So I must be on enough drugs to actually like it, the Lou Reed songs in particular. I had never heard anything by them going into this, so had no expectations. They reminded me of some other bands of the time that I enjoy, but they definitely made some interesting choices with the arrangements. A couple of the songs were unlistenable - looking at you Venus in Furs - but there were 4 or 5 tracks I thought were great. I’d give it a 3.5 if I could, but going with the 3.
This is an easy 5 for me. I’ve loved this album since it first came out and have listened to it countless times. It’s the rare album that I enjoy every single song on. It’s fun, it’s interesting, and was a unique departure from Simon and Garfunkel music, which I also love.
I recently listened to Malcom Gladwell’s audio book, “Miracle and Wonder: Conversations with Paul Simon”, and they had a great segment where Paul talked about the inspiration and making of Graceland, the controversy at the time of him breaking the boycott of South Africa to make the album, and why he did it. Good listen.
At 37 minutes, this album is short and sweet and full of hits. As a teenager in the 80’s this album was still popular in my high school and always a backdrop to driving around town, keg parties, and sitting by my friend’s pool enjoying a summer day. Fun music and a bit of nostalgia makes it a 4 for me.
I’ll admit I was half distracted listening to this yesterday, but I don’t think that mattered. It was probably better as background noise. I didn’t mind some of the songs but as others have already said, it’s more high school level playing. I’ll give it a 2 purely for the fact that it inspired the birth of grunge.
For me, U2 is one of those bands that I liked a few of the hits you heard on the radio, but never enough to want to listen to more from them, so this is the first time I’ve listened to a U2 album. My original thought holds. The hits are good, my favorite is Two Hearts, but the rest was just ok.
I love live albums, prefer them in a lot of cases. They’re more authentic, more engaging, and I love to hear the audience interactions. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard a Peter Frampton song that wasn’t from this album so don’t know how it compares to his studio work, but I enjoyed this overall. Maybe not enough to give it a 4, but still a good listen.
I can see that I’m going to be the one to skew our group rating here. Lol. Call me crazy, but I really enjoyed this album. They took old timey ballads and Irish jigs and made them into 60’s style folk. I loved the fiddle, a lot of times on the upbeat songs it sounded almost like bagpipes, which I love. The singers voice was beautiful, she’s what I wish Joan Baez sounded like - I appreciate Joan’s music but could never get past her voice enough to listen to it. The last song should have been dropped, that was the one song I didn’t enjoy. Otherwise, I would, and will, listen to this again.
Anyway, it really did sound like I was at a renaissance fair, but being there on a beautiful fall day, swigging a beer..how is that a bad thing?
I’ve always had an irrational hatred for Steely Dan; it’s bad lounge rock. This album did nothing to change my mind. There aren’t enough Harvey Wallbangers in the world to make me like this.
Christina Aguilera has an amazing voice. You don’t need to be a fan of her music to appreciate that and it’s the reason I’m giving it two stars. Not my style and it was WAY too long to boot.
This was so bad, even the artist herself didn’t like the album. The flute didn’t help, but the real problem was her voice. Just awful.
Nico was dissatisfied with the album. In 1981, she said she could not listen to it. According to Nico, her requests for drums and more guitar were refused, and she disliked the orchestrations: "I didn't like [the strings], but I could live with them. But the flute! The first time I heard the album, I cried and it was all because of the flute."
I was excited when I saw this album come up. I never knew anything past Bitter Sweet Symphony, which I always thought was a cool song, so I was looking forward to what else they had.
Sorry to say I was disappointed overall. Everything was just kind of meh and sounded the same to me. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great. And it was too long - don’t need 1 hr 15 minutes of the same thing over and over.
There were a couple songs I enjoyed, but didn’t have the time to go back again and figure out which ones they were. Overall giving it a 3 because it was fine.
PS - Was that the sound of cats dying on that hidden track? That was rough.
I’m not a fan of country music at all. She has a beautiful voice but it’s not for me.
What a great album! I really enjoyed this one, thank god. I was on a losing streak with the recent recommendations.
I’ll admit I know almost nothing about Elvis Costello. I know who he is but I don’t think I could have named a single song. I went in with zero preconceived notions and was pleasantly surprised!
It’s easy to listen to this on the surface as a bunch of catchy pop tunes but then you realize it’s full of angst ridden lyrics. The upbeat pop rock melodies don’t match the message. I thought it was clever and fun. I read in the Wiki article that Bowie was an influence on him and I could definitely hear that in some of the songs. I would check out some of his other stuff based on this album.
