1001 Albums Summary

Hell yeah brother, put this in my veinssssss Bottled nostalgia. Even the new songs (to me) felt cozy and familiar. What a joy to go further back into a favorite band’s catalogue and not be disappointed. Olivia Cooke voice: “Oh, stunning!”

What can I say, it was fun

Other than a couple hit songs, it was just mid

It’s competent rock, I’m gonna like it

Some ups and downs, but never boring, definitely a vibe. Looking for to checking out more Bowie

Really wanted to like it, but it was just fine

Am I a Steely Dan fan now?

The live songs were so much better than the rest of the album

You know it’s a bad album when the better songs sound like glorified elevator music

If I thought anything was redeemable about this album at the start, listening to slightly remixed versions of the same song five times over the course of a two hour album certainly burned it out of me.

2.5 if it was an option. Not my thing, but there’s enough meat on the bones for me to try another Stereolab album or two

Decadent, extravagant, everything I want in a Black Sabbath album. Need to relisten during spooky season.

With the exception of My Curse, the instrumentals are far more interesting than the vocals on every track.

Just not my style, but Zombie (the song) earned some energetic car shimmies from me.

As someone raised in Georgia, I was primed to be biased against this album from the start with that many mentions of Bear Bryant and Alabama. Never thought I’d hear George Wallace mentioned this much (if ever) in a song. Too close to country for me to ever like it, and too many depictions of Southern life (of varying degrees of accuracy) for me to care. Also, I almost always automatically dislike any album that uses another band or celebrity’s fame to prop up their own. It feels lazy and disingenuous to do so, with rarely a good enough reason behind it.

Possibly my favorite album cover art. I thought this album would be a just fine way to spend two hours and enjoy the handful of songs I knew. I was wrong. This was a beautifully executed work with a surprising variety of moods and melodies. I found myself moved at times, head banging in others. From start to finish I loved it, and even after two whole hours, I wondered when I could listen to it again.

The highs were high, the lows were mid. I understood what they were doing (and they doing it well from a technique perspective), but I couldn’t help but be bored for most of the album. I wanted every song to be Squares, and ultimately was left wanting.

Just beautiful. I want to curl up with a blanket in midwinter, stare at the ceiling, and feel too many feelings while listening to this album. This would have wrecked me as a teenager. The instrumentals were simultaneously moody and airy, accompanied by passionate, gutting vocals. It’s a magical album.

I listened to it and immediately forgot about it. Not a good sign.

Did it feel like the same song on repeat for 45 minutes? Yes. Did I care? Not a bit. Can’t listen to Sinatra and not feel like a lead in a classic romantic movie. He has the best voice a maybe mobster has ever had.

What a waste of incredible beats and production. The brits shouldn’t rap (or whatever it was the vocals were supposed to be doing).

This was just pure fun. Funky, weird, and had me dancing in my seat, which is all I really want in an album. I don’t know the full music landscape of the 1970s, but this felt like a big swing, which I always admire.

It came, it went, and I don’t really have anything to say about it. I already forgot about it. Okay background music, but nothing on this album intrigued me. Plus that one song is creepy.

This felt like the most 2005 album ever made. Beck decided to dip into every musical trend of the day and did it well. But it felt like it was missing a musical cohesion or identity as a result. Still enjoyed it and will listen to more Beck.

Kanye was one of the foundational rappers who introduced me to the genre. If it wasn’t a Kanye song I was listening to, then he was often featured on the track. It is now impossible to listen to his music without being reminded of who he’s shown himself to be, poisoning the well of his incredible body of work. I no longer listen to Kanye’s songs, and listening to this album now, for the first time, felt like poking a bruise. It is a shame that this album is a masterpiece. It’s haunting to hear lyrics that were troubling at the time but were likely waved away (All of the Lights: “I slapped my girl, she called the feds”, featuring Rihanna who a year earlier was beaten by Chris Brown), to see how drastically he has changed his views (So Appalled: “Donald Trump taking dollars from y’all), and to wrestle with his ever present god complex and eventual spiral (Power, among others). And it can’t be forgotten that many if not all the guest artists are giving quite possibly their best featured performances, but some of whom have their own scandals compounding the taint on these tracks. I loved it. It was damn near perfect. Even the weakest song, Lost in the World, contained a section of instant depression that stunned me to my core (thanks Bon Iver). It is one of the best rap albums of all time, if not one of the best albums period, but it will forever be marred by the man behind it.

This is why I hate country: they aren’t Johnny Cash. This ruled.

Felt like a Beatles tribute band. That’s unfair, I know, but it’s the vibe. Not bad though.

P-funkalicious

I wouldn’t make The Clash my entire personality, but I see why the Byers boys did in Stranger Things

Beginning of the album was better than the end. The highs were high and the lows were still better than average. This list has brought us a few similar albums, and this finally felt like what I wanted to get out of this time period and genre.

While I wish every song was as energetic as Sweet Dreams and This Is the House, I’m an Annie Lennox fan and was primed to like this album.