Exceptional early post punk. It has the stripped down, primal, and rough around the edges aesthetics of other punk of the era, but is also shockingly technical. The experimental aspects of this album sneak up on you. At first, the more intricate elements bubble away in the background with very textural basslines and guitar work buried in the mix, but they eventually burst forwards like fireworks. The compositions grow a lot more complex throughout, with quite structurally basic punk songs giving way to 10 minute long monsters which absolutely earn that run time. Probably the most interesting aspect of this album compared to later post punk records is that the more atmospheric and textural sounds are the result of highly technical guitar work rather than effects, which makes this still quite a unique album even though it is extremely early for its genre.
It's kinda boring. Sympathy For The Devil is a classic and seeing it was the opening track had me excited for this, but the second track lost me and while there are a couple of mild bangers like Street Fighting Man, most of this album went straight into one ear and out the other. Bluesy Americana infused rock but doesn't have a lot of flavour to it
While the music on this album is mostly very good, I am not sure it coheres as an album very well. The album opens with a really tender and melancholic folk ballad about gender dysphoria (easily the highlight of the album), which is followed by a blues rock banger, which is followed by a very laid back bluesy-country type song, which is followed by a couple more ballads. These songs are great in isolation, but there is a lot of whiplash here.
The second to last song (A Murder Mystery) veers hard into experimental territory with a 9 minute spoken word song with overlapping vocals that are panned hard left and right (I respect it, but there is not 9 minutes of ideas here). Kind of a mess as an album, but I'm glad I listened to it and there are absolutely songs I am going to go back to
Highly innovative, highly influential, and still holds up today. Hendrix was an early pioneer of effects pedals and was one of the first to make use of feedback as a musical element. Nearly 60 years have passed and his mastery of such techniques is still impressive to this day. All of this is in service of a record where the tunes themselves are still fantastic. Not much else to say, easy 5 stars
Probably not one of Bowie's best albums, but that doesn't mean much because Bowie has released a tonne of incredible music. This is more of a transitional album where Bowie is begining to play around with a more artsy and experimental sound while still having some of the glam of his earlier work. While the end result doesn't quite reach the heights of the best of his glam work such as Ziggy Stardust or the proto post-rock excellence of his next album, this is still a great album. I especially like the title track
A fantastic album, especially given that it is a debut from a very young artist. The instrumentals are lush and elegant. Fiona is an incredible singer. She has done better and I still think she is coming into her own as an artist a bit here, but this is still a very good record
I hate to be that nerd that goes "oh, but the production 🤓" to some punk music, but the guitars are very loud in the mix and sound like they were recorded on tin cans. Apparently the lyrics are very dry, snarky, and political beat poetry type stuff but I wouldn't know because I think the only lyrics I could make out were the la-la-la's on Mannequin.
The album does have a lot of interesting ideas, the songs are really tight, I do kind of enjoy it, and it sounds like it would go hard live, but oh the production... 🤓
Oh boy, time for some big songs, bigger emotions, and even bigger cheese. I love Jim Steinman's brand of bombastic camp, but listening to this as an album, I think I can only handle so much of it in one sitting. While this album is only like 45 minutes, it sometimes feels like 70. This isn't helped by some of slower and less over the top tracks like Heaven Can Wait (which feels like it can drag a bit even though it is one of the shortest songs on the album). With that being said though, I can't be in a bad mood listening to songs like Bat Out Of Hell and I do have to give the album it's flowers for that.
Also, Meat Loaf is fantastic here and probably the reason that these songs don't just collapse on themselves. An album with emotions this big requires a voice to match, and he certainly delivers here.
Absolutely stellar. A dream marriage of Bush's fantastic pop chops and her more experimental side, there is nothing else quite like this album.
