So-so feeling on it overall, but appreciated what they were going for with it. I definitely liked the production since I can tell it was a blueprint for a lot of the late 1970s soul that came afterwards that I enjoy (the saxophone parts are glorious). The title track is not as corny as I've always thought it was before, especially once the second half of the song starts to really hit. Think my favorites from this are "If I Should Die Tonight" and "Distant Lover". Can see why it's considered a classic, but I've been generally cool on Marvin Gaye, and this didn't change my feelings on that. (3.5/5)
Not usually a fan of power metal or NWBHM, so Iron Maiden was never a favorite, but I'm enjoying hearing how Paul Di'Anno did vocals versus how Bruce Dickinson did them. It's definitely a lot more "rock" with clear punk and prog elements than the Dungeons & Dragons metal I usually associate with their stuff, even with traces of that there with "Phantom of the Opera." Enjoyed this, didn't love it, might check out "Killers" sooner than expected to see if it sticks. Points taken off for "Charlotte the Harlot," which was really stupid... (3.5/5)
I think I like this album a lot more now than I did when I first heard it as a kid 25 years ago. Hendrix's guitar-playing was undeniably great, but I dismissed it as hippy goofiness and leaned towards Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin instead, so I think I only gave this one a few listens and hadn't touched it since 2005 or so. Listening to it at 40, it feels more substantial and enjoyable for some weird reason. (4.5/5)
I know this album by heart. I've listened to this album a million times. I still don't know Portuguese but I love every word of it. "Taj Mahal," "Xica da Silva," "Ponta de Lança Africano (Umbabarauma)," just all of the songs are ingrained in me for the past 20 years. I was so lucky to find a copy of this when I was in college and I'll fight people over this album. Automatic 5 stars, one of my desert island picks, Top 3 albums. (5/5, would rate it even higher if possible)
I don't have a strong opinion about this one. I know it pretty well, and it mostly makes for good background noise at this point. The take on "Watermelon Man" is still funky and fun, but the rest of it feels like Jazz Fusion White Noise to me. Not bad but not amazing, just OK. (2.5/5)
Know it, love the first half, don't really care for the second half (save for "Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting"). "Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" is a favorite. The hits are all well-deserved. Could do without "All the Girls Love Alice," "Roy Rogers," and "Social Disease." It's not my favorite Elton John album (that's "Captain Fantastic") but still a good listen. (4/5)
Not really my thing - get what they were doing but just not into it.
I don't actually need to listen to this album to know what each song sounds like. I just need to read the titles and all the songs in their entirety, just pop into my head. Not my favorite Beatles album, but its status as A Classic Album is well-deserved. (4/5 personally, 5/5 for importance)
I only really like "Half Moon," "Me and Bobby McGee," and "Trust Me" but not really any of the others. I've never cared for Joplin's singing style personally and never understood the appeal. If others like it, great. It's just not for me. (2/5)
The title track is a personal favorite since I was a kid, but I never really heard the rest of this album before. Now I know why... It's just weird mid-90s Brit-hop, which points for it being a few years ahead of that curve, but none of the other tracks seemed like they went anywhere interesting. I imagine it working best in a bar or a coffeehouse. For sit-down listening, it's just one great song with a bunch of dull ones with dopey "We're being profound!" lyrics. (2.5/5)
This was a surprise for me! I was going into it thinking it would sound dated or hokey (Willie Nelson's voice is hit-or-miss for me usually, while most singers make The Great American Songbook sound boring), but it's beautifully timeless instead. Listening to it in full made me realize I've slept on Willie Nelson's work for too long that I even went ahead and started listening to his other albums right after this one (esp. *The Red Headed Stranger*). Favorite tracks from this album included "Blue Skies," "All of Me," "September Song," and "Moonlight in Vermont." Only thing close to a dud (and it wasn't really) was "On the Sunny Side of the Street" since it sounds a little dated, but it also sounds like it's from the 80s instead of the 70s so... Impressive album I wouldn't have listened to if it hadn't popped up in my list but so glad I put my bias aside and checked it out, since it's a new favorite. (5/5)
