Distinctive sound: Bright, hazy guitars with low & emotional vocals. Nice as a vibe for particular moods. The whole thing kind of runs together. No standout individual songs. Enjoyed listening while driving for the most part - hated the last (and unfortunately title) track.
Like the Sgt Peppers framing. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. A Day in the Life was new to me & really good.
Don’t think I’ve intentionally listened to Led Zeppelin before, certainly not a whole album at once. I truly enjoyed this and was surprised by the versatility, the range of instrumentals, and how, well, interesting it was the whole way through.
Absolutely loved Since I’ve Been Loving You. Other standouts were Immigrant Song, Gallows Pole, and That’s the Way.
Could have done without Hats Off to (Roy) Harper. Otherwise a really solid record I’ll probably come back to.
Really lovely, never gets old, always right for whatever the situation.
Solid, fun album - can see how it lays the groundwork for a lot of other 90s/2000s female artists. Liz Phair is a super talented songwriter; less great as a singer herself though. Enjoyed listening.
Highlights:
- I Zimbra
- Memories Can’t Wait
- Air
Animals was silly fun. Entire record was light, funky/pop/rock? Seemed like the band was having a good time and playing around with their sound which is cool. Didn’t always bring me along though.
The covers and the last song with the English intro and the chanting were gimmicky and trite, although I assume there were pretty valid commercial reasons to include (and bookend the record with) them.
Metamorphosis was a five star track, with Sagar (Ocean) close behind.
Overall the sound feels kind of dated, which is a little odd for fusion music. I read the Wikipedia summary which noted this was originally intended to be a collaboration with Jimi Hendrix - that made me resent the moog synthesizer that took his place more than was probably fair.
Not mad I listened to this album, but I am a little surprised it made this list.
I really enjoyed the clips of her talking at the beginning and between some songs - the whole album felt like a time capsule to 2001-2, and it was cool to hear from Missy about what she was thinking at the time she was recording & releasing it.
Work It obviously is a classic for a reason but other standouts for me were Gossip Folks, Nothin Out There For Me, and Slide. Pussy at was by far the weakest track, but everything else was so good, whatever.
Joyful and fun, with real depth and an artist who’s not afraid to take risks while giving it 150%. Loved listening, will play it again many times, AND I feel like I got an education on a very particular moment in hip hop history. Thanks Missy.
I did not expect to particularly enjoy this but I also didn’t expect to actively dislike it even more after listening the whole way through.
Listen, I get why it’s on this list; it was and remains ubiquitous. And technically, yeah, these guys seem like good musicians - particularly the guitar work. But that almost makes it worse, because everything about this record is slick and soulless. In its best moments it’s like the opening music they do for Sunday Night Football on tv - obviously designed to get you amped up, smooth & distracting enough for you to not think at all about how it’s turning your own human emotions against you for someone else’s commercial gain. So much of American culture is this now - it infuriates me to learn that we checked in here all the way back in the 70s. I want us to leave!
Having now actually listened to them sort of on purpose, I guess I also hate the fucking Eagles, man.
God Save the Queen was okay, the rest ran together, and I found a lot of it very repetitive sounding. Maybe groundbreaking or edgy when it came out? But without that history/nostalgia factor it didn’t do much for me.
Best way I can describe this is - I bet Ted Mosby listened to it a lot in college.
Vocals were annoying, lyrics immature, no particular standout tracks. Not for me.
The Go-Betweens were totally new to me. Enjoyable record with a consistent pop/rock/indie vibe. Nice on like a bike ride or something.
Calming, pastoral acoustic. You can zoom all the way out to background sound or all the way in to close, close listening and quietly enjoy it everywhere on that spectrum.
Homeward Bound was new to me and good.
Beautiful, human. Jazz/blues/funk/soul - really smooth, exceptional musicianship. Very political and of its time but still feels relevant today. Easy five stars.
Wish it wasn’t so hard to find, but glad to have been introduced.
