Gets better the more you listen to it. Particular favourites were "Creepin'", "Zillion Light Years" and especially "They Won't Go When I Go"
This was a great experience, amazing and distinctive voice. Will definitely listen to him more!
Extremely interesting and eye-opening. Not sure I've ever heard much of them before.
Know most of these but never listened to it as an album before. Ultimately every song is incredible even if he wasn't as popular when he wrote Piano Man! There is something incessant and irrepressible about the man. Incredible ability to observe people in everyday situations with great eye for detail.
I struggled. I've read more overblown and abstract reviews from my fellow reviewers that really captured the sentiment of how this felt to (re-)listen to, even if I didn't understand their words.
In the late 60s a generic-sounding Canadian outfit (who looked like they stepped straight out of the 1800s) called The Band holed up in a big pink house in New York state with Bob Dylan for a year and made huge amounts of music. This album was the result (Dylan even painted the cover). The album that shook Eric Clapton "to the core", and drove a departure away from the current trend of psychedelic rock. A mixture of dirgy, messy tracks fusing country, rock, folk, soul and much more - where the sum is greater than its parts.
The Band are perhaps best immortalized in Martin Scorsese's concert documentary "The Last Waltz" (along with a raft of guest stars) - and to pick a favourite from their debut album is perhaps missing the point, but "The Weight", "Chest Fever", "This Wheel's on Fire" and "I Shall Be Released) are my personal picks!
Absolutely fantastic in so many ways. So many classics it's insane. Maybe even better than Breakfast in America.
About 15 years ago I had the idea of using the second half of the "Crime of the Century" song as a movie score (from about 2:07) - it's unlikely I'll ever get to do it, but hopefully someone does!
Surprised I've never heard of these guys before. Really good rap and beats though most of the songs are overly long and there is some repetition which makes this hard work. There's also a lot of Public Enemy in here.
I'd never heard this before, but started to appreciate it after 2 listens. It's clearly influenced by Sergeant Pepper though this is just as loose a theme for a concept album is that is. Would I rather listen to Sergeant Pepper? Not necessarily. But I do think this needs more time to grow on me!
I can definitely appreciate parts of it and its significance (has its significance faded slightly - is it irrelevant what it's significance is now?) and undeniable impact - I'm just not sure I could listen to it in full for another 5-10 years!
Fantastic, I've never listened to him before!
I'd never listened to this before and found it pretty original - would definitely listen again!
I've got a feeling that this album/sound is really super important to country music and beyond and I'm definitely hearing this more broadly in, among other things, Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Rolling Stones.
A couple of songs: great. A whole album: I struggled to get through it. I think it's maybe too much of this "Bakersfield Sound" to ingest at once!
Didn't get as many listens in as I wanted to, but appreciated it.
Thoroughly enjoyed it, she has such a versatile voice. Amazing album and will definitely check out her others.
Really enjoyed it, will probably make my regular rotation!
"Smooth Operator" is excellent. I listened to it twice. The rest of it I can take or leave - though in fairness I'd probably grow to appreciate it over time.
I found it half excellent and half hit and miss. "Imagine", "Jealous Guy" are amazing, but I struggled with some of the rest.
Extremely solid. I've always enjoyed the title track but this is my first venture beyond that in any meaningful way. I can see how he's been so influential for British rock and indie music.
This was excellent I have to say. I only managed a single listen as it was pretty long, but each song sounded distinct and clever and original. On some albums the songs tend to drift into one massive clump that sounds very similar. I definitely need more listens but super impressed.
The big one. The poster-album-child of the Bachtivision movement ever since day 1. Often cited as one of the greatest albums of all time. The kind of album that is so sprawling that it's impossible to contain it in a review, the kind of album that you notice some new stroke of genius every single time. Last time it was the genius of the instrumental "Contusion". The time before that it was the utopian vision of "Saturn" where people live in orange snow until they're two hundred and five. There are so many grand ideas, little flourishes, and shifting musical styles on this double album - and couple that with the fact that I'm a relatively new listener to Stevie Wonder - that I am still processing much of what's on here.
Not to mention just how many incredibly successful songs and artists have sampled or straight lifted entire portions of these songs - Coolio took "Pastime Paradise" wholesale; as did Will Smith with "I Wish", and when I first heard Wonder's version of "As" all I could think of was how George Michael sang it note for note.
