Creedence Cosmo’s Factory
1970
I was 13 when these songs were on the radio and they were ubiquitous. I prefer rock over blues and I don’t like it when the latter is too heavily involved. Songs like Before You Accuse Me are an auditorial assault while Travelin’ Band is a favorite, a punchy rocker minus the heavy blues. Hard to rate an album with five songs I’ve known for 45 years, so I’ll give it a 3/5.
I bought his first three solo studio albums as they were released. I would place Imagine slightly ahead of Plastic Ono Band because of two songs, How Do You Sleep and Gimme Me Some Truth which I consider his best solo efforts.
I have a couple vinyl copies of this album since I first heard it upon its release in 1966. I found this album to be a mix of their earlier work, Scarborough Fair, combined with a more progressive sound with Dangling Conversation and Patterns. Simon’s sweet melodies shine on Flowers Never Bend and For Emily, my personal favorites which are a precursor to future albums Bookends and Bridge Over Troubled Waters.
As a side note, Feelin’ Groovy, was a favorite of my Mother’s and it could be heard most mornings as I ate my Cheerios.
Having bought this several years go. I confess I don’t listen to it often. It’s not an album to listen to casually, but warrants attention. My favorite song, Untitled #3, is reminiscent of Part 1 of Keith Jarrett’s Kahn concert. Much of the album floats by unnoticed.
It was during my freshman year at high school that this album came out. Cisco Kid, a huge hit, overshadows the album, and is the only song most people remember, to their disadvantage. Four Cornered Room, my favorite, is a gentle freak out occasionally reminiscent of The End by The Doors. To my teenage ears the sound was cool, exotic and still is.
This is not the My Girl Temptations it’s edgy with searing social commentary, however, slower songs such a s Love Woke Me Up This Morning were bland and lyrically simple. The gold nugget is Papa Was A Rollin' Stone. A song seared into my brain from the age of 14.
Not going to spend much time on this review, due to my dislike of all things Stone Roses. Their biggest sins? Boredom, that seems to melt all the songs into one big droning mess. Blah.
I’ve attempted to like Porisehead many times through years, but nothing I heard pulled in. It’s electronic trip hop which I typically enjoy , but this album is a bit too gloomy, or downbeat, for my tastes. I suppose the biggest sin it’s its boring. As a huge fan of Bjork, the opener, Mysterons, is a favorite but not enough to keep this Dummy in rotation.
Wonderwall by Oasis and Waterfall by The Stone Roses ask the musical question, is she liquid or made of brick? Does anyone care?
The summer this album was released, I was doing some serious yard work. As I scraped moss from the driveway cracks, a fuzzy drum heavy The New Pollution to the rambling Sissyneck kept me on my musical toes, or, in this case, knees. Along with DJ Shadow’s Entroducing, Odelay was my favorite albums of the year.
Skylarking would be an excellent EP or drastically pared down album. Summer’s Cauldron, Grass, The Meeting Place, Dear God, Earn Enough For Us, and Another Satellite anchor an album that tends to drift in to mediocrity with its bloated middle. Look to their Black Sea album for classic hits like General
Majors and Respectable Street.
This is my second favorite Cale album after Hobosapians. The first four songs plus Paris 1919 are the bedrock of this album, melodic and oddly complex in their simplicity. Hanky Panky Nohow has an effect that stops me in my tracks and puts me into a meditative state. I’m not always sure what the lyrics mean which lets the gorgeous melodies shine,
First off, not a fan of the Black Stripes. I find their songs to be a disjointed, tuneless, and incredibly irritating. To be included in 1001 need to hear albums makes me question the musical wisdoms of its creator. The piano and piano solos are heavy handed and simplistic. One way for me to appraise the worthiness of a song is if my toe taps. If there’s music playing, I’m tapping my toes. For this album? Not so much. My feet sat flat footed. Really, just horrid.
I’ll start out by saying I’m not a big metal fan with a few exceptions like Metallica, Motörhead, and Opeth, a fantastic Swedish death metal band. This album has everything I like in metal, grinding buzz saw guitars, a hint of melody and the inclusion of slower songs like Changes and St. Virus Dance which offer relief from auditory assault.
When I first saw the Material Girl video on MTV I thought, man, this is great…the beat, lyrics, the diamond necklace…then Borderline and I was a fan. That’s where it ended. Nothing after that, except Like A Virgin. excited me because I just wasn’t listening to that type of music back then. And I’m still not. 2 stars.
So much has been written about this album I have little to offer. I first heard it when I was eight years old and thought Elenor Rigby was the deepest song I’d ever heard. Face in a jar? Wow. Is it a perfect album? Take away Yellow Submarine the, then yes. Not a fan of the brassy Got to Get You Into My Life, but Here, There, and Everywhere is my favorite McCartney song. Better than Sgt. Pepper? I can’t be objective enough to offer an opinion.
Without the piano solo in Layla, this album is chock full of tired blues riffs...the drudgery of Have You Ever Loved a Woman and repetitive descending blues chords of She's Gone. Yes Eric Clapton, like Keith Richards and others, helped integrate blues into 60's rock mainstream. Clapton held tightly to the blues roots while bands like The Stones went to a more experimental, hook heavy direction I prefer. Fittingly, the piano solo on Layla, was not written nor played by Eric Clapton, but was most likely stolen by Jim Gordon from Rita Coolidge. Thanks Rita. Eric not so much.
If I was a 16 year old stoner, I'd love this album. I'm not. When the kids grow up, they switch to real punk bands like The Clash, Sex Pistols, or Black Flag. This is a punk album on training wheels.
I’ve never listened to an Aretha Franklin album but this I enjoyed.
