Reviews by abitfishy

This is my second time around for this one, I have enjoyed this album a lot more on the second time. If I'd gotten this when it was my first listen I would've rated it a definite 3. I especially found a lot of appreciation for "Roundabout" - always thought it was overrated and didn't really dig it until about now.

The rest of the album is mostly these handful of quirky instrumentals you'd only ever hear on a progressive rock album, and these lengthy epics, you'd probably... only ever hear on a progressive rock album.

The instrumentation, like the keys are so goddamn colourful and filled with eagerness to learn. And of course the obnoxious (in the best way possible) lead bass playing returns. A lot of the texture of this album sounds quite wet and aquatic-like (from the effects,) which is a nice change-up from the previous album.

If I had listened to this album for the first time from this generator it probably would've been a 3 star, but I believe a re-listen has helped me understand this album more than I did the first time around.

Highlight Song/s: "Roundabout", "South Side of the Sky" and "Long Distance Runaround"

Musically this sounds so close to the Smiths, which is what I've read on the Wikipedia article on this album. Sounds so jangly and otherwise clean as all hell. The vocals to me sound quite like Nick Drake, which is another artist/s that some critics compare this to. I can see wholeheartedly why people compare Belle & Sebastian to the Smiths, Nick Drake and other like-minded musicians. They totally make the music sounds so, introspective and vunlerable and possibly open to the idea of help, just like the aforementioned musicians.

I'm not totally sold on this album even though I adore the Smiths and like Nick Drake a lot. Seems to me that I'm missing a bit of the puzzle, I just haven't found what that is at this moment in time. I know for sure that this was well made. If I were to go off of my rating system 3 stars would be the option I choose, because I'm so undecided about the album.

Highlight Song/s: "Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying" and "Mayfly"

This album is a progression from Bowie's previous album (Young Americans,) he starts adding some grooves to the soul shtick he was doing on Young Americans. Bowie was more coked up on here than he was on the previous one, to the point where he couldn't remember anything from the sessions which would influence his next huge left-turn (97 huge left-turns left for Bowie's career) Low.

The album starts off with the epic title track, which totally doesn't feel like 10 minutes long, it's just that good that it whizzes past me. It's multi-parted, it starts off with a industrial-like intro, then transitions into a moody soulful vocals from the Thin White Duke and then that leads into the main part which is very disco-focused ("It's too late!")

The other songs won't take up as much space as the title track, but I quite like "Golden Years" and "TVC15" for their strong grooves, the lovely female vocals in the former is pretty nice as well, and the latter has some weird lyrics that seem cryptic, but Bowie manages to make you nod to and sing nonsense lyrics just because they're done in such a catchy way.

Each side of the album ends with least grooviest songs on the album, I think both fine for what they are, not a die-hard for those songs. And finally "Stay", which is probably the weakest song, but it's very much not bad.

All in all, I believe this is a must-hear album from Bowie and in general of music. everytime I listen to it, I can't help but enjoy it a lot. Always so thrilling.

Highlight Song/s: "Station to Station", "Golden Years" and "TVC15"

This one is very mellowed-out, fragile, precious-sounding album. It has Joan (I believe) covering songs for the entire duration, I'm not too familiar with the songs - except for "The House of the Rising Sun" - so I can't really comment specifically on her renditions, but I thought the songs were lovely and all had a lo-fi vibe to it.

Even I enjoyed it, I don't think I'd see myself returning to this, I do think this album is must-hear, it really captures the time period well, so there's that.

Highlight Song/s: "Silver Dagger" and "Rake and Rambling Boy"

The debut of the man who changed how people saw the guitar. It's a pretty stacked one, at least for the U.S. version (not really a fan of the U.K. tracklist and order.) It's psychedelic and it's not afraid to show it, with all the trippy cover art, the weird panning choices, effects-laden guitar and of course the track that says it all "Third Stone From The Sun." Another tidbit from me is that the instrumental break in "The Wind Cries Mary" is incredibly good, and so gosh darn melodic and luscious. It's probably one of my favourite instrumental breaks of all time.

Definitely a must-hear album that I believe everyone should experience at least once, it's good at capturing that late 60s counter-culture vibe.

Highlight Song/s: "Purple Haze", "Hey Joe", "The Wind Cries Mary", "Fire" and "Foxey Lady"

An album that is so soothing to the soul. At some points ("Blue in Green" and "All Blues") it crosses into the bittersweet territory. It's filled with emotion, which - the instrumental album - tells the listener the message clear as day. The musicians that play on the album are quite stacked, still not fully knowledgeable about jazz, but I do know how big some of these guys' names are. I quite like how non-rushed the solo's are and how they take turns doing them in a very orderly and sensible fashion.

