“WE ARE SEX BOM-OMB! ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”

Bakersfield’s finest! A true pioneer of the Bako sound and when I visit, no one shuts up about him and now that I’ve listened, I know why. This was fun! It was sonically cohesive yet each track had its own flavor. A stand out for me was Streets of Laredo. I wish he showcased his bass notes more! I appreciated the traditional Spanish and Hawaiian sounds sprinkled in. The instrumental piece A Maiden’s Prayer was nice too. I would have left the live songs out but I appreciated that they were so short. Some things don’t need to be so drawn out.

This is literally my favorite album of all time. I once got so lost in the sauce listening to it while driving, that I missed every possible exit to where I needed to go. I didn’t realize until I was close to the US Border. I’ve banned myself from listening to this while driving ever since. So Far Away has always been a stand out to me personally, but it feels weird to have a favorite on this album. I’ve got a big smile from beat one of this album with I Feel The Earth Move. I mean, Carole King is literally one of the most prolific songwriters of ALL TIME. If there’s a song you love by an artist in the 60s, she probably wrote that.

Apparently I listened to the US version, which is less of a steaming pile of dung than the UK version but I will not subject myself to any more. I was wondering why They’d start with a banger like Paint It Black and then immediately plummet with Stupid Girl. Doncha Bother Me was an embarrassing mess of an attempt at the blues. The mix was all over the place on every track except for Paint It Black. Like where is the balance?! Jail.

This is quintessential 80s. The beefy, prominent, snare hits, the bright guitar tone, the synth hits, the timbre of her voice even. Track one, I was vibing, but I was IN at the melodica solo. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and Time After Time on the same album?! Gahhh damnnn. I feel like Cyndi’s soundscape is like rummaging through a toy box. The sounds are loud and vibrant and colorful, but safe and familiar. She makes music with primary colors. While I think every song fits in the world she is creating, every song is very different sonically. She Bop is a shift in tone from the first four songs with its almost Oingo Boingo nod in the synth and melody. The snare tone is beefier and the bass is MOVING. Then BAM tone shift again with All Through The Night. The last few songs kind of loose me, but I think that’s just gonna be the case with front loading albums due to vinyl sales.

“WE ARE SEX BOM-OMB! ONE! TWO! THREE! FOUR!”

I listened to this in separate sections. The first few songs were not my cup of tea and not sonically what I was familiar with when it came to Elliot Smith’s work, which took me out of it. As the album progressed, there was a return to form. The soundscapes slowed and the lyrics became the true focus of the tracks. Phoebe Bridgers all but ripped this man’s whole essence as an artist, my god! It was nice to listen to listen to something backloaded for a change instead of hits first. Clearly CDs were the predominant method of listening by this point.

Summer 2013 I got bored and browsed through my parents DVD collection to find something I hadn’t seen before. I was 17 so I “legally” could watch R rated films now (like the police were going to show up or something ??? Idk I’ve always been a weirdo). Anyway, I grabbed “Walk The Line” and not only was I mesmerized, I watched it like 20 times that summer. I then spent every moment I wasn’t watching that movie, diving into Johnny’s discography. I love how electric this live album is. I always have. Johnny laughing in Dark as the Dungeon - you can’t help but smile. The rumble of his bass timbre, the explosion of the crowd, his explanation of it being recorded. So cool! I love the decision to play “outlaw” songs like Cocaine Blues, I Got Stripes, and Greystone Chapel - the latter written by an inmate at Folsom prison.

Sweet Dreams is such a cool song musically, but it has always bugged me that it’s like two sentences repeated OVER AND OVER AGAIN - have a cool enough vibe and you can get away with ANYTHING Listening to the rest of this album made me realize I didn’t know a single other Eurythmics song. Annie Lennox has a crazy cool voice. Love is A Stranger is takes chances vocally and I like that. I don’t partially like the use of the drum machine, but her falsetto is nice! I realize upon finishing the album that there’s probably a reason I’ve only ever heard one song from them.

When did he start singing like he smokes 18 cigarettes at a time? If you told me Billy Joel wrote Thunder Road, I’d believe you. Not just because of the involved piano track, but the storytelling lyricism that is very Billy. I’m not complaining at all, I think that’s why I like it so much. Even the melodic choices are very Billy-esque. As I listen to this album, I’m wondering why I’ve never really listened to Bruce much in my life. I really do enjoy this! It’s definitely not out of the realm of what I would normally would be listening to but just never crossed my path before. It’s 1975 - so the sound scape of the time is some of my faves. The use of piano and saxophone in rock music makes me so happy! A lot of these songs play out like the background of a fun round trip. I can’t wait to explore it more.