Solid. Some interesting, excellent moments and some not great bits where they lost me. Standout for me was Space Invaders. Did not like Stop Your Sobbing or Private Life.
Had never heard of this band before. One of the reviews quoted in the Wikipedia article said "Imagine a technically imperfect band that has the art of free-form fusion mastered,” and I think they nailed it.
I liked this - fun to listen to. The instrumental tracks in the middle and the two drum solo bits made me feel like I was just hanging out with the band or at a really small show of their friends or something. Highlights were Vastopol, The Softest Hammer, and Understanding
What’s the best pop song ever written and why is it Life on Mars?
Everything about this felt off-putting, hollow and soulless. Based on other reviews this is clearly not a widely held opinion but Jack White just seems kind of shallow and juvenile to me - music, lyrics, themes, vocals, all of it.
Particularly stark on this solo album.
I just had to listen to Jack White’s solo album yesterday, curse this algorithm.
I know this was so popular but I just can’t, never could with this band. I didn’t get the appeal in the 2000s and if anything their sound and lyrics and vibe have gotten even more cringy with age.
Not for me.
Early 90s low-budget soundtrack for a montage scene where some wiz kid is hackin’ the ‘net
Faded to the background so fast, - didn’t really mind it, but couldn’t focus in enough to have more of an opinion or a desire to come back to it.
Extremely versatile lead singer - she’s so strong the whole way through! Super energetic pop punk.
Highlights:
- Fade Away and Radiate
- 11:59
- Will Anything Happen
- Heart of Glass
- Just Go Away
- Once I Had a Love
Surprised to really like this. I want someone to go make some absolutely banging covers of each song - felt like each one would be unforgettable with just a little more drama and power. First half was strongest but enjoyed the whole thing.
Standouts:Silver Raven, No Other
Standout: Papa Was A Rolling Stone. Worth all 11 minutes
Not really my genre but I do appreciate the energy of a live album. I bet it was a hell of a show.
Never heard of this band. I liked it! No particular songs stood out good or bad, nice vibe throughout. Listened while driving which was great.
Super nostalgic and still very fun
Oh, ok this is what all the indie rock bands are trying to sound like. Thought it might get old quickly, but imo the album actually picked up momentum as it went - some of my favorites were towards the end.
Standouts: Perfect Circle, Sitting Still
Solid and above expectations - a rare combo of punk band and seemingly actual good musicians. Enjoyed the incorporation of the horns
Wow this was not for me. Just nothing to connect with anywhere, and I think I’m a pretty generous listener.
Not sure what I was expecting but it wasn’t this! Surprised in a good way mostly.
The arrangements were really interesting with some great bass playing and unexpected sonic elements popping up all over the place. I enjoyed that aspect of this album most. The production also seemed exceptionally clean.
I was less enamored with the lyrics and vocals, and in spite of everything mentioned above about being interesting and unique it also managed to sound very eighties - for me a negative. It stretched itself out, and although there were things to like along the way it did start to feel like a slog midway through the album (and even partway through some individual songs).
Tricky to tally where it gains and loses stars, so I’ll just land at three. Felt like I really explored something today though, which is largely what I want from this project.
Didn’t hate it but kind of felt like the soundtrack to a cartoon?
Lovely classic jazz. What’s not to like?
Each of these songs is fascinating, beautiful, compelling, haunting - and all of them are absolutely screaming for a more capable vocalist + better instrumentals. If he’d let someone better pick them up and run with them, this album would be incredible.
As it is, meh. And frustrating because greatness is like, right there.
I’m not an expert but this seems like just about the point where Kanye the ego(massive) & overall trash human overtook Kanye the musical talent (also massive).
Still pretty good here but with the benefit of hindsight you can clearly see where he’s unfortunately headed.
Saccharine almost to the point of creepy. Like the soundtrack to a very earnest kids show and/or the songs a cult sings sitting around in a circle.
The one exception was Help, which sounded quite different from the rest and which I actually liked.
