Soft classic rock, folk, jazz, soul all in one with Van Morrison’s country twangy twist which makes the sound so unique and nostalgic but I do find this slightly repetitive. Moondance and Into the Mystic are all time songs that are certainly highlights.
I’ll admit I don’t think this album is necessarily for me as much as I enjoy alternative funk and rock it’s a place I haven’t explored enough yet to truly appreciate the sound and uniqueness of this album. Late 90s early 2000s alt rock is a sound I have a hard time enjoying and I think that mental blocker is what’s stopping me here. I will need to revisit this album that’s for sure.
Just not or me. Punk rock is a sound that’s hard for me to enjoy and resonate with. While I understand its cultural significance the sound just isn’t my cup of tea.
This is what I want from a Christmas album. Old school nostalgic sounding Christmas music that feels warm and exciting with every song. This sound is Christmas joy and reminds me of my favorite Christmas movies. As far as Christmas albums go I have no notes and will be using for holiday seasons for years to come!
Personally not for me. The overall melancholy sound just doesn’t scratch my indie folk itch in the way I expect. Some songs I did enjoy (the happier sounding ones) but overall it’s not an album I’d return to.
Other than “I Know It’s Over” I don’t have any stand out songs for me on this album. While I really enjoy the sound it’s not something I would come back to out of enjoyment for the album start to finish.
Great album. This feels like very approachable rock for me and I love his voice. Will needs to listen to more Morrissey than The smiths maybe. Would return to this.
I get the historical significance and the uniqueness of the sound but the organ gets very repetitive. It’s still a fun listen.
I think this is great but I think this would smack a lot harder listening to it on vinyl a little high or a wine drunk. Good album but not my fave. Idk how else to explain that.
This is pure 80s music. If I grew up in the 80s I think I would love this album like no other. But as I don’t I can appreciate the sound but it just doesn’t hit the way I want it to.Definitely a fun and informative listen but prob wouldn’t come back to it.
I teeter on the edge of liking this a lot more. Feels like such good classic indie rock but I think will just always prefer less classic rock sounding indie rock over alternatives that lean more pop or folk. I think I will always be very particular labor how roc sounds and some things will hit and some things won’t. I’ve given up trying to figure out what makes one work from one that doesn’t for me but nonetheless this is a good album but not not one that’d I return to.
Right from the jump I really enjoy this. It’s a crisp sound instrumentally juxtaposed with irregular (there’s a better word for that) pauses, quick guitar strumming, idk there’s a uniqueness to the sound juxtaposed with David Byrne’s shaky and weird vocals. It’s fun and interesting with some classic songs. What’s not to like really. Would definitely come back to this!
Yeah this isn’t for me. Atlantis To Interzone and Golden Skans are fun and interesting by tho.
Honestly while I won’t return to this as rock just isn’t my jam outside of some particular things this kinda hits the spot? Feels like great background music (not criticism)
This is fine idk? It’s cool but like meh won’t return
Incredibly unique and dark and depressing and very end of life is the best way to describe this. You want it darker is such a cool song but other than that this is something I just can’t listen to…..does that make me a bad person?
I was just transported to a dock on the shore of the lakes of ozarks with a beer in my hand.
Good, not a forgot of mine from the Beatles but it does hit the spot!
Like good but like also sonically underwhelming? Likely wouldn’t return to it but enjoyable for the most part.
I think this album is incredible—truly one of my all-time favorites. Every song makes me feel something different, and not a single track misses.
What makes it even more special is the story of how I got the vinyl.
I showed up to this record store tucked away in the basement of a building about an hour after it was supposed to open. When I walked down the stairs, it looked completely closed. As I headed back up, I ran into this disheveled man who turned out to be the owner. He let me in.
True to the owner’s vibe, it was the most disorganized record store I’ve ever been in—boxes everywhere, vinyl literally spilling out onto the floor, stacks piled all the way to the ceiling. He asked what I was looking for, and I asked if he had any Earth, Wind & Fire. He pointed to the very first box by the entrance. Right on top: That’s the Way of the World.
He told me he’d had it forever—first pressing—and started pointing out all the codes on the sleeve to prove it. He said no one had ever even picked it up, which I still don’t understand. Then he asked if I wanted to hear it. Of course I said yes.
