(re-listen from before 1001albums)
i get they were trying to 'replicate the power of the live shows on tape' or whatever it was i read several years ago now but surely theres better ways of going about it than putting all the volume knobs to 'earrape'
once u look past that tho theres some proper chunes on this one innit m8
favourite song (s): champagne supernova, some might say (even tho the absurdly tambourine rendered me completely incapable of appreciating the song properly the first few listens loll)
least favourite song: i actually really liked every song, which i dont remember being the case last time i listened to this album (which was a couple years ago tbf)
i might just be in a really receptive mood or something, but i cant seem to fault anything but the production atm, honestly think it wouldnt be far off a 10 if the songs werent mixed so fuckily lol, i liked this album before but not to this extent so was a pleasant surprise coming back to it
(re-listen from before 1001albums)
love this album
david byrne keeps his signature erraticism the first two albums, but the darker production/writing make his delivery on these songs seem more deranged than quirky
speaking of production, between all the spacey guitar overdubs, whatever echoey effect byrne's vocals are put through, the whole album has this otherworldly vibe to it, which while not necessarily the perfect fit for EVERY song (particularly life during wartime and heaven, not sure whether its a coincidence that these are probably the biggest two songs off the album lol, still great songs tho), amazingly suits the bulk of the tracklist
favourite song: cities
least favourite song: none
definitely felt like an album i didn't fully 'get'
just heard a load of relatively pleasant british guitar music with a couple notable highlights, and i can't help but feel i'm missing something, if that something is there at all
i could definitely pick out a couple songs i really enjoyed, but ig i just didn't particularly vibe with a good chunk of the tracklist
favourite song(s): bitter sweet symphony, the drugs don't work, this time
least favourite song: the rolling people
gotta admit i did find a good chunk of the album kinda sappy, but it actually wore it quite well, and even though this certainly isn't my sort of music, i found the harmonies pretty charming, and i enjoyed a lot of the guitar work. quite a fun listen. some real high points somewhere in there
favourite song (s): woodstock, country girl
least favourite song: teach your children
really patchy for me at least
starts off great, particularly with see the sky about to rain, extremely cozy and nice on the ears. having just pulled csny's deja vu as my first neil young experience yesterday, i was worried i wouldn't be able to stand a full album of his mickey mouse vocals (i.e. on helpless. still liked the song tho) but i actually enjoyed his voice across the album
what i didn't enjoy tho was the entire midsection of the tracklist (specifically from revolution blues through vampire blues). while a bit more energetic than the first two songs, i just didn't like any of them. i really don't think young has enough bite in his voice/songwriting to make a song like revolution blues actually work , for the turnstiles is not nearly engaging enough to warrant being as stripped back as it is, and all i really remembered about vampire blues was that really funny guitar solo (i love a good anti solo but fucking come on like lmao)
after that the songs pick up again (by mellowing out), and while on the beach/ambulance blues didn't NEED to be that long, i found the last three songs fairly endearing, and i gotta appreciate the sad harmonica solos lol those were great
was really hoping to love this after the first couple songs, especially since it ends pretty well too, but almost everything in between those two points was a bit of a slog which really lets it down for me. feels like it had the makings of a much stronger album than it ended up being
favourite song: see the sky about to rain
least favourite song: for the turnstiles
much more interesting listen than i thought it would be
just the instrumentals as a whole were fantastic. absolutely flooded with great solos and shining moments for the whole band. had heard a fair bit about ritchie blackmore as a legendary guitarist, and i certainly wasn't disappointed but the rest of them did a great job keeping up with him. wasn't huge on the vocals but i wouldn't say they necessarily took away from the experience really
found the tracklist significantly more versatile than i ever wouldve expected (having only heard smoke on the water prior).