For me this album really took off at Everything Happens To Me, which had me mentally floating among billowy…never mind, I like it. The explosive Swinging Detective has these crazed Wagnerian screeches, fantastic. After you catch your breath comes Auto Destruction, screeching metal, doom drums, and schoolyard chants result in an excellent industrial freakout. Intensive Care gives you two minutes to calm yourself when boom! comes the swirling, pulsating, cartoonish The Most Beautiful Girl. Oh, don’t miss the Sounds From the Big House which creates impending doom by pounding big things while a jazzy organ dances in the background. Buy it, play it, love it.
Yes the record is universally acclaimed for some reason unclear to me. I’m clearly missing something so I’ll blame it on my musical ignorance and move on.
Aladdin Sane is one of my least favorite Bowie albums and contains one of my least favorite “hits”, Gene Jeanie. The real standout is his version of Let’s Spend the Night Together and a crazed Panic in New York, a cacophony of Bo Diddley beats and general mayhem. Time is Paul Williams inspired with a few too many lie, lie, lies. Compared to Ziggy, Honky Dory and Low and others, I find this album lacking in significance.
When this album came out, disco, thankfully, was on its deathbed. Great early 70’s disco songs like Rock the Boat and I Feel Love gave way to late 70’s disasters like Disco Duck. Two years had passed since the magnificent Saturday Night Fever. In 1979, Tom Petty was wearing a Disco Sucks button while punk and new wave were taking hold. Then came Chic. All I can say is wonderful. Ahhh, freak out! Yes, it’s a disco record but songs like Savior Faire, Happy Man, and At Last I’m Free break out of the mold giving the album a sophisticated twist. I enjoyed this album from start to finish. Even Tom Petty might have agreed.
I’m a huge fan of Colors by Jamie xx but this album pales in comparison. The opening track, Intro, a clomping beat heavy head bobbing wonder gives way to a functional but uninspiring VCR. The rest of the album was heavy on beats but left me cold. L
In 2004, I began my love of hip hop with the release of Madvilliany by Doom and Madlib. A year late came Fishscale, the Sgt. Pepper of rap with the dense Shakey Dog to Whip Me With a Strap, a J Dilla beat heavy testimonial, and Kilo, a stuttering, horn heavy masterpiece. A great entry for hip hop neophyte.
Suck my kiss? That’s a visual I’d rather not put into my brain but there it is. I found no enjoyment in this mess. Flea’s funky bass lines might have worked on a release less chaotic as this. If not for Under the Bridge this is a half star album.
I became aware of Kate Bush through the fabulous The Whole Story, a greatest hits compilation but had never heard a complete album. Big mistake. This was a time of creativity with the release of Avalon, Thriller, and Imperial Bedroom and this album fits right in. Heavy drum beats and Bjorkish vocals create an alternative to the horrors of 80’s music yet to come.
I’m offended I had to listen to this album. Years ago I listened to another grime album Boy in the Corner by Dizziee Rascal and was underwhelmed by the heavy staccato beats battering my ears. This is no exception. Ba ba, ba ba ba ba, boom! It wears me out. I can imagine hearing this on a sweaty dance floor after downing a dozen Ridley Brown Ales, but those days are far behind. This is an album someone might put on a list knowing there are far better rap albums in order to appear edgy and cool. It’s not.
Had never been a big fan of reggae until I heard The Harder They Come soundtrack and Bob Marley’s greatest hits record Legend. I prefer songs like Many Rivers To Cross and Sitting in limbo because they don’t have a heavy reggae beat, which I prefer. Except for standards such as No Woman No Cry and Lively Up Yourself and my favorite Them Belly Full, songs like Rebel Music and So Jah S’eh have me running for the volume button, to turn it off.
Listen to their album, It’s My Life, and everything on this album will pale in comparison.
I knew nothing bout Julian Cope when I heard this album. First off, it’s very long and a bit exhausting. The first song of interest to me was Promised Land, I enjoy how it slowly builds to soaring guitars. I’m not interested in type of music so I’m not to spend much time here.
What a burst of joy! I think it’s best heard as a whole, like a Mozart concerto, to fully grasp the sample heavy grandeur of this album. Frontier Psychiatrist is a perfect example of the groundbreaking mash of spoken word, celestial choirs, and old school scratching. A masterpiece.
In the late 70’s disco dominated the radio forcing disco haters like me to turn to other earlier forms of music like classic musicals and The Beatles hoping someone would come along to save us. They did, in the form of New Wave, punk and SKA. A landslide of new bands like The Clash, Elvis Costello, The Specials, and The Ramones arrived like a musical renaissance. Along with scooping up every new Ramones release, I saw them in concert in 1980 at a small Seattle venue. Hooky classics like Beat on the Brat and Blitzkrieg Bop had me jumping up and down like a pogo stick establishing the Ramones sound. While album is not perfect with more generic songs dominating the middle, this is a groundbreaking, disco crushing masterpiece. One, Two, Three, Four!
Years ago when I taught fifth grade I asked a student what his favorite band is and he said Korn. I thought, what a perfect band for a ten year old playing air guitar in his bedroom. That hasn’t changed. My god what awful music this is. To me it has zero musical value. Grinding, screaming, funk beats mix to create perfect mix of brain cell killing crap. Yes I know there’s a place for this kind of drudgery but I don’t live there.
I discovered Scott Walker’s solo work a few years ago with the release of The Drift, a meat slapping, duck quacking wonder. Scott 4, released prior, is the last of the his pop albums, popular in France, Scott released before his experimental phase. Filled with dramatic, grandiose songs like The Seventh Seal and The Old Man’s Back Again, it’s my favorite Walker album.
