High points: Motherless Child, Please Be With Me (reminds me a bit of CSN), Let It Grow
Meh point: Willie and the Hand Jive, Get Ready
Notes:
Great live feel to the production.
Overall a pretty boring and slow album with a couple good tracks.
High point: Willie the Pimp! I could listen to this kind of jamming forever. No wonder Trey is such a fan.
High point: "LA Woman" and "Riders on the Storm" are great and justly famous, but the real hidden gem here is "The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)". Jim's psychedelic rap supported by the band in full acid mode. Awesome stuff.
Low point: "Cars Hiss By My Window" is kind of phoned-in. Not a bad song, just not a lot of effort there, and it overstays its welcome.
His peak. A 70s pop masterpiece.
Very pretty music. Would listen to again.
Just not my thing. I guess I don't dig the "I want to sound like I don't give a shit" style of vocals.
Not the best post-OK Computer (In Rainbows) offering from Radiohead, also not the worst (King of Limbs). I haven't listened to this album for a long time now, and I think I know why. Very little of it has stuck with me as being "essential Radiohead songs." 2+2=5 might be the closest, but if you asked me to give you a list of 20 Radiohead songs you should know, even that one wouldn't make the list. A decent album that just hasn't aged well.
Pleasant and pretty background music. Nothing earth-shattering.
Does anyone sound more like the 60s than the Byrds do? Good album, but I’m not convinced it’s their best.
Good for what it is, but incredibly repetitive (the nature of the genre, I suppose).
Just not my thing. I suppose it has some musical merit, and some of the melodies are pretty, but everything just kind of ran together.
Not quite as good as LA Woman but still a fun bunch of songs by Jim & the boys. Roadhouse Blues is always a riot to listen to.
Some very famous songs and some filler. Like the Byrds, not many bands sound like the 60s like CCR do. Good album.
While "Music for the Masses" is my favorite of Depeche Mode's albums, "Violator" is their absolute peak. They are in TOP FORM. No skips (unlike MftM). Favorite songs (in no particular order): Halo (ok, that's my favorite), Personal Jesus, Clean, Policy of Truth.
Pre-Gilmour Floyd. Mesmerising stuff. Syd Barrett’s psychedelic ge jus on full display. The first four tracks are fantastic, drenched in LSD and full speed ahead. I love this album!
Pre-disco Bee Gees, a period for which they’re (perhaps unfortunately) not remembered as often. It’s pretty baroque pop with lots and lots of string arrangements. Ultimately the album is a bit too long for me, they’ve said what they need to eight songs in. “The Greatest Man in the World” is a gorgeous song.
A hip hop landmark. Busta on “Scenario” is historic. Great album and one I (not normally a hip hop listener) can hear over and over again.
40 years later this remains an astounding, if at times problematic, piece of work.
Pleasant but boring. Not my thing.
Three amazing songs, and eight very good ones.
Perfect, timeless voice. Beautiful music.
One of the greatest pop albums of the 2000s. This is their peak.
ITANOMTHUB has always been my favorite PE album, but this one might be their best. Angry, thrilling, frightening.
I didn’t know a single song on this album but it still cooks.
Always interesting sometimes thrilling album of that appears to made entirely of samples. Would spin again!
Beautiful, ethereal contemporary country music. I love this album.
At this point in the mid-1960s, both the Stones and the Beatles were releasing slightly differing track listings for their albums. That’s the case with Aftermath, so I listened to both. It’s an incredible album (US version has Paint It Black, UK doesn’t, UK version has Mother’s Little Helper, US doesn’t), and is said to be an audible relic of Swinging London. I think it’s the first truly great Stones album.
Incredible album. Their best and my favorite of theirs. We’ve now lost both Kristy and Shane. RIP Legends.
Some interesting stuff here, and very listenable. Probably not something I'll choose to listen to again though.
Really enjoyable, twangy but not too much, beautiful country music. I’d listen again.
Nirvana and Radiohead influences are undeniable. Very good album though, would listen again.
Prior to today, I’d never listened to American Idiot the entire way through. I know more than a few of the songs of course, but taken as a whole it’s an astounding piece of work.
Amazing hip-hop album. I can't claim to understand everything's meaning or significance, but I can still recognize quality.
RIP Ozzy. This wonderful album invented heavy metal. Every moment is influential.
I generally dislike ironically-delivered vocals. David Berman sounds like he's trying to score points with the Pitchfork crowd by not giving a shit. Some of the songs were interesting, and some had some genuinely good moments (Tennessee).
One of the most depressing albums ever. But it is glorious. Robert Smith’s late 70s to earl 80s misery gave us some inspired art,
And this is the best of the lot. Perfect for a rainy day with a glass of whiskey.
I haven’t heard this album in over 30 years. It came out when I was in college and I remember that it stunned everyone. Listening to it now was like hearing it brand new all over again. No skips, every song hits. Unbelievable album.
