Really loved Mark and Knopfler guitars and John Issley basslines are pretty underrated. A Timeless classic that has his own unique sound, specially if you consider the fact that includes Sultans of Swing which has probably one of the greatest solos ever recorded.
Many people comes to this record looking for Dreams and thinking Fleetwood Mac it's a One Hit Wonder or that besides this song and Landslide they don't have much to offer. The truth is, this record as a whole is a nice gateway to rock and roll if you let go yourself by the mesmerizing and soft Adult Oriented Rock sound that can be also found in bands like Chicago, Boston or REO Speedwagon that were paving the way to the adult contemporary sound that would blast radio stations at the time.
Fleetwood don't deny their blues and folk beginnings here but they actually give it a more pop oriented production, with Christine and Stevie voices so you can actually see why it's a record that divide their fans. Either way you love it or you prefer their earlier days when they were more blues rock and less keyboard.
Definitely a record everyone should listen to. Easy access to the band and to rock and roll history itself.
A record with basically no skips. An exceptional masterpiece that brings you a big breeze of joyful melancholy with the mellow and charming lyrics and voice from Robert Smith and the tight basslines from Simon Gallup. A Seminal piece in new-wave, post punk, and goth rock that everyone involved in goth subculture, from elders to babybats have craved and listened to.
The kind of album you look for if you are looking for somethink dark but not gritty, sad but not grievous. It's romantic, nostalgic, special, and it will probably bring you a lot of memories while you listen to, whenever it's your first listen or the number 300th in a row.
An anthology of songs that defined a whole subculture, and for many persons also a whole generation.
Worldbeat. There is only a word that can describe such a perfect and beautiful album like this one, and it's that exact word.
Many people will relate more to Peter Gabriel from his carrer as vocalist on Genesis but this is the album from his solo catalogue that makes you realize he was going always for more.
Heavily influenced by Traditional brazilian and African music, and with songs that ranges from Sledgehammer that introduces the use of a Shakuhachi, the japanese bamboo flute and the drums by Manu Katche, the famous french-ivorian drummer to the iconic duet with Kate Bush on Don't Give Up and including a love song like In Your Eyes which introduces the Senegalese musician Youssouf N'Dior singing on his native language, Wolof you can tell exactly what Mr. Gabriel tries to bring to the table which such a variety of sounds and this eclectic mix of cultures.
The fact that he manages to produce such a record, so easy to listen with a well crafted convergence of influences from all around the globe makes it a gem that everyone should listen not only as an introduction to his carreer but to world music itself.
Back in the day, Detroit had Techno, Chicago had House, Bristol and Manchester had Big Beat and Big Beat as a genre has his own way of being described: Woodstock 99. It wasn't just The Chemical Brothers headlining night two while Limp Bizkit, Rage Against The Machine and Metallica were on the other side of the festival, releasing one of the most furious, destructive, and significant moments in music history. Fatboy Slim himself also lived terrified moments that same Saturday when a group of people stole a van and started to driving it inside the Rave Tent after crashing with it, forcing him to interrupt and subsequently abandon his set.
One year prior to this event he had released this record. An album that paved the way to a generation of electronic music heavily inspired on breakbeats and house. Alongside The Prodigy, and The Crystal Method coming from North America, Fatboy Slim managed to make a name for himself on a select group of artists that were releasing banger after banger consolidating rave culture as we known it today and this collection of songs it's not exception to that rule.
The fact that 4 of his most recognized singles are on the first 5 songs of this album it was indeed a warning: I don't came to make people dance. I came to conquer.
And like Julius Caesar himself, he eventually came in, and with songs like "Right Here, Right Now" as an opening track followed by "The Rockafeller Skank" he eventually conquered us all. Electronic Music and rave culture was never the same after this record, and specially, after that Woodstock 99 night.
Many things have been written about this record in particular. But looking back to it, there it's still something special about it 15 years later. The truth it is indeed, that Adele knew how to capture the young angst and bitterness that comes after a breakup in such a special way that no matter how much has passed by, anthems like Rolling in The Deep, Rumour Has It and Someone Like You still makes it into radio and still makes it into the memory of a lot of fans.
