"The Stranger" by Billy Joel being the first ever album this website generated for me is truly a blessing. I was familiar with five of the nine songs before doing a full run-through, so I had a great vibe session and possibly frightened some of my neighbors.
For lack of a better description, this album was an emotional rollercoaster. Many of his songs feel like novels, his imagery transporting me to the streets of Vienna or to an Italian restaurant—but then the next song could be a wedding song or something to listen to in the car with the windows down. Each song is a different track on the album, obviously, but every song feels like a part of an intertwined story.
Instrumentally, this album would be a perfect 5/5 if it weren't for the verses and choruses of "The Stranger" and "Only the Good Die Young" (please don't hate me), since they’re a bit monotone and repetitive for my taste. Despite this, Billy is a musical genius throughout the album. His ability to combine piano, acoustic guitar, saxophone (I live for these solos), drums, flute, and harmonica into one record and still make it sound near-perfect is a talent. And I guess "The Stranger" does deserve a little bit of merit, because the extremely satisfying ending would not be possible without the song. No matter how much you hate him, it is undeniable that this album as a whole is a work of art.
I don't know if I will listen to the album straight through again, because I feel like each song is suited for a different environment, both physically and emotionally. I wish this site had half-star ratings like Letterboxd does, so my rating could be more accurate. But in the meantime, please listen to "Scenes"; it hurts to see the absolute best track on the album have fewer streams than five others.
4/5
Before “Sea Change,” I had never listened to any of Beck’s work besides “Loser,” which is an interesting song, to say the least. This is probably why I was baffled to hear the soft, acoustic intro of “Golden Age,” but it goes to show how much genre experimentation he did (and I would too if I were him).
It is insane how much this album parallels the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” era. I could hear the resemblance between the strings on “A Day in the Life” and countless tracks on this album; it’s not a surprise that when I Googled “Does Beck get inspiration from the Beatles?” the AI Overview gave me twenty thousand examples. Not to mention the hints of Radiohead, confirmed again by the fact that Nigel Godrich, the producer of this album, has produced almost every Radiohead album.
Half of the songs on the album I would listen to on a chill, sunny walk in New York City, and half of them I would listen to while lying awake at 3 a.m. on a school night. This album does a lot of experimentation (quite psychedelic-rock-esque, maybe) while still falling under the indie rock umbrella, but I did find some aspects of the album a bit repetitive or reused. However, many lyrics and sounds are beautiful yet haunting; the best way to describe it, in my opinion, is being on the edge of a cliff, looking out at the setting sun, with nothing in front of you for miles. As a whole, the sound of most tracks complements the other tracks well, and his low-register voice is perfect for the instrumentals in the background. When I heard “Lonesome Tears” and “Little One,” I basically ascended.
Although I did find some tracks to lack melody, I think this album holds up for what it is: the quintessential “breakup album,” which I will definitely come back to in my mid-20s or something, but not necessarily now (this is a lie; I revisited the album exactly one day after listening to it). It’s so funny that I originally thought Beck was this niche, underground artist, but after researching, I learned that he has eight Grammy Awards, which is insane. I am so excited that there are two more of his records on the list, but I'm surprised “Morning Phase” isn’t on it…I guess I’ll give it a listen myself.
4/5
Can this website read my thoughts? I was scrolling through the entire list of albums last night, and I stumbled upon “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green and thought, “I really want to listen to this one.” So this happened.
I expected something similar to the vibe of “Let’s Stay Together” and “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” which I got, but I was pretty underwhelmed by the album as a whole; in my opinion, this album could have ended after the latter track, since I didn’t see a purpose of “Judy” or “It Ain’t No Fun to Me” being there. A few tracks, though, I thought were pretty solid, and again, I could see myself listening to the album on a chill spring walk.
I heard so many Marvin Gaye-esque vocals and instrumentals on this album, and it’s no wonder since they were from the same era; soul is a genre that I really enjoy listening to. However, I do agree with Marvin’s observation that Al’s falsetto range was a bit “too safe” and would probably prefer Marvin’s music over Al's. Al’s music on this album drags quite a bit with his ad-libs; you would really have to pay me to believe that “I have to keep on singing” was actually scripted because it was 99% not. Besides this, though, I found a lot of new songs that I could vibe to! I’ll probably listen to “La-La for You” or “Old Time Lovin'” once in a while, because those were the strongest instrumentally and vocally besides “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart,” which is just six straight minutes of beauty with its arpeggios and the instrumentals after “breeze,” oh my lord.