Very time & place-specific, but all the hits still sound good (if very late 90s too). This was a middle-school/high-school soundtrack album for me, so a lot of my thoughts are tied to that time and are hard to separate when I listen to it 25 years later. Played it loud on a good speaker too - I'm surprised how the fidelity of the production still sounds great. The second half of the album (esp. "Love Island" and "Acid 8000") hit better now than then, though, surprisingly enough. Still a solid album, if not a great one. (4/5)
Production sounds a little too tinny for my taste, and the songs don't really grab me. I can see trying this again sometime later in my life and maybe gelling with it then but only "Fingernails" and "Jericho (Your Walls Must Come Tumblin' Down)" being the only tracks that click for me now. (2.5/5)
Can definitely admit to Loretta Lynn being a talented singer, and the album started great, but all the songs started to blend since they were all just about infidelity and jealousy. It's country music in the way people think of ol'-timey country music. Not something I'll listen more to but glad I least tried it. (3/5)
Other than "Mercy Street" (too long and quiet), this album is one of my absolute favorites. Re-listened just to make sure and, yeah, still a favorite. I could listen to "Sledgehammer" and "Big Time" any time, "Don't Give Up" is still hauntingly beautiful with Kate Bush's vocals, and "In Your Eyes" (which I didn't like much before) is thrilling at the end of all of it. Great songs, amazing production, remembered why I love Peter Gabriel's music in the first place. (5/5)
Filing under the Dylan Albums I Don't Care For category, since only "Standing in the Doorway" and "Not Dark Yet" made any impact. Cool that this helped revitalize his career. Honestly don't remember much of what I heard, though... (2.5/5)
I've never heard a full Dexys album until now, and, man, they were a weird band. "Come On Eileen" is a quintessential 80s song, but the album doesn't feel like it comes from the 1980s (it reminds me more of the stuff I listened to during the mid-2000s). As overplayed as it is, though, "Come On Eileen" also works well in context to the rest of the album as the closer. This is especially so when you've heard "Plan B" and "Until I Believe In My Soul" before it. The album also feels like a loose concept album, too, whether that was intentional or not. Celtic soul - very strange, but my kind of strange. (5/5)
If you stank it, you can be it... This was a key album for me in high school and the major tracks ("So Fresh, So Clean", "Ms. Jackson", "B.O.B.") are still timeless winners. I'm also partial to "Gasoline Dreams" and "Stankonia (Stanklove)" but could do without all the obligatory late-90s rap skits that clutter the songs (I'm so glad everyone stopped with that shit...). There's definitely points outside the skits where it gets to feel a little *too much* but it's still overall a solid listen 26 years later. (4/5)
While there's some songs I usually skip ("Country Honk", "Live With Us"), this album is a classic for a reason. "Gimme Shelter" and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" are still amazing bookends, the 1-2 of "Let It Bleed" and "Midnight Rambler" is a great climax, and I learned I really like "You Got the Silver" more now than I did before. (4.5/5)
The bridge between Roxy Music and Duran Duran, Japan is a band I like personally even if I understand why they can be divisive. David Sylvain's voice and writing feels pretentious but it also works with the band's music due to this being where they shifted to more on synths. "Quiet Life", "Fall in Love with Me", and "Halloween" are my personal favorites. (4/5)
I love a lot of Björk's other albums but only listened to this one for the first time before rating it here. I was familiar with the singles ("Human Behaviour", "Venus as a Boy", "Big Time Sensuality") but never knew how cinematic this one actually was. The volta happened around the middle of "There's More to Like Than This" where she sounds like she's in the restroom at the dance club and is just singing the song a cappella before going back to the floor with the rest of the music. It blending with the follow-up 1940s standard "Like Someone in Love" with just harp and passing cars is even wilder. Play this one loud and pay attention - it's not just a great record but a story told through electronic music. (5/5)
This is my defining Dylan album, so I'm going to be biased and just give it a 5 out of 5. It has "Subterrean Homesick Blues." It has "Maggie's Farm." It has "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "It's Alright, Ma". All the songs on this thing are stone-cold classics and it happens to be *the* Dylan Goes Electric one, so yeah, it's an automatic 5-Star Must Listen deal. (5/5)
