The Seinfeld of pop music. Incredibly influential, yet not very obviously timeless (on the surface), and thus easily dissmissable as "boring" or "basic". Earnest, sure, with perhaps somewhat simplistic lyrics - but also undeniably masterful in layered harmony and dense, experimental instrumentation. There's no Sgt. Pepper without Pet Sounds. It may not be my favorite record, which is reflected by the overall score I'm giving it, but it is nevertheless an incredible record.
Grunge surf guitar? Surprisingly, I'm really vibing with this.
4.5*
An incredible album I've listened to many, many times. In every regard (but perhaps above all instrumentally and melodically) inventive, interesting, engaging. Genre-breaking. And honestly, just lots of fun - a feel-good, soulful album that manages to simultaneously be quite comforting as well. Favorite song? Piano Joint (This Kind of Love) never fails to give me full body goosebumps.
Kiwanuka has an incredible, unique voice (and amazing stage presence), so I'll gladly listen to (and watch) anything he makes. I can't tire of this.
After a couple of repetitive albums, here's something that definitely goes places while still creating a specific atmosphere and maintaining its very distinctive identity and cohesiveness.
2.5*
An overall decent Queen album. It's rare I'm not in the mood for some operatic rock. Killer Queen is an incredible song, and Now I'm Here is also a gem. A surprise: Bring Back That Leroy Brown is quite fun!
What a great album, featuring not one, not two, but three! highly influential masterpieces (Enter Sandman, The Unforgiven, Nothing Else Matters). It brilliantly showcases that metal music doesn't need to be repetitive or always sound the same - every song just brings it on in a different, engaging way. Bangers left and right, although it does lull ever so slightly towards the end. Unknown (to me) standout: Sad But True. Made me feel quite powerful. Thoroughly enjoyable listen.
What a beautiful, soothing voice. Considering the fact that this is essentially a folk/country cover album, I found it a surprisingly enjoyable and relaxing listen, containing a couple of gems. I'll revisit this!
Now this is a good vibe for today. Calm, sweet, but interesting. Sometimes at risk of sounding a bit repetitive, but still engaging and a little dreamy. Not a great album, but a good one.
Melodically and instrumentally surface level interesting at times (even if derivative), but lyrically and thematically absolutely abysmal. Honestly, while listening to this album I grew afraid of paying attention to what was being sung, because it made me roll my eyes so hard I feared I might lose them inside my head. Also, somehow, Swift's generic singing sounds the same throughout almost the entire album, leading to a feeling of monotony and/or being stuck in an endless, bland loop. 'tolerate it' and 'happiness' stand out, but they may just as well be considerably worse boygenius songs. There is no real emotion, only the petty grievances of an emotional 15 year old, and harmonizing with oneself is infinitely less interesting than doing so with others (at least in the way she does it).
Just because Taylor Swift tried to make a pretentious concept album that wasn't strident pop for once, doesn't mean that it belongs in the 1001 best of all time - not even with a guest appearance by The National.
Didn't hate it as much as I had expected to, though. As production is great overall it makes the album tolerable, I guess, just as long as you're not paying much attention.
Beautiful, relaxing, esoteric vibes. But perhaps I wasn't in the best mood for it today. I can appreciate it, but didn't love it. Maybe something to try again!
What a surprise! Yet another album making me reconsider not considering myself a huge fan of live albums (at this point, I really cannot stand behind that statement in any way anymore...). Cool instrumentation, incredible jams, virtuoso playing, singing with feeling. Just plain cool renditions of some of their greatest songs that go way beyond playing the same old thing. Groovy, baby.
On a separate note: I feel like doing this 1001 albums challenge has opened my eyes to a lot of music from the 70s I had been sleeping on. Appreciate that!
