1001 Albums Summary

A great album even if you aren’t a jazz fan.

I only knew War from the singles released when I was in high school. I never fully appreciated their musicianship

The Stones emerge from the cocoon…

This genre, with screeching inaudible lyrics and thrash metal sound, is not really my cup of tea. Some songs ok, but not something I would choose to revisit.

Been years since I listened to this straight through. Great rocking, and Slash can really bring it. Too bad Axl couldn’t keep it together long enough to have a longer career with these guys.

All I knew about Leonard Cohen was the gravelly voice, the fedora and “Hallelujah”, I couldn’t understand why he was such a cult figure so I was looking forward to listening to this album. It did not disappoint. The clever lyrics and the backing music, brought his deep jazzy voice to life. It was a pleasure to learn what all the fuss was about. I’m sure he would’ve been fun to see in some smoky cabaret. Like a male version of Rickie Lee Jones…

Solid R&B guitar work by Nile Rodgers, although the songs are internally repetitive.

Quincy Jones, along with Phil Spector, is one of the very few non-musician, non-vocalist producers who deserve top credit for an album’s success…and he earns it here, taking Jackson’s talent and drive and turning him into an adult (at least musically). It’s a masterpiece of pop production.

After wearing this album out as a young teen, I hadn’t listened to it straight through in decades. Happy to learn that it still holds up. The Beatles at their groundbreaking best. The second side is a classic combo of songs they couldn’t complete, but still utilized in brilliant fashion. The album reminded me of all the supposed clues to the “Paul is dead” hoax.

I HAD to listen to this before I die?! Maybe it’s ok if it was background music while I was eating in an Indian restaurant, but I can’t imagine ever wanting to put this on to listen. I’m sure the musicians are/were top notch, but I still don’t want to hear it. This must’ve been the 1001st album on the list.

Never gave this album a second thought when it was released. But after seeing him on SNL and in movies, I began to appreciate his talents. Good voice. Solid production. Decent pop album.

I was a closet ABBA fan, since Waterloo. This album was billed as a departure from their pop sound…but, I LIKE their pop sound. This album is ok, but nothing memorable for me. I’ll give it a 3 for effort.

I always lumped Wilco in with Radiohead: bands beloved by the so-called cognoscenti, but which were never really popular. This album is just ok, with a couple songs that were somewhat interesting, but that’s about it. Nothing I would recommend.

How can you NOT get jumping for a Jerry Lee Lewis show? Total high energy from the master of boogie woogie piano.

Schneider’s vocals, the beehive hairdos, the roller-rink organ, the strange lyrics; all of it screams “weird” (in the best possible sense). And then they went on to have a multi-decade career. Apparently they were on to something. This debut album was good at the time and it still holds up.

Tremendous debut album which led to a long career in a variety of musical genres. Fun to listen to even decades later.

10cc is/was (all of them are still alive today) a quirky band with a sense of humor. Not my fave of their albums, but I loved Wall Street Shuffle.

I had never heard of John Grant, or his band before listening to this. His bio is certainly interesting and his life’s travails led to complex music. Fun to listen to, I gave it a 3

I was dreading the appearance of what I thought was the first “rap” album on this eclectic journey, but the music was of sufficient quality to justify calling it “rap and roll”. I really liked it, despite my negative preconceptions. Nice guitar work on “I Can’t Get With That”.

I know I should probably love this album, but it’s just ok. She certainly has the pipes, but a songlist of romantic dirges is a tough listen. Some of the individual songs are good, so…3.