1001 Albums Summary

This was fine, I definitely prefer their later output but it was a good straight up ‘rock’ album. I actually liked the covers best, especially Please Mr. Postman. I had this on in the background while doing other things and it kind of grated on my nerves at times, not sure I was in the mood for it.

I was pretty happy when this one popped up. I’ve always liked their hits but haven’t ever really given them a proper listen. I really enjoy some of Paul’s solo output so I knew I wouldn’t hate this. Homeward Bound is a track I’ve always really enjoyed, just a pretty, catchy tune. Anyway, pretty cool album that covers a wide range of styles that I don’t normally seek out. Some really chill acoustic tracks, bongos, beautiful orchestral arrangements, and great harmonies, sometimes all within the same song. The closing track kind of threw me for a loop-a Silent Night cover with 7 o’clock news audio layered over? Didn’t really work for me but I guess I get the sentiment they were going for.

I know I’m in the minority here, but this was beyond awful to me. I lasted about 20 seconds before turning it off. One of those artists where I’m truly baffled by their popularity. The vocals almost seem like a put on or something, she does this weird faux southern drawl interspersed with odd high pitched inflections and yelps. Just can’t do it.

Passively listened to this a decent amount as a kid, mostly when friends were playing it or seeing the videos on TV. I seem to remember my sister owning this on CD and I'd kind of sneak into her room to borrow it. I was into more underground punk at the time, and the Offspring were definitely more like a top-40s punk band when this came out, they were huge. Despite the damage to my teenage 'scene cred', there were some undeniably good tracks on here. I actually enjoy more of their 'serious' tracks (Gotta Get Away, Self Esteem) over the goofier tracks (I skipped Come out and Play, just because I've heard it a million times and it feels out of place here). It's also annoying as hell. Listening again as an adult, some of the lyrics are definitely cringy and gave me some second hand embarrassment (i.e., you STUPID DUMBSHIT GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKER) in Bad Habit, oof. But then you get to the next track (Gotta Get Away) leaves out the angsty teen outburst lyrics and it works much better in my opinion. Self Esteem is another great track that I related to. Really cool music video that I watched countless times on MTV. Update-I also skipped What Happened to You. Ska punk needs to stay dead. Overall I think I'm officially too old to get down with this anymore, but I can certainly appreciate the bygone days when Smash played in the background.

Another artist where I’ve heard the hits but never listened to a full album. The only song I was familiar with was Wild World, which is a fantastic track. I’m pretty sure my dad liked Cat Stevens. This was a pleasant listen overall, but I didn’t much care for the sappy orchestral stuff (Sad Lisa). Not sure if I’d revisit this in the future.

When I saw this, I actually said ‘ooof’. I’ve never been into theatrical rock stuff, and this is no exception. The album imagery is cool and seems like something I’d be into based on appearances and the fact that I listen to a lot of metal, but alas. Right off the bat, the title track starts off with some crazy piano pounding bullshit and I knew I was in trouble. Then the vocals kick in and I officially tap out. I somehow made it 3 minutes but it felt like an eternity. ‘Ooof’ indeed.

Timeless

So. Boring. The only guy I knew that liked this band refused to take his shirt off while pleasuring his wife and they eventually divorced. Make of that what you will.

I’ve heard parts of this many times over the years, but never the full album. Rockin stuff and you can definitely see how it influenced countless other prog rock/metal bands. Love the low end sound created by the bass paired with the fuzzed out organ.

Awesome. Contemporary soul done right, definitely a Curtis Mayfield vibe going on at times. Each track jumps from genre to time period seamlessly.

I enjoy funk to an extent, but this was too FUNKAY for my taste (yes there’s a difference).