What the hell? I’m concerned when the first song sounds like the outro to Saturday Night Live. It’s as if the idea was to put all of Dion’s most mediocre songs in one album. One listen to his classic album Dion with Abraham, Martin, and John, Purple Haze and He Looks A lot Like Me has me scratching my head on why this excruciating set of strummers is worthy of a listen. Unless, god help us, there are more Dion albums on the list.
Not my thing by a long shot. If people enjoy this, great.
I really did not want to listen to this album but I made a commitment, so here I go. How anyone can listen to Hot Dog and keep
listening stuns me. But I did. Limpy sings, “Fucked up Aids from fucked up sex” and follows up with “kiss my starfish”, an apparent contradiction. I don’t mind questionable lyrics, I listen to gangster rap, but this has no charm, cleverness or a friggin melody. No musicality. Check out Ten Inch Nails, they show how it’s done.
The title song is fantastic, the rest was fine.
I bought this album pretty much when it came out. It’s a masterpiece. Billy Jean and Beat It were played endlessly on MTV and the album sold a few billion copies. It’s one of the few 70’s albums you can still pick up at Goodwill.
This is an historical document. The roots of hip hop on this album are hardly recognizable today. No bitches, hoes, or calls to violence. The theme of the album is to rock it and shake it, so refreshing. Even today, it’s excellent music for a party or something to play at the business end of a chronic break. It’s not, however, something I’d play often, with its repetition and simple beats.
Not sure if I listened to it or not but not my style.
Big fan of 70’s 80’s punk but this was a bit generic for me. Great for cleaning the house or banging your head against the wall, but not something I’d listen to again. For me there’s better punk out there.
What can I say? I understand this is supposed to be a landmark album but there wasn’t a moment that caught my attention.
Great Quincy Jones album. Couple classic songs with filler. Girlfriend might be his worst song along with Ebony and Ivory, both involving Paul McCartney. Thriller is a five star album, this not so much.
Man that was long. There’s lots to untangle. What interested me the most was the orchestration, particularly the strings that danced along. This album needs more listenings to fully reveal itself.
Blues based music is not my thing and this didn’t change my mind. Strawberry Letter 23 is a classic but not on this album. He did play all the instruments which is notable achievement.
Solid CCR album containing my favorite song of theirs, Lodi. As with all CCR albums, there’s a mix of country rockers and songs that are more blues based. It’s the rockers like the title song and Bad Moon Rising, minor hits of their time, that I prefer.
It was better than I thought. Not great or even good but there’s a choral section I really enjoyed in the first song. Other than that, not so much. For that chorus I give it a 3.
I found this to be excellent background music for a wine tasting event in Napa Valley. Nothing grabbed my attention except for Summer Samba, which has been done by musicians from Andy Williams to Dizzy Gillespie. If you’ve heard the Getz/Gilberto album, you get the idea.
For me, a classic. The language is a bit dated and offensive but it’s an important rap album.
My third favorite Pixies album when they were at their primal nest.
2001 was a great year for music with Vespertine the clear winner. Heavenly choruses and Serge Gainsburg inspired orchestration create a musical euphoria. Currently it’s one of my top ten albums of all time.
Yes I understand he was a significant soul pioneer in the vein of Curtis Mayfield and Issac Hayes
but he pales in comparison. Compare Across 74th Street
to Shaft or Superfly, two far superior soundtracks.
To me this is a grower album, gets better with time. It’s sooo loud but it has quirky brief melodies that drew me in.
Its biggest crime is it was very boring. Nothing caught my attention.
This is not my thing so I’ll reserve judgement. Decent cover of War Pigs.
Loveless is a mesmerizing drone of excellence, a show gazing masterpiece. Why then MBV? To recapture lost glory? Money? Can anything match Blown A Wish? No. Soon? No. I can see if they musically went in a different direction but this is just an inferior attempt at Loveless 2. Skip.
My high school music teacher said anyone can sing as long as they stay in pitch. This guy can’t sing, it’s unbearable. I was like a dog covering its ears with his paws. The music itself was decent, but that voice! Pick a note and stick with it.
Like a dog covering his ears
Huge fan of Smog but this album not as much. It’s a bit too sedate for me, with few punchier songs you’ll find on Smog releases.
Cars was a minor hit when I was in high school but I had never heard the album. It’s very good, to a point. The first half was fantastic electronic pop but two things happened. First, the songs all began to sound like Cars and secondly, it was a bit too long, excessively long. Cut it by a third and it’s a five star album.
Now this was a surprise. Being an XTC fan I didn’t know this existed, especially since it’s not on Spotify. I had a back and forth love/hatred for this album. It started out very strong with River of Orchids, a real oddball and ended with the triumphant The Last Balloon. Between the two were a mix of Andy Partridge songs reminiscent of early XTC and heavier highly orchestrated songs.
Not as bad as I thought. I can tell why it was popular, but not for me.
Masterpiece. No heavy production or autotune or a rhinestone suit , just a man and his guitar. His songs are gritty, simple, and to the point. No wonder he was shunned by Nashville.
I want to like this, I really do, but I don’t. The music washes over me with little affect.
Great musicians, excellent blues singer so I’m not sure why it does nothing for me. I’m not a blues fan so that’s part of it, but I’m a huge fan of melody which I find lacking. Songs like Rocking Baby and You Don’t Miss Your Water (he really wants water!) bored me crazy, waiting for the song to end.
Smack dap in the middle of the disco/Elton John era comes a back to basics roll and roll record. Springsteen, Tom Petty and others revitalized roots rock, looked disco in the face and said f’off. It’s a fantastic record but what it signified to me was the struggle of that era in keeping classic rock and roll alive.
The first four songs would make a notable EP but the rest mostly filler. My guess its popularity is due to this being the first album the Stones showed song writing potential. I am a bit confused on why this is a 1001 album when I can name seven Stone's albums that are superior.
