I listened to this in the background while doing something else and so didn't give it my full attention. Having mostly heard the single from this LP, I didn't expect so much instrumental music and was happy to hear more of the guitar and rhythm section.
This album is only 29 minutes long but is full of surprises. It has a few of my favorites--America, A Hazy Shade of Winter--and also surprises. The beginning of the first full song, Save the Life of My Child, is more electric than I was expecting, and the Voices of Old People was new to me. It really is just old people talking. :) This album came out the year I was born and it was fun to think about people in that year putting this LP on the turntable for the first time and giving it a spin.
This was a fun album to get on day three. Unlike the first two, I have listened to this LP a hundred times, and it never fails to please. I thought about Mishaun and how awkward it was to share a love of this band with him when the lyrics are so inappropriate! :)
I hesitated listening to this one, but it was better than I expected. It came out when I was a junior in high school. I worked in a record store and listened to the radio a lot. The Smiths weren't as ubiquitous as pop bands of the era, but I had plenty of friends who liked them and I had more than my share of the band. Morrissey's voice felt contrived to me, and I never listened to the lyrics closely enough to relate to them. Because of that overexposure, I nearly gave this one a pass, but I'm glad I listened to it. 40+ years later, the music has a freshness I didn't recognize at the time. When I was a teenager, I only heard the most popular tunes and missed many of the other songs. Rusholme Ruffians and Nowhere Fast were surprisingly jaunty. :) I liked the guitar on the latter. What She Said was a pretty great thrashy song. There was far less mopiness than I expected. I'm giving it three stars because I am not likely to come back to this, but it was a good listen.
I audibly groaned when this came up as the next album to listen to. I get that it's important to listen to different styles and that Yes exemplifies the progressive rock scene of the late 60s and 70s, but damn some of their music is hard to listen to. the opening to Roundabout is iconic, of course, but I don't need 8 and a half minutes of that song. The next two short tunes (under 2 minutes) were unlistenable. South Side of the Sky was pretty interesting, but again long--almost 8 minutes. The next three were interesting and listenable: Long Distance Runaround (the other radio play from this album and a proper length), the Fish (fun bass line and only 2.5 minutes. Mood for a Day is medieval, so up my alley, but not sure why it's on a rock album. I can see that as a musician, this might have been fun music to play, but damn I don't want to listen to most of it.
I wish I had the language to describe what I’m hearing. It’s wonderful but I lack the vocabulary to explain what is happening and why it works. Great music, though. Cool interplay between the musicians. Note combinations that should be atonal somehow work. Very cool.
I like the Band's sound, and loved The Last Waltz. While I appreciate their music, a whole album might be a bit too much for me. :) I think I'm more of a greatest hits listener for this group.
The Van Halen brothers get all my stars for this album--Eddie is obviously a great guitarist, and Alex keeps a solid backbeat to sustain him. But I grew up watching and listening to David Lee Roth. He was obnoxious then and still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. His singing style fits the lyrics, but is he crucial to the band's sound? Nah. :) He was a dramatic frontman and crucial to their popular success, I get it. I just don't like his singing style.
Brilliant album, but I am biased and love almost everything they did. I have no opinion on which is their best album, but I can see why the list includes this one. The build up to each song, Page's brilliant guitars, Bonham and Jones with the most solid rhythm section, and Plant's irreplaceable vocals. Man, it's good.
I've heard of this artist for years, but never listened to her music. I left the country the year this album came out and so missed it. What a treat to "discover" this album more than 30 years late! Definitely the kind of music I like--rough around the edges, great voice.
I listened to half, but not the whole double album set. I could appreciate what he was doing, but wasn't drawn enough to commit to more than that. I gave it enough of a listen to treat it fairly, I think.
This was great! I've listened to my share of Neil Young, but never heard this one. Thoughtful lyrics, wonderful guitar. Happy to learn about this album many years too late.
'Vicious' opens this album like a charm. It's immediately compelling and sets the stage for the songs that follow. The guitar, bass and drums chug along, often simply but powerfully. Reed's unique voice and syntax are charming, although I imagine they are an acquired taste. I wonder if someone who didn't grow up with that voice would appreciate it hearing it first as an adult--like Neil Young's :)
I went into this, knowing I didn’t really like Brian Wilson, but as with other albums here, I was willing to give it a try. For those other albums, I was at least able to see why people appreciated it, and could admire the musicality, even if it wasn’t my taste. Not so with this album. I get why The Beach Boys were popular in the 1960s. I don’t understand why anyone would pay Brian Wilson money to produce this album in 2004. The best way I can describe it is juvenile. The chimes, the church bells, the choir boy voices. The simplistic lyrics. My God, there were even farm animal sounds, chickens and goats. It’s childish, and more than boring, actually irritating. Sorry Brian Wilson fans. I don’t get it.