The sprawling, eclectic, experimental nature of the album isn't without issues (though I am sure people will argue that's what makes it great): Should "Ordinary Pain" REALLY be 2 different songs in one? Unlikely. Would I prefer to listen to "Isn't She Lovely" without the baby crying parts? Probably, but that also might be missing the point. Does the album feel incohesive due to the sheer amount of STUFF going on and mix of styles? Certainly.
Will I keep listening to this when I'm two hundred and five? Definitely.
Interesting and appreciate it's something different but not really for me. I'm probably missing something massive here. I'm OK with that.
I like it, but I'd like to hear him singing his own songs vs. the Great American Songbook.
Extremely timely given Ozzy's passing. I've never listened to this before but it sounds monumental and epic. I'll keep listening!
Fantastic - so many classics. I think there were a couple of misfires towards the end but ultimately this is a landmark album and the lyricism is beyond belief. It's literally like he's pulling these incredible songs out of thin air as he's going along.
Though, and I'm worried about telling Bob this, I prefer the version of "Girl from North Country" with Johnny Cash.
This was a really strange experience.
At first I was doing some work and the sound was annoying / distracting. But the album didn't care. Obstinately so. It persisted in its synth-poppiness, even though I turned it down. And when I turned it off, it still played in my head. This was around the song "Rent". I then put it back on and found myself somewhat enjoying/appreciating "Hit Music". By the time the album ran to "It's a Sin" I was basically dancing around and wanting to place it on repeat.
Funny.
Somewhat enjoyable - very slow and moody. I think it'll grow on me.
I love rap - but for some reason I really struggle with A Tribe Called Quest. I can't explain it in any way!
OK. The Police, or as they're now known: "Sting".
This might be the first Police album I've ever listened to. In general I really disliked the first half - I found it repetitive and boring. The nadir in particular was "Mother" which wasn't a pleasant listen.
But by the time we were onto the second half - from "Every Breath..." onwards I was really getting into it. I feel like Sting really found his stride. "King of Pain", "Wrapped Around...", "Tea in the Sahara", and "Murder by Numbers" were all excellent.
Some excellent songs on here - I love Across the Great Divide. But prefer Songs from the Big Pink.
I like Neil Young quite a bit, but mainly Harvest and some of the newer hits. I struggled to get into this, perhaps it's one you need to study the lyrics on. I know it is considered one of his best. I'll keep listening!
Excellent album, though I am much more partial to Sticky Fingers or Exile on Main Street.
Listened once, sounds great. Sense it is going to need more listens but that I should start with the Smiths!
Pretty awesome - the fact that a lot of these songs are all on the same album. Probably uneducated sacrilege but I still couldn't help but feel, however, that overall we could lose a couple of songs and it'd be stronger overall.
Absolutely exceptional. The tracklist is literally: "Thriller", "Beat it", "Billie Jean". And there's way more than these three massive hits here. Put simply, this is the best-selling album of all time and of the 9 tracks, 7 were released as singles. This is obviously separating the music from the man himself.
I didn't dislike it, and I like rap. Timbaland's work especially is incredible!
I struggled a bit with the tone of this, I suspect I'm just not appreciating it and her influence in general!
I hadn't listened to much of Skepta before but this was great - fast-paced, relentless rhyming that manages to stay top-quality throughout.
I listened to it. All of it. It's 3 hours 15 minutes long. That's almost as long as the Brutalist though this is a slightly more wholesome experience.
It is difficult to separate, when listening to this, the amazing, versatile, enchanting voice of Ella Fitzgerald from the music itself. The songs are so well written and clever lyrically that they almost take centre stage and are an experience in themselves.
In any case, this is an exceptional voice singing exceptional songs - the extremes of Fitzgerald's vocal range matched by the lyrical gymnastics of the songs themselves.
Am I reviewing Ella Fitzgerald, or George and Ira Gershwin? It doesn't really matter, it's all incredible.
Can't argue with BB King - phenomenal voice and guitar playing!
Enjoyed it, to me a very simple punk sound with simple lyrics - I guess that's the appeal. Not really for me though.
