This feels like a good baseline album and rating to start off this project with. Had never actually really listened to this outside of "You Can Call Me Al" and the title track. Paul Simon's songwriting strengths meld really well with the South African instrumentalists that he brought into the room, although I imagine his songwriting strengths meld really well with most musicianship out there, the instincts are just so incredible. Outside of the aforementioned great songs that still hold up, the two highlights (which will make pleasant new additions to my rotation) were "The Boy in the Bubble" and especially "Under African Skies". Wow Linda Ronstadt's voice huh. Very funny to love that song and then read about how that one was especially critiqued in the scope of the anti-apartheid boycotts. Beautiful song though.
Maybe I just find Eddie Van Halen influential for a guitar style I find super annoying lol and I'm holding that against this perfectly passable album. Not my jam but well performed and produced. "Drop Dead Legs" is the one new song I enjoyed hearing.
Stays afloat the whole time -- the one song that I didn't know before that grabbed me was "Sweetest Devotion", but the banger here is "Send My Love to Your New Lover", I think the clear achievement of this album that otherwise I find lesser to all of her other albums (this weirdly was the only one I had never checked out). Good but not especially great ya know
Two tracks in and i'm alr smiling SO wide.
From "Monkey Man" on it's just relentless bangers. Really really great stuff. The standout track to me is "Too Much Too Young" but I'm also huge on "Nite Klub". Definitely will return to this one a bunch. Never really delved much into ska but found this irresistible. Chat am I cooked etc etc
one of my major blindspots. Only knew the title track. That's still the standout as far as I'm concerned but what a well fleshed out, expansive and far reaching album. I think the import of it will hit me on further listening but honestly spent most of this wanting to relisten to The Specials lol
Very fun, but at a certain point more interesting as a (sorta) transitional missing link between more propulsive or catchy movements of punk. When this thing is 45 minutes long and not particularly varied it sorta lands more in scientifically curious rather than enjoyable. Drop Out is my cut of choice.
I had heard this before, but only really remembered half the songs. Kind of overlooked in the MJ canon and it sorta feels like there's reason for that. The floor is very good but even though there's some real standout stuff it pales next to some of the greatest top to bottom albums ever made in this discography. Still an MJ album though.
Just sort of a masterful object, the exact kind of hip-hop curio I adore. "Blue Flowers" is the only song I knew going in and it's still my favorite of the tracklist but goodness gracious is this whole thing wonderful. By which I mean Dan the Automator is firing on all cylinders and Kool Keith is meeting the moment with inspired crudeness and off-kilter rhymes. The incipience of a movement that would go on to foster some of my favorite music ever but jeez unlike some other proto-genre highly influential albums this one really holds my attention and lingers like the best of what follows. Cool! Insane! Incredibly produced! Love it! Favorite new discoveries were "3000", "No Awareness", "Real Raw", "Technical Difficulties", "Bear Witness", "Halfsharkalligatorhalfman", and "Waiting List (DJ Shadow/Automator remix)".
This is really something. Only have been sorta passingly familiar with Sinéad, and been meaning to check this out forever really. Turns out, it's brilliant! So special. I think it was the moment, after the haunting opening track, that "I Am Stretched On Your Grave" kicks off with the Funky Drummer break that I knew this would be a great ride. I think "The Emperor's New Clothes" is the best in show but shoutout to "Last Days of Our Acquaintance" and the aforementioned "I Am Stretched On Your Grave". Overall an incredible listen.
