The only good thing about it was that it was short. To me punk needs to be intense, clever, or have a fun singalong attitude. This had none of those.
A great discovery. Equal parts fun, weird, clever, and groovy. Particularly Skies over Cairo and Hail Bop.
Uneven. The title track was off putting, but the following ballads made up for it (Love’s Enough and One Night Stand). Like a strange cross of Randy Newman and Charles Aznavour. Not bad.
Even the songs I didn’t know were great. She’s a force of nature.
A nice surprise. Good variety between classic folk pop, weird space, and eastern tuning psych leaning stuff. At least 3 great songs with maybe 1 clunker along the way.
I think it’s not good. His voice is fine, but the lyrics are not clever or interesting and the production is weak. Sorry East Coast, this isn’t it.
I’m a little surprised I didn’t like this more than I did. But still good energy and fun. I think the outtakes were some of the best tracks.
What a great album. Melancholy, weird, poppy. A nice mix, glad to be introduced to these guys.
As a songwriter, Prince is maddeningly inconsistent. I wanted to like this album, but there are just a lot of clunkers in here. The high points like I Could Never and The Cross are great nonetheless.
Airy, fun, odd, made me smile. What more do you want?
What a cynical and empty album. Ok for the nostalgia listen I suppose but that’s it.
It wasn’t actively bad, but I have already forgotten about it. 100% vanilla.
Maybe this was groundbreaking at the time but no extra credit for that. It doesn’t stand up. Corny and uninteresting.
Was expecting abrasive proto-metal but was surprised to hear more like classic rock tuned a little darker. Very good. Also, I’m a sucker for sick bass lines what can I say?
21 songs… I feel I’m on a one man crusade against double albums. If this was trimmed to the 9 or 10 best it would be perfect. Very high highs.
A standout album. Really interesting mix of songs that were enjoyable all the way through. With one exception - Aisha was a poor attempt at being edgy or something. A track to skip next time. Otherwise awesome.
Clear, simple, powerful. Is there a better songwriter in the world? Great voice too. Great album.
Creative, innovative, and displayed a wide variety of styles (almost to the point of losing coherence). Best stuff for me was Gallows, Loving You, and Roy Harper.
For early rap, it’s better than most. That’s not really a high bar to clear, but still. Clever and energetic.
The album has enough twang and introspection to separate it from straightforward Americana - all for the better. Enough variation to keep you interested in the next track. (I really could have done without Little Rock n Roller though…) A gem of an album otherwise.
Started off strong with the first 2 tracks. Guero in particular was energetic and fun. But the rest of the album kind of wandered around and felt more sterile.
Ok, I like psych and experimental stuff as much as as the next guy. But I did not like this. The voice was amateur and cringy, parts seemed random without any plan or coherence.
Let’s start with the good news. The instrumentation is great. A good use of different instruments throughout, and well played. Didn’t think I’d like bongos and cello in the same song, but here we are. But Nick’s voice is not my style. Lacks range and seems to run flat a little? The late 60s are a crowded field, and this album doesn’t break through.
I was rooting for these fellas, they seemed nice. All album long I thought: the next song is going to be good. But alas… no.
Great stuff here. The hits are hits for a reason - great melodies well thought out. A nice surprise was A Simple Desultory Philippic. That’s the most fun song I’ve heard in a long time. It loses a star for the 2 songs that felt like filler. Which is odd for a 28 min album.
It’s not a good sign when the best song in the album (by far) is a cover. Although Mrs. Robinson was pretty peppy and fun - enough to pull this out of 1 star territory. Otherwise it was pretty bland. For mid 90s pseudo indy sound, let’s just do Alanis or Barenaked Ladies. Even Counting Crows in a pinch.
Just great. I guess I’ve made peace with his voice. After you do that, the songs shine. Similar themes but with variation of style, all well done. Tangled and Simple Twist of Fate are a knockout 1-2 to start an album. Jack of Hearts gets a little long but I’m nitpicking.
As I’ve said before, the late 60’s is a crowded field, so you have to stand out. The Band does not. They are more like A Band. However, The Weight is good enough to push them to 3 stars by itself. Chest Fever was interesting too, but that’s about it.
