Here we go, first album is a 5! Owned several of their albums but never this one. Really easy listening, from Finest Worksong to Oddfellows Local 151. Check out the Moog Cookbook’s cover of The One I Love.
Saw this movie recently. Love ‘Pusherman’ and the title track (or ‘Freddy’s Dead’), but like most soundtracks, there’s a lot of filler.
Only ever heard the hits, of which there’s 4 on this album!? She’s got an incredible voice. The Cure cover was a nice added bonus.
Oldies are maybe my most preferred genre and this is no exception. Great voice, great arrangements. I dig it.
I had several Coltrane albums on CD. This and Giant Steps still stand out as exceptional.
Love Leonard Cohen. This is very stark.
Never heard this before. Only knew him from Grazing in the Grass and not even his version. I liked it, a good jazz album.
Another I’d never heard of, and unlike any hair metal I’ve ever listened to. Knew of Razzle from Motley Crue’s The Dirt, RIP.
Dynami-tee hee
I’m a sucker for
Meh, never much liked that Billy Pumpkin. What a prima donna
Not a fan
A 2nd one so soon? Still not a fan, but I did have this on cassette and listened to it a ton before falling out of favor. Whole Lotta Love is all right.
Absolutely love this. I liked Summerteeth and Beong There, but YHF was next level.
Only the Smokey Robinson covers saved this from being a 1 for me. Jonz In My Bonz and Shit, Damn, Motherfucker? Ugh trash IMO
I used to enjoy this. Now I find it grating and terribly redundant. I get it, that’s what 90’s techno was but it’s no longer the 90’s and this makes my head hurt.
I had several DJ albums before this one, but I remember buying this one and being blown away by it. It holds up and I love it. The version I had included a cover of Frampton’s Show Me the Way that was better than anything he ever did.
Sounds like junior high
Cheesy. Bad covers
Surprisingly, not enough bongo
5. His 15th album(!) and features greats like You Are the Sunshine Of My Life and Superstition, but the real surprise for me was the final track, I Believe.
Oh cool, it’s only 7 tracks. 2 of those fully take up an entire side of a record, each. Not as cool. Too jammy for me.
One of the best albums ever made. I was lucky enough to see them twice (in one week) during their reunion tour in 2008. They headlined ATP NY on a Sunday and played the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago the following Saturday. At both shows, staff were handing out earplugs. Those shows were so incredibly loud, the floor wasn’t even shaking, it was grinding.
This is a fine blues album by white British guys, but where’s the Howlin’ Wolf or Muddy Waters on this list?
I loved this album when it came out and it holds up! Crack Rock crack rock, crooked cop dead cop
Let’s say Speakerboxxxx 4, The Love Below 5
Have love, will travel
I loved their appearance in Repo Man and this is great!
I’ve always known Yes from Owner of a Lonely Heart and Roundabout, but listening to this….had I ever actually heard Roundabout? I certainly didn’t know it was 8 and a half minutes long. Meh. No, I don’t like this
I was so enamored with this album when it came out and saw them 4 times that tour. Listening now, it doesn’t seem so monumental, but in 2008 it was a literal lifesaver.
Very mild and enjoyable
Help Me Rhonda, Do You Wanna Dance, Dance Dance Dance, When I Grow Up. This is a 5. Obligatory Mike Love is a douche bag.
Only knew these guys from the flower power song Get Together, which isn’t on this. This is more trippy than hippy dippy.
I tried with this one but just couldn’t get into it. Right when it seemed to be building momentum, he’d drop a dud. A few of these songs seem to have not aged well either, given his history that came to light. And why is Billie Joe Armstrong on the cover?
Brian should’ve left I Know There’s An Answer as it’s original title, Hang On To Your Ego.
I still remember all the words. Had this on cassette
5. Could’ve just as easily been a 1. I wasn’t enjoying this album, especially not Poptones (more like Pooptones cuz it was shitty), but at some point it clicked and I found myself quite enjoying it. The original packaging is a cool, unique idea. Johnny Lydon is a cunt, no doubt, but this is still an impressive work.
This is a good album, not great. Very chill, kind of bland even but not in a bad way. I loved 2009’s Junior and the split album they did with Robyn, even saw them together. Remind Me is a great tune.
