Glam rock at its finest. Cosmic Dancer and Planet Queen are my personal highlights, though the well-known single isn’t bad. One of a couple T-Rex records I’ve played a lot and the only one to make my top 100.
The well-known tracks are the good ones, and the only ones I’d return to. Every song felt much longer than it needed to be or actually was. Turn Blue was especially long and cringeworthy, but everything else was listenable and enjoyable to a point.
The production is rightly designed to let the music take a backseat to the vocals, but it leaves the whole thing feeling a little soulless to me — like expensive karaoke. I found it a little exhausting to listen to at first because I felt like she was singing everything at a nonstop 10/10. I did start to enjoy it more as it progressed and found “I’ll Be Waiting” to be the most enjoyable track. She’s got a supreme talent but it’s not my thing.
Astoundingly good vocals and incredible storytelling on this record. The well-known hit was my favorite. At just over 27 minutes, it doesn’t overstay its welcome. Also included a few lyrical themes that surprised me for a 50+ year old record. I’m not a country fan at all, but I enjoyed spending a little time with this one.
Not much of a Christmas Music appreciator. I can tolerate it on Christmas Day. Had to end a few of these before listening fully once I’d gotten the idea. Ending with the message from Phil Spector just left a bad taste in my mouth. Generous extra star for getting this on the 25th of December.
Felt like a night at a jazz club. I enjoyed the music but prefer to listen to something like this as a live performance. I was only familiar with the later hits, which I have never been a fan of. A pleasant surprise, but still not something I’d likely revisit.
Very good rock record. Seven Nation Army is a memorable classic for a reason. However, I was reminded of why I never really listened to this album much. It definitely tails off in the second half. All of my favorite White Stripes songs are elsewhere.
I’ve never delved into R.E.M. completely although I like several albums and hits. I’d only heard “Stand” and “Orange Crush” before, but “ Pop Song 89” was another standout. I generally enjoyed the whole thing, except “The Wrong Child,” which immediately made me Google “worst REM song.” First album on the list I’ve played for the first time that I think might get added to my rotation/collection.
I’m certain I was in the wrong headspace to hear this album, but I also don’t want to be in the right one.
I don’t feel like this album was created for the purpose of enjoyment, and I found myself getting irritated with artist for inflicting it on me. I wasn’t too surprised to find initial reviews echoed my feelings.
Other thoughts:
Is sad song supposed to be sad? Just saying sad song over and over again doesn’t make it sad.
Dear every artist - I hate your song with the crying baby sample.
I can see how this would be a moving and effective album for some, but it’s not for me.
I was grateful for the educational aspect of this album. It would not have been nearly as interesting without it.
That said, my sensibilities are probably too closely tuned to “western music” to find this engaging for very long.
I can’t help but think that if it weren’t for The Beatles, I’d have no idea who this was and probably would not be listening to his album now.
This is the kind of listening experience that I hoped for when I started this challenge. Moondance isn’t something I ever would have played, but I immediately connected with it. There’s something so nostalgic about the sound that tapped into an unexpected emotional response.
Side 2 isn’t nearly as memorable as side 1, but the first 5 tracks will be enough to keep me coming back to this one.
Literally groundbreaking, Rock & Roll stands on the shoulders of giants like Little Richard. I listened to a lot of music like this when I was younger, before I developed my own taste. These days, it’s tough to listen to this and not yearn for something a little more interesting. I feel like I could have just listened to Tutti Frutti 12 times and come away with a very similar experience. Listening to a record also means you miss the physicality of Little Richard’s performance. At this point, it’s really only interesting as a marker to show how far music has come.
I’ve heard this once before and remembered it was very different overall than the single, “Drive,” which was one of my favorite popular songs from a year I didn’t like very much radio music.
The album starts off pretty engaging but starts to sag in the middle until Drive, which still sounds good a quarter century later.
The only terrible part of the album was the last two songs. Pardon Me has an irritating delivery, and Out From Under an incredibly stupid lyric they felt the need to repeat.
I probably won’t go too long without playing Drive, but I might never play the rest again.
What’s big and dumb and not my idea of fun?
This album.
It’s the sort of record that makes you wonder if music was a mistake. I suppose I was able to sit through the whole thing, but the first three tracks were genuinely the worst time I’ve had during this challenge so far.
The best thing I can say about it is that it was short.
I admit I wasn’t looking forward to listening to this, not being a metal fan and having a vague idea of what to expect.
I won’t say I was blown away, but I actually kind of taken with the tunefulness and musicianship here — even if I could have used a couple more moments to catch my breath!
Where I was most wrong: I expected an AC/DC-like screechiness to the vocals, but the singing was a real strength here.
I still don’t like metal very much, but I’ve always respected it. I understand why this might be someone’s favorite band.
I’ve tried and tried to get into Led Zeppelin and I just can’t do it.
The songs that do have interesting hooks wear them out and then continue for several more minutes. Kashmir might actually be a good 4-minute song… at 8 1/2 it gets tedious.
Really can’t stand the way Robert Plant sings. So many songs start out fine, and then he goes into screech mode and I hate it.
Enjoyed some parts of “disc 2,” notably In the Light. Ten Years Gone was okay.
