1001 Albums Summary

Great recommendation. I really like this record. Beautiful and imaginative and original.

Not my favorite Lou Reed record, but it’s still a Lou Reed record! And for my money, he's still one of the best writers ever to turn his attention to rock and roll. I like Transformer, but the songs are a little underfed for me and I miss his distinctive, occasionally corrosive guitar tone. Too much Bowie/Ronson for me. I prefer underdog albums like Coney Island Baby and New York, but I won't turn the volume down if you put this one on.

Right on the heels of Lou Reed! I literally just bought this for the first time on vinyl. I know people have complained about John Simon's production over the years, but I don't think it gets in the way of the songs - some of which I first discovered in the snowy landscape of Robert Altman's film McCabe and Mrs. Miller. I can never hear "Winter Lady" and "The Stranger Song" without feeling that melancholy chill. But I must admit that I did not learn to fully love this record until I was older and realized that Cohen actually had a sense of humor that was akin to Reed's and musical sensibility that was akin to John Cale's.

You guys are totally singing my song (s). I bought this when I was ten and just beginning to suspect that Buffalo Springfield was just a little too LA Cowboy for my tastes. As soon as I heard the guitar tone for "Cinnamon Girl," I was along for the full ride. Especially since it has one of the great one-note solos of all-time - right up there with "I Can See For Miles." "Losing End" and the title track are very good and pretty close to Springfield. So it's "Down By The River" and "Cowgirl in the Sand" that really make this proto-grunge classic.

I like these guys and it's probably the best album I've heard by them. I vastly prefer the side one songs that sound less like normal U2 over the side two ones, which are much more what you expect. The production and songwriting are welcome departures, and the song "One" is as good as they're ever going to be. But I still have this thing about U2 where I don't go back and listen to their records that often. They give you everything the first time, and there's not that much mystery to uncover afterwards.

I just recently listened to Paranoid all the way through for the first time and thought it was great. This one isn’t quite as focused. But still quite good. Much jazzier and jammier than expected. Maybe a little much in places but impressive.

Weird, perverse, and singular. Really I can’t think of many records that sound like it. Their first record didn’t indicate this was where they would go at all, and I’m not aware that they ever did anything comparable. I remember listening to this on an 8 track driving the back roads of a wrecked factory town in 1980 they would soon become the site of a major casino. No wonder it made perfect sense.

I missed these guys the first time. Still not quite getting what’s special about them. Maybe it’s me.

Not my favorite Stooges album. Fun House is where it's all happening for me. That's where Iggy and the boys really hit their psycho-primitive stride. James Williamson's guitar-playing is probably better than Ron Ashton's, technically, but overall sound is more generically "rock" than on the two previous albums. Also, the lyrics don't have the debauched deadpan irony of the later ones Iggy wrote with Bowie. Still...it's the Stooges! It's like a hamburger; you have to really work to screw it up.

Pop music isn't religion. But this is canonical. In Judaism, there is a Passover song called "Dayenu," meaning it would been enough if God just parted the waters to save the Hebrews from the Pharaoh. If Aretha had only recorded "Chain of Fools," dayenu, it would have been enough. "If she had only cut "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, dayenu...

Now I'm worried I'm getting too much in my comfort zone. Two albums composed by Lou Reed in the first ten selections. Not necessarily the best Velvets album, but they only made four and they're all great - and groundbreaking. This allegedly had some of those "pretty" songs that caused dissension with John Cale - but Cale himself wrote a bunch of pretty songs that sound a lot like these on Vintage Violence and Paris 1919, not so long after. Anyway, this is a wonderful record with very restrained performances of some of Lou's best songs, including "Pale Blue Eyes" and "Candy Says." I must admit I did not realize until recently that Leonard Cohen's first record must have made a huge impression, because you can hear his influence in "Jesus" and "Story of My Life." And of course, Mo gently singing "Afterhours" immediately after the fractious experimentation of Murder Mystery seals the deal.