I'm being generous with my 3-star rating because I have a soft spot for Steve Winwood and because I think it's quality is hampered by the synthesizers which defined so much of production when this album came out. Remaster this album without the electronic syth? It's a solid 3, maybe a bit higher. While You See a Chance is a solid opener that still resonates as a strong pop song--although on re-listen it's clear that Winwood's Valerie--another favorite of mine--is almost identical, Spanish Dancer is a commendable ballad, and Night Train has a great groove. These songs without synthesizer? Long-lasting pop songs. The other tunes would all be improved by a similar re-mastering, and all have good bones. Okay, enough belabored justification for an overly generous rating. :)
I've heard of this artist for years, so it was fun to listen to her music for the first time. The experience was enhanced by spending time with her website. It includes art, poetry, documentaries and feature films. She was also a guest designer for Francis Ford Coppola's literary magazine, something I didn't know existed, so that opened doors for me as well as her music. This album felt familiar but still new. Her voice is alternately powerful and haunting, magnetic and off-putting. Cool musical appearances of unusual instruments alongside familiar themes. Really enjoyable and I'll explore more of her music now.
I get why people love this band, it's just not my style. I worked in a record store in the 80s with lots of metal fans as customers and a few as coworkers. Great folks, friendly and positive, and I heard from them what they loved about Iron Maiden. 40 years later, they still love them. The guitar and drums are wildly energetic, the vocals distinctive, and from what l can hear and my limited knowledge, they set the bar for the genre. Giving it 3 stars for that, not because I particularly like it. :)
I graduated college in 1990 and worked in a brewpub in the Northwest for the first few years of that decade. Grunge was the music of the day and this album was ever present. Nirvana and Primus were more my jam, and Pearl Jam felt like the radio version of that movement, but the album holds up.
This is a great album that I haven't listened to all the way through in decades. I remember as a teenager getting irritated by the excessive radio play of Aqualung and Locomotive Breath, but after a long hiatus, those songs and the whole album really stand out as special. And yes, even the flute works after all these years. :)
This is the first album & band rec here that I've never heard of, so I was excited to give it a listen. I liked it from the first song--nice guitar riff, understated vocal, then interesting rhythm section and backing vocals kick in. Some of this reminds me of Harry Nilsson ("All We Ask"), other times inspired by Wishbone Ash ("Fine for Now")--it doesn't feel like an album made in 2009, but maybe in the early 70s. "Dory" gets kind of psychedelic weird. It's very interesting and dreamlike. Pitchfork calls it "lush chamber pop" :) I haven't heard that expression before, but it fits! "Ready, Able' is a great, steady jam, and followed strongly by "About Face", but really every song has something great to it. I'll be putting this album in rotation, it's the most interesting LP I've heard in a long time.
Yay! Another new band and album for me! I like how this website is breaking down my listening patterns and either introducing me to new music (this is the second out of about twenty) or making me rethink my opinions of bands I grew up with. The first song on this album feels 60's inspired--there's some surfer guitar, and 60s spy movie sound that are really cool. This and yesterday's album are proving to me I need to revisit the late aughts for Indie music. This band and Grizzly Bear have both been a feast for the ears, and are dramatically different from each other. The lead vocalist for this band is dramatic and magnetic, there's a driving backbeat and an urgency to many of these songs.
Ahh, lovely. It's not the Plastic Ono Band, but a strong second release in Lennon's solo repertoire. The title song is of course a classic. I love the oomph in John's voice in Gimme Some Truth, but I really love the final song, Oh Yoko! It's just so damn sweet
Such a great album in every respect--music, lyrics, vibe, uniqueness. I'm very familiar with this album and welcome the chance to listen to it at every opportunity.
I had listened to this artist's later work, but never his first album. I liked it, but he has come so far since this album, it's hard to rate it more than 3 stars. His music matured and his later albums outshine this one. 3 stars for the album, 5 stars for the career.
This is a sweet album--great title song of course, and fun to hear a cover of How Can You Mend a Broken Heart. I had to do some quick chronology to be sure the cover wasn't the other way around, but later confirmed it's a Brothers Gibb composition. Anyway, sweet album, but not tremendous all the way through, so I'm giving it 3 stars. It did, though, make me want to listen to the rest of his discography. There's so much great music there.