Not a fan of screeching metal but this one surprised me. I’m not saying I love it but I don’t hate it. Transylvania was excellent..with the driving guitars it reminded me of Rush, a band I do like. I’m not a fan of extensive noodling which this album has in abundance but I just might listen to this again.
Classic, love it. An album, along with Madvilliany began my love of hip hop. Joyful, positive…no hoes or drugs.
The first song got me a bit interested but a real snooze fest after that. I appreciate what they’re attempting to do but a bit too chaotic.
His best of his singer songwriter phase.
I was 17 when this came, I know the hits but I’ve never played the album. It’s solid 70’s rock with two standards, Sweet Emotion and Walk This Way. It’s perfect for a high school, no parents, home party.
Compared to predecessors such as Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine Garbage is a boring droning mess. It possesses no memorable hooks and is buttressed by the well worn alternative music standby, fuzzy grinding guitars. You’re better served by listening to The Bends, Different Class by Pulp, or Bjork’s Post.
Half way through this album my headache started to develop. At the end I devoted the next half hour meditating to get the bodily tension brought on by this “music” erased. It’s the anti Valium. But I must be wrong because apparently it’s a classic.
What a great year musically with albums by the New Pornographers, The Mountain Goats and The Decemberists only to be soiled my this album. Even Bright Eyes shitty album is better than this cacophony.
Day old, day old, day old, da da hoo hoo!
One of the problems of listening to an album per day is there is little time to spend with the music. Some albums, like this, are more complex and need repeated listening to fully appreciate it. A grower I believe.
I guess it’s like a slow motion video of a flower opening, painstakingly slow but with promise of beauty by the end. The songs do unfold, painstakingly slow, but I can’t find the beauty. The problem might be my ignorance about this type of music. Perhaps it is very influential and that’s commendable but is it enjoyable? My ratings are based on my enjoyment of the album and little about its influence. I didn’t enjoy this.
Sigh. I’m not a 15 year old boy.
Hero of the Day has become one of my favorite songs even though I’m not a fan of metal. The soaring strings and thumping staccato beats drew me in. For the orchestration alone I give this four stares.
It’s hard for me not to enjoy Dolly Parton. The first few songs on this album are about her early country life, similar to Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose album except one recorded it at the beginning her career and the other at the end.
Not a fan. Heard It Through the Grapevine, not a personal favorite, was brisk and forgettable. Hey Girl is a pale imitation of recordings by Billy Joel and Freddie Scott. I found the second have to be standard Motown faire with little innovation or spark. I don’t find this album to be revolutionary.
Synth pop is not really my thing, except groups like Talk Talk, OMD, and a-ha. I find the album predictable, bland, and over dramatic.
What a voice. I prefer her live performances over her studio work but a very enjoyable record.
I really thought I would hate this album but was pleasantly surprised. The Werewolves of London ripoff One of Those Things was upbeat and fun. Reminisce Pt 2 was a spoken word John Cale influenced song that drew me in. It’s an odd album that leaves a listener confused but satisfied.
In a year that included masterpieces by Wilco, The Flaming Lips, The Streets, Interpol and Eminem comes Beck with Sea Change, my favorite of the pack. An album, heavily influenced by Serge Gainsbourg’s dark, soaring orchestration, was a constant companion after my divorce a few years ago. Songs like I Guess I’m Doing Fine and Lost Cause defined my life at that time. Some say it’s a depressing record, but no, hints of optimism are weaved through it culminating in this line:
Yesterdays are mending
Sunday Sun
A bit rambling but a few nice moments.
When the song Bella Legosi’s Dead came out it was hailed as the beginning of goth rock. Gloomy and dark the song did not impress. Threads of the song are weaved throughout Closer creating for me a bleak drone.
Where’s the happy? Ugg. It started with a country song that threw me for loop, not a good one. The production is annoyingly loud, confused and random. There’s lots of noise. I don’t like Joy Division either so there’s that.
The music has the voice of a strangled cat and the sound of neutered reggae.
The Christian stuff stopped me in my tracks. Some decent orchestration.
I thought there was no way I’d enjoy this late 80’s dance album, but I was surprised. When I heard the opening notes of Buffalo Stance I thought oh this is just Roxanne Shante singing over Afrika Bambaattaa beats, which intrigued me. This soon changed when the album shifted to a quirky inventive rap/dance record. My favorite is Inna City Mama with a totally left field piano solo that would feel home on a Billy Joel album. There’s call and response, drum freak outs, and old school scratching. A favorite is New Generation, a funky horn filled manifesto. Wonderful.
The influence this album had on early rap was monumental. I appreciate that but it’s not album I would listen to again.
Not a fan of most Latin music but this was amazing. Songs like La Vie, Mama Call, and Bongo Bong totally redefined what Latin music could be.
Oh man I don’t like this at all. It’s too traditional, I just can’t connect. I listened to Manu Chao yesterday who plays alternative Latin music and it was great. It had new wave, punk, rap influences which made that form of music more accessible.
Not my favorite Stones album. There’s two types of Stones songs, one type has heavy blue riffs with a gritty swampy sound and the other is more hook heavy rock, I prefer the latter. The songs Happy and Tumbling Dice represents everything I love about the Stones while songs like Casino Boogie do not.
Velvet underground
Patti smith
Liz Phair
Fantastic
An excellent addition to the beginning of the singer songwriter era. It was album perfect for its time. Wild World, Father snd Son, and On the Road to Find Out expressed the turmoil that was occurring among young men in the Viet Nam era. It also represents the growing divide between the authority of the Silent generation and the restless Baby Boomers.
