Listened to this album a lot when I was younger, and a majority of the tracks still hold up. "We Don't Care" is a strong opener, the singles are all bangers, fantastic hip hop record from the 00's. 4/5
Iconic classic rock album. Outisde of the obvious hits like Speed King and Child in Time, you have some guitar masterclasses on tracks like Bloodsucker, killer vocals throughout and further proving why Deep Purple are an essential listen in the world of rock.
Again, heard this album so many times. You'd think after the passing of Bon Scott, AC/DC would struggle to find a singer to replace him. Yet here is not only an incredible introduction to Brian Johnson's killer vocal style, but a wonderful tribute to their ex-singer. The title track speaks for itself, an essential riff in any guitarist's arsenal. Other tracks on the album such as Hells Bells, Shoot To Thrill and You Shook Me All Night Long prove why AC/DC are one of the best rock bands of all time.
One of the best live albums ever. Amazing to hear Nirvana in the prime, yet so close to their end. Some incredible covers on here, as well as some iconic tracks.
Not a massive Iron Maiden fanso their debut wasn't something I was overly keen on. I think some of their later work is much stronger, but you can see where a lot of the ideas and the DNA of future Iron Maiden came from through this album. Not my cup of tea, but essential for the journey of Iron Maiden.
Exile on Main Street is a funny one for me. I'm not the biggest Rolling Stones fan, but appreciate this album for it's significance in their discography. I didn't hate listening to the album, not it was very much background music for me. Tumbling Dice is obviously a popular song and I liked that one the most but I think overall, it got quite tiring to listening to. Very repetitive, which is maybe listening to it after it's 50-odd years of existence and with a modern perspective, but wasn't the most thrilling listen. Fine for background though.
Much like any marathon, there will be a gruelling section where exhaustion will settle in. One World was the first wall I hit on this musical adventure, and my god did it hit hard. the 38m37secs of absolute dross that I experienced with this album was akin to an audible waterboarding. The only highlight (yes, only, and I use that term very lightly) was the song 'Certain Surprise', which I genuinely thought was hilarious at how shit it was. Apologies to fans of John Martyn, I'm sure he has some outstanding music in his back catalogue, but One World is not it.
So, as soon as this album started, it immediately became background music so I half paid attention to it. It's... fine? Nothing mind-blowing, probably won't listen to it again.
I was vaguely familiar with CSN&Y before listening to this album, and new the popular song "Our House" which I adore, but hadn't listened to their music at all before this album.
First of all, the vocal harmonies on this record are outstanding, as you'd expect from a band like this. An interesting mix of country & rock, with some hippy vibes sprinkled throughout, this album has some damn fine songs on it. "Carry On" is a great album opener, and feels like a perfect setup for what the album is about to deliver. Solid vocals, interesting melody, and sets a cool vibe. "Teach Your Children" felt nostaglic, despite not knowing the era or experiencing it first-hand. "Almost Cut My Hair" is just a cool old-school rock vibe that I'm all for.
"Helpless" was pure Neil Young, beautiful and haunting. "Woodstock" & "Deja Vu" continue the good vibes, and "Our House" - the icing on the cake! Loved that song since hearing it as a child, always an enjoyable listen.
"4 + 20" is a nice palette cleanser and helps reset the vibes of the album back into that Americana singer-songwriter feel, before "Country Girl" comes in hard. This Young-led track is rich with harmony, and again, carries that signature NY style of haunting, melodic and beautiful. The album closer, "Everybody I Love You", is a perfect ending to this musical journey. It encapsulates all of the great moments from previous songs, and really lets the band showcase what they're all about.
Short and sweet, this album was solid from start to finish. Whilst I didn't love every track, the album as a whole was a fantasti listen. I feel like this album would sound great whilst travelling down an American highway in the 70s... which is a very specific requirement but nonetheless! It has to be 5/5!
Ok, so at first glance I thought "sorry, 4 tracks?!?!?! An album, with 4 tracks?!?" ... Then I looked at the length of the songs and shut my mouth!