She it's certainly not the same young adult she was back then, but fortunately for her, she was fortunate enough to find out this earlier in her carreer some of the heavyweights in music industry and wrote these collection of songs with some of the greatest producers like Rick Rubin, Ryan Tedder from One Republic, and even Dan Wilson from Semisonic.
The whole crew brought her massively talented heart and spirit and gave her voice a special place that has kept evolving through the years. Heavily influenced by folk and Motown Soul but also in country and blues the direction of the record it's absolutely different to his predecesor 19, Yet the arrangements are so well crafted that even the version from Lovesong (originally by The Cure) doesn't seem to be out of place and has its own way in this anthology of sounds that feels more like a balm for the soul rather than a pop album.
Probably if it weren't for that breakup who knows where this album would be. Maybe lost in time and space. Fortunately for us, Adele also evolved as a person, and the maturity she gained with this record has been a crucial part for her carreer to the point that, just like all of these melodies, she has aged like a fine wine and 15 years later we still keep singing these songs like they are part of our own deepest sensations.
The name of Klaus Dinger probably doesn't ring a bell to many persons around the world. But when you realize it is actually the mastermind of one of the most memorable and influential drum rhythm patterns that has ever existed in rock and roll, everything starts to make sense.
the "Motorik" wasn't just a drum pattern. It tried to reflect and show how factories in germany were sounding back in the day. It was a Germany that was trying to lift not only his economy but also his own image to outsiders after the World War II and the horryfing effects it had in both his people and the rest of the world.
Krautrock in Berlin and Dusseldorf emerged as a way of saying "we are different now" and both cities were seemingly trying to really point it out and when Klaus himself went to found Kraftwerk with Florian Schneider, people began to take seriously a new movement inspired by the will of progress and envisioning a new future. It was a whole nation trying to show to the world that they changed. Or at least, they were making an attempt.
Klaus Dinger never survived the ambitions of the rest of his partners and he moved on from Kraftwerk after a few shows. Kraftwerk eventually made their own path to become the electronic pionneers we all known today but when it comes to NEU! and specially when it comes to this NEU! 75, their third record, you can tell why Klaus parted ways with his previous band.
While the first part of the record with songs like Isi and Seeland are influenced by ambient and even some noisy sound on keyboards, the side two it is considered by many to be one of the precursors on punk music since the Motorik drum pattern and the sharp tone of guitars can be heard in all of it's glory in "Hero" and "E. Musik". ¿A proto-punk album? To many people, indeed it is.
Sadly the past came knocking the door and NEU! would eventually disband after musical differences between both Dinger brothers Klau and Thomas, and the other creative side, Michael Rother who wanted to pursue ambient and a psychedelic side in contrast with the agression, fast paced rock music.
The result of both musical directions it is manifested in this album in such a dramatic way, that these songs actually have their own ability of merging you into this musical tension that co-existed between them with every track.
It is not a good record, but it isn't also a bad one. It is just a record. One that proves that sometimes when you are trying to leave the memories from a war they come back to haunt you in ways you could never expect.
Unconventional, eclectic, astonishing. These are 3 words specifically made to describe a record that was born after the frustration from his mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra.
Frank Ocean wiped out the entire structure and gave these songs a whole new embodiment bringing into the table a cozy, flawless and mellow sound that has his roots in R&B and neo-soul.
With Pharrell Williams as one of the producers, and featuring collaborations with Andre 3000, Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler The Creator, and guitarist John Mayer, The californian debuted at number 2 in Billboard 200 making a name for himself with this debut album that still today surprises many people due to to the influences that ranged from Sly and The Family Stone, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and even Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix.
From the first track you can tell that these amount of great artists served as an inspiration for an album that even when more than a decade has passed by, we still need to talk about as one of the most amazing pieces in contemporary R&B. Relying also on noise and film dialogues that function as interludes and with lyrics about Ocean's sexuality, you can perceive that there is something that feels somehow erotic and naughty in this anthology of songs.
