3/5
Bob goes electric. Like a Rolling Stone is an evergreen classic. Inspired and influential, iconoclastic yet familiar, warm and fuzzy. I'm not a huge Dylan fan, but this was the peak of his popularity and creativity.
Neil Young is the soul and conscience of American (and Canadian) music and culture. A troubadour of rock and folk, akin to Springsteen and Dylan, but even more gritty and raw. Unflinching stories and commentary of contemporary events and emotions. A national treasure, it'll be a sad day when we lose him.
It's easy to compare this to 1989's Freedom which follows a similar format with several live or live-sounding tracks, but also features stronger, more impactful stories and arrangements. Both are epic efforts, but Freedom might be slightly better even if it does have more of a slicker, professional production.
Not sure if the whole album is worth being in the top 1001 records just for Under My Thumb, Paint it Black, and Mothers Little Helper. There are better Stones records than this one, but the Paint it Black is a classic for sure.
Fun big-band jazz from one of the greats. Very listenable.
Voice, band, and arrangements don't always hide a weak song, but they do their best. Son of a Preacher Man is a banger and a classic and most of the rest of the tracks are at least good, but there are a couple of weak ones. Mostly pretty good though.
Look, I know Thom Yorke is a miserable bastard, but he's got talent and skills and he's the closest thing we have to a protest-song maker these days.
This album is a slight return to a more rock-oriented effort after the twin electronic-based releases Kid A and Amnesiac. Even though they create vibin' grooves, they still manage to keep an original edge with lots of experimentation, using the studio as an instrument. And Jonny Greenwood has mad guitar skills.
Except for a couple songs that sound like a New Orleans jazz funeral, they mostly weave their typical claustrophobic sonic paranoia electronica-rock on this one like a spider wrapping up a late-night snack.
There really aren't any bad Radiohead records, but that doesn't mean that any of them are easy listening by any stretch of the imagination. There's a lot going on in their later work, and Thom's delivery can be kind of whine-y, but it works in the context of the music. After all, our culture is pretty shitty these days.
Standout tracks: Go To Sleep, Where I End and You Begin, 2+2=5, and Myxomatosis
Sometimes funky, sometimes folky, sometimes something else altogether, this is an eclectic collection that's pretty accessible. These guys have got legit chops and talent and are clearly influenced by more than just punk. The first two sides have some of the punk aesthetic (particularly the lyrics), but not as much of the chaotic, loose quality of stereotypical punk - almost all are impeccably performed and recorded. Many songs are often clearly homages to other styles, and in turn, I can hear bits of styles that were also used by bands like Sonic Youth, Fugazi, and Steve Albini's bands. The other half of the album is more frenetic and punky.
Short songs never overstay their welcome, but some have grooves that could have benefit from more time. That said, because there are a lot of songs, you probably need a few listens to fully appreciate all of it. On the other hand, it's probably perfect for just zoning out to, too.
Your typical thrash metal jams paired with lyrics that are either criticizing of society's ills or proposing weird conspiracies. Not as compelling nor slickly-produced as the next release, Countdown to Extinction. You pretty much know what you're getting with Megadeth - crunchy rhythms, shredding solos and sneering vocals. Sometimes you feel like head-banging and Megadeth is a reliable go-to for that.
The followup to their breakout blockbuster success White Blood Cells, this one opens with the steamrolling instaclassic Seven Nation Army. Jack White is a dude who knows what he wants and has the wherewithal to make it happen. Everything is carefully engineered to have that iconic style, feel, and sound - garage rock and blues with rockabilly retro sensibilities presented with theatrical flair. Not much sounds like White Stripes and very few are even close to this good. I particularly liked the excellent blues excursion, Ball and Biscuit - wicked blues guitar.
The first two songs have kind of a revival flavor to them. Which makes sense given that their recording space used to be a church. Rousing and kind of inspirational, Neon Bible gets the blood pumping. You could definitely imagine a congregation swaying and clapping along in ecstatic religious fervor. Their live shows carry on that conceit - the band is a pretty animated tour-de-force on the stage and frontman Win Butler is a tall and imposing yet genial preacher analogue. I'm not a huge fan, but I can see why they got the cred. This record is definitely listenable, but just a bit too extra for my taste.
