Kinda corny, very 70s sounding. Guitar solo on literally every single song (sometimes multiple solos) which just felt unnecessary. Some of the solo's were very good though (highway star). The actual songs outside of the solo's were mostly good, but nothing amazing. And again very corny lyrics from a modern perspective. like a 7/10 probably,
5/10 You really get the impression that Yes were limited by budget/time constraints, and instead of deciding to focus on making shorter, better songs as a group, they decided to put all their effort into a couple songs -- which are great, roundabout is an amazing track. first heard it as a "jojo song" but like its genuinely fantastic -- and then filled up the runtime with demos and unfinished garbage. some of them arent awful, the brahms cover was actually very pleasant the first time i Heard it and before i Knew it would be emblematic of the rest of the album, but even when the songs are good they just ruin the structure of flow of the album. also most of them are not very good
9/10 great album. knew of R.E.M. but only ever really heard losing my religion. Didn't know they an oscar wilde type frontman. album gets off to a slow start but once everybody hurts hits its just all amazing from there (try not to breathe is also a good cut so maybe its just really sidewinder and drive i dont love). ya awesome album tho great writing great music great vibes tho very melancholic
8/10 Amazing vocal performances from Otis, and the majority of the songs were good. Change Gonna Come, I've Been Loving You Too Long, And Satisfaction were highlights for me. Some of the songs are definitely eclipsed by their versions from other artists though. Respect does not vibe well in the 21st century when sung by a man, and the Aretha version is much better to me. My Girl also has better versions.
9/10, but I'm giving it 5 stars instead of 4 like i've been doing. Did not expect to like this album as much as I did. Its overwhelmingly dark and sad and depressing. the guitars are almost shoe-gazey in their spaciness, and it very much helps curate a dreamlike atmosphere. the drums are maybe the highlight of the album and are consistently fantastic. robert smiths singing is a little one-note, but fits the vibe of the album so well that it didn't get boring to me. and the lyrics are just so depressing and misanthropic and angsty. can definitely be a little indulgent at points, but overall very evocative lyrics. great album overall
8/10. The album blends so many genres from different decades it creates a very anachronistic vibe that is very unique. Rock, Soul, RnB, Classical, Electronic, Pop they all get mixed into this vaguely 1920s soup that transports you to the world of the ArchAndroid. The album then is the soundtrack to a movie taking place in that world. And while I love the soundtrack, I don't think I love the movie. The storyline of the love and separation didn't really speak to me as much as it probably would've at other points in my life, and I sometimes feel like the music is sacrificed for the sake of storytelling. Or maybe I just dont favor this particular type of storytelling. Fav songs were Oh Maker (FANTASTIC track), Dance or Die, Locked Inside, Wondaland and BaBopBye Ya. Very disjointed review i suppose. ill cut it short and say i like the music and i like the aesthetic but i dont think im invested in the storyline of the album. Maybe i would be moreso if i started with her first EP. still great tho.
6/10 none of the songs are really atrocious but none of them are particularly amazing either. Lucretia My Reflection and Flood II prob my fav songs :)
10/10 I dont even have words for how great this album is. A masterpiece. So good and weird and emotional. The little mini concept album of the second half is so vivid and Bush is a great storyteller. And the first half is just banger after banger, mostly songs about love. On these tracks as well she's such a great writer she makes every song feel so grand and emotional. 80's revival is very popular right now and Kate Bush deserves every second of spotlight she gets these days this album was one of the best I've ever listened to.
8/10. I actually thought I would like this album more. It is very well regarded as far as I can tell. And there are mostly good songs here: Heart of Gold, Old Man, Words, Harvest. But there's also some real stinkers. There's a World isn't great. A Man Needs a Maid is yuck. Doesn't even really seem self aware or cheeky, just whiny and sexist. Alabama is a great song, but as far as activism goes it feels a little half-assed and insincere. Overall I liked it, but its definitely not a perfect album.
5/10 - George Jones shows that he is capable of making good country songs. The back half of the album has some actually enjoyable songs on it! She told me, Mary Don't Go Round, and especially Our Private Life were all great, well written songs. So why did he put ~6 other songs that have nothing going for them on the album. Literally every song except Private Life is about love -- sometimes positive sometimes negative but about love -- which isn't inherently bad but there's not really any interesting insights or good lines, and sonically the songs just kind of blend together. Very samey. Literally listen to Pass Me By and Who Will I Be Loving Now back to back. Neither are great songs and they are also way too similar for both of them to need to exist. There was definitely potential for this album to be good but it really falls short of that potential. Sad :(
9/10 - The apple music description for this album asserts that "'No Woman, No Cry' dominates" the album. Thats stupid. This album is full of amazing songs. Them Belly Full, So Jah Seh, Bend Down Low, Rebel Music. All bangers that hold there own. No Woman, No Cry is also a fantastic song, and maybe I am underrating it due to frequent exposure to it, but it was just one of the many great songs on this album. First reggae album for me, and it was a great introduction.
