First couple discs are excellent, so much good outside of the tracks I knew (My Sweet Lord, What is life). Started to throw me after that, but maybe I was just getting exhausted from it
Finally all caught up. Nothing stuck out really, but it was a nice easy listen, and obviously time of the season is a psychedelic classic. I love "she's not there" from their previous album too
Impressive to release an album like this 30 years past your peak. Older, slower, and probably wiser. Very understated instrumentation that I feel is quite complex the more you focus on it
One of these days I'll go through his discography front to back like I did the beatles. He's only released 40 albums so shouldn't take too long
Big fan of Pixies' Doolittle and not so much anything else, this came out a few years after that.
Guitar and bass work is sorely missed from Pixies, what remains is quite enjoyable though. (Although I do see Joey Santiago played on a few)
I mean come on
Medley at the end is absolutely goated,golden slumbers/carry that weight/the end was a recent discovery for me, been rattling around my head for weeks
Good but not my fave by them, first time I heard it all the way through in ages. Bit too grandiose for its own good, funeral is better
Really interesting album. Literally only knew them from the fatboy slim remix, just assumed they were a bit of a one hit wonder. Had no idea the guy was indian, and all that influence was really cool, plenty of variety aside from that
Very good, was happy to immediately listen again. reminds me that I need to listen to songs in the key of life all the way through
Interesting album, immediately recognised the title track from the first GTA5 trailer. Spoken word gobbledygook started to become grating around the fifth track they did it
Not to diminish what must have been a massive crossover hit, but this would have went hard if I was playing Fallout: New Vegas
I only listened to Volume 1, hope that's okay. Might come back to the rest as I did enjoy this, went down very smooth
Absolutely one of the best albums ever, so so many all time great tracks crammed on here
Made me realise how classic take five is, and did enjoy trying to count the time signature between the more obvious "Kathy's Waltz" and the more odd ones
Pretty good, I always assumed it was a 90s album
Didn't do much for me unfortunately, veered too far between a lesser Portishead (Opening Track vs Sour Times in particular to my ear) and.. carnival music?
Didn't do much for me unfortunately, though I love their soundtrack for Sorcerer (and I think GTA5?), and appreciate their massive contribution to early electronic
Love it, somehow don't feel qualified to articulate further
Used to listen to this loads, a shame I've gone so long without listening, and maybe a shame that they were hailed as the next daft punk due to being a french electronic duo, but always felt like they scratched a different itch, and never really reached the heights of this album. Love the "revvy" distorted sound incorporated throughout
Some of my favourite moments
- Godzilla theme opening to Genesis
- Transition from Phantom into Pt 2, and the way Pt 2 incorporates the melody of DANCE
- Waters of Nazareth intro
How did "The Party" come out like 2 years before Kesha's "Tik Tok"?
Pretty good album of mostly covers
Interesting that we got 2 final albums in a row from legendary artists released shortly before their deaths, this one extremely so
Beyond the almost mythical status of the album at this point, it's an extremely experimental and bold delve into jazziness from an artist that historically always leaned more towards rock, surely made possible by being led trustingly by his contributors.
I think this might be the first time I've heard this since it came out (10 years ago!), appreciated it a lot more this time around
Not quite my cup of tea, but credit for flying by at a ridiculous BPM without a single song reaching over 2 mins
Very fun album, like the soundtrack to a cool halloween party I never went to
Classic from the first note of cherry coloured funk really
Absolutely phenomenal imo, such a great variety of beats, fun interludes, lyrics I haven't even begun to dig into. Somehow I'd never properly heard B.O.B before now and it's such a good track. Need to try Aquemini and Speakerboxx/love below
Simply fine and listenable, unfortunately not quite what you want from an album You Must Hear Before You Die. Felt like it released sorely late - in 1999 the britpop ship had surely sailed? (pun intended)
Wasn't really notable but pleasant enough I suppose?
