Had not listened to this album before. Good grooves, recognizable riffs, great guitar solos. Heavy blues influence. Lots of songs about mean, mistreatin' women!
These guys either influenced or took cues from so many people, I hear thievery corporation, bonobo, Tycho, daft punk, Fatboy slim, Moby...
Some weak songs but track 1 is a real standout. Sexy Boy is not the best song on album.
Some beats and melodies a bit basic, but a majority of the music was stand out skilled musicianship and creative melodic music and wordsmithing. I can see why there's so much love for these guys and this album specifically.
1 or 2 standouts but overall didn't sound spectacular. Maybe a fad of the times?
Rock solid groves, so many good riffs, even excluding the big hits. Hard to believe this was their first album with their new singer and it still crushes to this day. Straightforward rock was never more infectious.
I've always dismissed Morrissey as "less than" the Smiths, but after actually listening to this album I've changed my mind. Some great guitar work and melodies paired with really great lyrical lines made this album for me.
Storytelling reminds me of Eminem. Spans the gamut of rap styles, some I don't like, but musically it is excellent. I can't relate too much of the lyrical content but he is a great lyricist.
Instantly liked from the first melody.
Smooth Operator brought me back to my childhood and defines the '80s adult contemporary/smooth jazz sound for me. Chill out / good vibes music, a cousin of bossa Nova.
Really great rock n roll. Solid riffs, excellent guitar solos, and feel-good vocals. That they performed this live is a testament to their skill as musicians and performers.
Reminds me of that era Pink Floyd, which I love... psychedelic flower powered rock. Great last song (Time of the Season), but I think I need a few listens to appreciate the rest.
Great synths and harmonized melodies. Standout album for 1979 and great musicianship from an enduring artist.
A bit unhinged to be sure. Great energy and intensity in a solid rock and roll performance, perhaps after its time.
Good jams make the body sway and the head nod. Makes sense now why the rap kids I knew in high school talked the way they did. I can't relate to the lyrics but the music is pretty great.
Closer, Vasoline, and Black Hole Sun dominated radio and Mtv in my summer of '94. NIN's self-destruct tour was my first real concert and I buzzed for days afterwards. I based an rpg campaign on this artist and album tour, and played A Warm Place on a loop during the intense parts. Formative for sure, making me a bit biased, but I still go back to this album these days, and it holds all the power and emotion for me now as it did then.
Critics say this album was ahead of its time, which may explain why a lot of 70s rock sounds like it, even if it was released in '74. The orchestration and production probably are, but that's what I really like about this album. I can hear its influence in Terry Reid and others, in either the melodies, song structures, orchestration, vocals, take your pick. Surprisingly good, even despite the gospel bits. Pity it was treated so poorly upon release, and not until after Clark's death did it begin being recognized.
I dumb-rebel hated Radiohead and many other great bands when they were popular bc they were "trendy." I came to love them after maturing a bit. The melodies and layered instrumentation in this album always grab my attention. The guitar on some songs sound a bit dated now but their brilliance still shines brightly. This is one of the great albums of the 90's, characteristic of the brooding atmosphere, loneliness, and discontent that nurtured bands like Porcupine Tree, The Cure, and the grunge and goth scenes. Worth re-spinning and never shelving for long.
Great concept for an album. I'm a Wilco fan and hadn't realized California Stars came out of this Collab. A slice of Americana and country that sits well with me.
Emotive soulful music. This guy became a preacher; I can't imagine the influence he held over his congregation as such a skilled vocalist. Underappreciated in his time.
If you like improvisational piano jazz, this album is amazing. Despite it being a bit all over the place due to stream of consciousness (and all the backstory bullshittery), Jarrett ties everything together and it flows well from one movement to the next. But I can't do jazz all the time.
Proto-Doom metal. Thanks for the blueprint! Also for Jay in the white pickup truck in high school who blasted Iron Man in the Burrito Stop parking lot every day at lunch. And War Pigs, covered by Faith No More and Dresden Dolls.
RIP Ozzy.
The '70s have a sound and steely Dan definitely rides that wave. A lot more jazzy than I thought it would be, but some of the noodling just doesn't click with me.
I never liked Belle and Sebastian. They are pretentious and their lyrics don't make any sense, but I listened to this anyway. I decided to read the lyrics for "The boy done wrong again" and really liked it. 1 out of 10 still isn't great, but maybe I should set aside superficial bias and listen more to the lyrics.
