I love how loud the bass is on this album. The true winners of this record are the bass and keyboards. This felt a lot like ELO, not in a bad way. Very fun record and would definitely listen again. I also didn’t realize “blood well right”—a killer song—was Supertramp.
Excellent album start to finish. Can and have listened to this on repeat many times in the past. Would recommend to all ears.
It was fine. Classic sound, fun songs. I also had no idea, after some Googling, that “I just want to make love to you” is a Muddy Waters song. Up until now I was only familiar with the Foghat version I heard in the film Dazed and Confused.
Opening riff for “Caught in a Mosh” sounds strikingly similar to the opening riff to Nirvana’s “School,” or vice-versa. Strong riffage, killer double-bass, but still have a tough time with the vocals.
Bunch of bops. Feels like they were creating the soundscape they’d (re)use across most of the Suburbs. Fun album.
Much more alt-90s mixed with surf rock than I remembered. Tre Cool’s drumming is great.
This is so good. I listened to it at least 5 times today. Smooth, funky, psychedelic—and reminds me of a hot day.
First song came with a side of cheese. The song with Canned Heat was great. Last track on the album was a stunner, loved it. Was going to give it 2-stars, but something about the last track hooked me.
I wanted to like it more than I did. At times I heard many different bands I really like: Nirvana, Mastadon, Pearl Jam—but most of it didn’t sit right in my ears. Would return to this again in the future to try again. For now, most of the songs felt like the worst of Dinosaur Jr songs, which was both surprising and difficult to get through at times.
The opening riff of “Limelight” immediately puts me in a good mood, always. First 4 tracks are heavy hitters and latter 3 were all new for me. Who knew about Rush’s epic “The Camera Eye?!” I wonder if that’s what inspired Billy Corgan to name his song “CameraEye,” though very different. So much has been documented about this album and it makes sense: they found a harmonious connection between prog and pop. Would return for many listens.
So happy our randomizer took us back in time in the Rush catalog. This is more a purest prog album reflective of the other prog titan contemporaries at the time: Yes, Genesis. Fun listen. I did not like “Tears.”
Vibe was very main-character energy. Like any late-90s/early-2000s main-character contemplation montages, perhaps under rainy conditions.
His playing, his voice so angelic. To me, the songs themselves are better than the arrangements. This album feels like it got too much of a Phil-Spector treatment with all the accompanying parts. I’d love to hear a stripped down version of this album of just Nick and his guitar.
Listening to this felt like sitting in a traffic jam when you’re a kid and your parents insist on only listening to a talk-radio show where the guest and host don’t speak directly into the microphone so the volume is inconsistent. You get a headache, you’re unsettled.
Said differently, it was like refreshing your Instagram feed for 1hr and 9min and only seeing the same meme you didn’t think was funny the first time.
Said differently, I didn’t like it.
Mario Paint soundtrack, sort of.
This is the blueprint for Australia’s Tropical F*** Storm. It’s as if they took aspects of this album and added more punk rock to ultimately yield their sound.
I have mixed feelings about this album. At times I enjoy it at other times I feel I’ve been coerced into liking it.
Separating the art from the artist, this is an incredible album. It flows perfectly, the flexes of Paul McCartney and Eddie Van Halen truly capture the era and the fact that MJ had endless powers.
“Human Nature” is one of my absolute favorite MJ songs, too. Could listen to it on loop.
Very mature zep. Love that the song “houses of the holy” was chosen for this album.
There’s a cool power that runs through this whole album
It’s all about Syd, right? “Shine on…” is famously about him, but hearing all the other songs bookended with “shine on” got me thinking the album is a love letter.
All right notes. All the right beats. So many feels for this one ⭐️
Oh man, what a blast. Love this album and the band’s obvious and passionate love of the Big Muff.
This is a checkbox one for me.
At “waiting for the night” the album turned around and became more fun and dragged less. Rounding up from a 2.5 star review.
This is why the Caesars sound the way they do. Love when the thread to an ancestor is so clear.
Ok, ok, ok. I think I might finally “get” Johnny Cash and why he’s truly the legend that he is. This whole album is badass. He sounds great. June sounds great. The band sounds great. JC throws shade at the establishment, pretty gutsy. I’ve been bitten by the bug and now want to dig through the archives more. Also, love the fact that he played “San Quentin” twice back-to-back. No rules. Love it.
It’s a 4.5 and I’m rounding up. No, who am I kidding, it’s a 5. I’ve listened to this album so many times, but this close listen was different. There’s a flow, a swing, a mood that keeps the energy high and constant. I think using similar-ish chord patterns across some songs do something that makes the album feel like a dream. Will continue to return for listens again.