Although I was not feeling five out of the nine tracks on the album, it’s great with both themes of love and loneliness and encapsulates the feeling of yearning well, but a little bit less than Marvin Gaye. It’s an interesting mix of love songs, definitely, but it all fits under the “Let’s Stay Together” umbrella, especially with “So You’re Leaving,” which is basically just “Let’s Stay Together” but more demanding. Nonetheless, I love Al’s vibe, and I will most definitely continue listening to him on my subway rides.
3/5
I was unfamiliar with “Hard Again” by Muddy Waters when I saw it pop up on the website, and I don’t normally listen to the blues, so I was pretty excited to listen to my first album of this kind for the challenge. Also, interesting title.
However…this was a challenging listen. It started okay, with “Mannish Boy,” but then got increasingly worse, and I found myself restless toward the end, even writing in my notebook during “Little Girl,” “Oh no no no not 7 minutes of the same thing over and over again.” You can probably tell where my review is going with this, but I’ll sum it up in the wise words of another listener: “Listening to this album is like eating 6-day-old leftover food for the 4th time in the same week. The first night, it was delicious, but in the end, we eat it out of principle so as not to waste.”
Building off of the quote, I now realize why “Mannish Boy” is the most popular track of the album: they listen to it once, like me, and then go down the tracks, beginning to realize that each track is basically the same thing as all of the above, with the same electric guitar, with the same type of Muddy Waters vocals and spontaneous shrieks that get old after hearing them fifty times. Don’t get me wrong, I think Muddy Waters’ vocals are great and completely different from what I’ve heard, but after the first three songs on this album, everything else becomes genuinely unbearable because it's quite literally 49 minutes and 28 seconds of the same stuff. I pretty much zoned out after 12 minutes, though—and the lyrics might have helped if they hadn’t been sung to the same tune every single time (I’m really sorry, I can’t stop stressing this).
Maybe this album would be better if it were released as 10 separate singles, 10 years apart. I hope “At Newport 1960” will help me maybe see what I’m not yet seeing, but in the meantime, I don’t think I’ll listen to any more of Muddy Waters’ music. I hope tomorrow’s album won’t make me crash out.
2/5
This is not helping this site beat the stalking allegations. What are the chances I get “Heroes” by David Bowie when I’m in the middle of reading “The Perks of Being a Wallflower?” This is also basically saying that I’ve only listened to “Heroes” on this album.
Simply put, this album should probably not be on this list. I know there are quite a few of David’s albums on this list, and though I haven’t listened to all of them yet, this one is definitely not on the same level as “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.” Echoing others’ views on this album, many of these songs would do well without David’s vocals. Most of the time, I love his vocals, like in “Sons of the Silent Age,” but I just feel like he “invades” the space of the instrumentals sometimes and could use a bit of blending work.
Fittingly, the synth is my favorite part of this album. Brian Eno really knows what he is doing, especially in “Sense of Doubt,” which, relating to the David Bowie theme, makes me feel like I’m floating in space. This synth, found in most songs, drums, electric guitar, and occasional saxophone is what holds this album together and is what made me want to finish it. I must admit, though, toward the end of the album, I was kind of feeling it with “The Secret Life of Arabia,” but I was insanely confused about what “Neuköln” was doing (the ending was honestly giving that one Nick Jonas guitar solo).
Overall, this album felt a little abstract, like David took a bunch of songs out of a top hat and glued them together with Elmer’s glue. I wish there were more “Heroes”-esque songs in the world; a girl can dream.
2/5
“Brothers in Arms” by Dire Straits is the first album I’ve gotten on here that I’ve already listened to all the way through. Let’s just say I was extremely happy to listen to this masterpiece of an album again (it’s one of the best albums of the 80s; you cannot argue with that).
This album slaps; it’s genuinely banger after banger. Each song feels like a variation of a sunny day: for example, you have “So Far Away,” which gives you a pep in your step (apologies for the cringe), “Walk of Life,” where you just feel like jumping all around, or “Why Worry,” where you can smell the nonexistent red roses. I almost don’t believe that this album was made in the 80s; it feels like it with the guitar and such, but it’s not like those songs that sort of “define” the 80s, like Tears for Fears-esque stuff. It’s like that but better because Mark Knopfler is crazy talented.
