Don’t understand what is special about the Pixies. Just weird and discordant sometimes.
Needs more variety in song styles. Album comes alive when it mixes up in the second half.
I will admit the tracking of the vocal harmonies doesn’t sit with me for some reason and becomes grating at times, but I know people love CSN for that reason, so to each their own.
Parts are very good. Others are just too much musical noodling with lots of lengthy intros and outros. I don’t think this is for me and really feel like I am missing context either musically or culturally to understand why this is deemed a masterpiece.
My first real discovery so far. I was only aware of later-stage P-Funk era Parliament/Funkadelic. I definitely hear the influences of Jimi throughout this album. I will say that my first impression on the first track coming off Sigur Rod the day before was “Not another navel-gazing jam session type album” but once I understood the context for the opening track, it all clicked in for me. The next five songs were all tight, late 60’s/early 70’s style rock tracks that fit right in my wheelhouse with socially conscious messages and I was surprised I had never heard them before because they were great. So much so that the final track of purposeless noodling didn’t bother me. I will be recommending this album to others. Love it.
Second Pixies Album in five days. Enjoyed in more than Surfer Rosa on average, but every song started to sound the same after about the fifth track. So the highs of Surfer Rosa are more appealing to me and the lows of Bossanova are not as discordant as those on Surfer Rosa but I still feel like I’m missing the context of what makes the Pixies so important and influential.
I feel like I really need a better understanding of the context to get why Bowie is so important. I feel like I’m missing something. Also the production from this era sounds hollow and tinny to me, as if there are elements missing, so this is a pass for me. I just don’t get it as much as I want to.
Started off better than I expected. I liked the variation from song to song. But after the mid point, each song quickly became internally repetitive. If the songs were each about 60-90 seconds shorter, I would consider rating this four. But I started to fall asleep by the end of it due to the repetition.
Seems like two different bands competing for space on the same album. I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. The two best songs are listed on the cover image. There are definite elements of early psychedelic rock in here. I wish the rating system allowed for decimals because I liked this more than some of the other albums I’ve listened to but still give it the same number. Also ignore the complaints about some of the latter songs. The songs are just silly and of the time.
This is fantastic. I was unfamiliar with Jurassic 5 before but this is quality straight through. The harmonies on the verses and choruses throughout are excellent. Not a weak song on this.
It is interesting but this just isn’t for me. A few moody songs here and there is ok but a whole album is too much for me.
This really just isn’t for me at all. Constant Craving is by far the best song on the album and I have never liked it. I just prefer some energy in my music.
Was very unfamiliar with her work other than Paper Planes from this album, so I wasn’t sure what was in store. I found myself grooving by the end of the first song, appreciating the way the beat slowly incorporated other elements throughout to get my head nodding along. Each song seems to work around a different aspect of global music and I really appreciated the exposure throughout. M.I.A.’s rapping style isn’t for everyone and I found myself going in and out of synch with her vocals, which did take me out of some songs (especially Mango Pickle Down River which I think has kids rapping on it too) and keeps this from a five star for me, but I really dug it for the most part. And I was surprised to be vibing and singing along to 20 Dollar having never heard it before only to realize it is a “cover” of Where Is My Mind by The Pixies, but completely different musically.
This is a fantastic new discovery for me. Epic and soaring, you can definitely see the early influences on 70’s soul and R&B. When I saw it was only 4 songs, I couldn’t believe it, but they are all unique and great in their own right. The only knock against it in my opinion is the lengthy spoken intro for By the Time I Get to Phoenix, but that was because I wanted to get to the rest of the song already. The groove on the second track is my favorite of the whole album and might be one of the best I have encountered in the project so far. The guitar on “Walk On By” is fantastic, excellent tone and I feel like it has been sampled repeatedly because it was recognizable and yet new at the same time.
Really glad I listened to this.
So many thoughts on this one. I was in High School when this came out and was witness in real time to the immediate revisionist history being written after Cobain committed suicide and the framing of him as the tortured soul of our generation. It has never sat right with me all this time that this guy who rejected fame and materialism was forced down our collective throats by the marketing machine at the forefront of a wave of rock that was all about rejecting the materialism of the 80’s and hair metal only to then be the face of the next wave of rock music by that same machine.
I also feel like Cobain was so full of himself that the only reason he is still so well loved is that he died before he could reveal himself to be as pretentious as Billy Corigan.
Finally, I really feel like Nirvana gets more credit for the grunge revolution than they deserve. Alice In Chains was breaking through first. Pearl Jam was more popular than Nirvana from 91-93. I’m not saying they weren’t integral to grunge’s success but they were not the end all be all they are made out to be.
I intentionally never listened to this album before yet I still knew all the words to 10 out of 13 songs. It’s definitely been a popular and lasting influence on culture writ large, but grunge as a whole came and went by 96-97 at the latest, making way for the next iteration of more punk influenced bands. Which makes me wonder why grunge gets representation but other generations of rock not so much on this list.
Definitely see the influence it had on a bunch of later genres. Only problem is I don’t care for any of those genres in the least. But this is still pretty decent.
Wow. This was terrible. Overindulgent. And this was supposed to be a triple album? This was the point right after he broke up The Revolution and he really needed someone to be telling him no. Maybe two or three good songs on this album. I was in Middle School when this came out and there’s a reason I only really remember U Got The Look from the four singles and have vague recollections of the title track. The only other song I’d say is good is The Cross. Hell, there’s a whole song about taking multiple baths with a woman with his pants on. This is really bad.
This is peak 70s music and that is my least favorite decade. This just is not for me.
Why is this here? Why is this deemed important? What is the lasting influence of a modern collection of torch songs? I am genuinely perplexed. The album was fine. Not as bad as some of the others so far.
Not for me again. I understand why people like this but I just can’t get past her voice. It is so dissonant from the ethereal and beautiful orchestration that it just doesn’t resonate with me. And she NEVER STOPS SINGING for more than five seconds so I can’t just vibe out to the music. I’d love to hear the orchestration alone to experience that.
Loved it, just would have preferred a few more up tempo numbers throughout. Nice blend of styles, including funk and soul. Can’t go wrong with classic Motown.
What can I say. This is awesome and full of nostalgia for me. The first album I already knew fully. Of course it is getting five stars.
Interesting and definitely see the influence it had on subsequent music throughout the 90s and beyond. Found myself grooving out to it more than I expected. Not musc I would normally listen to.
Very interesting. Loved the exposure to new cultural music. Definitely a vibe to it.
Very good early hard rock/prog album with a number of cuts I will revisit. Love Queen.
This is an all time classic album. Great songs throughout and a huge influence on many artists worldwide to follow. I had never heard this album before yet I knew most of the songs already. Just put this on and enjoy the vibe.