It was alright 😉
This was a great opportunity to listen all the way through a formative classic. I've heard a lot of Bob Dylan in my life, but hadn't ever listened to this album all the way through. My husband was listening with me, and as each familiar song came on, he asked, "is this all the same album?!" expressing the wonder that one album could contain so many songs with staying power.
They were boring when I was a teenager in the 80s. They're still boring. The 3 singles from the album hold up, but the rest was unlistenable.
Killer vibe. Great guitar, classic.
This album still rocks--beats, lyrics, vibe--it's the real deal.
Cool fusion of musical styles--hip hop, electronic, South Asian, and more that I can't identify. A little frenzied for my taste now, but if I were 30 years younger and going out dancing on Saturday nights, I would have loved this.
I tried to look past my affection and nostalgia for the artist and listen to it as if it had not been his final album. There are some really interesting and lovely moments on this album, but also a lot that is atonal. There are times when his voice came through beautifully, and other songs which were just uncomfortable to listen to. It would take a couple listens to identify 2 out of the 7 songs here that I'd want to revisit regularly.
So cool...I've noted before that I don't know how to describe jazz, but this is interesting, surprising, mellow, and virtuoso, all at once.
This album’s reputation is well deserved. Great songwriting that stands the test of time.
The album begins with three conventional songs that sounded like many other bands. With “Don’t Stop”, the album became more interesting and occasional, but inconsistently so. However, I’m glad I hung on to the end because the last song is the best thing on the album. I absolutely loved “Fools Gold”! Long funky instrumental with a great bass, it doesn’t sound like anything else on the album.🤣
I am very familiar with Steely Dan, but never owned their albums. Aja was ever present in my friends' collections, but I didn't register which radio tunes came from which album. so I was surprised to see an unfamiliar album cover and hear several very familiar songs. Steely Dan is not a band I would seek out regularly, but I really enjoyed listening to this one.
I'm new to PJ Harvey and just a couple weeks ago, this site fed me her 2011 album, "Let England Shake", which I really liked. So it was hard not to compare this one to that, and I really preferred the later album. This one just didn't stand out. Perfectly listenable, but not striking like the other.
It's clear why this is a classic. You can hear its influence in dozens, hundreds of later albums. I liked most of it, but thought the string sections were overwrought. Gaye's voice, though, is timeless.
I love this album so much and hadn't heard it in years! This was a reminder of why I'm so pleased with this albums generator--such a treat to be re-gifted with this. This album feels like a bridge between the 60s English blues scene and Led Zeppelin. This comes out in 1966, and Zeppelin was formed a couple years later. I'm probably overthinking it, but re-listening to this, I was struck by sounds that I associate with Led Zeppelin.
Stellar. Every song is a gem. Her voice is distinctive and perfect for her storytelling. Love her, and specifically, this album.
This was a fun album--the most I've heard of her at once. Poppy, but smart, electronic dance but with a soul. Interesting ballad accompanied only by harp. Every song was amusing and surprising in some respect. Very enjoyable.
This album shocked me into realizing that even though I've listened to Nevermind a hundred times, it's the only Nirvana album I've listened to all the way through. This third and final album with Kurt Cobain contains a couple songs I'm familiar with, but more and edgier songs than I've heard. They sound liberated here, but also disturbed. There's a fair amount of distortion and angst here that can't be heard without thinking of Cobain's approaching suicide.
Not my thing. Too scream-y 😉
Easy listening? Feels very dated although she does have a distinctive voice. She's best when she puts some soul into it, like in "No Easy Way Down" and "Son of a Preacher Man". The rest of the album is pretty forgettable. I'm giving it two stars because everything is better than Brian Wilson. :)
I can see where this album fits into the folk rock world of the late 60s and maybe if I were in the 60s and hearing it for the first time, I'd appreciate it more. But having heard the Byrds and the Hollies and others who took this sound to greater heights, it's hard to be impressed with these very short songs. It was interesting to see that "Old Kentucky Home", the last song on the album, and one I've heard somewhere before, was written by Randy Newman.
I've never listened to a whole Outkast album so this was enlightening. I can understand why they got more radio play than other hip hop bands but they still feel like a proper rap group. I didn't know how Southern rap was distinctive from other regions and this album gives me some sense of it--not that I could define it, but I think I can hear it. It's also interesting to hear Andre 3000's early years given all that he has gone on to do in the last 25 years.
Pretty undistinctive. I confess to not giving it my full attention, listening to it while following a recipe. I think it was the vocalist I found least interesting. There were a couple instrumentals--full songs or portions I don't remember--that sounded more intriguing.