Loved the bongos and horns. Big bright sounds and driving rhythms. Felt very big band swing meets Latin or Caribbean jazz. It was a fun listen, reminded me of a soundtrack to a 70’s spy movie. I enjoyed this way more than I expected.
2 Elvis Costello’s in one week. This one a year earlier than the last. Similar sounds but a little more punk and a little less pop. I really liked this one, too, and actually recognized the Pump It Up song. Another 4 stars for me, but I vote we move on the Counting Crows. 😉
I was only half listening to this, and glad it was over speakers and not headphones. I didn’t mind some the songs, minus all the distortion, but even then it was just ok.
I can think of several people in high school who would have dug this, but I wasn’t even in the same realm of music as this in 1985.
I can see why young (and not so young) women lost their shit when this came out in 1956. Prior to Elvis, most pop/rock stars were polite, buttoned up gentleman. And then here comes Elvis the Pelvis, looking hot and shaking his hips at you. Or crooning lovingly into your eyes. He was pretty dreamy after all.
The music on the other hand, not so dreamy. Starting with Blue Suede Shoes was a tease. Fun rock and roll song, upbeat, makes you want to move. I would have enjoyed an album with more of this, but it went downhill after that.
Then there’s the whole issue of him culturally appropriating black music. A complicated subject, too much for a 1001 albums review. As a Ray Charles fan, I’ll say that I Got a Woman wasn’t even close to Charles’ version.
Overall you cannot deny the influence of Elvis and he absolutely should be on this list. It’s just not for me.
What a fantastic album. The musicians were masters on their own but also came together perfectly as a band. The harmonica was insane and the piano player was killing it (two of my favorite instruments). Most of all, it sounded like they were having a great time, like they were playing a live performance at the best dive bar in town. One of the best albums we’ve heard so far.
The first half of this album was terrible. The second half was also terrible.
My poor Spotify algorithm. Based on recent albums I’m now getting recommendations for “Dive Bar Anthems” and “Indie Sleaze” playlists. I want my hippie music back.
I don’t understand angry, jarring music with singers who scream more than sing. I’m a peace and love kind of girl. Plus, I’m old and it hurts my ears. But it was better than yesterday’s….so that’s something.
So I said I wanted my hippie music back, but I probably should have been more specific. This wasn’t quite it. There were a few good songs on here (edibles do help) but it doesn’t surprise me there was very little interest in this when it came out, from either the public or critics. There isn’t anything that makes them stand out.
And I don’t know why this popped into my head, but the singer’s voice reminded me of the prince in Monty Python’s Holy Grail who was marrying the princess with the HUGE….tracts of land. So that was something! I mentioned the edibles, right?
This was the never ending album of banality. It was hard to tell one song from another on this one. At one point I was wondering why there was a weird pause in the middle of the song and then realized it had gone on to a new track. There was a lot of skipping the ends of songs and just wishing it were over in general.
It’s rare that I hear much of Bob Marley past the hits, which this album has quite a few of. It was great to listen to a full album where all the songs are just as good.
Bob Marley has such a great voice, warm and soothing, and combined with the steady hypnotic rhythm and beats, it makes you feel like all is okay with the world even though he’s singing about some pretty heavy stuff. He sounds hopeful and uplifting and wants you to feel the same.
I was probably a little later than most to the grunge scene. June of 1992, I had just graduated college. I’m in a car with my boyfriend at the time, his sister, and a good friend of ours, heading up to Buffalo to see a Dead show at Rich Stadium. She asks if we’ve ever listened to Nirvana, said the music was great, etc. We hadn’t so she pulled out her cassette and pops it in. Mind you, we’re on our way to a Dead show, which is the type of music we were listening to at that time. Made it halfway through Smells like Teen Spirit and were like, yeah, that’s not really for us.
Fast forward a year or two, I break out of my hippie cocoon and go check out grunge and love it, Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots in particular. Even with the loud guitars and sometimes screaming singing it hits different than punk for me (although Endless, Nameless is still too much). Overall, it’s a more melodic, catchier sounding. And the disillusionment and “whatever” attitude of Nirvana is quintessential Gen X. A perfect match for the times and for our generation.
I didn’t even need to listen to this to know everything I was going to say about this, but I did because why wouldn’t I? It’s a fantastic album.
The music was harsh, the singing was harsh, and the whole album sounded cold and mechanical, like the soundtrack for a robot uprising.
