1001 Albums Summary

First time listening to a Madonna album from start to finish. Every song was fine; didn't skip any. The production is immaculate (arguably to the point of sterility). But the choices, in arranging and mixing, are questionable throughout. The songs consistently lack urgency or excitement. Often elements that might draw the listener in are too low in the mix, while banal elements are featured very prominently. It must be said that the songs featuring acoustic guitar sound very 90s-pop in a way I would never have guessed Madonna songs could sound. The overall result is an album that is best suited to playing as background music, perhaps while having drinks with friends, or while doing household chores. This is a fate we could never have imagined for Madonna: to be ordinary.

No thank you. It's actually well produced and seems good bybthe standards of its genre, but there's no freakin way. Uh uh. Yuck.

To quote Homer Simpson: BORrrrrrRINNNG! It's ok, but just ... boring. Not that hard to sit through, but ... just -- why? A few of the songs are better, a few are decidedly not good. I thought the best song was Elevation, and it has some truly banal / cliched lyrics. How does this album make it onto this list?

Since the 1980s, so for 40 years, I have periodically interacted with this classic hard rock album, with its iconic cover art and compelling lead single, Good Times Bad Times. The result has always been the same: underwhelmed(edness). There are really good moments, Jimmy Page is obviously very good at playing guitar, but ... eh. Only one song is fully successful (Good Times, on which all four membets of the band shine). Several months ago I went through the Zep catalog for purposes of capturing the songs of theirs I like in my Apple Music library. I offended a friend of mine, who loves this band, by complaining to a text chain that their catalog is thin. But lots of it is plodding and underdeveloped. Sorry, Ross! I found the provenance of Black Mountain Side to be highly interesting ... Al Stewart taught it to Page based on Bert Jansch's arrangement, but got the tuning wrong ... the record company wanted to sue, but couldn't quite get there... Down by Blackwaterside - Wikipedia https://share.google/9qTkwYSegQjQPCZFI

ZZ Top's best singles are really fun, and I've always had a certain fondness for them since hearing an interview in like 1982 in which Billy Gibbons attributed their success to "never learning that third chord." That said, I have never listened to an album of theirs. This album was pretty much what I expected -- a bunch of ok songs, plus the one great single. Songwriting is really important. Having a fun sound can only take you so far.

This is not for me.

Classic album ... [list of great songs you know well] ... So, then the question is: what does listening to the full album yield that we would not get from the career-spanning compilation? Very little. Plus, quite odd. (Feature / bug -- ? ) Excellent example of a noteworthy album that .... you really don't need to listen to.

During the 80s, I thought Simply Red was a one-hit wonder, and the one hit pretty lame at that. Eventually I came to realize that in the UK the band is taken more seriously, and Mick Hucknall is a star. It made me curious about Simply Red, especially as there is this whole UK pop-soul thing (Style Council, Swing Out Sister, Everything But the Girl) that we don't really have. None of it is great, but it's kind of interesting. Like a much less compelling Two Tone. So, thank you to the site and the Remorseless Eating Machine for arranging for me to finally listen to a Simply Red album. It's pretty good. None of it is great, but it all works if you listen long enough and let the songs develop. Solid and consistent. Good job, Red people. Probably not gonna listen to them ever again. Though ... apparently, their album Star from a few years later was even more successful ... ?

The hits are fun in familiar ways. The rest is tedious.

I came to the Smiths well after the party had wrapped up, so they don't have intense personal whathaveyou and etc for me. But they are really, really good, and their combination of pop craft and loopy idiosyncratic strangeness adds up to real artistry. At the same time, I pretty much only listen to them on curated lists because the great songs almost without exception sit beside the clunkers. They are truly consistently inconsistent. This album is obviously anchored by Girlfriend in a Coma, a great song. For me, the other two great songs here are Death At One's Elbow and Rush and a Push. (I love the way the song titles are usually either ridiculously short or cumbersomely long and unwieldy.) It seems that other listeners tend to value some of the other songs more. I think I listen to the Smiths through Johnny Marr and then secondarily whatever Morrissey is doing, and I suspect others tend to focus more heavily on Morrissey. That might account for the difference in assessing this album as well as others. What was cool here was hearing the Other Songs again and realizing that most of them are better than I had remembered. Odd, meandering, but finding their way. This is a better album than I had thought. (Thansk, 1001 Album Generator!) That said, Johnny Marr's heart often doesn't seem to be in it. (Which may have literally been the case; they broke up shortly after htis album came out, and I believe he initiated the breakup.) The music often sounds perfunctory, just filling in around whatever Morrissey is doing. And the sound / production is generally flat, even by their standards. On that note: The Smiths' recordings were dogged by inferior sound quality throughout their run. There is a box set, Complete Smiths, that addresses that problem effectively with remasters that are much more dynamic and alive sounding. Also, this is a band that recorded lots of singles and released many compilations -- the songs are scattered all over the place, often repeating, often in alternate versions. It is confusing and frustrating. On Complete, you get a song once and there it is. Much better way to go through the catalog.