I highly enjoyed this one, the Miles Davis albums I've been listening in and outside of the 1001 album generator have all been really rewarding to listen to. I feel I've really gotten to known jazz a lot better thanks to the generator and realise I actually like some jazz.

Highlight Song/s: "Freddie Freeloader", "Blue in Green" and "All Blues"

Haven't gotten too deep into Husker Du yet but this one wasn't too bad (only heard Zen Arcade before outside of the generator.) A lot of the songs to me seem like these guys managed to really have nailed the art of songwriting, this all gives off such a effortless vibe.

Kind of reminds me a bit of R.E.M, catchy hooks, really well thought-out instrumentals, mostly abstract/nonsensical lyrics, Husker Du really mastered their craft at the very end.

I think the B-side of this double album was the most memorable to me, D and C weren't the best, which is probably why I will give this album a strong 3 (but not quite 4) star rating.

Highlight Song/s: "These Important Years" and "Could You Be The One?"

This album is of many linked to the "Neo-Psychedelia" genre, but this is few that I've heard that actually at times sounds like British 60s psychedelic music, it's a bit hard to describe, but these guys really hit the nail on the head of capturing the vibe. In regards to other stuff it's bit of a snooze if I had to be completely frank. The rest of it sounds just so un-appetizing (to my ears.) I never usually space out when I'm listening to album but this one had me doing it.

There's some good stuff here and there, but I believe the not-so-good stuff outweighs it quite a bit, so I believe a 2 star reflects my feelings the best.

Highlight Song/s: "Grandbag's Funeral" and "Dennis and Lois"

I first heard this album from when I listened to a couple Yes albums a couple years ago. I remember this one being my favourite out of the three I listened to (Fragile and Close to the Edge are the others.) Re-listening to this was a delight, I'd hear some of the songs on rotation in my main playlist (the highlighted songs) but only listened to it again just now.

It has quite lush harmony vocals. The bass playing by Chris Squire is nothing short of phenomenal that guy was/is completely cracked at bass. The production is really well done, everything is quite clear and spelt out in the mixing.

I think this album definitely deserves a place on the 1001 albums you must hear list.

Highlight Song/s: "Starship Trooper", "I've Seen All Good People" and "A Venture"

Haven't gotten too much into the Wu-Tang side of hip-hop; only ever heard Raekwon's debut, because generator reasons. The production is really well done they give off very vivid imagery of the lyrical matters, gritty and grizzly stuff with some lovely sampled jazzy melodies. The beats are varied, and pretty much all other stuff is as well which helps break my perception that a lot of hip hip is just monotonous.

Unlike Raekwon's debut, I'm more inclined to return to this one. It has a good head on it's shoulders, which is weird to say that to an album, even though I despise that saying a lot. I suppose it fits well enough.

p.s. The final song "B.I.B.L.E." has a such a incredible unique vibe, 10/10 song.

Highlight Song/s: "Liquid Swords", "Gold" and "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth"

I hadn't heard too much of XTC - only really actually listened to "Making Plans For Nigel" - this is not so new wave and is more like Beach Boys pop (maybe around Sunflower-era.) So, that means it's luscious as all hell. The harmonies and the very textured instrumentation are also present. I'm not too sure how I feel about this album, leaning towards more good than bad, still incredibly impartial to this one, but I think it was still well made.

Highlight Song/s: "Eastern Theatre" and "I Can't Own Her"

This was fine. Just mostly another one of 'those' albums from the early 2000s with that garage rock revival sound, though it's not just power chord central; there's nuance. I can see a little bit why they got compared to Nirvana, but I think it's more that some of those reviewers were pushing the connection a bit too far, and maybe wanted another Nirvana they could latch onto (probably because they didn't realise they were living in their golden years until it was too late) The last handful of songs were a bit tiring and I felt a bit fatigued. The first few songs were pretty good though.

I reckon it's not a must hear album.

Highlight Song/s: "Highly Evolved" and "Sunshinin"

Not totally sold just yet! Obviously Bowie's penultimate album for when h was still alive, so his is a bit fragile and old I suppose, it's less apparent than Blackstar but still noticeable. His singing voice sounds at times similar to his late 70s to early 80s stuff. The instrumentals I think are the albums strongest point, they're all so colourful and vibrant. They're seriously all top-notch, and of course because it's Bowie he manages to make them sound all unique.

I think this was a good album, but it just barely manages to get a 4 star, so it's not like a 4 star-pushing-on-5 album or anything. It's more good than not. I'm not sure if this a must-hear from Bowie, I think there are better Bowie albums that shows off his music and his character.

Highlight Song/s: "Dirty Boys", "Love Is Lost" and "Boss Of Me"

A solid release in punk. This album probably exemplifies hardcore punk. The blitzkrieg-like tempo, the gang vocals, the short-form songs, the manic lead vocals, etc. Even though this album has a very noisy and aggressive feel to it, some of the lyrics are completely silly. Like in "Spray Paint" and "TV Party." The music totally doesn't match the lyrics for those songs. The album is quite lo-fi, which has a charm, like the overall muffledness it's as if I went to one of their shows with no hearing protection.

