There is something just so warm and welcoming when it comes to this sound. Of course the actual production does feel dated as that is pretty inevitable, however, it didn't take away from the listening experience for me at all. From the big band, to the backing vocals and of course with Ray Charles and his amazing voice as the cherry on top, you can't help but have a smile on your face or to sway your body depending on the song. With the amount of songs it did feel like it was dragging near the end but overall the switch between upbeat and slow was dynamic enough to keep me engaged. Beautiful and seamless blend of genres that deserves all the praise.
Starts off strong but very quickly loses most of the energy with a few exceptions like "Dull Life", "Shame And Fortune" and "Faces" at the very end. Nothing too mind-blowing, there are tracks I'd add to a playlist or two (like the ones I mentioned above and of course "Heads Will Roll") but this isn't an album I'd ever fully listen front to back again.
Solid blues album. The way the sound design was done made this album better to me than it may have been otherwise, so props to any and every audio/sound engineer that worked on this cuz they nailed it. Favorite songs are "Been down so Long" and "Riders on the Storm".
Not bad per-se, but nothing really spoke to me and it felt pretty boring. The sax in "Fireplace" was cool at least. Overall though nothing special.
I really like this album, it's a fun listen and the sound has that 70's charm that I have a soft spot for. Another important thing is it felt cohesive. Definitely not for everyone though, you kind of just have to like this type of music and sound.
Others have explained the brilliance of this album more eloquently than I probably ever could so I'll keep this short and just say I absolutely love this album, 10/10, no notes at all. Amazing.
I'm not a ballad person so I definitely enjoyed the first half more than most of the second half, however, the musicianship and talent is through the roof so overall I enjoyed it all a lot nonetheless.
Not really my vibe. I liked a few songs ("Caledonia Mission", "Chest Fever" and "This Wheel's On Fire") but otherwise nothing stuck out to me in particular.
I would've preferred having to listen to "Rockstar" by Nickelback 12 times in a row than this because then at least I would've had a modicum of fun.
Very fun listen. When you do a blend of so many genres it can be hard to put it together and make it sound cohesive but they manage to do that in an interesting and enjoyable way. The "War Pigs" cover is also very good. I will say I don't understand why "Epic" is the most popular when it is arguably the most boring song in this album. Overall though enjoyed it a lot!
I don't really have any thoughts on this one. It was enjoyable but the songs kind of blended together by the end.
This one was tough, not because it's bad but actually the opposite. There is a lot to like about this album, but some of the choices for the singing were really a hit or miss for me. On some songs it fit perfectly (mostly the closer it got to the end.. maybe during making, what they were going for started to settle better? I'm not sure, since I don't know the order they actually made any of these songs or the actual process lol), but on some songs it sounded way too aggressive and felt too distracting. I understand why they went with this style of singing though and I think it was actually the best choice, I guess it's more the execution? Genuinely everything else is amazing, but due to the singing style being so 50/50 for me I can't go full five stars which is a shame.
I love how everything comes together in these songs, the production is really amazing and her singing is phenomenal.
Regardless of how amazing this album is, or any other possible album of his that may show up in here again, out of principle there is really only one score I can give.
It's fine but nothing stuck out to me.
Extremely dated. There are some cool ideas in here but the execution falls short most of the time especially because the production isn't up to par with what I think they wanted to achieve, and the singing is just not that good. I did like "Penthouse and Pavement" and "Soul Warfare" enough to save them though so that's something.
What a cool idea for a live album, and honestly the best way to listen to it is to only listen to the entire thing rather than any individual track due to the atmosphere that gets created. Love it.
Pretty good, got a little repetitive but overall enjoyable.
Way too long and pretty boring
This is tough to review, on one hand the production is fantastic and it's a very important staple in rap history and the messaging about police brutality is as relevant today as it was then, but on the other hand there's not only one but two whole songs back-to-back that are just extremely misogynistic and, as a woman even though sometimes I understand different times existed, there is a limit to what I can take haha. And to top that off there are homophobic and racist lines sprinkled through some songs as well. I also can't comment much about the individual rap abilities since I don't think I'm well versed enough to do so. So I think when you put all that together.. 3 stars is the way to go.