The more of these albums, I listen to the less patient I become. I was really trying to give each album its due, but after listening to the first four songs on this album, I didn’t care to listen to the rest.
Now we're talkin'. Unique and immediately recognizable--that voice, that metal guitar appearing in an alternative rock repertoire. And of course, the dogs barking at the beginning of "Been Caught Stealing" is iconic. I did not remember that three of the last four songs were super long--7-10 minutes each. Great guitar lines in "Three Days" but the three do drag on a bit. Do I penalize this album a star because not every song is memorable? Yeah, probably. I still really like it though.
That 60s Brazil sound is just so chill. It's easy listening at its finest. Adding Stan Getz to the mix is a chef's kiss.
I found this very boring, didn't want to listen to songs all the way through. Got to "(Antichrist Television Blues)" which sounded like a Springsteen ripoff (even though the rest of the album is very different), and gave it up as a lost cause. I know...in other albums, I have persevered to the last song and sometimes found a gem, but it really didn't seem to be in the cards for this one. 2 stars because still nothing will ever be worse than that fucking Brian Wilson album.
I know people love this band and I appreciate rap and hip hop but I’m also at the point in my life where I need more expressive lyrics that “mother fuckin’ n****r.” And to be fair there are some really clever lyrics and creative samples and references, but way too much “ mother fuckin’ n****r” for my taste.
"Get Your Hands Off my Woman" sung in a falsetto to metal guitar? Sounds like Will Farrell. Who thought this was a must-listen album? You can go sit in a corner with Brian Wilson.
I'm an unabashed fan of early Elton John/Bernie Taupin, and this album is a gem. It's rare for a double album to be good from start to finish and this one pulls it off.
A perfect soul album. A great funk album. Smooth, sexy, soulful, funky. So great.
This was great. I’d never listened to the full thing. I criticized the swearing in Wu Tang’s album and there’s plenty here but there’s also a story, great sampling and beats. Stellar rap album.
She was tremendous. So much character behind every word. A jazz vocal sensibility rarely heard in popular music anymore.
This was completely new to me and I enjoyed it while driving south on I5 to Portland. It was eclectic, interesting, and entertaining. Really fun and frequently put a smile on my face. Makes me want to have a party so u can play it for a crowd.
This was really fun. I had never listened to this band that I heard so much about. Punk fun. Will definitely revisit.
There were a few cool songs on this album, but it didn't hold water as a concept piece, and the lyric quality was often really basic. She does have a great voice, though.
A classic! Not writing much because I know it well.
Cool sound in a genre I don't spend much time with. She has a beautiful voice and the electronic club beats give this a sound that makes it stand out from much r & b.
I was not in the right mindset to listen to this today. Giving it a 3 because I think I would appreciate it on a different day in a different week. maybe not all of it, though... :)
No comment needed. Killer debut album.
It was fun to be reminded of how playful this album is. How surprising that a band could channel the 1930s as well as play operatic rock and roll in the 1970s and be hugely popular. I don't enjoy every song but I respect its boldness.
I knew that Roxy Music’s Avalon —the first album of theirs that I heard as a young teen—was not typical of the band’s sound. However, that was my only exposure to the band for decades. Knowing that I probably wouldn’t appreciate the glam rock they’re known for, I still welcomed the chance to hear their second album. This was such an interesting phase in 70s rock music. I think about David Bowie, who, in my mind, made the sound work, and Queen, which usually made it work, but still sometimes sounded silly (my opinion only, of course). But as I listen to Roxy music, I considered that this band and perhaps the whole genre foreshadowed and inspired later Broadway musicals, like Hedwig and the Angry Inch and other storytelling musicals. It’s dramatic and out there and queer and proud, a vanguard of what would become possible. That said, the music doesn’t do much for me, but I don’t have to love it to see how it shaped later music and maybe even theater (I have no idea if there was an actual impact or if I’m connecting two separate threads.)
Wow, what a surprise. I read Spotify's biography of her while listening to her tremendous voice. I had never hear of her and didn't realize that she wrote songs for a number of groups my mom was playing in the house in the 1970s when I was little. Those were formative bands for me--Three Dog Night, Barbra Streisand, Blood Sweat and Tears, Peter Paul and Mary--and as I listened to the album, I could hear the strains of her connection to them and to the broader era. There is a lot of soul in her voice and songs, an undercurrent of r & b, there are hints of the 60s girl groups, especially the Supremes. Great stuff.
