His voice is very pretty, I very much enjoyed the album.
4/5
I love the instrumentals of this album they're incredibly powerful. I love the guitars but im a sucker fo⁷r some drums and a bass.
I appreciate Casablancas singing style, on most of the tracks he sounds very non chalant and uncaring but then on tracks like New York he yells into the microphone and you can feel the emotion. It also feels like hes being crowded by the instrumentals and its kind of claustrophobic which is really cool, I just wish they'd boost his volume a bit more.
One thing that holds this album down is the track Barely Legal. The entire concept is vapid and predatory. Although the song may be about his dad's relationship with a young girl, I'm not entirely sure of that and it makes me pretty uncomfortable.
Except for moments near the end of the record, This Is It is incredibly monotonous, they clearly have a lot of skill, I'd love to see them push boundaries and do something that wasnt so heavily inspired by previous artists. :)
2.5/5
Unfortunately I could only find the deluxe version on Spotify, and it comes in at a whopping 1 hr and 57 mins.
The remixes are a slog and honestly very bad, mysterious ways (perfecto remix) is an assault on my ears.
I think that this album has really some high highs and the rest is either really bad or just mediocre. i personally, love Zoo Station, especially the intro and as introduction to the rest of the album, it's the only song that really stuck out to me.
This album has a really cool concept production wise, because the fusion of electronic dance and rock was very new at that time and has soo much potential. However, the execution was mid at best: for example, the production on Even Better is kind of a nothing burger sonically, even though, again, it has so much potential. It lacks anything to write home about other than the fusion itself and relying on how good an idea is doesn't make the song itself good.
All of that being said I dont think the album is necessarily trash, I definitely think there is something here, and to be honest I think that part of that is the influence it had on U2's later career and the rock genre as a whole.
If we're gonna talk about rock fusions Gorillaz's Electronic rock or Wednesdays's country rock are much better examples of a practice in fusing rock and im honestly kind of reminded of how it's actually possible to fuse genres in a sonically appealing way when I listen to this album. It leaves me really disappointed if im being honest.
2/5
I think this album is alright at what it does. There isnt anything that made me sit down and think because it was either too good or bad.
In my personal opinion, calling this psychedelic rock is pretty misleading, it isnt really that.
6/10
The intro to the opening track is an amazing almost slow burn and im genuinely kind of in love with it. Disappointed ive never heard this before.
Not a fan of the vocals or the lyrics on the first track at first but ozzy osborne grew on me but even after a second listen the lyrics are still so corny. Very cornball, harmonica isnt helping.
Im not as familiar with metal as I am with other genres so I did look into the history and its really cool. Honestly something im shocked about is, considering their reputation, that a song like Brutal by olivia rodrigo has much heavier instrumentation (very extreme example i know) thsn this album. However at that time it was consideredably heavier than like any other rock so it birthed an entire genre which is wild and really cool.
3/5
The vocals were stunning and honestly carried the album in weaker tracks like independant women pt II.
Overall the album was good, but since I didnt watch the music videos I don't think I can really understand the cultural impact and the album itself.
The album isnt bad to be clear, they definitely have great music and from just a listen I can understand some of the hype.
This album -- conceptually -- isnt terrible, im not opposed to live albums, the live version of La Fama by Rosalia is better than the original. But to be honest the live album i prefer to stream is NPR tiny desks.
Tracks like Im a Boy are actually pretty good lyrically and instrumentall wise. However notably at the end of that track the main singer (i unfortunately dont know his name, sorry) ends the song to describe the next couple songs about an older man seducing a "little girl." These live albums get kind of a lot more personal than polished and finished products by the labels because you get random intersections to make the crowd laugh, like when one band member describes himself a "black raper." These intersections and the whole vibe of this band is predatory and racist and strangely not one single review his picked this up and i feel like im going insane.
I understand this was the 70s but like why do I need to listen to this album before I die if it's just racist and predatory. Its kind of just nostalgia I think.
1/5
I like this album, a lot of diversity between tracks but not in the tracks themselves. Very repetitive.
Love the vocals.
I like this album, getting recommended albums like these is why I use 1001 generators
Alex Harvey walked so CupcaKke could run
Would be better if there was a music video or live version bc I think its missing a pretty essential visual aspect.