Probably the only totally essential smiths album, the rest of their best songs are scattered across compilations and albums with lesser tracks. Love the jangly guitar of a lot of the tracks, and lyrically I do think it's all fantastic, very witty
My fave tracks are Frankly Mr Shankly, "Cemetry Gates" (sp) and Bigmouth Strikes Again, all songs which happen not to be total downers and are all quite funny. Cemetry Gates is probably my favourite overall
There Is a Light is obviously great but it's almost too iconic to highlight. I think they probably should have ended it with that track rather than "Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others" which doesn't do much for me really, but they probably weren't thinking too hard about track placement. Something about the way the volume fades out and back in at the start really pisses me off for some reason
Too nostalgic for this to not rate it on enjoyment alone. Jesus of suburbia has to be one of the quickest feeling long songs ever, and it's packed full of catchy riffs
Immediate first impression is that Everything Everything do a similar (but better) thing musically, vocally and lyrically, but I'll concede that there's some great complex drumming going on all through the album.
Maybe this one's very much of its time and just hasn't aged very well?
One of my favourite albums since I was about 15 yo, and imo one of the strongest debut albums anyone has ever released. Perhaps I'd not feel as strongly if I heard it today for the first time, and maybe I'd think it's all a bit millennial cringe (like yesterday's), but then I'd be a different person with different taste. An absolute landmark of indie, even if Win Butler is trying everything in his power to diminish it
I feel like nearly every song has the band pouring nearly everything they've got into it, with so much energy and catharsis throughout.
I'd never really heard anything like "Wake Up" before, and it was probably the major catalyst that sent me down the indie rabbithole that I'll never get out of (along with In The Aeroplane), but needless to say I love most of the others. Kettles is eh, but it works as part of a transition between the high energy of "Power Out" and "Wake Up"
I fear I did not have the prerequisite amount of drugs to get a kick out of this
I also probably wasn't paying the right amount of attention, a bit daunted by its length so trying to get through tracks between work calls and whatnot rather than soaking up the whole thing in one go.
Random thing that annoys me about streaming older albums is that it often doesn't make it clear where the gaps between sides/discs are which can be kind of important to understanding the flow of an album, especially a concept one like this. Give me Sledgehammer and Solsbury Hill anyday tho
Didn't do much for me in a first listen unfortunately
Always loved the first 4 tracks (Intro being generation-defining in a way, impressive work for an instrumental track), but then kind of falls off a cliff into a forgettable (but not unpleasant!) chasm for me.
One of those album covers which looks like the music sounds, if you relate the black void of the cover to the sparseness of the tracks
Really didn't do much for me, but this being female hip hop from 1989 hasn't escaped me either
Liked but not loved it. Some phenomenal tracks but they can't escape the circus music allegations
A legendary pull imo, really appreciated the chance to dig into this album further than "Pictures of You" and "Lovesong", both of which I've loved for a long time
I love the way they build their songs on this, often taking minutes before any vocals come in, but in the meantime creating wistful moody soundscapes that draw you in with their repetition, but allowing for some quite catchy melodies throughout. Second half doesn't leave much to cling to by comparison, but not to the point where I'm unwilling to 5* this
HELL YEAH BROTHER
Loved this review someone left:
"unclear if the album would be better if it were just "Highway to Hell" 10 times"
another longstanding fave of mine. (yes this review is all in lower case)
the grand daddy king of album covers that look like the album sounds
it's a cliche but it really can't be overstated how important it is to listen to this a bit louder than you'd probably like to as there's so much buried in the mix
"only shallow" is an immediately great track from the first 4 drum hits, but the rest of the album takes a bit more time to sink its teeth in.
for me "when you sleep" and "sometimes" were the next obvious "catchy" tracks.
then i sort of realised one day that "to here knows when" is like being carried away on an ethereal wave
"soon" starts almost like a stereotypical 90s british alt rock track that someone like stone roses might have made (suspiciously similar to fool's gold), until they switch on the hoover about 45 seconds in
Real good, probs would be a 5 with another listen or two
Born too late to be there for this recording and give myself hearing damage, sad times
Initially I was listening to the non-40th anniverary edition on Apple Music, and for some reason the first track was the original studio recording of Ace of Spades, I was thinking "wow was this recorded live???" then I realised
A classic for good reason, what luck that the first prog rock album is still one of the greatest
Maybe the most iconic album cover vs how many people have actually heard a track from the album? Can you think of anything that it applies better to?
Used to listen to this a bit 10+ years ago, in that time Epitaph is weirdly one of the ones that sticks in my head more than the well-known bookends.