Slightly off-kilter jangle-rock. Debut full-length from the band that's basically the godfather of college indie rock. Quality stuff, but I actually like their following release Reckoning better - the songs that stand out on that one really stand out more, I think.
You can hear Byrds and maybe some Talking Heads and Elvis Costello influences here in places. Good grooves and pleasant but unconventional song structures. The interesting thing is that except for a few albums later in their career, their sound never strays too far from this formula. Not to say they didn't grow and experiment, but they seemed to always return to their roots and strengths.
In all, a solid set of songs. Favorites: Radio Free Europe, Sitting Still
I didn't know anything about the Waterboys prior to listening to this - the only thing I knew about them was that Karl Wallinger of World Party was a member at some point. I read some of the reviews and the Wikipedia article before I had a chance to listen and I'm not normally a huge fan of Irish traditional music or pub music so I was a little leery, especially since the Amazon playlist is long and includes some extra tracks for a remastered edition. Thankfully this was a mix of styles and not just strictly folk-style music with fiddles and pipes and such. The first track Fisherman's Blues is a typical Irish pub raveup, but the next few tracks are more typical rock. After the Van Morrison cover Sweet Thing, it's back to traditional-sounding songs. I feel like this might be one of those records that was new and remarkable at the time, but since more bands have been influenced by it since then, it sounds a little boring and tame. It's not bad and I enjoyed it, but I don't know that I would add it into my library.
The only problem with hearing records you're not familiar with 10, 20, or 30 years after they were smash hits is that they are either ground-breaking masterpieces that everyone and their brother ripped off in the following couple of years or they are one of the many other records that ripped off some other ground-breaking act. Either way it can be easy to dismiss it as trite, over-played and over-rated. I expect Gen Z and Gen Alpha feel that way about Nirvana and grunge. Or Metallica and metal. Or Tears for Fears and 80's new wave.
I feel like this is overproduced club-lite stuff that influenced and is influenced by every other thing heard in pop music these days. I can see the Kate Bush comparisons sometimes. Arrangements have that epic, synth-full, multi-tracked, reverb-drenched wall of sound paired with melodramatic lyrics full of ennui and teen angst. At least it doesn't have that crappy cranked autotune. She seems to have a good voice. This record doesn't do much for me, but being an old GenX guy, I am very much not the target audience.
Bait and switch with the disco bass at the beginning of this record is wacky.
The rest is fun salsa from actor/musician/activist Rubén Blades and arranger/musician/band leader Willie Colón and their band. In case you didn't read the wiki article, this is the best-selling salsa record ever. I haven't ever deliberately listened to any other salsa records because I'm slightly allergic to congas and bongos, but this one is pretty OK. I would recommend this album if it was the only salsa record you hear before you die.
Sounds like a 90's alt-rock band. Some Nirvana, Pixies, maybe a little Green Day and proto-emo sound thrown in. Fine musicianship. Nothing particularly earth-shattering, but a decent listen.
"...A load of trashy old noise..." But what a wild load it is. Iggy took what Jim Morrison did and turned it up to 11. The music is heavy, lo-fi, and raw. I was familiar with the typical Stooges songs that everyone knows, "No Fun", "I Wanna Be Your Dog", and "Search and Destroy" - the rest of this album shows off the same kind of jams.
I haven't had a chance to listen to the earlier two stooges records yet, but this one is definitely an experience worth the 1001 records you must hear.
This was from still early in the band's career and even though it's pretty good, it's not their best. Fogerty is a peerless songwriter - there's so much soul in his work, even if they're not always top-ten tracks. Sure his vocal delivery can be a little affected and cringe sometimes, but the songs are clearly timeless. Proud Mary and Born on the Bayou are classics and banger grooves, but the Good Golly Miss Molly is a great interpretation too. The only track that feels like it phones it in is Graveyard Train. Proud Mary could have used another guitar solo instead. The guitar work on this one is stellar. The solos and fill licks are so sweet.
