I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. So much more to the album than “Purple Rain”. Loved “When Doves Cry” and “I Would Die 4 U”. Sonically different than what I expected and that was the fun of it. It was also a short and sweet album. 9 songs in 43 mins.
Wasn’t sold from the first half but the instrumental journey the second half took me on made it worthwhile for me. Really glad I listened to this album. Perfection from “Sense of Doubt” onwards. Did like some of the lyrical songs as well such as “Heroes”
Liked the spacey vibe and feel of it. Felt like I was in another world. It was relaxing yet moving. Dark and moody. Enjoyed it
Didn’t have access to the full album but enjoyed the songs I did have access to. Especially loved New York New York and loved the Message. Lyrically and sonically empowering and gave a window into the time it was
The first listen I wasn’t too into it, didn’t know what I was getting into. But the second half of the album caught my ear. Gave it another run and started to like it more. Felt like a journey of sounds. More enjoyable as a whole album than its parts. Feels cinematic, spacey, and new age
Feeling great that I already recognized the first track as one from JoJo’s outro song. Enjoyed the flamenco elements in “Mood for a Day”. Second half of the album from “Fish” down was enjoyable for me. My favourite track is still “Roundabout”
Love this album! OutKast is one of the greats. So many favourites. Childhood favourite being “Ms. Jackson”, and “So Fresh, So Clean”, and “B.O.B”. Discovered “Stankonia (Stanklove)” in my 20s and what a time that was with that track. Absolutely psychedelic and hypnotic. Probably still my favourite track to date. Been enjoying the interludes and skits, really miss when hip hop albums did that. New favourites include “We Luv Deez Hoes”, “I’ll Call B4 I Cum”, “Gangsta Sh*t”
Enjoyed the mix of funk and electric guitar. Relaxing but fun. Groovy and cool. Enjoyed it. Brought me back to flashbacks of my childhood when I heard “That Lady” for the first time in a Swiffer commercial. So many gems in this album! “Sunshine” “Summer Breeze” “The Highways of my Life” “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” were my favourites.
Romantic, dark, and exciting. This album takes tango to a different place than I had in my mind. “Operation Tango” and “La Muerta de Angel” are my favourites at a first listen. The opening song “Milonga is Coming” was a great introduction to what’s to come. Feels like there’s a use of the xylophone a lot which I enjoy since I don’t get to hear that a lot. The accordion brings out my favourite elements of each composition too.
I knew it was going to be a good day when I was assigned this album. Perfect for the sunshine out today. Groovy, electric, soulful. Getting me right from the first track “You Are The Sunshine of My Life”. What a surprise to get to the middle of the album and recognize “Superstition”. Amazing funky track. Been enjoying the album in its entirety along the way. The ending track resonates with me a lot. His voice is undeniable. Also reading that this album involved a lot of artistic freedom makes me respect the production even more. Definitely an album I’ll keep coming back to.
The only track I heard from The Pixies was “Where is my Mind” so it was cool to explore an album from them. Found it to be a really cool rock album. Felt punky, angsty, and a bit grungy too. I read that Kurt Cobain was heavily inspired by them so it was cool to hear some of the inspiration. Favourites included “Here Comes Your Man”, “Monkey Goes to Heaven”, “Wave of Mutilation”, “La La Love You”, and “Hey”
Old school rock vibes, feels like an episode out of Supernatural. Almost as if I’m sitting in the car with Dean Winchester himself and I’m not mad about it. Love some of the jazzy accompaniments, as well as the many guitar solos. Love the catchy riffs. Great album for a road trip with the windows open on a hot breezy day.
I love me some blues. I am immediately digging this album. Mannish Boy was an amazing intro to what’s to come. Everything feels so familiar as if I’ve probably heard it in film or in passing but never actually realized who the artist was. Probably one of my favourite albums on this journey so far. As I read more on Muddy Waters I learn that this is post-war American blues. I absolutely dig it.
