I mean what could I say about CCR that hasn't been said before? What a voice. Chords that turned into classics. 9958379 cover bands. But I would tolerate assholes blasting their bluetooth speakers out in the serene lake campsite 80% more if they played this whole album instead of Katy Perry interspersed by Born In The USA and Kid Rock.
As far as the actual album goes, I like the flow of it. I especially like the energy shift from (my fav) Graveyard Train to Good Golly Miss Molly. And ending on instrument solos is just fun. 33 minutes of easy country rock is already my kind of thing so I enjoyed it. Even if I was missing a coors for the experience.
Pretty great for a debut album from 1994. I particularly like the synth choices and guitar. I do want a bit more from it, however. The poppier songs would be pretty fun and easy to try at karaoke, but also I enjoy the moody atmosphere it projects overall quite a bit. I wonder if I would prefer the non-remastered version. omg I just noticed they remastered the album image for it too. Anyway, a for sure pick if I ever got the urge to collect cassettes. Stupid Girl is my favorite, like most other people.
Not gonna lie I was kind of dreading this one... I think I got enough of The Offspring as a teen to last a lifetime.
The last album we reviewed was a debut (also 1994), and while this one is early along in the discography, I'm not observing much of an "early" sound to the band. It's The Offspring. Completely and undeniably. Which I suppose is a credit to this being their breakout album.
That said, the album has an interesting shape. The first block of songs are focused with their punk revival sound which gets broken up by the playfulness of the major hits right in the center, and then back into a bunch of short and sweet high energy punk songs (along with a ska-like) which ends on a nearly 11 minute song that is mostly silent in the middle until finally ending on some riffs from Come Out and Play. I do like that move after the thesis lyrics of "I'm not a trendy asshole."
Similarly to CCR, the main vocals carry such a distinctive sound that songs kind of meld into each other in spite of varying themes. Hang on -- Oh God. Oh Jesus. Spotify just pulled up the thumbnail for the Hit That music video. I forgot about that beast Oh God. I must look away now. Goodbye. See you tomorrow.
While it's not one of the really formative albums from my youth, the earlier sound of Arcade Fire really gets to me. I'll take the AF Liker stigmata in this friend group with no resistance. I have listened to it a couple times through on roadtrips, but it's been years since I've done it in full. An ex-relative of mine once said this album was the best liveshow he'd ever been to and I believe him in spite of rumors of them pulling some stinker shows in semi-recent. Forgive me for this 5/5
The lyrics come off like a prose-y teen diary: juvenile, alluding to dynamics and scenes that don't reveal much of a story beyond vague longing, but aside from the first song they do manage to float along without many clunks. Melodrama, yep.
None of the songs are bad offenders, I like the production on Hard Feelings/Loveless particularly, but nothing strikes out at me as interesting or engaging. Maybe because I'm not under the age of 23. But Lorde has a strength in making repetition and similar lyrics flow without getting obnoxious, to the point of track partitions not being obvious at times, so it was an easy listen. The final song Perfect Places is where all the energy dripped off the rest of the album roast like a concentrated mid-2010s pop jus.
Supercut is the one I might listen to again.
Cocteau Twins tracks get featured in my playlists pretty often but I've never given a full listen to this album. It would be a big effort to single out all the elements I like about it but I'll just sum it up with: this is very much my kinda shit.
Droning. Dreamy. Evocative. Vocals and keys float above layers of primordial shoegaze guitar and thudding percussion. It's less sophisticated than Heaven or Las Vegas but imo that's to benefit.
The first half is more varied than the second, but I enjoyed zoning out from Amelia onward to Domino's wakeup energy and guitar shift. Otterley is so atmospheric I instantly love it. Great album.
I want to give it a 4.5/5 only because it can't beat Heaven or Las Vegas in my heart.
I bet their liveshows whip, and this album has pristine production, but it is just so solidly mid-aughts radio that it doesn't do much for me.
Respect for the droning and rhythmic guitar. Huge disrespect for "17." Another statutory alt-rock ballad, how groundbreaking.
I found the opener "Closer" & the last two tracks "Be Somebody" and "Cold Desert" to be the closest to my speed, but even so, they washed over without doing anything interesting and pretty unimpressive lyrics. Well, maybe that weird fakeout fadeout at the last 2 minutes of runtime counts. But OK.
2 more of these KoL albums to go on this list for some insane reason.