I also remember feeling particularly proud in high school when I used the lyrics of “Time” as an away message; I’ve never forgotten that and also the lyrics are even more haunting the older I/we get—which I guess is the point of the song. in
This is why Caribou is Caribou.
It’s a crusher front-to-back.
Now some non-sequiturs.
1. I remember watching them play “Since I’ve Been Loving You” on a DVD from a performance in the late 70s and my brain exploding with the speed and sheer coolness of JP’s playing.
2. It sounds like Heart took the opening riff from “Gallows Pole” and repurposed it for “Crazy on You” and honestly killer move if so.
3. Way more acoustic jams than I remember.
Honestly, fantastic album. It’s incredible that by number 3 (and those that came after) they were staying true, tweaking the formula, and taking some risks that had big payoffs.
Phish should cover this album. That’s more or less what I thought about throughout this listen.
“Disorder” is a 10/10. After “New Dawn Fades” the album got a little sleepy. I did however like that the main riff sounded like the outro from Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.”
I’m rounding up.
The first couple songs had so much fuzz I felt like I was walking into a Halloween exhibit that had too much fog machine and the music was coming out of a washing machine. Like the dryer. As in the dryer is running and a speaker playing music is on full blast. The sounds are seeping through cracks in the doors but you still can’t really tell what’s coming through.
The fog cleared as the album progressed and some of the songs were enjoyable.
Best part of the listen was when Angelo Badalamenti from the “Twin Peaks” soundtrack auto played after the album finished.
The album felt like a dream. A dream where things feel disjointed but also make sense. At times the energy of the instrumentation felt differently paced from the vocals, and vice versa. It was like hearing 2 different songs at the same time, but everything somehow came together. I need to give this another listen.
Give a 5 year old a microphone and a backing track of machine noise and you’ve recreated the first song. I considered bailing after the first song but am actually glad I didn’t.
The rest of the album is hit or miss for me. One of the biggest distractions is that the mastering feels extremely all over the place. I want to say that was an artistic choice that pushed boundaries given the time and genre, but idk maybe that’s too generous.
Through the discord I heard origins of bands I really enjoy today, many in fact who joined dischord records. Lol.
“Poptones” and “socialist” are my faves.
So cool. So many twists I did not expect. “Lost in the Supermarket” is outstanding and the primitive elements of so much good post-punk that came after this.
First half I liked. Second half I didn’t like. I really liked the song “Cattle and Cane,” but that is from a different album and only played because of Spotify autoplay. It’s a banger. To anyone in this crew that reads this review, check it out. No joke. ☮️
This was so good. It’s like if CSN got a little more experimental. Obvs. Album art gets a 1-⭐️ review
Opening track starts the album strong. For me, it felt downhill from there. Didn’t think it would include as much hollering as it did. Too many eight note high hats.
This is incredible. Powerful, heart wrenching, catchy, yes some cheese, and simple. Perfect songwriting and execution. My first listen to the full record and will return for future listens. My 5-year old also took my headphones at 9:30PM on a Sunday night while doing the dishes to listen to “Rumour Has It” and it was so pure, she was so excited. So, this album gets that memory now. ♥️
At times talking heads. At other times Zappa. At other times discord-records-style punk. Also lol on the song from jackass.
A very strong 3. A cool blend of psych, pop, experimental, and to me what sounded like a strong influence taken from “Magical Mystery Tour” and early stuff from The Byrds, but I should check timelines. Also, didn’t realize it was the ending of “Rael 1&2” that I’ve heard in so many movies. There’s also a charm in this album because it doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously and I really like that. At times I could hear elements that inspired bands like Of Montreal, which was a fun surprise.
Rounding up. These songs are meticulously written, performed, and recorded. Definitely bonus spooky factor that we received this album the day after Brian Wilson passed.
I need to spend a few more listens with this. The rock opera of “broken” > “head over heels / broken” was unexpected and way more prog than I anticipated. Of course “everybody wants…” is always a good listen.
“We’re going wrong” is a proto-grizzly bear song.
Love this era of Yes and this album. Steve Howe was also a big influence on my guitar playing so listening through this again was like a virtual lesson.
I liked this way more than I thought I would
I didn’t know “living after midnight” was a Judas Priest song.
This was much poppier than I thought it would be, but I’m also listening to it with ears 45 after this album came out.
The songs were catchy, Rob Halford’s voice was super cool, and it piqued my interest to finally check out the rest of the catalog.