Definitely a collection of sounds you don't wanna miss out if you are new to the genre, or if you wanna explore something outside the standards.
Pain, disgrace, the absolution despair that comes after the romance it's gone. There is a reason why Bjork said back in the day ""The only way I could deal with that was to start writing for strings; I decided to become a violin nerd and arrange everything for 15 strings and take a step further." and when you listen to this record, those three words that appears at the beginning, Pain, disgrace and absolution, are assumed by your body, mind and soul in a way that makes you feel them completely.
Many people will ask why, or how can be that possible and the truth it's almost a decade later, Vulnicura it's still one of the most greatest records the Islandic Singer has ever released. Conceived after her breakup with contemporary artist Matthew Barny, Bjork decided to sit down next to the famous LGBTQ+ venezuelan producer Arca after his managed sent her one of her mixtapes.
The whole record was designed and made in almost two weeks, but despite the fast development, it is indeed a release designed to make you feel a chaotic nostalgia, through the electronic beats and the string arrangments made by both.
With songs like Stonemilker as the opener or the astonishing Black Lake this one its Definitely a work that has become in a unique piece of art and worth the listen despite the sorrow it may bring.
¿What could happen when you put on a recording studio a New York band with an australian producer that it's the nearest thing you can find for a dictator, screaming them "You are gonna make a fantastic record, and that means you are gonna have to play better!"?
The truth it's everyone in Blondie minus Debbie Harry and Chris Stern disliked each other. in words of Mike Chapman, the producer we are talking about here "they weren't the greatest musicians they had a juvenile approach to life, and they were tough. They just wanted to have fun"
Mike Chapman encouraged Chris Stern to focus on writing songs instead of playing guitar and spent a lot of time fixing many aspects of the album, like voices or some basslines from Nigel Harrison who threw a synthetizer at him during a session.
The approach of the producer to the band was bsically expecting them nothing more than perfection and with singles like One Way or Another, Picture This, Heart of Glass and a version of Hanging by The Telephone (originally by The Nerves) as the opener, you can tell Parallel Lines it's probably one of the most distinguished albums in new wave and power pop and it's indeed really close to perfection.
The tension exploded so much during this record and made Blondie so mature in terms of how they make music, that they actually kept working with Chapman during the next 4 studio albums, before the breakup in 1987. Stein and Harry reformed Blondie in 1996 but the damage was done.
A generation of frontwomans including Shirley Manson from Garbage and Gewn Stefani from No Doubt, were taking what this record did to a whole new level.
Parallel Lines still remains as a masterclass not only on how to deal with tensions and creave frustration but also, as the permanent reminder that womans also have their own space to shine... Even when there is a man screaming at the other side of the screen. After all, Debbie herself said it: "I only knew him because of his reputation. Our aminosity came in because he was L.A and we were New York"
Maybe this is the best thing that can happen in music. To see how differences can come into play to make us feel more connected with ourselves. There are albums made for that and this is, probably without a doubt one of them.
It is 1994. A massive success it's going on Trent Reznor life, after releasing his first album Pretty Hate Machine that it's considered one of the greatest debuts in music history.
What he decides for the next one? Going insane.
Literally, going insane. Downward Spiral it's a concept album it's a chronicle about the self destruction of a misantrophic protagonist. Through the songs we discover how he goes into a state of madness, isolation, alienation, dehumanization and eventually suicide after killing the idea of a god in his mind.
It's a metaphorical Downward Spiral that explores themes like drugs, sex, power, depression and a complete lose of control.
The tour for the record was completely chaotic as the album itself. Dark lights, almost no ilumination with the members of the band attacking themselves, destroying instruments after the set. Woodstock 94 saw the peak of this with Trent Reznor almost completely covered in mud (same as Green Day would do it a date later on the same festival) going wild at the crowd.