The arrangement and variety of instruments makes it hard not to want to move your body, dance a little, or even bop your head while tuning in. As I listen to it I imagine hosting a lavish dinner party in the 50s with lavish dishes and decor. I always romanticize this time (despite it likely being very racist). I think of a house like in Sabrina (1954), and hosting a beautiful ball with everyone in their gorgeous gowns sipping a drink in their beautiful crystal glasses. The vocals on the album fit so well. I especially love the miramba and drums. It gives a beautiful transatlantic feel. The mambo jazz and salsa work well together in this album. Enjoyed it a lot. Very relaxing yet fun. Favourites include “Hong Kong Mambo”, “Estoy Siempre Junto a Ti”, “Complicación”, “El Cayuco”, “Agua Limpia Todo”, and “Varsity Drag”
Their introduction reeled me in immediately. The energy, the solidarity, the message, wow! I was blown away. Reading into MC5 and learning that they were likely the pioneers of the early American punk rock scene in the late 60s and 70s made a lot of sense as I listened to the album. Also reading that they were heavily influenced by R&B and blues made a lot of sense with some of their bluesy, jazzy riffs especially in “Motor City Burning”. I also loved the lead singers voice over the instrumentals. Very cohesive and energizing live show performance. “I Want You Now” gives me elements of King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man” This album makes me want to jump high and low, head bang and rock out! I can only imagine the energy felt by the audience at the show. I preferred listening to the Japanese Remastered version rather than the version recommend by the generator. I found it to be a cleaner crisper sound and I could hear things more clearly but based off this edition alone it was very well done. Lyrically there doesn’t seem to be anything deep going on, but it just feels like a great time. Angsty and revolutionary from the sound alone! Favourites included “Rambling Rose”, “Kick Out the Jams”, “Rocket Reducer No. 62”, and “Motor City Burning”.
Found this album hard to get through. There was a few songs that gave me nostalgia —possibly in a commercial in the early 90s or something but beyond that it’s just not really my vibe. “Panama” is a nice energetic anthem, “Hot Teacher” has some cool riffs, but beyond that I guess I’m just not into this gym-locker-frat-rock 80s vibe.
Wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this album at first, but by the end of it, I realized I would definitely come back to this for a few tracks. The intro reeled me in immediately! Loved the jazzy cool elements. Overall, the production and sampling in this album was pretty cohesive and fun to jam to. I loved some of the sampling of The Shining in “Egg Man”, and some of the Jamaican influences throughout as well. Enjoyed the rock elements in “Looking Down The Barrel of a Gun”. “Sounds of Science” was a cool track, loved the transitions in that. What really got me digging the album though was the second half, B-Boy Bouillabaisse! I didn’t expect that at all and I felt it was really raw and cool. I’m not sure if this is the case, but some of the stylistic cadences of the Beastie Boys reminded me of the likes of Childish Gambino and A$AP Rocky which makes me wonder if they were inspired by them at all. “Hey Brooklyn” gave me A$AP (“Praise The Lord”) vibes immediately and that bass absolutely slaps. Definitely my favourite off the album. Reading about them and learning it was their sophomore album makes sense as it’s pretty refined and cool, definitely want to hear more of them.
Right from looking at the cover of the album and throughout listening, it felt like I was in an underwater rave with SpongeBob and his jellyfish friends. Funky, fun, and interesting. Reading about the group and learning they were a Scottish psychedelic rock band that made this electronic album in the early 90s was really cool. I’m sure for the time it was created when electronic music was just getting into its groove, this was revolutionary. I really do like how they blend psychedelic elements into each track, and they create an ambience that gets you into a trance. I will admit, that the day I was assigned this album by the generator, I was not feeling it. But listening to it again, I found a new appreciation for the nuances of this album. The beats, the samples, the variety of different instruments and styles. It keeps you interested! Favourite tracks included: “Possible Worlds”, “Evil is Even”, “Hear Me”, “666 Edit”, “Lightspan Soundwave”, “Make it Minimal” and “Progen 9.1”.
The name of the group and the cover art definitely don’t do justice to what this album is. This is the first J5 album I have ever listened to and I think it was a great place to start. Great beats/loops, great cadence, and each artist has their own style of rapping that works well with each other. Seems like a really cool group. I enjoyed this album a lot. Had a lot of head bangers. Reading a little more about them and the year this album was released made me realize this type of rapping style was very different than what was coming out in the late 90s early 00s. That being said I can completely see how they have influenced rap culture since this release. It sounds familiar to the rap/hip-hop I know and grew up with. The ones that really stood out for me were “If You Only Knew” (gives me Boondocks vibes with the jazzy flute), “React” (groovy jazzy beat), “Thin Line” (surprise Nelly Furtado feature, always proud to see a Canadian feature), “One of Them”, and “Hey”. I am definitely going to have this album in my future rotation so I can listen to the lyrics more deeply. But based off the vibe and energy alone it’s a pretty solid album.
“Them Bones” is a fantastic way to start this album. Really sets the tone for the dark-heavy-metal-grunge music that leads throughout. I remember the first time I heard the first track in this album I was about 13-14 years old playing Guitar Hero II. Other favourite include “Dam That River”, “Rooster”, and “Would?”. Nothing less than a 4/5 for most of these tracks. Sonically, lyrically, and the style of the vocals and instruments combined keep me coming back for more.