Marvin Gaye really hates his ex-wife. That's pretty much the whole album. He introduces a little nuance on songs like Anger, but for the most part he characterizes Anna Gordy as money hungry, deceitful, and vindictive. He might be right. He also ended up marrying a girl he met at 17 years of age after his divorce. So he's not exactly a saint. Regardless, the music is really good. Surprisingly frequent use of synths mix well with soul music to be overall very funky. Album has pretty good flow, and Gaye ofc has amazing performances throughout. I enjoyed it!
it gave me this album the day after dolly parton died. i listened to it while sad. it was okay but not my favorite. wish i liked it more!
"If I can prove that I never touched my balls will you promise not to tell one other soul what you saw" if it was an entire album. Mike Skinner does not have a particularly soothing or pleasant voice to listen to, and his delivery is more spoken word than anything. He has a snappy, disjointed flow that is interesting but doesn't always lead to the most tuneful songs. Especially when the mixing on his vocals is so glassy throughout the album. It sounds like we're on the phone catching up with him as if we were old mates, or maybe we're strangers in a public bathroom.
The story told throughout the album is not particularly interesting or fun or insightful, but he at least can write some pretty evocative lines. The production is also all good, but never great. Definitely an interesting album, I am glad I got the opportunity to listen to it. But not something I'm likely to return to tbh, unless I suddenly become a 35 year old british man.
all hits no skips. every song is so layered and fantastic, amazing performances from all the instrumentalists (mostly stevie!) and great vocals too. good variety of sounds on the album while still sounding cohesive, and amazing flow. always switches up in just the right way to keep you engaged. idk why these salty ass bitches are giving it low scores. i think stevie is gonna get 4 5 stars from me ^_^
Ready to Die is like if you made one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time and then decided to just add 6 songs about how much you hate women. Just for the laughs. Lets start with the "one of the greatest" parts of the album.
Biggie ofc has head-noddingly catchy flow, an uncanny ability to rhyme, and a distinctly enjoyable voice that make pretty much all of the actual vocals on this song great to listen to. Despite his heavy alignment with East Coast hip-hop, I actually felt like his flow was a bit reminiscent of Ice Cube at times. A good thing to be reminiscent of.
The album starts with his birth, ends with his death (prophetic), and catalogues his transition from a life of crime to being a successful artist. He mentions his mom not being able to feed him or give him money several times, pushing him towards crime to sustain himself, and how crime becomes an Everyday Struggle (which is probably the best song on the album). He gets remarkably vulnerable about how this affects his mental state, commenting on how he doesn't wanna live any more, how he thinks he deserves to go to hell on Suicidal Thoughts, how good it feels to escape that life on Juicy. The vulnerability is very contained though, and at no point on the album is he vulnerable about why he hates women.
Or rather, on "Friend of Mine", a song with a great beat that is ruined by its shitty subject, he talks about how its okay to hate women because they'll cheat on you! Yeah! On One More Chance he mentions how his dick (the whole song is about him fucking women) will... shatter your bladder. NOT SEXY. SOUNDS PAINFUL. Also mentions how he doesnt eat pussy anymore. loser behavior. Me and My Bitch is another song about women, and this time its not about sex! mostly. Of course, in this relationship he's describing, he very casually mentions beating her, and never refers to her as a "woman," just a bitch. HIS bitch, to be specific. Also she DIES at the end and he really doesn't seem that torn up about it? Not to mention the great opening line about how she's so hot, he'll suck her daddy's dick. He calls his dad a faggot for leaving him earlier in the album. Big Poppa is the only even slightly redeemable song about women on the album, and its not great, just okay.
The song Just Playing (Dreams) was not included on the original album, only the remaster, but it was recorded around the same time as the album, and features a line about Biggie date raping a 9 year old girl. No that is not a joke.
Actually difficult to listen to some of these songs with a modern perspective. Sorry biggie, great rapper, wish you had some self control to trim this thing down to like 12 songs and leave the garbage off it.
Very fun album. No skips, but only a few real hits. Also deducting because definitely very sexist, but not nearly as bad as Ready To Die was. About the level I was expecting from 90s gangsta rap, just talking about fucking a lotta bitches. Dr Dre's production is consistently fantastic. Has enough features to feel like an album representative of west coast gfubk in entirety. Ain't No Fun is gross lyrically but damn fun song.
Listened to this a lot when i was like 13 years old. Has not aged well aesthetically - very much gives 13 year old vibes. riffs still hit hard though. most upvoted review of it on this website summarizes it quite well.
fun enough album. listened to it on vacation so maybe not an entirely fair review. The beach boys are very competent songwriters, and every song is pretty layered and interesting, but theyre also so 60s sounding, definitely sound aged, but still good :)