I knew Bee Gees had an extensive career before their pivot to disco, but I had never heard anyone actually talk about their pre-disco era. Having now listened to this, I understand why. The vocal harmonies are nice and it sounds pretty, but otherwise this is just really boring, schmaltzy, and thouroughly unremarkable soft rock
At its best, this is phenomenal, but lot of it feels like filler. Filler from talented musicians, but filler nonetheless. This album has an impressive legacy and is foundational to hip-hop, but only a few songs are worth going back to. Glad I listened to it though
It shouldn't be surprising that the album that gave us Fast Car is incredible, but I have been doing this list long enough to know one fantastic song doesn't equal fantastic album. Chapman deftly balances folk and pop in an album that is accessible without sacrificing any of the gravitas and soul. Just simply an immaculate record that is sadly as relevant as it is today as the day it came out.
The lyrics are extremely corny, a lot of the orchestral instruments sound like midi, and I am genuinely not sure why this is in this list. At the same time though, I kinda like it. Musically, it is ambitious and quite adventurous, but still solid artsy pop. It is just a lyricist and an actual orchestra away from being great.
I was not expecting to hear so many slurs from the "You've Got A Friend In Me" guy. I did try to put that aside considering the satire here and how none of it felt mean spirited, but that was hard because of how frequent it is. Randy sure has gravitas and panache, but him saying the n word for the nth time torpedoes it. Leaving the fact that this album hasn't aged well aside, it's fine. I think saying the name of southern states with a solemn voice would hit harder if I was from the US so it did little for me. Glad I listened to it, but I am unlikely to go back to it or check out the rest of Randy's back catalogue
An absolutely gorgeous and haunting record from an absolutely stunning singer and a truly phenomenal debut. Buckley's untimely death was a real tragedy, but at least he was able to give us an all time great while he was here.
My heart wants to give this album a 5 purely for Battlestar Scralatchtica. My head wants to give this album a 3 as it is otherwise pretty boring, it's very sedate nu-metal.
This is a reluctant 3, but know that if I were making a list like this, I would put this record on it just so people listen to Battlestar Scralatchtica.
To paraphrase everyone's favourite shadowy youtuber, this album was when Springsteen decided that he didn't want to just be the best artist out there, he also wanted to be the biggest. This album is a great collection of rock songs, but the emphasis on producing hits does mean the album can feel a little one note.
This is one of those albums that I had been meaning to listen to, but never got around to it. Glad that I have heard it now though, moody yet experimental.
I can hear the influence that this had on a lot of musicians that I really like (Bon Iver, Sufjan, The National etc). I do think I like the works of those other artists more though. Part of it may be just how sedate the vocals are, but I also think it may just be that I haven't spent a lot of time with this album yet and my appreciation may grow over time. At this stage, this is a 4, but that may become a 5 in the future.
Bob Dylan is a generational talent as both a musician and lyricist, but his nasal voice and harmonica can grate after a while. The electric folk is innovative and it manages to both have the weight of folk, and the fun of rock. I can't give this a 5 star rating though just because listening to a whole album of this dude's voice does become a chore.
A mixed bag of a (mostly) cover album. Cash approaches these covers with a sparse and melancholic sound, mostly guitar and piano with the odd other instrument where appropriate. When it works, such as his cover of Hurt (which is one of the best covers in pop history) and Bridge Over Troubled Water, it works really well. A lot of these songs though just feel like Johnny Cash covering a song. He isn't really adding anything, which is an issue when these covers are so stripped back. The original character is gone and there isn't much to replace it. Overall, it's fine, but I am unlikely to return to most of it.
Beautiful vocal harmonies in a collection of great folk songs, with just enough teeth to not be cloying. What is not to love? Neil Young's contributions do kinda overshadow the others, but this is still an excellent folk rock record
Prior to listening to this album, I hadn't heard a lot of Fatboy Slim and was familiar with just the hits. Turns out a lot of those came from this album, almost felt like a greatest hits. It mostly holds up, even if The Rockafeller Skank has Dreamworks trailer stink all over it. As an album, it is quite long, is very repetitive, and is as a result a bit of a chore to listen to. I like this, but I cannot see myself listening to it as a whole album again any time soon, but it is excellent playlist fodder and I reckon it would still go down well on the dancefloor.