The first minute was promising, but then the vocals came in. Everything just felt a little off. Would’ve been a good instrumental album though.
Well that’s about as smooth as it gets. Not bad
It’s not so much music as a vibe. To be fair, it’s a pretty fun vibe though.
Yes I’d like to order a scoop of vanilla ice cream on a slice of white bread with a marshmallow on top.
I don’t think I can be an effective judge of electronica. No idea if this is supposed to be good. At no point did I have the urge to dance. Head bop, sure. But not dance.
The opener was a bit of an identity crisis: punk, psych, space, prog. But I guess a scatterbrained approach is a feature not a bug for punk. Uneven, but with some fun stuff. Definitively Gaze and The Light Pours out on Me are my highlights.
Against all common sense, I sort of liked it. Grating, out of tune (or maybe microtonal), and with vocals that make Dylan sound like Pavarotti, it was still fun and made me smile. Each track made me eager to find out what fresh hell they would send me to next. That’s something. Call it a palate cleanser between meticulously crafted Brit Pop albums.
Well, I guess I’m in the group of people who don’t “get it.” I wish I liked this. Maybe sax squeak doesn’t hit the same as guitar amp feedback for me?
Loose and fun. Not his best for me, but still very good.
Prog is an acquired taste, I admit. But this album is lush, inventive, fun, and very well executed. An easy 4. Usually when I think of prog, Rush comes to mind first but this album might change that.
Pablum is the word that comes to mind for the vast majority of this album. Ground down to the simplest easiest to digest basic pop music. However, the final track Test Me absolutely saved it. That was quite good.
Grand, sweeping, but also dissonant and innovative. It’s wild to think this was improvised. The encore is the cherry on top.
These cornballs are alright. It’s not technically very impressive or innovative, but they did find a unique sound that is pleasant enough.
Loud, varied, unique voice. A great album for its time and it stands up pretty well.
You see, I’m not opposed to the theoretical concept of Mariah. In fact early 1990 Mariah is pretty good. She was a kid who sounded like a fully grown adult. Ironically, on an album called Butterfly, we have an exercise in regression where she’s a fully grown adult trying to sound like a kid with this wispy voice and toddler like cooing.
As a listener we’re begging for her to belt one out Vision of Love style, just like we all know she can. Instead Mariah retreats to her safe space, which is dozens of glissandos for no apparent reason whatsoever.
The lyrics are bad too, a grab bag of rhyming platitudes. Except for one flash of truth telling midway through the album: “Still I feel like that child as I look at the moon. Maybe I grew up a little too soon.”
A great voice wasted for 56 minutes.
Once you see the cover, the expectations go through the roof. I was surprised at how varied and experimental the album was. Like any exploration there were a few dead ends. Of the songs new to me I liked that Octopus one and the medley of short ones at the end was good too.
A very well done album, but not a masterpiece.
This is gentleman’s screamo. Apparently that’s a style that works for me pretty well. Lots of energy and this album seems to have all their hits.
Tutti Frutti is good enough for 3 stars on the album all by itself. Wish more artists had his energy.
I like the sitar, the microtones, and the vibe. It’s just the structure that takes a bit of getting used to for a westerner. The intro explanation was helpful to some degree. Glad I heard this instead of some album where a sitar just plays the great American songbook or something.
Always enjoy listening to these guys, even if this isn’t my favorite album. Cool mix of space, gospel, drone, and noise. Sui and Che are the standouts on this album for me.
Apparently I much prefer weird danceable Björk over weird unsettling strings Björk. The opening track had me curious but then what followed was a disconnected mess that was dissonant, bland, and just off. But not in an artsy way, just a tiring way.
Technically very impressive. Eminem is at his best when joking around or skewering hypocrisy. The darker stuff loses its shock value quickly and isn’t all that good.
This album is a revelation. Haunting and beautiful at the same time. An original way to play instruments and a unique voice over the top. The great tracks are front-loaded. The middle of the album does meander a bit but without losing the atmosphere.
Was this some sort of joke?
Instrumentation: B+ some interesting ideas here (the first 10 seconds were good)
Vocals: D
Lyrics: F
There was a chance to give it a 2 until the Toonerville Trolley came on.