Got halfway through 2112 before the ole truck's bluetooth conked out and never recovered, but I must confess I preferred how it sounded on there over the perfect clarity of overhead headphones. Rush seems like it needs the right time and place and it might go hard. Otherwise it's solidly not my kind of prog rock. My mom had such a grudge caused by Rush overexposure from my uncle and a highschool bf that most of this band was largely absent from my life until recently.
I appreciate the variety, yet I come out with the double sensation of feeling like I just listened to the same background chords for half an hour. The Twilight Zone is pretty funny in concept but I wish it was a little sillier.
Final verdict remains just not my kinda sound.
Dual bass is a sound I didn't know I needed, and I REALLY like the way the vocals swim and breach through it. I've heard this band's name in passing but I knew next to nothing about them. Perhaps it's just nostalgia, but lately I've been craving sounds of the 90s and it's a treat to hear something fresh to my ears with the exact flavor of post-hardcore that I enjoy.
"In Like Flynn" is a very strong start and I can practically see the snowboard halfpipe compilation forming behind my eyes with "Rockets Are Red." "Satin Down" comes at the right moment for some darker moodiness before it shifts back into gear for "Let Me Come Back." I am a complete sucker for mood transitions, and this album delivers that excellently without sacrificing momentum until the final downtempo "Bughouse" sendoff.
I think I might need this on CD, like, right now.
get on your dancing shoes you sexy little swine
Now that was so gorgeous and unexpected. I'm already pretty fond of instrumental albums but this was a real treat. Each song delivers soundscapes that flux and flow; the mind wanders easily without being taken out and interrupted by new sound additions. The balance here is incredible.
I had to reel in my initial instinct to give it a 5, as "Djed" is so so strong as the frontloader, and after thinking on the whole (and an immediate second listen) it's a high 4, like 4.7/5, which I'm gonna round into a 5 anyway.
Big band and swing aren't my usual picks for jazz, but it's hard to not tap my feet to this album. "Midnite Blue" comes just in time to slow the energy, but offered only a little reprieve from the strong and shrill horn group, which I know is characteristic of the genre, but I tolerate it only so much before it loses me. The atomic theme is appropriate in 1 sense I suppose.
Regardless, I still think it's a great album and offers a lot of variety in its tracks, and judging from its place here in a list that's kinda lacking from this era (and earlier), this is probably going to be the epitome representation for swing. And for that I say this is excellent representation, and I had a good time, even if it's not my favorite genre. "Lil' Darlin'" is a lovely sendoff that will be particularly memorable to me.
This album has so much: distorted easy listening, cacophonies, political friction, experimentation, tongue-in-cheek homages, genuine jams, koto appropriated on electric guitar, unmistakable 60s keyboard, dreamy vocals, self-reference, yelps mixed into percussion, primordial synths, uptempo, downtempo, etc., etc. I can see with absolute clarity why an album like this was tapped for "must listen before you die."
Psych-rock is another one I usually don't enjoy unless done well, but this album is way ahead of its time. It's challenging and alienating, and frankly not something I'd put on to fill in space, but it's the exact kind of experience I was hoping to get exposed to on this project. Very inspiring.
Another album that feels like a pinnacle of its genre. Unfortunately I wasn't in the best mood while listening so it took an unrelenting quality, but I'm glad to have a solid blues album in my repertoire.
Now this is a tough one to rate. Completely unchallenging indie soundtrack music *is* something I'm into, but I struggle with the reasoning on this being on the 1001 list. Maybe it's just a good representation of that idea, maybe it holds a place in some greater 90s context, but in a vacuum it isn't very engaging. None of the songs jump out as something I want to listen to again.
In spite of that, I actually had a great time on a long semi-stressful drive listening to it because it didn't derail my thoughts. The album offers a decent range of sound variety, and it holds that niche of non-fatiging background music superbly. A+ for being music perfect to talk or think over, but not much credit for stirring the imagination.
A very smack dab in the middle type of album, a 2.5, so rounded into 3.
I was raised on ABBA Gold album so this feels somewhat like a nostalgic homecoming, even if "One of Us" and "Soldiers" were the only tracks I was intimately familiar with. That said, the album context as their eighth (!) production amidst a double band divorce explains a lot about what I heard: focused main vocals, subdued backups, and transitional, darker lyrics.
"Two for the Price of One" is the silly and catchy track of the album, but fixates on some messy threesome drama, which feels somewhat on par with their other goofy tracks, but definitely less lighthearted so it barely feels like an outlier in the total album mood.
