Ah Elliot, king of the sad boys, the ending point of the quest to find sadder and sadder music through adolescence. By far his best work in my opinion and the album that made him commercially successful soundtracking the film Goodwill Hunting. I think the album interestingly sounds really like a soundtrack all the way through and can resonate with someone having a hard day all the way through to someone deep in the depths of depression. I sometimes think this album and Elliot’s music as a whole can be over looked as an attempt to be as outlandishly miserable as possible. Whilst Elliot quite bluntly ideates suicide throughout the record lyrically, I think that sometimes stands in front of the fact he is quite clearly a melodic genius combining his use of folk guitar picking and wispy vocals in a sound that is if nothing else unmistakeable. A genius album in my eyes personal highlights being the obvious tracks in ‘Between the Bars’ and ‘Angeles’ 4 for me.
The album where Dr Dre created ‘the sound’ from this album on whenever I heard that whiney moog drone I know I’m either about to see the credits to Grand Theft Auto or that in about 20 seconds I’m going to hear Snoop Dogg start rapping. I think this album opened the gates for hip hop becoming widely accepted commercially and to be ironically enjoyed by white middle class people. I think that while the album lyrically has a way of making light of its dark themes and also sounds dated today with its heavy use of misogyny it is also clear that although enjoyed through a fantasy lense by the white boys of the world they are talking about very real things in their existence including racial inequality, gun violence and drugs. Production wise I think Dre is clearly on track to become the king here, the only reason I can’t give it a 4 is because I can never not hear it as the run up to 2001. Still a fantastic and important album.
To be honest Roger Walters has completely destroyed my opinion of the Floyd because the first thing I think of them is. Eurgh. Having tried to be unbiased listening to this I’d say it’s an interesting piece of prog rock, I think they were innovative for their time but I think they have since been clearly surpassed certainly in terms of pushing the boat out and I’d hazard a guess that there were other equally experimental prog bands of the time who didn’t quite receive the same mainstream glory. I like their early use of sampling speech and Time and Great Gig in The Sky are highlights for me. Overall I’d say this is a fairly boring record end to end and the Floyd are highly overrated. I’d rate this as a 2.5/3 if I could really be unbiased but just because I want my own tiny tiny tiny tiny bit of own back it’s a zero for me Roger. Eat that.
I have to be a big honest boy and say I did not listen to this album at all, however ‘Music’ and ‘Don’t tell me’ are absolute bangers. Off pure instinct this gets a 3 from me
What a load of bollocks. You can see totally why people cringe at the term progressive rock, when progressive rock translates to a bunch of fairly talented guys churning out absolute nonsense for the sake of it. Strange guitar and bass lines with odd drumming and loads of pointless key changes. For me the point of music is to make you feel something and it at the very least to sound good, this style of music has neither of those and also by the way contains some of the worst lyrics I’ve ever heard. So so questionable, how they gained traction after this album is beyond me.
Ah Jane’s addiction to make these reviews a continuation of each other whilst I think Genesis are an example of some talented musicians squandering their talent I think LA Garage rock is examples of guys making the absolute best out of what they have. This is so clearly a late 80’s American record and there are so many moments of clear influence here from the Glam rock of Guns to even some Psych rock. I’ve always loved Perry’s soaring tones and I think by all means this is a a decent debut rock record although I have to be completely honest and say I was hoping for much more boring in places and lyrically weak in others. Still bands like Jane’s Addiction will always live in a tiny soft spot in my heart as just well as just a rock band. They went on to record Strays which is by all means a much stronger album.
I did listen to the album and it passed quickly, I was impressed though to be honest I think the vocals are absolutely on point and clever synth work all the way through as well as one of the biggest tunes of the 80’s.
To be honest a kind of pleasant listen whilst I was working away although it also just sounded like jazz, I can’t really comment either way but it also wasn’t as bad as some of the other crap we’ve had so I guess by some default it’s a 2.
I thought this was oddly great to be honest, a real insight into early art music and what went on to be a fantastic genre including some of the greats IE Roxy Music, I think this album was obviously pivotal for art rock but I also think greater stuff came later on and this was the catalyst, still an important album clearly
I thought this was weirdly good, not much to say really other than I really loved some of the guitar riffs, he has a great voice and this is kind of classic soul music. It made me feel quite happy but other than that I’ve got little to add or comment really. I’m kind of bored of four tracks on an album and one 20 minute song.
I really want to listen to some contemporary music now app. This was an interesting listen and I enjoyed the more it went on. It was nice having in the background but I was still bored. Am I more culturally informed now still no.
I don’t think it’s David’s absolute pinnacle but it’s certainly a window into his brilliance. Overall a really enjoyable listens with some glimpses of his genius that were sandwiched between more complete work of his. I think it also highlights just how prolific he was this album only coming a year after Zig. My final thought though was that having to listen to album tracks from Bowie reminded me of my only gripe about Dave, how fantastic Mick Ronson is as a guitarist and how much of that came through on this, he is of course also bouncing off his best work too in Ziggy Stardust but still what a player. I’d like it if he got more credit. Three for you Dave but a four for you Mick. Don’t let anyone forget you.
I thought this was nice enough in places but I got pretty bored too, a lot of nice lines clearly as the whole album is based on Guthries lyrics but rockabilly isn’t really my thing and I lost interest a lot can’t say I agree this should make the 1001 albums personally…
Game over. I don’t want to play anymore. I woke up today just excited to listen to The Smiths again, by far the best album I have listened to on this app. In terms of a review I think this is the band who really and truly invented indie guitar music coming together for what is really the seminal indie guitar album. I could write for hours about the obvious great things about this album so I’m going to highlight the slightly less obvious but still ever so brilliant factor I noticed yesterday - Andy Rourke, although using heroin during this time. He is at his absolute peak, consistently overshadowed by Marr but not often is it highlight quite what a beast on the bass guitar you would have to be to keep up with Johnny, flawless all the way through. I would kind of summarise by saying that The Smiths are quite often thought of as inaccessible and overly intellectual but the two biggest moments of the album ‘I know it’s over’ and ‘There is a light’ are some of the most simply put beautiful summaries of life’s two most common themes friendship and heartbreak. Thank you The Smiths for this timeless bit of art, I love you forever.
A pink moon is on its way. Nick Drake, I first discovered this album when a mature student at my college I somehow became friends with who had been an ex addict in his 20’s and turned his life around later on told me I should listen to Nick Drake after us chatting back and forth about music. I think this album is beautiful all the way through I love how his guitar riffs blend in with his voice to create a sound that is hard to pinpoint but unmistakable nonetheless. Folky sounds tend not to be my jam but I think this one manages to just tug perfectly on the heart. RIP Nick, hope the after life was kinder to you.
A phenomenal listen, having heard this all the way through before I was expecting to remember this better than I did. I think that this album is The Cure perfecting their sound and for me is a little bit off where they reach the top of their game. For me although this album is experimental and innovative some of it is slightly more jarring than the melodic beauty we all know them for. Love you Robert x
Funky mad rock I don’t think this is yet then at their peak and to be honest personally I prefer them when they become a bit more melodic rather than aggressively funky. But can you imagine being around when the Chilli’s came around.