Amazing production. It started to drag at one point, I feel like he could've removed some of the songs in the middle. The lyrics also got.. questionable sometimes, to put it nicely. Overall though it was enjoyable.
Very fun, funky and synthy with interesting singing and lyrics. I like it a lot.
The orchestra was the only good part of this album and why this won't get one star but two stars instead. The singer was god-awful, and the lyrics for "Your Dictionary" are probably some of the dumbest I've heard in a while, and the other songs aren't much better in that regard either. This is for people that think they're cool and who think they "go against the grain" when it comes to their music taste, but just come off as elitist assholes that will listen to anything but actually good music to seem different.
Warm and fun, with amazing singing, songwriting, playing and production. Very enjoyable album.
Solid electronic music, but not the type I like personally. Favorite was Acid 8000.
Not much to say, just really good.
I liked it but I will say not much of the psychedelic rock promised.
The blend of blues and samba is perfectly done, and his singing is fantastic. If any album deserves five stars it's definitely this one.
The storytelling in this is amazing, not really the type of music I'd go out of my way to listen to but I enjoyed this a lot more than expected.
It's an album alright.. They did a lot of cool stuff here which is what bumps the score up for me but I can't say the songs themselves had me all that impressed. Some cool lyrics and good overall theme sure but, personally, that doesn't carry an entire album.
The most insufferable and soul-less version of blues/rock to exist. I hate it. It's like they specifically make it to license it out for car and beer commercials so that insufferable alpha male idiots buy it thinking it's cool and manly. Makes me want to rip my ears out.
I enjoyed this quite a bit, nice soundscapes and good singing.
Some dad rock can be good for the soul, but most of these songs are too slow for my liking.
I mean it was fine but didn't really connect with it
This is why I love music so much
I would give this a real review if she wasn't a weird anti-vaxxer
The concept is cool but the execution was pretty bad.
Some... interesting lyrics.. but overall solid.
More than a feeling may be one of the most overplayed songs to ever exist, but still this album is very good.
Superstition alone makes me want to give this a 4*, but I will say the other songs (while also good) aren't really anything amazing in comparison. Production is top tier though regardless.
I mean it's okay, but got boring and repetitive very quickly.
A very classy chicken shack.
Amazing energy throughout and very funky.
Felt pretty drawn out. I've heard better electronic music.
If you try to imagine the most typical album from the 80s you will probably just imagine this album. Not bad per se but just run of the mill.
Not the type of music I would usually listen to but it was nice.
This was just a musical soundtrack. I guess it's good but not something I'd listen to literally ever again.
I didn't like a single song
A WOP BOP A LOO BOP A LOP BA BA
Started off strong and then didn't keep it going at all minus one track. Nothing bad though just underwhelming.
Nothing much to say, just extremely enjoyable.
Not my type of music, it was okay though
After the god-awful mess that was Apple Venus Volume I, I was pretty scared of what I would have to sit through this time but thankfully this was actually listenable. Kind of diet Beatles but there were some good songs here and there.
They were truly something special.
Cute, fun, cosy, nice folk. Great album.
Typical indie band stuff.
A classic for a reason, so beautiful and calming.
Just felt like I was listening to the radio. Maybe this sound was a bit more interesting in the early 2000s but I highly doubt it.
Some cool solos in there, otherwise pretty standard blues.
I liked a couple songs but overall not my cup of tea.
Honestly not much stuck out to me.
I mean, it's Black Sabbath. Amazing album
Very good atmosphere and I like the production.
Yet another British pop band, I'm so close to giving them all an automatic 1.
Tiny Dancer is good, the rest is pretty boring.
You can never go wrong with some Bossa Nova.
Amazing album, really liked this one
I liked the production on "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, Pt.2" and that's about it.
Ten songs of his voice was a bit too much for me.
The atmosphere is amazing.
I'm sure this hits crazy if you're on LSD. Some cool stuff in there but yeah not something I'd throw on to listen to again any time soon.
Not my thing. I think something stripped down like this could work but it didn't manage to engage me all that much and I didn't find his singing all that good either.
Enjoyed it more than I thought I would but his voice definitely got tiresome quickly lol
I don't care for british pop bands and this list will not convince me
I have no real thoughts on this one, it was okay.