This one doesn't half prog out like, some tracks go on outrageously long - Schizoid man in a jazzy way that bands like black midi owe a huge debt too, Moonchild in a more calm way that makes you forget you've got an album on. Not a big deal anyway since there's only 5 of them so it doesn't outstay its welcome
First heard the title track in Children of Men (really really great film if you've never seen it). The constant drum fills are so good, makes the organ(?) so satisfying as a payoff to them
Kanye was absolutely a genius for using this for POWER, recontextualising a 60s prog sample onto a maximalist hip hop track which literally paints himself as a 21st century schizoid man is a masterstroke, but I digress
In case you're wondering what the frontman Robert Fripp is up to these days, this is what the frontman Robert Fripp is up to these days https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khkKfMotNoI
Just don't quite get it yet after 2 listens, but glad I've heard it if that makes sense
First time I've heard the full full album, but I'm a bit of a casual fan so knew maybe half the tracks?
Definitely one of the best if not the best britpop album (certainly not best if The Bends counts). Plenty of great tracks throughout (I liked Feelingcalledlove which I'd not heard before)
Common People is one of those perfect songs where the lyrics are witty, with some quite unique social commentary about the class divide, but then completes the package by being an absolute banger that you want to belt out every lyric to if you're lucky enough to hear it in the right setting
Great, but not as great as Doolittle imo. Where Is My Mind is an unbeatable song that almost transcends genre, and the rest of the album sounds well, well ahead of its time, but aside from WIMM I don't love the tracks on here in the way that I love "Debaser" and "Wave of Mutilation" and "Here Comes Your Man" and "Monkey Gone to Heaven" and "Mr Grieves" and "No 13 Baby" and "Hey" and "Gouge Away".
Where there were obviously punk acts making noisy fast music before them, Pixies were one of the first to let their songs be quiet too and have that dynamic, which makes all the screaming and distortion a lot more tolerable. I really love Gigantic for this
Really enjoyed it actually, even on shuffle
Idk, not as good as her later ones (listened to Vespertine for the first time recently and really enjoyed that), but a strangely good 90s dance album at times which isn't what you'd expect. I swear Big Time Sensuality is one of the best dance tracks of the 90s, and Venus as a Boy is really good
Honestly quite listenable in a rhythmic way, but it was a bit of a marathon listening to both discs. Would be decent for work or something but can't justify a 2
Absolutely elite songwriting, straightforward yet emotional and full of brilliant metaphor. It's strange hearing a load of songs for the first time and it feeling like you already know them somehow. Can draw a lot of comparison to Carole King's Tapestry - much like that it needs a few more listens from me - but already really like it
Unfortunately faded into the background for me after Roundabout, which is not enough credit to the band that went from this album to do "Close to the Edge" (which surely will pop up on this list if this did?) to somehow going on to write quintessential 80s pop cheese in the form of "Owner of a Lonely Heart"
First and last track were great, rest kind of faded into background but that's probs more my fault
Not bad, interludes between pretty much every song create an interesting flow. Seems frontloaded maybe? Almost funny how similar her voice is to Beyonce's
Deserves another listen but I know deep down that I won't
Pyramid song is perfect, the rest ranges from bleep bloopy to great
Incredible production for a live album, there's simply no way it sounded this good in person so how did they do it?
Very glad this one wasn't 2 hours long as the deluxe edition lead me to believe, mad that half the runtime is just My Generation
Makes total sense to be on the list, Elvis is Elvis. But naturally sounds incredibly dated as a result of being such early rock and roll. Fun hearing "I Got a Woman" which I know is a Ray Charles cover and was used for "Gold Digger".
Incredibly disappointed to report that this version of "Blue Moon" pales in comparison to Sinatra's
What a consistently great album, no small order for a double. I knew Sir Duke really well already but hadn't heard any of the rest.
Pastime Paradise made me sit up straight, can't believe he sampled Coolio.
Definitely one I'll return to
*oh my god, I get it*
Total vibe of an album, really messy and sleazy and bluesy. Flows right over you. Real real good, instant love from the first listen.