could be trippy or epic or (especially) bluesy whenever it wanted to be. i genuinely took a moment to question whether i was listening to the same album when lazy came on, idk wtf that entire intro was but it was sick. gotta admit i was a bit startled when it just cut straight to 0-3-5 lmao
not normally the biggest into classic rock, but this album is strong enough for me that that doesn't really matter
only song i wasn't really fond of was highway star, which kinda sounds like a hair metal song a decade early, so ig it's ahead of its time (too bad it seems to predict a genre i don't like lol)
favourite song(s): smoke on the water, lazy, pictures of home
least favourite song: highway star
really liked a lot of these instrumentals
unfortunately i also found a lot of these vocal parts painfully grating and annoying, making this an absolute slog to get through no matter how good the rest of any given song was
it sucks to just completely write off an album like this, but it really does just end up being a non starter for me basically
ended up getting very little out of most of these songs but i can't comfortably give it a 1 because the instrumentals deserve so much more than whatever this is
favourite song (s): brendan #1 (can only wonder why)
least favourite song: repeater
such an effortlessly sick album
great sampling, loved the bass work, drums are of their time yet sound far from dated, still really effective
admittedly fucking useless at lyrical analysis so not even gonna go there but these songs just sound fantastic. end of story
favourite songs: footprints, mr
muhammad, go ahead in the rain
least favourite song: none
this album came out like two decades too late
i might just be being a bit harsh, since i don't have an issue with this album sonically, and maybe it's all just going over my head and i'm just uncultured, but to me at least this literally just sounds like a 70s rock opera that was born in the wrong generation. considering i can think of albums in this vein that i'd rather listen to that came out 10-20 years before this, i can't help but find it all a bit trite compared to all the great, more significant and interesting rock records that came out around the same time
thought it was a bit long as well lol
i did like the little fun fact that the smiths drummer (mike joyce) played on this album tho
favourite songs: east easy rider, drive she said
least favourite songs: this album kinda blended together too much for me to pick out a particularly weak song, could just be on me for disengaging but idk
kinda hard to make an early 90s noisy alt rock album i wouldn't like honestly lol
just one of those albums where the overall sound of the album is great enough that it doesn't matter if the song structures can be a bit shaky at times (probably just adds to the vibe if anything in this case i'd say)
favourite songs: shoot, drunken butterfly, jc (god i love kim gordon's voice)
least favourite song: none really, just enjoyed the ride
a lot of this album may be giving disney film, but fuck, it really is just immaculately written
definitely not a sound i'd just immediately vibe with in the way i would some albums, but it's literally just executed perfectly (for the most part at least). had this been done by a lesser group, it would've probably been a sickly sweet dated mess (to my ears at least), so the fact that it's anything but is commendable
very very strong 4
favourite songs: cecilia, so long, frank lloyd wright, the boxer
least favourite song: baby driver
feel like this is proof that i could listen to bjork sing over anything and get something out of it
first like third of the album is one big wandering mess. bjork having such a loose vocal style needs a stronger base behind her than these songs provide to not have them sound like she's just riffing over a couple random string parts or whatever. even some parts i did enjoy just went on for way longer than i would've liked (i.e. lionsong). not big on the LMFAO-esque synths being plonked on history of touches either.
It may take about five minutes into the next song before i start actually liking the music, but everything definitely picks up from that point onwards. family also has a lot of open space and just goes full ambient for a couple minutes, but it goes about it much better than similar moments prior to this (even if i wasn't mad about the cello bit, A for effort tho)
from that point on i really like the rest of the tracklist. the instrumentals/strings start to work with bjork rather than against her.
probably a pretty harsh 3 considering how strong the back half of the album ended up being, but i really just wasn't feeling the first few songs
favourite songs: mouth mantra, atom dance, notget
least favourite song: history of touches
really fun listen. debbie harry has an amazing way of serving the song, considering the fairly versatile set of songs as well as some of the more (pleasantly) bizarre left turns that pop up in the tracklist. more generally well produced and performed by the band as well.
favourite songs: i know but i don't know, heart of glass, hanging on the telephone
least favourite song: sunday girl
kinda went over my head
one thing that kinda bothered me was that a lot of the backing instrumentals on these songs sounded exactly what i think of when i hear the term elevator music, even tho this probably predates all that lol
i liked the sax work but outside of that album was basically just lost on someone like me
favourite songs : the girl from ipanema, para machuchar meu coracao, corcovado
least favourite song: none in particular
got about five songs in before i simply could not take any more of this, first time i've straight up bailed on an album (and i really don't intend to make it a habit, this was just too painful lmao)
i may be irish but ive always found trad grating, so some proper 'oirish' shite like this had zero chance of ever appealing to me. genuinely wouldve felt less ashamed going down the road with a dream album in my ears than whatever this is lol
favourite songs: fairytale of new york (only reason this wasn't just an immediate 1 for me, even tho i still felt like a psychopath listening to it in september)
least favourite song: i turned it off during fiesta i think, not necessarily the worst song i heard, but the point when i realised i was in over my head trying to get through this album
admittedly i kinda forgot that this was like a concept album when i was listening to it but that certainly didn't hinder the experience for me really
just a well written really enjoyable rock album. i wasn't sure how much i was going to enjoy 7-9 minute green day songs but they were actually great, along with basically the rest of the tracklist.
