Took Motown and said the quiet part out loud
"Let's pretend we're married" is so quaint
Literal banger album (aka sintetizzami sto cazzo)
Ok but Something in the Water is something else entirely, holy shit
Not wholly unpleasant to hear, but intellectually frustrating
I can definitely see what they were aiming for, but the technical skill and musical culture just isn't there
Britpop in a nutshell
I was going to give this two stars until I got to the song in the reverse (don'ts stop). Just no
Somehow it goes even further downhill from there? Leave Scarborough fair alone
Ok Made of Stone finally makes a bit of sense. We're back at two stars but barely
The band is absolutely fire and the songwriting is honestly passionate about soul (Right is a freak exercise, true to form)
I do enjoy more the Bowiesque detours (Somebody Up There Loves Me) than the pure soul attempts
That said, hopefully people did go listen to proper soul and r&b after this
The answer to the question "how many hours can I listen to blues" is yes, so there you go
For the first half of this it was a solid 3 (Sabotage is just excellent, the rest was a bit touch and go) but the second half is so consistently good that I think I may need to put this in frequent rotation... It may deserve a 4 when all is said and done
In any case, the whole thing just exudes love for music and on that I'm on board with the boys
I'm a huge soul fan, but the reverend isn't my favourite - I'm more into earlier greats like Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T and the MGs, and the Stax sound (although Al Jackson does a fantastic job as always on the drums here, he's at his best with Donald Duck Dunn)
Honourable mention for the Memphis horns that are outstanding as always
Very close to a 4, but there's surely other earlier Memphis sound records in the list that will get there and beyond
Solid technique and everything, I just don't have any emotional responses to most of these. Except maybe the title track, and even then
There's some good stuff when I can tell the riffs apart (e.g. tenth avenue freeze-out) but the deliberate mixing all into a cohesive wall of sound makes it hard for me to enjoy, I need to hear the instruments and the lyrics
Yep I realised the muffled sound is driving me nuts, I'm not coming back to this again
EDIT: turns out my EQ settings were booked, it's s bit better now - I may revisit it again so bumping it up to a 3
Mimicry ≠ musicianship
This needs more of my attention than I'm able to give it. It sounds great but I'm sure the brilliance lies in the verse
Sad soul was both what I needed today and what I definitely didn't. Specifically, Hard times. Christ
Also, as an agnostic with a catholic background I have to say without any irony whatsoever that this chorus is excellent:
"Talk about Jesus talk about Jesus
He never had a hustlin' mind
Doin' crime wastin' time
Drinkin' that wine"
As a 90s punk rocker this is bringing me back to my roots, although I liked NOFX and Green Day better. Still, absolutely solid album, and the sound of my youth - it was good to revisit
Look now, this album was everything to 15 year old me almost 30 years ago. I thought relistening to it would have been cringe but boy was I wrong, it's fucking perfect and everything
I said I'd give 5 stars to albums that I'd knife fight people over. Don't think I'd knife fight someone else over it, but I'd definitely knife fight myself so
This was completely new to me and super interesting. I feel like I need to revisit it for sure, but a few tracks are so compelling with their groove (Daniibe) to push the album in the frequent relisten level
Not one original idea in sight
I've grown up with the Smiths. I love them. Quite possibly because they do three different things that shouldn't work at all and yet for some unexplained miracle, it all works. It kinda goes like this:
Morrissey: it always rains in Manchester and you're all c*nts
Andy: check out this funky blues riff
Marr: CARIBE!
