Already owned.
This album is as old as I am, I've been listening to it all my life starting with hearing it on 8 track in the 70s. A stone classic. Do It Again, Reelin', and Dirty Work all bang. Starts strong but feels same-y and starts to drag after Fire in the Hole.
Closer to 4.5.
Do not own/ have never heard before
I find it strange that not only have I never heard MUSE before, but no one in my circles have ever mentioned them. They play arenas? They are on 1001 albums list? This must have some merit. Then I listened.
It starts off with modern orchestral track that sounds like Trans Siberian Orchestra wrote non- Xmas music. After that it gives synthy Radiohead made by theater kids, which is most of the album, until you get weird sex rock with faux Prince vocals. Then there's the QOTSA-esqe tracks and mariachi horns. I'd say pick a lane, but none of these lanes did anything for me.
Would not add to collection. Probably won't listen ever again.
Live tracks don’t add much
Bye bye love 👎🏻
Frank Lloyd wright would fit perfectly in any 1960s nyc film soundtrack
Very nyc album
Brill building folk rock
Not in collection/ Not familiar
Smooth Piano Jazz, not my normal thing, good background/ cocktail party music.
Not familiar/ not in collection
Solid soul music that was surprisingly under my radar.
Keeper
In collection (digital)
Bowie on the cusp of being "Bowie" excellent back to front, good sign of things to come.
Sometimes an album hits you on the wrong day. This was not a great pick for Xmas Eve Eve. Going back to it, it's a better listen. I don't think I'll go back to it, but it has its moments. Probably pushing 2.5
In collection (vinyl)
A holiday classic, one of the greatest xmas albums of all time. There's a lot to be said for an album you can listen to on repeat for one month out of the year, year after year. Near perfect, only drag is the closer, Silent Night.
A post punk classic. Hugely influential. Manchester put to music. I've owned this on every format over the years. 5 stars.
Familiar with title track but not album/ not in collection
Solid 60s Nashville A Team country with a dose of feminism.
Added to collection.
List would be better served with a one album per artist rule. Would never reach for this to scratch my Elvis itch, very meh listen. Not a keeper.
When it's good it's near great, but never quite makes it to overall greatness. Much prefer The Byrds Tambourine Man. Subterreanean, It's Alright Ma, and Baby Blue standouts. Trends closer to 3.5
Uneven 60s psych rock. Opener is a ripper, some tuneful mellow psych, some blues rock, some guitar noodling, and one of the worst album closers I’ve ever heard. I’d wager most people just bought the single. Not terrible, but also not necessary. 2.5 if I’m being honest.
Probably have the single on a Nuggets comp, but not keeping this lp.
I’ve never cared for or about this band, largely because they seemed fake. It’s also a time and place thing for me, they were too mainstream for where my tastes were (and mostly still are.) Aside from Last Nite, I wasn’t familiar with the album. How did anyone make it through this album with that terrible opener? What I hear is a Velvet Underground influence filtered through late 90s indie rock. I’d rather listen to the Velvets or actual indie rock. Last Nite is still catchy, and Hard to Explain was nice. They should have kept New York City Cops on the album. Otherwise not very memorable to me.
Not a keeper.
New Order has been making good to great to excellent albums for over 40 years.
Very familiar, already in the collection.
I used to joke that when you went to college your freshman year you were assigned a copy of Legend by Bob Marley. Most people's entry into Reggae music, and instantly recognizable. Half of this album is on that collection, with side B being mostly greatest hits.
Solid reggae from one of the masters. Near perfect. Definitely a keeper.
When it’s Paul just being Paul it’s fine. When it leans into early 80s studio sounds it’s not good. No one told Paul power synth rock was a bad idea? Classic Simon sounds mixed with tepid boomer rock. I could have died without hearing this.
Not a keeper.
Hard rock with no edge. 2nd rate Bruce Springsteen lyrics to let you know they’re from New Jersey. This is my least favorite genre of music. If I had more hands I’d give it four thumbs down.
Hard pass.
This falls victim to the CD era and plays a little too long, lagging near the end. Mostly good background music, with a few pops here and there. Southside is fun. 2.5
Not a keeper.
Someone gave me a copy of this about 30 years ago, and I was not ready for it at the time. Really good psychish garage rock. Shame this was buried for so long, but the influence shines through despite some corny lyrics.
It's a keeper.
Do You Realize?? is a masterpiece, the rest of the album is pretty bland overall. Space rock plus beats. Yoshimi instrumental was a snoozer. 2.5, but rounding up for DYR
Not a keeper, maybe the Do You Realize?? single.
The early 00s loved this major label alt dreck. This sounds very familiar, either it wears its influences on its sleeve or everything from this time sounds similar to me. (I’m guessing the latter)
Starts off with a surprisingly pleasant Jonathan Richman impression, then goes into an endless string of angular dancy alt rock that was everywhere at the time. I was never the audience for this and nothing has changed.
And if I never hear Take Me Out again, I’d be OK with that.
Not a keeper.