Love it, love SFA. I get why this album was included, but also, this album? I see Ring La Around the World is also included, deservedly, but there’s still 3 or 4 albums I’d put in before this (Radiator, Guerilla, Phantom Power, hell even their all Welsh album MWNG!) Still, this is a good record and I’m happy to see The Man Don’t Give A Fuck is included on the anniversary edition.
I saw Gruff Rhys solo one time at a tiny club supporting his American Interior album and he was on tour with a puppet of his ancestor who went looking for a Welsh tribe of native Americans.
Remember when SFA bought that decommissioned Soviet tank and installed a sound system so massively loud that it was drowning out one of the stages at a festival?
Jonathan Richman is a literal genius and this album finds him with an edge he would never find again. I love all of his phases but this is his most important, iconic work. Jerry Harrison plays keyboards on it too!
Highlights are Hospital, She Cracked, I’m Straight, Old World, Pablo Picasso, Roadrunner, Modern World, Astral Plane.
I’ve never sat down with the Police, aside from hearing the hits on the radio. I already had Synchronicity and enjoyed it more than expected. Did not enjoy this one nearly as much.
Why are jokes included on the list? “I did my time and I want out!” Me too, buddy.
Always loved this album. I like his other 2 albums as well, but this one is haunting.
I love all these ladies individually and had high expectations. Good, not great.
Yep, that was Metallica. Had this on cassette tape, from Columbia House! Haven’t listened to it since and it didn’t take long to remember why. Not necessarily bad, but predictable and that’s bad.
Love it. The pre-cursor to a lot of what I listen to today. Still sounds fresh almost 30 years later.
The one with the Immigrant Song
I grew up listening to Oldies and the Mamas & the Papas were a big part of that. This has their biggest hits in California Dreamin and Monday Monday and Go Where You Wanna Go (no Creque Alley thankfully, they were so awful to Mama Cass). This also has their take on several songs I recognize from other groups: You Baby, Do You Wanna Dance, I Call Your Name, Spanish Harlem, and The In Crowd. Very enjoyable listen. Mama Cass, sorry, Cass Elliot had a great voice and presence.
I had Bleach before this. Knew they were gonna be huge
Oof, right off the bat that synth sounds terribly dated. And it just never got any better. Her voice is fine, but the music is bland to the point of offensively inoffensive. It’s bad 80’s drivel.
TBH when the name came up I thought “oh cool, I like Ring My Bell.” Wrong Anita.
always loved Brimful of Asha. This was a good listen, even if a little long
The only DJ album I never owned. Freak Scene, The Post, Don’t. yeah I like this
Only know these guys from their hit Laugh Laugh, which isn’t on this. A good album; a little folky, a little psychedelic, even a little bluegrass. Nothing groundbreaking and I question its inclusion, but still a solid listen.
Serial plagiarist. Mclaren may have his place in history but not as a musician.
That hour forty-five flew by. I had this double LP but haven’t listened to it in its entirety for years. Always loved I Wish and Sir Duke and Isn’t She Lovely, but man, what an album.
Dolly was a national treasure
I remember before this came out, it was reported that he was working on a garage rock album akin to the Strokes or the White Stripes. It was further reported that his girlfriend broke up with him and he scrapped the entire thing and wrote this in 1 week. And it’s a masterpiece! It was such a leap forward for him as a songwriter, and shows a side he’d hardly revealed before (maybe on Nobody’s Fault But My Own from Mutations).
I had a Rod Stewart phase, all pre-1974’s Atlantic Crossing and his transition to Mr Do Ya Think I’m Sexy and superstardom. His first four solo albums and all the Faces stuff are fire. This sounds better than I remember. “Stay With Me” is the standout track.
This is a good record; not their best nor my favorite but I love it (even if I’ve always hated the actual ‘battle’). I understand its importance both to music history and my own. When Fight Test started, I had to fight back tears because it took me back a specific place in time. The frankness of Do You Realize? has always hit me hard, a lot of my friends died young and it’s a beautiful reminder…that we’re all goners. And somehow that’s uplifting?
This was a nice palate cleanser. Very mild and enjoyable.
