Few bands manage to release more than one masterpiece to defy the test of time, especially when one of those is the debut album. Oasis marked the mid 90s with their first two albums, representing, along with their rivals Blur, the britpop movement
The debut was sudden, the movement was mostly local to Manchester and aimed the british press of the time, and caught interest due to some ear-catching singles, like Supersonic, Live Forever, Slide Away and Whatever, mixing modern indie laid-back ramshackle sound production and emotive quasi-nihilistic lyricism with catchy melodies and powerful riffs, akin to earlier movements that sprouted out of the UK in the past, like post-punk, glam rock and the main idol of admiration of the Gallagher brothers: the 60s beat era, especially (but not limited to) a tribute to the Beatles (except with more drunk and grumpy members with sum terrible infights)
The "britpop" (or Kool Britannia) movement was controversial at the time due to critics and old-guard rock-n'-roll'ers accusing them of being unoriginal, "plagiarizing" classic acts and appropriating their aesthetic (as if Bowie or the Who's sound was anything close to shoegaze or grunge). As always, the rock n' roll god forbid taking inspirations and reinterpretating formulas (as if rock itself isn't a reinterpretation of 40s blues)
I still think Morning Glory is the superior 5/5 out of the two gems, but given enough time, I wouldn't be surprised if Definetely Maybe grow on me. It'll *definetely maybe* rise to a 5/5 rate someday
Soothing, hypnotic sound that follows a continuous tone almost ambient-like. The guitar-driven bluesy tones were the most fascinating point for me. A bit monotonous at some points, but overall worth listening.
Pretty safe experimentation, some occasional good songs (Hit and Quit It / Super Stupid) but otherwise rly overrated
Nostalgic, but looking retrospectively not so amusing
Melodically beautiful, sonically blastful and lyrically irreverent. Overall, really raw and dirty, especially for the time they debuted. Idc if it's not an "artwork" or smt this is the bible of punk rock. Simple and yet perfect 🤘
Solid roots rock with a very unique Louisiana style. Not better than Green River tho but CCR never miss
Amazing milestone for classic rock, from all the old 60s bands that made it for the next decade, I believe the Who was the one to adapt the best compared to the others, and this album is a proof of that
Baba O' Riley, the hymn for the teenage wasteland, is a perfect intro with that iconic keyboard and set the tone for what the album represents: an ode and also a tragic overview of the Rock n' Roll world, and how this phenomenon of the century still amaze us to this day
Overrated imo. It sure is a milestone and a perfect representation of pop music back in the 60s, but only some songs are actuslly good (personally I'm Happy Just to Dance with You is a favorite of mine). Other classics are the title track, I Should've Known Better, If I Fall and Tell Me Why
Everyone who knows and loves Pet Sounds have a lot to thank for this one. This is the first album where TBB find its identity beyond vocal surf. Some of their finest pieces here are on par with Pet Sounds, already with the mellow, classy tone we all know and love
Excellent. A perfect reference to a whole generation of indie/alternative artists to come
Inventive, glamorous and ambitious. Maybe a bit too experimental for my taste, but hopefully it shall grow into me
I'VE GOT NO LIPS I'VE GOT NO BONES WHATEVER I SAY IS ONLY SPIT
I was so hooked on this during my childhood, will never get old
Awesome new wave record. Some songs are better than others but overall a nice selection of classic tracks that defined the late 70s
Not for me ig
Much like Elvis in the late 50s and Led Zeppelin in the early 70s, NWA enters on that are of those "groundbreaking musical acts that undeniably reshaped society" and whoever denies that gotta have some racial bias bc this clearly served as a standpoint for modern rappers and if you can't see it then that's your problem
Does this make the music good tho? I mean quality is subjective but not rly imo just like Led Zeppelin and Elvis and early Beatles the music here is alright at best compared to other styles within their genres
I get why that'd be hype for some especially older hip-hopheads but honestly that was disappointing af not the hardest gangsta shit and some songs are plain dumb (I ain't tha 1)
Maybe it was good for west coast folks? I'm not rly into that shit. Must've been a "you had to be there" thing and even if I were I definetely ain't the target audience
While it's a rly interesting album to analyze retrospectively as a piece of musical history nothing rly caught my attention except for Fuck tha Police (that one was dope captured the nature I was looking for) and Parental Discretion
Overall I'd rather be bumping to other stuff by public enemy, WTC and beastie boys that's more of my thing but at least NWA managed to put hip-hop on the mainstream
FUCKING CLASSIC
I can't help it there's just no way you can go wrong with punk rock first Ramones then Green Day reinveinting the genre in the 90s and this album absolutely blew my mind when I was a kid
while not as raw as Nirvana or heavy like Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam's debut was pivotal for the development of music in the early 90s as part of the grunge scene along with the contemporaries mentioned above. Power ballads such as Alive and Black were played on the radios and are established as a representative of our current cultural wave ever since, talking about down-to-earth scenarios and real life based events that Eddie Vedder wanted to share and can be relatable to anyone: family troubles, witnessing disasters, heartbreak etc. (to this day Jeremy stands as one of the most powerful and tragically realistic songs for a reason)
Also we just can't ignore full-on bangers that still goes undeniably hard: Once, Deep and the epic Even Flow, that became one of the stamples for radio rock format ever since; the slower songs also have their own merit. Garden in particular is one of my favorite songs off this album, it has such as gothic vibe that fits Eddie's eerie vocals perfectly. All in all, it's still one hell of an album and it has aged like fine wine
Not my favorite by them, but still solid
Pyramid Head is one of their best songs, and I love the jazztronic vibes