favourite songs: boulevard of broken dreams, give me novacaine, homecoming
least favourite song: are we the waiting
a fair bit tamer than i would've expected given the reputation of these lads, but far from a dull experience
definitely has its fair share of quirks and there are some truly idiosyncratic moments sprinkled in the tracklist, even if a good chunk of the album is mostly (at least instrumentally) just blues rock stuff
the vocal performances are what really make the album what it is. who knew the big bad wolf and a flu-ridden squidward would make for such a good vocal pairing? goofy, but a very appealing flavour of goof
favourite songs: plastic factory, electricity, i'm glad
least favourite song: abba zaba
very very one-note, but he certainly knows his way around that one note
not the most engaging album in the world, but sometimes all you need is some guy crooning over some nice-sounding chords and sad harmonica solos, in which case this definitely delivers
favourite songs: georgia on my mind, all of me, on the sunny side of the street
least favourite song: unchained melody
i found myself completely incapable of vibing with this album for some reason. idk, all the songs just felt kinda like hollow somehow, i think something about the vocals were just so dull and did absolutely nothing for me. and the length of it really didn't help. honestly would've questioned if it was ai-generated had i just encountered some of these songs in the wild
favourite songs: ehhhhhh
least favourite song: none in particular
got a lot more out of this than i expected after the first couple songs. the more stripped back songs are generally much more appealing than the camp country rock stuff that makes up like half the tracklist tho (except for bad liquor, that doesn't really fit into either camp but i liked it anyway lol)
favorite songs: pale skinny girl, highway 5, bad liquor
least favourite song: somewhere
was a tad jaded going into this knowing it's a posthumous compilation album with a very incorrect year slapped on it, but thankfully the songs, whatever order/album they were meant to be in/on were brilliant
great vocals (just fantastic performances in general, from the whole band), really liked the production, something about the chord progressions on a lot of these songs gave them some slight but constant tense feeling that worked really well
i gotta listen to the actual studio albums this compilation uses because i was just immediately biased going into this considering how massively the original 1001 author fucked up in picking this particular release
favourite songs: sai dessa, saudade eterna, aprendendo a jogar
least favourite song: none
fantastic album. everything you'd expect from a prog album, but done well enough to avoid the stereotypical prog grievances
virtuosic but not self-fellating, elaborately structured but not pretentious. just really well performed and put together
favourite songs: the camera eye, yyz, witch hunt
least favourite song: none
just one of those albums that speak to me somehow. i can see how this could be a grating, bloated, arrogant mess for some people, but somehow none of that ended up being a problem for me
just two straight hours of great riffs, mental solos, and softer songs that have no right to have the emotional weight they do considering they're being sung by billy fucking corgan lmao. i can definitely say i didn't expect to get through a 28-song triple album without getting bored, but it was honestly fantastic from front to back
favourite songs: 1979, bodies, to forgive
least favourite songs: none
didn't really vibe with this one. i didn't actively dislike any of the songs but a lot of them kinda just washed over me. i might need to listen to it again sometime and see if i get it any more then
i liked the general sound of the album, and i found the production pretty fun (in that there's a lot of quirks that sound like they were just added cause 'why not?'), but i just ended up zoning out by the end of some of the songs because i didn't particularly like what was happening. definitely a couple songs i really liked tho
favourite songs: foreground, two weeks, fine for now
least favourite song: all we ask
i have absolutely no idea how this pileup of like five different eras and cultural contexts is so cohesive and consistent
this album does so much and puts it together so seamlessly that nothing ever feels gimmicky or trend-chasey, anything from rockabilly to south african street music to straight 80s pop hits are all casually just on the one tracklist without ever feeling out of place
favourite songs: you can call me al, graceland, crazy love vol ii
least favourite song: none
not exactly the most fulfilling listen for me lol
obviously great vocal performances, and i definitely liked a couple songs, but generally not an era/sound i'd be partial to, so after a while it just felt like continually eating a jar of sugar by the spoonful for the length of the tracklist
favourite songs: drunk in love, blow, no angel
least favourite song: love
