Obviously Tutti Frutti is an all-timer. The rest of the album is good but feels a bit same-y after awhile - maybe to be expected for the time period. I also think this isn't as much an album as just a collection of songs that the record company probably put together. Little Richard's wailing vocals just cannot be denied though.
Best song - Tutti Frutti
Notable Mentions - Jenny Jenny, Baby (both for their great vocal performances)
This album is a bit of a mixed bag for me. The highlights are some of the best songwriting examples of the grunge era in songs like Down In A Hole and Rooster, with some amazing vocal performances in songs like Rain When I Die, Junkhead, and Them Bones. There's some good riffs, interesting rhythmic changes, effective harmonies, and some interesting structures and progressions.
But the flip side is how depressed it left me feeling. There are many songs with no tonal centre or intentionally dissonant chord usage that - while theoretically interesting - left me feeling unsettled lead my mind to wander. There are also some pretty lacklustre and forgettable verses that just drag when compared to highs this album.
Best song - Rooster
Notable mentions - Them Bones, Down In A Hole, Rain When I Die
What a voice! I love an alto voice, and hers is as good as it gets in jazz. I love the intimacy of the live crowd which reminded me in moments of Tom Waits' Nighthawks At The Diner.
The album went a little long for me though and it became more background music than a really engaging album by the end of it.
When I think back on Radiohead's discography, I never consider The Bends to be one of their very best. In my memory this record will always be outshined by the radical change in sound they brought to Kid A, or the infectious rhythms of The King Of Limbs (yes this is a top 5 Radiohead album IMHO), or the sheer perfection of In Rainbows. But anytime I return to actually listen to The Bends in full again I am forced to reconsider that opinion.
Every song on this album is memorable on its own, with beautiful melodies and dense guitar parts over an understated rhythm section with underrated bass lines. The production is consistent between tracks and crystal clear, allowing the strength of the songwriting and performances to shine through. But the album as a whole also has a greater arch, slowly building to a peak just past the midway point, only to fall off a cliff, and then sort of coast to the finish line in a beautiful way. It is album storytelling at its best.
The Bends is probably one of the greatest rock albums ever made.
Suspicious Minds is a strong 5/5, but the rest of the album is only pretty good. Great basslines!
Maybe my favorite piano performance on a rock album ever
Liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Can't imagine how mind blowing this must've been in 1970.
Some true classics of house on this album, mixed in with some really boring songs. Bit of a rollercoaster but it was mostly enjoyable.
Na na na na na na na
An unexpected perfect album in my mind. Creativity and execution are just off the wall on this.
Love a lot of this album. Very different for Zeppelin, more acoustic and folk influence. Immigrant Song IS rock 'n' roll to me. Also loved Since I've Been Loving You and Bron-Y-Aur Stomp.
I was glad to get the context from the Wikipedia article that this album is an important predecessor to later greats of the Neo-soul movement, otherwise I'm not sure I would've given it much consideration. I can definitely hear the influence in those later records, although I also understand why this album is not as popular as others that came after it. It has some cool parts here and there throughout, but a lot of the vocals are pretty lacklustre, and it doesn't have a lot of the rhythmic interest of later examples of Neo-soul.
This album should be moved onto a list called "1001 Albums To Avoid Until You Die".
This is one of my favourite hip hop eras when I was 19, so it will always be nostalgic for me. It's still great, except for the skits.
Hard not to say this is pretty much a perfect album. Such simple, timeless, well executed songwriting and recording.
Groove Is In The Heart is pretty much the only reason this isn't a 1/5.
Can't argue with Blue! This is a classic for a reason.
This album has a lot of elements that I theoretically should like, but I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of it.
I think I'm going to have to re-evaluate some of my earlier ratings because this album really showed me what a 2/5 is.
Not their best but an enjoyable listen.
More fun than I anticipated.
What a great and unique album. Interesting that this is described as punk in any way - I would love to hear more punk take influence from this record.
Bob Marley has been such a prominent figure for my entire life, mostly as a poster on college dorm room walls, that I think it can be easy to forget how truly talented he was. This album is a whole vibe, front to back, and I can barely fault it. Will be returning to this one again in the future.
I was a bit torn between a 3 and 4 here, but ultimately decided that I think Muddy Waters is one of the best do ever do it and so deserves the higher rating. My only struggle with it, really, is that I just don't find the blues to be that interesting most of the time.
I don't think this would be the R.E.M. album I would put on this list, but I assume a stronger one is coming. Still enjoyable, just not excellent. It was better on the second listen.
It's not a terrible album, but it doesn't belong on this list. I can think of 50 albums that aren't on this list that are better than this.
The highs are probably some of the dance songs that are going to be on this list, but the lows drag it down quite a bit for me.
Truly a masterpiece. This album is probably in my top 50 favorite albums of all time.
Solid album and I'm glad I listened to it. It's no Blue, and I could do without the pseudo-scatting jazz team to end the album, but I'll be returning to this one for sure.
Enjoyable, but not Bob's best. Not sure that this needs to be on this list at all with Catch A Fire already on it.
Really enjoyed this experience. I wasn't familiar with Mercury Rev at all, but it immediately reminded me a lot of The Flaming Lips. Finding out that the two bands had a connection was as delightful as listening to this record was.
Weirdly, a few songs from this album seem to be unavailable on most streaming platforms. But from what I could listen to this is the classic, really smart hip hop from the early 90's that I love. Language of Violence was a real stand out for me. It's kind amazing to hear someone rapping about homosexuality in a way that would still stand out today. I'm surprised I'd never heard of this before.
Has some fun moments. Great basslines. Not the Abba album I would put on this list though.
This album is garbage.
I don't know, man. Three Marvin Gaye albums on this list? Seems a bit much when you're only working with a limited number of albums. It's a pretty good record, but it doesn't belong on this list.
Great musicianship, great voice, classic album.
This album made me feel things.
One of the greatest morning albums ever recorded.
