This is how you start and end an album. So refreshing to hear a good album exactly of its time. A lot of songs that should have been bigger hits.
My very obvious favs:
- "I spy" is like an opera piece, or a James Bond theme song...
- "Disco 2000" drummer understood the assignment. early y2k panic?
Great songs, catchy, has layers but not overly produced.
More of this and less jazz please
seems to me like slightly elevated quality of elevator music or very high quality XXX movie soundtrack... I had never heard of them before and probably wont again... Objectively its very nice sounding and great production value. You can tell they spent days just playing around with sounds, effects and mic placements. I respect if they influenced others but its hard for me to fully appreciate.
"Sexy boy" was very enjoyable though.
There are many reasons I still hear "rolling in the deep", "set fire to the rain" and "someone like you" every time I go to a karaoke bar... both being sung by men joking around and amateur singers taking it seriously.
This album is just too influential. Its a great example of mainstream pop music that can appeal to almost anyone, great musicianship and production on display... the songs are catchy in a high quality way.
My biggest complaint about pop music today is that there is no "music" in it.. there is nothing for the musician... This is exactly the opposite and I can only wish that more artists like Adele became popular instead of Bad Bunny , Doja Cat and Taylor Swift.
Even though I havent kept track with Adele's other albums, I am aware they are not as popular as this one and the Skyfall soundtrack was a bit of a dud... Still we have "21" to remind us what she is capable of and that every now and then a proper talented artist will take the world by storm and we will be here to enjoy it.
Can we nit pick? yes... Do I wish there were less love/heartbreak ballads? also yes... Should more tracks have kept the style of "Rumour has it" instead of "lovesong"? well yeah... still, its not difficult to look past that and appreciate this album for what it is and its influence.
have to be in a special mood to appreciate and fully enjoy it
Probably more familiar to covers of these songs than the originals
Its not something I would listen to myself.
I have to admit I am not the biggest Springsteen fan but I am aware he high regarded by many. I also didnt know this album of very acoustic/folky songs existed. Impossible not to hear the Dylan-esque or Cash-esque tracks and messages he is trying to push across in his music... everything seems to be about sadness, failures, broken dreams
If I was a big Springsteen fan I think I would feel conflicted with this album because the style and songwriting is so different. Being a neutral, I think I just did not connect with it and much prefer his more rock n roll, "full of dreams" approach.
had a really hard time listening to this and being objective with the rating... I pretty much despise this kind of music but its what they had back in the day.
Man can definitely sing, and the recording is so clean considering it was recorded in the late 50's and its IN STEREO!
The guitar in "El Paso" is really good and sounds fun to play.
I don't like this album and I wouldn't tell anyone I know that they have to listen to this before they die
This is maybe the most known album out of this group of bands that became famous in the 90s. The mostly women rock/pop/grunge/punk groups that wanted to tell the world they could write modern rock music while also doing drugs, getting into legal trouble and making their success out of anything except their musical talent.
Almost 30 years later and this album still rings hollow, non-authentic, attention seeking and showing that they were torn between their "punk-grunge bad girl" identity and their incessant need to be in the spotlight.
The songs are catchy and under 4:00 so they could get radio time and their lyrics are mostly "oh its so hard to be famous"
Enough context, this is about the album....
Its ok I guess. The title song is still a banger and "Hit so hard" is overlooked imo.
sounds great but not for me... I get the feeling the album gets going at 49 byes byes and honestly that far in I was already hoping it would end... but after is more of the same.
Is Marrakesh express about getting high?
I had never heard this full album, just knew a few songs and just so much better as a whole, start to finish
listened twice
so nice to hear good quality pop music
Everything is on point, I have no complaints. The musicianship is perfect, recording is perfect. Billy Joel plays the pianos/keyboards himself and wrote all songs (remember when artists were musicians?)
Every single song is great, everything sounds great, nothing is out of place.. its just an amazing album
Highlights are obviously Vienna and Movin out
Shoutout to Scenes from an italian restaurant, its like a cinematic song it has different parts or "scenes" , felt like a prog rock song or opera
MORE OF THIS JA TAK
and to think this masterpiece came a year after revolver and a year before the white album.
Can I rate this higher than 5?
fun fact: My mom still calls this album the peak of her "hippie" phase
No way I would have discovered this myself.
Sounds ok but not for me, I did not connect.
One of his most influential and well regarded albums, there are so many of his classics here, in one package. I think at least 3 songs here have permeated latin american culture and folklore, people might not know Santana the artist, but they know these songs almost like they come preprogrammed at birth.