The album eventually ends on the song "Damaged I" which is a hint on what's to come on My War. Who would've thought a punk band would conform themselves? A lot of people I suppose. I guess they thought Black Flag were a pop band that were going to limit themselves to a very specific sound.

I found this a lot more enjoyable than I believe my first two listens, I definitely gotta throw this on again when I have like 35 minutes to spare. I recommend this album but I wish My War was on the list instead if it had to be one or the other.

Highlight Song/s: "Six Pack", "Gimme Gimme Gimme" and "Damaged I"

I was pretty optimistic (not sure why) about this starting by the first song. As the album went on the songs started to blend into each other. There isn't a whole lot of variety and gets monotonous. Doesn't mean it's a completely 'bad' album, I even think overall it has a nice tone to it. The 80s are not just expressed well from the production, but the vocals seem to be a mix of Phil Collins and Mark Hollis (Talk Talk) screams 80s even louder!

I think it was fine, but definitely not an album I'd return to.

Highlight Song/s: "While You See a Chance"

Haven't listened to too many Fiona Apple's songs, only really heard "Sleep to Dream" before this album. I really like that a lot of the songs on here have this quirky jerky rhythm to it. I think the lyrics are a really strong point of the album, I feel a lot of "singer-songwriters" have a lot of mumbo-jumbo lyrics that feel forced, while all of this feels totally sincere and make sense. The talk-singing she does works pretty well, it's as if she's telling a story to the listener (which adds up as a lot of the lyrics are based off of true stories.)

I really enjoyed the album, the songs are so detailed I feel like you could come back to this album time after time and still find new details. Solid 4 star rating from me.

Highlight Song/s: "Shameika" and "Under the Table"

Definitely a Nick Cave album that I've been meaning to check out but have hesitated because of the length of it. This was actually solid! The time didn't seem to drag even though it was nearly 70 minutes. The album has one of the most beautiful covers ever, and it totally reflects the sound of the music. The music itself has some of the best luscious ambient soundscapes I've ever heard; such a breathtaking atmosphere. At some points in the album notably in "Leviathan" it goes to a similar place to Berlin Trilogy-era ambient Bowie (which I adore a lot; Bowie, and that song for the vibes.) One more thought is that the song "Bright Horses" is pure serenity and is everything that is good on this Earth.

Final thoughts: This album is so peaceful and a bit heartbreaking knowing what Nick Cave went through which led to the creation of this album. I think this is deserving of being on the list.

Highlight Song/s: "Bright Horses" and "Night Raid"

This is probably the best Steely Dan album yet (still firmly 3 star though.) The album has a very cold and urban sort of feel to it. There's some pretty jazzy and funky parts mixed into rock/pop songs. The vocals still aren't the best, but better than the others I've listened to (Can't Buy A Thrill and Countdown To Ecstasy.) As well I've mentioned in my other Steely Dan reviews, these guys have a real great knack when it comes to production, I feel like they nail everything right on the head. No mistake to be found.

All in all, I think this one was an 'okay' album, still nothing crazy. If I were to return to any Steely Dan album (up until now,) it would be this one I'd be the most inclined to. I think this album is a good one on the list, it nails what Steely Dan were doing.

Highlight Song/s: "Night by Night" and "Charlie Freak"

This one is a hell lot less noisy than their debut Psychocandy. These guys are a lot more mellow and melodic on this album. You can definitely tell the early shoegaze bands listened to a lot of Jesus and Mary Chain. "Deep One Perfect Morning" kind of reminds me a lot of the yet-to-come shoegaze classic "When The Sun Hits" - tsk tsk Slowdive!

I think this is just a straight 3 star albums, you see it's nice and melodic and all, but it's a bit boring, not a whole lot of substance to be found. Which is a feeling I shared when I listened to this album a couple years ago. It's a fine album overall.

I don't think this is a must-hear album.

Highlight Song/s: "Deep One Perfect Morning" and "Happy When It Rains"

I don't remember liking these guys' debut album, but that was near the start of the journey now I'm 459 albums deep. Either I've successfully expanded my music tastes or this album just strikes a different chord than the debut. I absolutely adore the A-side of the album, the B-side is a bit lacking to be honest. The supporting brass section enhances the album so much, it's not too overbearing, it's just about the right amount of involvement. "Pearls Cafe" gives off great imagery and is unbelievable colourful.

Like I said the B-side was a bit of frown from me, but I think the A-side is good enough and the B-side is alright to equal to a solid 4 star album.

Highlight Song/s: "Enjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think), "Man at C&A" and "Do Nothing"