I’ve already listened to this album, very good record though not nearly my favourite Nirvana album, I like the more unpolished sound on ‘In Utero’. To me this album almost feels too “clean” at times compared to their later work, but it holds up exceptionally well, and it’s easy to see why it’s a favourite album for many people. Most of the songs have great hooks too, so easy to come back to this one. Come as you are might be a top 5 song of theirs. I do think this album is a *tad* bit overrated but can’t really complain given how influential and impactful this album was.
As someone whose favourite genre has generally been hip-hop (maybe not at the moment, but generally), I’ve listened to a shockingly low amount of “old rap”. I’ve heard albums from artists like Pac, Big, Nas, Jay-Z etc but nothing that precedes 90s rap and the general east coast west coast beef. My lone exception is NWAs debut, which I enjoyed but come back to rarely.
However, I was honestly kind of blown away by what I heard. The way they incorporated rock into the instrumentals (even covering Walk this Way by Aerosmith!), was awesome and really neat. You can easily see the influence here into other early records such as Strsight outta Compton, the hard hitting flows, drawn out pronunciations of words and even the flow of the album, I greatly enjoyed this being a 40 minute record, I think that’s the sweet spot for albums (with exceptions).
My main criticism of this album is that it can feel a little formulaic at times, a lot of the songs have very similar flows and styles, which I enjoyed, but did grow tired of a couple songs by the time I got to them.
This is an easy 7/10 for me, but since I can’t give a half star I need to round down. Thanks Run DMC!
When I saw that this was the album I had to listen to today, a massive smile come over my face. Bowie is one of my favourite artists ever and Aladdin Sane is one of my favourite albums from his. Bowie has stated before that this album is like if Ziggy Stardust came to America, and I mean… who doesn’t want that? You can definitely feel that, this album is full glam rock, the main feature of which being the Piano which is featured on every track.
Length of this album is great too, it’s compact with 10 tracks and about 40 min long. Title track is probably one of my favourite Bowie tracks, it’s haunting and the Piano solo at the end is insane, such an amazing song, I don’t think I’ve heard anything that sounds quite like it… Watch that man is an awesome intro as well, and Time is another great track. I don’t come back to this album as much as I should, even if it’s one of my favourite Bowie records. I find myself going to Hunky Dory, Ziggy, Heroes and Blackstar more, but this would probably round out my top 5. Also have to mention this album has one of the most iconic covers of all time.
I’d say my main criticism is that most of my favourite songs are on the first half of the album but it’s not like there’s any major duds here.
Easy 4/5.
I’d have never heard of the pretenders until now, but I’m quite happy I got to hear this album. It has a really neat sound with lots of guitars, the lead vocalist (Chrissie) sings in a somewhat lowkey tone which I think suits these instrumentals very well. The album has a punk slant at times, but generally stays in the soft-rock or rock-pop sphere, I think all of these sounds worked here. The pop style hooks were neat too.
My main critique is more of a gripe - my least favourite track is the longest, I just think Private Life is kinda boring and drags too long. Lovers of Today is of a similar length and I really enjoyed that track, so it’s not a length problem as much as it being that song I guess.
This is definitely an album I will need to give another listen to at some point, I found myself enjoying the sounds of the record as the album went along, with slight exception. I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Right now I will give it a 3.5/5 but because I feel confident that I’ll enjoy it more with a re-listen, I will give it a 4.
Favourite songs: Stop Your Sobbing, Kid, Up the Neck, Brass in Pocket, Lovers of Today
4/5.
I’ve listened to two previous U2 albums, the Joshua Tree & Achtung Baby which most people consider their best stuff. However, despite adding some songs to my playlist, it never left enough of an impression for me to come back. War is older than both and features a more punchy, raw type of sound, feels post-punk. This is before they started collaborating with Eno (who fucking rocks btw) too.
Personally, I found this album utterly forgettable, the style feels a bit too “rough” and abrasive to me and none of the songs stick. In fact, I find many tracks here to be too long. Only track I found myself somewhat enjoying was the intro.
Very forgettable and not up my alley. 1.5/5.
Only heard blvd of broken dreams (and *heard of* American Idiot) which is a song I enjoy mostly because of nostalgia, but never bothered to branch into their stuff.
Found myself pleasantly surprised with some of the material here. Much of the tracks are split into different segments and the transitions often feel well-timed and smooth. Of course there is a lot here that I find utterly uninteresting and I came away from this record pretty confident I wouldn’t have the urge to listen to it in full for a while. However, I enjoyed multiple tracks and feel as if there is the potential for it to further grow on me. Wake Me Up When September Ends is great.
Don’t see myself coming back much but came away happily here. 3/5.
Never heard anything from Isaac Hayes before so went into this completely blind. This album is mostly instrumental based and is pretty jazzy, smooth and soulful. I found a fair amount of tracks quite pleasant and relaxing, especially as background music. However, much of the record is pretty forgettable, especially with the album being a soundtrack.
Personally I don’t really see myself coming back here although the album isn’t “bad” per se, just unmemorable and not my style. 2/5 since I can’t give a 2.5/5
This is like background music from a dancing compilation on YouTube in 2011