In the ranking of electric guitar (mostly) instrumental music, this album earns its place among the top tier. No one else was doing what Santana was doing back then and no one has dared to try and copy him since.
Its not Sgt Peppers but still a great Beatles album. The title track is one of my favourites, along with "And I love her". It's the beginning of the John-Paul songwriting era, the bass playing is great and music in general seems more ambitious than before.
I love this album but its down the list among my favourite Beatles' albums.
I tried, I really did... but I cant listen to this type of music. I couldnt listen 20 years ago when my grandma would play Sinatra over and over and I still can't put myself through it now.
Why does everything seem like its deliberately slowed down? why does heeee seeeemmm tooooo streeeetchhhh eeeeeveeeeryyyy siiiiingleeee wooooorddd heeee siiiiiings ?? Why are 100% of the lyrics about love and romance? How does he get away with barely putting a melody in?
I'm giving 1 star out of respect to the man and 5 stars to me for listening to 4 songs of this thing before giving up.
If this is what they had to listen to, then I am so happy for people back then that Elvis arrived and saved music.
It sounds nice, a mix of ambient and sounds like a DJ just experimenting stuff. But in the end, weird and a bit boring... I have no other words.
A few times he changes beat mid song and I appreciate that, but other than that this music does nothing for me. Feels like most songs lack a hook or a melody to cling to.
Sounds very experimental and noisy in all kinds of weird ways. Wouldnt surprise me if there is some genius tracks in there that I'm simply not able to appreciate.
"Shadow of a doubt" was alright but overall not for me
I love that this album starts with an explosive grenade right in your face and almost doesnt let go (maybe for a bit during "child in time" before it burns your face off again) , almost sounds like it was recorded live btw..
I really like this band and some songs in this album, but its far from being their best as it was still very early on... cant deny the musicianship on display is amazing, they rock out when they need to and you can hear the heavy rock or metal genre starting to blossom here..
Really enjoyed "living wreck", the drum intro, the funky rhythm and the organ sounds completely took me by surprise.
I am torn between a high 3 or a low 4
I thought there was something wrong with my headphones at first.
I have no idea what this is that I have listened to for 37 minutes and 43 seconds.. it sounds like produced, industrial, punk... which are words I never thought I would put together... I imagined if NIN had a kid with the Sex Pistols so the child is rebellious and wants to write songs about setting himself on fire to protest the powers that be while also experimenting with different soundscapes and electronics in the process. The drum machine contributes to the their unique sound, which are also words I never thought I would write before.
Maybe this is a musical genre that already exists and I am just discovering it now? idk, but these are my impressions
I think there are some nice musical ideas and sounds in there, but they get washed out in the muffled, noisy mess of a sound they were going for and in the end just sounds like background music to a grown man screaming and complaining.
I was happy when it was over, the last track "Cables (live)" was hard to get through.
I thought "Mama Roux" was a nice listen, easy-going and relaxing.. but I have little else to say about the rest of the album.
Is this one of those albums that you just need a little extra "kick" to appreciate fully? I got the impression that is the case.
Absolutely iconic, revolutionary.. this guy has his own style and its instantly recognizable
So many good songs here that I thought were spread out in different albums.
More of this please!!
Is this their "rebirth" ? I think so
As a kid I heard so many stories about The Rolling Stones, and specifically this album... my parents told me that "sympathy for the the devil" was a lovesong to satan, and that in the late 60s and early 70s everyone thought this band was corrupted and part of some strange satanic cult.
There is also a myth about a Venezuelan guy playing maracas on this song, which is quite nice and funny.
As a reccord, I dont know if its their strongest and best work but it is certainly iconic and full of good songs. I could listen to it 5 more times today.
I am far from a Damon Albarn fan-boy, in fact I dont really like Blur.. but when it comes to Gorillaz I think I have liked almost everything they have put out.
I think I was 8 when I got this album in CD, purely because I liked the cartoons, but also loved the music once I heard it... there was/is something hypnotic about so many tracks , like Clint Eastwood fx, and there is something for everyone here. Think about where the world was in terms of popular mainstream music when this was released in 2001...
Listening to the whole thing now in isolation, not every single song is a banger, not everything works and its not the album I reach for when I want to listen to Gorillaz. Far from perfect but retains its charm.
If someone is living under a rock, this is a video example of how songs were written and recorded with toys and old not very high end equipment https://youtube.com/shorts/kn8ocOsdbEo?si=nRY1KKdU133d3wo3
All of these random thoughts just to say that I dont think this is a 5 so I am torn between a 3 and 4