What makes this album distinctive? Nothing really. A wisp of an album
“Everybody wants to rule the world with Tears For Fears” declares MF Doom on his song Rap Snitch Knishes. A rap sampler, this album is joyous from start to finish.
Madame George makes this a three star album, containing everything Morrison does best. The rest of the songs meandered a bit for me.
Not liking this at all. I heard The Cutter when it was released and was uninspired. There is a slight Doors influence, Don’t You Love Her Madly, but I don’t like The Doors.
Nostalgia record
Gotta Get Away decent Nirvana ripoff
Wasnt 13 when this came out
Nothing new here
Incredibly boring. With albums by People Under the Stairs, Edan, The Streets, and The Roots, 2002 was filled with innovative beats. Power in Numbers pales in comparison.
Sigh, another brainless Nu Metal album. I understand this is an awesome album when you’re 13 but it’s time to grow up.
Fantastic, both historically and musically. Zombie!
I was an elementary teacher for 25 years and developed incredible patience. This album tests that patience. I’m sure it has some musical influence but there’s little enjoyment. A simple four minute repetitive drum solo seems like eternity.
I can understand that an artist that wrote Either/Or and XO would eventually run out of ideas, on this album he does. It’s the same whispery vocals and wrist cutting lyrics but it seems to be seems sort of bland and repetitive.
This first half of the first song was great, then it kept going and going. That’s pretty much how I felt about the entire album…it just kept going and going. Excessively repetitive.
Five Leaves Left was his masterpiece. Strong hooks and gorgeous orchestration littered with musical surprises. This album doesn’t measure up. While it has the same elements, they’re not as striking as Five Leaves Left. But, it’s still a good listen and far superior to most of the schlock being released at the time.
Snooze. Another faceless 90’s alternative band offering a discordant mishmash of off putting, tuneless, hook free sound collages.
Masterpiece, shows a relaxed and social Kurt Cobain showcasing his delicate vocal skills. Includes a gut wrenching All Apologies and a declaration of freedom on About A Girl. Long live cardigans!
It’s Black Friday think I’ll paint the devil on the wall. Ok. Glue sniffing barrage of relentless guitars released from the depths of hell. Not in a good way. My Last Words is a delightful primer on how to blow your brains out with a gun.
Wait for the click!
Time of the Season dominated my transistor radio when I was ten. Classic.
If you want to hear classic gangster rap, this is it.
Not at all what I thought it would be given the title. Need to listen again.
I bought her album Bachelor, No. 2 when released. Filled with hooky folk tinged songs like Red Vines and Susan, I was impressed. Except for the orchestral gem Mr. Harris, this album is different. Less hooky and a bit rambling I found the songs to be a bit monotonous and vanilla. This being her first album I look at it as her finding her way as a songwriter.
Groundbreaking for sure and the opening church bells do generate a bit of excitement, however, the rest of the album doesn’t measure up to the bands better works such as Paranoid and Master of Reality.
Rambling ode to boredom
Lifeless predicable overused guitar licks
Muted blues crap making a non blues fan hate blues even more
Should review his music not his racism…
Just endless notes doing nothing, going nowhere. Who enjoys this endless drone of darkness.
To me The Smiths are the Beatles of the 90‘s. There is a Light That Never Goes Out, is an absurd ode to suicide versus a goofy Some Girls are Bigger Than Others. This is an album that if I put it on, I have to listen to the end. Magnificent.
60s sound with frantic rich orchestration similar to Elton John’s Madman Across the Water. Time Has Come has the mellow sound of The Decembers. What excited me was how the lead singer pronounced the word again as agane. Never heard of them, but I’ll play it gain.
Similar to Randy Newman, Nilsson wrote lots of kid tinged songs such as Cuddly Toy and Me and My Arrow, but he also wrote gorgeous simple melodies with songs such as Sleep Late My Lady Friend. Compared with earlier albums this one has a goofy anything goes way about it. Coconut came out when I was 13 but I never liked it, didn’t make much sense to me. If you want a more conventional pop album listen to The Pandemonium Shadow Show.
For some reason I don’t get understand the praise for this album. It’s a hair width away from easy listening. I don’t find her voice very dynamic or exciting. She does a decent sleepy version of Land of Make Believe. Listen to Bobby Gentry for a little more grit.
I grew up with this album, so it’s hard to be subjective. I can understand not liking this album if you didn’t grow up in that era. I’ve heard it since I was ten and know all the songs very well so Im not sure if I should base my rating on listening to it now when I was young. Then it’s a five, now it’s a three. The album hasn’t aged well and I don’t think it’s relevant for a younger listener.
Sophomoric lyrics about poo poo and magnificent beats. What’s not to like?
This reminds of reviewing wine. People taste notes of woolen mittens and railroad ties while to my untrained tongue it tastes like boozy grapes. This type of jazz has the same affect.
I don’t know how you could listen to this album without a good dose of LSD. The song You Shook Me needs double dose. I was a young teen when Led Zeppelin did its thing. Songs like Rock N Roll and of course Stairway To Heaven, which enjoy, were on the radio. The pop friendly Sticks album is more my speed.
Rambling directionless drek, blah. I saw The Selecter in concert, that’s Ska.
I don’t really know the affect this band had on heavy metal but who cares? It’s horrid. Endless one note solos, fuzzy guitar noodling with no direction or melody. Play the first albums of Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix and compare.
The song Greed sums up this album, fuzzy guitars, devilish vocals and repetitive lyrics…greed, greed, greed. The one song I endured was Brenda #1 due to it having no vocals. This isn’t pleasant music.
Reminding me Bee Gees Odessa, this is a very British album.
Oddly, I enjoyed this album. I’m a big fan of late 70’s punk but unlike the Sex Pistols or The Ramones, The Saints had slower more complicated songs. I’ll listen again.
