics. I'll give it two stars for the decent riffing.

the songs seem like they're malformed, like maybe I'd like them better if I was on LSD. Other than Animals and a couple songs of Wish You Were Here there isn't any era of Pink Floyd that I enjoy. I had hopes that the Syd-Barret album would be different (I think his solo album is pretty OK), but this is tedious as all get out.

I’m beginning to think the person who wrote the book is a sadist, why else would he imply that all should listen to this excrement if not to make people suffer. No further review, bargain bin trash like this does not deserve consideration.

I like Norah Jones’ sensibilities and her voice, but this album is a bit too slick for me to really enjoy. Some of her later stuff I like a lot better.

I like their politics; I hate rap rock 99% of the time and Zach’s voice in particular is grating. This just isn’t for me. Again, I’m as anti-authoritarian as they come. Defund the police, abolish ICE, launch the billionaires on a one-way trip to Mars, I’m down with it. Just not with this music.

No. Sampled it. Good production, very busy sounding, lyrically empty- lots of bragging. Not interested.

I'm obviously not the biggest fan of rap music here (don't hate it, it just doesn't resonate with me like other music does). But the beats on this album do it form me and so do the no-nonsense raps. I'd go five stars if it wasn't for all the wasted time on skits and music-free yapping.

yeah. it's good. All of Hendrix's recorded output is at least good. I like the second album a bit better, but this one has the indelible tunes on it. this man's early death is the greatest tragedy in rock n' roll history. President of the 27 club.

A pleasant album with decent if slightly dated arrangements. It's kind of slight, and if not for the austere final record and tragic early death, I think it would remain lost to time. which would be a shame because it is definitely worth hearing. four stars just because Pink Moon is five.

It’s 3 ½ stars really. Bowie’s not a strong enough lyricist to pull off the strummy singer-songwriter tunes. They make for a pretty weak midsection and boring finale. But the opening salvo is three indelible eternal hits, and the biographical tunes in the last third are quite good too. Bowie has a lot better coming, this period in his career seems like a long slow gestation period, and this is near the end of it.

I love the feedback laden into the pop songs, but the drums are so low in the mix that it sounds like they were recorded from another room, and the vocals take near the same approach in every song. The pace never seems to change- even faster songs sound like they’re stuck in more. I scanned a couple of their later albums- they get better. There’s something here, but I’d never want to listen to this album again.

the 70s blues/rock guitars are cool; the acoustic instrumental an obvious demonstration of skill. but the bloated, overtheatrical, cringe-inducing harmonies are all present in embryonic form here. the whole prog flavor of yes- rush- genesis- gentle giant is thoroughly offputting to me. the organs and vocals are enough to ruin this for me. no no no no no.