This album is amazing.
The 15-minute opener “Chameleon” begins with one of the most iconic synth lines of all time. Those drums and guitar that come in also do the song some major justice. The beat switch near the middle of the song turns it from funk to jazz in a matter of seconds. I also really love the strings that come in during the other part. Man, can Herbie groove.
“Watermelon Man” starts with multiple wind instruments and some vocal noises before going into this hypnotic blend of everything. Most of the instruments (minus drums, bass, and the first wind) are panned to the right, making the mixing a bit unconventional.
“Sly” starts with syncopation that hooks you in. Then, it becomes a little jazzier than that, with the saxophone taking major control of the melody. Herbie’s soloing, as always, is phenomenal. The beat changes very regularly, and it makes for one exciting song.
“Vein Melter” is definitely a chiller song. There’s not much going on, but it sure is hypnotic.
This album gets a 4.2/5.
“Chic Cheer” starts off the album with a tight, disco groove. It can kind of drag on, but it’s a good song nonetheless. The “cheer” is only repeated a single time, though.
“Le Freak” is iconic. A song about a dance becoming one of Disco’s biggest hits? Self-explanatory.
“Savoir Faire” seems to be an instrumental song. It’s a very tight knit and soulful groove.
“Happy Man” is just a fine and upbeat song. I don’t have much to say about it.
“I Want Your Love” is honestly one of the best songs on the album. Don’t call me a hopeless romantic; it’s just written very well.
“At Last I Am Free” is such a tonal shift away from the previous track. It kind of gets a little sadder, but it’s well-executed.
“Sometimes You Win” plays on the idiom “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose.” It’s very encouraging although somewhat campy.
“(Funny) Bone” is another mostly instrumental song, though it does lean into more disco elements than “Savoir”. I love how each element is insanely tight on their own.
Overall, the album gets a 3.8/5. It’s one of the best representations of disco, though I did think it wouldn’t be for me.
“Bone Machine” is an awesome opener, and it really showcases how tight Pixies are as a unit. Black Francis’ lyrics are kind of nonsense, but everything is just cool. I know his humor is definitely weirder on this album, but it gives the song a bit of a charm.
“Break My Body” is a good song that also displays another cool feature of Pixies songs: Their length. Most songs on this album don’t even reach the 3 minute mark, and “Bone Machine” is one of the closest ones. One of my favorite songs in general.
“Something Against You” is a punkish indie jam. It also feels somewhat ska-like due to the layer of clean guitar. I kinda like how the vocals are recorded; it gives them more of a rougher edge in comparison to the instrumental.
“Broken Face” is a bit of a funny song to me. I love the way that Black Francis does those little “uh-huh”s, and it reminds me of Mickey Mouse. It’s pretty good, too.
“Gigantic” is probably one of two songs on this album that goes over 3 minutes. Kim Deal sings lead vocals, and everything is kinda poppier. Dare I say, this is the most accessible song on their first album.
“River Euphrates” is a good song. Kim Deal does sing on this track, but Black Francis sings lead. Also, mentioning the Gaza Strip in the ‘80s is kinda unheard of.
“Where is My Mind” is good, but it’s overplayed as all heck thanks to those stupid TikTok edits. Good song, but why do you want a sad edit over a song inspired by Black Francis swimming away from a deadly fish in the Caribbean?
“Cactus” is also a really good song. I don’t have much to say about it, but I love how it’s just a really driving song.
“Tony’s Theme” is an odd-timed superhero theme sung in equal measure by both Deal and Francis. It’s funny.
“Oh My Golly!” is a BILINGUAL SONG! It’s sung in both Spanish and English, with the majority of it being sung in Spanish. It’s also kinda funny.
“Vamos (Surfer Rosa)” is another track that’s over four minutes and bilingual. It kind of feels like a cross between Minutemen and Sonic Youth.
“I’m Amazed” begins with Deal and Joey Santiago having a conversation. It’s kind of a dark song, but it’s still good.
“Brick is Red” is apparently in an odd time signature too. It has a huge instrumental opening that leads into Francis and Deal singing some more together.
Overall, the album gets a 4.3/5. I thoroughly enjoyed it, though a couple of songs had lyrics that were kind of weird in my book. It’s okay, because I love Surfer Rosa now!
This is Melon Collie levels of long, and I don’t have that much time nor the attention span to listen to it. DNF/5.
This is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I’m not joking.