If you consider the fact that he actually moved to the house were Charles Manson and his group killed Sharon Tate to record the album in a home studio he called "Le Pig" you can tell where the caos came from, and why Reznor finally decided to go instead of choosing another place. His constant need for isolation, struggling with depression and addictions, it is not only just a semi-autobiograph, it's allegorical, deep and raw.
Samples, distorsions, sound collages, a massive explosion of industrial rock, techno, heavy metal and electronic. It is A record that was written to remember how cruel we are as a society sometimes, how absurd we are as humans and that everything can become nothing in just the blink of an eye.
Talking or writing words about Venom, and about Black Metal as a record it is not talking or writing about one of the most iconic speed metal bands or albums. It is talking or writing about legacy and what comes with it.
At first, Venom was thrown into the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with bands like Iron Maiden, and even Def Leppard. But the uncomfortable truth it's that wasn't their place. They were unique, special, charming, and they were challenging every label established by media releasing this album as their second one.
Openly talking about witchcraft, satanism and sex without any kind of metaphor or description like most of rock and roll and heavy metal bands used to it (N.I.B by Black Sabbath it's probably the best example here) Venom took Heavy metal, speed metal and the recently born Thrash metal into a level of darkness no one had ever seen before.
The aesthetic of the record influenced a whole generation of bands in Norway and gave a genre a name by itself. Euronymous used to describe his disdain for Death Metal bands, and actually Mayhem, his band in their first show played Black Metal as a statement. Quorthon from Bathory named the band thanks to Countess Bathory and so on and on.
Many legends and stories, can be said, but With songs like the ones we just mentioned, along with Buried Alive or Sacrifice, this band from Newcastle took their previous album, Welcome to Hell and brought the darkness, the sorrow, and satanism to the extreme. And with them, came a generation of bands like Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, Blitzkrieg, and in fact Pantera belongs on that group, since Phil Anselmo tattooed the wordmark and the cover of this record.
As you can see, talking about this collection of songs in particular it is not talking about just a simply proto-black metal album. It is definitely more than that. It is talking about inspiration, legacy, projection and how much you can influence the whole world with a distinguished sound made to be remembered for generations. And with this record, the straight lyricism, the raw guitars tone, and the controversial imagery, Cronos, Mantas, and Abbadon achieved all of that. It is, without a doubt, A heritage to be proud of, forever and ever.
twenty eight minutes and fifty five seconds might be a short duration for a studio album. But when former members Don Irving (who used to be on guitars) and John Petersen (who used to be on Drums) Beau Brummels got reduced as a trio, and somewhat they managed to advance without being a full band.
Triangle, it is the third studio album of the band, and it is the first one including songs composed by both Ron Elliot and Sal Valentino and as a magical and surreal the cover is, you would be absolutely surprised to know that actually titles and lyrics from these songs are probably one of the most closest things you can ever find to a mushroom trip.
The band incorporated a lot of fantasy elements in both titles and lyricsm while working with a lot of session musicians to put the elements together, and what we can hear in these particular tracks it's almost a fantasy book written by C.S Lewis with music in the background, rather than a music album instead.
As a matter of fact, Magic Hollow was ranked in the "100 psychedelic classics" by Mojo Magazine in 1997, and even when we have today 60 years of distance between this anthology of sounds, you should get ready for a nice trip as soon as you hit play because believe me when i tell you that the album feels like reading a book.
Still, the album it's not actually a spoken word record. It is indeed a massvie fusion between psychedelic, folk pop, and it's kinda country in some moments to the point some people compared Valentino vocals, to Bob Dylan himself. If you add that to the fact that as we said, the whole release has a Tolkienesque and abstract tone, this is a very rare experience that you might not wanna lose.
The King of Swing. There are no other words to describe Louis Prima. His work when it comes to trumpet and vocals (with a prolific scat technique) is a masterclass when it comes to jazz music, and this record it's no exception to that.
When it comes to the Wildest! as a record, it is basically, an splendid and exquisite mix of the early sounds of Rock and Roll, Jump Blues (extremely popularized by him with his Big Band in New Orleans) and of course, jazz.