I respect my time too much to finish this. When every fucking song starts with a horrendously executed snare roll followed by the most soulless “owww” a white man could muster, I’m doing my ears a favor and stopping at track 7. It’s not getting better. What was the angle to white washing Chuck Berry? Was it not enough to hear John Lennon do it? At least that man actually was a fan of Chuck Berry. These dudes sound like someone put a gun to their heads in the studio and said “record these songs, or else!” WOOF

A hometown hero! Man, could you imagine a Britisher lineup of Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa? Can you believe that was our scene 50 years ago? We’re not making weird enough music. Petition to make the A.V.’s music WEIRDER. I didn’t make mine weird enough the first time out. Funny enough, my History of Jazz professor at AVC had one of Captain Beefheart’s old bandmates come and do a lecture on his legacy years ago. It was awesome. Could I listen to this album all the time? Hell nah, but when I do, I always just sit and giggle. This is true freedom. What a reminder to just create. Some people think this is the worst album ever made, some people think he’s taking the piss, and some people think he’s unlocked a level of genius not yet known to this earth. I don’t know about all that. I know Hair Pie reminds me of high school band kids fucking around and that’s probably as much thought as he intended I put into it.

I have a hard time being enchanted by the sloppiness of punk rock. The drummer sounds like they’re trying with their whole might to catch up with the band one song and outrunning them the next. Police Story is cool - ACAB

I found myself listening to this album over and over again. I am a sucker for the soundscapes of the 70s and suspended chords and this albums delivers on both very well. It’s definitely something I will revisit again.

First song "Clowns" I was listening along and reading the lyrics and for a moment I thought I was having a stroke because what I was reading and what it sounded like she was saying were two different things. Is this where singing in cursive came from? - I mean it is a beautiful song and the production is very lovely but WHOA hahahah The rest of the album is a pleasant vibe. It was nice to just have on in the background while I got things done throughout the day.

Is this album supposed to be only three songs? I clicked on Apple Music and my mouth dropped at seeing an almost 19 minute track. The whole album keeps glitching too so it won't let me even play or listen to it, oddly enough. I found it on YouTube and wtffffff hahahahah I knew Yes was weird, but I am 2 minutes into the 18-minute song and OVERWHELMED. This is a great track for listening to for this assignment, but I could not drive with this album on. I think I would freak out. I think the bass parts and the harmonies are always such a standout of this band. It almost feels like psychedelic madrigal music. Like if knights had mushrooms they'd have made this kind of music hahaha.

Out the gate, the driving beat of "Cloud Nine" is such a relief to my ears. The bongos are mixed so well with the driving beat being held down by the drummer. No one is trying to climb on top of the other to be heard, which has been an issue with some of the albums we have listened to from this decade so far. Norman Whitfield did his big one with this record. This is such an interesting departure from their previous work and such a welcomed change to their sound. The late sixties seemed to be a time for a lot of experimentation for pillars of the industry. The Beach Boys and The Beatles doing it around the same time too. "Run Away Child, Running Wild" is such a sick track. There is so much tension musically happening as the frame for the story. The harmonies are mixed to the left almost like the voices of your anxiety. The building of the instrumentals to a climax around 5 minutes in really paints the picture of this lost child wandering the streets at night, scared. Hearing a child cry "I want my momma" around 5 and a half minutes in was a haunting experience. This track takes your mind on a wild and unsettling ride, but I think it is the standout of the whole record.

For some odd reason, I could not find this record on Apple Music listed as 'The Rise and Fall'. I guess this is the same situation as with 'Aftermath'. This record was not released in the States, but there is a compilation album called 'Madness' that has a few tracks from this record that was so I can't review it the way I would like to. What is up with Apple's library? It opens with "Our House" and wow, what a catchy song, for better or worse. I have heard it my whole life but thought it was just some silly little song. It is actually very musically complex. I am a sucker for ska because I am a sucker for a horn section ALWAYS. "Tomorrow's Just Another Day" is another cool track sonically. It has a psychobilly swing to it like "Stray Cat Strut" that came out like a year prior, if I am not mistaken. This is just a more animated version of that, sonically. "Primrose Hill" is also a very interesting track because it feels very 80s and very late 60s at the exact same time. If The Beatles released this like 15 years prior, I'd be like "yeah, I see that". But I do love the driving piano part and then the horn section solo about a minute and a half in. It feels sinister but in like a "twirly mustached supervillain" kind of way.