My initial reaction to this album is that it reminds me of contemporaries The Helio Sequence - it has overdriven distorted synth sounds and electronic grooves. It has a psychedelic, paisley underground undercurrent running through it. The vocals are lovely.
I'm not super familiar with the rest of their work but I'm aware that they are ostensibly an electronic/dance group. This record is much more straightforward pop though. There are some high points - A&E, Little Bird, Caravan Girl, and Happiness are all good - but the rest is not as remarkable. Pleasant and dreamy, 3.5
It's Queen doing prog. Curious selection from their catalog to represent them in this list, given that it doesn't have any of their well-known hits. I do like Queen and I'm a fan, but because of their ubiquity on the radio I never had any of their records, so I had never heard this one straight through. The typical Queen musicianship and studio wizardry are in evidence and provide for a lively and fun listen and the fantasy-flavored lyrics are just bonkers. The March of the Black Queen reminded me a little of Elton John's Love Lies Bleeding in some spots. Epic, stately, straight-up full-force rock magnificence. I really enjoyed this one - it's got all you could ask for from a great rock record and Queen in general. Surprising that their sound was fully realized on only their second album.
Obviously big fan of Beatles, but also Wings and him solo and with Linda. The post-Beatles stuff is plentiful and pleasant and this is no exception. Jet and Band on the Run are both classic and dated in that a lot of McCartney's stuff in the early 70's is of similar quality - that is, kind of fluffy and loose, frivolous even, but also inspired at the same time. Saw one of the top reviews that addressed the critical disdain Paul's solo work had (has) over Lennon's. Lennon definitely was up his own ass most of the time, but McCartney was always more fun and accessible while also being adventurous and experimental. This record is a good example of that.
Mild nu-metal with some hip-hop scratching, some dub/reggae bass/beats and normal non-shouty vocals. A little more palatable than most nu-metal, but still mostly forgettable. The track "Drive", one of the singles released from this record, was fairly popular on the radio and is marginally memorable, "Pardon Me" has some System of a Down and Faith No More homage, and "Battlestar Scralatchtica" is a novelty funk-lounge ditty with turntables, but nothing else particularly stands out.
First time listening to this band. One of the top reviews here mentions Dean Wareham and that's the first thing I thought of when playing the first track. The next thing was Lawrence Welk, which is clearly intentional, tongue-in-cheek-like. The next track has a deliberate groove, but it still inspires comparisons of elevator music or 70's AM Gold. The rest is more of that hazy 70's style with ironic vocals and lyrics. Musically, they're solid. I dig it for sure, but I wonder if this hipster niche is appealing to most, which likely explains why they are on this list. Browsing the wiki articles for their other albums it looks like they migrate to other styles later in their catalog. I am admittedly curious to check out more.
Overall a very chill vibe here, and mellow is a mood you wanna hit from time to time, so I'm down with it. And there are many crappier bands to sound like than Luna. File under "mildly-quirky retro indie-chamber-pop".
I've never heard a Leonard Cohen record front-to-back, but I have heard Everybody Knows from movies. Turns out there are a couple other songs from this one that are popular - First We Take Manhattan, Ain't No Cure for Love. Cohen growls and whispers his wry lyrics with his typical dry humor and bass/baritone voice, but the production and instrumentation on this are very 80's - lots of synthesizer, which makes it sound dated and more than a little hokey. I'm not sure if the cheesiness is intentional, it could be part of Cohen's sarcastic persona coming through or him being self-deprecating in a subtle way.
Beat poets and Sinatra influence his work, and in turn you can see where Nick Cave gets his inspiration. Despite the dated production, the melody and construction of the songs comes through well - it would be interesting to hear them re-recorded without synths to see what other interpretations could improve on. I hope the other Cohen records on this list are better representations of his reputation, though.
Deliberate and confidently performed, a professional and engaging set of songs that make for a good listen.