Waiting for the Sun is good and Peace Frog is one of the best The Doors songs ever made, pretty good progressive pop. If only the rest of the album was as good
Ffs yall pmo I was tolerating the close-minded bs of the users on this website (I can't expect boomers and normies to enjoy shoegaze and shit) but 2.81/5 for this timeless masterpiece has got to be a huge fucking flex. Tbh the only bad song here is Stephany Knows Who (which probably tells that you guys have only heard that one song and based the rest through it) bc Orange Skies is one of the most beautiful pieces of music in modern age. It stems in diversity for those beautifully psychedelic ballads, the flutes and harpsichord are perfectly balanced and showcase the talent of Laurel Canyon musicians; but also has some quite experimental elements and fucking proto-punk thrown in the middle. I know most ppl here don't like experimentation and variety, but Seven and Seven Is fucking awesome and so is She Comes in Colors. The whole aesthetic of Love makes it one of the most underrated bands back in the 60s. While Forever Changes is udeniably a superior album, Da Capo set the right tone for their aesthetic and sound (also love /not a pun/ how the original lineup had the members dressing with different costume from different centuries and decades, just another great touch of creativity and charisma they had)
Genre revivalism is often perceived in a controversial way: some see it as a breath of fresh air to the overuse of modern trends or a proof of lack of originality. The 2000s garage revival proved it's way as a movement that, while taking total inspiration from the 60s rock n' roll aesthetic, managed to bring sonically unique groups, whose variety of influences don't just serve as a knock-off of past gimmicks, but the birth of a new and interesting sound
On that regard, AM's debut managed to be a punch in the face of the pessimists that keep screaming "rock is dead" despite not giving a chance to the "inexperienced" indie kids. "I Bet That You Looked Good on the Dancefloor" managed to become an anthem fueled with glamorous elegance and raw punkish attitude: the album as a whole manages to unite the best elements of several eras and become timeless masterpieces like the skanky "View from the Afternoon", almost horror-punk in "Sun Goes Down" and the soft but uplifting "Mardy Bum". Personally, I view these guys as the latest rock act to achieve major success, which is not exactly a goal for indie rockers, but it's good enough to show that rock n' roll is still relevant and most definetely not dead
Elton John was a blessing, wasn't he? After two ambitious debuts and a kinda disappointing third one, the man managed to leave his mark with a innovative style of soft pop rock that manages to be catchy and worthy of attention. John paved the way for distinct 70s rock musicians like Bowie and Steely Dan by emphasizing unusual features already present in traditional british and american music: folk, country, soul, vaudeville, R&B, jazz... elements that were only fully successful through the Beatles (whose departure represented a significant "power vacuum" by the turn of the decade)
After the self-titled release, Madman Across the Water was the album that caught the attention of critics at the time and fortified Elton's career along a line of other wonders like Honky Chateau and finally what would be considered his "magnum opus": Yellow Brick Road
The album is mostly remembered for its hit "Tiny Dancer", a catchy tune but also "Levon" (which has one of Elton's most poetic vocal deliveries) and the powerful anti-colonial (yet questionably outdated) anthem "Indian Sunset". The rest of the songs are mostly catchy fillers, but I personally feel a need to showcase the outro which, despite being short, is of such melancholy and poetical lyricism, is a sign that Elton can shine even with the least of efforts.
Lou managed to stay awesome even after TVU disbanded, now fully betting on the glamorous style that would define the early 70s rock music
Some of these comments makes me wanna vomit (and that's coming from someone who just got healed from food poisoning, so the last thing I'd want is puke)
"Shallow lyrics" "dated songwriting" "SOAD/RATM/Deftones better" (also coming from someone who fucking loves SOAD) "don't care 'bout Chris' experiences" are you fucking kidding me??? Wtf is wrong with you ppl when did you become so numb (no pun intended) from reality that your obsessions with "qUALitY" made you become void of empathy or even a least amount of the conception of emotion? And yeah I know that's not a recent behavior, it's actually that kind of fucking elitism that killed rock by the 2000s bc of "yeEmO iZ trASh" critics (that kind of unhingedness is what led me to do shit like defend fucking limp bizkit ffs if there's any advice from fred durst that is worth following for y'all is: shut the f* up)
Anyway, to give some enlightment behind the conceptualization of this album (and the band): Linkin Park was the product of the creative force of Mike Shinoda's recently formed hardcore rap band Hybrid Theory and Chester Bennington's recent introduction to the musical scene, mostly backed by grunge influences (another genre accused of "killing rock" by elitists before being suddenly regarded as the "genre savior" years later. Stfu x2) before resorting to music, Chester was a victim of abuse as a child, coming from a violent household as gr**med by a kid older than him, which made him afraid of accusing bc his parents would beat him for (allegedly) "being gay". Many songs here are actually very direct about these issues (most obvious being Crawling). I find it amusing how some ppl say that the lyrics/messages are "shallow", "empty", "deliveries sound fake" while at the same time claiming that "theyre not clear what they're taking about". Are y'all certain 'bout this or you just don't wanna admit that your interpretation capacity is less than zero? (but anyway what can I expect coming from the same website where ppl say that "women shouldn't be rockers"?) Just listen to smt like Place for My Head and tell me this band never had energy the only place I'll ever want to hear this quote is when visiting a mental asylum. Even the more "lackluster" songs like By Myself and Forgotten are catchy bangers. It's kinda like Limp Bizkit but the lyrics actually have some meaning besides "hating hoes". The only downer here rly is just Cure for the Itch but it's rly just a turntablism sketch, we can't expect much from it.