Musically this is a really interesting album, but while I get a smile each time I hear John Lydon sing, the pleasure is short-lived. I found "Albatross" unlistenable--that's the first song. The next one, "Memories" has a killer bass line and classic John Lydon vocals. Great guitar lines on "Swan Lake", and so it goes. Each song has some really cool musical characteristic, but I'm not in the mindset for an hour of punk vocals. Four stars for the music, one star demerit for a failure to make Lydon's voice less grating. :)
One of my favorites! 5 stars
Roadhouse Blues is a BRILLIANT start to this album. Blends seamlessly into Waiting for the Sun even though the tempo slows. The album is bluesy at times, pure rock at others, dreamy at others. Then Land Ho! is half country, half pirate anthem. And damn, I forgot how good Peace Frog is. Morrison's voice on every track is stellar, and Ray Manzarek's keyboards are iconic, giving the band their unique sound.
Not my thing. the title song was great--soulful bassline, great vocals and all-around groove. But the rest of it was electronic, industrial, or both. As soulless as the men featured on the album cover. Does that mean it achieved its goal? Sure. Doesn't mean I liked it. 2 stars.
This came out two years before Kala. Some good dance tunes but I think I like the later album more. None of the songs particularly stood out, but the overall sound was fun. Having given Kala 3 stars, this one would get 2.5, but am giving it 2 since half stars aren't an option.
Outathaway is my favorite song so far. Some of the songs sound too much like other songs I know—to the extent that if I expected some effort I could figure out which song exactly they were riffing off of. Others reminded me of grunge tunes but with a peculiar 60s sensibility—not sure exactly how to explain that one. The album as a whole didn’t stand out as unique enough to merit inclusion in s as list like this one. 2 stars
I wasn't listening to much new music when Radiohead came on the scene (my kid's birth through early years) and so was late to the party. Now when I hear them, it takes me a while to register who it is. I like what I hear and ask myself, "why don't I listen to more Radiohead?". Then I listen to the rest of the album and wonder if it's on repeat, and remember why I don't listen to more Radiohead. I like their sound, but can't tell their songs apart. :) 3 stars
I was exposed to Blondie in the early 80s and so I don't think I ever heard this whole album, which came out when I was 9, although I certainly was familiar with the radio play given to "One Way or Another" and "Heart of Glass". I'm a little surprised by the pop sound of so many songs on this album, many are "tamer" than what I think of with this band. Besides the two singles and "I'm Gonna Love You Too", I wasn't crazy about this album.
So cool. This group of musicians. Their virtuosity. That sound. Incredible.
I tried to listen to the whole thing. I can't do it, only got halfway through. I like Beyonce now, but this early phase of her career is not for me.
I've always respected Bruce, but hadn't listened closely to his music until recently. Then I had the chance to see him on his tour (April, 2026) in Portland, Oregon. I knew he was a national treasure, but this show cemented the fact in my mind. Soon after, this album showed up in my 1001 Albums feed and I listened to it anew. What a gem that man is. Long live Bruce.
Brilliant. Modern but classic. I don't know how to describe the great sounds coming off this album, but it lifted me as I walked.
Except for “Where is my Mind”, which is plenty angsty, the whole album is too angsty for me at this stage in my life. I liked it more when I was 20 when it came out.
I really admire Robert Fripp, and his guitar work is what most appeals to me on this album. I only know King Crimson from their more accessible albums in the 80s once Adrian Belew joined, so it was interesting to go back to their earlier work and see where they (almost) started. In listening to this, I learned that the lineup for this LP was almost completely different from Court of the Crimson King, but I can hear throughlines between that and the red, yellow, and blue albums that I know better. I suppose that's all Robert Fripp. Easy Money was a favorite tune on this album, featuring Fripp as it does. Parts I and II of the title track were also very cool. Because I had a hard time listening all the way through, but appreciate what they do, 3 stars.
I don’t have to listen to tell you I loved this album…when I was 10 😁 Now, I have great nostalgia for the band, but this is not their best album. There are 17 songs on 2 discs, and 6 of them are absolute gems, the other 11, not so much. But those 6, man. Mr Blue Sky? Sweet Talkin' Woman? Turn to Stone? I still love those tunes.
This week's albums are hitting my childhood hard. I saw U2 touring this album in October, 1983 when they played in Hamburg, Germany. Life changing.
Hell yeah. Still a great album, except for the racist trope of the Chinese restaurant owner...
I've heard CCR for decades on the radio, but don't think I've ever listened to a whole album. I enjoyed it a lot. "Penthouse Pauper" had some great blues guitar that was a treat to hear for the first time. I appreciate this band's unique sound. Grounded as they are in blues, rockabilly, and other American roots music, once John Fogarty opens his mouth, it can only be CCR. :)
The cover of "Sweet Jane" is a gem.
