I don't know, with such group members I kinda expected a bit more. I liked the music, but the themes were forced into it. Guitar riffs and solos back up it a bit but not enough.
I get why she had so many followers. Her voice and technique were simply amazing and the bands accompanying her also too. Apart from a couple of songs, the album didn't really do much for me. Maybe it's just because it's not my favorite genre, but I felt like most of it was pretty standard stuff for that style of music
Not the best one, it felt so good at the beginning but the slow balads although not bad didn't capture us much.
Not particularly my style. The slower songs, although good in their hypnotic minimalism, don't quite do it for me. I feel other artists convey that kind of melancholy better. Of course, the distinctive riffs and rhythms of Personal Jesus, Enjoy the Silence, and Policy of Truth carry the album, but not quite enough to give it a 4/5 overall.
4/5 ⭐
A really good album overall. Band on the Run is a classic, with its three different musical sections, each with its own character. I particularly liked how McCartney divides some songs into different movements, almost like in classical music, each distinct but somehow connected. You can really hear how much of his musical personality went into the Beatles.
Some great riffs, bass lines, playful rhythms and arrangements throughout. Not every song stuck with me, but most were definitely on the positive side. Mrs. Vandebilt and Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five were particular highlights.
The album grew on me as it went on. Nice punk energy, fast rhythms, some interesting guitar bits and of course all the satire and criticism in the lyrics. Holiday in Cambodia is definitely a hit.
It does make you want to kick some trash cans and riot a bit haha, but that energy doesn't always translate into super good compositions. I get its relevance in punk, and I enjoyed it, but musically I don't think it quite reaches a 4/5.
Not really my thing, but I can see why it's on the list. Good compositions, great drums and interesting guitar riffs with little variations. The abrasive sound works, but the constant shouting gets tiring and some songs drag on. I liked New Math and Human Interest for how well the riffs and vocals work together, and Sinews for its slower pace without losing the band's sound. A solid 3/5.
White Denim made this album following a simple recipe for good music. The bass lines, guitars and nice drum fills just work so well together. Of course, the progressive rock influences are there, and the psychedelic parts are great and memorable. Burnished and Back at the Farm make a great pair. The whole album is enjoyable, maybe a couple of songs drag on a bit, but overall a really nice listen.
A very enjoyable album. Different songs, from slow ballads to uphigh rhythms and some really unconventional stuff. Nice bass lines, drums and vocal harmonies throughout. Some songs are pretty forgettable, especially the slower ones, but others have really interesting ideas. Think About Me is a nice catchy song, What Makes You Think You're the One is great with its simple rhythm, and Tusk is definitely a highlight. Maybe a bit too long, but overall a good listen.
Geee.. good album. You can appreciate the talent and the skill. The problem is that the arrangement doesn't seem to develop that initial grooves into something particularly memorable. There's no big rhythmic accent, melodic hook or change in intensity that gives it the punch I was looking for.
Crazy Album. The first album with Dickinson, who on the third track starts hitting the Iron Maidens characteristic vocals. The first track are just good and different. However I think they abuse the Maiden's formula a bit, however those galloping baselines, geezus. And well the classic hits just tremendous. The number of the beast, run to the hills, gangland, and Hallowed be thy name are just a great second part of the album. Maybe a bit short of five stars but, soooo a good one.
Great album: Shakey 4 😜 The first half is a bit too much of that slow, dramatic soul style for me. It's good music, but it takes me a while to connect with it. It's not until the second half that I really start appreciating how well this guy can sing and put together some great stuff. Rock Me Baby has such a good blues rhythm, You Don't Miss Your Water makes the drama work, and Satisfaction is a really fun cover. There are some nice grooves throughout, but the album takes a bit too long to get going for my taste.
Definitely not my style, but an interesting album. Suicide somehow manage to make seemingly random electronic sounds, repetitive rhythms and strange vocals fit together. There's enough going on to keep the minimalism from becoming tedious, at least for a while. It's music that feels more suited to filling a room and creating an atmosphere than connecting with someone personally.
Ghost Rider, Cheree and Johnny are songs I'd revisit. Frankie Teardrop, on the other hand, was quite an experience. I wasn't prepared for those screams! I wouldn't say I like it, but I think it fits. And that's pretty much how I feel about the whole album.
A borderline 3/5.
2/5
I can appreciate how personal and emotionally raw this album is, but I struggled to connect with it. Lennon's characteristic piano chords, so recognizable from the Beatles through Imagine, are all over the place, yet here they rarely did much for me. Many songs start with potential but never quite deliver musically.
His voice is good, even if some of the more demanding moments sound like a struggle. I Found Out has a great dragging rock groove, playful bass and raspy vocals, while Working Class Hero is an interesting departure. But most of the slower, introspective songs left me wanting more.
I understand why this album matters, especially given Lennon's emotional state at the time, but understanding the intention doesn't necessarily make the music more enjoyable.
Not the biggest fan of Cuban music, and definitely not the biggest fan of sones. I often find them too attached to the same groove, but damn, these dudes were good!
Chan Chan is just a classic, practically every Spanish speaker would recognize it. And what's with those piano songs? Sooo fucking good! And the tres cubano getting all playful toward the end of the songs. Awesome.
That's the formula: piano sabrosón, percusiones rebajadas al ritmo y un tres cubano juguetón.
Not every song is great, but with a little Latino bias, this deserves that fourth star
2/5 (2.45/5)
Some really good samples keep this album afloat, and tracks like Kilo, The Champ, Beauty Jackson and Jellyfish are genuinely enjoyable. The beats can be heavy, smooth and catchy, and Ghostface has some great bars and a surprisingly fluid delivery.