I wanted to like it way more than I did.
“Like I love you” has always been an absolute BOP I can listen to on repeat.
The rest of the album had the hits, but many didn’t stick as I’d hoped.
Keeping it a 3 to return to this for another full run through.
Feels like a 3.5, but that’s rounding up. There are some sledgehammeringly good songs on here and some very bad ones.
“Second Hand News” as an album opener is painful. To go from that to “Dreams” is like stubbing your toe (“Second Hand News”) on the gates of heaven (“Dreams”). It’s like a gauntlet of pain with a nirvana of payoff. It’s like an album starting with a terrible song and the second song makes you think someone made you a mixtape with different bands just to mess with you. Second songs can truly be gems and this album is no exception.
“Don’t stop” is like a joke to a listener who hated “Second Hand News,” because listening to both songs made me want to stop listening to the album. “Go Your Own Way” is a total banger and brings the album back on track (thank god).
“You Make Loving Fun” has to be one of my new fave Fleetwood Mac songs. I think I’ve known this one for a bit but today’s listen coupled with realizing that it big-time sounds like Midlake’s “Roscoe,” entered this song into the camp of ones I will happily return to.
What a big mood.
If grief could be sonically reproduced this is how it could sound.
No idea what’s actually behind the album. I’ll read up.
Unexpected and delightful piano
I didn’t know I really liked the clash
Hits in the feels and it’s hard to separate myself and hear the album not biased by the time and place when I remember first experiencing it. The EP was lightning in a bottle and the LP took that feeling further. “Blue Ridge Mountains” takes me back to long contemplative drives in my ‘03 Honda Civic. The rest of the album, particularly the first half flows like a continuous breathing exercise that leaves you wrapped in a blanket of calm. Still so good and, man, 2007-2009 had some incredible albums that still resonate today. This is certainly one of those.
For so many reasons this is a 5.
Ok so you need this to get to so many after. They wrote the playbook. Without them, no Clash, Television, Pavement, Sonic Youth, or any other descendants. I really liked this.
I was way more bored than I thought I’d be.
The first track sounded like a demo version of sultans of swing.
After that the songs were kinda sleepy.
Sultans is a cool reminder of what you can do without a pick.
Wild West End was neat.
I’ve listened to so many of these songs, but never as a complete package. Wow.
It made me laugh that “freedom” rang a little bit like “evenflow,” but that didn’t stop the party.
This was great. Have never really listened to NWA, but this is awesome.
Not the worst not the best. A high 2 rounded up.
I was a big Nevermind and Bleach kid growing up. I need more time with this one!!!
What an opening track. A total ripper that feels so ahead of its time and still wows today. During its release, to have been a fan of both Black Sabbath & Yes only to then hear this must have been a surreal and exciting experience.
Strangely, I always found a lot of this album sleepier than I would have liked. That said, there are some EPIC moments besides the opening song like what you find in “The Court of the Crimson King” as well as the truly ethereal moments of “...” which for me make this album truly enjoyable.
Moments on this album also feel like the permission the Mars Volta (and many others) needed to do what they do today.
Vivid memories of my first listen. As I’ve gotten older, I enjoy this album more and more.
Huh I didn’t know what to expect.
I’d heard that first so many times and never knew it was Spiratualized.
First half of the album was ok and then things got more interesting around “Electricity,” which could have been a King Gizzard song at points, so naturally that was a win for me.
Rest of the album reminded me a lot of Adem, which was unexpected. When I checked the date stamps it looks like Spirtualized was the originator (of the 2) of that particular sound.
Better than I went in expecting. “I smell a rat” was my fave.
It’s now much clearer why we have Bloc Party
I kept thinking about this album being made by that one uncle who always wanted to make an album and finally sat down and made it happen.
So many hits on this. Jason’s bass is famously present in the mix. What a crossover album.
I couldn’t stop listening. Literally replayed at least 5x. Loved it.
Imagine you’re 12 and you like to write lyrics in a journal. You bring the journal everywhere. Unfortunately for you, you accidentally left that journal behind at that tea shop you visited with your parents. Fortunately for Neil Young, he not only discovered the journal, but he used your lyrics for this very album.
I really wanted to like this because of how influential Neil Young is and because I like a bunch of what he did nearly 20 years prior to this release. Not without trying, I just couldn’t like it. Beyond the lyrics, something about the band just didn’t sound like they were gelling, and for what sounds like a live recorded album, missing gel makes the album a miss for me.
Some fun guitar solos like in “love and only love.”
