Appreciate the significance, but sounds a bit basic to 2025 ears.
Love. Is the family name Touré as common in West Africa as Johnson in Rock Ridge? Watch the 2015 doc They Will Have To Kill Us First
Duke's a legend--greatest American composer. The album is a classic. But this is Intro to Introductory Jazz Pre-101. I've moved on, gimme that hard stuff. Is Money Jungle in this 1,001? That's the Duke for me
I have no conscious memory of hearing this album or band before. I did however come in with strong preconceived notions based entirely on my interpretation of their fans & associated acts. The first 1/3 of the album had me thinking "oh shit I've misjudged, there's def sthg here I'm digging." The next third brought me to "ok already, jesus christ get on with it." As the final third drew to a close I had arrived at "thank fuck that's over. At least it's off the To Do list."
+2 stars because a lot of the music is quite intriguing and even homeboy's vocals at points work really well.
-3 stars because holy shit bro, I understand the knob goes to 11 but what if we try a 5 or 6
What I knew coming in: 1)This guy is great, worthy of a deep dive & I’m vaguely familiar with a song or three. 2) I sometimes confuse him with a similarly named but distinctly sounding artist that’s also been on my deep dive list for years.
Review: Absolutely brilliant. I fkng love this album and as a matter of fact Im bout to celebrate the *whole catalog*. The proverbial tragic artist with a legacy of masterpieces. Just an incredible talent.
4 & 1/2 stars because it’s fkn great & nobody’s perfect. But rounding UP because apparently I’m not trusted with half stars but also because it’s definitely not deserving of a round down! lil’stoned rn
Is that it? Isn't this a classic album from a hugely influential group that's on countless recommended lists? Maybe I missed it.
No, I don't think so... Is there sthg special here? Sounds like a whole bunch of ordinary. Perhaps this is not the album I am looking for...
+2.5 stars for a roundly average album. +.5 stars because I know they have other good stuff.
-2 stars because Zzzzz...
Nine trizzay’s the yizzear for me to fuck up shiiit.
An absolute classic. If it’s not the #1 most listened hip hop album in my history then it’s #2. Timeless? No, not really. But it was massive at exactly the right time.
Shoutout to Mr. Buttworth the substitute teacher encouraging children’s dreams
Oh hey, famous dad. I mean, it's alright. Seems fine enough. Nothing remarkable. A solid 2.5 stars. And we're gonna round DOWN for nepotism
I knew coming in that the god awful 80s synth sounds would be coming fast & furious with this one. And I was not disappointed (in that prediction. I very much WAS disappointed to have to listen to all that horrible garbage.) Apart from that synth pop silliness there's some really good shit in here. Honestly, there's some bangers that could earn their way into my regular rotation. If I had the time and patience to acclimate to the neon plastic sheen of 80's production sounds that is. Buuuuuuut I don't. Maybe it'll happen organically.
So many covers for a non-covers album! How bout that Springsteen, huh? That was fun.
+3 stars for a solidly better-than-average effort. +1/2 star for exceeding my expectations.
-2 stars for the atrocious electric synth sounds that cast a pall over an entire decade -1/2 star for forcing me to admit some of that synth pop does actually have something
I'm to understand this is proto-glam rock?
First thought: *sigh* If only you had been strangled in the crib... Thing is tho, it's proto-. Early stages, still developing, & the bones are not terrible. That's the problem with strangling babies. They're babies! So cute & sweet. And they grab your pinky with their entire little hand and the little fingernails are so impossibly adorable. Even when you know they will grow up and unleash a plague on society, it's difficult to follow thru. I mean, it's not *difficult.* Probably one of the easiest strangulations most people will encounter in a lifetime. But *emotionally* I mean. *Morally* difficult.
ANYway... Obviously it's nowhere near the worst excesses of the glam era. And there are certainly bits and pieces that are, at the very least, enjoyable. But it's iust so goddamned much. *A* song or three is great in a dirty strip club mixed in with some other god-awful lowest common denominator top 40 slop. But an *entire album* STRAIGHT THRU?!?!! Couldn't do it.
It's a 1-star from me, but tack on an honorary star for trailblazing in the intentional misspellings space. (Oh gtfo myface with the beatles--that was one thing. These cats are capitalizing on each &every opportunity to trick things up. Shoutout the OG *Cum on Feel tha Noize* AND a double high five for being significant/influential in their scene. But still. Point-83 stars, rounded up to 1.