Louis Prima is certainly wild but the best way to enjoy him is live. He’s front and center doing his thing while Keely Smith, dressed in dark beatnik clothes stands immobile, humorless providing a dour counterpoint to Prima’s insanity. This is music of its time with a Caribbean sound popular then. If you don’t enjoy his music, check him out ion YouTube. He’s a gas.
Bought this album when it first came out and I probably play it a couple times a year. Wings were very popular in at my high school There's a couple misfires like all McCartney albums but songs like Jet and 1985 are bursting with highly produced energy.
Partially responsible for the rise of gangster rap, the album is thrilling, violent, misogynistic and hard hitting, all the hallmarks of a typical gangster rap album. It is also way too much. There are some great songs on here such as Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous, OG Original Gangster and Home of the Body Bag but the album is relentlessly dark and aggressive so I find it hard to listen in one sitting. One song that goes against the grain is The Tower with a Tubular Bells beat and slow sinister rapping. As a bonus is the song Body Count, an uncompromising drum fueled metalish rock song.
I first heard this album in 1977 when I was in the Air Force. I only say that because if I had not been in the Air Force, I never would’ve heard it. I love it. I know very little about prog music so I’m not going to discuss the musicality or any of that. The 20 minute overture is the meat of the album and pretty much everything else is derived from that except Tears the required slow song.
Not my favorite Bowie album, the first too songs are too dense to be enjoyable. V.2 and Sense of Doubt however are instrumental favorites.
I first heard this album around the time it first came out and I remember playing it endlessly. It has a jazzy soulful low-key sound. It deals mostly with empowerment and taking pride in who you are and what you have.
This is perfect music for a teen boy of a certain type. It has cartoonish lyrics, grinding non-melodic guitars, and enough make-up to make Manson look like an alien on a box of Quisp and Quake. I don’t care about him one way or another and I wonder about an adult listening to it for the first time and finding this enjoyable.
Thank You For Sending Me an Angel is my favorite song from my favorite album from my favorite New Wave band. The Talking Heads saved me from both 70’s soft rock and the scourge that was disco. I remember the joy of listening to The Good Thing for the first time, so unlike anything I’d hear before. So positive, odd and joyful. A masterpiece.
With its building suspense and soaring vocals, Take On Me is a classic, after that not so much. The orchestration is top notch but the songs themselves are repetitive and boring. Two points for orchestration and Take On Me.
Favorite Bjork album after Vespertine, Debut is a bolt of sunshine. From the gorgeous Venus as a Boy to the jaunty Human Behavior the album is chock full of quirky beats and melody.
I’ve attempted many times to listen to Sabadou with little success. The first four songs are almost unlistenable, chaotic, and tuneless. I don’t know if there are better albums by this band, but if this is them at their best, no thanks. To get a better example of this style of music listen to Pavement.
Prefer her live work, but this comes close.
Fantastic, experimental as hell, this is not your Hunky Dory, Changes Bowie.
There are many people who claim they bought or listened to this album when it first came out, which of course is untrue. The Velvet Underground was nowhere to be found on the radio when these early records came out, but it was the release of Waiting for the Man and Heroin along with Walk on the Wild side on mainstream radio in the early 70’s that brought the band or Lou Reed to people’s attention. This is a landmark album of which so much has been said that I have nothing to offer. Classic.
I don’t listen to a lot of Prince and only know him because of Little Red Corvette. The first few songs were were excellent, the the middle of the album not so much, then ending with three wonderful songs. A mix bag for me.
I’m a big fan of Elvis Presley‘s 60s songs such as Suspicious Minds, Kentucky Rain, and In the Ghetto, this not so much. I understand that this is another historical album, but it doesn’t make it good. Blue Suede Shoes has not aged well, especially considering that Black performers were doing the same thing with more grit and authenticity. This album is appropriation on the highest level.
I don’t know if this album is experimental or influential because I’m kind of tired of all the influential albums out there. This particular experimental album is just really bad. I don’t know what the Hollywood Symphony is supposed to be and Persian love is an endless parade of bubbly notes. Essentially the album is boring, trite, and unlistenable.
Surprisingly good. I knew all their hits from the album Catching Up With Depeche Mode, but never heard an individual album.
I have to admit, I like more melodic reggae music. Peter Tosh’s Stepping Razor is a prime example. This album washed over me with very little effect. I prefer his work with Bob Marley and The Wailers, which I find more interesting.
It seems that the term overrated was reinforced by this album.
I bought this album when it first came out due to the reviews. I only play the first side of the album due to the first three songs and the ingenious addition of Joe Walsh who helped make the Eagles rise above their traditional, sleepy, southern rock. Life in the fast lane and a new kid in town are my favorite eagle song. I’ve heard Hotel California so many times that I’m not sure if I like it or hate it, similar to stairway to Heaven. Whittle the album down to a three song EP and I’ll give it five stars.
Bloody awful nu metal assault. Not my thing.
Listening to the Explosive song, which has a prominent baseline drone accompanied by an unintelligible pseudo Rasta babbling. Sometimes I wonder why I listen to these 1001 albums that can be so incredibly painful. The song Supreme goes absolutely nowhere, there’s no emotion, no sense that he cares at all about what he’s singing.
Oh boy, was this boring. I tried to listen intently to these albums, but on this one, my mind kept drifting to where I forgot I was listening.
I found some interesting sounds in this album, but it didn’t seem to come together.
I just couldn’t get into this album with the discordant chords and lack of musicality.
Machine Head is Deep Purple at its best with classics such as Smoke on the Water and Space Trunkin’, this album not so much. The songs are more aggressive and discordant. They lack in melody and restraint. Not a favorite.