I actually like this more than I expected to. Reading through some of the reviews I assumed this would be extremely repetitive but I was pleasantly surprised! Some songs go in for a bit longer than perhaps they should, but start to finish this was really enjoyable.
Easily one of my favorite albums, ever. My buddy Jack lent this to me on cassette in 9th grade. A perfect rock album.
Very enjoyable album. I don't think I was familiar with any of the songs from this one, which is weird, because my exposure to Mr. McManus isn't limited.
Lots of fun, college memories at the dawn of Madchester.
A love-it or hate-it album, for sure. I love it, but it took me a few listens to get to that point. And when people tell me they hate it, I don't rush to its defense like I would with others. This is also an instance of separating art from the artist since Van is a well-known bell end.
My hot take is that I like this one better than Black Star. Both are amazing albums, this one is just a little bit better. The album cover is the worst ever, though.
I need to listen to this album more, could be a 5 for me eventually.
Solid metal album. Again, would probably become a 5 in my book if I listened to it more, which I will be doing.
An astounding record. Total camp, Queen/Freddie style. So much fun to listen to, there are layers here probably still being discovered.
Fantastic blues rock. Set the standard for all the AOR dudes that followed. What's fascinating about this record for me is that you can hear hints of what ZZ would become in the 80s, but this is still fundamentally grounded in 1970s tones.
Thrilling funk up front, smooth funk to close. Great album.
Parts of this album are really cool. Other parts are kinda meh.
There are three things bother me about this otherwise-incredible album. (1) Glen Frey has only one lead vocal. He was my favorite Eagle. (2) why do we need a symphonic version of Wasted Years? It’s pretty but not really necessary. (3) I’ve never really like “Life in the fast lane.” Everything else is amazing.
Good thrash album, but I think it suffers from a lack of dynamics - changes in guitar tone, speed, vocal delivery and general songwriting would have made this album rate higher for me. I've heard Chaos AD is a better album, which I'll be sure to listen to.
I can't say that I enjoy noise rock (does anyone?) but there were a few interesting moments here.
This is a solid Arcade Fire album, and it stands up as one of the better releases of that year. However: Funeral and Suburbs are so much better than Neon Bible.
Obviously a classic and important album in the history of soul and funk. If "Everyday People" doesn't get you moving you may need to restart yourself.
Good but long. Albums shouldn't overstay their welcome.
Why was this album released? She's obviously got vocal chops for a fantastic live album, but she doesn't know the words to some of the songs and tells the audience that before just skat-ing (How High the Moon). It's just not a very good performance.
Fucking beautiful. If there was any justice in the world, Jeff would still be alive and would be the biggest music star on the planet right now.
An exceptional album from Stevie’s classic period. It’s a testament to Stevie’s prolificness that this, his 17th studio album is considered “classic Stevie.” No skips, and despite its title “Please Don’t Go,” the album closer, is one of the most joyous, smile-inducing songs I’ve ever heard.
Such a great dance album. A late 90s return to form for Madge.
There are a number of songs that, having plugged in an electric guitar at a guitar store, you just don't play. If you do, the employees will automatically brand you a douche. One of those songs is "Eruption," the second track on this, one of the greatest debut albums in hard rock history. Have I tried to learn how to play Eruption? Certainly. I'd be willing to bet most guitarists have. But -- only in the privacy of my own home.
I don't know what I'm listening to, nor why I need to listen to this. Other reviews call this a soundtrack for a film that doesn't exist, and that's pretty close. At best, this is background music that slips in one ear and out the other. At worst, it's just noise.
Some great tracks, but too much boasting about one’s dick, and way too much reliance on “motherfucker” drag this one down a bit. Do love Snoop’s contributions though.
Kind of boring, tbh. Production is good, vocals are nice, songwriting is a bit tepid.
Funky grooves for 36 minutes. Helluva enjoyable listening experience. Will return to this soon.
A fore-runner of New Wave, also anticipated its offshoot, the sophisti-pop movement. Great musicianship from all band members. I'm really impressed with this album.
I'm glad I've heard it. And now I'm glad I probably don't need to hear it again. I'm not really certain how to react to this. I have enjoyed plenty of psychedelic music over the years, and I think the key to making it good is not relying on acid cliche all the time. The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter instead fires on all psychedelic cylinders all the time, and it's tiresome almost instantly. Blech. The music is interesting from time-to-time, as is the variety of instruments used.
A nuclear bomb when it was released. I have so many fond memories of this album. In hindsight, I think Fear of a Black Planet is slightly better, but this is still my favorite by them.
I generally don't listen to country with a few exceptions, and most of those are female (I'm a dude). I do appreciate old-school country like Cash and Haggard, but I can't really get behind this one. I guess I prefer the outlaws.