It's a solid little punk album. I can hear the inspiration that this had on the hardcore scene and I believe that it inspired better things, but this is still pretty good
I don't know if it is an issue of the book releasing when it did or something else, but having this album on the list and not Demon Days is odd. While their next couple of albums are classics, this one is just fine. You can hear what Gorillaz would become in some of these songs, but it does feel like they are still finding their direction a bit. This album contains a lot of little experiments and some are definitely more successful than others. Not a bad album by any means, but I think it is mostly worth listening to as a whole to hear where Gorillaz came from rather than the kind of album you have to hear before you die.
An extravagant and over-indulgent explosion of new wave, for better and worse. Woe to me for criticizing an important piece of gay history for being too much, but this album is extremely bloated. At its best, this is amongst the best of 80s synth-pop, but it is far too long and there is far too much filler for me to listen to it regularly
Some reviews are questioning whether these guys are a real punk band or not.
Are these guys manufactured and fake? Maybe
Is this 17 killer tracks of sonicly diverse all killer no filler rock? Absolutely
It's plastic American cheese, but it's good plastic American cheese. The kind that you probably wouldn't go out of your way to buy, but if it was on a sandwich from your local cafe, you wouldn't mind too much. I do need to be in the right mood for this, but when it hits, it hits.
It's fine. Feels like a cop out to say that, but it is a perfectly fine album. It inspires no strong feelings in either direction. There is enough going on that I can't give it an "it's boring, 1 star" review, but I wouldn't say it is a gratifying listen. It is the ideal of a 3/5 album.
Also I spent like 10 seconds trying to remove the hair strand from my phone screen before I realised that the album cover used here has a pen mark on it.
Music for old sad people who yearn for better times. Apparently I am old, sad, and yearn for better times
Angry and snarky, yet still very fun. Kicks a lot of ass while being more than just some dudes playing the same couple of chords loud, with influences including surf rock. Yeah, I love this and need to check out more by these guys.
It's an album that you do need to meet where it is at with the very short song length and the lo-fi production, but if you can key into that there is a lot to love here. It is just great indie rock that balances inventiveness and pop hooks without sacrificing either.
This is just some really lovely jazz that is really nice to have on during a long commute. Nothing mind-blowing, but it is a really good time.
An interesting album that tries to split the difference between jazzy prog rock and the kind of cheesy 80's yacht rock that Patrick Bateman probably listens to (which is impressive given this came out in the 70s, ahead of it's time I guess). Unfortunately, it leans more towards the latter. I quite like a couple of tracks where the jazzy prog side shines through a bit more like Aja and I Got The News, but otherwise though it is clear there is talent behind this, it is kinda boring.
This is a tough one because I like what it's going for, but the execution isn't quite there (particularly in the vocals). There are other acts who do this kind of moody, experimental hip hop but they are so much better than this
A difficult listen. An album that was apparently recorded during the collapse of this band and a nervous breakdown of its singer. That tension is palpable throughout in an album that is often as ugly as it is beautiful and as emotional as it is dispassionate. It is unsurprisingly kind of a mess and kind of inconsistent quality-wise, but there is plenty to like here
Led Zeppelin are understandably regarded as one of the all time great rock bands, but they do not have the versatility to be able to pull off a double album like this. Some of the songs here (the ones everyone knows like Kashmir, Houses of the Holy, and Trampled Under Foot) are excellent, but this album is nearly 90 minutes across 16 tracks. There is a fantastic single album in here somewhere, but there is also a lot of bloat. I will (as I always have) go back to some specific songs here but I am not likely to listen to this as an album again.
Faith No More may be the least interesting of Mike Patton's projects, and the one that showcases his vocal talents the least, but this is still a pretty good funk metal album
The idea of collaborating with a wide range of country and bluegrass musicians across generations is a cool idea, but this is nearly 2 hours of people mournfully singing about whisky, Jesus, and Tennessee (of which like 10 minutes is in-studio banter and that probably isn't an exaggeration).
