A bombastic piece of pop rock that grabs your attention from the first note and rarely lets go. Although missing some of the grit on his best albums, Springsteen puts out a slate of classic rock staples that beg you to turn the volume up to 11. Iconic packaging to top it off. Springsteen ranking #4 behind Darkness, Born to Run, and Nebraska.
A revolutionary compilation of early Rock and Roll staples. Suffers a bit from overly repetitive themes, but what from the 50s doesn’t? Tutti Frutti, Slippin and Slidin, Rip it Up and Long Sally are all classics. Essential listening although not something that reaches the heights of what was to follow in pop music history.
A solid addition to The Beach Boys creative period. A bit uneven as most Beach Boys albums after Pet Sounds, but enough variety and well crafted tunes to compel repeat listens. The standout track to me is Long Promised Road but there is hardly a skippable song in the bunch. Even the campy Take a Load off Your Feet and the somewhat confusing Student Demonstration Time warrant listens.
One step closer to the true Stones classic albums, but not quite there yet. At its heights, Sympathy for the Devil - No Expectations - Street Fighting Man, Beggars Banquet comes close, but falls short of what’s to come later. The country tunes are on the edge of getting there and over the next few years the Stones will perfect it, but they aren’t quite there yet.
Some of the most pure synth pop songs ever written. Some of the filler tracks around the three classics serve to set up or augment the biggies, but as a whole the album packs a powerful punch. The last track drags a bit but it’s hard to not pick when you have three flawless classics in an 8 song set.
A mood album as with a lot of Cure. The tone is set right off the bat with a killer opening track. Unfortunately the rest of the album doesn’t match the greatness of One Hundred Years, but there are other good songs throughout.
Surprisingly this one falls flat for me. I love Moondance but the pace of this is too slow and Van Morrison’s wailing doesn’t strike the same as it will there. Maybe with more listens it will grow, but after 10 years of having it on vinyl I would never pull this one out to play if not prompted.
A stunning collection of late 60s classics. Each member takes his turn which creates a delicate mix of soft rock, psychedelia, country, crunchy guitar driven, ballad, songs. It may be schmaltzy but Our House will always have a special place for me. An album that sounds amazing on vinyl as well.
Finely crafted pop tunes with a delicate touch. Beautiful vocals. A bit juvenile but understandably so. Probably more impressive at the mature aspects given the artists age.