Ok folk/rock - the whole album was a lot, maybe better in small doses
Do they even like these songs? Unclear - such low energy, like nothings there. Could’ve been a two but the lead singer also can’t carry a tune.
The perfect album does not exi—
Saccharine, breathy and insubstantial. Something about this whole record feels regressive - like she’s a grown woman happy to be considered a silly shallow secondary being.
Glimpses of better things that maybe could have been in Son of a Preacher Man and the Windmills of Your Mind; wish the rest wasn’t so buttoned up and sanded down. I hope someone else has since done incredible covers of those two songs.
Vibed the whole way through
Lush, expansive, rich, generous. Like floating in the warm ocean or driving through the mountains on a clear beautiful day. Loved this.
Can appreciate why this is meaningful for many but just, not my thing
Moving and atmospheric but very very very heavy
Sounds much more recent than it is. I don’t usually feel like I really get electronic music, but I enjoyed this. Meditative.
Very 90s, lots of noise - I enjoyed it but don’t think it will really stick with me.
A lot of this was overly sweet and cute for my taste, but I did find it kind of refreshing. Probably wouldn’t listen again but I liked it more than I thought I might. The Last of the True Believers and Fly By Night were the bright spots here for me.
Timeless and essential. Simone’s voice is so powerful even down through the years and over a recording - anytime I listen to this album I think how incredibly spellbinding it must have been to hear her live. Easy easy five stars.
Listen I’m tired of Bob Dylan, it is what it is.
Loved the prominent basslines & the horns
Guitars were the best part. The rest, not really for me - particularly the speak singing.
Can’t help but love some solid pop piano. What’s good here is really good (Movin Out, Vienna). Other parts get overly schmaltzy, but overall an enjoyable classic nostalgic record.
Love the sound - relaxed and fun to listen to.
Can understand why this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but idk, there’s something charming about this record for me. It has heart. Geno has “come on Eileen” vibes, and I enjoyed the horns etc throughout. Listening to this made me want to go to a show, I bet this was a lot of fun live.
Listened to this while cooking on a weekend - it was so so lovely. Might buy this album. People complain about the length but I loved how each song just kept building and building.
Not a country fan generally but I like the energy of these live prison albums
Stood out a bit from the typical “British band from the 70-80s I’ve never heard of”. Highlights for me were Monday and That’s Entertainment, but would happily listen to the whole album again.
I feel like I *almost* really like this. A lot to love but then something just doesn’t quite gel. Asylum and Crime of the Century were my favorite tracks.
Knocked from four to three because it was also annoying to listen to - the quiet parts were too quiet and the loud sections were so loud. I was constantly fiddling with the volume the whole way through.
This was a weird one - every song comes out swinging with a unique and different and cool opening. I’m intrigued and primed to like what’s coming. But then as soon and the vocals kick in it devolves into like, idk, The Beach Boys? Super bland and boring falsetto vocals. And then even the instrumentation which was cool a minute ago is now super boring and basic.
Idk this baffles me and I didn’t like it.
Could listen to the is all day. Love that it’s a live album, you can feel how thrilled the crowd is to be there.
The androgynous vocals really worked well for me. I liked this less for particular standout songs and more for the feel of the album overall. Some of the lyrics are a little pretentious/odd, but they meld into the music well enough that I didn’t find it distracting.
Generic background music. Kind of cozy, nostalgic-ish but not something I’d remember or return to.
What I like I like a lot, but the rest is hard.
Engaging and interesting in lots of places; unfortunately kind of synth heavy and like, smoothed out & Disney-fied(?) in others.
Favorite tracks were Daande Lenol and Sy Sawande, which I would happily revisit. The rest of the album, probably not, though I’m glad to have heard it.
I’m going to assume these guys have other better more compelling records than this one? Which was like, fine.
This project has taught me that I love a live album.
Totally captivated by the multipart opener and closer, as well as Supernaut and the instrumental Laguna Sunrise. This was my intro to actually listening to Black Sabbath - I really really liked it.
