Guitar really pushes melodies on this record. Lyrics are full of places and personal connections, giving a sense of environment. Production is super clean and clear. Not my cup of tea, but not a bad record by any definition.
Sinister, and yet fun. I’m convinced The Chauffer was the inspiration to a good amount of the White Lotus score.
Come for the high octane, stay for the weird stufff
There’s a tension and disconnection that seems to permeate the guitars. A lot of the songs are folksy, but then you hear the electric guitar come in almost impatiently and overly assert its presence. It works, oddly enough.
It’s an aging man’s dream fully realized, and you can dance to it…
As frigid as it is burning up, as subtle as it is quiet. Guitars in this are played by angry robots. I’m convinced they are not human, and yet more human than all of us.
Simple, direct, conveying hardship in the prettiest warbly voice imaginable.
Soft, bold, sometimes abruptly ending songs…fully realized character arc. Strong record overall.
Solid guitar playing is a highlight, vocals carry the melodies and really drive the songs. Some great hooks. However, the whole record pretty much sticks in the same tempo gear and blends the whole record into itself, which takes away something from my enjoyment.
Minor keys abound. The dramatic lead vocals and the even more dramatic lead guitar feel like they’re in Fleetwood Mac together and just had regrettable sex. The first half is more urgent than the back half and it meanders at points, channeling a bit of Wilco, a dash of Jeff Buckley and a shake of Afghan Whigs.
At points this feels like 60s Top 40 radio on acid, at others it feels like appropriation, but it was at a time where the intent of the appropriation was clearly from a place of respect. A lot of contemporary artists make more sense when listening to this record. Not if my generation, but I get it; maybe not all the way, but I can appreciate this record’s cultural significance. Boomer dad’s fave basement jams.
A full sounding record in every sense.
Beauty of a baritone, singing sad songs in kind of a hi-fi folk. Not my jam but I totally understand.
I knew very little about this band when I listened to the record, but found out they were all ex-GIs who put this together in Germany. I'm not much of a "garage rock" person, but I can see a lot of influence this band has had over then next many decades. Being a band made up of military folks making this kind of music in the 60s must have been a wild thing to contend with, considering most of the anti-war sentiment permeating the culture.
The whole record feels very much "let see what happens" and that contributes to a lack of a narrative thread. Vocals are feral and impressive, the musicians sound like they're having fun (especially the guitars and organs); it would have been special to see this band live.
Some self-indulgent music can be forgiven. This is not among that music; I just can’t get into this stuff.
The musicians are fine, the vocals are alright, but it’s 90% sizzle and swagger. It feels like I’m being sold something that should be likeable.
There are a few good tracks (The Man Who Would Be King & The Saga jump to mind) but otherwise, this is a miss for me.
Strong concept, very ambitious genre-wise to mix soul, reggae, electronic synths and a mellow almost whispered rapping (alongside delightful singing feature players). This is a seed of trip hop, but much like a lot of other long-standing bands, I tend to like when they’ve mutated a bit for it to resonate with me. Think the Beatles, Wilco, or Radiohead; like those bands, Massive Attack benefitted from going deeper over time and mutating the forms they were playing with to find what they needed.
They got better and more focused without Tricky; in fact, Tricky also benefitted from taking up more space on his own.
Sure it’s nicely produced, and the vocals are tremendous but this album wasn’t it for me.
It's interesting to hear this as I get older, and to realize all of the bands they are paying tribute to in their songs. As a kid I wouldn't have picked up elements of the Rolling Stones,. Aerosmith, Cheap Trick, AC/DC etc. in there without a musicologist feeding them to me in an earpiece. Welcome to the Jungle, Paradise City and Sweet Child o' Mine are timeless hits for a reason and each one showcases all of the band's many tricks on display, including earworm riffs and melodies, expert level singing & guitar playing, a huge pile of ridiculous swagger mixed with just the right dash of emotional schmaltz.
The positive vibes are lovely and the vocals are a standout. The songs tend to linger a bit long sometimes, but the medium of dance and pop music lends to just keeping the moments going for as long as they can. This record is well known almost exclusively for Groove is in the Heart, which is an iconic track that you will hear accidentally in your life at least a few hundred times. I don't think I've been to a wedding where a DJ didn't spin that track, and it always does the trick.
This feels like the record to launch 10 million tracksuits
Can’t deny the staying power of the hits on this one, but it also gets repetitive to the point of parody. Every song has the potential for being a radio hit but in a cynical “throw a dart” way. The touches of R&B balladry were a welcome showcase of her vocal ability.
Can’t deny the staying power of the hits on this one, but it also gets repetitive to the point of parody. Every song has the potential for being a radio hit but in a cynical “throw a dart” way. The touches of R&B balladry were a welcome showcase of her vocal ability.