Never been a big fan of Zappa based mostly on ignorance. I don’t think I liked this album but I’m not quite sure. I was surprised that it was mostly instrumentals and parts of it did catch my attention. This is an album I would have to listen to a few more times, but I probably won’t.
This is soul’s version of easy listening, all the rough edges have been filed down.
Oddly I enjoyed much of the album.
I am a fan of Traffic but not this album. This isn’t my kind of music…the twangy, occasionally bluesy, folky, rock sound. Feelin’ Alright is a great song primarily because it has a strong melody that I think the other songs lack.
Poor jangly pop rock, annoying production.
Yikes, that was rough. It’s true that my ears aren’t trained for this kind of music, but I prefer my music to have a bit more direction.
This album surprised me. It had very little mariachi music and almost no horns, but instead was more indie . The Woven song sounded a bit like Sufjan Stevens and Guerro with its low grumbling voices and the heavy orchestration surprised me.
Woven song Sufan Steven’s
Thought it would be more Mexican
Guerro great yelling voices, grumbling and low
Close behind orchestral like what’s his name
Book and canal the piano guy I like
The album is a pale rehash of everything that R.E.M. has done in the
past.
I enjoy reading reviews where they call this dad music. I was around 20 years old when this came out and at that time it was revolutionary and a relief from disco that dominated the 70s. Yes I am a dad but I wasn’t then. So it’s not really dad music any more than the Rolling Stones or the Smiths are dad music. This is not my favorite album of his, but Racing in the Streets is a favorite.
I don’t enjoy this kind of music so I’ll just leave it there.
I wasn’t listening to that type of music back then and and I’m still not
Everything on this album has been done before, much better.
First off I’m a huge Costello fan. I consider his first five albums to be masterpieces, but that might be because I was in my early 20s when these albums came out, they were a strong rebuke to disco, which was popular at the time. However, this album is really bad. His classic sound is buried beneath questionable production decisions and haphazard melodies. I recommend listening to This Years Model which was both groundbreaking and better suited to his voice.
One of the lessons here is that men are sexually aggressive, as well as inattentive, while women are treated as if they are not sexual beings but at the same time they claim sex is a superpower. And a big fuck you to any man that doesn’t hustle or have money. The stories told here have absolutely no connection to my life.
I was in my early 20s when this album came out along with the Talking Heads, REM, David Bowie and others. This pales in comparison. No one I knew at the time listen to The Police and this album is an example why.
What a mess. My distaste for the band was cemented by whatever this was. A horror.
As a big fan of early punk music, I’m not sure what this is. It seemed to have no direction or melody with a voice that sounded like some dad screaming at his kid. I’m not really sure why this is popular and I’m uninterested in finding out.
Two stars for Nutrocker, otherwise I didn’t understand what the hell was going on.
This album is continually listed as the greatest jazz album of all time much like Sergeant Pepper is listed as the greatest rock album of all time. With so much variety in both genres it’s a bit silly to name one album as the best. But yes this album is a masterpiece, however I find his album Sketches of Spain to be superior.
Misogyny aside, this album is very tiresome. Unlike Death Certificate, the denseness of the rapping became overwhelming. It’s a far cry from It Was s Good Day.
I’ve heard for years how classic this album is but never listened to it. It’s very hard to rate an album like this after hearing it for only one day. The first two songs were a bit repetitive for me but the last song Vein Melter grabbed me with its gorgeous orchestration. I’ll need to hear this how I’m a few more times to really know how I feel about it.
This album came out when I was 16 and the song Killer Queen was played endlessly at high school keggers. The album establishes the sound that would prove to be highly successful on albums such as A Night at the Opera.
That was a snooze fest and I detest Coldplay so…
I enjoy his later work but this is too random for me.
I know I’m going against the grain but I can’t stand this music. To me her voice is shrill and out of control. She destroys any sense of melody.
Sigh, more 90s electronica. Tuneless, repetitive background music.
It's not a great album but it is a pleasant one. I did enjoy the low-key beats but nothing struck me as incredibly exciting. I'll give it a few more listenings to see if the album grows on me
This is a very strange album, I’m not sure what the genre is but Snooby Snacks could come right off an early Beck album. I did enjoy the down beats of Methadonia but the lyrics tended to be juvenile. I do question why the lowest rated album in their catalogue is on this list.
I’ve been listening to this album my entire life. I have two CD copies and three vinyl copies and one cassette tape copy so you know how I feel about this.
I was 16 when this album came out and the annoying Bloody Well Right played incessantly on the radio. I’m not a big fan of most progressive rock, but this album did make it more accessible. I mostly appreciate this album for the hooky song Hide in Your Shell if I ignore the incredibly pessimistic and negative lyrics which were not representative of anybody I knew at that time.
I’ve never listened to Rufus Wainwright but know him for his overwrought interpretation of Hallelujah so I wasn’t expecting much. First song Oh What A World was a pop dirge I really enjoyed but unfortunately that was the high point of the album. Most of the songs fell flat void of any semblance of melody.
Muffled noise, not for me.
I was part of the maddening crowd that bought this album when it first came out based on the song White Winter Hymnal. When I heard the entire album I slipped it back into its cover and never listened to it again. It’s difficult to identify individual songs because I’m never quite sure when one song ends and the next one begins. A calculated soulless affair.
Perfect music for a Friday night cocktail party if people have those anymore. It’s a bit too sedating for me but nice.
There are a few Metallica songs that I like but their entire albums are a little too repetitive and boring for me. Sandman is a decent song and representative of their sound but the rest of the album had a lot of posturing and overindulgent noodling. A few hooks would've gone a long way.
I don't have enough knowledge or experience with this kind of music. It's like the music was a foreign language that I don't understand. I heard the bongos which reminded me of Little Ricky on I love Lucy singing Babaloo.