Never heard of these guys so had no clue what I was in for. Didn’t have high hopes going in, but I actually liked it overall. I listened to it twice, with the exception of the remix songs at the end which weren’t great, to get a better feel for the music. It’s hard to put your finger on the genre; Wikipedia labels it predominantly “Madchester”, defined as a blend of indie rock with elements of acid house, psychedelia, and 1960s pop. But it also has an 80’s synth vibe on some of the songs and a little funk on some tracks as well. I would check out some other stuff by them based on this album.
Favorites: Kinky Afro, Gods cop, Loose fit, Dennis and Lois, and Step On (the non-remix versions).
So we’ve heard Iggy Pop with The Stooges and now solo. On the Stooges album he screamed his way through the lyrics, on this album it’s a monotonous drone. Both are terrible. I was also disappointed with Bowie’s music, thought that would elevate this despite the vocals, but it didn’t get there. Wondering how many more albums of Iggy’s were going to have to endure.
Honestly, I don’t have much to say on this one. I listened to it first thing yesterday morning and I had to go back this morning to listen to a little bit of each song again, because I couldn’t remember much about them. It was fine, the music was straight forward, but I didn’t care for his voice.
These guys are exactly what I was referring to in my Elvis review about the polite, buttoned up gentleman “rock stars” at the time.
Their vocals and harmonization are great, I know they inspired a lot of artists that I love, but their songs now sound dated and silly. A time capsule kind of album that you have to appreciate based on when it was made, but you don’t have to appreciate listening to it now.
This is not at all what I thought a Kink’s record would sound like. At first I thought it was kind of goofy and fun, a little psychedelic pop from the 60’s. The lyrics were amusing and the music was a little trippy. But then it just devolved into nonsense as it went on…and on...and on…and on. Could have been a fun listen but was quickly ruined.
I’ve always liked The Black Keys, so was happy to see them pop up. The songs are simple and straight forward, yet still pack a punch to them. I like the quality and tone of the singer’s voice, it fits the music.
I always think of them as a newer band so was shocked to see this album come out in 2010. Time flies when you’re old.
The British do love their punk music. Unfortunately, I do not.
This has got to be one of those most generic pop albums I’ve ever heard, boring and bland. It’s like they dined at the 90’s British pop song buffet and took a little bit of each dish to make a full plate, but it all ends up tasting the same. Next time the chef needs to add some spice.
I really want to like Tori Amos. She’s a great pianist, classically trained, but I just can’t get there for most of her stuff. To me, her voice and styling sound like something from a musical theater kid. It feels more like performance art than an album. 3 stars for the talent level but not really a fan.
To be fair, I was working when listening to this yesterday so didn’t pay much attention, but it’s not like I haven’t heard much of this before. I’ve never been a fan of Clapton, white boy blues is not my thing, but there’s no denying his talent or influence, and there were a few songs on here I did enjoy.
What is this? Is it glam rock? Is it pop opera? Is Yoko Ono to blame for this? Not sure what’s happening here.
Sometimes I feel like you “had to be there” in the year the album was released to appreciate its significance or influence, and sometimes I feel like it’s garbage even without the context. This is the latter for me. I did think a couple of songs were catchy in a bizarre sort of way, but overall this is a big no.
Now here is some proper hippie music. Jefferson Airplane was one of the pioneers of psychedelic rock and this album has a wide range of sounds from folk to blues to rock to trippy psychedelia. The songs with Grace Slick front and center are by far the best. She is a powerhouse. There are a couple of fillers songs that aren’t the best, but overall a really solid album.
I love me some CCR. Louisiana swamp rock made by some Bay Area California boys, and it’s awesome. And you gotta love John Fogerty’s voice, it’s perfect for this kind of music.
This album did not disappoint. The only song I didn’t care for was Graveyard Train, everything else was rocking. And I don’t know what the hell “Chooglin” is, but I’m gonna keep on doing it. Never heard that song before and loved it. The harmonica “solo” was amazing.
I only knew of this album because of the picture of the I84 overpass in Hartford on the cover. The first song was actually kind of interesting and I liked it ok. I was feeling optimistic for the rest of the album when the second song came crashing in, destroying my hopes and dreams. I couldn’t even make it through without skipping to the end. Overall, there were a couple songs I liked, but most of it was just weird and depressing.
I didn’t have the time or patience to listen to this yesterday. I skipped through the songs after hearing about a minute of each so I can’t give this a fair review other than to say I didn’t like it. And it was confusing why this was on the list. Even Wikipedia had nothing.
