Truly industrial music - sounds like an evil factory at times. Grinding, thumping and abrasive. Experimental and harsh. A unique listening experience, almost like a malevolent production of STOMP. Truly wild and would only listen again if I had to give a WWII soldier PTSD.
Amazing playing, great funky jams and experimental jaunts. Extremely fun and listenable.
More interesting as a capsule of a place and time than an album. The imprisonment and death in the lyrics seldom permeates the mood, full of fun and gallows humor.
Never dull; you get some of the Kathleen Hanna Bikini Kill sound, in a blender with hip-hop, 60's bubblegum, and urban feminism sharpened to a point and heading toward the new millenium.
You know the Janis vocals will get you, but the searing psychedelic blues guitar tones are really something as well. Great loose vibe, partly thanks to the faux-live element. I am partial to the SF 60's rock sound
Very interesting to have an album where i've heard half the songs a million times and half maybe never. In the big year 2025, some of this doesn't quite hit for me but there is some amazing Quincy Jones work and synth sounds are crazy sick. I will say that some of the big ones: Smooth Criminal, Bad, TWYMMF, etc. could be taken for granted by me at this stage in the game.
Interesting sort of footnote almost to the Foo Fighters experience as it continues today. On some tracks, ol' Dave seems to have found his voice and vibe, and others I find to be more generic '90's Rock' fodder. Very interesting that this made the list of must listens for me, as the Sophomore effort has all the big tracks.
Stole this CD from a Goodwill when I was about 16 or so, had to do it because of the name. Another amazing Radiohead record; at times propulsive, melancholy, uneasy, affirming.
A bit overlong, some cuts could have been made in my opinion. Nothing here quite as sticky as Stills best work in other groups, but good playing and the band excels when locking in genre; bluegrass, blues and the like.
First album in this journey I had zero context for and had no idea what it would sound like. Unique, summery album with good production. Nothing to rush back to for me, but would put it on at a backyard party for sure.
Really solid bluesy rock record, impeccably recorded. Most of the songs remain interesting all the way through with good energy. Must have been a trip to get bombed with these lads.
Not my fave CCR but they are all HEAT. Fogerty rules - love his weird southern fried imagination
Very interesting record! I start rubbing my hands together when I read the studio time and cost was exorbitant. Country and western/weird cosmic vibe/ baroque pop stuff
Can’t believe it’s been 10 years since this came out - a modern masterpiece. An album the rewards a full listening experience. Music that is cathartic, clever , and is able to look back and forward in the scope of hip hop.
The first two Big Star records are so good, the heartfelt , sweet, lush music of those is somewhat present here but gives way to raw, frayed ideas. Worth listening to but definitely some less good cuts scattered throughout
Had no idea The Temptations were doing Superfly / Shaft type soul music , predating the stuff I knew. Half is more straight forward pop vocal stuff but great production all around and a breeze to listen to
This whole thing is cool because I never would have listened to a full Aerosmith album probably. It is not my fav vibe, the kind of cheezy sleezy hard rock thing, but I see why they were a big band. Definitely foretold the 'hair metal' trend, party but not a lot of substance, riffs but nothing too deep to hook into.
I did not have the right perception of this group from context, had never heard them but had seen the name. I liked a lot of the tracks, some of that weird dark British folk influence, some stuff that could be on Mac Demarco radio. The Bob Dylan songs are not his strongest. Highlights - Genesis Hall, Autopsy, Sailor's Life jam.
A cannabis-tinged elixir of Bob Dylan and British folk, Raga, Ye Olde Fantasy imagery and proto-psychedelica. Complete with two all-time classics. Must have been a real mind blower.
Fun to revisit this one. A lot has already been said about this landmark album…a rich tapestry of sounds, does well to create a sense of atmosphere. Also works as great text to discover music
A fun listen, you can sense the group is pushing beyond the sunshiney pop rock of the 60s. Good production, sounds killer.
It was a different time back in the day! As exuberant as can be, a snapshot of the naivety and arrogance of youth. Swaggering, funny and punk in energy. Some great samples. Not my fave Beasties but you should hear it before you die, can’t argue that
Interesting one, you can feel the pieces really clicking and coming together for some uncharted territory. Loveless is a singular record imo, and this does not reach those heights but still very cool sounds, unique compositions of grain and noise.
First time with this one, was familiar with Ege Bamyasi, which I like. Can rocks! Deep grooves and hypnotic rhythms, textured and spacial playing. Like a film score at times, traveling through atmospheres.