The rest of the album bored me to tears. All the songs sounded alike. I wonder if I had already been a fan of the band, if this special recording in a church would have rung differently. I was listening to it on headphones while going about my day, and throughout, either forgot I was listening to anything (it was that bland), or thought it was on repeat, and that the same song was playing over and over. The music is good, I suppose, but I found the album boring.
This is the most interesting album I've heard in a long time. It was atonal at times, but not excessively, and always creative. The vocals (both male and female) and guitar were an intriguing combination that I'll come back to again.
Such a great album. There are a few classics that got tons of radio play, but other songs here could be additional hit singles. Tuesday Heartbreak has a killer bass and wah wah guitar effect and horn. Funky and sweet. But there are three songs that don't hold up, in my opinion. They're not bad, just schmaltzy. :) 4 stars.
My impulse was to automatically give this 5 stars because the first 4 songs are such classics, but I had to remind myself about the rest of the album. Although I like the vocals and music on Indian Sunset, Bernie Taupin's lyrics give me pause--I understand he was a huge fan of westerns growing up in the 50s, but some of the language and references today give pause, particularly when sung by a white Englishman. Holiday Inn & Rotten Peaches hold up, All the Nasties not so much. The final song, Goodbye, is a little sappy with its violins, but I'm such a sucker for his voice. 4 stars may be a bit high, but I can't bring myself to lower it all the way to 3.
This album deserves 5 stars just for one song, "Your Flag Decal Won't Get You Into Heaven Anymore". :) In all seriousness, most of these songs aren't my cup of tea but I recognize the quality in them.
This album came out in 1971, the same year as the last album I reviewed, Madman Across the Water. While Elton John and Bernie Taupin get a little serious with their violins, choirs, and lyrics, the the first song of this Beach Boys album from the same year sounds infantile. I already disparaged Brian Wilson's Smile album so dissing this one feels like piling on, but...it still just seems too childish to take seriously. The second song was a little more 'normal', but the next one, Take a Load off your Feet, just reverted back to adolescence. Student Demonstration Time has some oomph to it, but sounds like a ripoff of Hoochie Coochie Man. The wikipedia article on the song is worth revisiting, both because it says Leiber & Stoller wrote it in 1954--Riot in Cell Block #9--but that Mike Love rewrote the lyrics and the other Beach Boys thought it was too dark. 1 star. I'm convinced that the Beach Boys are among the most overrated bands in pop music. (Caveat: I get the popularity of the songs that got radio play, but this album does not belong on any must-listen list, AND I still haven’t listened to Pet Sounds all the way through so maybe I’m just pissed about wasting another half hour on this band)
The fifth song on the album, “Golden Age”, was the first that interested me. This is not a bad album but another that calls into question the judgment of the original list maker. Given the wealth of creative music in the world, it shouldn’t be hard to pick a thousand that are truly remarkable and even unique. This album has a few good songs but doesn’t qualify as either remarkable or unique. It’s eminently forgettable. Probably a 2 star album. My life is no richer for being exposed to this band 😆
Every song is great, a perfect album.
Every…single…song. Such a great album.
Great opening song--compelling banger. Second song had vocals that grated at first, but then grew on me. As song 3, Death Threat, rolled around, I started to think I prefer their instrumentals. Song 4, Flying, is 7 minutes long. Aisha was a fun tune, it sounds like a mash up of music Snowden and Dean would have recommended years ago. The album remained interesting throughout.
I don't know how to describe this music, which I like! My goal with this project has been to find new (to me) interesting music. Apparently one or more of the band's founders were DJs, and I can see that in the long, repetitive (but interesting) grooves, but it's not typical dance music. There's some new wave influence, some prog rock, some cool experimental stuff going on. I could do without songs 2 & 8, but really enjoyed the rest.
I listened to this album so much when I was 15 years old...Sade had (has?) a great voice and a distinctive style. Do these songs hold up? Not all of them. That jazzy sax, oh my. It's fine in the first song, but they keep it up a little too long. Still, there's a nice funky, but mellow, vibe that permeates the album. 3 stars? 4 feels too generous, but actually every song is pretty good. Hmm, I'll decide tomorrow when forced to choose.
I didn’t listen to the whole thing but I get why it’s in this list. Good beats, rhythms, lyrics. Might give it 4 stars if I listened to the whole thing and if I was in a better position to compare it with similar albums. About to give it 3 stars but now feeling miserly. I have Sade 3 and this is better, so 4 it is! 😆
I really like a few of The Cure's albums but this isn't one of them. A couple good songs, but not standouts. The rest sounded like a parody of the Cure. 2 stars.
