I've always liked Nick Cave, but I've never listened in depth. I love that he seems to subvert simple impressions... his voice is deep and melancholy, and his lyrics are often melancholy and disturbing. But, in contrast, the melodies and arrangements are often catchy and upbeat; I frequently found myself nodding my head along to this album. You have to make the effort to pay attention to all the details to see the full dark beauty of his music, and that resonates with me - as does the gothiness.
That said, I did feel like heavy use of the gospel choir on the first half was a bit overkill - it was a bit too on-the-nose. I got a little sick of it after a while.
Heard before? Not this album, but I have heard other Nick Cave songs.
Will I listen again? Likely, especially the second half.
Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? Definitely.
Notable songs: Breathless. A sweet, surprising forest fairy tale song of love. Check out the video for some additional lighthearted WTFuckery.
I haven't intentionally listened to a lot of funk, but it's a genre that I enjoy when it comes round. And I really loved the first three songs on this album. But then I hit P.E. Squad, and I have to admit that it wasn't for me - too chaotic and disjointed. The rest of the album was good but was a tad jam-band-y for my taste.
- Heard before? No.
- Will I listen again? I'll probably add the first three songs to a playlist, but I won't listen to it in entirety again.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? Maybe not Funkadelic/Parliament/George Clinton specifically, but I wouldn't mind exploring the funk genre more.
A blues classic. I loved hearing the crowd cheering in the background.
- Heard before? I already knew a few of the songs, but have never heard the entire album.
- Will I listen again? Likely.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? Maybe, but it definitely inspires me to explore other blues artists and sub-genres.
I've really been enjoying reggae this year as I've needed an upbeat, grooveable, but still rebellious and anti-establishment alternative to angry, angsty punk. This album was a little smoother, a little more chill than I was expecting, but it was a great listen that had me nodding and swaying along.
- Heard before? No
- Will I listen again? Definitely
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? Yes
I've always meant to listen to this album, but never got around to it. Joni Mitchell is so iconic - raw, honest, passionate. Not something for everyday listening, but she hits an emotional chord like very few others artists do.
- Heard before? Some individual songs, but not in its entirety.
- Will I listen again? Yes.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? Yes.
Notable songs: A Case of You. It will stick with you.
Meh. Very 2000s shout-sing rock with a thumping beat. A couple of good songs but overall just not for me.
- Heard before? A song or two.
- Will I listen again? No.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? No.
Notable songs: Take Me Out, Dark of the Matinee, 40 Degrees
I don't think I've ever actually listened to any of Brian Eno's solo work before, even though he's influenced and partnered with other artists that I really like. Sadly, I thought this album was just ok - a few good songs, some just fine songs, and a few really grating ones.
- Heard before? Nope.
- Will I listen again? Definitely not in it's entirety.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? Given that he's such a legend, I'll probably try one more album (although not at random - I'll do some research first).
Notable songs: Needles in the Camel's Eye, On Some Faraway Beach.
Ah, the Prodigy - the techno music of my youth. I have an album or two of theirs, but not this one, although I did recognize a few songs. Overall, this one was kinda meh for me - not as energetic or hooky as I remember some of their other music being.
- Heard before? Not in its entirety.
- Will I listen again? Not this album.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? Not really, except to remind me to revisit some music I already have.
Another artist that I've always liked but have never actually intentionally listened to entire album. And for Hounds of Love, that is entirely my loss. Most of the Kate Bush songs I know well are dramatic and theatrical, but the more subtle and subdued tracks on this album surprised and touched me - with out any loss of passion or dark beauty.
- Heard before? Not in its entirety.
- Will I listen again? Absolutely. I regret not having this in my life earlier.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? Definitely.
I enjoy soundtracks (and I don't care that there isn't actually a move), but this album just wasn't very interesting on its own. I appreciate that not all movies need - or would benefit from - a John-Williams level, full-sized orchestral epic. But if you're going to put it on a stand-alone album (especially one that doesn't actually have a real movie to add an extra layer of context), then it needs to be more than this was. It just felt plain to me. I fully acknowledge and appreciate that are going to be albums from artists I don't enjoy that deserve to be on this list, but I do not understand the inclusion of this one.
- Heard before? No.
- Will I listen again? No.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? Not at all.
I've heard of the Boo Radleys before but never really listened to them intentionally before. This album was just fine - nicely listenable and representative of early 1990s. But it didn't really do anything special for me, at least not listening decades later.
- Heard before? No.
- Will I listen again? No.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? Sadly, no.
I'll admit, I haven't listened to a lot of hip-hop even though I like it when I hear it - and I really enjoyed this album. Great rhythm, great lyrics, lots of great underlying music and diversity to keep me interested. This is why I'm loving this project - it's exposing me to albums and artists that I wish I'd listened to earlier!
- Heard before? No.
- Will I listen again? Very likely.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? Definitely. The autoplay followed this album with a group called Lyrics Born that I'm also enjoying!
If you like the Verve, you'll love this album - it's exactly how you know they'll sound. It was fine, but a bit repetitive and long-winded for me.
- Heard before? No.
- Will I listen again? No.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? No.
In a hilarious coincidence, when I first started listening to this album, I was sure Brel was the same performer from the basement club in the old Jimmy Stuart/Kim Novak movie "Bell, Book, and Candle" which is one of my (and my mom's) favorite movies. It actually wasn't Brel, but it was one of his contemporaries, Philippe Clay, who actually opened for Brel at one point. But that association, and the overall mood and Brel's amazing voice, made this a very enjoyable album for me.
I also spent a little time reflecting about how to evaluate music sung in a language you can't (or in my care, barely) understand. You can't use the lyrics to inform or augment your connection with the songs, you have to rely just on the singer's voice and the instrumentation (which was pretty sparse here). Fortunately, Brel is a vocal master, and his voice and delivery provides plenty of emotion and interest.
- Heard before? No.
- Will I listen again? Definitely.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? Yes. And Philippe Clay.
You couldn't be alive in the late '80s without watching the rise of rap and hearing N.W.A. The first couple of songs were great and engaging - maybe because I already knew them - but the album tapered off for me. I like rap, but I like artists that bring more to their songs than just catchy lyrics. Even the rhythm patterns got a little repetitive. I appreciate the role this group and album played in music history, and I'm glad I heard it, but I won't be listening again.
- Heard before? Not in its entirety, but I knew a number of songs well.
- Will I listen again? No.
- Does it inspire me to listen to more of this artist? No.
