Album cover doesn't look the way the album sounds. I'd place most of this in a 2000s pop punk playlist to make some stand out tracks within the mix. Great artistry in the musicality of it all. A little outside of personal taste, but it's easy to understand the inmense ammount of talent poured into this project.

When I think of The White Stripes, I think of Seven Nation Army, regardless of all the other amazing Jack White songs I've heard throughout the years. This album felt like that energy, matured. Still aggressive and rebellious, but also self reflected and aware. I can see the talent, but I also feel like if this is a high quality highlight, there's not much else for me to see here.

I used this album as an excuse to actually hear an entire Smiths album, anything Morrissey typically has a half a song duration period for me. I can understand a lot of the artistry in the strings, and probably need a second or third listen to start appreciating the lyrics fully. Still, as I expected, personal and biased opinion, not very impressive.

I'm not the biggest Kanye fan, I'd never heard this album all the way through and some of these songs are a part of my childhood memories, so it's nice to put context to them. I've always thought Kanye was a better producer than rapper, and even though he shows some impressive rap stunts, I don't find it redeemable in general. I'm picky. I don't find the album has maintained a futuristic style, though it does have its own sound and it stands out as iconic. I do feel nostalgia, I do feel 00's retro. I would not put this on my regular rotation, but the production work is something I can't deny (if not occasionally overproduced), and would be happy to give it a listen if anybody suggests playing the record.

Occasionally I do look for something harmonica heavy, and this is great for that mood. Otherwise, I don't imagine myself replaying the work. I appreciate it for its contributions to the art, but it's a pretty difficult listen if you're not hoping to be transported to the 1960s.

I'm gonna feel some positive bias because the sounds are mostly those I grew up with. That being said, the production on this is versatile, exploring the family of the Latin Caribbean genres while maintaining cohesion. There might be a song here or there that feels over produced or misplaced, but as a whole it's a gem. I'd recommend this album if you're exploring Latin music in general.

Passion! When I think of the music from Brazil I think of samba, I think of bossa nova, I think about the language and the percussion. This record is something else (although the percussion is absolutely delicious.) A very passionate and intricate display of local sounds, maintaining a modern feel after decades. It's hard to believe this banger is from the 70s, it could have easily been produced in the 90s-00s, so I feel it ahead of its time, or better yet, with an excellent air of timelessness. Excellent use of funk and afro-beat to compliment the local sounds. Critiques? Maybe a track or two could lean more on the memorable side, but this comes from someone who barely understands the language. Otherwise, as a project in its entirety, it's pretty solid.

When I think of The Beach Boys, I think of their classic surf rock sound. This was something else, a combination of pretty good production, near psychedelic vibes, combined with the idea of summer or islander energy. I was pleasantly surprised when I heard effects popularized in dub or other Jamaican genres, giving me that gringo-beach feel. I wasn't very impressed with the social pieces, they felt overproduced and in that sense, not genuine either. Still! Pretty decent listen, I'm glad I heard this other side of the band. I'm not gonna actively look for this record, but if I spot it at a good price, I'd buy it.

With minimal research I was expecting a pretty bad album. In reality its production method was ahead of its time, you have to understand what overproduced means before letting your heart accept something so raw. It has a few awesome moments, a few pieces that could've been knocked off. I'd rate it higher if it was a shorter play, but we're talking 69 minutes of what feels like a rough compilation of tracks, it can get excessive. I don't hate it. 2 stars.

I was really excited for this album for various reasons. First and most importantly, I've never heard a Bowie record all the way through, I was not disappointed. Secondly, I'd heard that 70s Bowie was particularly instrumental because of some conflicts in his contract and a creative way to stick it to the man, but that's a memory and I'm not sure it's 100% spot on. There were undoubtedly some quite beautiful musical arrangements that, for the sake of my personal taste, I would've rearranged in the album to grab me quickly and make me yearn to replay. The record starts off with Watch That Man, pretty catchy, well produced, and it expresses immediately that there's an American music culture influence. While letting us know its north is appreciated, it's also the part of the album that makes me not need to revisit it. I listened to it twice just to make sure I'm not jumping the gun. If the album started backwards, starting off with Lady Grinning Soul and ending with Watch That Man, just in thought, feels like a better way to appease to my personal tastes and the way I appreciate rock. Alternatively, starting out with Time on the B side, one of my personal favorites from the project, and ending with the A-side to lull you into the core of its influence, might be a cool way to appreciate the project. If I think about it that way, I'd definitely snag this on vinyl if I see it around at a decent price. Not looking to pay collectors' prices for this one though. 3/5