This was a big one in my parent's rotation. Father & son always hits. Some good tracks but lacking some kind of edge or POV for me? Pleasant, certainly and with a childlike innocence at times.
Absolutely awesome sound, Ginger Baker is an animal as we all know, and Fela's influence/power cannot be highlighted enough. 4 not 5 because the drum solo is indulgent
Classic - was nice to hear some of these tracks I never heard before, in addition to the heavy hitters. Some Paul Simon melodies just make you tingle and think about your life. America is a personal top track for me - I feel like it speaks to the state of the country and the people in it so well. Timeless. Save The Life of My Child is too Bob Dylan ripoff for me, but everything else is great.
First one on this list that is a skip for me...don't think this is one you NEED to hear. Don't know anything about XTC except 'Making Plans For Nigel', which I like. Easter Theatre & Last Balloon are highlights, but overall found the orchestral production and vibe like a low budget musical stage play. Didn't vibe with me! But certainly unique.
Not to be cliché here, but this is a 5 Star record. What can you say? Once you get to the medley, you have to admit the lads are cooking. It is a capital A album, with repeated motifs and a real feeling to it.
Truly industrial music - sounds like an evil factory at times. Grinding, thumping and abrasive. Experimental and harsh. A unique listening experience, almost like a malevolent production of STOMP. Truly wild and would only listen again if I had to give a WWII soldier PTSD.
Sounds like a landmark artist coming into his own - Lush, groovy and dramatic. Well composed soul music that hints at the heights of Shaft! to come. The payoff after the long monologue in the final track does not quite justify itself to me.
Reznor atomizes the dark electronic music of it's predecessors (I am no expert but I would say Joy Division/Depeche Mode/and other emerging synth-goth stuff) into a landmark 90's album. Spawning a slew of similar artists into the mainstream. The textures and carefully destroyed and deconstructed sounds throughout the record hint at his future as a great film composer, while the themes of harm, sex, hate and technology feel visceral still today.
I am not a huge Dylan-head, but it was enjoyable to get a live snapshot of his shift away from the folk music. First side of the record is him with acoustic guitar and harmonica, not my favorite but as always some moving poetry in there. Second side you get proto-The Band playing with him, which is much more my style. Ballad of a Thin Man sounds very modern in arrangement and playing for instance. To know that half the audience was hating it is also extremely funny and bizarre.
A tantalizing mix of funk and hard rock, reflecting the turmoil and uniquely American strangeness of the late 60s / early 70s. The title track is indelible, and I found the rest of the album to be in support of it in one way or another. Birth and destruction, all while still maintaining some fun.
Albums of this ilk really sound like the era, for better or worse. Some really great synth sounds and textures but some of the tracks veer into cheesy territory for me. The 'world music' influence is beneficial if not overstated. Sledgehammer & In Your Eyes are classics.
This group had escaped me, so I was not sure what I was going to get, even though I thought I had gotten the gist of the 'Britpop' movement. This is a great record- energy and hooks, high spirits and young fun. I experienced it as a kind of a Cheap Trick-ish power pop for the grunge generation. Could see this being an influence on the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Strokes, etc.
Would Andres Serrano's Piss Christ be as effective, without the viewer knowing the context of the photograph? This album begs the same question - would these songs hold up if not within the framework of a 69 track compendium , variations on the theme of love? My short answer is that some would and some would not, but those that would not are propped up by the concept of the record and therefore are part of the greater tapestry. Some songs are knockouts, some are silly, some like worse Yo La Tengo, one sounds like it could be a Stevie Nicks demo? There is country, jazz, indie, and so on - most with a very New York theatrical cabaret vibe. Funny how a majority of these 'love' songs are about loss or love going wrong - but thats life! There will definitely be something on here for everyone to relate to and dig - rudimentary or frivolous as some entries can be. Papa Was A Rodeo is GOATed.
A fun time-capsule album. I think the artist captures the vibe if hip-hop in the late 80's through a unique lens, due to her being European. While some of the rhymes fall flat and the subject matter gets into 'after-school special' territory, there is enough here to enjoy and some beats/production elements really stand out.
Did not make it through this one - On top of Brian seeming like a piece of shit, he drops the N-word on the first track? The music is derivative to me, and the sources they are pulling from are not my favorite vibe anyway. Back in the day, the 'i'm so edgy and spooky' schtick did not connect with me and by today's standards seems tacky and threadbare.