What the hell is with the excessive repetition? I’ve never heard the full album, just the hits and Fucking In Heaven, which was funny for about 2 seconds. I liked Praise You and Rockafella Skank, but this album actually made me like them less. Giving it a 3 for those songs, but it should be a 2 like the Chemical Brothers, or even a 1 because I will never listen to this one up again.
Remember the rumors about Marilyn Manson? That he was Paul Pfeiffer from the Wonder Years and that he had two ribs surgically removed so he could suck his own dick. The album is heavy and “shocking” but overall it’s pretty shitty. If you don’t take it seriously, it’s damn funny.
I had House of Gvsb on CD but this was new to me. I liked this one a lot, it’s got that cool dark and brooding 90’s indie thing going on.
Never listened to this album, but had heard the hits before. Kind of unavoidable because she was everywhere for a while. Genuinely enjoyed this more than expected.
this was great. I hope Metal Machine Music is next
Casimir Pulaski Day is almost definitely NOT about the Polish war hero and day off school for Chicago kids!
I took a roadtrip to Michigan this summer and put on that album. It was a lot more drab and dreary than I remembered, but still great. I cried several times haha.
Illinoise, on the other hand, is full of whimsy. It’s got a lot of great songs, like Chicago, Illinois, Jacksonville, Decatur, and Metropolis. It’s also got a lot of filler, looking at you Mary Todd and all you other song snippets with obnoxiously long titles. There’s also the sad serial killer song. My sister-in-law owns an original clown painting of Gacy’s and it is horrifying. I wanted to give this a 5, but looking back there’s a lot of songs I regularly skipped on the CD
Rock Lobster will always be great, and I love what they did with Petula Clark’s Downtown!
Important album. Ice Cube really stressing the attitude.
My least favorite of their albums, unless you count Squeeze, which no one does, but this is still a 5. The opening to What Goes On was my ringtone for years and it still makes me jump whenever it comes on.
Tina good, pervasive corny 80’s music bad
The Message is iconic, but after listening, I was left with only one question. I’m dreamin’ about you…Stevie Wonder?
There’s a ton of good rap albums on the list. This isn’t among them.
why on earth does this one trick pony get 2 albums on the list?? I’m still suffering from PTSD after his last album (and the other shitty Big Beat garbage). Still I went in with an open mind and was actually grooving on it until Give The Po’ Man A Break. He runs every song into the ground with excessive repetition, here and even more on the other one.
Wanted to give this a 1, like really really wanted to. So I did, fuck this redundant shit.
Layla is a great song and its use in Goodfellas is unforgettable. The rest is boring faux blues and Clapton doing what Clapton does best, fellating himself.
I prefer Astral Weeks but really enjoyed this too.
Listen to this 1992 Mercury Prize shortlist nominee.
That certainly is what pop music sounded like in 2002.
Weird and abrasive and brilliant
I loved this, my kind of music!
Never liked them but also never listened beyond the big hit. He doesn’t have to sing like that and the songs he doesn’t are actually tolerable, albeit kind of boring.
…grunge. I’m a sucker for grunge (I tried to say about their other one). This one is even better. So fuzzy!
Classic classic rock. I love that they’re known as Acca Dacca in their home country of Australia
I grew up with Chronicle on cassette and loved it. I never knew that more than 1/3 of the songs on it were from this album. I really enjoyed this, I just wish the 11 minute version of I Heard It Through The Grapevine was included. Or do I? 🤔
I didn’t know this one going in and it really surprised me. I instantly recognized Bobby Gillespie on Soul Auctioneer. Good album, I liked it.
Pavement are indie rock gods. I still have all their albums and EPs, but this was the first one I owned and still one of my favorites. From this, I’ve always loved Gold Soundz, Range Life, Cut Your Hair, Silence Kid (Kit?), Unfair, Heaven Is A Truck, Hit the Plane Down, Stop Breathin, 5-4=Unity, Elevate Me Later, Newark Wilder, Fillmore Jive.
Saw them perform this album as part of the Don’t Look Back series. Not the album I’d have picked to play live or include in this list, but still solid. Not that long ago, I also saw Lou solo on the patio of some dive bar where he talked about Sebadoh almost being the Ross and Rachel breakup song on Friends. I like lo-fi and I liked this.
Truck Turner
I love this album, great post-rock. It takes balle to release a 21 minute song as a single. They played this whole thing at the first ATP NY
