I listened to half of this album before, but it didn’t stick for whatever reason. Probably because ten minute song in the middle of an album is something which usually puts me off. But this time, it definitely stuck. Wow. Those guitars are amazing throughout the whole album. I love this kind of nasally singing. And every song is unique too.
The bests:
See No Evil
Venus
Marquee Moon
Elevation
I enjoyed it all the way through, but very little stuck with me. It’s good as a vibe album in the background when I’m doing something else, but I think I’d get bored of it on its own.
I liked this a lot more than I expected. I honestly expected this to be an album which was only put on here because it’s Bowie and the album cover is cool. But it was genuinely really good. Lots of good songs and a few great ones.
Best songs:
The Stars (Are Out Tonight)
Love is Lost
(You Will) Set The World On Fire
Didn’t hate it, but nothing about this album stood out to me. I feel like I could’ve enjoyed this album if there was more variety among the songs, but they began to blend together for me. A 2 feels harsh, but a 3 feels generous, so I’ve landed on 2.
The poetry in these songs is so good. Every lyric conveys so much meaning and I’m going to be thinking about how lyrically dense these songs are for a bit. Also, it’s so fun! Every song is fun to listen to. It was a fantastic album.
Best songs:
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Maggie’s Farm
Love Minus Zero
Bob Dylan’s 115th dream
Mr. Tambourine Man
Every song is so bombastic, constantly keeping the energy high. The guitars go crazy, and the vocals are obviously great (it’s Queen). I liked this a ton.
I enjoyed each song for maybe a minute, but it then repeats the same thing for 2-3 more minutes. It got so repetitive by the end. It wasn’t terrible by any means but I really wanted it to end for most of it. South side was a good song though.
This album is magic. I love love love that odd mix of Simon’s speak-singing and twiddly guitar combined with the louder trumpets and keyboards. Alongside that, the African inspired stuff is implemented really well. It’s certainly unique on a record like this, but it doesn’t feel out of place.
There’s something here. I’m intrigued by noise rock, and I seriously think that, in the right mood, an album similar to this could be therapeutic in a way. This album just doesn’t do it. I enjoyed the riffs and it was definitely fun at times, but it was too repetitive. Each riff, though good, would be played a million times, and I’d think “okay, that’s enough.” Then they play it a billion more times.
Cool album cover though.
Light hearted and low stakes punk. I love a good punk record, and this certainly is one. It rarely gets as political as something like the clash, and when it does, it’s masked by obvious sarcasm and stupid humor. The good kind of stupid humor. This album isn’t super insightful like other punk albums, but it’s really fun. And it’s one of the first punk rock albums! It’s super ahead of its time. The guitars are awesome too.
It’s good as a background album. I’m not absorbed by it, but it’s not so boring that I forget I’m even listening. I just can’t get super into these bands which break into a 15 minutes jam sesh whenever they want.
This album is so close to being a 5. But I just barely feel like it doesn’t reach it. Around half of the album is straight masterpiece level. Insanely good stuff, that does so many things so right. Songs like Some Mother’s Son, Brainwashed, Shangri-La, Young and Innocent Days; these songs are on par with some of my favorite music. But the album just doesn’t come together in the way a 5 star album would. It’s missing something that I can’t really put my finger on. But it’s still really good and I’ll listen to it many more times in the future.
I already know this album. And I already love this album. I own a vinyl of it! First of all, it’s way ahead of its time. It sounds like an album from the mid 90s, it’s actually from the early 80s. Additionally, it is probably the most punk-y acoustic album I’ve ever heard, and that’s a great thing. It’s a straight conversion of teen angst into an album. The lyrics are all introspective, and though they’re not always the most insightful, they’re performed with such angst that they feel stronger than they really are. On a few songs, the lyrics are strong enough that they don’t even need the boost, but they get it anyway. The way the following lyrics are performed perfectly describes what I’m talking about:
“You know that I want your loving
But my logic tells me that ain’t ever going to happen
And then my defenses say I didn’t want it anyway
But you know sometimes I’m a liar”
It’s not a particularly unique lyric, but the emotions it conveys are so intense that it doesn’t even matter.
I enjoyed each song individually as a cool background song, but 48 minutes of it straight is too much for me.
I feel like I’ll like this album more as I listen to it more. It’s super melancholy, which normally can end up being boring if I’m in a good mood. But an album like this, despite being so sad, doesn’t rely solely on the sad vibes to be good. It’s also just really strong instrumentally and lyrically. The lines “I’ve got a long way to go / Getting further away” from “Better Be Quiet Now” is the kind of longing in lyrics which can easily stir up emotions in me.
It really sucks he died so young. I feel like he could’ve made some incredible albums after this one, and it’s really a tragedy his life was cut so short.