These are clearly talented musicians and the music sounds nice, but I could feel myself get tangibly older as I listened. My back hurts and I need a drink.
I would probably have given a higher score if this album was 1/3rd of the length, but this was the closest that I have gotten to bailing early so far and I have had to listen to pre-disco Bee Gees.
Yesterday's album was Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will The Circle Be Unbroken, which was two excruciatingly long hours of whisky, Jesus, and smothering the names of southern states with as much panache and twang as you can muster. While there was clear talent behind it, it was my first one star review and I almost quit listening to it at multiple points. So, my heart sunk when I saw that I had been given more 1970s country.
This was a really pleasant surprise. A lushly produced and emotional album from an artist with an absolutely beautiful voice and an impressive range. The beatles cover may be better than the original. I worry 4 stars may be too low and a result of yesterday's onslaught maybe affecting how much I could connect to this, but I do really like this and that 4 may become a 5 down the line.
Some solid folk rock with a sprinkle of funk influence. It's an interesting combination. The album can feel a bit too "easy listening" at times and it generally doesn't make the leap from good to amazing, but I can see myself going back to this.
I feel like I should like this more given it is combo of genres that I really like. Shoegaze, goth, trip hop, and ambient. I do feel like it isn't quite the sum of its parts though. I think the biggest issue is the vocals. Most of the time they are pretty weak, and when Iggy Pop comes in on Aisha the lyrics are trying so hard to be edgy that it is just corny. There are some great tracks here and it probably isn't a coincidence that they are typically ones that are instrumental. I will likely go back to those, particularly Dirge. Otherwise though, I can't say I loved this.
Music for people who think Bob Dylan is too spicy
I mean, it's a classic for a reason. The Beatles are both known for no frills rock (which I generally find to be quite boring) and their more experimental psychedelic stuff (which I really like). This album is sort of a mix of both, it is musically ambitious while still being really good pop music. It is not my favourite Beatles album (that would be Revolver), but this is still an album that has earned all the acclaim it has gotten.
I first listened to this looking on a dreary day in my home office, with me occasionally looking out of my window, fogged up with condensation and all I could make out was the motion of trees blowing in the breeze and the occasional drop of rain dancing along my window, and in that moment this hit perfectly. It is very freeform and ambient, especially compared to a lot of other post rock that aims for cinematic swell. I really like this and will have to listen to the rest of their work when I am working and the weather is miserable
A melancholic, quite dark, minimalist, and yet beautiful piece of folk. I think my biggest issue with it is that it felt a bit too impersonal to really connect to it, like while it is lyrically a dark record, it isn't an album where a listen is day-ruining. It means I can have it on while I work if I want something sad but not crushing though.
1001 albums generator wasn't about to let pride month end without giving me another gay classic. At it's best this album is an extremely flamboyant and glorious piece of glam pop, but it is a little inconsistent. Still though, am glad to have heard it.
Going into this, I hadn't heard any reggae that I liked and the Bob Marley that I had heard in particular I found to be really annoying (especially the saccharineness of the peace and love lyrics). I did quite like this album though and I think it helped me get the appeal of reggae, the musicianship was tight and it was lyrically good too. I might have to listen to more reggae and I am glad that this list pushed me into that direction
It's Hotel California, and a bunch of extremely average songs. Hotel California (the song) is an excellent moody and almost proggy song that is often regarded as one of the best rock songs ever, and as overplayed as it is I do kinda have to agree. The rest of the album though has the band explore a bunch of other genres including ballads and pseudo-raunchy blues rock that doesn't rise above fine.
Listen to Bitches Brew again? Say no more 1001 albums generator. This album fucks, and I say this as someone that is deathly allergic to anything over an hour
I was excited to hear this album, only to learn that I have heard a lot of it already. It's just a really good new wave record. A bit less consistent outside of the hits, but a lot of bangers on this one.
