There were moments where I was really grooving, but overall it’s not to my taste. Talking to some friends, it was an important album at the time. Under the Bridge was the only song I rated above three stars.
Wow! This was an excellent listen. What a talent! Though I must admit, every time his vocalization came through it took me out of the experience. Still a solid 8/10.
I don’t have any history with Dylan. Obviously I’ve heard some of his hits, but that’s about it.
Worse, I’m not a lyrics guy. Unless I’m very actively listening, I don’t typically pick up on lyrics, and I feel like Dylan is famous as a lyricist first.
Anyway, all that is to say, this isn’t really to my taste. I find his vocal style grating. Some interesting things musically, and listening to the Strong Songs episode “A Bob Dylan’s Beginner’s Guide,” it’s fascinating to hear that people followed his live recordings like a jam band.
But for me, this was only a 4/10, “Acceptable”
Great record. I only knew “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing,” but was blown away over and over by Stevie’s voice and groove. 8/10 Most Excellent
Reading some of the other reviews, it seems like a lot of love for this album is drive by the lyrics (which really capture teenage angst) and nostalgia. Unfortunately I miss a lot of lyrics unless I’m listening carefully, and have no nostalgia for this band.
That said, it’s pretty good! Only knew the first song. I can see why it’s loved, but it’s not for me. 6/10 Pretty Good
It’s fine. Didn’t grab me in the same way Stevie Wonder did. Definitely has the slower feel and tempo that I associate with R&B. Have to admit it was a bit boring.
4/10 Acceptable
When it comes to the Beatles, I mostly know the hits. But there was plenty to enjoy here.
I still don’t put them on much, but there’s a reason they’re as loved as they are.
7/10 Quite Likeable
Really enjoyed this! Was a bit worried based on the mixed reviews.
8/10 Most Excellent
I want you to want me! Some solid hits, but the album didn’t wow as a whole.
5/10 Decent
Some decent music, that’s not to my taste. A bit boring!
5/10 Decent
Not always a huge fan of her voice, but I found plenty to like here, in lyrics and music.
6/10 Pretty Good
The beats are pretty good. Didn’t enjoy the music, though.
3/10 Ho Hum
Janis Joplin! I probably wouldn’t listen on the regular, but it was a fun diversion.
6/10 Pretty Good
I don’t think I’ve heard a single song on this album. It reminds me of something I can’t quite place… in any case, I enjoyed it!
7/10 Quite Likeable
Such a weird album! It goes all over the place, and they were obviously having a ton of fun. I enjoyed it.
7/10 Quite Likable
Lots more that I recognized on this album vs Rubber Soul. Good stuff.
8/10 Most Excellent
I’m not sure I’ve ever listened to this entire album as a whole. It’s weird and wonderful.
9/10 Outstanding
(I’m not sure what I’m saving my “10/10 Godlike” for. Maybe I’ll go back and edit a few later on.)
My first reaction was that it was a bit boring, but I enjoyed it more as it went on.
5/10 Decent
I don’t have a lot of nostalgia for David Bowie. This album had a few interesting moments, but it was also hindered by the fact that I don’t particularly like his vocal style. It’s a weird mess. I wonder if the album would receive as much praise if he hadn’t died two days after its release?
4/10 Acceptable
Some pretty right up the middle country pop. A bit boring overall, but it had catchy moments. There’s a reason I don’t listen to the slower Taylor Swift stuff, and that’s where most of this album landed. It was telling that I kept checking to see how many songs were left because I wanted to listen to something else. Felt like a very long 45 minutes.
4/10 Acceptable
Not usually that into hip hop or rap. But this had its moments. Even recognized “Ready Or Not” and “Killing Me Softly”.
Part of the problem is that I don’t get much out of lyrics. Similar problem with Dylan.
6/10 Pretty Good
I enjoyed this while it was on, but it wasn’t super memorable. “Languid” was a word used in someone else’s review. “Tuneless” is another. The first is a positive, the second less so.