Pretty average, not bad, not particularly good.
5/10
It was good.
Didn't stand out.
I liked international jet set but the track right before (didnt even bother to remember the name) was terrible, almost skipped it.
I am aware that to a British person in the 70s being sick and tired of seeing "fags" meant something else but I couldnt agree more.
5/10, good but could be better
I dont like the harmonic on the first two tracks. General rule of thumb is dont hsve a harmonica solo.
It was kind of mid. Sorry to all the bob Dylan heads out there 😭✌️
It was good all the way through
Never a moment I thought "oh, this is bad" or "this could be better"
It was pretty good. Let's lynch the landlord is amazing no notes.
I think in general across the album my only qualm is the vocal style isnt really good. Theres just a few spots here and there that really needed some work but it was alright
7/10
I like it. The intro isn't as strong as other albums ive seen and I dont like his voice.
But at moments near the end I can hear the Americana, it feels like i can hear Mitskis The Land is Inhospitable and So Are We. Unfortunately these moments are only when hes silent and let's the instruments play
Im not the biggest dna of his writing style too, I think again, it got better as the record progressed. Very mixed bag
5/10
Not much to say about this, its alright
I think the part that really held this record back was the inconsistentency, like some of the songs felt half finished, there's no conclusion or anything like that I guess.
Something that I noticed is that the songs with vocals were so much better like those vocals added an entirely new layer to the songs and really enhanced them.
This whole album felt like kind of sexy and smokey, and I liked that, I just wish they were a bit better.
6/10
So close to a 10/10 but the lyrics are meh and the vocals are bad but luckily they are hidden underneath a lot of the production and instrumentation.
8/10
Everythinggg about this album is just soooo good, the production, the flow, the lyrics are stunning, the vocals, the sampling is always on the mark, the references. Dog its just everythingggg is so good
Loved this album, her vocal style is so unique but in a good way. This entire album is just pure 80s camp and I love it.
9/10
It was pretty good, doesn't seem like it was pushing a lot of boundaries though. Not a fan of the vocals style either. Other thsn that it was pretty good
I lovea good synth. It was pretty good.
After reading some of the reviews I feel uncomfortable giving this a 6/10, but it was good, just like I think over hyped.
Something i find really interesting is that like all of these male singers in this era had very similar vocal styles, maybe this was bc of the tech. Idk. I think it's kind of like how today a lot of female pop singers like Olivia Rodrigo sing very breathily. Kind of just interesting to me I guess.
This listen was hard to grade. On one hand it pioneered a lot of production styles, I can hear childish gambina in this record. But on the other, there was a lot of misogyny within this track and it's incredibly dated.
4/10
This album is such an easy 5. The lyrics are always eloquent, the bars are on beat and the features are amazing. I can see why I needed to hear this before I died, and Im glad I did. This album feels like a collage of the best moments of the studio, and it works beautifully. The sampling is always perfect and im genuinely blown away.
Yeah pretty mid. Would give 5/10 but -1 for the harmonica.
4/10
What can you even say to describe this album? As a debut album too? This masterpiece is spectacular and I can physically feel the love and passion out into this record
This album is really good, very cohesive, everything is well done. However I wouldn't say that it's like the best rap album I've heard or that it really set itself apart. Like whatever it's doing, it's doing it really well.
It feels deeply rooted in the moment as well, a lot of mentions about a DA trying to get him on made up crimes.
But I'm going to be honest, I don't really think it does anything to deserve a 10/10 album, in so much as production doesn't really stand out, and while his raps and flow are really good I feel like they could be better. Dont get me wrong, I think it's pretty close to a 10/10, it just isnt quite there.
8/10
This is a complicated album to grade. His vocal style, lyrics and instrumentation was all heavily influential on people like David Bowie. His way of matching almost classical-esque style of music has been done better, the likes of Raye and Rosalia most recently. I find it hard to completely remove his influence from my grade.
That being said, I generally don't look into the singer when I listen to these albums, this, however, was an exception. In the track "Next" Walker uses "Fag" as a slur twice. Up until his death, Walker advocated against gay marriage. If I should account for his influence and legacy regarding his music, then why not his advocacy against my own rights, which itself is baked into his music?
