Amazing acoustic guitar playing and what a voice. Have long been aware of him and this album but never listened to it. I grew up with this kind of sad-guy singer-songwriter stuff and have mostly avoided it since my early 30s but this was fantastic.
Dark, repetitive, haunting, I'm into that.
Not my thing. I feel like a lot of the music that I find annoying - and which is far more pervasive now than in 1997 - can be traced back to this. And yet that bassline in Around the World (which I have certainly heard before) is about the greatest thing ever.
Owned this album when it came out and I remember it the same as I hear it now - some amazing songs and a lot of slow, unmemorable dirges. Fight Test, Yoshimi, and Do You Realize are classics, but overall not as great as The Soft Bulletin.
Had never really listened to LCD Soundsystem so interesting to have the chance. One song - Someone Great - I loved, the rest didn't really do it for me, but I can sort of see the appeal. More accessible than Daft Punk.
Glad to finally hear this album after knowing about the Tom Tom Club for a long time - big fan of Talking Heads and of the Genius of Love segment in Stop Making Sense. Liked Under the Boardwalk and Lorelei. Some of the other songs a bit more prosaic. Don't know that I'd listen to the whole album again, but good and enjoyable listen.
Wanted to give this five stars based on the rock and roll perfection of Walk This Way, Sweet Emotion, and Toys in the Attic, but damn there is some filler crap on this album and Big Ten Inch Record subtracts a star on its own. Aerosmith rules, but I can't abide the cheesiness.
Amazing acoustic guitar playing and what a voice. Have long been aware of him and this album but never listened to it. I grew up with this kind of sad-guy singer-songwriter stuff and have mostly avoided it since my early 30s but this was fantastic.
Not exactly my go-to music genre, but has all the hallmarks of a five star album. Inventive, sprawling, and no filler. I had heard SOS but never any of the songs on this album. I shall return to this album.
Loved it. Never heard the full album before. High standard deep cut disco is always good by me. Brilliant guitar and bass, solid tunes. Will go into regular rotation.
Loved Just Kids and Because the Night. This however makes me doubt my commitment to SparkleMotion. Maybe you had to be there.
I owned a digital copy of this in that odd period before Spotify but after we stopped buying CDs. And like many of those albums from that period, totally forgot it existed. Still rocks although doesn't really have any "hits." Unexpected to see it here.
Another guy I've always heard about and never really listened to it, can't believe this came out all the way back in 2003, which is the same year White Winos by Loudon Wainwright III came out which was a song I was quite obsessed with. This feels like Billy Joel meets Radiohead both of whom instill existential anxiety in me. 3.5/5
I always thought this was some kind of second-tier 60s jam band. I must have been mixing them up with a similarly fruit-titled band. Moby Grape? Anyway. This is great. In fact this kind of music is literally the soundtrack of 1980s B-movies which is my shit. Their wikipedia page is way more complex than I ever would have imagined. 127 albums and several dozen members. May 18, 2025 is the day I finally understood Tangerine Dream.
I don't know, CAN you? In fairness, at 18 I would have given this five stars.
Another band I missed out on, although I recognize Novocaine. Didn't realize Eels and E were the same guy - one of the first shows I ever saw E was the opening act and I figured that guy disappeared but Wikipedia indicates he is quite successful in the soundtrack world. This was right up my alley genre-wise and for when it came out but somehow I just can't get into it. Maybe a little too much ironic detachment for me. Maybe I have no further capacity for alternative rock that came out in the mid-90s.
I guess this is here for historicity, but I'm not quite seeing it. Jimi Hendrix's first album came out the year before which had the guitar sounds but with infinitely better playing, songs, and singing. And The Who were already well into their career. Having a somewhat heavier distortion on its own doesn't seem like a big deal but I guess I'm missing something here.
Of all the songs I’ve ever heard about a gypsy woman casting a spell on an unsuspecting singer-songwriter, this one was the longest.
No one told me we were going to have to listen to Tom Waits albums. I feel a little misled.
I would advise against offering to hold on to the hard drive of any person who owns this album.
In high school, I thought maybe being into Sonic Youth would get me in with the hipsters, but they all - to the extent took the time to look - saw the truth that I was really a Soul Asylum guy. I have a feeling Grave Dancer's Union is not on this list, but if it were, instant 5 stars.
When I saw the cover and title, I hoped this would be an underground yet critically-acclaimed Christian metal album that would be new to me and potentially life-changing. Twas not. D.A.N.C.E. was pretty great however - one of many things that eluded me in 2007. All in all, better than Daft Punk and if I was home-invaded and forced to play EDM I'd be okay with putting this on.
Surprised Bert Jansch has never been on my radar - he is a g-damn guitar hero. Astounding guitar work for a 22-year-old in 1965 and I can hear the influence on Jimmy Page and Neil Young and later virtuosos like Michael Hedges. That said the songwriting and vocals leave a bit to be desired, particularly in comparison to Nick Drake from a couple weeks back. .