Here's an interesting thing I found with this album - it's not a collection of songs like you'd typically get on an album. It's 2 mammoth tracks - "Walk Ony By" and "By The Time I Get To Phoenix" - have a total of 30mins of listening time. Both are... a vibe, to quote the yutes. Very cool background listening, both an epic journey through... I guess I'd describe the genre as classical-R&B? The harmonic decisions in "Walk On By" really create a stunning listening experience. The integration of more orchestral sounds makes each song grand and epic.
Here's one thing I would say about our longer songs - they really are too long haha. I was enjoying "WOB" until around 4m30 ish, then I completely zoned out. My attention on "...Phoenix" was lost almost immediately as the sustained chord, ride cymbal and monologue continued... and continued... and continued... Nothing happened in that song until around the 8min minute mark.
"Hyperbolic..." is also a hefty track, coming in at 9m36. To it's credit, the actual song started way earlier than it did on the other 2 long songs. I would add that my attention was lost after 3 or 4mins of this song as well. Don't get me wrong, the playing, composition and artistry on these songs are great, but songs that are that long need to mix things up a bit more often (for me at least) to keep the listener's attention.
Our shortest song, "One Woman", was stunning. Nothing more to say on it. A beautiful track.
Overall, a good listening experience, but hard to compare with the other albums experienced so far as it's more conceptual. Eh, 3/5 seems fair? Clearly talented musicianship and songwriting, but someone should've told Isaac to cut the songs and put a few more actual songs on the album. Nice background music though.
I have one simple question - who the heck is John Prine?!?
Lyrically, this album it's interesting - great storytelling in that usual country style, and John has a wonderful turn of phrase. Whislt not an exceptional singer (he sounds like an in-tune Bob Dylan), the song-writing is great. Wonderful country guitar playing, every song was simple but pretty.
Like a few of the albums given to me on this generator, it's very background music for me. Good background music, let's not insult the quality of the song-writing and musicianship, but hard for me to lock into and give my full attention as nothing drew me in. I can imagine him sat in the corner of a nice country pub playing simple background music whilst I have a nice cold pint.
I can't give it more than a 3 as it was... an average listening experience for me. Nothing blew me away (could be a sign of the times) but I wasn't offended or bored.
Before listening to this album, I was relatively familiar with The Strokes, especially their singles. 'Is This It' was an interesting listening as it was me experiencing a lot of the material I'd not heard by them.
First thing to mention about the album, I love the production. Simple, stripped back, the subtle distortion on Julian's voice sets a great tone. Next thing is how good a set of musicians The Strokes are. That may seem naive of me to say, but for a debut album they lock into their parts. No one gets in the way of each other, the bass lines are playful when the guitars are simple, the drums are on point.
Overall, this was a great listen. The tracks that stood out to me were 'Soma', 'Someday', 'Last Nite' and 'Hard To Explain' as each of these very clearly outline the identity of The Strokes in their early years. 4/5
I've listened to this album enough times, I know the songs I like and don't like. I'd say like, half of the album tickles my fancy - all of the singles are banggers, plus 'Night Train', 'Mr Brownstone' & 'Rocket Queen'. Outside of that, the album is quite same-y. Still a 4/5 though, lots of things to enjoy about this album.
Other than 'Dreaming Of You', I wasn't that familiar with The Coral's music. After listening to this album, I can safely say I've not missed out on much. Let's start with some positives - the harmonies are on point, great vocals throughout. As far as the sound of the band goes, you can hear that this is them in an early stage still discovering themselves. It did get a bit same-y after a few songs though.
Other than the big song on this album, the rest of the tracks aren't my taste. 'Bad Man' wasn't too bad either, but that's mainly because there was some life in that song. The rest of the album was very average though.
I'm sure someone out there will love it, but it ain't for me. 2/5 is generous, but that's because there are definitely worse albums out there.
Outside of the tracks 'Pusherman' and 'Superfly', I wasn't that into the album. Musically, it was class - loved the instrumentals, but I feel like context of the film would help the lyrics make more sense though... I'll add it to the list and maybe amend this review. 3/5 for now though.
This album is absolute pony, never understood the hype at the time and still don't. Reverb drenched warbling over lazy folk instrumentals, I don't any song in this album stood out as a great listen.
Very background listening, so much I zoned out. 1/5
