Best Song: Smile LYMI, On Top
Worst Song: The last 4 of the album
In small doses, has some catchy elements and can see it being enjoyable in a 2000s club, but the latter half of the album is devoid of this.
The most likeable aspects can be attributed to being derviative of 90s Britpop / New wave, I actually thought some of this was New Order. But overall it comes across as very confused and artificial rather than inspired.
Brightside -dont hate the song, it's just overplayed
PERFECT
Best Song: WYWH
Love the album, very thematic although I needed to read about the context to appreciate it, which is fine. Love Have a Cigar and WYWH, balances Shine on... and makes the album more accessible.
PERFECT
I cannot relate to the critical acclaim this album achieved.
Sound and production was cold and repetitive and very dated, even by early 80s standards.
Songs felt bloated and the album longer than necessary at 1hr10m.
The theme of apocalyptic partying and sex fantasy is less interesting than intended, coming across as self indulgent. Some songs like Lady Cab Driver I find distasteful and poorly aged.
Giving 2 stars instead of 1 because the album is ambitious, and performed and produced entirely by Prince.
Best Song: Snowblind ofc
Worst Song: Tommorows Dream / FX but I like both.
Probably my favourite Sabbath album following Paranoid.
Great vocal performance by Ozzy Osbourne and guitar by Lommi. I love how heavy it is while being perhaps more progressive and experimental than earlier albums.
Snowblind is the centrepiece for me, and my favourite by Black Sabbath, blending great guitar riffs, vocal performance and lyricism into an exhilarating track.
Changes is a beautiful song and displays the band's range as previously shown in Orchid and Solidarity in MOR. Of course it has also spawned covers such as Charles Bradleys which takes the lyricism to a new height. One criticism might be that although it thematically fits in the album, it isn't quite cohesive with how heavy tracks surrounding it are. Laguna Sunrise archives much the same praise and criticism.
With regard to popular criticism, I don't think FX is a terrible filler, but I do think it highlights that the album could be made more cohesive. Perhaps FX should not be listed between Laguna Sunrise and Changes. The critique of the self production is unwarranted -Ozzys vocals are perhaps slightly muted/muffled but I think it works within the album, although I could conceive that a different approach would make some songs more soulful.
I'm not a huge fan of the early Beatles pop-rock, but I think this album is very listenable although lacking in standout/memorable tracks.
The songs are very short but flow well into each other, creating a very joyful atmosphere. Like many of their pop-rock songs I think the lyrics are maybe a bit generic / dated but I like the layering and instrumentation (eg harmonica). I think it works best as an album, not as standalone tracks.
Money is probably my favourite track, mainly due to John's vocals, but this is a cover
Maybe between a 3 and 4, but giving a 3 by Beatles standards.
Sound is very boring, from production, instrumentation to the vocal performance.
I think the lyrics are very generic singer-songwriter, and lacking in subtlety.
Hard to describe how I feel about this album.
The aesthetic, production and instrumentation on this album is what I identify the White Stripes with, moreso than the previous 2 albums that were more raw. I don't think their sound progressed much in later work, this is their sonic peak.
I feel much the same way about the album as I do about the band. Some great/listenable tracks (e.g FILWAG), but I find the style maybe grating after a while -not sure if its Jacks voice or the heavy distortion etc. Songs are lyrically strong but I feel that I dont appreciate the lyrics because of the production/sound.
The strength of the album is in its range, with punky garage tracks to Hotel Yorba and WAGTBF.
Best Song - Come as You Are
Worst Song - Something in The Way (not bad though)
My favourite Nirvanna album.
Influential, original, works well as an album and as individual tracks -has no misses.
Not a huge Nirvanna fan but Nevermind deserves the praise.
Best Song: Peg
Worst Song: Black Cow
Not the sort of album I would usually listen to, but glad I did. Quite different to the Steely Dan I am familiar with. Very smooth and seamless, and short enough at 39mins without becoming boring. I could see myself enjoying the album more with a different vocal performance although I would accept it works for the jazz-rock style.
No songs are particularly remarkable, but I will be listening to the album again.
Best Song: Rapid Fire
Worst Song: Red White and Blue
BESMERCHING the image of the 80s. Should be left in the past
Went into this with very low expectations but was not quite as bad as I expected.
Much too 80s campy for my liking. Some of the lyrics and added effects are very dated/cringey. In general I didn't find the lyricism interesting or impactful.
I did enjoy the guitar riffs and the drumming; although it doesn't compete with other bands of the time .
I don't like how the vocalist has the artificial gruff/rock voice affect.
Judas Priest is ranked as one of the best heavy metals band, but I view Judas Priest to Back Sabbath what Nickelback is to Nirvanna/Pearl Jam -although more lacking in hits.
Best Song: Real People / Faithful
Worst Song: GO!
Blends 90s lyricism and performance with early Kanye production. Feels warm & somehow nostalgic. The sound on this album rivals Kanye later work though much more subtle and calming imo.
The album is strong from start to finish. As perfect as a hip hop album can be.
Really can't find any enjoyment in this. Boring 80s vocals, poppy synth, very low energy.
Best Song: Cupids Trick / Speed Trials
Worst Song: Ballad of Nothing
This is an album I thought I would enjoy now than I did, being very nihilistic and acoustic.
The all album is very homogenous, and the production is perfect. The lyricism is interesting, at times, and there are some nice melodies here and there. However there's something that would stop me listening to much of this again - I think his nasally alt rock singing- it might work in context, but not for me. I lo think some lyrics are too singer-songwriter, and one song where the lyrics would rhyme, I found off putting (in it is a silly complaint)
Best Song: Isi
Might be biased because j listened to this on a very nice drive, but I really enjoyed it.
