Reviews by 1001mjanzai

Album number three for Pixies and by this point I would say that we can just leave this one off this list.
Not sure what it’s doing here on this list but perhaps the author is a big fan.
It’s a cool mix of noisy surf rock with pop sensibilities and a touch of dub bass.
These songs don’t necessarily stick in the head so I was always amazed at how popular they were but I guess you had to be there, except I was but I just never got to hear them because they were not on commercial radio at the time and I was just a bit too young to have found the local university radio station at that time.
It still sounds good though, but nothing really sticks out right away so I’m not sure that I can call this album essential listening yet.
As always perhaps a few more spins will help but definitely not offended by this.

Once again, it sure is nice to hear albums made in this era.
Great to hear a real band of musicians playing real instruments as well as being recorded and mixed on analog equipment.
There’s just so much more of a vibe with this kind of music than anything made in the modern age.
There’s some great classic songs on here and the other songs that aren’t classics are still pretty good just because of the fact that you can hear these guys playing and singing together, moving the songs along at their own natural pace.
Modern recordings that quantize and sample sounds really don’t compare and should be discouraged.
The art of a real band being recorded live is becoming more rare but hopefully newer generations of musicians at some point will get back to it.

Ah yes another British band to skew towards the author.
Although it sounds a bit derivative of other music from the past, this was not too bad of a listen.
Even though there’s nothing new about the way this music is put together, I do appreciate the experimental nature of this.
There’s certainly way worse stuff on this list so I can let this one slide for now…

There are some good examples of early rock music here among other styles, a lot of which seems very “British” sounding to me.
Considering that it’s their fifth album (!) I think it would be well worth checking out all the other albums they made before this.
Some strange and psychedelic stuff here as well which fits in well alongside what The Beatles and The Beach Boys were doing around this time.
This was an enjoyable listen so I hope I have some time to listen to more of their back catalogue!

I’m not much of a country music listener but this was a lovely listen.
It really is as unique as old blues music the way some country songs seem to follow the beat of the lyrics by droping a beat or two here and there and going more with the flow of the words.
I’m not sure that I can relate to much of the lyrical matter here but words come a little later for me anyways so a few more spins would probably help cement some of the stories and messages into my head more.
With a great and distinct singing voice as hers I can definitely look forward to hopefully listening to this album again!

This wasn’t too bad of a listen.
The sound quality of the beats seem weak and outdated but most of all the other sounds, especially the background ambience, sounded pretty good.
There’s a crisp freshness to those sounds that still sounded fresh to me.
The hard panning of sounds was interesting as well, especially on the minimalist influenced arpeggiated sequences.
I was a little worried about having to listen to an electronic album from the 90s thinking I was in for a 4-on-the-floor dull-fest but this was a thoroughly enjoyable listen with enough variations in sound and beats to keep things interesting.
I’m not a huge fan of this kind of stuff but listening to this makes me curious to hear their other albums.

I’ve heard this a few times in the past but could never tell if it was good or bad but after this listen I’m leaning towards good.
Although the idea of each piece is a bit basic there are some interesting things going on harmonically that made this listen interesting.
Also hearing real strings and horns as well as didgeridoo and turntable scratching on top of the tunes make this stand out a bit.
There is a bit too much Stevie Wonder worship going on here which isn’t a bad thing but it doesn’t elevate any of the material here and left me hoping for something more original to their sound.
So ya this is good but I don’t really feel I need to listen to this album again but if I happen to hear it again somewhere I’m sure I won’t be offended.

Although I got into U2 during Joshua Tree I somehow never followed them past Rattle and Hum so it’s been great to finally sit down with this one.
It’s a pretty good album and I really appreciate all the creative production work here.
I especially enjoy some of the vocal takes here, which sound quite live and spontaneous because of the way it was recorded, and put up against the slick backing tracks really bring out some character and balance to the overall sound of the songs.
It’s a fairly original sound which is a good thing for a band this far into their career.
I’m pretty sure that this album will grow on me even more with subsequent listens as I understand more of the production as well as the lyrics.
I was underwhelmed by one of their very late records on this list but listening to this album makes me want to continue exploring their catalogue.

This is a pretty good album.
It highlights the great rock music these guys came up with very well.
It’s a bit uneven though and lacks some bite but that can be attributed to a great live band being stifled by the studio environment.
The trippy tunes are great to hear on an album by a rock band but I suppose this was a great era for experimentation by rock bands.
I’m not much into putting live albums on this list but maybe this is a band that deserves one.

