I really liked this one - I was not familiar with the album or the band prior to this listen. You can hear their influences in their music and you can feel who they subsequently influenced. Fun, upbeat music with a driving beat, but not as atonal as some punk can be. This is very accessible punk.
This is not my favorite style of music, but it was listenable. I actually liked the first three songs ("Spellbound"; "Into the Light"; and "Arabian Knights") quite a bit, really liked the guitar and drums. To my untrained ears, this album sounded like a mashup of The Doors/Jefferson Airplane/Rush, which shouldn't work, but somehow it does.
I really liked this one. I remember hearing of Jurassic 5, but I can't say that I have ever actually listened to them before now. This was great - really fun, great lyrics, and some really interesting social commentary. I really enjoy this genre, kind of an alternative hip-hop. It reminded me of A Tribe Called Quest, Us3, and The Roots.
This is one of my favorite albums of all time, so I am a little biased in this review. From the start, it is just something you want to live in for a little while, letting his voice and those amazing melodies wash over you. Five stars, no notes.
And yes, I am conflicted about how I feel about this music versus how I feel about the artist.
I found NIN a little after their initial popularity, but I fell in love with them when I was about 20 in 2002 or so. This album was so different from anything I had ever heard so I was instantly intrigued. Closer still stands the test of time as one of the, frankly, coolest songs ever. It is just so unique. Other songs like March of the Pigs and Hurt are also fantastic. Great album that holds up because it is not of a certain time or era.
I'm not sure I ever actually listened to this album all the way through. I know the singles, obviously, but did not know what the order was (i.e., Side A/Side B, etc.). Surprisingly, I liked the second side of the album more than the first. The first side starts out with the one-two punch of "Bad" and "The Way You Make Me Feel," arguably the most popular and still relevant singles from the album. However, I didn't really care for the other three songs that make up the first side. The second side, though, is banger after banger. I may be biased because of my love for Captain EO at EPCOT, though... Great album, probably not quite as good as Thriller, but still a solid effort. I would give it 4.75 stars, rounded up to 5 for the rating.
And yes, like I mentioned in my review of "Moondance" by Van Morrison, it is difficult to separate the art from the artist, but for purposes of this review, from an objective standpoint - this is just good music that is enjoyable to listen to, regardless of the monstrosities the artist may or may not have performed.
This was just okay for me. I much prefer his older material. I actually kind of zoned out while listening to it so maybe I didn't really give it a fair shake. It became kind of monotonous after a while, though. I did enjoy "Make You Feel My Love" and "Not Dark Yet."
The first self-indulgent half? "No sir, I don't like it."
The second half? Meh, it's fine. The last track sounds like a Beatles knockoff.
This was great, a fantastic debut and a really fun album. I think this is a gateway album into punk - it's very accessible and easy to listen to. All around enjoyable.
Great album. I was already such a fan of "Up on Cripple Creek" and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" but I really enjoyed listening to the entire album. The Band is one of my favorite bands. Just tremendous talent.
This is fine - I understand why it is so influential, but the writing is not all that great. The sounds are phenomenal but the lyrics are rather poor. They fix this issue with Black.
This was fine to have on in the background. I could not tell what language he was using, sometimes it sounded French, other times, maybe Arabic? It sounded like deep south blues mixed with African beats. Because I could not understand the lyrics, I am reviewing based on vibe/sound alone.
This was fine - it sounded just like what I think of when I think of Jimi Hendrix. Nothing really jumped out at me as something I need to listen to again, but I didn't hate any of it.
I can see how this was influential on 80s new wave, but to be honest, I just didn't like it. I didn't enjoy the sound, it felt very whiney and self-indulgent.
Five stars for the harmonies alone. I adore this album. Carry On has always been a favorite CSNY song of mine. I enjoyed this even more than I remembered.
I like this one, but it is not my favorite Led Zeppelin album. I remember my parents having this on vinyl and it being the only LZ one we had so I am very familiar with it, but I prefer II and IV.
I can see its influence, but I didn't like it.
I was not familiar with this band at all before today, but I liked this one quite a bit. It was really easy to listen to and for being in 1978, you can hear its influence that would come in the 80s.
I actually like Pavement a bit, but this just didn't do it for me. I just can't with his voice - it was so distracting to me that I couldn't appreciate the lyrics at all and just wanted to be done listening to this one.
I never thought I liked The Smiths, likely because I find Morrissey so very off-putting. I actually liked this, though, surprisingly. Maybe I should give them another chance, but then again, Morrissey can kick grass, so maybe not.
This is a classic for a reason, though it gets a bit self-indulgent on the second half. Great listen, very influential.
This was fairly mediocre, not a standout song on the album. But, it also wasn't offensive to the ears so just kind of meh. I do not see why I had to listen to this before I die...
I can appreciate it for being technically well done, but this just isn't a genre I enjoy. It just sounds so repetitive to me with the pulsing guitar and drums.
There's not much for me to say about this one - it felt like it didn't know what it wanted to be - the changes in sound/tone are somewhat jarring. That's really all it was - it seemed like a jumbled mess and was completely forgettable to me. I don't know what they were going for and I doubt they achieved it. I have no idea why this is on the list.
I liked this fine and can see how influential it was. Nothing I will probably ever choose to listen to again, but better than most I've gotten on this site.
This was pretty good, I enjoyed the arrangement on some of the covers, but not all. Very easy listening.
I really liked this one. I obviously already knew "Get it On" and that song is still awesome every time I hear it, whether it be the original or the Power Station version. I really enjoyed the rest of the tracks as well.
I really enjoyed this - I really like Blondie, but don't think I have ever listened to the whole album. There's just something about Debbie Harry's vocals that draws me right in. I know that Heart of Glass is considered the best of the album, but I prefer "One Way or Another" - just a classic. Top notch album and just so cool.
This is not my favorite type of music, but it wasn't too offensive to the ears. I think of this more as noise than music.
Certainly not my favorite by this band, but fine nonetheless. Good background music.
This is fine and I can see its influence. Rock Lobster is such a fun song, and the rest is very catchy, but can get repetitive at times. Cool album.
Definitely not for me. I'm a big fan of Talking Heads, but this ain't that. This is just noise to me, not music. I'm just not a fan of experimental "music."