For me, the first album by the xx is a masterpiece but I don't know what's going on here.
I was surprised to find that I liked much of this album. I had always thought of the Beastie Boys as attracting young men who slam empty beer cans against their forehead. I was wrong. I appreciated the subdued melodic beats and the instrumentals were engaging.
There's nothing I really loved on this album and there's nothing that I really hated on this album, I was just bored.
There's not really anything that I like about this album. The fuzzy screeching guitar work
You can hear multiple songs within one song which means I need to get through parts of the song I don’t like to get to the good stuff. The centerpiece of this album is All Good People, a song so good everything pales in comparison.
Fantastic Powderfinger is a top five Young song.
I’ve tried many times to like Genesis, listened to their their albums and I just don’t get it.
As the title says, bad. It’s really a horrible album. There’s no Billie Jean. It’s filled with Michael’s quirky squeaky sounds and quivering whispery vocals. Man in the Mirror is almost as bad as Ebony and Ivory.
I know this guy is highly influential and very good at what he does but I just don’t like this type of blues. Part of it is because I really like melody and I don’t find much of that in classic blues. I don’t rate my album according to importance but instead on how much I enjoyed it.
Excellent pop rock album.
Two classics. The rest confuses me.
A few classics but the first two songs left me bewildered.
Not a big jazz fan but excellent for background music.
I was a junior in high school when this album came out and the songs were everywhere. It’s hard for people listening to it for the first time today to understand how huge this album was at the time. This is not as some people have mentioned a disco album but rather a funk and soul album.
The release of this album, for me, was the beginning of a musical Renaissance. Disco was beginning to fade into obscurity while punk and new wave were beginning to take hold. While this album was a musical landmark it was not his best album, that belongs to his next album the masterpiece This Years Model. It does contain four of his very best songs Mystery Dance , I’m Not Angry, The Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes and No Action. Unlike others I’m not a big fan of Alison, Watching the Detectives, or Blame it on Cane.
My day was going pretty well until I listened to this album. Another droning British alt 90s grinding guitar album. I read in the notes that this album is similar to Weezer but I detest Weezer. I don’t understand why these bands can’t put just a bit of melody in their songs.
Been listening to it since it came out, classic.
As a huge Sinatra fan I cannot understand why this album was chosen over far better albums. The singing was uninspired and the orchestration subdued and boring. For someone listening to Sinatra for the first time I can see why people are not impressed but to a base that opinion on this one album is unfortunate. Listen to Sinatra's early swing albums or his mid 60's work and then decide.
A few good songs. I think I’ll listen to it a few more times.
My favorite debut album ever. Saved me from disco. Classic. .
This was a big surprise for me I thought for sure I would not like this album because it would be too Irish. While it was occasionally typical Irish music it was also mixed with slower more complex songs that I enjoyed. This one’s a keeper.
An album of mediocre pop punk that is undistinguishable from hundreds of other bands. The one positive is the heavy influence of the band Sparks.
It’s a given that Aretha Franklin is an icon that has a devastatingly gorgeous voice. However, I don’t feel the songs on this album are worthy of her talent. Many of them are traditionally Bluesy with little variation. I’ve listened to different albums by her but I find her to be more of a singles artist for me.
Burning is my favorite song on this album. It’s short, hooky into the point. While the other songs have some great elements such as Under Pressure, they’re just too darn long. The length of the songs caused me to turn against them.
I’m not a big fan of this kind of music. It’s southern, swampy, and boring. Sweet Home Alabama is a fantastic song but much like Stairway to Heaven I’ve heard far too many times. People rate this down because of perceived racism. Well, we’re talking about the South in the 70s so, of course. I rate albums according to the quality of the music not the measure of the man.
It appears I just don’t understand this kind of music. To me it’s loudly offensive, derivative, and repetitive.
Masterpiece. I was about 16 when this album came out and pretty much every song was on the radio. By far his best album which I still listen to today.
To me every album by The Smiths is a masterpiece. Solo albums by Morrissey not so much. The Fatty song sounds like it could be on the Queen is Dead album but the rest of the songs seem to have lost the Morrissey magic.
Big fan of Waits songs but the consistent narrative throughout the album was distracting. Not my favorite by a long shot.
There’s not much worse, musically, than hard rock blues. This album is a prime example.
I don’t know if there’s some sort of mass hypnosis going on around this album? Why else would somebody give it a rating over 2?
Not my favorite Dylan album. The guitars were too upfront and loud for his voice and the Dylan accent at the end of each phrase wore on me a bit.
I had high hopes for this album considering his influence on artists such as Bob Dylan but I was bored senseless. He certainly did ramble which is not a plus and the songs were flat and without melody.
I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night appears to have influenced the Partridge family song Having a Ball. The album is chaotic, loud, and highly derivative. An excellent precursor to bubblegum pop.
The first thing that struck me about listening to this album is that Adele can’t sing, it’s more controlled yelling. I find very little subtlety in her voice and her extended notes can sound flat and hollow. The second thing I noticed is the songwriting is pedestrian and unimaginative. The last thing I noticed is that I don’t like listening to Adele.
All I really know about him is from when I saw him play Clocks on endless award shows. He sounds like he downs Valium by the fistful.
I want to like this album I really do but I just don't get it. There's a lot of really fast notes that overwhelm me. The playing is flawless but to me un engaging. And what's with the solo drumming? It's a lot of noise that leads nowhere.
Standard covers of 60s pop songs including three from Burt Bacharach. I don't understand the excitement when the original versions were better. While it's true that she may be a precursor to Adele, it's not a compliment.
Not as good as Propaganda but quirky melodic and fun.
