Absolutely deserving of being called a classic. Such a great job bridging 70’s rock and new wave.
No skips. At all. Absolutely fantastic
Makes me wish I had been in my 20’s in the 70’s
This caught me very far off guard when I first heard it. So quiet and introspective. But absolutely beautiful. I didn’t know it existed when I found it and I needed it in my life forever after I did.
It’s 1988 and I’m finishing my freshman year and this comes out and defines the summer. An absolute gem of an album. Seminal. All of the superlatives.
Maybe I’ve just heard the white stripes and Jack White too much. Im sure this was ground breaking in 2005. But… I think Elephant was a better album
If there was ever an uneven double album that could have been a single album filled with absolute bangers, this is it.
I have to admit that this would be perfect for the dentist’s office. Sure, it’d be a cool dentist’s office, but still. It’s smooth and lovely and innocuous and makes for amazing background music. I think Jungle’s Volcano album is the modern version of this.
Side one is so does so many interesting things and moves and shakes and not all the songs are for everyone but there is so many layers and so much depth. A band exploring. Toying with options. Hoping you’ll catch up.
Side two is Sting.
I guess I just don’t smoke enough dope
You’re watching a movie and it’s the late 60’s and you’re in some kind of college house situation with a bunch of kids in their late teens who are starting to question everything and one of them puts on a record but the filmmaker doesn’t want to be too cliched and have them play Bob Dylan, this is the album they put on instead.
I wish Who’s That Lady wasn’t inexorably linked to bad tv ads that played all the time so I could enjoy the song again. But the rest of the album was an absolute delight
One of those albums that you didn’t realize was so rooted in a particular time until you listen to it so many years later. So if you want to feel like it’s the early 90’s, this one may be a perfect one to put on.
The difference in headspace between the skits and the songs… going from dark and dangerous to bouncy and fun… the duality of man!
I’m glad I listened to it for this challenge because it means I never have to listen to it again
In 1987 when I was a too cool, I didn’t like Michael Jackson. I’m glad older me can appreciate him for being a hell of an artist now.
This is why I started to follow this website - to discover new gems that are classics and fantastic and I’ve never heard before
The album and documentary that made most of America realize that Cuba exists and has really good music
Unfortunately, it almost sounds like a parody now. So many jokes have been made about his distinct style reducing it to its most cliched and simple form. And this album sounds like that. It’s when he started really becoming the genius that he is. But this… still had some growing to do.
I may need to get the book about 1001 Albums to Hear Before You Die because I’m having a really hard time believing this is on the list
Really hard to separate the man from the music so I can’t look at this objectively at all
Definitely took me back to the mid 00’s. It’s an uneven album but the hit is so good that it makes it a joy to listen to.
This is an album I don’t own. But this is an album that I will own soon. Because smooooooth.
That intersection between easy and basic early 60’s doo wop and the late 60’s / early 70’s great political songs.
A wonderful extension of OK Computer that continues exploring what sounds make music and what makes a song. Not necessarily for a sunny summer day but absolutely perfect for when you are in one of “those” kinds of moods
A little research told me that this was a very innovative album for the time because it was one of the first pop country albums. And that would be great if I wasn’t the kind of person who can’t stand country.
I’m glad it’s a really great album because I’m kind of scared as to what would happen to me if I said anything disparaging about it.
Catfish fishing, making pasta from scratch and this album: three things that involve a lot of noodling
If I had been a teen in 1975, this album would have changed my life. The way it moves through different styles so smoothly that the whiplash between tracks is almost a hug. Definitely a wonder of an album.
This album makes me feel smarter than I am
Well, hello 1996! How have you been? Haven’t seen you around for a while. What’s that? You want to totally immerse me in you again by playing this album? Ok. That works fine for me. Thank you!
I mean… it’s Frank.
I guess this is from his Radiohead phase?
Again, super confused by the idea that this is one of the 1001 albums I need to hear before I die because it feels like a minor footnote in a career of someone who has made a lot of other albums that should be on a list of 1001 albums a person should hear before they die.
Today I learned there’s only so much nasally voice I can handle listening to.