The relationship with Keely Smith as his female vocalist can be heard in his peak on this album and even that, has his own story. Louis Prima divorced from his third wife in 1953 he married Smith just a month later with almost an age gap of 20 years between them. Both were convinced about this idea since Prima saw in her something special and he wanted to make her a big star, and when you look back into songs like "(Nothing's Too Good) For My Baby or "The Lip" you can understand why the bond goes far beyond age gap, the gambling on horses, and the glamour and stylish luxury lifestyle of the couple.
Recorded between Capitol Records Studio in Hollywood and the halls of the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, what you will hear on this anthology of songs won't dissapoint you. It is, without a doubt, an excentric and demented explosions of one of the most special albums in Swing era of Jazz music.
Mobo Award in 1997 for best Reggae Act and BRIT Award in 1998 for best Male Solo Artist.
Awards might be a thing to give a hint or a clue about what you should expect from an artist, but don't let this fool you. Finley Quaye, it is probably a mystery to many people. But peaking twice in UK Top 20 in 1997 it's not for anyone. And there is a reason behind that: This album.
Maverick A Strike it's an eclectic and soulful blend of reggae, progressive soul and trip hop that it's a journey itself. Merging your mind into these songs won't be easy at all considering the direction of the record and what he tries to put into the mix. It is an absolute chilling experience that will surprise you regardless of your thoughts.
Two more records were released under Epic Records but they never managed to be as successful as this one since it managed to got certified as double platinum in UK. ¿An artist that is Too innovative for the masses? Probably it is considering the fact that he made three more albums between 2019 and 2023 but were removed from distribution and outlets, because of the lack of recognition and interest from labels and publishers.
This one right here, it its his only commercial success, and you can tell why. The easy-listening, chillout sound of this blend feels almost like a cure for the soul, mind and body, if you let it in and if you decide to listen to it or not whatsoever, you should consider the fact that this one it is absolutely, an event that was made for some of the most selective ears and listeners.
After the death of Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love decided to take Hole into a new direction less influenced by Grunge and noise rock from their two previous records.
Celebrity Skin is the result of that ambition. An ambition that you can hear right in the first song of the record, and in songs like Malibu and Awful which were the official singles.
Michael Beinhorn who also worked with Soundgarden in Superunknown, was recruited as a producer to make an album more pop rock oriented, less agressive, and with a more commercial sound.
Both Billy Corgan and Melissa Auf Der Maur from The Smashing Pumpkins contributed in this record writing almost all of the songs resulting in a charming and beautiful mix of influences that shouldn't dissapoint to anybody.
Celebrity Skin might not be the heaviest or the most chaotic album by Hole, but it certainly puts you in a situation where you don't know if it's the same band that gave you previously songs like Doll Parts, Violet and was involved in the riot grrl movement.
The truth its, Courtney never stopped fighting with the death of his husband, with her addictions, and what was going at the moment considering Kristen Pfaff who was the original bassist also died the same year.
Many might say this is the record that sound less like Hole and more like a generic 90's alternative rock band, but when you go through these songs you can tell there is a beautiful nostalgia, and a deep sensation of what could have been that still chases most of the crowds they gathered until today.
Grunge maybe died in 1993 with the release of In Utero, but alternative rock continued the expansion of his sound through the whole decade influencing the vast majority of the bands that came later on in 2000s. Celebrity Skin didn't cimented that death, but it certainly helped out to contribute with the sounds of what we hear today.
Cheap thrills it's the last album recorded with Janis Joplin as vocalist before she went to pursue the astonishing solo carreer we remembering today.
One of the most impressive and weird things about this record, it is the fact that Paul Simon incorporated crowd noises making you think that it's a live record, when in reality it is not.
The band indeed recorded at Bill Graham Fillmore Auditorium as you can see in the cover (designed by cartoonist Robert Crumb) still only one song was recorded entirely live.