So many Kinks albums, so many songs that are ... fine. So few truly distinctive or exceptional ones. Waterloo Sunset is a wonderful song. I love that song. But ... there's just not that much here to make me want to listen to this album again. I am very fond of the Kinks. One of my first concerts was seeing them in downtown Boston on the Think Visual tour. Grew up hearing them on the radio and liking them. But when I go through their classic albums, I'm generally disappointed. It's like Squeeze -- you already know all the good songs. The albums just add filler. That said, knowing David Watts initially through the Jam's cover, it was interesting to listen to it. Good song. Not sure I ever got around to listening to the Kinks original before. And it was interesting to hear the way, at a pretty early date (1967), they were writing songs that drew on a variety of styles. One song reminded me of Sky Children by Kaleidoscope (which I only know through a friend being very into 60s psychedelia), another of the Who (mod version), another of the Who (Tommy edition), one seemed derived from the Irish folk song Raggle Taggle Gipsy ... they jumped from You Really Got Me to rock as the musical form that can imitate all other forms very quickly. That is really interesting. But ... two really good songs, a bunch of ok ones, mediocre sound engineering, no really hot playing or soloing ... insert familiar bewildered questions about the list ...

S and the B's was a band I knew of but never listened to during high school. They were from just before my time ... some of my older brother's cooler friends liked them. I have long had a sense that they were more important to the quickly evolving post-punk scene in real time than for any recordings they left behind. In other words, influential in a way that the albums will never really capture. And listening to this, I thought, maybe they were a powerful live act. In terms of, why some think of them as a major band and others of us barely know them. Maybe they just didn't have enough hit singles or signature songs to resonate in later decades. Anyway ... first time listening to one of their albums. I was not feeling it until I was (Monitor -- that song is really good. Gets really good. It takes off in its second half). Then I started digging Sin In My Heart, Voodoo Dolly, Spellbound 12"mix, Fireworks ... and next thing I knew I was listening to it all again. Second time around, I liked Spellbound (regular mix), Arabian Knights, Head Cut ... and it all seemed to work for me. So much of my listening in high school was by chance -- what I happened to find and give a try that was priced at $1.99 - $3.99 in the used lp's. As a result, lots of what I listened to was a bit older. I went through a phase where I listened to a solid amount of Ultravox (Vienna and the albums before it, which are different, more akin to Gary Numan, Devo, etc.). If I had acquired this album then, I would have really liked it. As it stands, there is not a lot of space in my life for synth rock for disaffected young people. Glad I listened to it, though. An empty spot on my music map has been filled in.

I get why people were excited about Amy W when she stormed onto the scene. There is an unending appetite for neo-soul. I tend not to love soul music ... in its truest form, it has an odd flow that makes me restless, despite its obvious appeal. Small doses, for me. I never felt the perofrmances matched the excitement around Amy Winehouse, tragic self-destructive life story or not. This album is interesting, but ... I just don't want to listen to it that much. I like the variety, the jazzy touches are a nice element. I was not prepared for the album to sound so much like Jamiroquai. In the end, just an ok, fine album for me. Not loving it.

As soon as I heard the opening notes, I knew I would not like this album. I don't know what gear is involved, but I hate that guitar sound. Kind of exciting and energizing, if you want this, but I don't.

The funk of "Funk Music Sho Nuff (etc)" and "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" is revelatory. Great stuff. The rest is a mixed bag of pretty good soul pop or whatever. The quality varies. The strings don't go with the funk. I was ready to be blown away as I listened to Papa, but it was largely disappointing after that. That said, good album overall. There's something for everyone, and therefore few will be fully happy with it.

I'm very hit or miss with dissonant guitar rock, and my limited interactions with Frank Black have left me thinking of his music as loud, abrasive, boring, and unpleasant. This album was much better than that, and I even liked two of the songs. But I won't be listening to it again.

Whyyy -- ?!?!? As one of my colleagues has already stated, Enough metal! No, thank you. Gave up after 5 songs.