A marker of a good live album is feeling like you would've enjoyed the show had you been there yourself and this one is an example of that feeling. I knew nothing about Sarah Vaughn except that she sang vocal jazz. This album made me appreciate how much of a professional she was, though, as her voice is in phenomenal form here and she does the most important thing with standards: making the interpretations unique to her and her band. I'm judging the score based on the original tracklist (the first 11 songs) but the expanded version is great too. Personal highlight is on "Willow Weep for Me", where she has a microphone mishap and handles it with humor and grace, incorporating a funny improvised verse towards the end. (5/5)
Oh, the timing right after Dolly passes away... Aside from the questionably 80s cover artwork, this is a beautiful album and all three women making up the vocals are fantastic in blending their unique styles together. Key tracks for me are the opener "The Pain of Loving You", "To Know Him is to Love Him", "Wildflowers", and "Rosewood Casket." An album I never heard until now but am definitely putting into rotation going forward. (5/5)
"Love The One You're With" is a song I always change stations to when listening to the radio, so I didn't have high hopes for this one. Surprised I actually found some songs I like, though, and would've rated this higher had it been an EP instead. The songs I liked were "Old Times Good Times", "To a Flame", "Cherokee", and "We Are Not Helpless". The rest either feel like White Boy Blues or Laurel Canyon Hippy-Dippy BS to me. (2.5/5)
Another one of my favorites, even if it's kind of uneven. Smooth disco with amazing playing from Nile Rodgers, Bernard Edwards, and Tommy Thompson (if I bothered to learn guitar, I'd want to be able to play like Rodgers does), I can understand this not being most people's thing (some of the songs are kind of half-baked) but also have a soft spot in my heart for it. Favorites include "Le Freak" and "I Want Your Love", obviously, but also the silky instrumental "Savoir Faire" and the closer "(Funny) Bone". (4.5/5)
This is a Country Album in all of its country-ness (whatever that means for you, since I’m not usually a fan of that sort of sound). The title track is definitely sad, regardless of whether you read it as a divorce song or one about death, but I feel Jones’s version is more maudlin than devastating. Aside from the first song, the only other one that’s memorable for me is the ender “Our Private Life.” The rest just kind of come-and-go for me. Not a fan, personally, but I can see why someone else might enjoy it more. (2/5)
Not a blues fan, but appreciated this album leaning towards more the swingy side of the genre, and King’s performing status as The King of the Blues makes more sense now after hearing it. Not yet a convert, but he’s good enough for me to want to throw this on in the background for something lively. Favorite tracks: “It’s My Own Fault”, “How Blue Can You Get?”, “Please Love Me”, “Worry, Worry”, “Help the Poor” (3.5/5)
Biased since Heads are one of my favorite bands, but this isn’t one of my solid 5-Star albums from them. Definitely can see the funky/nervous blueprint for the albums I would consider automatic 5-Stars (Fear of Music, Remain in Light, Speaking in Tongues), but also there’s a couple of songs that either overstay their turn (“Happy Day”) or am sort-of ambivalent about (“Don’t Worry About the Government”). Overall, still a fantastic record. Favorites: “Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town”, “Tentative Decisions”, “The Book I Read”, “First Week/Last Week… Carefree”, “Psycho Killer”, “Pulled Up”. (4.5/5)
A good example of “just because you can doesn’t mean you should…” This might’ve been more entertaining live but goodness does it sound like a mess on record. I love prog rock and I couldn’t even get through all of this without thinking “This is too much and it sounds awful.” The fact I also don’t care for Modest Mussorgsky save for “Night at Bald Mountain” (and they chose Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” to end with instead for some weird reason!) only made me want to power through it. Didn’t like it, don’t want to listen to it again, first true dud I’ve gotten so far with this project. (1.5/5)
This is a kicking-myself record since I could’ve seen this group live from the beginning, but didn’t bother with them until now. Why? I honestly don’t know, but I love this album after hearing it for the first time through this project. I was worried it was going to be too twee (I just listened to it right after Belle and Sebastian…), but it has a good balance of moody and beautiful. This is rainy neon nights stuff, and I’m totally here for it. Favorite tracks: “VCR”, “Islands”, “Shelter”, “Basic Space”, “Night Time” (4.5/5)