Rating as a 4/5 in context
Best Song: Berts Blues
Incredible psychedelic album. Such interesting lyrics and instrumentation. Never boring despite being over an hour.
Donovans performance is great, I can't believe he is Scottish
Best Song: World Leader Pretend
Worst Song: NA
I haven't listened to much REM before. Enjoyed the album, some songs standout and I don't think there are many misses. It's hard to explain how I like the sound of the album but I didn't find it particularly impactful.
Forst time listening to the beastie boys, I actually liked some of the production at times however I find the rapping annoying and the lyrics quite cringeworthy. Something very artificial about it, like a parody of a rap punk band
Best: Oh baby
I don't see anything special about this album, I would be more impressed if it came out in the 80s but otherwise it doesn't seem remarkable. Some of the sounds capes it creates are enjoyable but its lacking any particularly impactful songs. Rating as a 2, not a 1, because it's listenable and we'll produced
In some ways a difficult album to review because it was so culturally significant at the time.
I enjoyed how diverse some of the sounds are, e.g barhead vs debt collector, but that being said I just don't love the style of the album. I find the campy laid back vocals quite annoying after one or two listens. I can respect alot of the lyricism and it's clear the album has a message but I'm not quite keen on the sarcastic cynicism. Rating subjectively as a 2 on enjoyment, aware objectively it could be a 4
Perfectly listenable album with some nice songs and performances but I really don't find it particularly impactful. The harmonies aren't really to my taste, a more soulful performance would add more depth to the songs. Sound is nice. I just wouldn't mind not hearing these songs again
Best: Warszawa
Worst: Best my Wife
Found it interesting that it was inspired by NEU!, whose work I also enjoyed. I love how avant garde and cinematic it feels, and I can't agree with reviews that critique it for being negative.
I've always enjoyed the Velvet Underground and I enjoyed this album, they achieved such a melancholy and gritty sound which I somehow also find relaxing and tender. I like the collaborative vocals, and the mix of songs like PBE to punchier ones Murder Mystery
Best Song: Raised on Robbery
I really enioved much of the instrumentation: the blend of guitar and piano, and some of the sax on Raised on Robbery. As vulnerable and contemplative many of the lyrics may be, it strikes me that they would work better as poetry than in song, which touches on my main problem with the album. I feel
that although Joni's vocal performance is technically good, I feel like either the melodies just dont land for me, or that they aren't integrating well with the instrumentation - like shes trying to carry the song with her singing but it feels like singing poetry over a song. I think this is exacerbated the lack of choruses. Standout songs like Raised on Robbery avoid these pitfalls.
Also very notable how much of this she wrote, produced composed herself.
Best: Can I Kick It
I do like samples in this, simple though they are, they still hold up today. Production is maybe a little dated with a lot of the disk scratches. Performance is flawless, lyrics are smooth but honestly neither evoke much emotion in my opinion. Do like the positivity / laid back feeling of the album
Best: Clint Eastwood
Worst: Remix of Clint Eastwood
Never been a huge fan of Gorillaz and this album reinforces that. I can appreciate how diverse the sound is, one track from another has different instrumentation, vocals themes and production. However it just doesn't evoke much for me, I often feel like damon albarn is trying too hard to be creative and missing the forest for the trees
Like oasis rejects without the energy
Excellent blues rock album, great guitar, love the vocals including the live performances, like the lyrics. Obviously narrow scope and sound but works really well as a blues album.
Costello lacks the bitter, cynical sense of humour of Huey Lewis.
Really didnt enjoy this, its just not my thing, mainly the vocal style. It's not as bad as I anticipated, but hand in hand annoyed me so much I'm giving a 1
Obviously the theme of the album is a spoof, so it was never going to be that meaningful. However the sound is bland and there's very low energy for a spoof album to warrant being here. The performance is just so lackluster indie, it's just easy listening, and is far too long.
So disorganised and chaotic, poorly performed whilst still being boring. Its like what Nirvanna/Cobain were criticised as being.
Best: WOWY, Streets Have No Name
Never understood why U2 were so popular and highly regarded, but tried to listen to this without that bias.
Can't say the album has any flaws, technical quality is good, lyrics are meaningful, Bonos performance is decent. Don't think it ever achieves a very captivating sound but I like how atmospheric some tracks are.
Some songs I really liked (above) and there aren't any misses.
Would maybe rate 3.5 but preferable to recent albums so giving a 4
Best Song: Trash Tongus Talker.
I can't say this is much better or worse than White Stripe albums, there seems litle difference in the sound. Like WS, jack whites vocals permeate the instrumention, (the instrumentation being the best part of his music). His mix of nasally shouting and falsetto baby whining is just so grating, especially as the album runs on. The albums gets better in its latter half as Jack is more subdued.
Enjoy the raw vocal style, at times.
Its a weird album, reminiscent of Jimmi Hemdrix, kind of hard rock, kind of grunge.
At times it feels like there is dead space amongst the guitar, drums and vocals, like something was missed in the mix.
I think the album had a lot of potential, just executed poorly
Enjoyed a lot of this, find it quite relaxing. Love a lot of the sampling, the simple guitar. Has so much going on yet still feels natural and cohesive.
Even managed to avoid the 90s white rap cringe.
Should be shorter, and a few songs [Derelict and Novacane] I found very grating.
Hard to review.
Quite sleepy, technically good, got a few tracks added to my liked songs.
Doesn't seem remarkable but very listenable
I like the instrumentation but obviously cang appreciate the lyrics, although listenable the sound isn't enough to make me want to listen again.
First time listening to her, pleasantly suprised. The album is very lyrical and her voice is enjoyable. The sound just doesnt click with me unfortunately.
This is like very strange background music although its not so offensive to warrant a 1
Elvis Costello is so sauceless, I couldn't listen to another full album of his because its just too boring, for that he gets a 1
