ABBA is a quintessential "singles" band- undoubtedly fantastic band but the album provides an overall good experience where a studio album cannot do them justice like a compilation can. Some of the stuff is really great- the odd time signatured "Soldiers" or hit single "One of Us," and nothing here is rough. It's just nothing more than pleasant as a record.
Too many songs feel like pastiches of better artists' songs: I hear Paul McCartney, (lots of) Led Zeppelin, and even Tom Waits- lending the record an identity crisis. Just go full alt rock, or full blues, or full "marimba rock" or whatever those first few songs were. Blue Orchid makes for a great opener, though. This is ultimately Greta Van Fleet-core with better production.
Really solid- not a bad song here, makes for an easy listen with excellent instrumentation and production alike, sounding very mid-90s for being a 1989 record. "She Bangs the Drums" is the clear best but everything is very good.
Super chilled-out and smooth. Not a single moment where I'm not enjoying what I'm listening to. I think the organ kind of outclasses every other instrument here, though. Would definitely vibe out to this again- actually super calming.
Iconic stuff. Super ahead of its time when it's great, and kinda sappy when it's not. Overall a pretty good listen though.
Very solid listen. Pleasant voice and instrumentation, pleasant experience. Sounded like a 90s record, in all honesty.
Really great album of top-notch early 70s psychedelia on top of its iconic cover. Blah blah blah Student Demonstration Time sucks.
At first, I was disappointed in its kind of lackluster sound. I do think it won me over a bit by the end. That one spoken word about the maiden was pretty funny and I thought a few tracks here were actually really great. Its main issue is its genre-leaping. It's hard to feel invested in the sound when at any moment it breaks its own cohesion song to song.
It's alright. She's got a pretty voice, and I dug their blend of British folk and old-timey American folk, but I did not get much out of it beyond being calmed a bit while listening
Not a dull moment to be found on this impeccably recorded, excellently presented, approachable yet artful piece of art. Incredibly impressive stuff that I will be relistening to as soon as possible.
A celebrated artist that I do not "get." I don't find his voice interesting at all, and his lyrics are not nearly ear-catching for me to get the appeal. The songs all sound the same to me, too, though I appreciated the orchestral aspects here
Might be the most obnoxious rapping I've ever heard. The same staccato, slurred flow on every track. Illustrative because it shows not every album here is redeemable and that the early 90s had some hot garbage music amidst an excellent string of years in music history. Plus it's nearly an hour long?! Why?
Not bad- but everything here is secondhand in comparison to the big single "Back 2 Life"
Probably my 100th listen. Every song is fantastic- even the interludes! Ian Anderson remains one of my favorite musicians of all time and this is my favorite project of his.
Every song is so powerful, so composed. The features are all deliberate, and the album's flow from song to song thoughtfully presented (although "Christian Dior Denim Flow" should have replaced "Blame Game" 100%). A reasonable contender for greatest hip hop album of all time. "Runaway" is my all-time favorite, but this re-listen solidified that "Monster" is one of his greatest songs across his career
I prefer Coldplay a little more punchy; Viva La Vida is one of my all-time favorite albums. This record is a lot more low-key, sometimes to its detriment, albeit with some exceptions- "Yellow" and "Don't Panic" are excellent.
I wish this site could let me give half star ratings, as three does not do this justice. Not a bad song here and his classic voice really elevates some of the more filler-y tracks in comparison to the massive title track and the standout "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart"
One really great song, a couple decent songs, and a lot of very forgettable 90s bubblegum pop. Particularly rough was that dated duet with Generic McAverage
Trimming like 4 songs off this would have resulted in a four-star rating. Some really great tracks up front, good production, variety, and instrumentation. Does not sound dated at all.
Everything here feels intentional and layered. Production sounds pretty great. Funky songs were really great. So why am I so lukewarm about it? Maybe not melodic enough for me?
Noticed this time how important Slash was to their sound, as much as Axl, honestly. Aggressive but not overly so- still super smooth and approachable sound. Every song hits. Fantastic instrumental performances pretty much from top to bottom. Really expected this to age poorly but it has held up since being amazed by this as a kid. No snobby RYM-brain is gonna tell me that "Sweet Child O' Mine" isn't a fantastic song.
Spectacular sonic atmospheres from track to track as per usual from MBV. My favorite was "New You." Reminded me most of the stuff I've most enjoyed from Loveless.