It was a beautiful and quiet and introspective start to the day yesterday when I listened to this.
A fantastic artist doing everything he could to make the crowd as happy as possible and the crowd loving every moment. The sound was very lofi though and showed the weaknesses of the time
An Elvis Costello album is a lot like Elvis Costello speaking - starts well, interesting things happening, and things keep happening, and suddenly you realize you’re bored, and it keeps happening, and you start wanting to do other things but it keeps happening and then you realize you’re kinda stuck there until it finally ends.
When this album came out, I was in 1st grade and I hated it because Sultans of Swing sounded nothing like Kiss. Now, almost 50 years later, I don’t hate it. I just don’t like it at all. So… progress?
I want to be in a shitty bar in the middle of the day drinking cans of beer with maybe 4 other people sprinkled through the room and have this on the jukebox
If someone didn’t know what Bob Dylan sounded like and wanted a way in to understand what a lot of the fuss was about, this album is a pretty great place to start.
What a great window into 1965 when rock musicians were doing something new and different but just before they started doing something wildly new and incredibly different
How much more Lynard Skynard could anyone ever need? It’s all here in one place.
I’m going to guess that whoever made this list was born after 1980 and really started feeling feelings in the late 90’s so the albums that hit them the hardest may not have been very good but they landed at just the right time.
A really great album. Definitely a classic rap album that deserves its place in history
One of, if not the best albums of all time.
I can absolutely see why so many artists of a certain age claim this was a huge influence. It’s a giant shot of adrenaline that must have been revolutionary when it came out
Singer songwriters from the 70’s are overrated.
Miles and friends were definitely swinging for the fences on this one. And there are a lot of things to like. But it’s not an easy listen and it’s very non traditional so there’s also a lot that doesn’t always land. It’s fine for when you want a challenge. It’s terrible for when you get up in the morning and want to ease into the day.
It’s amazing how something that is so quintessentially 70’s created the template for hair metal in the 80’s. That being said, it’s not necessarily a good thing.
I couldn’t hear the actual album because it’s not on Spotify but their early releases were amazing and incredibly influential to so many artists
I have no doubt that if I had been between 13 and 22 in 1960, I would love and cherish this album.
I firmly believe the Stones have a really bad great song* to mediocre or bad song ratio. This album doesn’t deny that theory in the least.
*- that being said, the great songs really are timeless classics. Just wish there was more than 2 or 3 per album.
If you took 80’s pop and dropped a nuclear bomb on it so all that was left was destruction, chaos and debris, this is the album it would sound like.
Starts amazingly strong. Must have made Elton John nostalgic when it first came out. But it can’t maintain its momentum for the whole thing so the last few songs are a bit of a slog.
They sure weren’t afraid to explore the space of the songs. But with something like Can You Get to That on it, the album has a lot of redeeming qualities
A great example of why live albums exist. Great musicians getting locked in to a place where anything can happen and everything does.
It wasn’t a fair fight. I hated this album and all the trappings that went with it in 1986. 40 years later, it didn’t stand a chance.
If a movie is made that takes place in 1971 in Los Angeles, it should absolutely have this album as a soundtrack because it sounds exactly like what that time and place should sound like.
Although not my favorite album of his, it’s still T Rex and it’s still clearly very influential
The Shins too aggro for you? Someone asked you what “twee” means? Need to simultaneously reduce your heart rate and yet feel restless? This is the perfect album for you.
Had to do a little research to find the significance of this album and I’m realizing there’s a blind spot for me. In England and Europe, this was a significant release that made an impact. For me? A middling 5th release from a band that had a minor hit on their first album and couldn’t reach those heights again
Got about half way through and switched to their In Search Of album because that’s the good and important N.E.R.D. album
It’s so hard to judge this album because I have learned to hate the title track. But there are some really good songs on here that definitely show vestiges of the Beatles. So skip track one and it’s so much better.
I now understand why this was one of my father’s favorite albums
It’s kind of wild listening to an album that would have been considered an anachronistic throw back when it came out and is now pushing 70 years old.