I can only imagine being a kid, putting this record on in your room for the first time in 1970 and hearing the bomb sirens of "War Pigs/Luke's Wall" for the first time. I think I would have started levitating and my head would have exploded. No wonder people thought metal was devil music back in the day! I feel like drawing a pentagram on my floor as we speak! I feel like there isn't much I can add to the conversation of this record that hasn't already been said in the months following Ozzy's passing. Contextually, this album struck a moment with those in the aftermath of the Vietnam War and, being from Birmingham, living in a place still rebuilding from WW2. Flower Children and giving peace a chance was out. Feeling the anger and anxiety of a generation that has only known one terror after another - this album hit because people needed to be given the space to process their anger and grief. "Planet Caravan" is a nice bit of respite after two mountains we just climbed with "War Pigs" and "Paranoid". The instrumental outro feels similar to The Doors in the guitar's choice of phrasing. That break is immediately followed by "Iron Man" with its thumping and iconic guitar riff heard around Guitar Center's across America.

I didn't realize how influential this album was to some of the artists I grew up listening to or are currently fans of. I feel like I cannot single out any particular songs, but I really enjoyed how musical this punk record was. A lot of the time, I will listen to punk and feel deeply uninspired by how sloppy it is. This album is very careful, but tough! "Secret 77" rips. I think this album is a great case to point at whenever I hear lazy punk at this point. You can still take care in the way you deliver the message. H.R. has a super cool voice, and I really love how he uses it just like one of the other instruments in the band.

Putting all the obvious problems about the person he turned out to be to the side; Kanye is a songwriting and production prodigy. "Gorgeous" is full of lines that made me instinctively go "mm" and shake my head: "inter-century anthems based off inner-city tantrums" WOW. HOWEVER - the line about the South Park writer made me fucking belly laugh knowing the context of the fish stick reference LMAOOOOO. There are a lot of lines in this song that make me giggle, but were immediately followed by a punch to the gut and I hope that is what the intention is supposed to be like "and what is a black Beatle anyway, a fuckin' roach?" followed by "I guess that's why they got me sitting in fuckin' coach". "POWER" is such a cool song sonically. The production is thick and, well, sounds like power. "All Of The Lights" - HORNS, RIHANNA, DRUMS - my three favorite things. "Monster" is so infamous, I don't think I have anything helpful to add. I love this track. I feel like I can run like 15 miles when I hear it. "Have you ever had sex with a Pharoah?" lmaooo. Nicki's verse is so good and so iconic she literally wiped the floor and it's not even close. Bon Iver follows like "wait, I am here too!" "Runaway" hit me with a wave of nostalgia I wasn't prepared to experience. Just hearing that song brought me back to 2010 - but it also just made me really sad to listen to in 2025 probably for a lot of reasons. I can't help but feel sad when I hear this song.

I did not grow up with a love for The Beatles because my Gen X parents thought they sucked, to be honest, so there was no Beatles songs or solo Beatles music in the house at all. It wasn't until Rockback 4 came out with the keyboard controller and the song "Imagine" as a playable option that I began my journey with them. Because that was my first introduction, naturally my first favorite Beatle was John. As I grew up, I learned about the man he really was and he is no longer my favorite Beatle - so it is hard to review this without thinking of the man behind the music, but I will do my best. "Imagine" is a really lovely sentiment about a utopian paradise but as I grew up and started to understand the message he was trying to tell, as well as begin to understand the world around me, I found myself becoming increasingly turned off by the lyrics. I know his intended targets were the politicians of the world, but I think the way the lyrics have been weaponized in the 50 plus years since (which he doesn't have control over because he isn't alive, I know that) have soured the song. - Sonically, I have always thought it was a gorgeous track and I still do. The chord choices are great, and the sound of the piano almost fades in and out like a dream or like a warped vinyl record. The addition of strings and the tucked drums really drive the track forward. I also really like "Jealous Guy", musically. Another great piano opening with some classic Lennon melodies to paint the picture of the story. The lyrics also scare me a little though lmaoooo. As the album progresses, it is clear that Lennon has a vision for some real cool soundscapes. "I Don't Want To Be A Soldier Mama" has such a unique sound scape and that is due, in part, to Phil Spector's Wall of Sound on full blast here. George Harrison features on guitar on this track and knows EXACTLY what to do and where. And the saxophone part?!?! COOL. I probably enjoy this track the most because of the sonic journey it takes you on. "Oh My Love" is another sonically beautiful track. Lyrically, I also think it is a sweet ode to Yoko. I think you really get a throwback to the half of the Voltron he was in The Beatles on this track. It makes me want to listen to "Because".