Important album but it's hard to listen to the same "My name is ____ and I'm hear to say, I like to rap in a major way" flow over and over again. "The Message" is pretty great, tho
Solid, but not outstanding overall. Liked the Philip Glass feature though
Nothingburger. His vocals are so bland. At least Bryter Layter had some nice orchestral instrumentals
So many classics. Another one of the all-time debuts in music history
Lots of really great songs here, but the length is not justified so I gotta give a 3, unfortunately
Difficult to rate, as the album was not made for me. It seems like people on this site are way too hard to please. This was really nice record to listen to and the reviews unnecessarily harsh
Funky from beginning to end. Check the Rhime is easily the best song here but not a bad moment
While the songs overall aren't as strong as some of his other records, the creativity and talent still shines through, both in strong vocals and the overall songwriting.
Two Weeks and Ready, Able outshine the bulk of this. But it's a high 3/5 fs
Kind of a slog because it's just way too long. Iconic group but Chuck D is so much more interesting than Flavor Flav that it's not even funny
Perry Farrell sucks, dude. The music is pretty great but his constant yelping and whining kills the entire experience. "Then She Did" was my favorite track
Interestingly enough the collabs here brought the record down a notch. Ofc the title track really slaps, but some of the other songs were so generic and very reliant on the outside musicians that I was a bit underwhelmed and felt like Prince was drowned out here
Song after song on this thing hit. The iconic vocal harmonies, the dated but warm production. Classic
Songwriting isn't super strong, but Dolly's charisma makes up for that to provide a pretty good listening experience
Super smooth. 80s without sounding dated. Songs are all really easy to enjoy. I don't know why people don't like Mark Hollis' voice. Super unique and adds to the smoothness
Legitimately has a claim to be the greatest record of the 1980s. Incredible lyricism, production, and orgasmic African instrumentation and genre exploration (introduced me to mbaqanga, soukous, and township jive alike) plus to hear some of the greatest world musicians ever gathered here (Los Lobos, Bakithi Kumalo, West Nkosi, Ray Phiri, Boyoyo Boys, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Youssou N'Dour)- it's like 45 minutes of heaven every time I listen to it. Some of my favorite moments are the sax breaks on "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes," the beautiful accompanying vocal performance from Linda Ronstadt on "African Skies," or the iconic fretless bass run on "You Can Call Me Al." It's an album that has had a tremendous impact on my life and I will continue to love it throughout the rest of it.
It's probably the 200th time someone's said this but Mezzanine should have been the representative album for this group. Blue Lines is fine but immemorable
Lovely production. Great mixture of funky shit and really soulful love ballads that are equal in hitting the sweet spot. Reverb-y guitar sound does a lot for that. Love you Curtis
Dated production, esp on the rough-hewn vocals and the scratchy, borderline annoying guitar tone. Despite some good tracks (Wish I Was Skinny, Thinking of Ways) the entire thing is too long and mixed so poorly (way too loud) that I did not like it overall.
The sheer amount of great songs on this thing is so impressive. Incredibly influential on punk and punk-adjacent genres for decades following its release. Hard to find hour-long projects this re-listenable, well-conceptualized, and universally likable. Part of the reason why it's so strong throughout is that the Clash are so deft at switching between genres. New Wave, Ska, Reggae, Punk, maybe a mixture of a couple or even all of those? They make all of them sound good.
Album should have just started with "Tomorrow Comes Today" and it would have been much improved. Just kind of unfocused and uneven. "Clint Eastwood" is by far the best track here- is there a soul on Earth who doesn't love that song? Demon Days and Plastic Beach are much better records than this, unfortunately.
Classic. If I was a drummer, this might be the Holy Grail.
Composed super well, but does not strike me any particular way where I am impacted beyond finding the experience of listening pleasant
Instrumentals are class, pretty fantastic production, but the skits are so awful and a couple of the songs are so corny that both break up the flow so much that I can't recommend this.
Super ahead-of-its-time in sound. Experimental 70s stuff is very cool. David Byrne obviously really loved this group. I think I prefer the late 70s early 80s AOR stuff from them though
"Mother" is the ultimate pleb filter song as evidenced by the hilariously out-of-touch reviews all over this page
Upbeat Beck is best Beck. This stuff is just boring
Pretty much every track here is memorable. One of the better rock albums of the decade in every capacity- musicianship, production, hooks, and sound (while not the most unique, its still very recognizable.) Did not realize how great this album was until sitting down to listen to it. Super great stuff that instantaneously has become a classic for me
Dated production and aesthetic, with some eyeball roll-worthy lyrics. And the instrumental on "Afraid 2 Fly" is one of the worst I've ever heard. Feels like listening to a P!nk album, but without the hooks that made her worth listening to, so essentially, I'm saying she's just a poor man's P!nk. Yep.