Can’t deny the staying power of the hits on this one, but it also gets repetitive to the point of parody. Every song has the potential for being a radio hit but in a cynical “throw a dart” way. The touches of R&B balladry were a welcome showcase of her vocal ability.
I like this more than the Sex Pistols
I already rated this before.
Bruv-core
Iconic voice, messing with pacing enough to make us uncomfortable. I enjoy how it seems to thumb its nose at the rock band trope. It sounds like (at the time) it should be like a Mick Jagger at the front…
Ultimately the high watermark of Moby’s career is extremely okay. Catchy, influential on about 20 years of appropriation based ad music, but just…fine.
Wall to wall bangers, gifted MCs and great beats
The harmonies, are like one person with three heads and perfect pitch.
A delightful mess.
A very not-for-me sound, and it feels like a concept record that never gets out of the starting blocks, but not without a certain mastery and polish.
Very much a “vibes” record. The more honed in they got, the less rough sounding and more commercially viable in every way. Just a bit too easy to ignore but always pleasant to hear.
Every song is a prayer, whether it be for love, freedom, sex…and the whole record was given a post prod treatment in the UK with additional instrument tracks.
The best Rolling Stones record not made by The Rolling Stones.
One of the original pop masterpieces that was copied over and over. I’m docking a point for that last track and its misogyny, sorry not sorry
Great instrumentation. I felt like Rob Reiner was going for this jazz vibe in When Harry Met Sally.
Fun pop record about the daily slog of the working class. There are a few standout tracks to me and the track arrangements have some cool flourishes, but largely this sounds pretty uniform throughout.
It really paints a picture, but it also makes me wonder why cowboys liked such dandy sounding music.
Massive appropriation, ridiculous song titles, but this just locks in.
Sunday vibes record. Expert musicians, and that’s about it.
Scrappy, and and interesting mix of sloppy and locked in…”Unsatisfied” is a banger
Pretty sad and angry sounding minor chord jams. Fun with a tear in your eye.
An iconic record. A really interesting stop between the 80s and 90s. Noise meets pop, meets punk, meets are rock…and they all have sex.
Tremendous use of house as instrument, Fiona always brings her whole self to her records.
I liked this album a lot back in the day, and it really holds up for me. Damon Albarn might put his soul into Blur, but his whole body goes into Gorillaz here.
Millennium Funkadelic
Truly this is gospel for the godless, and I’m here for it. A lot of people have aped her sound (with mixed results) over the years.
Her songs have been karaoke fodder for maudlin drunks for decades.
I can hear the shine of talent breaking through the rasp of self harm, and it makes me equally happy and sad.
Crunchy, fuzzy and yet with interesting melodies, this was destined to be underrated and yet, undeniably magnetic to anyone who dared to listen.
Not really for me stylistically, and it sits in the middle of a road of overly happy Tears For Fears using Talk Talk’s gear. Dancy, catchy and fun, but that’s about all for me.
Probably the most pleasant of their discography
The best way I can describe it is that you feel like you’re with him, but also you can’t touch him.
Honestly it’s a fairly complete document of American pop music from that era, with undeniable hits. It succeeds at aping and manipulating multiple decades worth of genres.
For years this record was a touchstone when I needed to head low rumbly guitars.
There are these atonal choices that I enjoy in all of the songs. I do remember being into a lot of jazz as a younger lad, but my tastes shifted more away from it as I got older. Still a great time.
Beautiful combo of vocals and storytelling. I can hear other modern artists that have stolen this template for their records, Kendrick TPAB came to mind at times…
Never been a huge fan of Queen, but always admired the big dramatic swings and the technical prowess.
Very adult contemporary, very inoffensive. Some of the arrangements are interesting but this just never gets out of 2nd gear.
Dramatic, weary and a fave of my wife’s
Someone’s uncle balloted for this to be included.
The quality of the best songs buoys this way up, but even the weaker tracks are “write what you know”, and fall nicely into place. The band has chops too.
Wild, adventurous and theatrical one moment, and 4/4 metered pop in another moment…uneven, proggy, but this band has chops.
High School me wasn’t and wouldn’t have been ready for this record. Guitars so over-processed that they barely sound like themselves; production that was over-engineered, and over budget to the point of bankrupting the label. The legend of this record has grown, and my appreciation has grown even more. It’s a hazy dream played so loudly that you can’t sleep.
This is an all star game in LP format. Some tracks are undeniably fire and others disappear from memory once they’re done. All are of the same quality, it’s just that some hooks rise above the ether and cross genres, while others are good for the moment.
I enjoy the sadness and plodding tone, especially for something that at its core is power pop.