It’s hilarious how all over the place the reviews are for this one. More than usual for this site IMO. Whatever the case, this is perfectly fine ska. Not the genre’s pinnacle, but good.
Third album in a run of greatness that may never be matched. The world's greatest rock and roll band delivers one of the great rock albums.
Later albums are better, IMO, but if you want to hear American post-punk, this is where to start.
This album should be as well known as Nevermind the Bollocks.
The spoken-word stuff in track 4 didn't really grab me, but the rest of the album is great. Classic funk soul.
I don't love retroactively down-grading a once lauded piece of art because the artist in question turned out to be a douche nozzle. This is unquestionably a great album despite Clapton's historic racism-while-drunk. That he's also an anti-vaxxer is also difficult to wear, but the playing here by him and so many others is spectacular.
An incredible document of what an incredibly flawed human was once capable of.
Fun dance trip-hop record. Not sure it's 1001-worthy? A pleasant if repetitive listen nonetheless.
A stunning debut. This album needs to be played at an extremely high volume to be fully appreciated. You can hear all the bands that the influenced, too. I don't fully understand what I just listened to, there seems to be a lot of rage in it. I'll need to do a deep dive into the lyrics to appreciate them more. Musically though, just brilliant. Love it.
3.5 stars. Really enjoyable new-wave pop. "Our Lips are Sealed" is a classic and sounds as fresh today as it did over 40 years ago. "This Town" starts out sounding like a Joy Division song, which isn't surprising seeing how many bands they influenced.
4.5 stars. I really wanted to give this 5, because of what the songs mean to me, because I start to chuckle whenever I think of the video for "Head over Heels," because the album reminds me heavily of a year I spent in England as a teenager, because now my daughter adores this album. But 5s are for albums with no skips. And unfortunately, "Listen" is a skip.
Nonetheless, I love this album and (nearly) every note on it.
I normally love an album that exudes the 1960s, but it also needs to have charm and hooks. This one doesn't have much of either, and I found myself checking out multiple times. Not for me.
So creative and powerful. This is pop for the 2010s and 2020s. Of all the amazing young women making incredible pop music these days, Ella might be my favorite.
2.5 stars. Despite being exceptionally well-crafted and produced, there's very little on this album that I find engaging. It's very mellow, and much of it resembles 1970s elevator music. The title track is obviously a classic, and I really dig "No Name Bar" and "Do Your Thing" (as long as it is) as well. If you like slow grooves with lots of flute, this is your jam.
For my money, this is one of 5 LPs that best encapsulate early 1980s British pop/new-wave (in my head I imagine that Morrissey detests the term "new-wave").
The Smiths were more a singles band than one who relied on their albums. Indeed, "Louder than Bombs," one of their singles collections, is perhaps a better demonstration of their mastery of that artform.
But what makes "The Queen is Dead" so perfect isn't the singles, it's everything else. Yes, the album contains two of their most beloved songs ("Boy" and "Light") but the rest of the album slaps hard, as the kids today say. "Never Had No One Ever" sounds like it could have been from their debut, the title track rocks as hard as anything the band ever did, and "Frankly Mr. Shankly" will stay in your head for days.
An amazing document of an amazing band.
PS Morrissey is a bellend.
I know the guy's a legend, but entire Neil Young albums all the way through kind of bore me. For this one, I feel like if you asked a reasonably robust AI to craft a Neil Young album circa 1973-1974 this is what it'd come up with.
Very smooth, this is music you can dance to or fuck to. Probably one after the other. I'm not sure I can listen to this on a regular basis, but for what it is, it's very good.
Enjoyable 1970s hard rock delivered occasionally with tongue firmly in cheek.
If someone tells you they dig this album then they are lying to you and shouldn't be trusted.
If they tell you that you just don't get it and this is an influential album then they are pretentious fucks.
Shite from start to finish.
This may have been the most surprising album for me yet. Just based on the title I was ready to hate this album with the strength of a thousand suns, but then Ian started to sing and I began to chuckle. A friend of mine referred to this album as "cheeky" and I think it's a perfect description. Probably influenced everyone from Squeeze to Oasis.
Even though Three Imaginary Boys has some interesting moments, this is the true debut of The Cure for me. The eeriness, the minor keys, everything here is pointing to the triumphs that are Faith and Pornography. This is one of the early shapers of alternative rock.
This album was huge when it came out. Twenty plus years later it's fine. But to be honest it bored the hell out of me on re-listen.
The lyrics are a bit pretentious at certain points, I remember writing poetry like this when I was fifteen. I know they wanted to pay tribute to Cliff, but good Lord the spoken words in "To Live is to Die" are just infantile. I cringe every time I hear them. Musically it's a good-to-great metal album even if they turned the bass down because they wanted to be pricks and "prank" newcomer Jason. No wonder he left eventually. Lars must be a completely insufferable person to be around for that length of time.
