Pretty solid, a bit cheesy, but definitely important regardless of the controversy surrounding him. The last track, "Leave Me Alone" stood out with its amazing hook, I'll definitely be coming back to this track in the future.
Favorite Song: "Leave Me Alone"
Many "polished" rock albums fail to get it right and come across as soulless cash grabs. Black Holes and Revelations, however, is rich, expansive and almost cinematic in its production and writing. While I generally abhor rock that is over-polished (think Bon Jovi, etc.), this album takes it and runs away with it perfectly. "Knights of Cydonia" hits the nail straight on the head for the overall space-western feel.
Favorite Song: "Knights of Cydonia"
Despite not being the biggest fan of electronic music, especially as of late, I find The Man-Machine, as well as a handful of other Kraftwerk albums very enjoyable. Kraftwerk's classic 70's synth-y sound definitely may not be for all, but I greatly enjoy it and its simplicity. The one aspect that really just doesn't click with me is the robot theming of "The Robots". While I find it fascinating that they went all-out in going with the whole robot theme, I just don't really care for this track, despite it being decently popular. However, I really enjoy "Neon Lights" and its relaxing, optimistic sound akin to some of their tracks off of their previous album, Trans-Europe Express.
Favorite Song: "Neon Lights"
I came really close to giving Tusk a 3, but I just couldn't. The main thing that turned me off was some of its more "out-there" songs, such as "The Ledge", but its high points made up for its shortcomings in my mind. That being said, though, I still believe that it pales in comparison to Rumors. I still mainly enjoy Fleetwood Mac for their more mainstream soft rock songs, but Tusk is by no means a bad album in my opinion. "Angel" was the main song that stood out for me, I really enjoyed the lines "And to those that I love, like a ghost through a fog, Like a charmed hour and a haunted song".
Favorite Song: "Angel"
Jazz Samba is just about everything I could ask for in a jazz album. It's smooth, relaxing, and puts me in a good mood (in other words, it's bossa nova.) The whole album is consistent in sound, and I just really enjoy it. "Samba de Uma Nota So" ended up being my favorite track off of the album, although "Samba Triste" came really close to being so. Call me a jazz casual (that's what I am after all), but I found this album extremely enjoyable.
Favorite Song: "Samba de Uma Nota So"
I found Band on the Run to be extremely uncompelling. I do actually enjoy the track "Band on the Run" a lot, which made me have artificially high hopes for the album, but aside from maybe "Jet" and "Mrs. Vandebilt", I just did not enjoy this album much at all (and those tracks did not nearly enough make up for it.) I'll keep "Band on the Run" in my classic rock rotation, but other than that, this album's very forgettable for me.
Favorite Song: "Band on the Run"
Scissor Sisters was surprisingly tolerable for a modern pop album. I'm not at all in the market for modern pop, but I can definitely see that this would probably be a good album for the right listener. That being said, I think their cover of "Comfortably Numb" might be one of the worst covers I've ever heard, and of a song I really like, which really hurt the album's image for me, along with "Filthy/Gorgeous". Its saving grace, and what helped soften the blow, was the last track, "Return to Oz". Out of all of the songs on the album, it actually felt like the one with the most actual soul and emotion. As a random extra, I think the cover art is pretty cool as well.
Favorite Song: "Return to Oz"
Some classy sounding stuff (although the lyrics are far from classy), not incredibly bad. "Sharp Dressed Man" is obviously the standout track here, and I enjoy it. That being said, this album is severely lacking in the emotion/meaningfulness department (surprise, surprise.) Like many albums of the time, Eliminator is plagued with a bunch of junky filler aside from the singles. "Best of" albums of bands like these tend to be their most popular for a reason.
Favorite Song: "Sharp Dressed Man"
The music of New York Dolls was actually pretty good, I especially liked the blues-y(?) guitar solo in "Vietnamese Baby" as well as the drumming throughout the album. I just can't stand the first-wave punk style of singing that the singer did throughout the whole album. I am just not the right person for it, I really don't see the talent in guttural screaming, but to each their own. Of course, being a glam-rock album, I wasn't expecting any life-changing lyrics, and with songs like "Looking for a Kiss" and "Pills", my presumptions were correct.
Favorite Song: "Vietnamese Baby"