Sounds like a home run on paper (world music mixed with late-60s psychedelia) but in practice it's more like a bloop single. Rather unimpressive but serviceable.
Your favorite bassist's favorite bassist kills it here. Pretty nice jazz to listen to. Liked side A quite a bit. Wished I could give it an extra half star.
Slick, well-produced sleaze. The hits heavily outswing the deep tracks ("I Got the Six" pales in comparison to "Got Me Under Pressure")
Always thought this was the weakest of the Berlin trilogy despite having arguably the best song of all time on it- now I can see I am probably wrong (although I do remember Lodger being pretty good). The three song ambient run on Side 2 is super underrated.
While the singles here are masterpieces, I don't think they quite make up for some of the filler tracks here which really break up the flow of the entire thing.
Repetitive, but never dull. Well-produced, charming, and fun. But not something I'd ever really think to listen to again.
Ultimately a fairly good rap record. No tracks that were nearly as good as anything off ITANOMTHUB except Shut 'Em Down (in particular the Pete Rock remix), which is top 5.
"CAUTION POLICE LINE YOU BETTER NOT CROSS"
What more needs to be said about the single greatest pop album ever made? The production paved the way for basically every commercially-produced record for the next several decades, the songs are all classic (7 TOP TEN SINGLES ON ONE ALBUM?!) and the performances, vocal and instrumental, are top-notch. Every song is worth the price of admission here. Even the supposed "weak" songs as their reputation suggests ("The Girl is Mine" and "The Lady in My Life") are excellent- with the former being Jacko's experiment with AOR, complete with Toto "Rosanna"-esque percussion and bass, but a lovely vocal duet with McCartney provides the song added meaning as a "passing of the baton" from one pop god to the next. The latter in that category is a funk soul track with a fantastic keyboard sound and a deservedly chilled-out conclusion to an all-timer album.
Not super interesting. The hits are all pretty great though. And there was one song ("Nightingale") which sounded exactly like a Kiss song lol
Late night Mexican beach walking sad boi hours music
Once again, I can't quite externalize what it is about TH that I don't resonate with, as they are excellent musicians and their records still sound fresh. Just not for me, I guess. I still do recognize it is a very good record
Radiohead's obviously quite a monochromatic band (that's kind of the point), but I prefer the records where there are brief splashes of color that invigorate that sound. Not enough of that here, despite some really good tracks
I used to think the Beatles were overrated. I also used to be hella stupid
The Steve Winwood stuff is so much better it's not even particularly close. And I don't even dislike Dave Mason. He just sounds bad on a lot of these songs
Back when pop music actually meant pushing the boundaries and making quality music with the best talent available. Look at the personnel on this thing for proof. Excellent transitions between moods and sounds. Fantastic record with so much to latch onto. While listening it is quite often you think to yourself, "shit every modern female pop star really has been influenced by her haven't they"
more like the Incredibly Shitty Band
All the pearl-clutching on this godforsaken website prove the man's point. He's provocative, he's loud, and he's timeless. The language is a tool to enunciate the message. Focusing solely on it and rendering the art invalid due to its coarseness is wrong. Despite a few bumps on the road (dated ICP diss, bad Sticky Fingaz and Disaster features) the album is still a really great listen nearly thirty years after its release.
Everyone knows and (rightfully) loves the big three hits, but the other songs here are just as good, from the beautiful ballad "I Believe" to the African-inspired "Listen." Immaculate on the production side with a great infusion of electronic and organic instrumentation. I expected it to be good, but it easily cleared my expectations and then some.
Huge amount of variance in quality here. "Fire and Rain" and "Country Road" are deserving classics- arguably two of the greatest folk songs ever written. Then there's dated white-boy blues slogs all over Sides A and B that drag the experience down significantly. Still, those two big hits really do a lot of heavy lifting here, so a 3/5 is in order.
Super engaging, forward-thinking 70s art rock that does not take itself too seriously. Great record overall!
Dated, but still fun. Some of it is actually pretty well-layered dance stuff, while the rest just reeks of the 90s. Did not mind it though.
An excellent series of albums; the highlights are particularly strong on this one ("When The Man Comes Around," "Hurt"), though I prefer I and II as albums since this one has a few clunkers ("In My Life," "Bridge Over Troubled Water") and is hampered by its unencumbered length.