Legendary tracks separated by some drunken blues filler…I think these guys might do drugs…
Pretty much perfect
Even before the drugs kicked in, you couldn’t deny the chops this band had, with harmonies, chord voices, and a sense of pop brevity that leaves you hungry for more.
What a phenomenal record. Vocals are smooth and dynamic, with a lovely tremor. Musicianship is unreal across the board, and this record really has a sense of place and time. Came out during a time of transition and strife, and you can feel the tug of war between hope and despair.
Protest chamber pop, angelic vocals, stories of poverty and war, with love and tenderness thrown in for flavour. You can really hear where his son got it from…and their parallels were both beautiful and crushing.
Riffs aplenty, I have a friend that loves these guys and sings like Tim Wheeler.
Although the jams are sometimes righteous, I can feel the separation in the songwriting here. Still great!
One long track in like 12 parts, a monument to the CD era.
This was the era of the band that I really took notice. More variety, melancholy, anger, regret, and above all, comfort in their skin.
A relentless series of powerful messages, wrapped in clear anger, propulsive beats, and samples that match the severity of the message.
Iconic from my childhood, this is their magnum opus, and everything after this tried and failed to reach these heights.
A fairly perfect representation of sadness, inner turmoil, beauty, and…grace.
Almost a perfect record, very few skips, this is them at the height of their powers before they kinda went all U2.
Luscious, chill vibes brah…sorry…mon frère
This was one of the doorsteps for me into my love of hip hop. It’s urgent, hits hard, it’s inclusive, and still feels like you need the secret password. It’s deceptively simple, and provides subject matter insight much like a great hour of standup comedy.
Comforting songs at uncomfortably loud volume. Self indulgently long songs that could be 3 minute bangers.
Leaning into “they all sound the same” without apology. Beautiful harmonies in the choruses.
A lot weirder and mellower in parts than I was expecting; including a brooding 10 minute druggy drone in the first half was a hell of a choice. It feels like the weight of the 60s ending was a struggle for the Stooges, but the hallmarks of horny rock and roll end up prevailing in the end.
What it lacks in dynamics, it makes up for in sheer volume, urgency and power.
Charming and delightful covers of old standards, with Willie’s warble. This would be pure rainy Sunday listening bliss.
Front loaded with the singles and then it’s just kind of there.
Pure comfort listening, short blues songs, Fats’ voice is like buttah.
Good and weird, sloppy, and still uniform, fuzzy and still clear. Accessible and still tough to grasp.
I think they might have had some drugs.
singles that stand the test of time, but overall not my jam.
Very much a cowboy, struggling in a changing world. That yodel…
Probably in the top of my favourite vocalists ever, Otis takes these cover songs and absolutely smashes them. Many versions compare or surpass the originals in my ears.
A very luscious sound, full of big changes, drama, and a lot of joy for the craft. I had fun, but I felt like I was torn about whether or not these dudes were serious.
Fun, and interestingly jarring guitar licks.
Some pretty emotional, high level Adult Contemporary music here, with whole body vocals and melodrama maxed out. Didn’t always land for me, but the ones that did, landed hard.
Broadly fine, I think it’s the spartan tone that I’m not digging as much, but it makes up for it with intensity.
I was shocked at how good this record is on first full listen. A lot of strong guitar work, especially with regard to chord progressions and hooks, not to mention melodies and solos. The vocals are another huge standout, especially with range and intensity; having prior knowledge of their follow up, Hysteria, this listen surprised me with its sharper edges.
It’s a fairly perfect record with multiple bulletproof singles. Slight docking of points for the inevitable context created with modern ears and a problematic legacy
This feels like rapid fire visits to all of your friends on the same day. A very dense 38 minutes. But an enjoyable ride nonetheless.
Ok, so the musicianship is stellar, and the band are untouchable technicians. Some of the tracks are legendary, but this record is too damn long, and self indulgent. The tracks are sometimes just an excuse to jam and show off, and sometimes, yeah, that’s the point. But my lord, just pick enough bangers for 45 minutes, and I’ll give you an A+.
A listen that is both comforting and provocative, with an angelic voice and God Tier bass lines.
A very 70s sounding arrangement with folk sadness meeting groovy backup. Some of the tracks are iconic and some are drippy instrumentals.
What a delightfully messy and tangled web of genres, broadly planting a Brit pop flag right in the point of intersection. Uneven at times, but full of brilliance at other times, it was the furthest from boring.
It sounds fine, but not much was resonating with me. Dad Rock wasn’t having its moment yet…
Equal parts bravado, humility, tenderness and, let’s call it a narrow world view with plenty of experience. The last track feels like it was a lot people’s wedding song, if you were from Texas in the 70s.
As weird as it is accessible…
So much of a caricature of what Rock and Roll is, that it’s undeniable, but I have to knock a few points off for modern ears.