Overall, not my favorite of ABBA, but very interesting.
This album is like opening a window for the first time in spring and feeling the unfiltered sun on your skin as you breathe fresh air for the first time in months.
Fun and unrefined. I love how the vocals range from the edge of almost cracking to low and subdued behind the walls of acid rock guitar. I also really love the range of percussion which is 100% garage band but gets borderline country in some tracks in tandem with the bass. None of it feels stale. Another top tier album for a roadtrip, especially "Lost" which was such a highway #mood to sing along to.
Quintessential. A gauntlet for a single listening session, of course, but there are some absolute gems and gold-standard covers. Just wish I was listening on record so the sound fills the room like it should.
That was the most half-hearted 60s psych-rock I've ever heard in my life. Even funnier with the context of a third party songwriting team brought in and the band ending up pissed of with the final result. "I Had Too Much to Dream" *is* a good song, and while it does not prop the rest of the album up enough into something great, the experience *is* something to behold.
There's no denying the fact that most of the tracks are inferior mimics of other bands that were hot in the era, and the poor production doesn't help either. In spite of that, "Sold to the Highest Bidder" is kind of catchy and different, and I think and what this album offers in place of quality is a variety sampler. Having this to play at home on record as a teen in the 60s would maybe seem like a value. Especially in light of the knowledge that this album got so many vinyl presses that it flooded the market and ended up in every secondhand record store. Or maybe that just made it uncool.
And OK had to listen to The Toonerville Trolley 3 times before the bafflement wore off. I'm no stranger to goofy 60s ditties, but there's this insane manic quality to it where it's lacking an element of irony to feel truly tongue-in-cheek, & the malice in the singer's voice becomes completely detectable halfway through the song.
You got me... this album might truly be an experience worth listening to before you die. It earns my milestone first 1/5 in a so-bad-it's-good honor.
I ended up glazing Funeral a bit, and in this case as well, my memories of this album are quite rose-tinted. Neon Bible came out when I was a nascent "hipster" music fan enabled by a zune subscription to download albums on the whole instead of just cherrypicking hits. And god did I listen to this album a lot.
I still love the baroque-pop: the buildup, the strings, the organ, the horns coming in to round out final choruses, the relentlessly repeating piano keys, and the fantastic percussion. The lyricism is unsubtle as hell but offers melodrama to match the strength of the orchestral instruments crashing in.
I'm still fond of this album but when was the last time I listened and why has it been so long? I've definitely moved on from the band in many ways, but I can't help having a soft spot for these early 3 albums, even as the shine has faded.
That was crazy man.
Freaking inspiring for 1978. I think what I love most about it is wondering how the hell they made some of these noises back in that era. The spoken recordings are time capsules in their own entertaining way but on the whole this feels like a timeless art-rock album. Really funny what they did with "Union."
Look man I just love ABBA
Divorce albums are sometimes something special. It's hard to rate this specific one in a vacuum considering the politics of it, but it's undeniably a continuous jam with a great variety of instruments and vocalists. While it's not something that draws me in enough to listen to it again, I bet it makes a pretty good neutral roadtrip pick.
"That Was Your Mother" is not great. Simon's voice hits such a dissonant tone with the rest of the song and it does not meld at all. But this is the only standout offender.
It has some hits and a consistent mood, but kind of to its detriment. Feels kinda lifeless on the whole. Much prefer Psychocandy
Talk about a swan song.
I've heard a few tracks on this album several times before but it was nice to finally give the whole thing a listen. I'm making connections with other acts I like, such as Bent. I give it a big beautiful chef's kiss.
Pretty sharp lyrics in a soundscape that is unfortunately basic to my modern ears, but I still find it strong for a debut. Much prefer it over Brutal Youth.
Probably one of the top deserving of the "gotta listen to before you die" designation.
It's just so damn sexy
Great album. I love Nashville sound country, and the big band/soul genre cover takes that ballroom ballad essence to its endpoint. Another convincing argument for me to start collecting vinyl.
yeah baby rock and roll!!
Honestly I get a little excited whenever I see top reviews dismiss an album for being melodramatic and pretentious, because I know I'll probably like it. And that definitely is the case here.