(The only reason this isn't a 5 is that there's only one Smiths album that I'd fight people over and that's Hatful of Hollow, which for some truly baffling reason isn't in the 1001. Some of their best work was in singles)
Came to this thinking I'm more of an Otis Redding gal when it comes to Kings of Soul. But holy shit that voice. Properly took me to to church. Sorry Sol
I'd never listened to a Van Halen album deliberately (i don't think anyone can say they've never listened to Van Halen)
This was very fun! Eddie is unsurprisingly a beast
Very interesting discovery, will definitely revisit
I'm quite impressed at the range achieved with the bass here, super creative use
The further I go in the album the more enjoyable and varied it is, this is definitely going into frequent rotation
So *this* is what a shit load of pop comes from
I'm sure there's plenty of people who dismiss this as "easy listening" so this falls squarely into my 5 stars rule (I'd knife fight people over it)
Easy listening ≠ easy writing or playing, this is top notch songwriting and execution
You can just imagine the creative energy when Carole King presented "Natural Woman" to Aretha Franklin
Telemachus the cat is perfect
Won't listen again on purpose
Technically impressive, fantastic groove and vibe, proper jazz fun
I just don't know I'f I'll come back to this again - it's not you, it's me
The flow and the rhymes are fantastic, proper fun listen
I'd have paid good money to hear this live, what a jam
Yessssssssss
EWF just went and said "what if we play everything" and did so
Africano cleansed my soul
Ok I just realised what this is: EWF went "what if prog but for people who want to dance" and came out with this absolute masterpiece
Very nice voice but this didn't stay with me
The fact that it's a broad set of covers was an interesting review of different songwriters, and Dolly comes out head and shoulders above all others
It's such a relief to listen to this for the first time and realise he's a mediocre rapper
On principle I was really looking forward to this - I'm on board with the message - but wow the flow is just bad
With that name and cover, that's not the music I was expecting - how harmlessly competent
That ste guitar literally ripping through and tearing the 4th wall is my jam
There's a tongue frankly planted in a cheek and something dangerous lurking in the shadows
The band is pretty good and the songs sound perfectly pleasant, but soul this ain't
Also the accent is just weird
The self loathing, the dissociation, and the despair are so powerful through the absolutely banging relentless rhythm - my Bowie in a nutshell
Do yourself a favour and switch this to mono if you can, the stereo version is a pain
The steel guitar is fantastic and it's always great to see a Nudie suit
Very nice voice but overall feels dated considering Elvis had been around for a good while
How had I never heard this before? This is exactly what I would have adored when I was in my late teens - early twenties
Oh well I can at least adore this now so there's that
This is fire and Pictures of Home is an absolute masterpiece
Everyone who says Smoke on the Water is boring and played out should get their ears checked and get that stick removed from their arse
International treasure, and so cheeky
Could have used some editing but the flow is good and B.O.B. is outstanding
Sounds way ahead of its time, surprised I missed this the first time around
Look here now, there's a reason this is a classic
Nice sounds and all but not what I needed to listen to after lunch wanting a nap
This feels like it's intended to be some sort of meditative / religious experience and I'm not in the right headspace for it today, I'll come back another time perhaps
Had Steely Dan last week, same reaction - at least this time they're not pretending to be freaky shit
I've listened to this in German, and I've been on so many European trains in my life, and I really can't imagine how Americans can understand deeply this music
Some good tunes here, and the depth of references is impressive
I first heard Laibach in an art museum and that's where they belong
There is a lot of interesting stuff here that needs more than 24 hours to process - I'll have to revisit for sure
There's a lot of stealing in this one for sure
Second half gets slightly better but this still very pretentious
See, there can be some good britpop turns out
Good for you George
"your wish is not granted unless it's a fish" indeed
A very cellular song is absolutely bonkers and brilliant, fuck yes kazoos
More varied and engaging that I'd gave it credit for, there's some excellent tracks here
I do love me some LBM harmonies
the clapping and foot stomping on Wawusho Kuban is such a groove
This is just delicious - press darlings is outstanding but the whole album has such momentum
That new wave bass hits something specific in my soul
Hasn't aged nearly as well as I remembered it, what an uneven record
There is a deliberate search for a specific sound that is achieved solidly and consistently