T Rex has an enduring legacy because of Marc Bolan's distinctive sound and definitely not his subpar lyricism. Balances out into a pretty good record all things considered.
S'okay. "Respect" is a deserving classic, and the rest of the tracks are nice, but nothing special to me. Production definitely dates things a fair amount as well.
Suede is really great in theory but are somewhat bland in actuality. Brett Anderson's vocals are cool but are not prominent enough for me to find their sound effective. Lyrics are inconsistent and detract from the tight instrumentation. Still, I can appreciate the influence and their carving out a niche in Britpop history. As far as my preferences for the "big four" within the genre, I think I lean Oasis >> Blur > Suede >>>>>>>>>>>> Pulp
Digging the The Devil's Rejects vibes. All the songs kind of sound the same but it all sounds pretty good. Solid 3/5.
Kim Gordon's vocals are not my thing, but the guitar work absolutely is. It's a pretty good album but not something I'd ever rush to listen to again.
The people on this website reviewing this and giving 1s or 2s saying it's "repetitive" probably register zero on an EEG. There are way too many people here who have no business speaking about what might be some of the most influential music ever conceived. And so what if it is repetitive? That's kind of the point of blues music, moron
The album peaks with its first two songs, the big singles. A few sporadic moments of musical brilliance across the rest of the record (slap bass on "Get on the Floor," and properly melancholic orchestrations on "She's Out of My Life") don't elevate it the album beyond being a good debut by a classic performer who would improve immensely on his next few projects.
Excellent guitar work throughout ("The Rover", "In My Time of Dying"), so many recognizable songs, and despite, its length, excellent pacing and variance in structure to keep you engaged. Amongst my favorites here are the atmospheric opening to "In the Light," the Stevie Wonder-inspired "Trampled Under Foot," the pretty folk instrumental "Bron-Yr-Aur," the mysterious "Ten Years Gone," and the Cajun gumbofied "Black Country Woman."
Not one of Tom's best records, but still excellent; he's boozy, but still punchy, contrasts feelings of calm and bombast, and paints lovely pictures with his lyrics on each track.
Have never considered myself a fan of the Boss but this record is a very worthwhile pop/singer-songwriter crossover with equally catchy hooks and stellar songwriting alike. Second side is loaded with hit songs. Could easily see myself re-listening and liking just as much.
Enveloping atmosphere that instantaneously puts you in an urban mood. Very enlivening stuff. "Organ Donor" is one of the coolest rap instrumentals ever
Extremely atmospheric baroque pop with unique vocals that makes for a fascinating listening experience.
"Crystal Days" and "The Killing Moon" vastly outweigh every other track on here, which are all fine, but nothing I'd ever seek out
Immaculate production and some of the best renditions of these classic tunes. Laughed at the now-unintentionally ominous ending
Thom Yorke sounds the best vocally here across their entire discography, and the songwriting is still grasping at a bit of a Britpop sound to provide this record a very clear identity. Obviously many classics here to speak of: "Fake Plastic Trees," "Street Spirit" "Nice Dream" and "High & Dry"
Some classics, but I found the experience of listening to the whole thing sorta grating. The Clash really outdo them overall IMO.
Really like his multilingual approach. Unfortunately frontloaded and a little too long
Great vocals and warm production were the highlights. Didn't think anything was particularly fantastic, but it was a good record nonetheless. Dug the Beatles cover the most
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/muppet/images/6/6e/Cosmic_Fish.JPG/revision/latest?cb=20211005024313
Hot damn the intro to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is one of the most amazing-sounding things ever. Across the entire record, The Edge gives some of the most amazing guitar performances ever recorded. His sound was so distinctive and carried their sound so hard. Those punchy stings he builds up to on "With or Without You" are so emotive. Brian Eno is also a huge asset here with his timeless, full production. While the deep tracks aren't nearly as good as the big singles, they are still quite enjoyable.
Has way better records across his discography than this one. "Breakdown" is so smooth, and "American Girl" is an iconic 70s track (makes me think of Silence of the Lambs every time I hear it) but the rest of the record is pretty generic and even somewhat bad- "Strangered in the Night" for instance is a sloppy Eagles castoff. And why did "Luna" sound like Bob Dylan singing a Christmas song?
Finally listened to one of my dad's all-time favorite albums. He bought it very shortly after it came out when he was 17 years old. So the album is special to me regardless of what I would rate it overall.