Whenever I listen to a double album I’m mentally editing it into a single. In this case, Kashmir would be the only song from the first half I’d take… but I’d struggle to even get to a full album from the 2nd because I really can’t stand anything about the last two songs. Harmonicas should generally be confiscated.
This was such a welcome sound after several days of hard rock and metal. It starts off so confidently with Billy Jack, When Seasons Change, and the best track, So In Love.
Things get derailed with a 6-minute song about Jesus that really doesn’t go anywhere. The band never does anything that interesting for the rest of the record and I ended up a little disappointed.
I’d probably return to tracks 1 and 3 again, but the rest didn’t leave me feeling like this was a great album. It did make me interested to hear more music I like in the same vein, so that’s a win overall.
It’s a raw emission from the underworld, chugging toward you like a runaway train. Its mission statement is clear: be loud, be Satanic, be the thing that makes people clutch their pearls.
I respect metal music and this album for being committed to the bit… though Teacher’s Pet was an unwelcome addition to the record’s themes. It’s so unabashedly up front about it, that it feels like a parody… and parody doesn’t hold up well to repeated listening.
I guess I can see why this makes the list, but once is enough.
While I’d definitely heard this before and know the first three tracks very well, my musical taste moved on from bands like U2 before I ever really delved deeper into this one.
There’s something about it that feels a little safer… a little less vital than some of their earlier records (or indeed Achtung Baby after it). That said, “Streets” is a soaring track, and easily my highlight, while “Still Haven’t Found” isn’t far behind.
I’m certain “Trip Through Your Wires” made me switch this off every other time I’d made it that far. It’s two steps down in quality from everything else on the album. If you make it past the harmonicas, “Exit” and “Mothers of the Disappeared” are nice rewards that end the album with some real depth.
I’ve long felt I should have given this album a fair shake, and I found it an enjoyable experience that I could see improving with further listening.
A rare album on the list that I’d not only never heard before, but didn’t know existed.
I really enjoyed the sonic textures that get layered on as each song progresses. It felt a little like Jesus and Mary Chain if they weren’t as tied to the traditional pop/rock song structure.
I felt like this was headed for a solid 4, but the length did start to get to me a little. Not every track justifies its runtime.
That said, I enjoyed my time with Spiritualized and am interested to check out their more-successful work that followed this one. Still a light 4!
A landmark album, so I’m told, and I will say it definitely sounds newer than it is.
21st Century Schizoid Man is a little too chaotic - could have used a consistent bass line. It feels more meandering than schizophrenic.
I Talk to the Wind and Epitaph are much better… moving and swelling in ways that feel beautiful and purposeful.
And then there’s Moonchild. Never have I ever heard a longer stretch of directionless messing around on a record. The musical equivalent of doodling. It’s fine as background noise, but it’s not good.
Finally, the Court of the Crimson King is the highlight of the record. Everything comes together (although there is a minute more of pointless noodling near the end that keeps it from being a perfect song).
This record has some 5/5 moments and some 1/5 moments… but the good parts are so strong I still think it’s a light 4, and an album that I think could grow on me with repeated listenings.
I’m mostly familiar with Talking Heads through a hits collection I liked but never loved so I never felt the pull to delve into their albums. I’ve been enjoying a few of their songs anew again so I was happy to get this one, even though it doesn’t have any of the hits that resonated with me before.
I think I like the general sound and feel of Fear of Music more than I like the individual songs, although Life During Wartime was a standout from the first half. The album starts to drag a little toward the end… especially with the song about nothing much happening in Heaven where nothing much happens. I also found Animals to be kinda annoying.
Surprisingly, it saved the best for last — Drugs has some great instrumentation and atmosphere, with a synth line that sounded familiar (perhaps subconsciously lifted by Gary Numan for This Image Is)?
At any rate, this was a pretty brisk listen. I wouldn’t mind hearing it again and I’ll be looking forward to getting another album by the Heads.
I was only familiar with the first three tracks but I must have been in the mood for this because the rest of it hit just as hard. All of these mundane observations, semi-detached vocals, and WAY ahead of its time indie rock sensibilities came together so cohesively as to make this collection of demos sound instead like a greatest hits.
I can hear the influence of these songs retroactively in some of my favorite records, by the likes of Violent Femmes, Pixies, and even Parquet Courts.
I don’t really want to follow where Jonathan Richman leads after this, but I’m glad others followed in this record’s spiritual footsteps.
It’s a good indie rock record with some hints of Tweedy’s alt-country roots. It’s got the usual double-album problem of being too long. The cuts are less obvious to me though, because I just let it wash over me. There was nothing about it that made me want to let it in.
I’m not very familiar with Billy Joel’s music, so the only one from this that sounded familiar was Only the Good Die Young and that’s never been a song that’s made me want to explore further.
Fortunately, I enjoyed songs like The Stranger, Just the Way You Are, and especially Vienna a lot more.
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant compares both favorably and unfavorably to Paradise by the Dashboard Lights — unfavorably because it reminds me of it in style and scope, favorably because at least it’s a better song!
The album kinda loses me in the last two tracks though the reprise of the whistling from The Stranger was a welcome coda.
I’ll definitely come back to Vienna and I won’t be upset about drawing another Billy Joel album, but I’m not converted either.