A lot of songs, a lot of stages, and quite frankly a lot of balls for 2004. I'll probably listen to Want One soon so I can get the full picture, but for an album full of personal lyrics and sometimes very baroque situations, it constantly strikes an electric tinge of relatability in love, longing, introspection, familiarity, regrets, fears, and frustrations. Wainwright has said this album is concerned with "the world we live in" and I definitely think it comes off.
And "Gay Messiah" is so good you gotta clap for that one.
One of my favorite albums by one of my favorite bands, and indisputably the single album I have listened to the most out of the 1001+, but it's one that's kind of hard to gush about. Yeah, it's pretentious indie to many points of view, no argument here, but it resonates hard with me. Maybe it was the transcendent first listening session back in 2016 while high on the porch.
I do admit I'm curious why this album was chosen over Boxer, or even Trouble Will Find me. But I am even more curious on the exact justification for its removal from the 1001 Albums book editions after 2011, and I promise I wont get defensive about it.
I have some fav songs from this album, like I'm always singing "Bloodbuzz Ohio" in the shower and "Little Faith" vibrates with a melodrama I can't resist, but I also understand how on the whole for most listeners, High Violet doesn't have standouts. The lyricism sometimes comes off more shallow than the evoked mood(s), and the number of NYC callouts is at least 1:1 per song. But I do enjoy the visuals, even when they're a bit non sequitur. In spite of that, this album has some of my favorite instrumentation from The National, which is where it's a standout for me.
Boxer would be miles easier to fawn over. I am going to show off my bias by giving High Violet a 5, even if I know in my heart it is closer to a 4 when compared to the rest of their discography -- but hey -- that isn't here.
"I love her" "I love you" "I'll tell her" "I'll tell you" repeat these about 30 times and you've got the foundation for early Beatles lyricism. I do like when they bring in 1 (one) new instrument for every other song, and can't knock their ability to harmonize. Yuuuuuuuup, The Beatles.
3 stars. or after smoking a bowl 4 stars
this album is a world village coffeehaus mid evening liveshow slot and I'm drinking some cardamom scented blonde roast and schnapps nightmare as my ass gradually cleaves through some cheap beanbag material & onto a hard floor.
I actually really liked a couple songs enough to save them for later, but on the whole the psych noise walls of sound weren't doing enough or anything interesting to make the album memorable. Friends were comparing it to M83, or The Fuck Buttons but honestly I found myself regarding it like a very neutered Hot Chip with a fraction of the vocals. I like it, but among the precious few acts from the 2010s featured on here, it did not stand up.
I respect the pick because hearing this debut for the first time at the club back in the day was probably insane, and you start to understand a lot about Daft Punk's later acts after a full listen. However, I'll forever be salty about this list's biases and multi-album choices over generational artists like these whose only fault is they entered the industry later than the mid-90s, apparently. Otherwise it's a tasteful "if I had to pick one" choice.
i liked that more than i thought i would. pretty fresh sounding for 1977.
stylish and foundational but a bit dated in some aspects of sound, imo. glad i listened to it bc i never knew the sample origin of basement jaxx's "where's your head at?"
High 4 honestly.
this is what I think Brandon Flowers sounds like in his own head
foundational yet repetitive; disco when separated from the dance floor loses a bit of its magic, but it isn't hard to recognize this album's place as a keystone for many genres. and a very particular flash game.
for a long time i didn't get grunge. i used to download mega playlists published by Sub Pop from the zune marketplace but i usually passed on mudhoney and other grunge acts. a little bit of me felt guilty as a born and raised washingtonian, but i think i appreciate it better now after catching on to shoegaze. anyway, the album.
i can see the deluxe version losing people, but i think the original 6 track is slick, raw, and other innuendos. definite 5/5. however, the cold open to the first live track on disc 2 is really good. HOWDY! they sound great and energetic live.
i guess if i'm going to rate it based on the deluxe first disc 14 tracks, minus the demos, it's a 4.3
sensual, divine.
liked it but didn't love it. of the superior sound in pop-punk imo so glad to have checked it out.
Grew up with a lounge/chillout compilation album featuring a couple mixes of her songs so the "folktronica" genre is pretty nostalgic to me. The songs are varied, her singing sincere, and the instrumentals are smooth and catchy. The mix at the end is a nice touch.
I might be a little biased since it's been 100 albums since we've had a 90s female vocalist but it was a real fresh breath of air.
i like a few tracks a lot but it does drag on a bit. not my fav stereolab album either
thumpy club beats of course i love it !!!