Good album- certainly well produced and all the performances are good. A little bit too inconsistent to fully award a 4 to, and too long. I think I prefer their softer, poppier tracks to the punk. I will say that "Space Invader" is a really cool instrumental- that track took me by surprise. "Kid" and "Brass in Pocket" are also so nostalgic and lovely.
A very solid punk crossover album- the more melodic songs are the highlights. "Mannequin" is of course the big track here, just impressively influential. The whole thing never made me feel anything more than respect for how ahead-of-its-time it was
lol so you're telling me this was nearly 0.90 higher in rating than the Nico album when this was less interesting by a mile in comparison? Yeah, "White Rabbit" and "Somebody to Love" are both amazing songs, but the non-hits kinda suck ass. So much variance in quality across this band's entire career. For every "Jane" or "White Rabbit" there was also a "We Built This City"
Scratches do nothing for me. I like the band better without them for sure. Chester's shouty vocals have never been my thing. He sounds great when he croons but the throaty yelling gets very old for me. Shinoda's flows are mostly very dated and he interrupts the experience quite a bit. That being said, there are some really great songs here and I understand why it made the list.
It may be sacrilegious for me to say as a Wisconsinite, but I absolutely despise "Blister in the Sun." It's this twee, commercial-core garbage sung horribly and overplayed to death since its release 40 years ago.
The rest of the album was all new to me, and it was fine, I guess. Like a lot of one-hit wonder bands, the other stuff is better than their one hit. Super lo-fi which is not usually my sound, but overall it reminded me of Neutral Milk Hotel, but not as good. Would not listen again, but defo not in "Incredible String Band" tier.
Tracks 1-3 fail to grab me in any way, but once that cover of JJ Cale's "Call Me the Breeze" revs into gear the album is a fantastic psychedelic experience of super cool production and sound. So many neat parts you would not expect to be included on a psych pop record fade in and out, like the honky tonk piano on "Take Your Time" or the bass saxophone on "Shine a Light."
I can see why people would find this boring, but I was engaged throughout by the warm, smooth mix and the max-reverbed instrumentation.
The vitriolic hatred some have toward this album is really strange to me. The title track is simply one of the greatest songs ever written. Who doesn't know that song? Its influence and appeal being as widespread as it is contrasts its odd B minor key, its extended dual guitar solo, and the inscrutable, oft-discussed lyrics. It's on the "Hey Jude" tier for me- a pure pop song that will remain timeless, deserves so much praise, and carries with it an intangible quality of what Jack Black might call a "rocket sauce" song.
The other songs on Side 1 are all at the very least pleasant and, at their best, are great songs in their own right. "New Kid in Town" is a pretty Glenn Frey countrypolitan ballad reminiscent of Gram Parsons featuring some actually resonant lyrics. "Life in the Fast Lane" was another huge hit, very much Joe Walsh's big track here with its riff-driven melody.
Side 2, on the other hand, peaks early with the hard-edged "Victim of Love" and leans into a sappy AOR sound that unfortunately drags the album down a peg from being great to just good overall.
The stuff that sounds like Gram Parsons is not great, but the psychedelic rock stuff like the title track is a lot cooler, but the entire thing is a little overdramatic for me and very forgettable.
The softer Aretha Franklin worship stuff does not work for me. Pretty great stuff to be had, here, though, as her voice really elevates the songs. "Mercedes Benz" is such a banger though
What I most admire about Neil Young is his ability to punctuate his incredible lyrics and really make them stick out. They don't just lie there- his attention to writing excellent melodies allows that to occur. You can tell he has an ear for a tune- the title track's somber horn/piano duet, the grunge guitar on "Southern Man." Lovely album. May be his best
Always liked Steely Dan but this listen was so eye-opening for me. Such incredible music-making. Immaculate production and the entire thing feels so full- the lyrics never detract from the artistry of the music and vice versa. Everything fits together so well into this massive slice of timeless music. Pretty instantaneously elevated this band into my favorites. This record feels like a pop progressive rock and jazz combination without ever feeling offputting, boring, or messy. Cannot wait to hear more SD now.
Was excited to revisit because I used to hate this record. My appreciation has definitely grown, but I still find this thing massively disjointed. Nico's tracks are all great and the instrumentation throughout is so ahead-of-its-time, but the mid tempo pop rock tracks are so lousy and Lou Reed is a bit of a charisma vacuum. And just because the sounds attempted here are progressive, does not mean that the production sounds good- most of it sounds really dated.