Favorite songs: “Son of Sam,” “Somebody That I Used To Know,” “Better Be Quiet Now,” and “Can’t Make A Sound”
I can like hip-hop, but not this kind. I don’t think it’s bad, but I just can get into it.
Sorry, but this isn’t my kind of pop. I understand the appeal, but it doesn’t do anything for me. I’m also not a fan of her voice.
Pretty good, but not very memorable in my opinion.
My view of Bob Dylan is extremely biased. He was my dead dad’s favorite artist. Even if I didn’t love this stuff, I’d probably gaslight myself into liking it. But I like it anyway, so it’s not necessary. Makes sense considering how much of my music taste comes directly from him.
Okay, that’s enough feeling bad for myself.
Bob Dylan is interesting, because he’s not the kind of artist whose music you’ll fully “get” on your first listen. You might like the music, and you might even pick up on some of the poetry in his lyrics. But you WILL miss something, and that’s what makes his stuff so good. I’m by far a music-first listener (as opposed to a lyric-first one), but sometimes the words are just so intricate that they draw me in. Not to say the music itself is bad; the music is incredible in its own right. It’s fun, mostly upbeat, and I personally really enjoy his voice. The thing that works so well about Bob Dylan’s best work is how the two elements work in tandem. Of course, a lot of the best musicians out there are trying to find this balance; it’s not a unique thing. But Dylan’s stuff is special. He does it so well, but it’s also different. Nobody sounds quite like Bob Dylan. Nobody writes quite like him either. This album is 50 minutes of Bob Dylan in his prime. I have to give it a 5.
Also, he uses a slide whistle on the song “Highway 61 Revisited,” and that’s pretty funny.
This album cover is so funny to me. It made me expect this album to be super corny. Luckily, it wasn’t actually that corny at all. The beats were catchy, and there was some pretty good lyricism. I did feel like it overstayed its welcome though. The cover is so funny man.
Good, albeit generic rock. There’s not a bad song on this album, but there are so many songs that sound similar to these but better. I was not compelled to listen to the 75 MINUTES of bonus tracks that I initially thought were part of the main album. I was relieved to learn it wasn’t that long, and that’s a bad sign.
It’s really good. The problem is that the hits, at least in my opinion, are a good chunk better than the rest. And the song Pretty Young Thing makes me feel gross knowing… information about MJ. Normally I can separate the art from the artist and all that, but come on man. He’s saying “Pretty Young Thing.” Thats weird.
There are some high highs, but most of the album doesn’t live up to how good those moments are. But the highs are REALLY high. The best songs were Message in a Bottle, On Any Other Day, and Does Everyone Stare.
I expected to really not like this, but it has its merits. It’s works really well as background music. But outside of that, it has very little to it.
This is a fun album. Lyrics made me laugh a few times (I love the phrase Wowie zowie), and most of it was musically interesting. It did start to drag pretty badly by the end though. And by drag, I don’t just mean it was boring. I mean it was BAD. Would’ve been better as a 40 minute album.
I liked this one. It isn’t crazy inventive or unique or anything, but it does everything it was going for really well. The fact that it’s so short keeps it from getting even close to boring. It’s really good. Yay!
It’s a nice, cozy little country album. I’m glad I listened, even if little stood out to me.
I didn’t totally mesh with this album, but it’s definitely good. Her voice is crazy impressive.
As someone who typically enjoys punk, Johnny Rotten can be ANNOYING sometimes. There are good parts, but the majority of this album is too repetitive and… unpleasant.
It’s not super unique, nor is it the most compelling music in the world… but I was in the perfect mood for this today. Maybe I’d be more critical on another day, but I liked it a lot.
I should really listen to Radiohead more. I know I’d like them a lot. This album is a bit repetitive, but it’s incredibly atmospheric. It sets a mood and totally submerges the listener in it, in such a cool way. They kind of feel like soundtracks in a way because of that. That’s neither a compliment nor a criticism, just an observation. Yeah, this album is good. I guess my biggest criticism is that, like I mentioned before, it gets repetitive at times. And Radiohead has better stuff than this.
Some of this album is great, the rest is very forgettable. Not bad, but somewhat uninteresting.
This album feels like junk food. I don’t know how to describe it. It feels bad and a little gross… but it’s so good. It’s so much fun. I think the mixed feelings come from the extreme polish on this album. The songs sound like they were designed to be hits. But not a single song on this album had me bored. One song even got me subconsciously headbanging a little! I almost never do that! I feel weird about giving it a 5, but I want to. In no way does the album feel as artistic as something like Bob Dylan. But dude, it’s just so fun. Going back to junk food: it’s 5 stars the way Taco Bell is a 5 star restaurant. Yes, I wholeheartedly believe Taco Bell is a 5 star restaurant. It feels like it shouldn’t be… but come on. I can’t eat nacho fries and then say that I’m not happy.