I like the jangly slide guitar. Great opening song, the rest seemed more experimental, or closer to country/folk at times. Need a closer listen but so far not my fave Zep album.
It's House music. It has its place on the dancefloor, but I don't like much House except Daft Punk and Praga Khan. Though this album does have more going on in the production than most tracks on Daft Punk's Homework released the same year, the latter caught my attention with Da Funk and Around the World, both catchy tunes with equally mesmerizing music videos.
Some of this reminds me of DJ Shadow.
I like the salsa horns and upbeat tone of Bingo Bongo, and Being With U could be mistaken for an Outkast song.
Great music. Never have the chance to really listen but Ive always liked the Smiths. I've sung variations of Girlfriend in a Coma to my spouse and cats for 16 years.
Excellent production, Prince's perfect pitch and guitar shredding, and top-notch sounds from the 80s. I really need to watch that movie.
Reminiscent of Suicide and Pailhead. Excellent intersection of styles I personally love, hardcore, industrial, and punk, a pioneering release from 1985. They were diy to the extreme too, never signing contracts and booking their own tours, maintaining complete control over their careers in a consistent fsck you to the music industry. Led many in indie rock and industrial rock scenes. Discomforting, thought provoking lyrical content too.
Found this in high school. Awesome riffs and jams, made me rage! Never got behind politics so, soon put it down. The album still holds up tho, and Tom Morello's guitars are the bomb.
More depth than I was expecting. After the tremendous loss of his young partner to cancer and the ongoing issue of segregation and the unpopular overseas Vietnam war (echoing on 2026), Gaye recorded a heartfelt album that masterfully weaves together melody, hope, and love. Repeating themes unify it and give it a cohesive feel.
The radio singles were the standouts on this work. It was the first of a persistent, though sparse, musical career of a virtual band with real musical talent behind it. The phenomenon of the media mask apes concepts introduced in the Macross Plus OVA with Sharon Apple, the AI musician that created visual performances using sophisticated holograms, which Gorillaz executed well to a stateside audience.
I still love Demon Days waaaaay more.
Afro Beat with a conscience. Jazz, soul, and some Caribbean in there with the horns. Good upbeat world music, solid grooves and melodies. Some loooong tracks that can be like mantras or refrains.
Nick Cave is one of those artists wise music is exponentially better when you pay attention to the lyrics. I've been unable to do that for 3 listens, though what I've caught I've liked a lot! So I'ma rate this comparably to other Nick Cave albums.
Can't say I've ever loved a Pixies album, so this once was fine. It's supposedly their weakest, but I can't tell. It has a couple decent tracks, but none blew my socks off.
An anachronism and amalgamation of complementary styles that span several decades.
Some vocal harmony, jam band noodling, a bit of progressive rock, post-rock elements, and Appalachian 70's rock influence create something upbeat, not entirely new, yet still worthwhile.
As part of the NWoBHM, Def Leppard's 3rd album ushers in the era of stadium rock and hair metal. Polished in the studio, metal edges bugged out, the album brought Def Leppard mainstream success near the top of the charts. Sounds good for what it is.
I had no idea The Kinks had such a long, eclectic, prolific career. Or that they were banned from the US in the 60's.
I see similarities between the songwriting on this and some Beatles records, and early Pink Floyd, purposely reflecting Ray Davies' intent to preserve British the songwriting style. This proto-concept album is a slice of music history and artistic growth unknown or forgotten by so many.
Intelligent rap worth listening to.
It's a vibe. Upbeat, poppy, dancey. The lyrics make no sense.
Guitar on verses of High Flyin' Baby sounds like the This Old House theme from the '10s.
A little rough but still working the rock/abilly vibes of the 50's. Kudos to them for bucking the psychedelia of 60's SF, that time must have been rough if you weren't into space travel.
Groovy, smooth jazzy, and mellow.
Good emulation of great Black blues musicians.
Not sure what I just listened to but it jibes with my love of early Pink Floyd and Kinks (Village Green). Story guitar rock that makes you sway with your arms around the people next to you. A lost art.
I hear this album's influence from Johnny Cash to Mumford and Sons and King Dude. Excellent production for 1959, this is a nostalgic and romanticized male-centric slice of Americana.
The album was so successful that Robbins made 2 more gunfighter albums afterwards...
Awesome to hear a Black woman representing their problems in life at a foundational time in hip hop.