The album is fine. Sounds like many other pop rock bands from the 90’s. Nothing objectionable - well maybe My Drug Buddy, that was pretty bad - but otherwise I didn’t mind it. I was pleasantly surprised to hear the Mrs Robinson cover, I didn’t know that was them. I’ve always thought that was a great rendition of that song. Giving it a 3, a middle of the road rating for a middle of the road kind of album.
Fleetwood Mac is blessed with two phenomenal female singers. Christie McVie with her calm, clear tone that is naturally beautiful and effortless, and then Stevie Nicks who has a mystical, ethereal, raspy sound. I can’t overstate my love for Stevie. She’s one of my absolute favorites.
This album is a prerequisite for anyone who has a vinyl collection, to the point of being cliche, but for a reason. It’s incredible how they created such a tight, perfectly blended, harmonious album when they were literally falling apart as a band. Not to mention the massive amounts of cocaine. Maybe that helped?
An easy 5 all day. Every song is amazing. A classic I have listened to hundreds of times and will listen to hundred of times more.
This is a great lazy Sunday morning record, the original acoustic cafe music. Mostly folk rock with a couple of jazz leaning tunes and one fantastic boogie-woogie sounding song, Raised on Robbery.
Joni’s voice is unique and interesting and she plays the piano beautifully. I really enjoyed this album.
I haven’t listened to hip hop or rap since the 90’s. So that is my last frame of reference for this review. And I had no idea what to expect going in, I’ve never listened to him before.
I thought it was really creative and engaging. I love the different styles he brought musically, a nice range of influence. A couple of songs reminded me of Arrested Development (musically, not lyrically). Great transitions between songs, a cohesive flow, and he definitely commands the mic. I can see why he’s so widely acclaimed.
Not the type of music I listen to, but I’m glad we got this album so I got the chance to. It should have been shorter, an hour and 20 minutes is too long for any studio album. A strong 3 for me.
Took me all of about 3 minutes to listen to today’s album. I started the song, listened for about 15 seconds, fast forwarded to the middle of the song and listened for about 15 seconds, and then skipped to the next. I hate electronica and no album is going to change my mind on that.
What am I missing here? All of the accolades I read about this album - best album of the 90’s, the definitive Britpop album, etc. - I was expecting so much more and it was so mediocre. Don’t know why they’re so popular. I’d rather listen to Oasis.
I’m not a fan of Joan’s voice. Her vibrato, especially in the higher registers, is grating on my ears. It’s tough to listen to sometimes.
This was her debut album, so all traditional folk music. I do like some of her music on later albums when she branches out to include more rock/pop influences and her voice smoothes out a bit more.
This album wasn’t for me, but she became one of the most influential folk singers as a result of this, so giving it a 3.
Started out great. Visions of bell bottomed polyester suits, platform shoes, and crazy colorful sunglasses filling my head. The song was smooth and cool and funky.
Second song was bringing us to the seedier parts of town - meeting the pusher man. I can dig it. And then we meet poor Freddie. Bit of a downer but still bobbing my head.
Then either the novelty wore off or the music itself just got repetitive, but I lost interest. It was good, but don’t think I would listen again. And if I have to hear Joe say, ohhhh yeah one more time….
I’m a casual fan of Queen. I like their hits - Killer Queen is one of my favorites - but the rest of the album didn’t do it for me, especially if Freddie wasn’t singing. I’m sure they’ll be more Queen albums coming, maybe others will be better.
I was excited to see Jay-Z. I love 90s/early 2000’s Jay-Z and The Blueprint is one of his best. He has such an easy flow, so laid back, like he’s having a conversation with you with some catchy beats underneath. Everything just sounds effortless.
Love the Doors sample on Takeover. Jay-Z doing collaborations with different styles of music are always a treat.
I bought this CD when it came out and played it quite a bit back in early 2000’s but haven’t listened to it in forever. A couple of the songs sound dated these days, and the lyrics leave something to be desired, and it’s a bit too long, but I don’t care, this is a 4 for me.
They should have stuck to session players and singing songs written by others.
Soothing background music. She has a beautiful voice but probably best enjoyed at the end of a long day, under a blanket, nodding off to sleep. You have to be in the right mood and atmosphere for this.
I prefer my post orgasmic chill to be a lot more chill.
