Right up my alley jazz-wise, not too “challenging” like some later Miles Davis or Coltrane but clearly Evans is a master at his craft and is playing with two other guys who are locked into the same wavelength. Will definitely get some repeat spins.

Epic opening three-song run of classic hits that is pretty unreal for a debut album, a few others that I'd not spent much time listening to before that are still great in their own right. I'm not sure too much else sounded like this in 1978 with the sort of punk roots, but pop sensibility and quirky synth leads. Ric Ocasek is a legend

One of the best and most influential metal albums ever, a true classic. Sonic signifiers that became standard for a whole sub-genre of metal - chugging riffs, dueling double/triple guitar leads, soaring vocals. I love it.

Huge influence on a lot of stuff I love including one of my favorite bands of all time (The Hold Steady), Phil Lynott was so effortlessly cool and I love how much his bass playing stands out here. Some classic tracks I knew, others I didn't - Emerald was a standout that I hadn't heard before. Band is super tight, ripping guitar solos (overdubs be damned), great energy.

This is a weird one to rate - three absolutely spectacular (pun intended) songs that might represent the apex of aughts indie rock, and then a lot of tracks that are sort of...fine? I don't think it's actually great as an ALBUM. I'll admit the back half of this record never got a lot of spins from me even when it first came out so it was sort of like listening to it for the first time. Weekend Wars is probably the "best of the rest" for me. I do like the production and sort of the proggy psychadelia of it all but but it just feels like there is too much filler.

Some absolutely stunning songs - Four Women is one I had somehow never heard and absolutely floored me both musically and thematically. For me the slowest songs are the best, her voice is truly unique and I love how unprocessed, raw and in some cases slightly imperfect it sounds. The piano playing is incredible and I don't think I'd every fully processed just how good she is. The R&B and blues-y numbers are still good but don't hit quite as hard, but still show off her versatility. Truly a one of a kind artist.

I really wanted more from this - with the album title as well as the artist being a prominent jazz pianist from South Africa, I thought we would get 1) more piano (seemed mostly buried by the horns) and 2) some sort of different musical flavor identifying this as being from somewhere discernible. It was just sort of middle of the road jazz, pleasing and proficient enough, but just didn't do much for me. Some pretty moments and I like the base line on Mannenberg a lot but other than that pretty forgettable.

I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I was expecting - I thought this would be more of the early garage-rock/surfin' all the time vibe and actually could hear in the music where this leads into Pet Sounds and what Brian was trying to do later on. The instrumentation seemed much more ornate and you can hear the "wall of sound" influence from Phil Spector that makes it sound huge. It actually feels like more of an album rather than just a collection of songs and I actually liked the back half a lot more with the slower songs (which I think was intentional in terms of the album structure). Not in the realm of "masterpiece" like I'd consider Pet Sounds and Smile, but a lot to like about this for me.

Hard to give an album that closes with "Free Bird" anything less than 4 stars - agree that it's rare to see a band come blazing right out of the gates like this (see also: MGMT). Hadn't heard the songs outside of the big 4 but honestly quite liked the groove on "Poison Whiskey", the others were a bit more forgettable but fine. Not a band I listen to regularly but they certainly have their place in the annals of American rock.

Sensing a theme here - despite containing perhaps my single favorite REM song (The One I Love) I hadn't spent a lot of time (or any) with many of the songs here. I'm an absolute sucker for this early indie jangle-pop sound and this does not disappoint in that vein. Finest Worksong comes roaring out of the gates, echoes of "How Soon is Now?" for sure. I love how much of a time capsule this is from 1987 thematically as well, so many socio-political references including the 392 contained in just End of the World itself (which is fun but not my favorite REM song by any stretch, although what other song allows you to shout LEONARD BERNSTEIN at the top of your lungs). Disturbance at the Heron House is another highlight I hadn't heard before. Really enjoyed this one overall.

Having only ever heard Common People before as one of the all-time Britpop anthems (and a great song) this one was sort of interesting to dive into. I do like the overwhelming wry British-ness of it all and the sort of smothering sense of dead-end working class lives that he represents, it's certainly not very uplifting but really invokes a sense of place. Some cool musical moments, like I Spy with its lush orchestration and feeling like a Bond credits song but being about class warfare. Some fun melodies and whoa-oh-oh parts. Did I love it? No, but definitely don't hate it either.

A lot to like about this - although I'm not a "jam band" guy per se, I can definitely appreciate the creativity and musical virtuosity on display all over the place here from basically one of the two OG's of the genre. Duane is rightly regarded as one of the best guitarists of all time even though his time with the band was cut short later this year and his fingerprints are all over this recording (Whipping Post in particular is just an incredible feat of ripping solos). The rhythm section is tight, Gregg's vocals sound like he's a seasoned 50 year old blues guy despite being in his early 20s here, and just the overall live feel and energy of this is great. I think this set a high early bar for best rock live albums and for me it's not too hard to see why.

I'm sure this will be another generally despised album in a string of rough ones for the group but I actually kinda liked it, having heard of Jonathan Richman as an artist before but never this band per se, and was my first listen to this album. I can hear how you can draw a line right from the Velvet Underground through these guys to eventually what punk would become, and enjoyed the relatively lo-fi and straightforward nature of the songwriting and vocal delivery. Roadrunner is a super fun song and I like the self-deprecating and sort of downer lyrics on some of the other tracks. May not get a ton of repeat spins as an album but I can totally see why this was influential and found it a pretty fun listen.

While feeling the need to acknowledge the importance of this period of time and this artist in the history of American folk music, not really for me. It was cool to hear Woody Guthrie on the song about NYC and read more about how Ramblin Jack was a bridge from him to Dylan but musically there's just not enough going on here to warrant repeat listens.

Slam dunk 5 stars here for one of the best albums ever made - I don't know that it would be in my top personal favorites, but its cultural import is nearly unmatched. The production is awesome (thanks Quincy Jones) and the songs speak for themselves for the most part with almost no weak moments - if I had to pick one (and it feels bad to say with it being the one feature from another legend) the weakest track is probably The Girl is Mine, but even the other two lesser-known songs are actually pretty great. Baby Be Mine is a lovely little funk groove and slow ambience of The Lady in My Life is kinda nice too. An absolute classic for a reason!

Tale of two halves for me on this one - I definitely prefer the fast and funky side of this band rather than the slow-jam soul side of this band, and it seemed like they were consciously trying to rotate back and forth between every track. Overall the musicianship is impeccable, and they just exude tightness, with every horn stab and guitar lick in just the right place for maximum groove on the faster tracks (bass playing in particular is a standout). Shining Star is a 70s funk classic for good reason, and Happy Feelin and Africano are great. The slow side loses me a bit though, even though I can sort of see the seeds of 90's R&B here (the talking part on All About Love?!). Closer could have been more interesting with fun time signature to start but then sort of devolves into a basic bossa nova. Overall a pleasant enough listen but I wanted more as a whole album honestly.