Revolution has never sounded so good. The experimentation of this record perfectly syncretizes with the cultural and and political radicalism of the hippie generation, at least the most productive moments of that generation. Dissonance blends seamlessly into soulful melody on an album that might just represent the historical pinnacle of electric guitar playing. On this listen, I was struck by a strain of negativity and paranoia that recurs through the album on songs like "Manic Depression," "Hey Joe," and "I Don't Live Today." JHE soundtracks psychedelic experience in its totality, the good and the bad trips in one. Every song on this album is incredible, but particular highlights on this listen include "Manic Depression," "I Don't Live Today," and honestly, the entire B-Side.
I can see why The Verve was a one-hit wonder. Despite my hopes that "Urban Hymns" would reveal The Verve to be one of those groups with many brilliant songs neglected by the mainstream, the majority of the tracks range from sounding like a knock-off Radiohead at best to a self-important bar band at worst. The fact that "Bitter Sweet Symphony" is the first song on the record does not do the album any favors, as every subsequent pales in comparison to that lead-off hit. I'm confused why the band didn't incorporate strings as prominently throughout the album; they made it work to perfection once, yet the orchestral arrangements immediately disappear besides some accents in a few other songs. Unsurprisingly, those songs with strings are the strongest: "The Drugs Don't Work" and "Lucky Man."
A master of her form, Norah Jones's jazzy tunes evoke all kinds of warmth: a family gathered round the fireplace at the holidays, or enjoying a crisp glass of wine with a lover on a summer evening. This album is kind of one-note, and when that note hits, it really hits ("Don't Know Why" and the title track, especially), but Norah can't sustain those highs over an entire record---few could. Much of the album blends together for me, and it is ultimately more of a 40-minute mood evoker than a great LP packed with memorable songs. This is generally how I feel about artists whose main contribution is the mastery of a vintage form. Beyond the beautiful performance of the 50s jazz style, what else is there here?
Listening to this divorced from the film is a bizarre experience. It feels so random and strange, it's hard to follow the story from the sonic cues alone. While that problem is endemic to rock operas in general, Tommy suffers from the fact that only a few songs are good as standalone songs. The majority of these compositions make sense primarily as part of a soundtrack, resulting in a goofy and cheesy listening experience more often than not. Impressive? Sure. Enjoyable? Not so much.
One of Bob’s classics that I never got around to until now, and boy I was not disappointed. From a musicality perspective, this might be his strongest 60s album. His voice actually sounds warm and strong and the band around him is playing gorgeous, interesting, and even at times ethereal arrangements. This was the band that people were upset about Dylan “going electric” with? How silly, they sound phenomenal.
At the same time, Dylan exaggerates some of his more grating tropes here, such as the silly elongated vowels (“when the jelly-faced women sneeeeze hear the one with the mustache say jeeeeeze I can’t find my kneeees”). In those moment, it feels as if Dylan is starting to become a bit of a caricature of himself.
Nonetheless, this is a classic that deserves every petal of its flowers. I will be returning to this one for a long time.
Favorite songs: Most of them, truly.
Really more of a 3.5. I love the guitar tone on this record, and some songs are just so fun, especially "Valouria" and "Dig for Fire." This is not my favorite Pixies record because I feel that it lacks those one or two anthemic, unforgettable songs that other albums have ("Wave of Mutilation," "Where is My Mind," "Monkey Gone to Heaven"). Plus, there is one even bigger problem with this record: Not enough Kim Deal!
Still, enjoyable enough.
It's so groovy that even I can dance it. Most songs are perfectly pleasant, though the final track, "Ain't No Fun to Me," stands out for its gritty rhythm and Green's cutting vocal delivery.
Although I'm giving this album a 3-3.5, it still surpassed my expectations. I was anticipating headache-inducing club beats, and what PSB delivered instead were beautiful loops of ethereal electronic ambience that remind me of some of my favorite indie pop groups of the early aughts, like The Radio Dept. and The Postal Service. The melodies were a tad grating to me at times, but the arrangements are definitely impressive.
This record was better than I expected it to be! My dad was right about ELO all along. An inventive collision of futuristic synthesizers and classical strings that works more often than not. I love the vocal production, as well; there is such a cool wall of sound effect on this album. It sounds like Abbey Road in space. That said, I don't foresee putting this album on very much after this listen, as most of the songs are a little too long and grandiose to feature in my daily rotation. But I'm glad that I finally gave ELO the time they deserve. Dad would be proud.
An interesting concept that musically falls short of its ambitions. I enjoy several moments on this album, particularly the moments of throat-shredding vocals and the monologue about George Wallace meeting Satan (himself a Southerner) in Hell, but I prefer the Truckers' tighter releases to this sprawling opera.
A wonderful mix of smooth jazz, big band, and crooner, accented by the warm and dulcet voice of Ray. As the album title promises, Ray was undoubtedly a musical genius. I'm in awe of his piano playing, but this album has become such a cultural touchstone that it didn't offer any surprises to me.
Bowie indulges the “rockier” side of art rock here, which, personally, is not my favorite side of Bowie. It’s not bad, just a little too straight-ahead rock and roll for my taste. Highlights include “Panic in Detroit” and the dissonant piano playing throughout the record.
Her vocal talent is so good that it gives me goosebumps, and the power of the choruses on several songs is immense. Several times I clutched my chest and asked Adele who hurt her. Despite this, it's hard for me to imagine playing this album very often, possibly because I've been surrounded by these songs since high school and they've become a bit like wallpaper. While it will never be in my personal collection, I recognize that this one of the finest pop records of the 21st century.
Would I play this with any regularity or listen to it actively? No. Would I play it while drinking light beers by a body of water in a lawn chair? Absolutely.
Being immersed in punk and alt-rock circles for decades, I came into this album with a deep-seeded bias against Duran Duran. While not a fantastic album by any means, it's also not as bad as I imagined.
Some bands really are just louder. This album truly captures the raw power of Led Zeppelin, as this record is as loud with the volume on 3 as most other records are with the volume on 10. Bonham's drum sound like a thunderstorm and every member of the band is firing on all cylinders. It's dirty, sexy, and crushing. I was obsessed with this album as a hornball college student and, while slightly less obsessed now, I still believe that it's a necessary entry in the rock canon.
It's not a bad background noise to put on while you're doing chores, but life-changing? I've had cups of coffee that were more life-changing than "Destroy Rock & Roll" by Mylo. The beats are mostly pleasant, and I can't say that I wasn't nodding my head and even shaking my little white ass at times. But there's also nothing original or phenomenal about this record, at least as far as I could tell (electronic is, as you might have gathered, far from my genre of choice). The most interesting part of the record is the vocal samples, which are only, I'd say, mildly interesting.
Oscillating between twangy banjos and grungy guitar distortion, Neil Young's "Harvest" stands as one of the most enduringly influential releases of the 1970s. While "Old Man" is the indisputable highlight, the entire record is an journey through flannel-clad yearning, grief, and love.
Sounds great, wonderful vocals and rhythm, just very rarely suits my mood.
Many of my favorite musicians respect Merle Haggard, so I was disappointed that I found this to be standard, unremarkable, middle-of-the-road sad cowboy music. When it comes to midcentury twang, this corny stuff has nothing on Townes Van Zandt or Patsy Cline.
Doesn’t really come close to his work with Pixies. Forgettable 90s alt rock.