That aside, Plastic People Palace is an assault on my ears. It's not good, id rather every hair on my head be ripped from my scalp then listen to it again. I can't understand how he even wrote something so bad and then thought that it was alright to put that out into the world.
While it was influential and should be remembered as such, I cannot find a good reason as to why I need to listen to this before I die. Undoubtedly, there is an album somewhere that should be on this list instead of this album.
2/10
Psychedelic and really well put together
I actually really loved this album, but it took me a few listens to really fall in love with it unfortunately. I will also say that the sounds themselves feel pretty generic, but aren't done poorly.
8/10
This album felt generic, mid and flat. Although i felt myself bumping along to some of their tunes I kind of felt embarrassed, they're trying so hard to be cool. Their use of Jazz and Bossa Nova throughout the record reminds me of Ian's use of Trap for his records today. It feels cynical.
4/10
Not available for me to listen to and I couldnt find it online for some reason?? very tragic but i also don't enjoy the cover art
Mid. It didnt feel grunge it was missing something.
5/1]
It was pretty good, I can understand the fan base to a certain extent, could be better and the cove ris abysmal
This is what i imagine the diner actually sounded like. Cool and relaxed. A little clogged and stuffy but otherwise very well done
7/10
Im not really a fan of country but this really got me swaying to the rhythm.
This record, when compared to modern country, isn't vapid or all about the streams. The love and care put into this record is truly palpable.
While I don't think I can give this a 10/10 because it does falter in some areas like poor composition in some songs but I do believe this record is really well built as a whole.
8/10
A spectacular synthetic odyssey. U genuinely loved this album, it's so incredibly experimental (for it's time) and really pushed boundaries. Even through that it's stil really good.
That being said, although I think that, yes I needed to listen to this before I die, the record isnt that timeless, its very much rooted in the 80s. And I love that but it makes it hard to enjoy it outside of the context in which it was made.
8/10
So desperately moody. I kinda like it
Yeah. Pretty good. As an electronic album it's really good. It feels almost like a movie sound track, not like an action movie but a low stake mystery, very eerie but almost like background noise
Yeah. The listening experience was excellent and I really enjoyed the record. The only thing that holds this back for me is that theres no "oomf" and so it kind of just settles to background music, like bossa nova. Not to say that it isnt good, its amazing, I think i just need to be at a jazz club to really enjoy this
I love bossa nova, just wish stan getz wasnt the representative for bossa nova
This album is kind of a mixed bag for me, many portions and songs like Red Rain are so good, however, songs like take take take are genuinely some of the worst songs ive ever heard.
Theres this one portion in take take take where the band had structured the audio to rapidly switch between earbuds and it was genuinely sooo bad and it hurt my ears.
4/10
Idk how to rate this, it's weird and interesting in some aspects but then unlistenable to in some places like thriller. Their goal was never to make something listenable. As a project however it isnt very cohesive or well done
3/10
So deeply iconic, I found myself constantly bumping along to it
It was very sweet, i liked the album
Twin maybe I am a freak after all
This felt very experimental and I think in a lot of places it worked very well, however more often than not it felt not so purposefully pushing boundaries and more like a child's first painting.
It was very groovy, I think it can really see how its impacted later artists
There are moments where I can see how influential this record is and how important it is. However these are overshadowed by the weird and terrible moments where the experimentation takes a turn and no long becomes boundary pushing and instead esoteric and annoying. Most of all is the kazoo that can be found throughout some of the tracks. I hate kazoos
2/10
Strangely, for any album that is almost entirely about sex it is incredibly corny. Theres a moment in one if the songs where they talk about having to stop and put a condom on. Which like, yeah let's practice safe sex, but it seems kind of shoe horned into the verse and doesn't really add or say anything. Most of the album is like this.
I find it really disappointing because sex is such an easy topic to use word play with, look at Cupcakke, who's lyrics are obscene but incredibly smart and well written.
The most i can say is that it's definitely a party, except for the moments where rhe flow kind of stops to talk about condoms.