Rocks Off on repeat for me now
Listened to the whole thing once 10+ years ago (downloaded to my PC 29/04/2015, yeah I'm an OG)
Really good, like the older brother of Since I Left You that plays the drums too loud through the wall when it's trying to get to sleep. Love hearing Twin Peaks getting sampled in one of the latter tracks too. But hard to give 5* as it's not something I'd love to put on anytime and doesn't give you much to latch onto melodically, which by contrast I feel like SILY has in spades while doing a similar sort of thing
Good fun, very strange hearing Fairytale escaped from its typical Christmas quarantine
Surprising mix of different genres despite all being rooted in the whole celtic punk schtick (although wasn't such a schtick when they did it I suppose)
Second time I've heard Rocky Road to Dublin recently, it also features in Sinners in a great scene
Always liked their singles, but never heard this album past "An Ocean In Between The Waves", a song I wore out when I discovered it in summer of 2014. I could listen to the outro for that for a whole album straight, I swear
This album's a bit of a funny one, it's always kind of teetering on the edge of being overlong in a lot of its songs - and the similarities to Springsteen run the risk of it all sounding a bit stale, not to mention the quite heavy use of drum machine - but there's something about the way the tracks end up locking into a groove that I'm happy to stay within that works so well for me.
"Red Eyes" never fails to get me a bit hyped up with the "WOO!" and the lead guitar kicking in, kind of a basic trick but so so good imo
Sam Fender's last album's sound owes a lot to this band (Adam from this band did produce it after all!)
What is this, The Velvet Underground & Rico?
Really enjoyed despite the language barrier, and it's something I'd literally never ever have had a chance of knowing if not for it popping up on the list
Must be the most dirty, angry sounding album that somehow still manages to have mass appeal. One of my friends is an absolute NiN megafan but I find his whole discography hard to approach somehow despite his attempts. Heard this one maybe twice before in full, but probably heard "Closer" 100+ times. Loved his soundtrack stuff with Atticus Ross since Social Network, though admittedly usually as an accompaniment to whatever they're scoring (Except "Hand Covers Bruise", could listen to that on repeat, breathtakingly minimal)
Like this one more and more on repeat listens, "Take the skin and peel it back" and there are some weirdly catchy melodies in here, and the industrial hellscape is weirdly addictive
Enjoyed on the relisten, not unlike pixies at times
Was alright, only listened once so can't give a great review. Prefer Tina's proud Mary
I know this is a total classic but not much really stands out for me after Rock with You
Something almost conversational about most of Track B, between the...instrument and the...other instrument. Found this one a bit more interesting than some of the other jazz ones we've had. Points for sick album cover too
Nice and jangly, great basslines, great guitar/drum fills, and Morrissey whinging. What's not to love. Don't think I've heard any of these before aside from Headmaster Ritual and Barbarism Begins at Home, the latter of which contains probably their best instrumental work.
I find it quite funny that their guitarist Johnny Marr became vegan after they made this album, I suppose you've kind of got to? Another fun fact about Johnny Marr is that he was in Modest Mouse for 3 years around the time of their 2007 album, which isn't quite interesting enough to bring up outside of this review, but perfectly serendipitous since I've been reccing them recently
Pretty great, not an ounce of filler. Heard Free Bird too many times at this point, though I'll always associate it with driving around the country in GTA San Andreas at far too young of an age.
Do they really need 7 people? Food for thought
Not bad but not something I'd ever just throw on. Really enjoyed future days from can which this inspired me to listen to
Better than the album title would lead me to believe, bit like The Replacements' Let It Be in terms of being a bit of a hybrid between indie and punk
Pretty good, mountain song slaps
Good but I'm sick of the bayou boss
Bit boring glammy stuff. Jean Genie I knew.
Dunno what to make of this really, sounds both very of the 80s and very not at the same time. I think I'd rather listen to REMs first album if we're talking what came out in this genre/era, and some tracks are quite reminiscent of this.
Strangely intriguing album cover, is it just me? Reminds me of an old book cover or something.
"The The"'s song "This Is The Day" (great great track, give it a listen) is a lot like "Charlotte Street"
Wonderfully simple. Most of the tracks having just 3 instruments (including vocals) and some quite simple drums, and using that to pull some rockin tunes out of the bag is no small feat. Elephant is definitely better though. Fav track might be We're Going to Be Friends, a song so simple even I can play it
Really enjoyed, didn't realise the dreampoppy sound was around as early as 1984. I don't think it's as good as HOLV though
Guy who has only heard Carole King's Tapestry, listening to his second album:
Getting a lot of Carole King's Tapestry vibes from this...