The first half is more rock/punk, while the second half is a bit more poppy. I have not heard much by Nick Cave, but I'm very familiar with the Red Right Hand song (which is not on this album) from movies and TV shows, so I was not expecting a more straightforward rock sound but more of a moody movie soundtrack. While the songs are still cinematic and story-rich, the grooves are real. Impeccably arranged songs with great lyrics.
A collection of funk/dance jams. There are some great Bootsy basslines and funky Bernie Worrell synth grooves. If you dig 70's funk music that sounds like a party goin on, P-funk is your jam. Good stuff, but nothing earth-shattering or ground-breaking. 2.5/5
Good blues. A fun live performance, King and his band show their stuff and he works the crowd.
Now I know where Jimmy Page stole all his licks from.
Rock Steady reggae. Several good tracks from Bob and the band. The only complaint I have is that the version of Stir It Up on this one is not as good as the original, it has a wacky psychedelic wah-pedal guitar that contributes to the chill vibe, but sounds out of place. The bonus track High Tide Or Low Tide is a pretty lullaby.
The original release of the record had additional overdubs by the producer Chris Blackwell - according to Wikipedia, they were applied to make the record more palatable for rock audiences in the US. A deluxe addition has one disc with the basic non-overdubbed versions and the original release with Blackwell's overdubs. The non-overdubbed version of Stir It Up and the other tracks are better than the original overdubbed version IMO.
Joni Mitchell was a manic pixie dream girl.
This record is venerated as one of the best in pop music. The vocals are very impressive - her voice is nimble and beautiful. The lyrics and music are very earnest and challenging. It's true that she has written some truly great songs, but to me this is a little too challenging - there aren't any simple hooks or melodies to cling to, so all that's left is the vibe which is mostly somber and reflective. That's not a bad thing, but I don't think it quite reaches universal appeal even if it does tap into the shared human experience.
That, and "River" leans on the Jingle Bells melody too much.
A dynamic record from a band that emerged during the early-/mid-2000s garage rock revival with Jet and The Strokes and share a similar sound and aesthetic. Catchy riffs and misleading arrangements such as that on Take Me Out add up to an interesting listen. Tracks often have a disco beat, some have retro echo vocals, mostly it's bouncy, dancey rock guitars and a frantic-sounding jam. They seem to have a fascination with Germany for some reason - Darts of Pleasure feature German-language lyrics and the video for Michael shows people dressed up like the old SNL Sprockets sketches: "und now ve dance!"
Prolific musical weirdo Eno kicks off his imaginative experimental solo career with an album of proggy, sometimes psychedelic but also poppy 70s frolics. This guy has worked with so many prominent artists of the last 50 years (including U2 and David Bowie), and influenced tons more - in this early outing he's concocting and collaborating with Robert Fripp (a frequent collaborator and an avant-garde artist himself) and a small army of other musicians recognizable from the prog rock environs of the time.
The music is both compelling and fun. It subverts expectations of pop music by using typical pop structure and introducing a few unconventional elements like detuned piano, bizarre vocals, oddly miked and mixed instruments, and weird studio effects. By harnessing a familiar base and layering the weird and unexpected on top, it keeps the entertaining and makes it a vehicle for the fascinating. It's delightfully wacky, like if Mary Poppins, Pink Floyd, Alice in Wonderland, and the 1971 Willy Wonka movie had a baby.
One other thought: this reminds me of Ween in a big way - Deaner and Gener must have listened to this record a lot. A lot of their stuff sounds very similar.
I'm only 30 records in and I'm a little surprised that I'm giving my first 5-star rating to a record full of music I've never heard before, but I'm also a little excited.
Their first album is better, but the singles and the remixes of the singles from the first album are even better than that. Experience would be a better substitution for this record on this list even if it's less varied in tone - this seems like they were trying to show that they were more than just a rave/dance outfit. The tracks on this one seem like they are watered down compared to both Experience and the next record, Fat of the Land. More of an industrial influence, particularly on the track "Their Law" which features PWEI. The tempo finally picks up by the 4th track, Full Throttle, but until Voodoo People there aren't any good riffs. Poison busts out a downtempo big beat groove and is a standout track. 3 Kilos is another downtempo track this time with a mystical, funky vibe.