No, I’m not a millennial; I am indeed a young adult. But, there’s something about Coldplay that unites anybody, whether that be the millennials or young adults or teens forced by millennials to go to Coldplay concerts. That, dear reader of this review, is the emotion within the album. Over a span of basically 42 minutes, Chris Martin and company provide vulnerable indie rock that’s vague yet appealing, as in, multiple people can soundtrack certain moments of their lives to these songs.
Yes, the obvious hits here are “Yellow” and “Sparks”, but “Shiver,” “Don’t Panic,” “Trouble,” and “Everything’s Not Lost” definitely deserve your attention as well. Each and every song on this album weaves together beautifully written melodies, interesting & unique chord progressions, and lyrics that are so mainstream that the underground folk would cringe if anybody pulled out one of these songs at a karaoke bar.
This American gives this debut a 5/5.
This album is artsy and hypnotic.
Joanna Newsom’s voice sounds like the precursor to the cursive singing found in the 2010s, but her voice has a twinge of fragility that feels like she’s trying to imitate blue-eyed soul singers from the 60s/70s (don’t make that joke). It also feels like Bjork’s voice.
In terms of the tracks, there’s only 5, but each of them are sprawling epics one could get lost in. They remind me of when Greek writers would pass down their stories orally, and it seems like Joanna tips her hat to that.
This album gets a 3.5/5. It’s a good album, though I have no idea if I’ll have an opportunity to listen to this more than once.
This album is early Beatles at their prime.
It contains all of the elements that made them successful: Poppy hooks, lyrics that convey timeless emotions of love, songs written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney, and vocal trade offs between those two. The only difference between Please Please Me and A Hard Day’s Night, though, is that the band perfected a sound that they’d be known for.
Songs like the title track, “I Should Have Known Better”, “And I Love Her”, and “Can’t Buy Me Love” are so iconic and have transcended the Beatles to their spot in music history.
This album gets a 5/5 because it is PEAK!
Out of every Dolly Parton album I could’ve gotten, I honestly never expected to get this one.
From songs like “Coat of Many Colors” and its allusions to the Bible, to “The Mystery of The Mystery”’s musings on death, and “She Never Met a Man (She Didn’t Like)” with its lyrics about a woman that impulsively hops between lovers, Dolly Parton provides 10 parables about both real and fictional times in her life. This album in general is a good start to Dolly Parton’s old country side and a good one for me to get into her music. Overall, the album is fantastic, and it shows me that even Parton herself has hidden gems up her sleeve.
This album gets a 5/5 because it’s that perfect!
This album has all of the vibes I’d want for fall. James Taylor is a good singer, and the way the chords move in every song is just awesome.
“Sweet Baby James” is a phenomenal opener. It’s kind of a lullaby, and it’s a sweet one.
“Lo and Behold” becomes a bit more of a stomping gospel-ish folk song. Some references to the Lord are definitely evident, and the song is killer.
“Sunny Skies” is just a folktale masquerading as an upbeat and jolly song. The biggest thing I love with this song is the chord movements.
“Steamroller” turns the vibe to a bluesy sort of feel, and it fits James Taylor’s voice really well. A brass section also joins in on this song, making it feel like a nice walk with the coolest guy in town.
“Country Road” is more in line with the folky James Taylor I know, and it kind of feels depressing. That’s what Taylor does best, though.
“Oh, Susannah” is a cover of the folk song of the same name. Taylor’s voice and guitar arrangements fit really well as he plays the song over the span of two minutes. The arrangement also goes from country to jazz-ish and back.
“Fire and Rain” is just a really good song in general. This is Taylor’s biggest hit, and it shows because of the emotion he put into it.
“Blossom” feels like some kind of Joni Mitchell song. Even though James Taylor, a singer from Boston, and Mitchell, a singer from Canada, were born so far apart, it feels like they connected just to make this song.
“Anywhere Like Heaven” is just a good song that one can definitely get lost in. The strings and lap steel definitely make an impact on this song’s vibe.
“Oh Baby Don’t You Loose Your Lip on Me” is another bluesy song, but it recalls Robert Johnson rather than a big band swing composer. Taylor takes his sweet time with the guitar on this one.
“Suite for 20 G” is a testament of a good ending to an album, as it’s just upbeat and folky.
Overall, this album gets a 4/5. Oh Baby was a decent song, but at least the others are awesome.
Really good album from the prog-rock legends themselves. A Passage to Bangkok still remains a personal favorite because of how weird it is. 4/5.
2/5. Good album, but major points taken away because this album didn’t age well (and so didn’t Phil Spektor).
One of the only albums I didn’t finish on this list. I kinda liked where everything was going, but The Love Below felt kinda weird.
DNF/5.