Remind me again .. is the book's full title 1001 Albums of Modest Interest to Those So Inclined ... ? The official description of this album compares it to Green Day's Dooky. Some people whom I respect like that album, but having been trapped in a car for like five hours this one time in the mid-late 90s with a guy who was really into Blink 182 and Green Day and stuff ... my generosity of spirit is gone, leaving only rage and hostility. Plus which, all these semi-punky California boys with their cleanly produced, aggressive schlock ... again, hostility. Thumbs down. And I really mean it! I do remember the lead single, Come Out and Play, from hearing it on the radio back in the days in question. It's pretty good, I have to admit.

Impeccably crafted trash. Kind of fun to listen to an album and know every song from the radio, but .... come on. I do enjoy listening to trashy 70s rock hits at times, and this reminded me that there are a number of songs I could add to my Super Seventies playlist, but ... again, that's an ironic / nostalgic activity, not a savoring of immortal classics.

Never listened to a Steviw Wonder album before. I tend to think of him only in terms of singles. This is a good album. I listened to it in the background a few times 8mes, so not that closely. But, it grew on me. I really like the two funky songs, Reggae Women and You Haven’t Done Nothin. At first I dismissed the rest as boring, meandering 70s pop of the kind that gave the 70s a bad name, like a premium version of Captain and Tenille or something. But I think it's better than that, though still not something I would seek out. Solid work, Little Stevie.

This is an all time classic rock album. One of the rare legendary rock albums that lives up to its reputation. When I first listened to it in high school, I was all about side one. Side two seemed much less interesting. Now, I don't want to listen to this album very much, but Black Dog holds up as an excellent song of its kind. And Rock n Roll is still exciting. But the songs I still really enjoy are Going to California and most of all, When the Levee Breaks. That one is still a truly great song for me. On Apple music, and presumably also on Spotify, there is a deluxe edition with one alternate version of each song. They're pretty good and worth a listen.

I have been aware since the mid 80s, when my older brother brought home the VU and Nico record, that as good worshipers at the church of Rock, we are supposed to revere or at least honor the Velvet Underground. But I have never really enjoyed their music. Some of the tracks I like pretty well, and I really like Lou Reed's live album, Rock and Roll Animal, which is made up of VU songs. But ... thin and unpleasant tends to be my feeling about the VU I've listened to. I've never listened to this album before. It's interesting, in terms of seeing how this is a source of inspiration for future dissonant / noisy rock practitioners. The connection between Sister Ray, for example, and early Modern Lovers as well as Stereolab's Random Transient etc. .... seems unmistakable. I've always thought of their albums as poorly recorded. Reading a little bit about this album and their catalog generally, it seems like the poor sound quality is kind of intentional, like a proto-DIY aesthetic. Not sure that makes it a good idea. I'm going on to listen to The Velvet Underground, which I have also never listened to before. It's pretty good. Overall, though, my appreciation for this band is getting a modest boost, while my appetite for listening to them just really isn't.

Enjoyable album ... this recording was obviously tailored to the international commercial market, and the constraints that puts on what is possible artistically are unmistakable and felt throughout. The energy level lifts dramatically when we get to Mbube, easily the best song here; it's not an accident that that song became famous. Interesting that it's called Mbube here and Wimoweh elsewhere. I'm curious what else she was able to achieve, perhaps in the 70s, when the market shifted toward deeper engagement with the specific sounds of individual cultures.

Good of its kind, I guess. I must say that The Corner is quite good. But. Overall I found the album tedious and kept checking to see how much longer there was to go until it was over. The long tail of It's Your World is really good. It makes a good counterpoint to this, which i wrote before getting to the album's conclusion: Serves as a good illustration of why I gave up on hip hop in the late 90s, as a genre that seemed determined to resist rhe temptations of imaginative self-reinvention.