The fact that Mark Knopfler produced this album is incredible; he integrates the whole band and more into the record so seamlessly. There’s a little bit of everything on it, and even so, Mark can adapt his voice to whichever instruments are in the background, like in “Brothers in Arms.” Still, I noticed a few songs share similar characteristics: one of the most obvious ones is the buildup that really defines the album, like in “Money for Nothing,” “Walk of Life,” “Your Latest Trick…” I might as well list all of the songs, but you get the point—my favorite buildup is probably in “Your Latest Trick,” where you begin with the trumpet and keyboard, but then you hear the saxophone, which makes up the rest of the song and has that ascent-inducing sound. What’s more are the instrumentals at the end of most songs: they act as this sort of bridge or interlude from one song to the next, but they’re not pointless or just weird like some other artists' (cough, a good portion of Pink Floyd). God, I would love to hear this live with Mark and his sweatbands.
Nothing I write here is going to do this album justice; I would need a whole book to describe how I feel about it. But long story short, this album is close to the definition of musicality, virtuosity, artistry, craftsmanship, whatever. Say what you want about Mark’s voice, but this album is a masterpiece.
5/5
I was excited to listen to “A Date with the Everly Brothers” since I normally don’t listen to 1960s American music, and when I do, it’s mostly Elvis Presley. I went into this album expecting to hear something completely revolutionary and different, but it ended up hitting really close to home—and I had absolutely no clue that the original “Love Hurts” was by them.
This album is pretty much just the Beatles' “Please Please Me” and “With the Beatles” era, but with better vocals and harmonies. I would obviously consider those two albums weaker compared to the Beatles’ later work, so I felt basically the same way about “A Date with the Everly Brothers.” There was nothing very special about this album, but it was an easy and comfortable listen with no tracks that stood out as bad.
Instrumentally, the Everly Brothers’ technique on the guitar is great, but there aren’t any other instruments besides drums and the occasional piano in the background, which diminishes the uniqueness of each track. The entire album feels formulaic (and I feel that way with early Beatles as well, so I’m not biased), with guitar riffs I’ve heard before and mostly the same upbeat tempo except for the ballads, which I probably should have expected, since all the record companies just churned out catchy two-minute songs for the radio. This may also be the reason why, even though a lot of these songs were sad, they still kept that upbeat, rhythmic tone, which I wasn’t a fan of. However, the Everly Brothers were doing the best they could: the harmonies on this album were beautiful, and one of them had a really feminine voice, but I didn’t mind at all. “Love Hurts” and “A Change of Heart” were my top picks since they were straight-up beautiful and strayed away from the formulaic tone more than the other songs did.
It was nice listening to the Americanized version of “Please Please Me;” I really needed that today. I don’t think I’ll find a purpose to listen to any of these songs in the near future unless I find one of those fast-paced dance floors—but again, this was a short and enjoyable listen to begin my evening.
3/5
I never expected myself to listen to “Blunderbuss” by Jack White, let alone like the album. The only thing I knew about Jack White before listening to this album was that he was in the White Stripes and set the record for the shortest concert ever, which I read in a Guinness World Records book—and I seldom listen to garage and punk rock.
This album has so many different eras packed into it. On my first listen, I heard Chuck Berry and Led Zeppelin-esque styles (I heard so much of “The Rain Song” and “Down By the Seaside,” wow), but if I were to listen to it again, I would undoubtedly find even more. I was extremely surprised to find out after listening that this album was made in 2012, because it sounds very 60s–70s but with a modern punk overtone. I generally tend to find myself vibing to 60s–70s music more, so I enjoyed most aspects of this album.
Like Led Zeppelin, Jack uses a ton of instrumentals that complement his vocals well. Also, like Robert Plant from Led Zeppelin, Jack’s voice is, in my opinion, not the strongest out there. This is why I found a lot of the parts where the instrumentals and vocals were meshed together so great, but also why I thought that the parts where Jack’s voice was isolated weren’t great. I feel that he should have played to his strengths—the guitar and piano—on this album and just let his vocals blend into the instrumentals he does so well. This album deserves praise just for the keyboard itself; Jack manages to make every piano riff or fill fit perfectly into the lyrics. I think “Hypocritical Kiss” deserves the most praise for this.
I wish I had listened to more White Stripes before I listened to this album, so I could have compared this to something. If White Stripes is anything like a Led Zeppelin-influenced album like this one, I will be sure to like it.
3/5
I was not expecting to listen to “In A Silent Way” by Miles Davis, my first jazz album for this challenge, on a hot Monday with my head already hurting from lethargy. I’m a jazz musician myself, but I listen to more saxophone-heavy music than trumpet-heavy music, so this was a bit of a tough listen.
