Loved this! Grunge sound, but very layered and dramatic. Electronic layers, weird sounds and chaotic noise, but it all comes together in a stunning (and somewhat horrific) wave. Vocals are gorgeous. I can hear its influence in some of the songs I love by bands like Paramore ... but these feel darker, more tense, varied, and yet more cohesive? Listening to it as an album, it holds together. I didn't skip any, and was surprised that each of these very weird songs got its hooks into me. Song structures? -
Didn’t love this. It’s a weird album to my ears. The mix of world music and carnivalesque rock just didn’t do it for me. I’m sure there’s a point to it, but I didn’t enjoy it enough to go back and dig into it. I do like one or two of the songs on their own.
Very much enjoyed, and this is an older, rock-ier side of Queen than I knew, but still very dramatic and fantasical. (White Queen / Black Queen and Ogre Battle stood out especially).
I did enjoy it, and got into to the groove of it. I was surprised by how weird and modern it sounds, for being from 1973. I listened to the whole thing in one go. But I have to admit a lot of it also went a little over my head — especially how that first track evolves over 15 minutes. Maybe something to return to when I have a little more background knowledge?
At first, I thought the incessant sirens, blaring, and squealing in the background was really grating. But by about halfway through, it started to cohere into something pretty intense, and I could imagine it being blasted out in public, and the effect that’d have. Not an easy listen, but I stayed open to it and walked away appreciating it much more than I thought i would.
- I like it in the background, but I wonder what it’s like live? Because I hate to say it, but it gives me mall-music vibes.
More “in my lane.” Although I had never heard of the band or the album. Rough, chaotic, but beautiful and alive. Really enjoyed this album. The blending of horns and brass create an interesting wall-of-sound effect, but they aren’t a bouncing melodic rhythmic presence, unlike ska. This was punk being willing to experiment with broader instrumentation, but it’s still pretty nuts.
The songs really vary: I thought “Used” was especially outstanding with its painful, sweet melody: “That’s the way it goes, you put a bullet through your nose.” Sung with charming bells and vocal harmonies for relief?
A very interesting work -- and very important to fans of the Beach Boys and pop music history. Finally, almost 40 years later, Wilson's vision gets realized. I enjoyed how surprising and dramatic it was, despite the familiar sounds of the Beach Boys. I genuinely had no idea what was next. The structure is very unusual: many songs will abruptly come to silence — it sounds like a little death — and then explode into a new structure completely. The lyrics do drive me kinda nuts, though. I mean, Barnyard: what the hell is this?
I liked this! — I was not very familiar with either Morrissey, or The Smiths, but I was immediately comfortable with the first few tracks of the album. Other reviewers call these songs “samey” — indie agony rock — but I enjoyed them. About halfway through, I was genuinely surprised by the dark and melancholy turn that things took, especially with the haunting instrumentation of “Lifeguard Sleeping, Girl Drowning,” which has a clarinet tracing through the song. Then I was truly hooked, and by the time the album ended with a bang after “In my own sick way, I’ve always been true to you” — it had me.
It’s intense, energetic, and just fun -- but nothing really stands out as especially memorable to me. That's okay, and I appreciate knowing more about the era.
I love that it shows how creative and expressive a guy with a guitar can be. This does not sound normal. But it’s not so jarring as to be unlistenable modern-art crap. It’s weird enough to shock you into paying attention, but once it has you, it takes you somewhere fascinating. - It has an incredible lo-fi, “found” aesthetic that reminds me of The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002 — a touch earlier). But I love that!
This album rocked. There aren’t many obviously freestanding hits, but as an album, it’s a wild ride. It’s messy, it grooves, it jumps between styles, it just sounds good but also chaotic and noisy. Never sat down and just listened to the Stones, but this is a good album to do it with.
I’m surprised by the diversity of the music here. The opening, Watch That Man, sounds like a Stones song. Aladdin Sane follows, with some jazzy, avant-garde weirdness. Then Drive-In Saturday has roots in much older rock — it almost sounds like Do-Wop, but updated and sparkling with evolving instrumentation. A little later, The Jean Genie is really bluesy, with this strong repeating riff — again sounds a little like the Stones. But it’s all infused with a theatricality that kind of holds it together … very intriguing.
- I’m trying to appreciate it. Albums like this are almost the definition of a “trip.” They take you to another world, with a weird story. It’s meant to be experienced and imagined, not bopped along to.
- But then again, I can’t think I’m gonna sit down and experience this again. Maybe I need to sit and listen with the lights off.
Hard to see this one with fresh eyes, because I’ve heard many of these songs hundreds of times, though I don’t think I’ve ever listened to the album as a whole. I’ve never loved the hard-funk side of the RHCP, but at the same time, the contrast with the other mode — the more melodic, dreamy mode — makes the transitions especially beautiful. Also I paid much more attention to the way the bass texture drives things, and really enjoyed that.
Really surprised by how much I enjoyed this album. One of the easiest albums so far to return to and just enjoy — really listenable. Favorite track is “Break You Off.”