Never listened to the Beach Boys with any seriousness. In the early 21st century, many indie pop bands were said by music critics to be drawing inspiration from Pet Sounds, so this seems like a good tine to listen (finally!) to that legendary album. Wikipedia says Surfs Up is their 17th (!) album. That's 17 in 10 years -- Holy moley! Different times. Ok, now having listened ... The Groop employs a diverse array of sophisticated arrangements and production techniques in order to achieve a consistent outcome ... I will borrow here a memorable line by Monie Love -- "Just one word describes your whole life: It Sucks." When I started listening to Pandora in the late aughts, I discovered all these indie pop bands I didn't know anything about. And the critics' descriptions often would reference Pet Sounds, and Beach Boys records of that era, as sources or inspirations. I was always skeptical -- how does a band that records undeniably catchy singles that are so juvenile as to be lame and ridiculous have any bearing on a cool 21st century band? But of course, that description applies to the Beatles who saw her standing there and wanted to hold her hand in consequence as much as it does the Beach Boys who enjoined us all to join them in a grand bout of surfing. And all those bands evolved ... Who, Kinks, Stones, Animals, Byrds ... it was that or wither away (looking at you, Yardbirds -- and the Byrds and the Animals ultimately). So ...I was open to the theoretical possibility of a Beach Boys' Sgt Pepper's or whatever. The problem, I think, was that the Beach Boys grew up to be Burt Bacharach (another pop icon-dinosaur who had a curious nostalgia-fueled revival in the early 21st century), so -- not a good path. I would like now to formally announce my desire to call bullshit on all those music critics. This album sucks, and Pet Sounds is boring, too.

It's fine. Don't mind hearing it, don't need to hear it again. The jumble of sounds they incorporate are interesting, but ... it's all about songwriting. Not very memorable songs here ... they're fine. Drug and Bess St. are pretty strong tracks. Is and Is and Is sounds like Beta Band. So, that's pretty good. Keys is pretty good ... so, a strong finish to the album. Not sure I'll ever come back to this band, though. It it a lot like listening to one of the other Beta Band albums other than Three EPs ... solid, but you just want it to be a lot better.

Never actually listened to an Emmylou Harris album before, so glad to have that gap addressed. For those in a similar boat, Allmusic says that the compilation Anthology is the best single release for casual fans to go for an introduction. I'm planning to check out that and her first major label release, Pieces of the Sky. This album ... beautiful voice, strong songs, consistently overproduced. The title track Red Dirt Girl makes it all work, but more representative is I Don't Want To Talk About It Now, where I like the music, but it doesn't fit well with the song, to my ear. This seems like a good example of the long, slow recovery singer-songwriters were on after the "we can put a synth on that" 80s (see: Portlandia, Put a Bird On It!). Tigerlily set the industry back badly in this respect; one huge success begets many benighted imitators. Bang the Drum Slowly here is an excellent example of this blight. My Baby ... Shepherd works well. Also J'ai fait tout. Overall, good album, but ... too much atmospherics! Can't really get into an album with this sound.

Every song is good. And yet -- eh. I'm not very interested in returning to this record. I think I am not a good rock band listener. It has become apparent to me more and more over the years that the more a band is just straight rock, the more I just am not interested. I think that's relevant here. Hold the phone! Early Years is excellent. That's going into the library. Otherwise .... etc. ... Plus -- this guy's voice sounds just like Robyn Hitchcock, whom I know well (sort of) owing to my habit of saying "Yeah, sure" whenever someone asks me if I want to go too when they're going to a concert. As a result of my friend Ben's affection for Hitchcock, I've seen him several times. It's weird to hear what sounds like his voice on this rather different music. "When I first met you / You were not house trained" .... that's very Robyn Hitchcock ... possibly I'm on to something ...

40 albums already! (So the Generator has informed me) The time she does fly I have the Doors down in my book as one of the most overrated bands of all time ... we shall see how this goes. Never listened to any of their albums beyond the iconic greatest hits album, with the red and white cover design. This is going to get me to listen to the famous "The End" for the first time, so that's a plus. For the first half, I'm thinking -- this is better than I expected. Not that different, but the non-singles are better than I thought they would be. But then! The back half! Tracks 8-10 are exactly as bad as I expected them to be. So lame! And The End ... there's a reason I have always avoided it, and the reasons to avoid it are plainly evident when you listen to it. The End is actually a bit better than I thought it would be -- it drags less, flows better. But again -- they are beating modestly my quite low expectations. It doesn't really change things much. 198 stars out of 357 (docked 14 stars for, in their desperate search for things that rhyme with Fire, leaning fairly hard into Mire ... terrible!)

I never found myself interested in this band, disliking their whole sound and approach, Higher Ground cover notwithstanding. Nothing has changed. There is an instrumental break late in Right On Time that I like. I enjoyed Road Trippin, the closer. Overall, they sound like them, which doesn't work for me. Good example of an album I will gve two stars, because I can well believe that those who partake will like it. It's not their fault I don't want to listen to SoCal what have you, etc.