“Mother Earth…” is the exception to everything stated above. This is a beautiful song and it’s a bummer the other songs brought down the overall album score.
This took many twists and turns. I respect the boldness. At the same time, I can’t say I was a fan.
Better than I remember. I remember listening to this in my brother’s room when I must have been 10 or so and I really didn’t like it and all I understood was that this was a supposedly important album. All these years later and I guess an evolution is personal taste, and now I like it.
This album transports me to middle school when I was listening to it on repeat. I always loved the disclaimer printed on a sticker adhered to the cover of the album that informed listeners that NO synthesizers were used in the album’s production—just a whole bunch of vocal parts smushed into the limited number of tracks they had on the tape. Incredible.
We also had a Queen documentary (on VHS) I watched a million times in this same period so fuzzy imagines from the performances stream in my consciousness while listening.
I remember my first listen of “Death on Two Legs” and thinking it was completely badass. It might be sacrilege, but I always thought Roger Taylor’s song about his Car was very goofy. I felt like it was meant to be taken seriously, but I could never really get there. Sorry, Rog.
Besides the obvious hits on this album, “Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon,” is forever one of my favorite Queen songs.
Admittedly, I forgot how nearly (again, sorry, Rog) flawless this album is.
This gets better over time.
“sometimes” ♥️
I don’t know where to start when talking about this album.
For me, and many others, it is a true time-capsule that when revisited awakens the full spectrum of emotion. No exaggeration there. Just is.
These songs unlocked something wondrous and led to my personal discovery of other artists and songwriting techniques I hadn’t considered before.
Masterpiece.
“Reckoner” takes me back to the only time I saw Radiohead play live; their opening song on the “In Rainbows” tour.
That night I also remember Eddie saying something about Radiohead being at the height of their powers with the release of “In Rainbows” and that reflection bubbles up in my head every time I hear this album.
For most of the songs on this album I have a distinct memory of a time and place. Truly love this album.
I love “St. Elmo’s Fire.” Discovered it during the pandemic and have loved the song since. Album flows like a quiet river.
Did not anticipate it being so jammy 🌼
Start to finish, I’m left on the edge of my seat for where this journey goes. No matter how many times I’ve listened, the surprises always get me.
Although the brains of the operation had been pros in their craft in a different genre, it’s still an outstanding achievement that this was the first LP as the Mars Volta.
An instant classic when released, more than 20 years later, its power is lasting and has swelled into a tower of awe.
Like the Smiths through a Brita filter
Almost a 4. Way better than I was prepared for.
Impressive and sometimes disturbing
I’ve listened to this many times, but never this closely.
Did Macklemore rip off Rock Box?
I debated 4 and 5, heavily.
I’ve always really enjoyed this album and appreciated it even more after running through their whole discography last year in chronological order.
Ultimately landed at 5 as this is really a durable album. It stands the test of time still sounding fresh, adventurous, and grounded.
I love that “And You and I” got a refresh and their version of “America” has captivated me since first hearing it in high school. The epics are also EPIC and this collection of musical superstars doesn’t hold back one bit.
Powerful stuff. 5 stars.
I liked this way more than I expected. I really don’t like the name of the band.
The only reason this is a ⭐️⭐️ and not a ⭐️ is because my 5.5 year old said she liked one of the songs that had the quiet high pitched “beep boops.” She used different words, but liked the part nonetheless.
The album also reminded me of the “Cool Borders” soundtrack: “Lean air!”
Joy Division meets Tim Curry
Older I get the more this album grows on me. Some songs I really like other songs I slog through. Net net, a banger.
I also have some treasured memories being in a live room belting out “Wake Up” that are eternal.
If the talking heads had really expensive synthesizers
For a lot of this I was reminded of old Sega genesis video game soundtracks
More like a 3.5. Would def come back to this.
Outstanding. So many memories listening to this as a kid. “Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite!” was the first song I ever deemed a favorite song. Love this album.
I was on the fence with a 2. Stuck to my gut
Could keep listening on repeat
I stopped after return to cookie mountain and should not have
I feel like this is one of those bands that I need to read about so I understand something larger than life they are responsible for hence being on this list. But in the interim, here we are: one star.
Way moodier than I thought. I’m more fascinated about them after learning they also recorded at the hallowed Henley Grange and were good friends with Led Zeppelin.
I’m really happy that’s over
First time listen, will return for more
Started off didn’t like it. By the end I felt I needed to give the first half another shot. Surprising myself and giving this a 3 because something’s pulling me back to give it another chance.
