The blues. 80's sound, with some afro/latin vibes. Smokey pool hall, whiskey, cheap beer
Harmonica, slide guitar, whammy bar.
Ambient, moody guitar riffs that are kinda cool. Some of the vocals strike me as out of tune or grating. Hard to understand the lyrics
Great voice on Dusty Springfield. Not a lot of original songs on the album, but this was common for the time.
A few lassic tracks. Funky, soul vibe. Great vocals and lyrics, interesting features.
Interesting album. Not a band or genre I would typically listen to, although I know of Ozzy. I like that you can hear the early influence of metal. It's kinda funk like Pink Floyd from hell, or something like that. Overall I was pleasantly surprised.
Perfectly balancing peace and protest- community and self-reliance- tranquility and upheaval. Each song has its place. Amazing backing vocals. Expertly orchestrated and produced.
Frank's so classic. What a voice on the guy. The album has to be one of his most famous, with a handful of classics including one of my favorites: Makin' Whoppee. It's hard to give it a 4, but I also in just don't feel it's a 5, if only because there isn't a lot of variety, and a lot of the songs are covers- not uncommon to the era. Even the album name, "Songs for Swingin' Lovers!" feels more like a compilation than an original piece of work. No Sinatra hate here. 4.5 would be perfect!
Easy listening- Ambient- 80's sound. Nothing quite unique, but not offensive either. Never heard of Blue Nile, nice listen.
A compilation of some classic songs, sung with Ray's commonly known soulful voice.
I know there are some classic songs on this album from a lifetime of hearing them on the radio. Maybe that adds to my general disinterest in the album. It seemed a bit monotonous. Not to discount ZZ top, there were some pretty ripping guitar riffs throughout the album. It definitely fits the beer drinking, 80s, hard rock vibe.
Nothing on the album stood out to me. I believe the 90s rave music has its place, but it's not for me. Mostly it bothered me that some tracks had to have the volume all the way max to even hear them. I can recognize that Orbital was likely influential in their genre, but didn't enjoy this one.
Very cool album here. I haven't seen the movie, but the album makes me want to see the movie. There is so many unique sonic aspects of this and other funky soul albums. I'm not very informed on the history of funk and soul, but it does feel very iconic in the formation of that sound. It feels musically and instrumentally, very very crisp and well orchestrated. All the songs on this album are good, 2 or 3 were great, and I really enjoyed the instrumental "Think" which seemed pleasantly out of place.
Janis Joplin alone elevates this album with her voice. I enjoyed the old-timey blues track"Turtle Blues". "Piece of my Heart" was a nice surprise to pop up amidst the other tracks, this is a song that I can remember when I heard it first and how it made me feel then still resonates today when I heard it. Overall the album was less than perfect if only because the sound was somewhat raw and at time sounded a touch amateurish.
I'm not well versed enough in this genre to understand the influence and importance this album had for Indian music in Western culture (according to the wiki description). I enjoyed listening while I worked, but can't rightly say I'll come back to "Call of the Valley".
I enjoyed this album more than I expected. Soldiers Poem and Take a bow really stood out to me as unique, especially amidst the rest of the album.
To be honest this is the first album I listened to all the way through and didn't pay much attention to. That's on me. I did enjoy it, nothing really stood out. It seemed like a good road trip album.
Pretty solid album. I enjoyed listening, although nothing really stood out as excellent.
I have really enjoyed many Queen albums. This one felt a bit sporadic at times. I mean, some pretty ripping guitar riffs and Freddie's singing are impeccable. Overall, I wasn't super impressed with this album overall but enjoyed a handful of songs, including the classic, Killer Queen.
This album is iconic for it's genre. For sampling, I can't imagine there is a better master class. There are a handful of really all-time solid tracks. The rest teeter between good and great. I would say this is one album that I've heard thus far that really strikes me as ahead of its time.
I've enjoyed Adele's music rather passively over the years. Having this album generate was a pleasant surprise. Although I know 2/3 of it through radio play, I've never listened to the album in its entirety and, woah...
She is a highly successful artist who is still young and surprisingly has few albums over her nearly 20 year career. Yet, for me, it's hard not to call this her Magnum Opus.
Nearly 15 years on, this does feel like a classic. Unbelievably composed and written. Crisp beautiful instrumentals and backing vocals. It's an album you can imagine putting together in the studio and having "that feeling".
Admittedly, I feel the subject matter- classic nonetheless- is played out. However, Adele does love blues and broken hearted better than many and among the best. It doesn't feel corny or drab. It doesn't feel whiny- it feels yearning and beautiful.
"Someone Like You" beams at you like a distant memory unearthed by a relic in a shoebox or junk drawer- altogether nostalgically pleasant and hauntingly painful.
Adele puts together a "heartbreak" album that isn't somber, but rather tells a love story that doesn't end in joy. And isn't that how love is sometimes?
It may be a perfect album.
Well, this was pretty bad. Songs like "Sexy Daddy" and "Nasty Girl" are pretty cringey nearly 25 years later. This album aged like ripe cheese. That being said, I can't give it a 1. It's saved from that shame and lifted into mediocrity by a few things for me:
1) Survivor was a banger in 5th grade
2) the Gospel Medley was actually nice.
3) related to (2) these women do have amazing voices. I'm glad they broke out of this to (especially Beyonce) have successful careers afterwards.