4/10
I really enjoyed this album, however I think conceptually it felt unable to really lean into this almost Americana rock fusion and so it was very lack luster in some areas. This isnt to say that it was bad, it certainly wasnt, and the opening track was excellent and by far my favorite, but it wasnt able to seem adventurous.
6/10
I think if this album was any other genre it wouldn't be able to pull this off. I understand that this could never please everyone but even so it comes off as effortlessly cool and slick.
This album, like the rocky horror picture show, in the most absolute sense of the word: camp. Its iconic and it's impact is so deeply important to later artists. The beats are groovy and the raps flow seamlessly.
The only reason I falter on giving this a perfect score is that even though they are fun, the interludes and longer samples/ porno sequences drag on too long. Like there is one interlude about finngering yourself that, if shortened, would play into this section perfectly.
9.5/10
it's alright, definitely a blast but I wasn't really blown away by it.
I love jazz but it has this tendency to fall into background music without any vocals
Atmospheric and moody, its never too unique or experimental, but it knows what it is and does it well.
7/10
I dont have much to say about this album. This album sounds like, at times, frolicking in the forest, resting in a field and yearning. I dont think theres a really bad thing I can say about this album, theres nothing that holds it back, production wise or lyrically. There are moments I wished packed a bigger punch or the exact opposite where they pulled back a bit.
8.5/10
This album is such an easy 10/10. I think many of the people who don't like this record fell victim the the unfair propaganda during the early 2000s media landscape (which is, to an extent responsible for her death).
I could never imagine giving this album a 1 star review after listening to rehab, those bells in the verses of the song strike something deep within me every listen.
Not only is this album spectacular, but you should listen to this before you die. and that is why I give it a 10/10
This is such a stellar album. I feel very comfortable giving it a high rating, but I feel uncomfortable giving it a perfect score. I know that this man is capable of incredibly great production and vocals so when I hear a song like "the girl is mine" feat. Paul McCartney I'm a little disappointed that it's not that good. I feel like this album is really held up by it's heavy hitters and so seeing mediocre songs on the tracklist feels worse than an if this was a slightly above average album with some mediocre songs, if that makes sense.
Either way I would feel very confident in a 9/10 score, you should absolutely listen to this before you die and it's cultural impact is so incredibly vast. That being said I cannot ethically and in good faith give this album a 9/10. If the allegations against Michael Jackson are disproved or proven I will update my rating accordingly. I wish that I could find credible evidence to swing my opinion either way but I haven't seen any. This review leaves me questioning whether we can or should enjoy art made by predators.
5/10
Yall just dont understand the vision
8/10
I dont think I need to explain why this album is weird and lowk offensive. But in the end the lyrics feel like an edgy 14 year old came up with them. Even if it's subversive, they're weird and lazy.
Broken English is such a bad song but like in general this album isn't offensive enough to warrant a 1 star.
4/10
10/10 Just for the name but I really did enjoy this album and the screams and how amazing it is. Yeah. it's a classic not sure what to say
Yeah solid
I felt like this was a very well done and effective album. Unfortunately I didn't listen the lyrics thay closely so.
I dont think this stands up to their debut and aside from the first track the rest of the songs tend to wild a lot in how good they are.
4/10
Yeah solid
I liked a significant portion for me and a lot of this was incredibly experimental, however, the last song on this track (and many before it) were atrocious, bad and terrible. Although there are a few hidden gems, it was not a good album.
3/10
The flaming WHAT
Ok. Like the album was pretty good. No notes.
This feels so conceptual and I quiet enjoyed it.
10/10 just for the cover. The album itself feels eerier, almost like like a lonely day on the train across the midwest. I liked it.
8/10
I would give this a 10/10 so easily, however in light of his allegations and the fact that theyre unproven but not disproven, i dont feel comfortable giving it that. If the claims are disproven I will update this, re listen, and give my full thoughts. But for now I'll give this a 5/10
I think the first half of this album was pretty good, and then the second half got weird, i didn't like it. 4/10.
I think if you look at the just the first half it kind of represents such a good look at the golden age of rap.
i liked it. When the crowd started singing with him it was magical, however some of the album tended to drift into almost elevator music territory. Although that's not a bad thing necessarily, some of it was a bit boring.
7/10