5/10 Decent
Recognized the opening song right away. Reminds me of early 2000s TV shows. Pretty chill vibe, if a bit on the sad side.
6/10 Pretty Good
We used to play Come Out and Play in marching band 😂
Anyway, punk isn’t really my thing, but this was pretty decent.
6/10 Pretty Good
Huh. What a weird album. It was musically dense, and decently enjoyable. But I don’t know that I’ll ever care to listen to it again.
5/10 Decent
The first song was a mess. Completely incoherent. The second song was a more straightforward jazz number.
Can lyrics save this album? Song three says no. Slightly more intelligible than the first song, but the lyrics don’t do anything good for it.
God, it’s still not over? Why isn’t this a Goose jam instead?
Ok, the last song (“Out-Bloody-Rageous”) actually kind of slaps.
5/10 What Even Was That
Really enjoyed this.
8/10 Most Excellent
Excellent! The Cars are legends for a reason.
9/10 Outstanding
First, very distracted listen, this didn’t stick out to me, except in snippets. On re-listen, I really enjoyed this! It went all over the place — the second to last song is full-on country! But I certainly was never bored.
8/10 Most Excellent
I’m torn on this one. She sings beautifully, but ends up being a bit boring for me, except for the hits.
6/10 Pretty Good
Damn, this was a pleasant surprise! Really enjoyed it. It started a bit slow but had some great songs in the middle. Favorites: Last Nite, Hard to Explain, Someday.
8/10 Most Excellent
This is actually a pretty fun album. Except for that third song, “We Will Fall” — it was boring and way too long. The violin at the end was beautiful, but that song will forever be a skip for me.
Reading some of the other reviews, I’m sure this was revolutionary and pushed all sorts of boundaries. But it just didn’t keep my attention all that well. Enjoyable but won’t be on repeat for me.
6/10 Pretty Good
I don’t feel qualified to judge a jazz album. This was enjoyable, but not something I would typically put on.
6/10 Pretty Good
I found this enjoyable, but honestly a bit repetitive and forgettable.
6/10 Pretty Good
I don’t know if it was just the way this hit me today, but it was relentlessly boring.
That said, I can see the craft here, and understand why it’s on the list. His voice is beautiful.
4/10 Acceptable
This was more enjoyable than I was expecting. I still struggle to follow the storytelling in rap, which is certainly part of my struggle with it. But this album had a lot of diversity and, while it was a bit long, I wasn’t bored. I feel like, despite my ambivalence, I can recognize good rap, and I think this qualifies.
6/10 Pretty Good
This was fun! Enjoyable but not particularly sticky.
7/10 Quite Likeable
This album went down better than the last Dylan for me. I still don’t like his singing style, and he’s still a poor fit for me because I am not good at listening to lyrics. But I found some of these songs relatively enjoyable, if not enough to ever justify a second listen.
5/10 Decent
I have a new drinking game. Drink every time they say/sing the word “funk.” Oops I’m dead of alcohol poisoning. 💀
Kidding aside, this was great! Some of the jam sections would fit right in with some of my favorite Goose jams. Part funk, part psychedelic rock, all fun.
9/10 Outstanding
It’s Elvis! It’s fine.
5/10 Decent
Very 80s. Whether you like his voice or not, you’ve got to admit he can sing. I thought this was pretty good, even though it’s not something I’ll come back to often.
7/10 Quite Likeable
Damn, this is great! Such a huge difference from the final Bowie album.
8/10 Most Excellent
“Overall this album sounds like John Williams scoring a Bond theme while sleepwalking.”
That’s from another review, and I think it’s apt, at least for the first half of the album. This was an extremely weird listen. Boring in places, intriguing in others. I don’t expect I’ll ever listen to it again, but I’m glad I listened to it at least once.