Singles like Summertime, Piece of my Heart and Ball in Chain gave this record a massive success in terms of popularity since the year before the band held a massive performance at Monterey Pop Festival making them even more famous than they were. Woodstock 1969 saw Janis became a mega star launching a "best of" concert with all of these songs with the Kozmic Blues Band, making her a star and the great vocalist we've always known.
Cheap Thrills was the album was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was preserved into the National Recording Registry for the 2012 register.
Everything you need to know about this record it is probably on this last statement. It is without a doubt, the epitome of Blues Rock and an amazing journey through one of the most decorating and beautiful records from the 1960's.
Acid rock at it's finest. No more, no less.
Produced by a young Nigel Godrich when he was in his 26, OK Computer it's to this day one of the most acclamied and recognized album not only in Alternative Rock history, but also in music history itself.
The english rock band that conquered the world with Creep, a single from their debut album Pablo Honey that pulverized billboard lists, arenas, and radio stations and a britpop sound that was vastly perceived as unique in his own way, proved with High and Dry, and Just on their following album The Bends, that writing pop songs was probably too easy for them.
OK Computer not only saw a change on the sound of the band with more abstract lyrics, less melodies and more textures and an eclectic sound. It also changed the way rock was being made and even when prog rock and art rock was already a thing with many of the 70s and 80's band, the themes included on this record, the consumism and consumery, the social alienation in songs like Paranoid Android or Fake Plastic Trees and the constant sensation that the world was going downfall catapulted the group to the pinnacle of music critics, and gaining followers that to this day they are still pretty much of a cult. ¿Are they motivated by the words of Fitter Happier? Maybe.
OK Computer was a door for the band itself to a new sound that they would continue to explore in records like Kid A or Amnesiac, more experimental, ambitious, even more abstract. Singles like Karma Police, Lucky or No Surprises peaked highly on the lists and one of the most surprising things it's that this astonishing collection of songs has practically no skips.
From the psychedelic sound of Subterranean Homesick Alien to a powerful ballad like Exit Music (For a Film) including a powerful explosion of rock and roll in Electioneering, even the songs that there are suppoused to be fillers are actually one of a kind.
Without a doubt, OK Computer it's to the 90's what Dark Side of the Moon it's to the 70's. An album to be remembered forever.
Conceived as a baroque pop, new wave, art rock album, critics loved it a lot, but the lack of commercial success of Imperial Bedroom was enough to make Costello re-think the way he was creating music and there are plenty of reasons for that.
First of all, Both Singles "You Little Fool" and "Man Out of Time" failed to break into the top 50 in the UK making the band to take a new direction when it comes to make music. Punch The Clock, the following album saw a return to the new wave/pop rock sound that made him famous almost 6 years earlier on.
But, returning to this particular selection, the main problem its of course, the direction of the record. What we have here in front of us, feels like it's Costello's own Sgt. Pepper since the songs were rewritten over and over again until he felt they were ready, adding overdubs, layers of sounds, instruments, to the point many people and mostly the critics compared back in the day some of these techniques to what The Beatles used to do, or The Wall of Sound by Phil Spector.
Elvis might not have regained fame with these tunes, but you can be aware (and you should pay attention to this) that he actually tried to use the studio as an instrument. It's actually even stranger and mystical when you realize Geoff Emerick who was the producer for this piece of art also worked with The Beatles themselves in the earlier mentioned Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road and Revolver therefore you shouldn't be surprised then about why a record like this one sounds so beatlesque:
Mellotron, Harpischord, Accordion, a Twelve-String Guitar, Marimba, Strings arrangements, Trumpets, Elvis himself coming to the stage in a gorilla suit on tour... This should tell you everything you need to know and what you should expect.
Imperial Bedroom might not be an exceptional work from front to back, at least not for the casual music listener. But for the sound chasers that are constantly surfing waves this is the way to go. An exceptional album that it's a manifestation of art, ambition and sacrifice reaching almost perfection.
After all, a record that was placed at number 166 in the 500 greatest albums of all time shouldn't be ignored just like that. ¿Would you ignore it?