got nothing out of this basically. not particularly into the vocals, which is an insurmountable problem when the instrumentals are this stripped back, very obviously leaving the vocals as the primary (maybe even only) appeal of the whole album. half the time i honestly didn't even realise i was listening to a different song after the last one had ended a couple minutes ago
favourite songs: don't know why (i guess)
least favourite song: none in particular
was wondering if a live album that only came out decades after the artist's death was really the perfect pick for the list (see elis regina's inclusion, not even a live album lol), but FUCK was it good
unbelievable levels of power. goes without saying for the vocals, but the same goes particularly for the drum/sax performances. particularly loved the interludes or wherever where the song would drop out, and the band would only play in like pulses while sam belts over it all. actually mesmerising stuff
favourite songs: somebody have mercy, bring it on home to me, nothing can change this love
least favourite song: none
pulling this as my first experience w/ miles davis (and basically first jazz album in general), this wasn't exactly what i had in mind, but that's far from a negative in this case. this ended up being a much easier listen than i expected from the genre
the way the album revolves around constant chords/scales, particularly neutral-sounding ones at that (particularly the first half), along with the very chill drums and soft keys form this dream-like haze that only miles' trumpet work manages to cut through
i'd probably need to read a book or ten on jazz harmony/vocabulary or whatever to really understand what's happening here, but all i really know or care about for now is that all the sounds are really nice on the ear holes
favourite songs: lol
least favourite song: lol
quintessential boomer rock album lol
definitely of its time, and probably contains like every classic/blues rock stereotype you could possibly imagine (they had to come from somewhere) but the songs are great so it's hard to complain really
the whole album is trying its absolute best to be an opus, from the length of the tracklist to all the grand backing vocals/horns/everything else, and i gotta admit i think it succeeds in doing so
favourite songs: tumbling dice, loving cup, stop breaking down
least favourite song: torn and frayed
sounds exactly like you would expect a mid-late 2000s uk indie album to sound, for better or for worse
pretty fun listen overall, even though the falsetto octave harmonies sounded pretty goofy and i sometimes couldn't shake the feeling i was going to be sold car insurance at any moment
favourite songs: two receivers, as above so below, isle of her
least favourite song: golden skans
ngl i kinda just like good songs, and theres a lot of them on this
cant help but love his voice even if it is a bit goofy lol
favourite songs: simple twist of fate, idiot wind, lily, rosemary and the jack of hearts
least favourite songs: none
great album. well over an hour of ethereal jangley goodness. definitely gets pretty samey but thankfully it's a sameness i'd be happy to listen to for a whole double album
0/5, not enough lovecats
favourite songs: pictures of you, lovesong, fascination street
brilliant fever dream new wave
some fairly mental songs on here, but balanced perfectly with more conventional poppier stuff so that it always feels grounded/cohesive. So many bizarre moments across the album just feel like they're worked in so smoothly
possibly a perfect album
favourite songs: synchronicity I, mother, every breath you take
least favourite song: none
a tale of two sides, no wonder they named them weird to highlight that lol
side white is kinda just a snoozefest. great big grandiose stadium rock instrumentals like what you'd expect from a queen album, but missing the fun and charm. freddie either sings in tranquilised whispers, or gets buried in guitar overdubs when he does try to pick it up a bit. i didn't mind the loser in the end, but i think that's just because it sounds like a b-grade zeppelin song
side black however is much more enjoyable. the songs get even more theatrical, with all the ott opera harmonies and harpsichord solos and what not, but the difference is that it's actually enjoyable to listen to now. freddie's also out of his coma, and becomes the dynamic showman you'd want him to be
favourite songs: ogre battle, the march of the black queen, seven seas of rhye
least favourite song: father to son
i already loved a couple velvets albums going into this, so i knew i'd get something out of 40 odd minutes of lou reed no matter what
a lot more fun/goofy than i expected it to be. the rockier stuff is just picking up where he left off with the later velvets stuff. lou sounds hilariously out of place with some of the more grandiose moments on here, and there's some absolutely ridiculous lyrics across the album but no matter what was happening at any given time, it was always an enjoyable experience
favourite songs: perfect day, satellite of love, goodnight ladies
least favourite song: none
interesting listen. first half is pretty normal as far as zeppelin goes, and that's far from a bad thing as far as i'm concerned. i'll gladly listen to robert plant wail over ten minute jams all day
