The irony of getting a hard rock/arena rock album as my first album makes me laugh. Listening to this album is easily enough a ticket to imagining my parents generation and how they view this album. The YouTube video I listened to the full album on had comments from what looked like all Gen X or Boomers, absolutely dying over how this is the greatest rock album ever made. Bless there souls I love this for them and find it beautiful this is peoples Everything. My honest impressions is that its interesting to listen to this for the first time in its entirety and understand how much of an impact this had on both pop culture but music culture going forward. This does seem like a window into the furthering of mass market music that seemed to really take off in the 80s. That being said, this album is exactly what I expected. I found a couple tracks being honestly pretty alright, however I do not see myself ever going back to listen to the album or those tracks. This flavor of Hard Rock is just not for me and that was to be expected, it's okay!
Hello me from High School, this is me from the future. How did you become so obsessed with The Beatles? Genuinely, what was the spark that lit the fuse. This has nothing to do with the quality of this album, but rather what this album invokes in me. This album is great, although in retrospect I do find elements of the Side B suite to be under worked. It's goofy and fun and I love that, but some times Mean Mr. Mustard and Pam just seem like they had to record what they had to meet a deadline. That being said a song like Maxwell's Silver Hammer is perfect, thank you Paul for writing one of the most Paul songs you could. Also shout out to George, he knocks it out, just this man was doing his whole this while everyone was pissin themselves. I could ramble on very long about this album, I think there's a lot to enjoy and discuss and I although part of me wants to rate this album lower due to me not being in a part of my life where I have the urge to re-listen and re-listen to this, nevertheless, this goes out to me from high school, singing Oh Darling at the top of my lungs.
I adore this album. This, like many others, was my first Joni Mitchell album and it does not disappoint at all. Little Green, California, This Flight Tonight, A Case of You, are just joys to listen to. In general slower songs do not always entice me, but My Old Man, River, and Blue do not make me wanna fall asleep or skip. Joni has said this was her first album where she genuinely felt like she had let down her guard, absolute vulnerability, and these particular slower songs are I believe the best window into this sensuality. I love this album, it's always a pleasure to re-listen to this, and I think I will be listening to it a couple more times as of recent.
I am sorry Elton, I truly did try I want you to know that. Maybe I am just bad at listening to Elton, but I am beginning to classify my thoughts on Elton John as somewhat misplaced. This reviews are mix of my general feelings but also the quality and skill that went into the music. Elton and Bernie Taupin do know how to make some good music. Unfortunately I think the actual songs themselves are usually quite repetitive with much of the difference between the songs being the lyrics. But the way the songs build up tension and then release the tension feels almost the exact same in almost all his songs. This is technically bad, I think I could feel the same way about the structure of a Steely Dan song, but the problem is with Elton John is that once you recognize where the song is headed, there's not much really left to surprise you or make you pick your head up. Elton sounds amazing of course, but if that, his piano playing, and a samey orchestration isn't enough, then you will be like me wanting more. I will say I do like when Elton gets weird with his vocals, when he articulates or noticeably says something with his mouth very tight and rigid, it added some nice texture to the vocal arrangements at parts. I very much enjoyed the single Tiny Dancer, however I found the song MATW good and the most experimental out of any of the songs on the album. I feel like if he went more in that direction then I could really open myself up to music, but at that point I would just rather to Kate Bush.
I think if I was born like a year or two earlier this album would have been everything for me. Every subsequent time I've ever listened to this album I feel like I have missed out on the whole of the piece. These songs fill a void for a very particular angst that at this time I do not desire. That being said I think I have been able to enjoy the album a lot more than before, and honestly I do see myself listening to it again and thus possibly liking it more down the road. This albums influence cannot be understated, but in 2026, with the amount of garage rock/ indie scene we see, this album becomes less of a pinnacle moment or cultural signifier it once was.
Enjoyed this album a lot! Coming from Low being my favorite Bowie album to then this was surprising because dude still had it in 2013, and as far as I know Blackstar is even better. The tracklist is honestly a tad bloated, but there are some real shiners on this album like The Next Day, The Stars, Valentines Day, If You Can See Me. I think some of the songs kinda blend into each other as well like Boss of Me or Dancing Out in Space, but ultimately there isn't a bad song on the album, and I could see myself enjoying all the tracks more once I listen to them again. Thematically, there's much to be said about aging, finding oneself in the world and other people, and maybe even just the feeling of existing in todays modern world. This was really nice, and I am even more excited to listen to Blackstar.
This album fucks!!!! I don't care how slow Moonchild or Epitaph is, I love it, this is where prog got its grips for then coming 70s. Just unbelievably good, and still holds up so much. Is it overrated? yeah, but it's still great!
There's a lot going on with this album. Musically I think they really had some amazing soundscapes going on like on tracks Obvious, Been Caught Stealing, and Of Course, however I find the vocals to be a mixed bag. I love weird vocals, and bad vocals, but Perrys is neither bad nor weird, it's just kinda grating overtime. I think the some Then She Did may be his best vocal delivery cause it's the least vocally straining, the range seems to fit more then some of the other songs. Unfortunately some of the songs people rave about the most like Three Days, Stop!, and Classic Girl kinda just felt alright. And I can't get over that especially with Three Days, when people were claiming this song is the best rock song ever or of the 2000s, and like, I'm sorry, but I just do not get it. The subject matter of the song is very touching and I have nothing against the meaning nor what it's about, but the overall sound of that song and some of the others just built up so much tension just for it to slowly drain away without much payoff. I think this album will definetly change the more I listen to it, positively or negatively, but either way my take away as of right now is that its a cool album that doesn't really speak that much to me.
