1001 ALBUMS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE #1
The first album to be bestowed upon me was The Wildest! and I'm rather surprised by its quality. Now I had heard the name of Louis Prima before, but this is my first time listening to him, and honestly not a bad start. The Wildest! is a short and fun time that always puts a smile on my face, with the amazing vocal and instrumental performances. I liked or loved every track on the thing with obvious standouts like "Just A Gigolo / I Ain't Got Nobody" and "Jump, Jive, An' Wail'. Overall, I really enjoyed this project and is a great start to my 1001 album journey. I would give this a 90 / 100.
1001 ALBUMS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE #2
Ooh, now we're talkin'. Now as a huge hip hop fan, I knew there was gonna be some hip hop on the list, but I didnt expect it to be so soon. "Straight Outta Compton" was something I was pretty excited to listen to, and it didn't disappoint one bit.
Take the infamous opener "Straight Outta Compton" for example, Dr. Dre's production is simple but gets the point across, and each verse, hell, each line is amazing and memorable, especially Ice Cube's opening line "Straight outta compton, crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube. From the gang called Niggas With Attitude. I mean come on; this is amazing.
And it doesn't slow down after that too, like with the police brutality-based track "Fuck Tha Police" or the surprisingly upbeat "Express Yourself". Almost everything is amazing, from the beats to the rhymes throughout.
Overall, I now understand the hype and praise, and personally, I think it's all completely deserved. And members like Ice Cube and Dr. Dre would go on to change music, not only in N.W.A., but also in there solo careers too.
Overall Score: 90 / 100
Favorite Tracks: Straight Outta Compton, Fuck Tha Police, Gangsta Gangsta, Express Yourself, Something 2 Dance 2.
1001 ALBUMS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE #3
The Smiths are another one of those bands that I've heard great things about, though I never listened to them, because of the 1001 Albums list I finally have a good reason to listen to them.
I came in completely blind, I didn't even know the genre, but it held up. "Meat Is Murder" is in short, amazing. I thought Morrissey's voice was beautiful throughout the record, and the rest of the band's performance was great.
Take the opener for example, "The Headmaster Ritual". It sets the tone for the record perfectly, and I loved the acoustic guitars on "Rusholme Ruffians". I thought the slower nature of "Well I Wonder" was outstanding, and the bass work on "Barbarism Begins at Home" is amazing, it's so catchy and funky.
Overall, I only thing I disliked is that it was too short, but other than that, "Meat Is Murder" is a true gem from the 1980s, and I definitely will be coming back for more.
Overall Score: 95 / 100
Favorite Tracks: The Headmaster Ritual, I Want the One I Can't Have, Well I Wonder, Barbarism Begins at Home, Meat Is Murder
1001 ALBUMS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE #4
"The Man-Machine" or "Die Mensch-Maschine" is the 7th album from German electronic group Kraftwerk. And I had never heard of both the album and artist, until now. And I was going into it completely blind.
The Album opens with "The Robots", it uses funky synths and a vocoder and is a great tone-setter for the record. the next track "Spacelab" uses less vocoders and a lot more synths, it uses those synths too create a nice atmosphere and general vibe. "Metropolis" is another great track.
And the biggest and shortest song of the album "The Model" is by far the catchiest by both production and vocal performances. After that is "Neon Lights" with the softest synths and singing on the album. and the title track closer "The Man Machine" brings back the vocoders since the opener.
Overall, a pretty short and sweet electronic album that is fun to listen too.
It's catchy, synth heavy, and a good time.
Overall Score: 85 / 100
Favorite Tracks: Spacelab, The Model, Neon Lights.
1001 ALBUMS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE #5
Eminem is known by many to be the best rapper of all time, the goat if you will, and from this, known as his best, I understand. "The Marshall Mathers LP" is the 3rd album from Detroit's own Eminem, and it has aged great and terribly.
The opening track "Kill You" shows that Em "does not give a fuck" about anything, it also shows that the production (handled by Dr. Dre) will be great throughout, it's the classic Em style of beats. The next track "Stan" is one of Em's biggest songs, he raps in the perspective of a huge fan writing to Em, the fan increasingly gets more aggressive as the song goes on because of Em not responding. Then, its climax is at the 3rd verse, as the fan drives drunk on a bridge and crashes with her pregnant girlfriend in the trunk, and on the 4th verse Em finally writes back saying nice things, explaining things, and giving advice, saying he didn't respond because he was busy, then he realized that the crash he saw on the news, was that fan. This song was so influential that "Stan" became a real word for fans like this. it's a track that tells its story perfectly.
"The Way I Am" was another big song and Em raps to the piano used on the track, he raps about his frustration at other people, which makes sense, at the time, a lot of people did not like Em. Then there's "The Real Slim Shady" which is one of Em's biggest hits, peaking at number 4. And what some people know Em for. Dr. Dre produced a beat that Em flows on so perfectly, the hook is catchy, and it's a great example of Em's humor on this record, it's one of my favorite tracks of his
On "Bitch Please II" Em brings over Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, and Nate Dogg on the same track. It uses another great Dre beat, and everyone is entertaining, especially Nate Dogg's hook. And "Kim" is one of Em's craziest tracks. It's so crazy in fact to the point we're many people can't even listen to it. It has this intense beat with piano and guitars. And Em just let's his mind speak. I think the best way to explain it is to just listen to it. You'll understand.