I have a love/hate relationship with Wilco, primarily because I find Jeff Tweedy's voice to be a little irritating if I'm in the wrong mood and the music to be more slight than it's often hyped up to be. I'd personally recommend their live album Kicking Television: Live in Chicago over this one, but I do like "Kamera" and "Heavy Metal Drummer" from this one. Listening to it 20+ years removed from when I first heard it, along with all the other indie rock stuff, makes me realize it's definitely a product of its time, but not really one that transcends it. Long-winded way of saying: it's alright but don't get too excited about it... (3/5)
“I Will Dare” is ingrained in my skull by this point in my life, so I’m a little surprised I never bothered to listen to the rest of the album until now. Upon listening to it after 20+ years since the ideal time, it feels like something I would’ve absolutely loved to death when I was younger, but too much time passed instead. “I Will Dare” and the lovely “Androgynous” still feel really relevant and fantastic today, though. Could definitely sense the chaos of the band from what I read in Michael Azzerad’s book Our Band Could Be Your Life, especially in the faster songs. I don’t know - this one’s complicated for me: I’m thinking a 4.5-star rating when all things are considered at 40. Favorite tracks: “I Will Dare”, “Tommy Gets His Tonsils Out”, “Androgynous”, the Kiss cover “Black Diamond”, “Seen Your Video”, “Sixteen Blue”, "Answering Machine" (4.5/5)
This is Wes Anderson music with a Scottish accent. Feels like a lot of the bands I heard in college (especially The Shins and The Decemberists), but not in a way that’s making me feel nostalgic. I get that they came first during the 1990s, but I kept feeling like Zach Braff was going to jump from around the corner at any moment, and that doesn’t make me feel excited in any way… Like some of the songs, though, like “Like Dylan in the Movies”, “Mayfly, and the title track. (3/5)
You either like Motörhead or you don't, and this live album is about as Pure Motörhead as you get. It's definitely more substantial than their studio albums, and most of the songs were still pretty good (though got annoyed with "We Are the Road Crew"). If you need something loud, fast, and heavy, there's far worse you can do than Lemmy & Co. (3.5/5)
Heard this one for the first time just a few months ago and loved what I heard, so re-listening to it reconfirmed what I enjoyed the last time. Lyrics can be a bit daft, but I appreciate the hooks even more now, making this a great power-punk-pop album. Surprised more people haven’t heard this one, but highly recommended if you’re willing to check it out. Favorite tracks: “Kingdom of Love”, “Positive Vibrations”, “Tonight”, “Queen of Eyes”, “Underwater Moonlight” (5/5)
I won't deny that the hits from this are still catchy ("Gin and Juice" and "Who Am I (What's My Name)?"), but I didn't realize how conceptually UGLY this album actually was until halfway through "Lodi Dodi". Which is too bad since Dr. Dre's production and sample choices really were on point with this, but the lyrics leave a really gross taste nowadays. This feels like a similar case of something like the Sex Pistols' Never Mind The Bollocks: you can see how it was influential yet also how a lot of that was right place, right time, and not the actual quality of the work. I'll save the singles or just stick with a Greatest Hits if I want to listen to Snoop - this one's just a time capsule at most, but a dud on its own merits. (1.5/5)
I grew up with Fats Domino as part of all the other Oldies station stuff and feel like this particular record was put in the book since they couldn't just add actual compilations into the count. It's boogie-woogie 1950s piano rock stuff, and it starts to sound the same when played in a row. As an album, it's a big Meh. I'd rather just put on a Best-Of if I'm feeling Fats (which is very rarely to begin with...). (3/5)
As a Dan Fan, I’m super-biased. This is one of my all-time favorites and save for the meandering ender “King of the World” and some questionable lyric choices in “Your Gold Teeth”, nothing about this album is a problem for me. The one-two punch of “Show Biz Kids” and “My Old School” still gets me going, especially. (5/5)
Otis Redding was a master interpreter and an amazing vocalist, and this is the album to hear if you want to experience that. It's quick but worth every minute of it, as his versions of these songs have more of an emotional punch than the (great) originals (especially "Change Gotta Come" and "Satisfaction"). This is a certified Album Before You Die, and it's one of the truest examples of soul music out there. (5/5)