*siiiiiiiiiigh...*
I used to be a really big Arcade Fire fan, and their run from Funeral to Reflektor remains exceptional. Neon Bible is a towering reflection of society post 9/11 (though it remains very relevant today) that can occasionally feel a little too "we live in a society", but it is one that manages to mostly wield a massive biblical sound and big themes without collapsing in on itself.
Win Butler, what the fuck?
I first heard about this album when Todd In The Shadows was discussing St. Anger and how people would forgive bad production if the music bangs hard enough. He mentioned that while both albums famously sound terrible, ...And Justice For All is still beloved because the music itself is up to snuff.
Having now actually listened to this album, he is absolutely right. The production here is not good, but god this is still a really fun listen. It is just a really solid metal album with a surprising amount of prog elements, the mix is both very muddy and dry simultaneously though which almost feels like an achievement.
I mean, I am not about to tell you that this is a bad album, I'm not enough of a contrarian to say that an album where every song has it's own wikipedia page is a bad album, but I can't quite justify giving it a 5 star rating.
The best songs on this album like Come Together and I Want You are excellent, however it has songs like Maxwell's Silver Hammer (a goofy novelty song that is both kinda annoying and doesn't really have anything interesting going on) and the medley (a collection of short half-formed songs that are a mixed bag).
It is still a very solid album though.
As the saying goes, talking about music is like dancing about architecture. It's hard. You are trying to convey the merits of one medium in a semantically very different medium. Sometimes it is very easy to talk about why an album is good or not, but other times it is just really hard. This album is one of those times.
Pretzel Logic is a fine album, but it isn't an excellent one. It is hard to explain why without throwing out some vague metaphor about how it just kinda lacks sauce though. It's technically impressive from a band that clearly has a lot of musical chops. The songs build and release in a pleasing way. There are a lot of neat little flourishes, a well placed drum fill here and there and so on. It is stylisticly diverse yet stylisticly coherent, like how East Saint Louis Toodle-Oo has honky tonk vibes while still having the wah-wah guitar of other songs. The songs are kinda catchy. It's not generic, prog soft rock with funk and jazz elements is not exactly a common combination. The music isn't emotionally detached, they are singing with soul, the songs have too much of a groove (even if I would feel like such a dad if I shook my moneymaker to this), and the genre combos are strange enough that the music must come from a place of passion.
I don't know why this isn't doing more for me than it is, it just kinda lacks sauce to me.
A two hour gimmick album that becomes less impressive if you know who the likes of Nightwish and Epica are. The arrangements are well done and while there is the odd awkward moment where the band and orchestra don't quite sync up, it mostly works. If you are not a huge Metallica fan, you do not need to hear all of this though (and if you are, you probably already have). If this app had half stars, this would be a 3.5 star review.
"Lost Souls was considered by many to be the best debut album by a British act since Oasis' Definitely Maybe"
No. Like, it isn't bad, but no.
Musically really impressive, but the lyrics are edgy in the most boring and pretentious way. What's that Jethro Tull? Songs about pedophile hobos, child prostitutes, and how skeezy the church is? How incredibly transgressive
Oh Dimery, you beautiful person. I may question some of your picks, but then you come out with some curveball like this gem and all is forgiven.
I knew this album by reputation before diving in, I knew that of their original run, this is meant to be their challenging record, with very long songs and a lot of spoken word. Having now listened to it, I kinda love it. I see why it is divisive, the songs are indeed long and there is a lot of spoken word, but it makes sense with what the album is shooting for. The lyrics are often very conversational and balance between intimate, avoidant, and kinda awkward. As a result, the album feels very messy and very human.
While the songs are long, the music itself is great. It takes the soul and folk of their first two records and combines it into an off kilter art pop sound that is often funkier than it has any right to be.
Say what you will about this record, but one thing you can't call it is derivative. I have never heard anything like this album before, and it definitely feels like an album that a music nerd needs to hear before they die.