Never would have found this but really liked it - particularly track 8
Should really have cut Indian Summer and Rotten Peaches out. Oh well. Great album if you know which tracks to skip.
Soothing electronica I guess
Like a Prayer is a perfect pop song. The rest of the album is also solid.
Honestly loved this. So fun, good range and depth. Can’t believe I’d missed it!
Not my thing at all but I can understand why others might love it.
What an awesome surprise. This was fantastic
They kind of sound like the Beatles, but also kind of sound like little kids music? Cutesy for my taste, but still fun to listen to. Doubt I’ll come back to it, although I did like “Dear God”.
This was a fun ride all the way through. Perfect Day and I’m So Free were the best tracks.
Quite liked it with a couple exceptions (Jesus). What goes on probably the favorite.
Haunting and beautiful and just as interesting as you’d expect from Bowie. I somehow hadn’t heard this before but really really loved it. The end of life as performance art. Everything about this was incredible.
Vaguely eighties general mishmash with nothing really standing out - not my thing.
The first song is actually terrible, didn’t hate photograph. The rest kind of felt like a parody? Maybe it just reminded me of Spinal Tap.
Never never never would have listened to this without this project- it was wonderful. Really moving in many places; it makes me want to grab a guitar and jam along. I’d love to hear some modern covers honestly.
The low point for me was “Does He Have A Friend For Me”. Otherwise an unexpected really good album.
Just kind of sounds like generic 90s “teen”
Surprise five stars. Had no idea what this would be - it was eclectic, interesting experimental…acoustic folk? It sounded much more modern than it is as well. Great chill record in the background or for a close listen. Loved it.
Fucking loved everything about this. So so gay, so glam, so fun, so eclectic. I don’t know how to help the lost and confused and presumably straight people leaving 1s and 2s and honestly I feel a little sorry for them. This is an absolute unserious masterpiece.
Great guitars, fun listen.
It’s 2001. Cold, drizzly, early morning grey. I board the bus, on my way to middle school. CD player out, headphones on, hoodie up. Knees against the seat back, head against the window. This sounds very specifically like that to me.
Surprised to like this a lot
Some really great tracks on this!
- Love Vigilantes
- Sunrise
- Elegia
- Sub-Culture
- Face Up
Strange but mostly alright. Best track was “the rip”. Had to skip through “machine gun” because it was actually painful to listen to, but otherwise different, unexpected, okay.
No way of knowing what was coming from one song to the next - kind of like he was just throwing really different things at the wall, most of which didn’t work for me. Solsbury Hill and especially Here Comes the Flood were great tracks.
This was great! Fun and funky - more than holds its own as a concept album without the movie (which I know nothing about). Standouts for me were Little Child Runnin Wild, Pusherman, Freddie’s Dead, and Superfly. That said, the instrumental tracks are also amazing, definitely not to be skipped.
Very 80s. Very very 80s. When I was able to put that aside, though there’s some really really solid pop songs on this record. Bumped from 3 to 4 by imagining like lady Gaga or someone like that doing modern, better produced covers - I think they would slap.
I liked this when it came out and it still holds up and sounds good (if very obviously if it’s time). Love how simultaneously grandiose and intimate the songs feel on this album. Some great tracks: Keep The Car Running, Intervention, The Well and the Lighthouse, (Antichrist Television Blues), No Cars Go, My Body Is A Cage.
Was never a rabid Arcade Fire fan like others I knew at the time, but there’s a lot to like here.
The one nice thing I can say about Jack White is that he’s a good guitar player. Unfortunately on this album he chose to play the marimba instead. Blue Orchid was a decent track, otherwise there’s nothing here for me.
Unexpectedly really liked this. The vocals were a pleasant surprise, and the whole album just kind of carried me through. What a vibe.
Wow! This blew me away. Truly glad I did hear this before I died.
Alright so this album has one actually perfect song (Cry Me A River, obviously) and Pharrell sure knows what he’s doing. Otherwise it’s probably the worst era of Justin Timberlake and feels kind of shallow and slick.