Never listened much to this band, but they were popular with my high school friends. I like Siouxse's vocal and I really like the guitar work, but together, they're sometimes abrasive, as if competing for space. They work best when each takes a temporary back seat to the other. This is a fun album, but very frenetic, and so very 1980s. :) I was a teenager that decade and worked in a record store, so I had my share (and maybe my fill) of 80s post punk. To be fair, this band was at the forefront, so it's not their fault that later bands copied it to death. There are some great tunes on this album, but I'm not in a space anymore where I want to listen to too much of it. :) 3 stars.
Great stuff. Naughty at times, but great. :)
They launch right in at full speed! :) Mostly too rough for me, but I would have loved it when I was 15. I was 11 when this came out and heard about the band later, but didn't distinguish them from other punk bands and so couldn't have picked them out of a lineup. They're significantly more talented than a lot of punk bands of the same era. Song structure is better thought out, they're really tight. Great at what they do. I had to chuckle when "Melody Lee" started out as this sweet piano melody and then abruptly turned into another punk song. 4 stars for me because I've outgrown the genre (that sounds smug, but there's a lot of pop I listened to as a teen that I also don't need to revisit). There are still a handful of songs that I would listen to today, like "Plan 9 Channel 7", "Looking at You", and "Smash it Up"
I was initially struck by the fact that there are only 6 songs on this album and that the title track is 10 minutes long. That one I definitely hadn't listened to all of before, but as the rest of the album continued, I realized I did know all the songs, just not their title. Golden Years, obviously, but also TVC15 and Wild is the Wind. I was reminded that Bowie's music is not so distinctive, but it's his voice that makes him an unparalleled artist. I know this sounds obvious, but my point is that if someone else was singing the same songs, I don't think they would have achieved similar recognition. The tunes, the instrumental performance, are certainly good, even great, but I don't think they'd stand out without Bowie's vocals. Is that true of other artists? I think Elton John's music would hold up, Billy Joel would hold up... anyway, silly musing. 4 stars
Pure genius. 5 stars.
Interesting in parts, but not compelling. Often twee, and borrowing many themes from other bands and earlier eras, without making it new. Sounds like a couple of guys in their parents’ basement having a good time, thinking they’re more clever than they are.
I was worried that the sound quality would suffer from being such an early live recording, but it's fantastic. His distinctive voice and guitar playing are on fine display. So good.
I'm struck by how some of Bowie's songs sound out-of-time. While much of this album has a cool soul feel, like "Right", which I really liked, "Win" is almost easy listening. Unlike Station to Station, which I listened to recently, there are songs that I've never heard before, including an over-the-top cover of the Beatles' Across the Universe. Each song is interesting in its own right, but there's a reason why I didn't hear them regularly growing up. The title track, and the last track, "Fame" are spectacular, but besides "Right", I don't think I'd return to other songs on this album. 3 stars?
2 absolute bangers on this album, and 10 good songs. That doesn’t make a 1000 best albums list for me. That means this band should have at least two spots in a lengthy best songs list. 3 stars
OK, this album was an amazing experience. I generally don't seek out live albums although I know there are some great ones. I didn't expect this one to transport me so viscerally to a place and time. This is raw and real, but not unrefined, if that makes any sense. Great experience that made me re-appreciate the Who again. Grateful for this one.
God, I love when an album grabs me from the first notes. I had never heard of this band, and was immediately mesmerized. My enthusiasm tempered somewhat by the end but I still enjoyed this unique sound enough to give it 4 stars
I've listened to this a million times and it will always be a 5 star album for me. Every single song is good, no duds, just beautiful singing and great arrangements.
A few bangers and the rest of the songs are decent but feel rehashed from earlier work. I love early REM but would only listen to this one for its singles.
I listened to enough of each song to know they're good at what they do but it's not a genre I'm drawn to. I know it well from growing up in the 80s. I probably shouldn't rate it because I didn't listen to the whole thing. But I'd say that if I liked that style of rock (and I once did), it'd get 4 stars, but in my opinion it doesn't stand the test of time, so 3 stars for doing it well.