I enjoyed my $1 used copy of Autobahn I purchased in the late 80s. So silly (fahn fahn fahn auf der autobahn ... whoosh ... beep beep ... ). Like robotic beach boys. I never went very deep into Kraftwerk, Tangerine Dream, etc. This album kind of represents why. It's ok. It's not clear -- are we doing soundscapes? Song? What's the plan? I have a certain fondness for this band, but I can't take this seriously. Metropolis sounds like Mr X by Ultravox, and one could think of Vienna -- a very solid album -- as what would happen if you took this approach and then actually tried to write some songs. Went ahead and listened to Autobahn again ... that is still a fun song.

It's fine. Lush arrangements, kind of boring. I started skipping songs when they were halfway through around track 5. Track 7 I liked pretty well and listened to in its entirety. According to wikipedia, Mojo declared this an instant classic, and it made several Year End best album lists ... the 2010s were a time of mystery ...

I have never really listened to Prince seriously. Singles on the radio or as collected on that Singles and B Sides collection ... that's about it. This is a good album. I still don't like his "slow jam" mode, but there are some excellent album tracks here. Automatic is outstanding -- I had never heard it before. Listening to this, I thought about why so many people whose taste I respect love Prince and I do not. Don't know how critical this is, but I was struck in listening to this album by how not-prominent the bass is. (Which is very strange in someone so connected to the funk.) I'm very bass-focused, and this album is heavy on guitar, drums, and synths -- and the drums and synths are on the treble-y side. Anyway. Good album, but -- give me a fatter bass, please!

The production is modestly interesting, but the vocals are pedestrian. A good example at times of how an overreliance on rhyme can mask (to some extent) a real failure to write lyrically. There are lines that just sound like some dipshit talking, but -- it has rhymes! So, that makes it lyrics! It's notable that the energy level rises so noticeably on Get Em High, highlighting how ordinary the preceding material is. A lot of swearing and being crass ... if you can't match that stuff with inescapably compelling drive, beats, deftly deployed samples, etc. -- then you just sound like a juvenile asshole. And trivial. Overall, a very elaborate exercise in pointless nihilism. The skits, as they accumulate, become a tedious abomination. Last Call is a fascinating, sprawling account of how a hugely talented, ambitious narcissist navigates a strange, uncertain industry, working deliberately and diligently to realize his dreams of becoming a fabulously wealthy, immensely popular artist and monstrous human being.

A great album, obviously. I always forget how fast they were moving at that time -- 1966! I could take or leave Dr. Robert, but this is a true no skips record. George unfortunately drew the wrong lessons from Love You To, and went on to produce a string of tedious Indian classical derived songs, but I like this one pretty well. Tomorrow Never Knows is its own fascinating story, with its long life of cover versions. And Yellow Submarine, which must be the top Ringo song in the catalog (?), also led to, obviously, the movie, but also, following the film, its own album. So, it casts a curiously long shadow for a silly semi-novelty song. In other words, great collection of songs, but also an album that is interesting in several directions at once. 318/357

This one takes me back. My recollection of this album is that it sweeps in on a series of very strong songs before settling into a long tail of sameness, resulting in an album that, when one returns to it, is never as good as one remembered it. A striking instance of artwork we assimilate through its story. The image of these musicians laboring faithfully at their craft in total isolation from the larger world, creating a strange time capsule, is irresistibly charming. Impoverished virtuosos dedicated to their art ... who could say No to them? There is something very intimate about the sound of this music. It's recorded in a way that makes it muted. Chan Chan is a great opener. It sets the mood and weaves a subtle magic that draws the listener in.I think it's impossible to hear that song and not think, More of that, please. I'm finding that the album does reward a full listen. I think maybe one song drags around the 4th-5th tracks that I just need to skip. I think that's where I went wrong on certain occasions in the late 90s and early aughts. Tracks like El Carretero and Candela have a quiet intensity and drive that I really enjoy. The interplay of the many instruments is lovely. There is a lyrical, atmospheric quality to several songs that makes it great mood music for a relaxed gathering. Very good record.

Never heard of 'em! But the cover art makes me hostile and suspicious. Listened to some part of every song. Yuck. Docked one star for being from Iowa. Plus which, they wear stupid masks. Lame.

Never actually listened to an album by EB. I am highly susceptible to this kind of thing ... took in my share of acid jazz in the 90s, enjoyed my share of Soul II Soul, Michael Franti, US3, Thievery Corporation ... the danger with this style of music is that smotth groove can give way to languid, from which "cool but kind of dull" can be glimpsed out on the horizon. This album seems best suited to background listening. It's cool, but ... The high level musicianship is appreciated (eg, the flute on Kiss Me On My Neck). There is no single track to be excited about; I would trade this whole album in a heartbeat for Sister Carol's "Dread Natty Congo," released a few years before. That was not an especially good album, but that song is fabulous. Give me a standout track, Erykah!