Unfortunately that specific sound put my teeth on edge and I would never listen to this again
It's not you, it's me
Tight musicianship and composition, although not fully my thing
Strong start and end, dips in the middle, cool soundscape
So much effort for so little to say
Just what I needed today, straight to my soul
Absolute masterpiece
For the full experience, this should immediately be followed by a day at the races, just to bask in the glory
What a flow
As punk as it gets
Would be 5 stars even if it was just Proud Mary, but it starts with Born on the Bayou and never lets up
Imagine putting Fight the Power after one full hour of relentless rhymes
Got two out three the Fall albums in a month, which is a bit of a bummer - I was looking forward to revisiting them a few months down the line
You can feel them still trying to figure out the REM sound
It's all over the place - in a good and interesting way - and there's clear references to the Cure and the Clash
Halfway through and it's solid fun listen so far - nothing that blew my socks off, but still very enjoyable
Ah hang on I just got to Riot Van and the juxtaposition of music and text is just outstanding
Very solid album, she's calling you is a standout
Aggressively overproduced mediocrity
Thought I'd enjoy this less than I eventually did
This was an annoying listen as a late 90s teen into the alt/indie - Coldplay just took all that was good of that era and toned it down towards britpop to make bland and inoffensive shite for cheating CEOs
I was very close to giving this a 1 (especially after Yellow) but there's just a bare glimmer of composition and emotion in Shiver and Everything's Not Lost that brings it just barely over the line
I do enjoy weird, brave, experimental music with something to say
This ain't it
I've grown up with this since it came out and never stopped listening to it, and every time I hear something new and wonderful
Yes there's better metal albums (assuming this is metal and not hard rock), yea Metallica have better albums, but still - the iconic riffs and crunchy sounds are indelibly etched in my musical identity and sensibility and I can't really go below 4 for this
I love the sounds on this, the songwriting on the other hand is a bit hit and miss - I'll definitely delve in their later albums
It's etched in my memory - hasn't aged particularly great but it captured a mood in its time and place
What a song to start with, it's really pretty much impossible to keep up the level - especially when making unwise prog excursions
Kudos to Boston for using clapping as a legit part of the drum kit
Tight music and grooves but something is off - i like soul and funk but this feels out of place somehow
Solid sampling and Snoop Dogg's flow is just so smooth
Dre isn't bad himself on Nuthin' but a G Thang, which is by far the standout
Some outstanding tracks especially at the start - Nicki Minaj really owes Missy a lot
Great collabs too but overall the album would have benefitted from a bit of editing
Listening to this in a crumbling new building during a European heatwave is spot on
I thought I could use it as background music to reading Hyperion (this is what the Shrike sounds like) but it demands attention, there's so much that's interesting in this album
What a voice and delivery - reminds me of Mina in a way
I'm game to listen to some Neil Young any day, especially if it has songs that piss off Lynyrd Skynyrd and stuff like Don't Let It Bring You Down - the kind of song that other bands would have built a career on
I've always struggled with great poetry - I can tell there's something sublime at the core but I can only grasp at its edges
A few good bass lines and some interesting ideas here and there, I think I will revisit
Absolute, total masterpiece
Also, the original Hurt is heads and shoulders above Cash's version, and if you think otherwise you're simply wrong
If this was an average representative of britpop, the world today would be a much better place
I'd somehow never listened to this before, and I was 25 seconds in when I realised it was going to be 5*
Starts altogether pleasant to listen to, varied sounds, but very uneven in both lyrics and songwriting
HANG ON NOW, WHAT DID THEY DO TO RIOT IN CELL BLOCK #9
I thought it would be barely 2 stars when I got to the B-side but then I got to the tree song
Ok now that I'm done, I don't know what they thought they were doing, thinking they were being political or edgy or psychedelic would put them back on the map, but there's nothing worth saving in this album
Fun as hell and just what I needed to deep clean the kitchen
Had a real stinker of an album yesterday and this degreased my ears much like I degreased those filters
Meticulously constructed, full of genuine emotion, and never self-indulgent
I remember discovering Beck right about when this came out and I was a teenager who bought a new album every week to try and listen to anything - Beck's voracious love of all genres of music made immediately sense to me
How fun - I'd never listened actively to Alice Cooper, and had a blast. Great musicianship too