I guess I’ve learned that I really like whatever this style is. The fuzzy noise is immersive and enveloping. It’s rich and textured and layered but it also washes right over you. Listened to this album for the first time driving to work in the cold while the sun slowly came up - it was beautiful.
Techno isn’t really my thing, but even so I could tell there was some interesting stuff happening here.
Noisy and feral. Experimental and transgressive. Very strange and almost anti-commercial; doesn’t care.
Trippy and dreamlike. Would listen again.
This was a fun listen. Sounds like the 60s but the production is really nice and sounds much more modern. Guitar playing is the highlight here by a long shot - it’s Jeff Beck and he’s excellent throughout.
I like a live album. Cool and crazy that this one is also a debut! This band is a mess do sure, but I’m gathering that’s the point, and it’s part of their charm?
Maybe this just hit me on exactly the right day, but it really really grew on me as I listened through. Great soundtrack for driving around on a sunny crips fall afternoon.
Low expectations going in because I already know I don’t like “One” or especially “Mysterious Ways”, which were the only two songs on this album I recognized. But I didn’t hate listening to it, alright? I genuinely liked “Acrobat” and “The Fly”, and the thing as a whole was a good ride.
A rollercoaster. I almost quit at Carnival Song, but then Pleasant Street came out of nowhere and was incredible. Worth a listen for that song and “Once I Was”
Always loved this; always will
Can’t believe I’d never heard of her!!
I thought we were going somewhere cool from the first track but most of the rest just kind of dragged along…
This is the kind of experience I’m hoping for every time I get a new album. Completely new to me, never would have stumbled upon it myself, kind of weird, totally enjoyable.
I probably could have died without hearing this, but it was alright *shrug*
This has been on my desert island list since the first time I heard it. RIP Amy 💔
Noisy and jarring, but if you relax into it the album starts to carry you along just fine. I’m not gonna just throw this on again for fun anytime soon, but when I sat back and let it do its thing it was a cool experience.
Janelle Monae is a true artistic genius and we do not deserve her.
Can I give six.
Psychedelic and weird in a trippy 70s way…I surprised myself towards the beginning by liking it, but unfortunately as it went on, turns out I didn’t live-double-album like it. Usually for me the energy of a live album increases the appeal but here I think it was too long and stretched out - maybe I’d like their studio albums more, idk. Thought it would be an easy 4 but it lost enough steam for me to go back to a 3.
I wish people would be less annoying about Radiohead but damned if they aren’t actually really great. I think this is my favorite of their albums, and I’ve always particularly loved Exist Music (for a Film).
Tough to be objective here - I think this album actually rewired my brain when I first heard it back in the day, just totally exploded my horizon for what music could be. AND it has Paper Planes, arguably one of the best tracks released during this millennial’s lifetime.
Pretty sure it would still be 5 stars regardless though.
A few good spots, a couple really annoying tracks (Poughkeepsie, This Bears Is For Siobhan…), but overall fine.
Glorious, iconic. A regular album that plays like a best-of. It’s a classic for a reason and I’ll listen to Aretha any day. Obviously she’s one of the strongest vocalists in history, and doesn’t disappoint here - but the instrumentals on this album were also really great!
Didn’t hate it, country is hard for me but I can see how someone could really like this.
Even this early Kendrick is incredible. Whether you want to just ride along on top and enjoy the music or dive deep into the lyrics and the themes, he doesn’t disappoint. Loved this from day one.
Found this weirdly hard to focus on; my mind kept drifting away.
Had absolutely no concept of what this was going to be - but it was fantastic! Want to crawl into a nice warm bath and listen to this on repeat. Relaxing and heartfelt atmospheric pop. Loved it, will definitely listen again.
Really dragged - not for me at all
Pleasantly surprised; had no expectations here. Would put this on in the background if I wanted something interesting, lovely, unique but not distracting.
Surprised again by one I’d never heard of. Summery and gentle - great for a sunny chill day outside.