Love, love, love Running Up That Hill, always have found most of her other music doesn't grab me. Have never gone deep into her catalog. I bought Hounds of love on lp in order to have a copy of Running UTH, always stopped listening to it pretty quickly because I found the rest of the album not compelling. I'm liking it better this time. I think the clean, digital copy (and 2018 remaster?) help -- the sonic tapestry effect is more available. Lots of these songs are interesting, but ... y'know. Under Ice is quite good. I really like Watching You Without Me. I remain baffled that this album made the Apple Music 100 Greatest Albums List of 2024, though that list was such a train wreck I don't know if this is a significant question. (According to wikipedia, many fans criticized the list for placing Taylor Swift's 1989 (Taylor's version) above Pet Sounds and Hounds of Love. I don't particularly like any of those three albums. Maybe I'm the problem here. Maybe lists an reviewing are the problem. Maybe nothing means anything.) Cloudbusting ... came to this by way of an album called Sing Me To Sleep: Indie Lullabies in which Smiths, Violent Femmes, etc., songs are given gentle acoustic-y reworkings. Heard "Have You Forgotten" by Jenny Owen Youngs on Pandora, loved it, checked out the album, found Cloudbusting by Neil Halstead, whom I really like, read about the subject matter on Wikipedia (you must read about this song and about Wilhelm Reich! you don't really must, but you will be glad you did), liked Halstead's version, liked it better than Bush's ... but hearing it here, in context ... very cool, and also good. But I still like Halstead's better. Glad I was directed to listen to this in its entirety. I have modified but not fundamentally changed my opinion of it. And this reminded me that I started a playlist months ago built around this song, of electro-art-pop songs. This has reminded me to go add several more songs to the list. (Win!)

Kind of can't believe we are getting two ZZ Top albums in close succession, but I guess that's the way of the randomizer. This album represents ZZ Top's highest achievement in what they do well: fun, silly, high-energy, catchy singles. Like the blues-rock version of the B52s. But ... come on. (The filler tracks by the B52s are much better than what's here, for what it's worth.) It never occurred to me that one would ever sit and listen to a whole ZZ Top album start to finish, and especially not this one, where the cleverly-dumb, commercial aspects have been amped up so thoroughly. You take the singles you like from an album like this, put them on a playlist with other, equally dumb-fun singles of a related vibe, and listen to that playlist in the car when the mood takes you. You don't sit and listen to the album in its entirety. (Right?) Evidently, different individuals' mileage may vary. There's something funny about "Legs (Edit)" ... with no full length version to be found elsewhere on the album, not even at the end, of maybe the full length cd release or what have you ... that's some accidental postmodernism right there. Or something. I Need You Tonight sounds like a filler track from a late 70s Peter Green album. Good guitar work, not much of a song there. It's hard to believe there was a lawsuit over ownership of as lousy a song as Thug. Though, apparently the guy got cheated out of cowriter credits on the hits. Which sucks. Songs I already know and enjoy, songs I find it tough to get all the way through ... and not a lot in between.

Never really listened to the Waterboys. Long ago, I had a roommate who had a few of their cd's. Checked them out slightly, but it didn't take. I think their blend of folkiness and rock would have worked better for me when I was younger. Fisherman's Blues is a good one, laid back and kind of charming. We ... Lovers is interesting. I thought, "Unlike the first song, this one is boring." Then, "But this one is good" -- and we were still in track 2! So, boring beginning, strong ending. Back half of this song cooks. And a Bang On the Ear -- good one; liked it, enjoyed the extended playing. Even with a remaster, the sound just isn't great. A bit thin, a but muddy. And the piano is a clear instance of the late 80s electric piano that is set to "acoustic piano" setting ... thumbs down. Sounds lousy. Always a tightrope when you have a singer whose voice isn't very good. They overcome that limitation only intermittently. Solid. About half, maybe more, I definitely like. The Van Morrison cover that goes into Blackbird is pretty cool. Unfortunate that they couldn't get the sound right. Evidently they recorded dozens and dozens of songs during these sessions ... were these really the best dozen? Speaking of which ... The Stolen Child -- oh, dear Lord ... were you writing material for inclusion in Portlandia, 15 years before it was created ... ? Holy Jesus. By contrast, Killing My Heart, the alternate version of When .... Away, might be the best thing on here. Good job including it as a bonus track!