second half took a (relatively) chill folky turn, and while i found it somewhat weaker than the first half, it did balance nicely with the high octane classic dad rock of the first few songs
favourite songs: celebration day, since i've been loving you, gallows pole
least favourite song: that's the way
ambient/electronic ear candy. just very pleasant to listen to overall, whether it's more conveniental pop songs with a couple synths or straight ambient stuff
favourite songs: sky saw, i'll come running, spirits drifting
least favourite songs: the big ship
great vibey, sensual sound, great performances, some particularly good songs, but pretty one note. as much as i enjoy how these songs sound, it felt like i was listening to the same song several times in a row at times. not sure if i'll listen to this front to back for a while but i can definitely appreciate it in moderation
favourite songs: smooth operator, hang on to your love, cherry pie
least favourite song: sally (if i had to pick)
very very fun album. theatric, high energy, bit ridiculous but in a good way
favourite songs: falling in love with myself again, hasta manana, monsieur, in my family
this did little to help me overcome my natural born aversion to hair metal
just so much of what i don't want out of an 80s album. particularly the really dated programmed drums and shrill vocals
fwiw if i didnt already dislike hair metal then i'd probably like this a lot, since i think it does what it does quite well, and i reckon i would've enjoyed a lot of the hooks and stuff if i could bear to listen to the general sound
favourite songs: photograph, too late for love, foolin'
least favourite song: stagefright
great rugged, biting folk rock
always loved dylan's voice, just cuts through any instrumental so well. dripping with charisma
not necessarily huge on every song, and i found the last song meandred a bit but still very good overall
favourite songs: like a rolling stone, tombstone blues, ballad of a thin man
least favourite song: from a buick 6
think jazz in general is still too high iq for my pea brain but i did enjoy these songs, even tho theres no way i could really critique/analyse this stuff in any meaningful way loll
i thought the afrobeat percussion was a fun little twist but i mightve missed the full extent of the afrobeat influence on this album
favourite songs: minawa, unhome, maseru
least favourite song: ingoo pow-pow
not the biggest folk rock enthusiast, but i did definitely enjoy a couple highlights off this
i think i liked it more when it didnt sound exactly how i expected it to after hearing deja vu (which i did enjoy tbf, but i kinda thought this would just be a less interesting version of that lol, which it sometimes it was but certainly not the whole way through)
favourite songs: go back home, cherokee, we are not helpless
least favourite song: black queen
brilliant set of songs. greatly balanced both instrumentally and narratively, between rough aggressive beats topped with endless swagger/bravado and smoother r&b-like moments with far rawer, more vulnerable moments than i expected out of an album like this. near perfect in terms of cohesion of the tracklist. i'm generally far from well-versed with hip hop albums, and i haven't been completely sold on the few 90s releases i've heard but i gotta admit i was fairly blown away with this
favourite songs: things done changed, juicy, suicidal thoughts
least favourite song: fuck me (would prob be in contention for a 5 if it wasnt for this lol)
even though i definitely liked this album, my respect for stevie wonder still far outweighs my enjoyment of these songs. brilliant vocal/songwriting range, some pretty mind bending chord progressions on here, crazy multi-instrumentalist, can probably do anything musically bar sightreading
that being said, there are still some great tracks on here, even if i want to like some of the others more than i actually do considering the endless talent on display
favourite songs: golden lady, jesus children of america, all in love is fair
least favourite song: too high
an erratic, tense, artsy spin on 70s uk punk. particularly enjoyed a lot of the interesting guitar work and funky, driving basslines.
consistent tracklist, but it does get a bit repetitive going into the last couple songs
favourite songs: damaged goods, return the gift, love like anthrax
least favourite song: none
i'm sure with something like this there's people out there who've been profoundly affected by these songs, especially considering how much work randy newman's gotten since but i can't help but zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
favourite songs: lonely at the top, idk what else
least favourite song: none in particular
i think the vocals kinda ruin this album for me, not that i would've been in love with it otherwise but still
apparently people were mental about these guys at some point in time, but it all kinda just sounds like butt rock to my probably ignorant ears
favourite songs: sex on fire (i guess)
least favourite song: none in particular