4* carried almost entirely by Like A Rolling Stone and Desolation row
Sound and vision elite. More so an Eno album for side B, for better and for worse
For 30 minutes, truly made me feel like the girl from ipanema
Went for the Bowie Mix, opinion seems strongly divided which is better so went for the OG.
Raw Power is certainly apt. I know Search and Destroy quite well but hadn't heard any of the others. Didn't do much for me unfortunately. If you want rawer power "I Wanna Be Your Dog" is a crazy sound for 1969
HOOOOMEWARD BOUND
I WISH I WAS
Can't listen to that song without thinking of The Leftovers using it in a brilliant karaoke scene. Fantastic show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWWGf8BT0YU (Doesn't make a lick of sense without context but take this as a rec)
Love Simon and Garfunkel (not to mention Paul Simon's solo stuff, holy Graceland!), but more so their stuff off Bridge Over Troubled Water than their earlier stuff like this. I'd say I've been missing out. Love the blatant Dylan parody in "A Simple Desultory Philippic"
Appreciate it as very early folk, but found it a bit of a snoozefest
The kind of shit that Jez from Peep Show would claim to have created and been stolen from him.
Quite interesting as an electronic album which sounds about 90% acoustic
Not unlike Endtroducing, which I think manages to make more "iconic" sounding tracks than anything off this. That said, Belladonna managed to stand out for me despite being near the end - both of the album and my tether - really beautiful soundscape mixed with the heavy double(?) bass. Reminded me a bit of Mogwai
Smooth smooth smooth album, just don’t absolutely love it on my first full listen
One of those classic albums that does NOT sound like the cover. You'd expect some rock, but then you get Walk On The Wild Side - a pretty chilled out song - and Perfect Day which is pretty much a ballad (not to say these aren't great songs). Rest of the album is alright, but it just can't compare to the best of Velvet Underground
Bit shocked that this came out in 1972 actually, I kind of had it pegged as an 80s album for some reason?
OOH
Not sure about this one
YEAHEHHHHH
I bet it was sick to be there, but not sure how well the orchestra translates to some of these.
WHOAAAAOOOWHOA
Like you can't tell me Battery needed the orchestral treatment it had and that it improves on anything for example, I find it just kind of dilutes what is already there. Almost like videogame boss music mixed in with Metallica tracks at times
COME ON
And I'm maybe a bit salty about the 2h+ runtime but it's kind of par for the course for a lot of uncut live albums
Always wanted to give this one a go, heard it recommended loads. and I'd say it lived up to it on the first listen and a half. Got almost jumpscared by Corona, did not know the Jackass theme came from this.
Despite being spread across 40-odd tracks, loads of variety and the short tracks mean its just constant new ideas being thrown at you. Very funky bass, which I guess you kind of need when you're only working with a single guitar aside from that
Great, moody, preferred the first disc with its heavier stuff
Sorta Tribe Called Quest at home innit? Rudeness aside, I thought this was alright
Nice and moody, a sort of hint at their later sound as compared to eg. “Boys Don’t Cry” from their first album
Not too shabby for country, but would certainly not return. Nice to know who kd lang is now, filed away in the memory bank for future crosswords
Basically the metal album as far as I’m concerned, master of reality might be even better
Not bad, crazy move having an atomic bomb as your first track, then a crying baby for the rest of the runtime
NOT a concept song about Thomas Edison, stealer of the light bulb from local Sunderland legend Joseph Swan
Melody Fair is the most non-Beatles Beatles song I've ever heard outside of Mr Blue Sky
Surely there's more essential Bee Gees than this
Probably my fave radiohead album atm in terms of not having played it to death. Some great great rocking tunes paired with some classic sad ones like fake plastic trees and fade out
Fabulous collection of songs, was surprised to know a few of these just from random pop culture when I was fully expecting to go into it knowing nothing
Spoopy but interesting through its concept
Short n sweet, love a 20 min punk album
Such outrageous talent, flexing after 5 albums straight of bangers with yet another one. Kashmir I knew really well from my Groovesharkin days, but somehow never heard the rest. How did I manage to listen to an 82 minute album the night of my daughter's birth? The answer is that I didn't, I only got through half of it, and I'm controversially basing my 5 star rating on that half alone. I will definitely return