Overall, I understand the hype, I might prefer "The Eminem Show" at times, but they are pretty close in quality in my opinion. Even though this Em was offensive as hell, and it overall just aged like milk at some points. It's still a great record.
Overall Score: 90 / 100
Favorite Tracks: Kill You, Stan, Who Knew, The Way I Am, The Real Slim Shady, Drug Ballad, Bitch Please II, Kim.
1001 ALBUMS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE #6
I have never like modern pop, so imagine my delight when I got Adele's "25" from the 1001 Albums generator. But to be completely honest, it really wasn't that bad. While it has mostly the mid-2010's production style, and some of the tracks can get annoying / boring, the highlights we're pretty good. And Adele has some beautiful vocals on this thing, especially on tracks like "River Lea" and "Sweetest Devotion", which also have some of the best production on the record. "25" is just an ok album for the most part, there are tracks I dislike, and some I love. but for the most part, it's fine. Overall, I don't have that much else to say, it's a good pop album. I personally wouldn't return to "25", but maybe modern pop isn't that bad.
Overall Rating: 70 / 100
Favorite Tracks: Send My Love, I Miss You, Water Under the Bridge, River Lea, All I Ask, Sweetest Devotion.
1001 ALBUMS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE #7
Now before this, I had no idea what this "Franz Ferdinand" thing was, but whatever this is, I'm loving it. But this is Franz Ferdinand's debut album, and they are a British indie band, and when I first listened to this, it kept reminding me of The Dismemberment Plan's "Emergency & I", similar style overall. And it definitely has that same fun energy. Speaking of fun, "Franz Ferdinand" is a pretty fun album all things considered. I love the vocal performances, and the guitars we're amazing. The entire record is just a fun time. Each track is paced well, and unbelievably catchy, especially tracks like "Take Me Out" and "This Fire", and as I mentioned, the band is incredibly talented. Overall, good energy and vibes, it's a nice and fun time. I could put this on at any time and have a good experience. After this, I might have to check out the band's other stuff.
Overall Rating: 90 / 100
Favorite Tracks: Tell Her Tonight, Take Me Out, The Dark of the Matinee, Cheating on You, Darts of Pleasure, Michael, 40'.
1001 ALBUMS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE #8
Ah yes, Aretha Franklin, A singer who I'm not too familiar with, only really knowing "Respect", but have heard the name thrown around a lot in terms of the best female singers of all time, and thanks to the 1001 Albums Generator, I have been bestowed with the with "Lady Soul", her 1968 record. And Aretha is definitely deserving of the title "Queen of Soul", her voice is powerful, yet beautiful, and the instrumentals really fit her vocal style. Even if it was a little short, I still really enjoyed this. Overall, this is a great record, it's a nice short n sweet experience that has aged amazingly. Aretha Franklin is truly the Queen of Soul.
Overall Score: 80 / 100
Favorite Tracks: A Natural Woman, Groovin', Ain't No Way.
1001 ALBUMS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE #9
The 1001 Albums Generator gives me chances to listen to music from different eras, genres, and cultures, and "Clandestino" is like nothing I've ever listened to before. Manu Chao is an impressive vocalist throughout the record, showing his versatility both in his voice, and language. He uses Spanish, French, and English all over the album, and it makes an experience to be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of language or background. And the instrumentals fit this, playful reggae with a lot of acoustic guitars. It's just a really fun record. Overall, this was an unexpected surprise, I never thought that an album that I didn't even understand half the time, would end up being amazing.
Overall Score: 90 / 100
Favorite Tracks: Clandestino, Desaparecido, Bongo Bong, Mentira..., Luna y sol, Welcome to Tijuana, Malegria, La vie a 2.
1001 ALBUMS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE #10
For the new 1001 Albums Generator album, I honestly don't think I have that much to say about The Beach Boys album "The Beach Boys Today!", it's a good album, there isn't really anything I dislike about it, but there is nothing I loved. The harmony's we're great, and the band played well, the songs are catchy, but that is about all I have to say. Overall, not that noteworthy, to me at least. It works, I don't hate it, I enjoyed it.
Overall Score: 80 / 100
Favorite Tracks: Do You Wanna Dance?, Dance, Dance, Dance, Please Let Me Wonder, She Knows Me Too Well.
1001 ALBUMS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE #11 (10 Word Review)
A rock album that isn't afraid to shows its age.
Overall Score: 85 / 100
1001 ALBUMS YOU MUST HEAR BEFORE YOU DIE #12 (10 Word Review)
Some nice cool jazz, with some equally cool upright bass.
Overall Score: 90 / 100
A pretty simple 80s pop album, not that bad honestly.
10 Word Review
There's a reason it was one of my first records.
Overall Score: 90 / 100
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