He walked me to the back of the room where his record player was teetering on an old shelf. He explained—very seriously—that it was set up that way to minimize vibrations messing with the audio. I know that’s a real thing, but this setup was so extreme that if you sneezed, the whole shelf might’ve collapsed. Still, he put the record on.
And I swear to you, it was the clearest I’ve ever heard music.
The sound poured out of these beat-up wooden speakers mounted in each corner of the room. It felt like Earth, Wind & Fire were standing right there, playing a private concert just for us. When the music drops out at the end of “Shining Star” and it’s just their voices—that moment will live in my head forever. It was pure euphoria.
We listened to the album all the way through. When it ended, all I said was, “Wow. I’ll take it.”
That’s when he proceeded to talk for the next hour (maybe longer) about his life in the music industry. Stories about run-ins with legendary artists, including, somehow, a fling with Elvis Presley’s mom (?)—or something along those lines. At a certain point it all blurred together and felt like a fever dream.
Eventually, he ran out of breath and I jumped in, saying I probably needed to get on with the rest of my day. He asked if I had cash. I asked if I could pay with card—there was a card reader at the front. He laughed and said it hadn’t worked in years.
I told him I’d run to get cash and come back, it was $10 and I only had $5, but he immediately cut me off.
“No, no, no. Just take it,” he said. “It was a joy listening to the album and talking with you.”
I gave him the $5 I had. We shook hands, which turned into a half-hug, and I left to catch the train.
To this day, that’s the best music experience of my life.
That vinyl is easily my most-played record—not just because I love the album, but because that random Saturday morning was as perfect as it gets. I’ll always associate the music with that day. Music might be the most universal bond people can share, and if that experience isn’t proof of that, I don’t know what is.
So yeah—this album is a 5 in my book.
I am supposed to not enjoy this type of music but like it was kinda alright in the grand scheme of things. Early 2000s music I physically reject most of the time but I felt music actually enjoying this in parts. Likely wouldn’t return to this but it was fun!
Like this is kinda enjoyable but I wouldn’t come back to it I don’t think. Groove in the Heart does absolutely rock but the others feel mainly like disco mumbo jumbo.
Honestly pretty enjoyable. Sultans of swing is a good highlight and I enjoyed the riffs. Still not one I’d say I absolutely return to but definitely enjoyable.
This man is performing standup jazz??? I don’t think I’ve heard anything quite like this.
This album confirmed for me that I like the hits from Queen but I don’t really like Queen….sorry but prob wouldn’t return to this
Pretty sure this is not meant to be a sober listen and maybe that’s just the issue but this just wasn’t enjoyable like at all for me. Maybe I’m being a hater but this might be the first 1 star rating from me.
I wish I liked this more tbh. It’s an interesting listen and I actually think I do enjoy her voice but most of these songs just didn’t do it for me. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t really memorable and probably wouldn’t return.
I can see why this was considered influential for its time but it feels like a sloppy version compared to albums that take inspiration and make this sound better. I am always torn when I don’t enjoy an “influential” album. I understand the influence doesn’t equal being widely enjoyed but I do find that I still expect to enjoy it and unfortunately this time I really didn’t….
I appreciate some good guitar but this type of rock just isn’t my favorite. Nothing against Jeff Beck, I’ve watched a million of his guitar riffs on YouTube but this album of his just isn’t what I want to turn on and listen to.
Like I kinda enjoyed this in a weird way when I know I shouldn’t for whatever reason. Still wouldn’t come back to this but it just reminds of a dirty dive bar and I like that.
Just a great soulful rap album. Hearing old Kanye is also always a treat.
This is so good, what the hell. I really thought I wasn’t going to be into this but it’s just great quintessential 80s synth pop. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this.
I am surprisingly underwhelmed which is not what I thought going into this. It’s a good album with some classic beats but overall I think the album relies on the beats (nothing wrong with that) and lacks great punchy verses that I was expecting to hear more of. That being said I would return to this purely for the beats.
Yeah this is exactly the type of music I don’t like. I feel like I can see why it is good in comparison for the genre but otherwise not for me.