This project is kind of an exercise in reminding me of all the bands I never got around to actually listening to. I feel like I'm one of Jack Black's students in School of Rock, who knows his chalkboard diagram of rock history really well, but hasn't listened to very many of the bands listed therein. I'm realizing that in my mind the Stooges and New York Dolls are totally conflated. I fundamentally remain a fifth grade student linking explorers' names to countries I know nothing about ... Cortez ... Pisarro ... Aztecs .... Incas ... Stooges, New York Dolls, Iggy Pop, David Johanson ... it's all just names and canned history. Expecting this to be a long 34 minutes, I'm pleasantly surprised. The first two songs I really like. For many years, I've been thinking that the early Modern Lovers were trying to sound like the Velvet Underground. Turns out, they sound like the Stooges. Maybe. John Cale produced both this album and the first Modern Lovers sessions ... maybe that's a factor here. Then we get to We Will Fall, and the resemblance of this album's cover image to the cover photo on the Doors' debut album seems suddenly relevant. This seems like the Stooges' answer to The End. In addition to everything else he can do, evidently Iggy Pop has the power to slow down time. Interminable. After that, it's five more songs that combine in various proportions the drone rock and psychedelia already staked out in the first three songs. It's ok. Glad I'm filling yet another gap. Not likely to listen to the whole album ever again, but those first two songs are really. good.

Seems like they are good at what they do. But what they do is most certainly not for me. The music ... I'm ambivalent about. But then the vocals start and it's time to skip to the next song. And there are so, so many of them ... Patience rewarded -- Jasco and Itsari are unexpected oases of beauty in a stormy sea of yelling and ear-splitting turbulence.

One of the earlier installments in the string of stone cold classics Marley dropped in the 1970s. This is a bit of a transitional work -- the sound is still rather flat, the band is not amazing. But it's a pleasure to hear the Barrett brothers doing their thing, and it's fun to encounter the handful of true classics inclulded here, plus the rest of the songs are at a high standard. Not sure I've ever listened to this one start to finish. Baby We've Got a Date is an unexpected standout that I was not familiar with. Of all the many, many westbound and/or stop-that train songs in reggae, Peter Tosh's Stop That Train is the dullest one I can think of. It's not bad, but ... truly disappointing, nevertheless. His 400 Years is a sneaky classic, though.

I have not listened to this album in a long time, going on 20 years, I think. My cd copy has bonus tracks which I am not seeing on the Apple Music version I'm listening to. There is an early version of Heart of Glass called Once I Had a Love (aka the disco ball song) which is really interesting. It's included on a collection of odds and ends called Blonde and Beyond. Worth a listen. This is a very good album. Four classics. I tend to forget how much I like Sunday Girl. Great song. Most of the rest is strong. Not a big fan of Fade Away and Radiate. The album tracks are good, but not sure I need to listen to this album start to finish very much. Robert Fripp's guest appearance on a Blondie song has to be one of the all time odd pairings, though he had this downtown NYC sojourn in the late 70s that produced League of Gentlemen, Exposure, and the Adrian Belew version of King Crimson, so it's all of a piece, perhaps. As much as I like Blondie, it's really all about the sharp, well crafted singles. Several of which are just great. The classic single disc greatest hits remains an all time great album of non-stop fabulousness. 296 / 357

Sarah Vaughan is an icon, a paragon, a titan in her field. I have never been more than lukewarm about jazz vocals. What will land on the ground? The cat's paws or the buttered toast strapped to its back? It is altogether charming when she starts singing "I fouled up this song" on Willow Weep for Me. I really like the music on Just One of Those Things. She elevates that David Lee Roth song Just a Gigolo to new heights of sophistication. Big improvement. Graceful, elegant ... ultimately, though, also an example of my feeling that this genre just isn't that exciting. I esteem it, but don't want to listen to it particularly. Buttered toast sticks the landing!

Sometimes this project gives the gift of new discoveries. Never heard of this singer or this fun, cool album. It would be an unusual person to find that this was the final item on the road to completion, but good album. Very strong opener, channeling the trippier dub sounds of the 70s (King Tubby? Perry/ Upsetters / Black Ark? Brad Osborne's Clocktower Dub?). Different songs take different approaches. Ride On etc. sounds like Dillinger. Your Love Gets Sweeter sounds like lovers rock in the manner of Jimmy Riley, as performed by U Roy. Kind of silly throughout, but the music is inventive and makes it work. The last third or so of the album is just ok, fillier-ish. The cd gave us longer run times but not always more good ideas to fill that time up well. Good record, good find!