But damn, this album is long. Over 20 tracks, it eventually becomes monotonous. The themes and skits don't really capture my interest, and somewhere along the way the whole thing just stagnates. A couple of good songs toward the end can't quite save it.
I'll gladly take Kilo, The Champ and a handful of others, but as a whole, it wasn't a particularly pleasant listen.
4/5 — possibly 5/5?
Damn, what an album. I wasn't expecting to enjoy Kanye this much, but there's so much going on here. The soul samples, the chipmunk voices, the humor, the storytelling, and some really good rap. It all comes together surprisingly well.
Jesus Walks is just fantastic. The marching rhythm, the vocals marking the beat, the intensity of the delivery and the lyrics. Everything works. Then there's School Spirit, which is ridiculously simple but so easy to vibe to, and Slow Jamz, which is just a good song in practically every sense. Twista's verse at the end? Sooo good.
Not everything hit equally hard. Never Let Me Down didn't do much for me, Through the Wire is interesting but didn't quite convince me musically, and some of the quieter songs were just okay.
But the album has so much personality. The skits are funny, the production keeps changing, and Kanye can be both ridiculous and surprisingly relatable. And Last Call? What a way to finish. The storytelling alone kept me listening.
3.35/5
An album with a purpose, and there's no doubt it fulfills it. The choirs, the recognizable rhythms, the percussion, those brass instruments practically spitting sensuality, and Marvin Gaye's voice as the cherry on top. Everything comes together to create that romantic, red velvet mood.
A big round of applause for the world-famous, homonymous Let's Get It On, and a couple of other genuinely good songs. The arrangements are lovely, the grooves occasionally get funkier, and the whole album knows exactly what atmosphere it wants to create.
But it's just not my jam. I can appreciate the compositions and how well everything works together, but unless I'm in a very particular mood, there's practically no chance I'll put this album on.
Great at setting the mood, just not particularly my mood.
A very theatrical album, almost like the soundtrack to a sad movie. There's this constant low-key sorrow, with beautiful synths, heavenly choirs and arrangements that create enormous, lonely landscapes.
A couple of songs really worked for me. Bright Horses is beautifully written, Galleon Ship has some lovely production, and Ghosteen manages to stay musically connected for over 12 minutes. Quite an achievement.
But sometimes the vocals dominated too much, leaving the music as little more than a background for sung poetry. The arrangements weren't bad, I just couldn't always connect with them.
There's beauty, sadness and an almost celestial atmosphere throughout. A good album, but I kept waiting for that emotional punch that never quite arrived.
3.00/5
After my recent rap streak, I'm surprised this is the album I've enjoyed the least. The production has some interesting moments, but somehow the vocals just don't fit with it. Jay-Z's delivery has rhythm and flow, but lacks presence and punch. At some points, even the lyrics felt mediocre. I can see the appeal, but it just didn't do it for me.
A very recognizable 80s sound, with some nice rhythms, catchy hooks and a few genuinely good songs. But the good ones weren't enough to carry the whole album. I can appreciate its influence, though I struggle to see what makes it so exceptional. It's a relatively short album, which is nice, but that also makes me expect higher highs and more consistency. I can picture people listening to it on the 80s, maybe the one for boomers but the musical offer kinda lacking. Overall, a rather low-key boring listen despite its good moments. 2/5.
A refreshing 60s album finding its own way around the Beatles' supermassive shadow. Some really good arrangements, interesting instrumental solos and nice psychedelic ideas, with a few genuinely well-composed songs. Unfortunately, it gets rather sluggish at times and lacks the punch to keep me engaged throughout. Could easily have been a 2/5, but out of mercy for the Beatles' competitors, I'll give it a 3/5. 😂
A surprisingly enjoyable introduction to French rap. MC Solaar has great flow, impressive syllabic density and playful wordplay that makes the language itself fun to listen to, even when I can't fully follow the lyrics. The jazzy production has some nice grooves, but the formula gets repetitive and the arrangements rarely stand out. Caroline brings good storytelling, while Bouge de là finally puts everything together: a catchy groove, rapid rhythmic delivery and clever rhymes that flow into the next line.
Two guitars, a bass, drums and Fogerty's terrific voice. That's practically all CCR need to make 29 minutes of pure, raw rock music. Steady rhythms, crying guitars, unforgettable riffs and so much emotion in that voice. Some songs follow the same easy recipe, but somehow they always do the trick. pancake batter: so simple, yet so satisfying.
A shaky start that eventually became a solid album. Pixies showed a distinctive identity with their unusual vocal dynamics and creativity, but the enjoyment didn't always follow. With this album, I'm definitely not against the screaming, gasping or weirdness.
No. 13 Baby was a great example of everything coming together, while other songs left me rather indifferent. The album feels a little sluggish at times, but it's a good introduction to alternative rock, and my rating reflects that it deserves its place on the list.
3/5
A band longing for the Beatles' style that somehow landed in a punk scene, with quirky guitars. It sounds like a primitive version of the alternative rock I've heard and a renewed version of the Beatles-like bands that came before. Some nice riffs, good rhythms and arrangements where the elements work well together, although at times I felt they could have done much more with their ideas. Not every song was memorable, and some of the weirder ones didn't quite work for me. Still, I enjoyed it and I can see its place on the list as a bridge between those two eras. A bit better than just okay.
3/5 (3.1)