When it comes to voting, I usually measure how much I think the album deserves being noted, either by how personally it affects me or not (for example: I couldn't care less about King Crimson or their members, but I can't deny their discography is fucking good). Hybrid Theory (and LP discography as a whole) ain't no masterpiece, but the impact it had on me and how it shaped my (and an entire generation's) musical taste. They perfected the nu-metal formula into smt that's heartfelt, deeply emotional and catchy (even if not the best example of the genre but still a solid one) so unlike some of you bookworms obsessed by the concept of rating alone, the "quality" here might not make it a masterpiece and realistically a 3 or 4 is more appropriate, but definetely not 1. Only heartless would do that.
Took me a while for actually getting into it. At first I thought it was boring, didn't rly get the hype, just sounded like Andy Warhol hired quirky beatniks making a mock off the music of the time with edgy lyrics and a noisy background.
Well, they were kind of mocking the music of the time, and the lyrics are edgy and the experimentation with noise is actually a lot more complex compared to other fuzztones experimented in the 60s.
Personally I don't care for the Nico parts. Apart from the fact that she was a crazy racist, the melodic ballads are the weakest point imo. Sunday Morning is kinda pretty and Femme Fatale has some genius lyrics and very bold for the time, but I'll Be Your Mirror is one of the most boring things I ever heard.
That screwed off, let's talk about the positive aspects, and one that I particularly love to mention, which is the impact of that album in the history of music: many like to call it the "quintessential proto-punk" which I believe is not a very fair description since it's not exactly what we would expect from a "punk" album (at least that's the impression I had when I listened for the first time) and the term is often better used to describe rawer and faster forms of garage rock n' roll like the Sonics or the peruvian Saicos. If anything, TVU were proto-indie in the most appropriate way possible of using that term (even tho musically speaking punk and indie are often interchangeable on their meanings since the "DIY" and "f* the elites complexity and mainstream conventions" mindset is common for both movements) and it was on the name itself, they were literally the "underground" band (which would basically be a prototype concept of indie). Some would call it pretentious, but that's literally a band sponsored by Andy Warhol so pretentiousness seems to be the intentional commentary here. He wouldn't have put effort on a footprint like that without thinking about the "ahead of its time" impact in the long term. Also, the plantation of intellectual forces: Lou Reed has got to be one of the most important names in the history of rock music, and this is his debut. His passionate attempt on innovating rock n' roll and change its form on his own sarcastic and deadpan style would remain alive through future acts, namely few among Television, Sonic Youth, Strokes etc. (That is without mentioning his impact on the glam and new wave scenes of the 70s along with Bowie and Iggy Pop). Also the guitarist, John Cale, who understood the importance of minimalism in music and that rock n' roll didn't have to be just about catchy hooks and awesome solos, but reverting the formula and focusing on low modal patterns, priorizing ambiance and texture like jazz musicians but with the raw elements of rock and blues, this style, especially present on songs like Heroine (a controversial ballad venting Lou's troubles with drug abuse), Black Angel's Death and European Son would be the textbook of math/post-rock bands like Swans, Albini, Sigur Ros and GY!BE (not to mention the distorted noise parts, which would be the main focus in their 2nd album); even Nico herself would start to engage her career and develop herself through sombre and whimsical, almost gothic style, very influential for the works of future minds like Kate Bush and Björk
This is definetely not an album for all to enjoy (and I can expect that some will vehemently express vocal hate for any made up reason to excuse their insecurities). Whatever you like, this is the kind of record that needs to be appreciated with an open mind. I myself did not care at first, but after reflecting on its impact and how it differed from records of the time (also adding the fact that I ignorantly underapreciated non-Beatles 60s music compared to today); not as a "proto-punk" or even a "proto-indie" record, but its original intent when released and how those innovative elements reflect through musical history
That said, my favorite songs remain the most punk-inclined garage songs like "Waiting for the Man", "Run Run Run" and "There She Goes Again", but I grew a personal love for "Venus in Furs" (whose trippy wall of sound is like a prediction of shoegaze in a way) and "All Tomorrow's Parties" (easily the best Nico song here; she's at her best when focusing on the ethereal aspects)