I feel like a piece of shit for disliking this. I don't think this music is BAD or terrible by any means, this truly is just an album I do not and will never like under any circumstances, this is just not for me and that's okay. I am surprised seeing this album on this list though, like this had to be some recency bias.
kendrick kendrick kendrick.... this is maybe your best
Ehhhh?? He's a white guy who loves rock n roll... theres not much that can be said. I think the first song and American Girl are pretty good songs, but the entire middle portion of the record feels like regular shmegular rock n roll gruel. It's very much a one note type of white guy longing that is ultimately pretty boring if you aren't also a old white guy who is longing for rock n roll.
I think from the beginning you kinda get sucked into this hypnotic and sensual atmosphere. The albums limited rotation of vocalists lend itself to be like a cascade of dreams and hallucinations, like some talking heads coming to speak your or other peoples thoughts into your head. And I mean all of that in a good way, there's a sort of subtleness the lyrics come across that do not overshadow or over control the beat. Protection, Weather Storm, Better Things, Eurochild, Sly are my favorite tracks. I think tracks like Three, Spying Glass, and Heat Miser are alright and have some moments I enjoy but overall I find those the most skippable. This album was very enjoyable, and I feel like this is a great intro for me personally into british hip hop / trip pop.
I've listened to the first three Goldfrapp albums myself before listening to this album and I am unsure if that was the best choice. I was disappointed with Supernature, and so I did not have much drive to exploring Goldfrapps discography just yet. But as this list tends to do, it pushed me to listen to this album that I wouldn't have listened to for another five-ten years, and all I can say is wow! I was super super wrong, I have been missing out of Goldfrapps best album so far. Felt Mountain is still amazing but this album IS AMAZING. I do however understand the low scores people give this, I think if this isn't your type of music already, or have some background in this type of electronic-folk-pop, then this album is very grating. But if you don't care then I think there is so much to enjoy with this album. Highlights are Clowns, Little Bird, Happiness, Road to Somewhere, Eat Yourself, Cologne Cerrone Houdini. I think Caravan Girl and Monster Love are admittedly pretty cheesy, but otherwise pretty enjoyable. I think what took me by surprised is how much they went away of the sweeping synthensizers of Goldfrapp past and ushered in a vocal melody and orchestra arrangements that add very well to the limited or at very least toned down display of electronics within the album. This album is a album that you kinda just keep on repeat over and over again until you kinda just know it all by memory. Right now I really really like this album and will be interested to see how much I still like it in the future
Abolish All Prisons. Johnny you really managed to give them a show, and hell I was given a show too! This album is my first Johnny Cash album and although I know that this is his type of music, I found it very endearing to hear especially maybe because the crowd and audience is so palpable that the songs kinda take on this layered meaning for not just Johnny but all those imprisoned and me the one listening to this all almost sixty years later. Cash's songs are very much exposes about the society he finds around him, putting himself the shoes of boys named sue or a San Quentin prisoner, but he speaks to some sort of humility that is ultimately at the heart of country music. This is country music, this is music that is actually speaking for something, not for everyone of course as not everyone can relate or be in these same positions, but it is at least trying to relate to some sort of common occurrence of the law, government, business getting its legs up on the backs of people. These songs heard echoing then through a buildings who sole purpose is to subjugate, punish, and traumatize, is nothing more then what's right. The second playing of San Quentin has this tamper in Johnny Cash's playing where he's playing it for them, and he's playing it so they can wholeheartedly with their bodies and mind say this place is the deepest pits of hell, and we deserve nothing but scorn and hells wrath for creating this abomination. The songs are simple, but the impact lasts a lifetime.
This album is hard to describe without saying it may be the most British album you will ever hear. This album is like a cartoonish version of waking up to go to primary school in the U.K., with you posh school uniform and mop top hair. Girls & Boys sounds like a song made to hypnotize nonbinary people to get them convert to their assigned sex. It's a really good song. I love the bass tone in Tracy Jacks, there's just something very mbv about it? The song parklife is dumb but great. Badhead is such a great song and such is To The End. London Love kinda just fucks idk. Clover over Dover is great and has a lovely harpsichord. Songs like The Debt Collector, and Lot 105 are just so charming, and those songs are probably the most disliked I imagine, but they are fun little instrumental songs. There's a lot I enjoy in this album that I have a hard time trying to articulate what it is about that's great, so I suppose I will have to return to this review, but ultimately I really like this album. Blur surprised me, I didn't expect this kind of fun attitude and was expecting more of a brooding oasis type situation, which I very fortunate to not get. This was great, fuck the British.
Aphex Twin occupies a space in my mind that's reserve for electronic music, but the parking space is almost only taken up by Aphex Twin. This is a problem because after listening to so much Aphex Twin, I truly don't even know what is good or bad electronic music. Like I know enough to say yeah this is a really good album, but at the same time I feel like it's so easy to say this album is a masterpiece because I lack so much context of other electronic music that this shit wouldn't even blow my shit a little bit if I had listened to it. When I listen to Aphex Twin there's really no one else I can think of who's better, but like that doesn't make this the best either. The album makes me not want to listen to Aphex Twin because then I'll probably like and appreciate Aphex Twin more down the line, kinda like Boards of Canada.
This album is very cool, but I do think it's hard to be a straight through listen over and over again. With the songs extracted the whole thing just becomes very easy to listen to. I am most familiar with FANMAIL, but this album is basically as good.