The sounds of 1950s rock and roll don't appeal to me very much, but I do appreciate the way these tracks were mixed. Everything is very clear and spaced out. The guitar tone is clean, and the drums are tucked back as to not overpower the vocals. The harmonies are clear and easy to pick out, which I also really appreciate. This is the kind of sound that my grandfather really loved so as I have been listening to these tracks, I was reminiscing and wondering whether he ever listened to this album. It does teleport you to milkshakes and drive-ins and letterman jackets. I feel like I am in a parking lot at night, illuminated by neon signs. It is incredibly short for having 12 songs. "An Empty Cup" may be my favorite track from the album, followed by "Send Me Some Lovin'". I was less interested in the more upbeat songs and prefer the slower second half.

"Lively Up Yourself" is such a calming track and I think sets the tone for the album very well. "No Woman, No Cry" is also very calming. The moving bass line is very interesting, and I believe there is a Wurlitzer? Overall, I feel this a great album for having on in the background or to relax too.

Immediately, I like the sounds of the slightly out of tune piano on the opening track "Under the Pressure". There is a lot of Bruce Springsteen influence on this track, which I really like. There is also a really cool super verby guitar panned to the right halfway through the song. I feel like this track also has a great use of synths that maybe the 80s went too ham on. The drum beat that comes in at 4:30 is also fantastic added with this build with horns and stuff. So nice. As I move through the album, a standout for me is the ambient guitar work. It is so nice and the tones that were chosen were very appropriate for each track. This is a really well produced album. Lost In the Dream takes a lot of the elements of the 80s and refines them. Whether that is a drum machine, a synth, the ambient guitars, the only thing missing is some ear-wormy vocal melodies. This is a great album to have on in the background while you are cleaning or eating or taking a long drive. Lyrically, the story of the album is depression and anxiety and there are many reoccurring themes of being left behind or hurting. "and you see me pull away again/ haven't lost it on a friend/ just a bit run down at the moment/ yeah, I'm all alone here" from "Eyes to the Wind"

I am a huge fan of Adele. I was blessed with the opportunity to see her live in Vegas on Christmas Eve a few years ago and it was as magical as you could have imagined. That said, this is my least favorite Adele album and always has been. Should NOT have won album of the year over Lemonade. Her weakest work is still groundbreaking, to be fair. My beef with this album has always been that there are very bright moments on the album, but as a full cohesive project, it isn't as strong as her other outputs. 21 and 30 do a fantastic job of telling a full, complete story. "Send My Love" has such a fun beat that feels like a callback to her debut, 19, with minimal instrumentation. "I Miss You" has a really interesting soundscape and is my partner's favorite track on the album due to the heavy tom beat. "When We Were Young" is such a special song. I don't know what I could say right now that would be fair of the track because watching her perform it live with all these photos of her childhood in the background was magical and sad and sweet all at the same time. My favorite song on the album is "All I Ask" - which was co-written with Bruno Mars and I don't know how to articulate his particular sound, but you could close your eyes and hear him sing this as well. The instrumentation is simple to suit the heaviness of the story being told. "All I ask is if this is my last night with you, hold me like I'm more than just a friend" UGHHH. That melody!!! "It matters how this ends 'cause what if I never love again" OUCH. I have definitely cried a handful times listening to this track. It is insane though, because Adele always has a devastating ballad at the end of her albums and this is also one of my least favorites! A testament to her songwriting ability, but if you love this song, just put on "To Be Loved" from 30. My overall feeling with this album is that when I listen to it, I just want to turn on 30 or 21 and listen to those albums because they came to me at such pivotal moments. Like each track on this album has a stronger counterpart on a different album. I still love it, don't get me wrong! It's just ranked 4th out of 4 for me.

I do think it is weird to have to review an album with so many cover songs. I appreciate them adding "their" twist to these songs, but the lead singer is trying to emulate Dylan's weird nasally cadence on quite a few of the tracks and that is off-putting to me. I have always liked the song Mr. Tambourine Man, by Bob Dylan, and I think their harmonies really add something special to the track. I just wish they were panned to one side or the other to really fill the space. The twelve-string Rickenbacker guitar work throughout the album really add a cohesiveness to the album. The harmonies would be more impressive if I could hear them better. They really do shine on "You Won't Have to Cry" in the chorus but get muddied in the verse. I think there is a balance issue with the mix. This album is regarded as America's first true answer to The Beatles, and I just don't see that. This is not a bad album, but its full of covers! How can you compare it to The Beatles who were writing all of their own music and by the time this album came out, really starting to experiment and push the boundaries of music. A more accurate counterpart to the Beatles would be The Beach Boys.