No skits, no bullshit, just grievance upon grievance delivered in the tightest combination of flow, samples and live instruments
Wow this was really mediocre - label scrapping the bottom of the barrel for anything that vaguely sounded pop punk
I'd be hard pressed to find a better album start than this
The sound is still so fresh, hasn't aged one day
Took me a while to give this a fair shot - i don't think live recordings belong on the list, even if post produced like this one
That said, there's a tremendous medley centered around Boys Are Back in Town, and in general it gets the point across that Thin Lizzy were an excellent live act
Fuck yes
So I have a problem with the Beatles which is that I think they were insufferable and overrated (as the prototype of the boy band they were the first to go there and to crap the bed), in particular I didn't find the musicianship or lyrics particularly noteworthy on this one, but there's a couple of solid riffs (and I just kept getting annoyed at the pretentiousness and fighting described on Wikipedia for each song)
That said, I really wanted to give it a fair shot, and I absolutely love Booker T and the M.G.s, so after listening to Abbey Road I listened a couple of times to McLemore avenue
So, the tunes are actually pretty good, I get some of it now, and I can in good conscience give this album a reasoned 3 for re listening potential (which means that in all likelihood abbey road is a 2 and won't relisten, but McLemore avenue is one I'll listen to over and over hence a 4)
Not much has stuck with me of this album, will need to revisit, but it was mostly pleasant to hear (although no trace of the Velvet Underground)
Kudos for the lyrics "Nothing frightens me more than religion at my door" though
I was so looking forward to the day the generator would throw this one at me and it's finally here
I've been genuinely smiling throughout, this is so funny, tongue in cheek, clever and comes from a deep love of music - Booker Tease is just an example of how brilliant this is
SEMOLINA! SEMOLINA!
This sounds very fresh, and there's a couple of true classics, but Keely Smith deserved a much bigger tag on the cover
Trying to fill shoes too big for them
Perfectly listenable and well put together but doesn't have much to say, all I can hear are echoes of bands that came before
None of this sounds consequential
Ah wait the 2nd side is just hair raising, holy crap there's a lot of bad stuff here, this is best left forgotten
Very cheeky and great turns of phrase, also I can't imagine what the Americans will make out of this
Not much worthy of note in this album, and the ms robinson cover is really not great
What a truly glorious and haunting album, I'd never heard it before but I was very much looking forward to it - it went above and beyond my expectations
I have a soft spot for obsessive music nerds who will write and play an album almost all by themselves in their room, it's a guaranteed 5* when they put their feelings so deeply into it (see also The Downward Spiral)
This album is the missing link between Dylan and REM - I enjoyed it more than either of them
It's a distinctive sound all right, makes me want to channel my inner Bluto
What a wonderful display of the great symbiosis of a true jazz trio
I can see why people despaired at the death of Scott LaFaro, that was truly out of this world double bass - he should be much more renowned than this
You'd think the title track actually appears on the album, which it doesn't - and that goes a long way to explain the dejected faces on the cover
I will always, always be on board with a hip hop album that starts with a demonstration of why the MC is the best and you can't match his bars
Even more so if the quality keeps up for the whole album with tight flow and bars
Wavered between background noise and annoying
Sounds a bit too much like a light version of Muse, not bad but really derivative stuff
Christian music has a very tall bar to clear, no matter the genre
Very proficient playing for solid pub music
Minimalist and very well defined, a refined Waits built on top of so much of his oeuvre up to that point - I think it will need more digesting to appreciate the minutiae
Doesn't have much to say and faded out of my consciousness as soon as I finished it
Not sure if it's quite prog, but that doesn't really matter - the main issue is that I'm not sure if it knows what it is or what it wants to do, I can't find a point of view
I did listen to Breakfast in America right after, and that was quite fun, so I may need to revisit this one
SO MUCH SAX
Turns out as a species we didn't need AI to produce limp slop with algorithmically average, overproduced sounds
More ups than downs, this album shines on the blues rock groove pieces where Beck can do his thing - great bass lines too
I must have listened to this 3 times in a row already and I'm ready for a 4th playback
This is just pure unadulterated fun and pride
They're a one hit wonder turns out
Different enough from Daft Punk to deserve praise - it's a tall order