“Shhh/Peaceful” is the absolute opposite of what the song’s title should be—it’s feeling like the Iceland-Greenland naming situation. I fully expected, going into this song, that I would be put to sleep, but I was just jerked awake at every odd strand of notes that Miles played. If anything, the titles of the two songs should be swapped, since I almost fell asleep during “In A Silent Way.” This album of two songs was basically just the usual experimental, improvisational jazz, which I’m not the biggest fan of.
Instrumentally, “Shhh/Peaceful” is much more lacking than “In A Silent Way.” The song is comprised of a quick drum beat that never changes, misplaced electric piano riffs that just go on and on, and unmelodic trumpet notes (please, I know you can do better than this). On top of that, the song ends twenty different times, and I genuinely couldn’t tell the difference between what I was hearing at the 5-minute mark and at the 15-minute mark. This song could have been way shorter—hearing the same themes over and over again just does not hit the spot. On a more positive note, though, the beginning and ending minutes of “In A Silent Way” were beautiful—maybe not so much the middle part, but I at least heard way more melody in the trumpet here than in the previous track. I also ADORED the electric piano in this one, and the instruments really interacted and listened to one another, which is a must-have for jazz tracks, especially long ones like these where you need to keep the listener engaged.
If it weren’t for the horribleness of “Shhh/Peaceful,” this album probably would have gotten five stars. I should give this album more credit for its influence and electricity (?), but at the same time, I just wasn’t feeling it. Maybe because of my mood, I might give this one another listen when I’m not so down and tired. You never know.
3/5
I had no clue who Sheryl Crow was before listening to “Tuesday Night Music Club”—I initially thought this would be like a wannabe 90s pop star type of thing (and I wasn’t far off). It’s so funny that today is Tuesday and I listened to this at night, but it didn't change how I felt about the album.
Holy all-in-one album. I heard some Beatles-type instrumentals in “Run, Baby, Run,” which I enjoyed, and then I heard “Ace of Base” type vocals, which I did not enjoy as much. And then at the end, she tried sticking some jazz and R&B in there? Just stick to one genre. This album stressed me out and went on for way too long; half of these songs could have been two or three minutes long.
I’ll start my rant by saying that I really enjoyed “Run, Baby, Run,” and I really don’t understand why she didn’t just use those same vocals she used there in the later songs. As I listened on, I started noticing the pattern of great and beautiful instrumentals but horrid, strained vocals, and after doing some research, I could really tell that she played many instruments but didn’t take singing lessons. I feel like she was trying to brand her strained and uncomfortable vocals as unique (?) and advertise to the 90s teenagers who liked unconventional stuff. But listening to it now, I just cannot see the appeal, even in “All I Wanna Do” (I know it’s one of those chill, fun songs, but somehow, I just cannot listen to it).
One thing I did enjoy about this album was how it was so laid back, but maybe TOO laid back because it was, as I mentioned before, a little bit of everything. I really hope I get a somewhat listenable album next, but I’m glad I at least got to experience the weirder side of 90s music.
2/5
I grew up listening to U2’s songs, especially in “Sing 2” when Scarlett Johansson, whom I see all the time, covered “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” U2 has always been the band I listen to whenever I need to yearn, so I was extremely happy when I got “The Joshua Tree.”
This album is the definition of a peak bleeding-out spot; where else to hope, cry, or yearn than Joshua Tree National Park? There’s something in Bono’s voice and the musicianship of the whole band that makes you feel like you are running or driving on a highway toward the sunset.
There are too many good things about this album. The first is U2’s epic intros and outros to their songs: name a better intro than the ones in “Where The Streets Have No Name” or “Trip Through Your Wires.” There’s that same buildup (for example, harmonica, then guitar and drums) I also noticed in “Brothers in Arms” by Dire Straits, which I feel characterizes much of 1980s rock. The blend of Bono’s voice with the consistent drum and guitar beat gives this album a definitive, non-formulaic sound, rather than a “little bit of this and a little bit of that”-type album. Additionally, the minimalist lyrics let the instrumentals speak; when Bono finishes singing, you can almost always hear the guitar beat continue and breathe. Although there were two or three tracks that did not have the aforementioned characteristics, I did not feel horrible about them and could still listen to the beautiful instrumentals, like in “Mothers Of The Disappeared.”
I am beyond baffled that some of these tracks have so few streams, since the vibe of most tracks stays the same. This is such an underrated album; even though I enjoy the first three tracks as much as the next person, I will be belting “Red Hill Mining Town” on the highway when I get a convertible.
