Iconic soul album, I don't know if I can appreciate how it hit back then. You can hear the man inventing a genre
The opening four song stretch is an incredible ride, but the back-half slows down considerably, kind of inconsistent outside of the obvious-but-still-beautiful Do You Realize. A fun concept and strong out the gate, but ultimately a bit lost in the end.
Early Pumpkins, you can see where they're going and what they would become, but honestly just didn't hold me for the entire run. Never been a huge Pumpkins fan to be fair.
Was OK, some interesting stuff there but generally not a big Morrisey fan
I saw that Michael Jackson wanted to create an album where every song was "killer" -- I would say mission accomplished. Also: Includes one of the greatest 3-song stretches of all time, with Thriller, Beat It and Billie Jean all in a row.
Great listen, found myself going back to it again and again in the weeks after I listened to it. Excited to dig into more Stevie from this timeperiod.
So much good stuff on this album, Santana was truly ahead of his time with his guitar tone, the musicality... There were a lot of times earlier in my life when I was like, "Santana, what's the big deal?" And then I listened to this album
Did not care for on first listen, felt really disjointed, but subsequent listens have opened up some sonic understanding. Excited to see how this one ages for me
I originally wanted to give this a 3--after a first listen, I didn't really feel attached. But it continues to get deeper after multiple listens, and now I'm hooked. "Ocean of Noise" spoke to me and now I can't go back.
I thought this was an inventive, at times beautifully lush album. Some of the lyrics leave things to be desired, but I also enjoyed a lot of the arrangements and instrumentation. A great introduction to a band I want to learn more about, but not sure how enduring it will be
I tried to go into this rock opera with an open mind--as a rock afficionado, I feel like I need to enjoy The Who more, and I'm a big fan of a well-done rock opera (Jesus Christ Superstar remains one of my favorite albums of all time). And there was a lot here that I enjoyed--but I guess I wanted most straight up rock. You've got the big hits like Pinball Wizard, but then there's a lot of really short little storytelling tracks that didn't really hook me with a forward-driving story the way JCS or Rent did, for example.
I feel like a better rock fan now that I've listened to it, but I feel like unless I'm willing to dedicate some more listens to it, it may not get stuck in my head and heart the way the others do.
I felt like I was listening to a genius, but I also did not "get" a lot of it. I don't know if I'm smart enough for Charles Mingus, but maybe it will help open the door to jazz
Incredible album--not sure if I'm a Dylan fan yet, but this opened my eyes to the possibilities. A lot of respins.
I was excited for this one because I know the hits but wanted to experience this early work in its entirety--was unfortunately a bit disappointing. The guy is an artist and does some brave experimenting here, but there are some stretches of unlistenable shit.