I never listened to Hole in the 90s. I’ve always wondered if I’ve been missing out. I’m happy to confirm I have not been. It feels like it’s trying too hard to sound like something it’s not. Just feels hollow and meh.
This is a much different U2 from the first album we reviewed, War. They’re more polished, more pop oriented, less raw, both emotionally and musically. Is that a bad thing? Nope. I think both styles work for them. It’s growth and exploration and they did it well. A few really great songs on here and a solid album overall.
I love The Eagles, but this album isn’t it. Outside of the three hits off of this, there isn’t much here that I enjoyed. It’s their debut album and they haven’t quite found their footing yet, and it’s criminal that Don Henley is only singing two songs.
The album was very chill with laid back, slow paced reggae rhythm and grooves. Definitely not as strong as Bob Marley and the Wailers. I found it a little forgettable to be honest, so much so that I forgot to write my review this morning. But it’s all good, man.
Where to start with this album. When this came out in the late 80’s, almost no one in mainstream hip hop/rap was talking about police brutality, street violence, living in the ghetto, with this level of intensity. N.W.A. came out swinging with their lyrics and their music, and kicked off the beginning of gangsta rap that dominated in the 90’s. F*** tha Police in particular was crazy….the police backlash, the FBI letter to the record label, the political debates. Tipper Gore thought Twisted Sister needed censorship? Oof, that was nothing compared to this. I wasn’t even a rap fan back then and I vividly remember when this record came out.
The music itself is raw and intense with driving beats and incredible delivery from Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and MC Ren. This was an incredible album for its time and a real culture shift in the hip hop world. A solid record that definitely belongs on this list.
I wanted to like this. I appreciate that they’re trying to merge different styles of music together. There’s elements of hip hop, elements of jazz, elements of rock, elements of rap. And overall I appreciate the laidback vibe that was prevalent in the first half of the album. In theory it should be really cool but in execution it just ends up sounding like an identity crisis. What exactly are they trying to accomplish?
There are some parts of the songs that are actually pretty good but then it quickly switches to something else and it’s like what the hell just happened here. I don’t think the singing/rapping works well with the music; it sounds disparate. Maybe it’s just the guy who does all the vocals that I don’t like. Either way, it’s a miss for me.
A good sophomore effort from The Police. The standout songs are the classics, but there are a few others on there that are also well worth the listen. A couple fall flat, but I’m always impressed with the sound that comes from only three members in the band. 3.5 stars.
Full disclosure, I heard like half of the album and skipped about halfway through most of the songs I did hear. Too busy yesterday and the album wasn’t good anyway so win/win. I like the Byrd’s greatest hits, but that’s the extent of it apparently.
I unapologetically love this album. I loved it when it first came out and I love it now. I own it on vinyl and I can sing every song. I don’t look too deeply into why I like it so much. It’s fun to listen to, it’s catchy, and I love Liam’s voice. Admittedly, this is the only album I really know by them, but it’s the only one I need.
I’m running out of ways to say an album sucks.
Beautiful voice and an interesting break from the usual suspects on the list, but this album sounded very dated and a strange mix between the Lion King and singers like Lena Horne or Harry Belafonte. It wasn’t for me, but it was better than listening to Brazilian death metal, so there’s that.
This album is warm and smooth but didn’t wow me, nothing really jumps out or hits especially hard. It’s like the easy listening version of rap/hip hop. Common is thoughtful and steady throughout and I like the laid back vibe, but not something I’d go back to.
This was terrible. We reviewed their third album a while back - they definitely improved from this one that was released 2 years previous. I actually liked the other album over all, gave it a 3. This one though had nothing interesting or original. It all sounds the same - droning on and on with the same stupid beat behind it - for the whole album. I stopped listening when they went into all the remixes on the “bonus edition”. No one needs two hours of that mess.
Couldn’t get past the distortion and terrible singing.
This was easy listening music compared to yesterday’s album. I was actually looking forward to listening to something a little more mellow, so I decided to listen to it on my commute into the office. I figured it would calm me as I drove through the lovely streets of downtown Springfield. But what it really did was almost put me to sleep at the wheel. Jesus Christ how does anyone stay awake listening to this album? I’ve always liked Yellow, but I don’t need 40 minutes of that same thing. Giving it a 3 because I can’t justify giving it a 2 after using that rating yesterday. It’s not terrible, it’s just boring. Yawn.
The music was fine, even enjoyable on some of the songs, but I did not enjoy the singer. His vocals sounded lazy and uninterested at best, and douchey at worst.