I mean this is great and without this whole site I wouldn’t have found it. Great funky and fun tunes, I couldn’t care less that I don’t understand the lyrics, the vibe you get is all you need.
I mean this is 90s pop rock at its core and for what it is I enjoy it but nothin more than that I guess. It slowly becomes homogeneous and less interesting with each song. I feel conflicted because I don’t think it’s bad but it’s not my favorite but it’s far and above a lot of bad music I’ve come across so it’s just average and that’s okay.
I think this a simple and straightforward album that is a good listen but I was expecting a bit more. Band on the run and Mamunia are fantastic songs but there’s something that makes me want more. I would return to this album and I think it deserves a 4 but it’s a cuspy 4.
The review that says “ Guitar goes whéeeeerreeaaaarrrgh” is pretty much a perfect description - the title track absolutely rips. My personal enjoyment of this album does reflect the quality of the music itself. While I likely wouldn’t return to this, I absolutely appreciate this album for what it is.
Very interesting - this was my first time ever listening to Madonna in a real way. I’m not sure what I was expecting but it didn’t interest me in the way I thought it might. I can only imagine that this was influential for its time but personally not my favorite.
Sade doesn’t make many bad songs huh? It all just sounds so smooth, I could listen to this all day long
I’ll never enjoy metal, screamo, or really anything even semi-adjacent to that world—but I’m always curious how people get into it. I don’t think I could ever sit down and listen to something like this. I don’t know, man
I mean this is just good straightforward rock to me. Like would I return to listen to it? Maybe. Either way I enjoyed it and American girl is a classic song to finish off the album.
If I heard this in some action scene in a movie I’d probably be hunting down the song. But listening to this just as a normal person on a Wednesday in the office, it’s just not something I’d really listen to. It’s fun and cool that’s for sure, but wouldn’t return to it.
I definitely enjoyed this more 10 years ago. It’s so much more minimalist than I remember, still enjoyable but there are other airy new wave pop albums that I enjoy much more.
For how good this is I’m surprised I’ve never heard of it? Was Gene Clark just lost amongst his peers at the time? I really enjoyed this.
I enjoy a good amount of these songs as is, but it is a long album and becomes slow in the middle making it a bit hard to focus. That being said I listen to this vinyl all the time purely because of the atmosphere is creates and I tink I love the sound of this album regardless of whether or not Amin actively listening. The concept of this album alone is great.
It’s fine rock music. I think I do agree a bit with some other reviews that there is something generic about it but tbh this feels very approachable for someone who isn’t a rock fan for the most part (that’s me).
This sounds like nostalgia. It doesn’t doesn’t sound nostalgic it sounds like nostalgia. It’s not my favorite but it’s so interesting.
I enjoy this but would I come back to it? Probably not. I prefer other Neil Young albums to this one but it is nice to hear the rock edge this record has.
Candidly I need to listen to more of the beach boys. I really haven’t dove in as I haven’t been compelled by the small sample I’ve heard and purely rely on their historical significance and popularity as my reason to listen to more. This album broke the mold of what I thought they were and I liked that. It’s definitely not my favorite album in the world but I can see myself returning to this and liking it the more I listen to it.
I feel like I wanted this album to stick to something for me to grab onto but it la very fluid with genre and styles that I’m really sure what to think. I’m probably rating this lower than it deserves but it didn’t really scratch an itch anywhere. Good background tunes but not my favorite sit down listen.
I think some of these songs are great, particularly The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down but the rest feels a bit average and I’m just not enjoying as much as I’d like to. Middle of the road for me.
I want to like this more than I do. James Taylor and Joni Mitchell have the same effect on me where I enjoy their music even when I don’t love it, yet it can be hit or miss. This is one where every song sounds good but nothing was moving me and it became a bit homogeneous. I will return to the classic songs on this album but the rest of it likely not.
This is one of those albums where I appreciate the creativity and uniqueness but would I listen to it as is on any given day? Nope. My rating is probably not a true reflection of what this music is in the grand scheme of things but to me this stuff is not what I gravitate towards.
Beautiful voice but the album kind of lost me halfway through. Don’t Know Why is one of my favorite songs but after that in the lead off spot I found myself losing focus. A couple of beautiful songs but as a full project I’m not super convinced.