I'd love to see the criteria for picking these albums. Sheesh. Every song on this album sounded the same except for a 1-minute anomaly of dulcimer music, the beginning of a song with a mouth harp, and the first minute of the last song. Besides that, every song sounded alike to my ears. I've never heard the songs on this album, but they sound like every other Aerosmith song I've heard except for "Dream On." People wonder why that song got so overplayed? Maybe because it was their only interesting song?! JK, I haven't listened to their full catalog so can't judge, but if this is supposed to be one of their best albums, why would I bother? 2 stars because only Brian Wilson gets 1 fucking star.
This album is too 80s for my taste but I like her voice and appreciated the songwriting. Reading her bio on Spotify I learned that she released music for 20 years before finally breaking through at age 40. Her fortitude impressed me so I went back and listened to an album from 1973--"Streetlights"--released 16 years before this one. Now THAT is a good album. AND includes songs written by Joni Mitchell, John Prine, James Taylor, and Alain Toussaint. That led me to her 1970 debut—bluesier than the second and also great. Clearly this list of 1001 albums has little to do with quality and everything to do with sales. This album from 1989 isn’t bad but its sound is dated. Her first two albums in contrast are timeless and better suited to being commemorated. I'm grateful at least that this suggestion prompted me to explore her earlier work. 3 stars is generous but better reflects the 5 stars that "Streetlights” and “Bonnie Raitt” deserve.
How did I never hear this whole album?!?! I wasn’t crazy about the last song—Rip Off, but loved everything else. Absolutely 5 stars
A party from start to finish, nearly perfect.
Reminds me of Santana, Dissidenten, Yerba Buena, and more. Very fun. Maybe 4 stars
I've only seen this guy on Graham Norton and knew he was a singer, but didn't realize how long ago he got his start. Is is rock? pop? I dunno. Not bad, but not interesting. 3 stars? Naw, maybe 2. It got more boring as it went on.
This band has a pretty sweet origin story according to their bio on Spotify--Glasgow songwriter gets a grant for unemployed musicians to record his songs, hastily assembles a group of fellow-student musicians for three days, prints 1000 copies of the album and becomes a sensation. Love it. Not every song hit, but most of them did. Impressive.
Classic songwriting from Willie Nelson. Because of Spotify glitches, I had trouble listening to it all the way through, and instead listened in pieces, which is less than ideal. This is the country music I remember hearing (mostly on TV) as a kid. It wasn't played at home, but because of its prominence in the 70s when I was a kid, it's the style of country I think of as "real" country. :)
I'm trying to imagine being 15, 16 or 17 in 1971 when this album came out, seeing it in a record store, buying a copy, and putting it on the turntable when I got home. What a delight, trip, and weird experience. There are three songs that became classics, of course, but the others are familiar and show early hints of Bowie's genius. I seriously don't know what I would have thought had I been that teenager. Would I have liked it or been disappointed it wasn't all as catchy as Changes? There are a few songs I'd never heard before, like "Andy Warhol", surprisingly interesting once it got going past the intro. "Song for Bob Dylan", the second to last song, is different from all that came before, but reminds me of other Bowie songs, maybe from a later era? I'm not enough of an expert to identify it properly. Is it 4 stars? 5? Good lord, how does one judge? I enjoyed it all. Going with 5.
I dunno, I mean I like their sound, but every song starts, and I'm like, yup, it's another Pixies song. The couple of gems are ones I knew from the radio or friends. The rest are decent, but hearing them for the first time, I'm not super excited to be hearing something new. Halfway through I was tired of it. Is it 2 stars because I lost interest? or 3 stars because it's good for its genre? I'm on song 12 and am resentful I have to listen to two more songs. I'm inclined to give it 2 stars. There should be more than 2 great tunes out of 14 to justify ranking high on anyone's list.
Oof. I didn't listen to her in the 80s when she was popular but I expected that her music would hold up. Maybe this is the wrong album for that. It came out in 1989 past her mid-80s peak of hits (or so I remember it anyway). The beats are just so 80s. :) Way too bouncy and generic. She does have a great voice, but it comes off a bit thin with the tinny music. There is one song, though, called Love Song, written by Prince, that he sings on, but is uncredited. That was a nice treat. I'll never listen to this again. 2 stars.
I understand why people would not like this album, and yet I’m charmed by it. I grew up listening to different phases of Eno, but only began to understand his life’s work after seeing the Eno film that came out in 2024. Now I appreciate him even more. That film shows how he dedicated his life and career to play—a playful approach to sound and music. That comes through clearly on this album from 1977. The first half is goofy, but charming with that background knowledge. And the last few songs show his early ambient side. I get that others might hear it and think “ick” 😆 and that's a reminder to me that everyone has their individual associations with songs, artists, and albums that make them more or less open to the music. This one was a treat for me.