What a different sounding album than the other one I listened to ny him on this list.
Kind of nice to hear the progression from the other album as this one comes just after.
It sure is wild and eclectic and makes me wonder how this album ended up on this list.
I guess it was different times back then and maybe with less choices, so more opportunities for repeated listens, people were able to zone in on the creativity of this album.
I really dig the progressive and experimental sound of this album and although almost an hour long it really flew by.
I can’t believe it was pressed on a single LP!
No more albums by him on this list so I’ll have to make some time to explore his discography as I’m very curious to know what other places he went to with his music.

What is this strange and exquisite music?
It stands out immediately and I am so glad to be listening to such creative music.
I’ve gotten a few clunkers on this list in the last bit so I’m so glad to finally get an album that sounds so unique.
I know many albums that are as creative as this that aren’t on this list so it makes me wonder how this one ended up on here.
Could it be the UK bias?
I’ve always read and heard his name over the years but have hardly heard any of his music so this was a nice surprise.
I do want to hear more from his discography!

A classic example of how weak popular music became in this era.
This is definitely a third rate copy of where all the great alternative rock music was heading in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s.
Maybe the smart thing they did was to take all that great music they were influenced by and dumbed it down by simplifying the riffs and arrangements therefore making it more palatable to the general, conservative, unadventurous music listeners which unfortunately make up most of the world.
It does make me bob my head though and I can feel the angst in the riffs and lyrics but in a very basic and cheesy way.
It really is too bad that this crap became so popular because it in turn has influenced millions of young kids to make even more shitty music, ugh!

I’ve heard some of their hits and enjoyed them but a whole album doesn’t seem to hold up very well.
It’s perhaps a bit too mellow and lacklustre for me which makes it harder to determine if these songs are well written or not.
Most of this just doesn’t stand out here.
Just a few things here and there.
Likely need more listens to learn the lyrics and dig into the subtleties.
Surprised to read that this album from 1970 is their last album.
If this is their last album and assuming their career went upwards to ending on a high note, I’m not sure that I have much interest in listening to any of their other albums until I can click with their music.
I’ll likely be looking more for a collection of their hits.
So this doesn’t immediately stand out and probably has potential to click later but I’m not entirely sure about that.

This is a great live performance!
I loved reading about how they played this straight through in one take like a real concert unlike other unplugged sessions.
The choice of songs are really exquisite as well.
In this format, hearing these songs played in these mellower versions really lets the songs shine highlighting the great songwriting by all involved.
Even though Kurt was a drug addict going through withdrawl and nervousness this recording does show the great talent that he had with his songwriting and singing.
Unfortunately it means that we’re once again left wondering what could have been and the tragic fates of addiction issues.

Great to get to another Bowie album.
This one has a lot of great experimentation on it and definitely sounds distinct compared to other albums I’ve heard so far.
It’s certainly in a pop rock format but it does sound unique with a mostly cinematic second side.
I’m looking forward to one day figuring out how tjis album fits in the “Berlin trilogy”.

Another music icon I know nothing about.
I let the music do the talking and find there’s not much here for me.
As usual the rap albums made in this era mixes in some R&B which should make the backing tracks more interesting but always end up sounding so boring.
Also the usual bragging and “n” words just sours the whole vibe.
No wonder youth culture is so fucked up these days if this garbage is what they’re putting on a pedestal.
I really hope the other albums get better because listening to this was a really lame experience.

What a great listen this was!
I’ve only ever heard the album after this, Bakesale, which I remember enjoying way back when it came out.
I never got around to hearing any of their other albums so it was a surprise when this came up for this project and I enjoyed listening to it so much!
I just love all the noisy experimental sounds that permeates their indie folk rock sound.
I heard so much of this kind of stuff back then that I never thought too much of it but now, over 30 years later, this sounds so fresh and exciting compared to most of the modern crap that’s out there right now.
Yet another band that I definitely need to dig into their discography!

That opening track is so great that the rest of the album just can’t follow it.
This album just seems to just steadily drop off after that first track.
There’s some potential to all those other songs but I think this production kind of sucks and really sinks all the songs.
Seems to be the classic problem of pop music in this era.
The programmed beats are lifeless and the backing tracks are boring.
I have a feeling that this album would be so much better with real musicians playing more interesting arrangements.
Damn I was so excited when this album came up because she’s such a pop music icon and I don’t really know anything anout her but after listening to this I’m not sure if I want to care about her anymore.

Not sure if much needs to be said here.
One of the essential classics.
So many examples of masterful songwriting.
So amazing to think of where they’ll go from here towards their end.

Kind of crazy that the one example of this group on this list is this overblown double album!
I like some of their songs and their approach to music but is there not a regular two sided album that’s worth putting on this list?
This was a bit of a tough and tiring listen.
Some of the blatant Beatles-ness was not that cool and the disco rock thing was a bit rough to take in.
But I do enjoy some of this so I just can’t give them only two stars.