90's kid here, when I go out of my way to listen to this kind of early New Orleans jazz I look for Louis Armstrong, maybe with the vocal style and clarity, a little Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin, but this was something completely out of my radius. Eventually everything clicked when I heard Jump, Jive, An Wail, classic childhood memories attached to it. VHS and all that jazz, was it Matilda? I'm really happy I have a new artist to add to the rotation, and new names to be on the look-out for. Fell in love with Sam Butera's work. Love that, although for today a little context helps, but for the most part the album cover looks like what we're listening to. Joyous, playful, loud. I want a physical copy in my collection. 3.8/5

It was important for me to separate art from artist for this record, the Puffy influence is strong, and can harm the experience if you're sensitive to the reality of recent events and information. I've always liked Biggie, but I've never heard an album through. This was an experience akin to watching The Godfather for the first time. It's a masterpiece created for adults, that children will definitely enjoy if they can get their hands on. It's raw, honest, and extremely cliché gangsta rap, sex, drugs, and suicidal thoughts are the core of this record, but it comes from a place of experience, it's genuine and that can be shocking. There's a lot of rappers out there with a story to tell, where Biggie stands out is in his complete domination of the word as a concept. From meaning to sound, the way he plays with words feels so effortless, beautiful, and cunning. It's a talent that has inspired a lot of modern day greats, directly or indirectly, and hearing this in an album that starts itself off with an appreciation for hip-hop roots is just such a delicious flavor for the ears. This is already a classic kind of album, and it shows appreciation for similarly stunning previous projects— all the way through. I wasn't expecting to enjoy listening to this so much. The production is arguably really good in some tracks as well. We can say dated without sounding terrible, as it holds strong today regardless. 4.6/5

Heading into this blind, not sure exactly what to expect, reading "Up the Beach" and... what an intense, slow moving mind-fuck to start a project off with. Afterwards I was able to check myself and understand the vibe, of course I've heard Jane's Addiction before. Perry's vocals are carved into the back of my mind. We're gonna be listening to low-key angst. Slightly funky, definitely on the produced-hardcore side. It's a flavor and if you're feeling like sticking it to the man but not really, this would be the soundtrack I'd put on. I was real happy for the intro to Ted, Just Admit It, and then it turned into the mood again. Maybe I'm too into jazz. It's not a bad album, just not something I'd typically feel like putting on. 2.9/5

I wasn't a big Beastie Boys fan before, and I'm still not. Yes, there's a couple of iconic tracks that are completely necessary to talk about the music of today, and there's another few that do sound particularly good in a car. Other than that, to me it feels dated. Its reference to hip-hop beginnings doesn't feel like something that holds up outside of a frame, it's very clearly 80s. No hate, no love. 2.2/5

I felt so ignorant looking into this. I've never heard of Brian Eno, or at least my brain hasn't latched on to his name, but I do love me some good ambient music and this is definitely GOOD ambient music. What a beautiful set of tracks, it brings me peace. It's mood music, to be expected, but it's so delicate and intricate. Keeping an ear awake to listen to the details is very satisfactory for this project. I could see myself purchasing this record. 3.4/5

I don't think there's single 50 Cent song I know and enjoy that isn't on this album. Look no further of you're looking into him, in my admittedly ignorant opinion. Listening now, front to back for the first time ever, it kinda falls short. There's not a lot to say, the message is being the best, being cool, attempting to be some form of badass or gangster role model. A lot of the best tracks aren't about anything very profound, which on a conceptual level feels like a loss of potential. I will say, all the rhymes sound pretty great, esthetically speaking there's something special. The 00s hip hop sound is active here, definitely sounding dated already, but it's the same production that stands out. Great weaving of tracks to make a positive experience, and there's definitely a deep understanding of what sounds work together to achieve a commercial success. It's like The Backstreet Boys of rap. I'm not sure it would hold up the same if it came out as is today, it's too emotionally guarded, toxically masculine. 2.6/5

I've wanted to buy this record for years, but I've never listened to it start-to-finish. Sometimes the trailer is enough, and you know you're gonna be into it. You know? So in the grand scale of things, no surprises. I think I'd already heard the stand-out tracks, and not to call everything else filler, but they work like a brush stroke queuing your eye to the next key representation. This is the euphoria of quality musicianship and the freedom of only having to overcome creative hurdles, then sticking that landing. It was an extremely easy listen for me, but I like the abstract idea of emotion as sound. 4.7/5