1001 Albums Summary

Best album by the best band. The final chop/chop/chop medley beginning with Mean Mr. Mustard Seed is as good as an album has ever been.

I started getting "too big for my britches" in artistic tastes because my mom would take so goddamn long in the grocery store or doctors office and I would read like the entirety of every remotely arts adjacent magazine they had. I bring that up here because I remember Time or one of the bigger magazines had a pretty good end of decade best of list and rated this number one. I had only heard the singles and had no money but I bought a used CD of it at the flea market for probably $5 or $10 with lawnmower money. The whole thing is so smooth and so good. It's unfortunate she went proper crazy but at least she got this one out.

God said to Abraham kill me a son. Abe said man you must be putting me on. God said no. Abe said what. God said Abe you do what you want man but next time you see me coming youd better run. Abe said where you want this killin done God said down on highway 61 This is the shit that made beating the Nazis worth it. Dylan is a huge ass with a weird voice but when he was fully channeling the artistic gods, he was as good an American singer songwriter as there ever was. Blood on the Tracks always hit me harder in the guts but damn if revisiting this one when the movie came out didn't knock me over. Dylan has other albums that interpret the American songbook in ironic ways or take it dead serious and move it in new directions but this is the one where there's a godlike eye experiencing it at multiple moments across history but expressing it all at one time. It's very Joyce-like in that sense. A deserving all timer.

First CD I ever bought (used for $10 from a kid on the bus on a field trip). Don't Look Back in Anger probably the song I've listened to the most in my life and I've barely listened to it in 25 years. The singles are great but the deep cuts are great too. There's not a skippable song here for me.

Another one of my favorites. Burned out my earbuds on this one in its prime. Own the lp. I love synth beats and breathy vocals and to be honest, even if there isn't a single song here with the power of Cherry Flavoured Funk, the energy here stays consistently ahead of Heaven or Las Vegas which is a plus for me.

Dreamiest of dream pop and the ethereal vocals linger on and on. The whole album keeps the vibe but it also feels all a bit like window dressing once you get past Cherry Flavoured Funk.

Absolute top tier LES pre punk or whatever. In my top 5 most played albums probably.

Very much in line with the Velvet Underground, but tighter, hookier, more refined. More confident and not so sad, either. The thing executing on all cylinders as the thing as opposed to trying to bring the thing into existence. Too cool to love though? Maybe a tiny bit but not too much. Do I feel it in my guts? Yeah. Sometimes you don't want to be sad, just punk. Bet their live shows kicked ass. Fades quite a bit at the end but still rocks. 4.0

Good for them. Not for me.

Good for them. Not for me.

Too lukewarm. Too wimpy. Jackoff music but not in a good way. He has a good voice though and the leadoff is a good song.

The singles are good. The rest is too noodly