1001 Albums Summary

I can appreciate how groundbreaking this was at the time, a year before I was born, probably one of the first 'electronic landscapes' of its time. I remember hearing a lead-in to a JMJ live event that my Dad recorded off the radio in the 80's and being intrigued by it. However, at its worst, this album sounds like someone noodling around with the keyboard presets, especially the part in part 6 with the 'sonic beach' sounds. Pt 4 is the classic, but Pt 2 really enaged me the most. Solid background music, but feels cheesy in the modern era, unfortunately.

Wow, this is pure early high school for me. Jim Kutnow, a huge early Beastie Boys fan, brought this tape to school and we all got into it. I know every word to Sure Shot (at least I try to rap along) and still play it often. Sabotage is of course the huge classic, though I get one bad taste in my mouth from it -- from JJ Abrams using it in such a silly way in that Star Trek movie. But then I remember the incredible cop-based music video and love it all over again, it's incredible. As high school turned to college, I enjoyed more and more of the deeper cuts on this album, and I loved hearing some of the songs when I saw them in the old Philly Spectrum on tour with Intergalactic. This is, perhaps, one of the first albums I felt nostalgia for as I got just a bit older. Now, it brings me back to more rebellious days in a beautiful way.

I'm only familiar at the outset with 'Bang a Gong,' but I like this kind of 70's 'fun' rock, still with plenty of great riffs and chords, just pop fun. On listening, I found it to be a bit more syrupy than I was hoping for.

Love the voice, and in many tracks it's actually far, far stronger than the instrumental part. I was unfamiliar and it was good to give a listen. It didn't move me or catch me, but I liked it well enough.