Honey Tonkin. Pretty standard, good vocals. Not a lot of variety on the album.
At first thought, this is just chaotic noises. Any one instrumentalist on their own was enjoyable enough and talent can be gleaned from their style and quality of play. Together however I find this album, and this style of jazz incoherent and garbled. But this is coming from the guy who loves Ken Burns' Jazz and has watched it multiple times, but never made it past the 1950's, so I guess it's just not my thing. I enjoyed the album enough as more of background noise after awhile.
I couldn't wait for this one to end. So monotonous and tedious. And I feel like I'm just missing something while listening to this album... " I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees". "You and your sister live in a lemon world". Pretty bad.
I do like how this album sounds. It's hard for me to listen to The Cure, because I wasn't exposed to, nor did I "venture out" to, this style of music until nearly 25 years old. So I know of The Cure, but I know nothing about them other than a perception of their sound based on other people who listen to them, or other bands who count them as inspiration.
I won't say I love this style of music, by any means. This album does however meet my expectation of what a Cure album sounds like. But that's also hard to escape... so I enjoy it but it doesn't excite me or really entice any sonic sensibilities of mine. A perfect 2.5, so I'll go with 3 because I think I should like them.
This was pretty good overall. Very much pop music, but she can sing and the production was pretty fun. I enjoyed all of the instruments and electronic sounds. "Love Song" is surprisingly the least listened to song on this album (besides the outro) and I really enjoyed this song and the Prince feature! Dear Jessie, is also a fun and catchy track that sounds so quintessentially of this time period. Respect to Madonna, I can definitely see feeling late 80's cool listening to this at a party or night club.
Listening to "Born in the USA" I feel compelled to dig deeper. I want to know more about a single lyric, a song title (Where is Darlington county?), an interpretation or concept (how did the narrator in Downbound Train end up "on a railroad gang"). This is a testament to great songwriting and storytelling- Springsteen makes you want to buy in, and the E-street band seals the deal.
There is a polemical part of me that hears the album as just simply "whitewashed" Americana. Is it true? I don't think so.
Art imitates life. BITUSA tells the stories of life. Springsteen and the E-street band make sure that you feel it, not just hear the stories. I think this is what makes it one of the greatest albums of all time.
This one was pretty good. The track list did seem to be a bit hot and cold. One good track would then be followed by something quite different and somewhat incongruous. I did really enjoy, "And dream of sheep". I'm curious how this album was received upon release, since the leading single has become so popular via Stranger Things.
58 minutes was a bit long for this album, which seemed a bit repetitive. There were certainly some enjoyable songs within, but nothing really stood out. I liked "Little Miss Prince of Darkness" the most.
I hate to just blatantly say, "They just sound like their ripping off the Beatles." I mean it's impossible to overlook the similarities. But I can't rightly say I know who, if anyone, influenced who and what the timeline was there. Overall it sits right in the middle for me.
I've found some Pearl Jam songs that I like, but unfortunately, no new ones from this album. "Black" is about all that really stood out for me. I want to like Pearl Jam, but the live performance of "Better Man" is about all that has ever really stuck with me as something special.
An easy listen. Disco is to modern music what sprinkles are to ice cream: you don't really need it, but it's fun and adds a nice touch when you're in the mood for it.
Not bad, not great. This wouldn't make my 1,001 albums.
Overall a very good album with at least a couple of all time classics. I won't say those popular songs are my favorite from the album. I really quite enjoyed "Blue Dress" which had elements of minimalist music, like Philip Glass. The second half of the album was much better than the first, for me.
Groovy jazz that's good for cooking. I enjoyed a quick listen, all of the tracks were seamless and sexy.
This one is quite cool. Kicking off the album with a 10 minute instrumental track is a bit of a swing, but it works because the title track is just such a vibe. "Super Stupid" really stands out to me as pivotal even though I wouldn't say it's my favorite song. The track sounds like Jimi Hendrix and Rage Against the Machine all at once, while still having the feel of a bass forward funk track. This is a good example of an album that I enjoyed, that I otherwise would likely not have ever listened to on its own.
This album was pretty monumental for me. One of my first vinyl records, so really one of the first albums I listened all the way through. I thought it was like magic then, and it still is that way today.
Willie tells great stories. The story of The Read Headed Stranger is so relatable in so many ways. The vocals and lyrics are superb. When Willie sings, "And with no place to hide, I looked in your eyes, and I found myself in you." It's simply incredible and emotional.
"Now my hands on the wheel, of something that's real, and I feel like I'm going home."
Very enjoyable album, but man, way too long. Luckily I was listening at work so the time didn't matter so much. A few songs really stood out, like "The Ledge" and "Honey Hi". No single track really blew me away.
I didn't know who Dennis Wilson was when this album came up. As I listened I started to put together little bits of knowledge and then confirmed that yes, this is a Beach Boy, brother of Brian Wilson. Despite or maybe because of his troubled life, he made a pretty well put together album here. I like the idea of a troubled and weathered man, momentarily escaping or harnessing his past to put all of this energy into the album. Not sure if that's necessarily the truth, but it's how I imagined the album from the cover, tracks, and a bit of back story after the fact.
With that in mind, I think it's no wonder the songs that seemed to strike me the most were the emotional songs; "Thoughts of you", "Time", and "Farewell my friend".
I really enjoyed this one. Not quite a 5, but I would say it's closer than most 4's.