The Stooges are obviously important. They’re one of the biggest influences on so many of my favorite artists. Their stuff was so incredibly innovative. But many of the people they influenced have surpassed this band by so much. I’m super glad they exist, and I give them so much credit. But this album is just okay.
“1970” is a standout though. Really good song.
Pretty good vibe album, but I don’t see myself coming back to it… maybe ever. Nothing really stood out.
This album has an overwhelming melancholy permeating all throughout it. Especially after I learned this was Nick Drake’s last album before his suicide. It’s heart breaking in the way I like depressing albums to be, where the despair is conveyed through a general, intimate sound rather than over the top sad lyrics. And honestly, it’s not a terribly sad album on its own. It just has that special atmosphere. Maybe it’s in part because of the context, but I think it’s more than that. It’s the same way some happy songs make me sad. I think it’s some kind of longing. Yearning, unfulfilled desire, or something along those lines. Despite not knowing who he was before today, I’m now mourning Nick Drake’s death 50 years after it happened.
Very surprised to see this rated so low. I love a good Baroque Pop album. It’s a genre I’ve grown to enjoy more and more over time. I thought this whole album was amazing. Specifically “Everybody Knows (except you)” stood out; that song is going to be on loop for a WHILE.
A lot of the other reviews I read on 1001 are bringing up the lyric “If you were a horse, I’d clean the crap out of your stable.” Yeah, it’s a stupid lyric. But to me, it’s stupid in a kind of charming way. I don’t imagine this album’s songs are love songs meant to be sung to a loved one, instead sung to one’s self when they’re way in love with someone. The stupid lyrics are dumb, but they’re dumb in the same way the brain conceives stupid thoughts when you’re giddy with love. It’s romantic in an especially authentic way. At least that’s how I see it. And there’s a great deal of far more poetic lyrics amongst the silly stuff. I do have to admit that using the horse metaphor in 3 different songs is pretty weird though. Once was fine.
I feel like a contrarian for wanting to give this a 5, but I really enjoyed it. So I guess I will.
Considering this is the first metal album ever, it’s impressive just how developed this sound already is. This doesn’t sound like a newly emerging genre, which still retains certain qualities from more conventional music of the time. This sounds like a metal album. A really good one too. “The Wizard” rocks so hard, I love putting a harmonica in a metal song. Same with “N.I.B..” “Wicked World” is so good too. Why am I even listing songs? The whole album rocks like crazy!
RIP Ozzy Osbourne.
I tried watching this movie once. I didn’t really like it. But when you remove everything except the music, you end up with a pretty good album. Obviously their later stuff is more experimental and interesting; that’s the kind of stuff which makes me love the Beatles. But this is still really good. Super fun pop melodies with some great guitar work and vocals. “Any Time At All” was a surprise standout considering it’s not one of the huge songs from this album.
I get the appeal of Leonard Cohen, but this album didn’t really do anything for me. Just kind of became background noise. Good background noise, but I’m not compelled to come back.
Really good flow. Some really good lyricism as well. I got pretty into this one. It made me wanna dance! Wow. I liked it a lot more than I was expecting.
This kind of rap can be hit or miss for me. Even from song to song. There’s some really good stuff here, but it’s hidden amongst a bunch of stuff I really don’t like. I’d also argue it’s too long for its own good. I was checking how much longer was left after every song, starting less than halfway through.
Coldplay isn’t nearly as bad as some people say. But they’re definitely not as good as other people say either.
I liked it more than I expected to. So that’s something.
I was prepared for Take on Me to be the only great song on this album. But then there were several more. In fact, I think The Sun Always Shines on T.V. might (MIGHT!!!) be better than Take on Me. And there were a few other songs I’d say were on par with it. So this was a pleasant surprise. Really good album.
I prefer rap when it gets intelligently political. And this album does that really well. Some of these lyrics are amazing. And, as someone who’s kind of neutral on hip-hop a lot of the time, this is an album I really enjoy sonically all throughout. It’s really good. The cover of No Woman No Cry is so so good. A great penultimate song before the outro.
Her voice is awesome. And I really enjoyed the first few songs. But then… nothing changed. And, with some exceptions, most of the album began to blend together. It got kinda boring. BUT I still liked it so a 3 is fair I think.
There’s some really really excellent stuff in here, but there’s also a lot of stuff which I just didn’t care for. I was disappointed since I love The Queen is Dead so much.
I listened to this 6 times. And I didn’t expect to like it that much. On the first listen or two, it sounded overwhelming. After, it felt super atmospheric. It was a cool transformation I didn’t expect. This album did a lot against my expectations, and that’s part of why I liked it. So much. I’m super impressed.
Super forgettable. It wasn’t the worst, but I forgot I was listening to music for half of it.
Elvis Costello is like if you took 50s rock and gave it a slight punk quality. I like it. Buddy Holly with a hint of Ramones. Cool! But I kinda wish it did anything more than that, because it felt kinda samey throughout.