4/5
I am glad “Clube Da Esquina” by Milton Nascimento was my first global album of this challenge. I have never listened to Brazilian music in my life, and long story short, this album gave me a wonderful first impression of it.
Before listening, of course, I did some research, and it is no wonder why people dub this album the “Sgt. Pepper of Brazilian Music.” The album was a mixture of experimental sounds, with some ballads, more upbeat songs, and orchestral-leaning tracks; despite the differences among the tracks, though, every one had some psychedelic-rock feel, which I didn’t expect at all.
The first instance of Beatles-like instrumentals that I heard was the unconventional chords in “Cais,” which reminded me strongly of the Beatles’ “A Day in the Life” and had “Martha My Dear”-esque rhythms, which I enjoyed tremendously. I then heard a heavy influence of strings, brass, and winds in “Nuvem Cigana” and then haunting vocalization in “Nada Será Como Antes.” I’m starting to feel like the instrumentals in “A Day in the Life” could be formed by only the sounds on this album. Personally, I felt that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the instrumentals and absolutely nothing wrong with the beautiful vocals (maybe there was something up with the lyrics, but I don’t understand Portuguese, so…). Towards the end, however, I felt that the album was dragging quite a bit: in the words of another listener, the way I felt about the album after tracks 13 and on was like “an artist painting a beautiful painting and then finger painting all over it with the remainder of the paint on their palette.”
Nonetheless, these tracks hold together as an international, heavily Beatles-influenced psychedelic rock album, and I always love listening to artists who love the Beatles as much as I do. Although I may not find myself vibing to these tracks on my daily commute, they will stay in my heart as an unforgettable first global album.
3/5
After reading some reviews for this album and accidentally playing the beginning of “Mis-Shapes,” I thought I would enjoy “Different Class” by Pulp. And since I haven’t listened to Britpop recently, I thought maybe this could be an opportunity to get back into the genre. Boy, was I wrong.
First, Jarvis Cocker is creepy. What the hell are “Pencil Skirt” and “I Spy?” This man makes me afraid to leave the house at night. Second, I’ve been trying to understand where people are getting the “social commentary” from, but I cannot discern any of that from the album aside from “Common People,” and I guess “Disco 2000” and “Underwear.” Even so, this was a very lighthearted and unserious way to comment on society, and I see this more as carefree “romantic commentary.” Honestly, a lot of this was Jarvis thinking he was making a point, but instead just talking to talk.
Instrumentally, this album isn’t “bad” per se; it’s just that it is so basic with no defining quality that I hear other bands have, like Oasis, for example, with their electric guitar-driven sound. I would describe this album’s instrumentals as easy to listen to but not good; that said, they do use some unconventional rhythms, but that was all the uniqueness I took from them. Even though their melodies were basic and straightforward (but again, easy on the ears), it was no problem getting through the album. Vocally, I have no clue what this man is doing. Half of the time, he’s whispering like he’s about to commit murder, and half of the time, he has half-decent vocals that I can actually tolerate. No clue what the purpose of this is, and hearing this with the instrumentals ruined the whole experience for me.
Honestly, this was just a weird album from start to finish, and I do not think I will be revisiting this as a whole anytime soon. I am glad, however, that I made it to the more unusual side of Britpop, and if this has taught me one thing, it’s to not willingly listen to Pulp ever again.
2/5
On a day like today, I guess I needed something like “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” by Wilco to calm me down and make me chill. It succeeded, but only because I almost fell asleep listening to it.
This album gave me very Pink Floyd vibes with the experimental sound effects (maybe like in “Time…”, but Wilco is in no way, shape, or form up to that caliber. Most of the unconventional techniques used kind of sound like whatever concoctions I made when I was six years old on GarageBand, which were incredibly dysfunctional and unharmonious. I mentioned I was beginning to fall asleep, and that was because of the instrumentals—these sound effects were what jerked me awake.
Honestly, like many albums I’ve listened to, this one isn’t “bad”; it’s just easy to listen to (except for what I mentioned above). You are met with simple melodies, a (most of the time) emotionless voice, and some interesting acoustics. These are very straightforward, and it doesn’t make you go “wow” or anything—it just sounds like a typical indie rock band with no defining characteristics. I would say the only parts of the album I felt were better were the parts with the strings, like in “Pot Kettle Black” or “Reservations,” since you can never go wrong with strings.
In all, I just felt half weirded out and half chill throughout the album, because at one instant it could be calm guitar, but then the next, it could be a woman saying “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot” in the creepiest voice possible. I do not think I will ever revisit this album; in my opinion, it’s just a jumbling of sounds.
2/5