Overall, not a bad record, it's just not quite as good as their other early ones.
There are depths in the lyrical content of this record, but without context, history, or research, you're not going to get all of the details. It seems like a kind of gestalt performance art and I can appreciate that. It's an album that needs more than a few listens to see the big picture. On the surface level most of the music is decent, but there are some strange things going on throughout that beg more attention. Weird and dramatic in a theatrical way.
I love Oedipus Schmoedipus (which is also on this list) and As Above So Below which are later releases by Barry Adamson. Those records are mostly conventional songs with one or two cinematic tracks mixed in. This one is kind of the opposite. Under Wraps is an actual song with a funky groove but about half of the other tracks are closer to ambient atmospheric creations. Not all of this lands well, but when it does, it's decent. It's a record to have on in the background while hosting a murder mystery book club or an escape room.
Most of his solo stuff is basically song versions of a film noir or James Bond movie - dark, foreboding, sinister - but often with some subtle humor. Vibraphone, upright bass, drums played with brushes, strings and horn arrangements figure into a lot of his songs, contributing to the retro movie feel.
Full of songs with different styles. Closest comparison I can think of is Jesus and Mary Chain. Brit pop, chamber/psychedelic pop, folk, dub, noise rock, all are in there somewhere. Guitars do strange things, horns pop in every once in a while. There are some good ideas, but it really is all over the place, and even if it starts out with a nice groove, there is no guarantee it'll end that way and vice versa. It's like they had to prove they were not like every other band just by sabotaging the good stuff with random noise in every song instead of keeping the noisy stuff all in a few songs and saving the good stuff for other songs. For example Thinking of Ways starts out a very pretty quiet pop song, and then it devolves into an explosion of horn dissonance. Would probably be a 4 or 5 star record, but I have to take off 2 stars for the deliberately off-putting abrasive chunks.
Impeccable beats, production, and rhymes. Fun grooves on the backing tracks, some jazzy, some funky, but all good enough to nod your head with. Decent samples. Smart rhymes with tight delivery. If you like Tribe Called Quest, this is similar.
The single This Is Music is a wall of sound: blues rock progressions drenched in reverb and overdubbed backing vocals. Another single, On Your Own is a simpler production, more of a pop ballad without distortion. This record is a little reminiscent of the Stone Roses, only with a more lush production. Guitar riffs and sounds are alternately soothing and melodic or biting and dynamic. Ashcroft's vocals are somehow both languid and piercing at the same time. On the slower songs, the bass and drums shine, warm and immersive. Some tracks regress into a hypnotic drone, particularly in the second half of the album, vehicles for noisy, spacey, psychedelic rock jams. This jam feel would carry over to their next release, the blockbuster Urban Hymns.
On the whole, it's a trippy, mysterious-sounding jammy rock record that maybe overstays it's welcome - it's over an hour long, and unless you're zoning out, there are only a few songs that stray from the pace and sound. The aural equivalent of a stoned-out afternoon on the porch watching the clouds go by, wondering how you ended up where you are and how long you're going to be where you're at.
A live performance of a Belgian singer singing in French backed by an orchestral ensemble.
It was OK. Like watching a very old foreign film with a scene in a restaurant or club with a band.
Awwww yeeeah
Influential gangsta rap record. This is front-loaded with 3 classic memorable tracks - Gangsta Gangsta, Straight Outta Compton, and Fuck Tha Police. These tracks and Express Yourself showcase the production and raps that dominated hip hop in the late 80s and early 90s. The rest of the album is mostly filler and not as good.
Was it a trailblazer or a calculated cash-in created by savvy posers? Probably some of both. Ice Cube makes movies and TV now, just like Snoop and Ice-T. Would Eazy-E be doing the same if he was alive today? Would rap be as big as it is without NWA and Public Enemy?