5/10 Decent
On the one hand, she has a beautiful voice. But I can’t decide how I feel about the talk singing. The snippets that actually sunk in tell me that there are stories to be told. But the style doesn’t do a lot for me.
But the album does have beautiful moments. And the backing musicians are excellent. I expect I would like it more on a close listen. Perhaps I’ll come back someday.
7/10 Quite Likeable
Pretty forgettable, outside of Mrs Robinson. Pleasant enough.
6/10 Pretty Good
Not necessarily my ideal genre, but I found her voice beautiful, and plenty to enjoy here.
7/10 Quite Likeable
This was excellent! Groovy and psychedelic. The hard panning was a little obnoxious in headphones, but I’m not docking any stars for that.
8/10 Most Excellent
I enjoyed this way more than I expected. It rocks! Again, I didn’t get many of the lyrics, but it sounds like they’d be right up my alley too.
8/10 Most Excellent
Sounds surprisingly modern. But it didn’t stick with me in any big way. It was enjoyable!
7/10 Quite Likeable
This was pleasant enough background music, but completely forgettable. It probably deserves more of a careful listen than I could give it today.
6/10 Pretty Good
Sweet dreams is a great song, but not strong enough to carry the rest of the album.
5/10 Decent
Dammit, jam bands are just jazz, aren’t they?
Jokes aside, this was great, I was really grooving.
Sub-note: The “joke” above was my own, but I went to Claude to see if it could come up with anything funnier. My favorite:
“I don’t like jazz. I just like 20-minute improvisations over modal harmony with extended grooves. Totally different.”
I realized I didn’t know what “modal harmony” meant. So I asked!
> Modal harmony is when music is built around a mode (a type of scale) rather than around chord progressions that pull you toward a home key. In traditional jazz or pop, chords create tension and resolution — you feel that pull toward the “one,” the home chord. Modal harmony sits in a scale and just lives there, creating atmosphere and color instead of that constant push-pull.
> In a Silent Way is a perfect example. Instead of cycling through chord changes, the music hangs on one or two chords for long stretches, and the musicians improvise using the notes of a mode over that static foundation. It’s what gives the album that floating, hypnotic quality.
This is actually a big part of why it connects to what you already love in jam bands. When Goose locks into a long jam and the harmonic movement slows way down while the band explores texture and rhythm — that’s essentially modal playing. Miles (along with guys like John Coltrane) pioneered that approach in the late ’50s and ’60s, and it filtered directly into the improvisation-heavy music that came after, from fusion to funk to jam bands.
> So your quip is more literally true than you probably meant it to be.
Apparently Miles Davis is going to be my next deep dive. 9/10. Actually, no, fuck it, this gets my first 10/10.
10/10 Godlike
Didn’t do much for me, but it was enjoyable.
I’m realizing that part of the problem with this project is that some days I have more attention available than others. I wonder if, on the right day, this could have captured me as it did so many others in the reviews?
6/10 Pretty Good
Groovy! Enjoyed this more than I expected, especially after learning it was a soundtrack. I don’t have any nostalgia or context for Mayfield.
7/10 Quite Likeable
I found this relentlessly boring.
2/10 Marginal
Great music created by apparently terrible people. I am not aware of the controversy, but I think art from bad people can still be good.
8/10 Most Excellent
I really enjoyed this. Chill, smooth, groovy. Funny how I can be so bored on albums that others love, and really enjoy albums others find “boring elevator music.”
7/10 Quite Likeable
This was a pleasant surprise! A funky, laid back, and really enjoyable listen.
7/10 Quite Likeable
Wow, didn’t expect two hours of hip hop today. Listened to this in fragments throughout the day. It went *everywhere*. I had to check periodically that it hadn’t gone onto radio mode due to the end of the album. Certainly wasn’t a lack of ideas on the part of these two.
Still, it wasn’t particularly coherent, and beyond the songs I recognized it was a bit meh.
5/10 Decent