I have mixed feelings about this record. Once upon a time this was everything I hated about mainstream music. I'll give it credit that it has an edge, and they get some cred from having Duff in the band. I think at times Axl is the weak link to their recorded output, with the screeching and whatever else he does. But I get that he's necessary for the mystique of the band. A good mix of real Glam, Aerosmith, and The Stones. When they get it right it’s enjoyable, but that’s few and far between.
Ugh Welcome to the Jungle, pass. It’s So Easy is so good. And should have been the opener. My standout track for the album. Night train is just ok.
Out ta Get Me/ Brownstone/ Paradise is a killer for me. OTGM is very forgettable. Brownstone is the worst of Aerosmith ripoffs, and Axl’s mumble vox are not good. It's too peppy to be about heroin. Paradise City is a song I could go without listening to again.
Side two does more for me than the first. Nice groove riff in My Michelle, Think About You gets it right. Sweet Child is another overplayed single, but the solo is pretty good. You're Crazy can stay. Another filler track with Anything Goes, Rocket Queen closes strong, I love how it slows down at the end to wrap it up.
2.5, rounding up because It's So Easy is a great song and side 2 pulled me back in. Not keeping it in the collection though.
Theatrical rock with some Randy Newman style piano tunes thrown in. Opens ok enough, then the hit, and it’s downhill from there. 7 minute piano blues song is a mood killer. Ends stronger, but too little too late. If this is what Peter was bringing to the table, maybe Genesis dodged a bullet. How can an album that has Solsbury Hill be so terrible otherwise? 1.5.
Unfamiliar/ first listen.
At the start I was not terribly impressed, then a few songs in something clicked and this seemed very familiar. I realized a lot of what I like about Jarvis Cocker, and Mark Lanegan can be traced back to Leonard.
Leonard’s voice is the instrument here and it’s front and center so you can take it all in. Minimal accompaniment quietly playing along, but that’s not what we’re here for. You paid for the Leonard Show and you’re gonna get the Leonard show. 4 stars. This one is staying in the collection.
Quintessential NYC album.
Classic country. Not Nashville. Good mix of honky-tonk stompers and tear in my beer sadness.
I’ve never heard this before and knew nothing about it going in. It sounds like they recorded this after receiving a noise complaint and all of the instruments are turned down. It plods along, hardly ever getting out of second gear. The singer sounds like Chris Martin. If this was a color it would be beige. If it was good it would be oatmeal. If it was a feeling it would be malaise.
For a moment in Tower Crane Driver it seemed like it turned a corner. The somehow the next track sounded like a show tune. One Day Like This finally has some urgency, but it’s too little too late.
Overall very boring with nothing to make you want to listen again. 1.5 for One Day Like This.
Appreciate it for what it is, but will probably never listen again.
Another album I'm not sure I needed to hear and/ or an album I will never listen to again. I'm sure Mr. Jarrett is a talented, accomplished musician. But to me this sounds like that one person who always finds the piano at a party and decides they need to play for everyone. 2 stars for talent.
Punky but not punk. Poppy but not pop. On paper I should love this but in 2001 a bunch of clean kids playing garagey rock on MTV wasn’t all that interesting to me. It’s perfectly fine. At least it doesn’t overstay its welcome like a lot of albums in the CD era.
An album full of wannabe epic tracks that ultimately come off as pretty boring. The whole time I was wishing this was Breakfast in America instead. Dreamer is the only standout and saves this from being a one star album.
Genre defining trip-hop album, the coolest spy movie soundtrack, and an update of space age bachelor pad music for the modern era. From the opening theremin in Mysterions to the Isaac Hayes sample in Glory Box this record does not stop. Downtempo beats, DJ scratching, spooky guitars all create the mood, but it’s Beth Gibbon’s voice that separates this from the pack. A breath of fresh air in 1994, does not sound dated in 2025. 5⭐️
I tried. She’s a talented singer, but something about the music does nothing for me. Walk Away gave me some hope, but it didn’t last. And a run time of well over an hour is far too long. 1.5 ⭐️
Starts slow, Come on Baby is the highlight of Side A, Side B is the star here. Lots of good country influenced rock- Roll Another One and Albuquerque are the standouts. New Mama is classic Neil Young.
Normally I’m a sucker for Burt Bacharach songs but this is too saccharine suburban sweetness for me. Music for 70s station wagon moms. Rearranging a Beatles hit less than a decade later is a choice. There are moments, but nowhere near enough. 1.5⭐️
I much prefer Sonic Youth singing about Karen Carpenter
Prime baby making music. A record so sexy you need a shower after.
The sound of someone’s health, marriage, and ultimately their life unraveling. The seeds of New Order are there, even feeling a little dancy at times. Overall this album feels cold and distant, understandably so. 4.5⭐️
First off, it’s criminal that Black Night was a non album single and not in this lp. Somehow I never heard this album despite knowing machine Head pretty well and was a big fan of Deep Purple when they reformed for Perfect Strangers. I even like the Black Sabbath album Ian Gillian sings on. Jon Lord’s organ work is what sets Deep Purple apart from the rest. Which makes this pretty disappointing. Fairly standard hard rock. This may be an influential album but I think I prefer what it influenced more than the original. The overly long songs don’t help. The upbeat tracks have an MC5 feel, but not enough to push this over the top.
