1001 Albums Summary

It's not great. Inoffensive at best but not very good. I'm not really the biggest fan of Paul Simon on his own, and this album was kind of hard to sit through. I found myself zoning out a lot of the time. I think there's a reason that Call Me Al has over 150 million more streams than any of the other songs on this album.

This album, off the bat, is more akin to what I normally listen to. Started off very strong and catchy, and I'm always one to be pleased when an album flows well and the songs bleed into one another as you listen. Many of the songs are very much inspired by funk, which I enjoy. Would I say this is the greatest album I've ever listened to? No. Does it inspire me to listen to more Beck? Also no. But at least it wasn't a slog to sit through.

I hadn't heard of Patti Smith before this album popped up (Rather, I hadn't connected her name with what I had heard of hers), and didn't have a good idea of what I was getting into just from the album name and cover alone. Looking through reviews, I found a lot of people calling her "Female Bob Dylan" which does reign true. I also found many people who gave this album 5 stars saying that it's her lyrics that inspired them to give this album such a high rating. Perhaps I'd say similar if I understood anything that she was saying. While I do appreciate clever and poetic lyrics in the music I listen to, I am far more drawn to the musicality of an album. This album is not for people like me. I can respect what Patti Smith was for the punk rock scene, but this album did not capture my attention at any point.

Immediately excited to listen to this album. Not including the intro, the first few songs (Gasoline Dreams, So Fresh So Clean) were an absolute vibe. Got me hooked instantly. Once again I say that albums with good flow between songs will always earn bonus points in my book. The interludes, I feel, are incredibly fun and a nice little blip between songs. I know a lot of people feel they're unnecessary and shouldn't have been included, but honestly I can't see this album being as great as it is without them. It's genuinely very hard to pick favorites here, all of these songs are great. After every song I'd say 'okay, THIS is my favorite' and then the next song would knock me off my ass and I'd say 'okay, no, THIS is my favorite' ad nauseum. Definitely a standout album, especially after the last few I've generated.