Now we’re traveling into unknown territory (for me). Obviously, a very layered, serious work by an accomplished artist. Lots of new and old sounds, Asian and English, acoustic and electronic, blended into a heady international mix. I see this album is listed as a 1999 release but it could be from last year. All that keeps this from being a five-star for me is a certain New Agey-ness that seeps in occasionally and the fact that my ears are too damn old. But my rating may actually go up at some later date.

Looking forward to this. For some reason, I only know their late album Oceans Apart, but I think it's one of my favorite albums of the last 25 years. Full of hard earned wisdom and rueful humor, and a perfect balance of the two songwriters’ bittersweet and darkly ironic sensibilities… Well, now I listened it’s good. Quite good in places. But not quite up the high water mark of that last record. Except for “Streets of Your Town” which really sparkles.

I wasn’t familiar with this before, but it was pure musical pleasure.

A singular seminal work; a time capsule of certain artistic era in New York City; the artistic peak of "punk” (which actually meant something different then); a once-in-a-lifetime rock and roll achievement. I saw Television open for Peter Gabriel in New York, right after this album came out. The Genesis lovers in their Hobbit beards and peasant blouses booed like hell as soon as the band was introduced. The prog rock fans had heard about this "punk" stuff and wanted nothing to do with it. Television played the first side of this record as their set. The fans booed through "See No Evil," the opening number, because it sounded a little edgy and raw. Then they quieted down a little when Verlaine played the delicate solo on "Venus," because they sounded like something Genesis might tolerate. Then they were booing again for "Friction," which sounded kind of rocking. But then the band started weaving their way through the mysterious asymmetries of Marquee Moon and a hush fell over the section where I was sitting. The guitar journey began and you could feel some people were letting go and coming along. By the crescendo, the people around me were on their feet, stomping and cheering. But Verlaine and the others were already gone from the stage.

I generally don't like this kind of music or attitude, but these guys were really good. Especially on their first few albums, before the dreaded Hagarness set in and drained the humor and light away. They had a nice combination of heaviness, melody, musical dexterity and occasional vaudeville goofiness. This one has some of their biggest hits. "Panama" is great, "Jump" is fun, "I'll Wait" okay, and "Hot for Teacher" is kind of dumb. I prefer Diver Down.

Charming, off-kilter, just the right amount of wackiness. "Race for the Prize" still makes me smile after all these years. "Waiting for Superman" moves me every time I hear it. Overall, a really memorable record, though at times, even if a little too twee and brittle to make it one of my all-time favorite albums.

One of my all-time favorite singers backed by my all-time favorite drummer (Al Jackson, Jr., also Otis Redding's drummer). I was prepared to dock this one a star because I didn't know every track before I listened - though the title track was the first song we had the band play at our wedding. Anyway, the rest of it's great. Including his cover of "How Do You Mend A Broken Heart?" That band found its groove and stuck to it beautifully. And he pushes his voice in a subtle ways that I hadn't noticed before. I also love his album "Call Me." Wonder if that's on the list as well.

I like apple pie. But I don't want to eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I like some of Phil Spector's productions too. But there can be too much of too muchness. Especially with Christmas songs, which I can only take so much of as well. If this was just the single "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" backed by "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," it would be perfect. But I've begun to think the 45 rpm was Spector's ultimate medium: the full-on ecstatic adrenaline rush in three minutes and then you're done. A little bit of that guy goes a long way.

Trent Reznor is a genius at creating menacing soundscapes. Even though this album was released in 1994, it sounds like music for a new frightening century. It's no wonder he's become the go-to guy for a certain kind of movie soundtrack. The problem I have is his lyrics. They speak perfectly to the rage of a 13-year-old boy. But I'm listening to this record now, and I'm no longer 13. "Your God is dead and no one cares...Don't you tell me how I feel...He couldn't believe how easy it was, he put the gun in his face..." The discrepancy between the wideness of the sonic palate and the narrowness of the lyrical one is just a bummer (for me). I don't mind dark, but there's so little contrast here that he makes Johnny Rotten sound like an unrepentant hedonist. The best song is, of course, "Hurt," made even more famous by the Johnny Cash cover. But hearing it in this context makes it even clearer that like a great old actor, Cash (and his producer Rick Rubin) gave the material a gravitas that the original recording just doesn't have. Also, I'm afraid Reznor is not a very expressive vocalist, which drops the record a star for me. I'd be interested to hear if he has other things to see now that he's getting closer to Johnny Cash's age.