Great voice, strong production, perfectly fine songwriting ... it's good. It's fine. I don't find it memorable or interesting or distinctive. If you do everything right according to the formula, you can make a well crafted generic album. Docked one star for being interminable. This thing is long!

A classic, iconic album, obviously. I have a friend who Loves the Stones, and conversations with her have clarified for me that there is a big difference between liking a band as a singles act and as an album act. I love certain songs by the Stones, and Gimme Shelter is a candidate for my favorite song ever. But I get to a song like Sway here, and (despite the fine guitar playing) I find it boring and find myself waiting for it to end. Same for I Got the Blues. This album has some great, great tracks -- Bitch and Can't You Hear Me Knocking (because of the tacked on jam) are favorites. Wild Horses is very good, though I'm not a big fan of Mick the sensitive crooner. Brown Sugar is tremendous musically and odious lyrically, so ... better to avoid, but hard to skip once it gets going. So much good guitar playing on this record. I like when the Stones go Delta blues, so You Gotta Move works for me, but wouldn't want to hear it all the time. (Shake Your Hips, relatedly, from Exile is for me one of their absolute best, though no one else seems to think so.) Dead Flowers is an interesting mixed bag that overall works. Moonlight Mile is an ever more interesting, more complex case. I like it, don't love it. The sound is great throughout. I think when they stopped working with Jimmy Miller, things slipped. Good songs start sounding thin and lame starting around the Black and Blue album. Which makes me appreciate the sound of the great singles in this period all the more. This is a great album ... sort of. In the end, I would rather mine it for playlist material than listen to it start to finish.

This album comes billed as a collaboration with David Bowie, and it sounds like it fits in with the albums Bowie made in the period following Young Americans, up to Tonight. I know Bowie much better than Iggy, so it's interesting to hear songs that I know from Bowie albums in their original recordings. Overall, it's ... good, I guess. Not that interested, but it's solid. Glad I finally listened to this famous album, but I don't expect to come back to it.

Exquisitely mediocre

The name is familiar; never heard them before. They come advertised as the prototype of jangly college pop rock of the 80s. They sound to me like just another 80s band. Likable, solid ... eh. Sort of like The Call and The Alarm, but those bands had big singles to hang their hats on. There's nothing here I'm excited about. It's fine.

Unfathomably dull

I hated their sound when Dookie came out, and I hate it now. That clean, 90s production style, the guitar sound, the way the drums are miked ... everything about this causes waves of hostility to be unleashed within me. They are good at what they do, which explains their successful careers. But I hate what they do.

I wasn't committed to listening to this in its entirety, but in the end, I did listen to most of this boring, shitty album. I never listened to this jackass before starting this project, and now I am freshly dumbfounded by the world I live in. . I have to take the internet's word for it that he's a great producer. When it comes to his rapping, "Who are you gonna believe? Me or your ears?" I'm going with my own ears. Not buying it. His ability to achieve flow that works with the music is somewhere between rudimentary and absent. In short, he stinks. Plus, awful person and hopeless narcissist. So much of this sounds like What would happen if one walked around dictating the events of one's life into a portable recording device, then set it to music as the first draft of a hip hop Broadway musical. Just saw Prom at the local high school ... trust me. This analogy Holds Up. (I just tried it for a couple of minutes. It's surprisingly easy. But I didn't want to push it with my spouse, so I stopped.) If we're going to do this, "He's a terrible person, but that is set aside because of his amazing talent" thing ... I mean, Kanye can't hold a candle to Slick Rick. How do we live in a world where this guy is a star of this magnitude? By far to my mind the most compelling track is Who Will Survive In America. If you read anything about this album, you will learn that it was "one of the most expensive albums to produce ever" and that it features performances by an astounding array of stars. Yet, its best track is due entirely to the extensive use of a Gil Scott Heron recording, and GSH himself is never mentioned by the Enablers. (The Kanyes of the world always talk about the Haters ... what about the other people, who Enable people like him? That part remains absent!) Awarded one star for its unexpected and skillful sampling of King Crimson. Docked one star for excessive use of profanity -- such a crutch for the lazy writer.

Pleasant enough, kind of boring. Reminds me of how burned I felt when I let the Rolling Stone Record Guide talk me into buying a Bread album, despite the obvious reasons to be wary about doing so. That is a mistake that Time can never wash away. This is ok, but ... so forgettable.