I feel bad about giving this a favorable rating, because the artist is so obviously an asshole with serious mental problems. But the same could be said (to some extent) of other people whose art I admire. It does get a little tedious after a certain point, but that happens when you hang around crazy people long enough.

This album was recommended to me immediately after The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails. The experience is so different that it's hard to believe that Baaba Maal and Trent Reznor belong to the same species, let alone are both musicians. It is almost literally music from two different planets. What Reznor is electronic, heavy, and industrial. And hopeless. What Maal does in light, airy, and full of traditional acoustic instruments that evoke the feeling of being in the woods. Both are abundantly talented. One is the son of fisherman from Senegal. The other is the scion of a Pennsylvania family that made its fortune in the air conditioner business. I hear more joy, wonder and variety in Maal's songs. But I'd be dishonest if I said vastly preferred one artist over the other. I simply don't know what Maal is singing about. So I liked this album but I don't know how often I'll come back to it.

It's rock and roll. It's pretty good. Some of the songs are catchy. Some are kind of funny. When "Basket Case" comes on the radio, I'll turn it up. But is it one of the 1001 essential albums? Only as a representation of a certain era (I think).

Rounded up from 3.5. There's nothing wrong with this album. She's a superb singer and the production is flawless. And yes, she's a lot more than Patsy Cline imitator. But somehow she's never quite spoken to me - except for "Constant Craving." Maybe that just shows I prefer shallow pop music or macho country characters like Willie Nelson, et al. But I listened to this twice and I don't know when I'll listen again.

I'm guessing this is the American version of AFTERMATH, not the English one. It has some indisputably great songs like "Paint It Black" and "Lady Jane." Also, some really good ones like "I Am Waiting" and "Think." And then there's a big fat piece filler called "Goin' Home," which never really gets going anywhere. Then there's "Under My Thumb" and "Stupid Girl." The former is great musically, especially because of Brian Jones's contributions. The latter has a good tune. But even without being particularly woke, the lyrics just bum me out. I don't throw around terms like misogynist easily, but this is that. So what do you do when some songs are five-stars and others are twos?

I never listen to music while I'm walking in downtown Brooklyn, but I did with this album and it all made perfect sense (even though Roots are a Philly group, I guess). I heard this as an inventive, exuberant celebration of Black music and culture. And of course, Questlove is great - he's probably done as much for hip-hop as Brian Wilson did for surf music. Anyway, it's a really good record. Though I'll confess, as a rock and roll guy, "The Seed" is probably the song I'll always come back to first.

This is not for me. If I want to chill out this much, I just won't put on music. Or I'll, go to sleep.

Excellent. A great introduction to this kind of music. Funky and, in its own way, rockin'. I'd listen to this again happily.

I bought this when it came out, listened to it once, and filed it away. I like it better now. It's very pleasant. Nothing wrong with it at all. But there isn't a melody, a lyric or an instrumental passage that stays with me.

I'm a Paul Weller. I loved the raw energy and scruffy lyricism of the Jam. And I like his more mature and sonically-adventurous solo work. I didn't get Style Council when it first came out in the 1980s. I didn't get why he turned down his guitar and started playing what sounded like Middle of the Road Am pop. But this is a lot better than I realized. No one's going to mistake Weller and the keyboardist Mick Talbot for Wes Montgomery and Jimmy Smith, but it's an honest effort to adopt American jazz and modern R & B sound to an English setting. I particularly liked some of Talbot's Ramsey Lewis-style instrumentals. Weller has some good songs at the beginning of the album and the end, especially "My Ever Changing Moods." But then there are some embarrassing stinkers like a hip-hop-style effort called "A Gospel" and a banal tune called "Strength of Your Nature.," It ain't bad, but if I was goikng to introduce someone to Weller I'd start with Setting Sons or Stanley Road.

Probably the best metal album ever, or at least in a tie with "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath. Muscular, musically complex and emotionally intense. When Inwrote my first book, I listened to it over and over to stay on edge. And the whole thing actually makes sense. I don't know how you can do anything in this genre that's better.

A little bit of Van the Man goes a long way with me. I'm always on the lookout for a certain hippie-schlock aspect to him, like there's a belligerent Tony Clifton supper club crooner in him that's always threatening to come out. Sometimes I even prefer people who were influenced by him, like Springsteen and Graham Parker, to the original. You can kind of hear it in the title track, but man it really came later on records like Wavelength. But this is a really good album. And when he wails, he really sings his ass off. Of course, I knew "Moondance," "Caravan, "Into The Mystic" and some of the others as FM staples. But the whole thing holds together very nicely. Docked a star for the cornball song "Everyone."

I remember hearing snippets of this on FM in 1975 and thought it was pretty. Then I heard Patti Smith and the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, and that was it for me and pretty music for a long time. I assumed this was just going to be snoozy New Age crap. It's not. It swings and drives and drifts compellingly for most of the journey. There must be a half-dozen throwaway melodies here that REM could've made into songs, plus others that could've been chopped up into Top 40 hits sprinkled amid blues and pop and some jazz and some classical influences. I'm sorry I wrote off Jarrett for all these years.

Rock and roll from Africa! These guys from Mali can lay down the boogie-woogie. This is not "world music" to be played in the background while you shop at a hipster boutique. This is full-on stomping, sludgy kick-out the jams guitar wrangling. I like!

I used to think music was about identity. You were a punk rocker or a Deadhead or a jazz snob or a folkie or whatever. That was your tribe and that was how you related to the rest of the world. But as you get older, your identity turns out to be about a lot of other things. And as you learn more about music and musicians, you realize there are just two kinds: good music and bad music. Earth, Wind & Fire used to represent a lot of what I hated about the radio in the 70s. It wasn't pop, it wasn't soul, and it certainly wasn't jazz. It was just edgeless, coffee table music. But you know what? They're pretty good! This album has a couple of the big hits like "Shining Star" and the title track, but it has a lot of other kinds of songs: slick funk, romantic ballads, proto-disco, falsetto acrobatics, and even some subtle premonitions of hip-hop. And now that I'm not hearing these songs on cruddy AM radio, I can hear the serious pop craftsmanship on every track. The only thing is, I still don't really groove to music that's this smooth. So it's good, just not my thing. On the other hand, it does not have the all-purpose party anthem, "September," which I've heard so much that it has a Clockwork Orange-type gag reflex effect on me.

I like these guys. Especially their first few records, which capture a certain kind of drifting-in-your-early 20s melancholy. They were the perfect band to listen to on a rainy afternoon, when you were thinking you might want to call somebody but weren't sure who. I think this is their last record for IRS Records, before they got signed to Warners and went big (which never quite made sense to me). This album has a bunch of pretty good songs, like Disturbance at the Heron House and Lightnin' Hopkins. And if that was all, I'd give it a solid 3. But it also has the sweet and nasty "The One I Love" and "It'sThe End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel FIne), easily two of their best songs. And two of the few songs from the 80s that an old guy like me will still go out of his way to hear.

Their “Not Fade Away” kicks Grateful Dead ass. And “Tell Me” has an uncharacteristic doo woo vibe that made it perfect for the Mean Street soundtrack. ButMick himself said it was pointless to listen to him doing “I’m A King Bee” when you could listen to Slim Harpo. Same for Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters and Marvin Gaye. Better things ahead