Reviews by abrisskull

About a month into my album journey, my Nana passed away, and my aunt who took care of my Nana for most of her life ended up giving me her CD collection when she moved out for a short while. A few of these albums were on this list. One of the first I got was R.E.M.'s Green. This will have been the second one.

I put this background upfront because I found some sentimentality in Cyndi Lauper's debut. For sure, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" is a bop I heard before, but this was my first full-on connection to her music. It was nice hearing how charismatic and endearing Cyndi was at such a young age, and how the pop compositions surrounding her voice were tight and well-elevated. She could go toe-to-toe with Prince after how she covered his song "When You Were Mine".

That said, the sound is very much locked into the synthesizer-drenched 80s style, which isn't unlike the Prince albums I've heard already. Though probably even more detrimental is that side one overpowers side two. While "She Bop" is a delight and there isn't a bad song in the second half, the album peaked in the front, particularly with the ballad "Time After Time" as one of the few songs to transcend the decade it came from.

She's So Unusual is still a fun album backed by a strong and ferocious personality. Perhaps that's what my aunt gravitated towards when she got the album.

It took me a bit to determine if I heard Fleet Foxes' music before. That was answered with the second track "White Winter Hymnal" which I listened to in passing. The rich vocal harmonies, the jangly guitar strumming, the lush organic instrumentation, that was a sound that I don't hear often, but when I do it served as a nice wash over me. That's pretty much the sentiment for the whole record, where the group took cues from the bright and cheery pop of the 1960s mixed with alternative country to create a chill vibe that covers you like a warm blanket.

Sure, this is another debut album where the lyrics aren't too deep, but the atmosphere is impeccable enough to make it stand out in the indie folk scene. In that regard, Fleet Foxes' record was worth checking out on that quality alone.

As a fun fact to end this review, shortly before the release of this debut, the band brought on drummer Josh Tillman to replace Nicholas Peterson. He would work with the group for a couple of years before branching off and finding success on his own under the moniker Father John Misty. It's interesting how life works that way.

Let me be apparent from the get-go that this debut album from Black Flag is a foundational record from the hardcore punk scene, and that cannot be denied. The fast guitar riffs from Dez Cadena, the shredding lead from Greg Ginn, the chugging bass from Chuck Dokowski, the visceral howls from Henry Rollins, the claustrophobic atmosphere as the album transitions from the wild party into pure self-destruction, the timelessness of the lyrics that stray from any explicit political references. These elements coalesce into a brutal record that served as a much-needed catharsis for the underappreciated youth that has maintained relevance, even if some of the shows mentioned on "TV Party" have long ended.

Sure, it's not a lyrically deep record, and the grooves could have afforded a little more support on the low end to drive them further in the mix. But those issues I have don't stop Damaged from being a potent slice of bleak introspection that has transcended its time.

This is another album on which I'm contemplating what more I can contribute to the larger conversation. Just to make sure, I did listen to Nevermind in full again today to determine if any song on here has aged poorly or no longer resonated with me. As it turned out, that was not the case; every track on this album was still as good as when I first heard them. Even the hidden track "Endless, Nameless" was enjoyable in its raw, distorted delivery, and my mileage varies on hidden tracks.

It's weird because I didn't exactly grow up with Nirvana. I was born a year after Kurt Cobain tragically took his own life. Rather, as time went on and I got into more rock music, Nirvana seemed to creep its way into my life through what I enjoyed. Whether it was song inclusions on various music video game soundtracks like "In Bloom" on Rock Band and "Breed" on Guitar Hero: On Tour, soundtrack use in movies such as "Something in the Way" used a recurring motif for The Batman, listening to the likes of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Come As You Are" on FM radio, or the multiple artists that have covered them since such as Post Malone and St. Vincent, the legacy of this short-lived group has lived on in the cultural zeitgeist. After all, this was an album that helped usher in the sound of the 1990s, and the lyrics and style of that era have continued to resonate in the modern world.

I don't expect everyone to enjoy this album. Hell, there's a good chance you heard enough of this album already to know where you stand on it. For me, it was simply nice to revisit Nevermind and appreciate it.

Drive-By Truckers is one of those groups that I've heard at least one song before, but not a band I usually sought out. They're a southern alternative country rock band founded by Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley that quickly established themselves over a couple of years to the point where through word of mouth and fan support, they raised enough funds to independently release this album.

Southern Rock Opera is very much what it says on the tin, telling the story of the fictitious group Betamax Guillotine as they establish themselves in the 1970s Southern rock scene around the same time as the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd did. They were able to weave as much of the imagery and events as they could, from Ronnie Van Zant and Neil Young's friendship on the track bearing their names to the stereotypical associations of the state of Alabama with the song "Sweet Home Alabama", college football, and casual racism on "The Three Great Alabama Icons", to the plane crash that killed Ronnie, Steve Gaines, and his sister Cassie as cataloged from "Shut Up and Get on the Plane" through "Angels and Fuselage". There's a lot of detail explored from the fictional band's account as they try and carve out their path that could also be viewed as somewhat autobiographical from the actual band, such as "Guitar Man Upstairs" from when Cooley would get called by the cops over playing his guitar, Patterson's teenage years partying and listening to arena rock on "Let There Be Rock", and "72 (Highway's Mean)" about the US state highway that runs through their neighborhood and the rough lifestyle around it. It's all sold with the kind of conviction that took some getting used to from Patterson's fried vocals and Cooley's crooning that sounded reminiscent of Johnny Cash, but it eventually clicked for me.

Alright, so I just praised the hell out of the storytelling, and the musicianship is certainly there as the band played well. What's stopping me from outright calling this album excellent? Well, there's a matter of the run time; Southern Rock Opera is over 90 minutes long, and much like an actual opera an intermission was needed for me. While there isn't a bad song to be found, there are tracks that run together lyrically with the shared themes of partying, drinking, and playing rock music. While some details surrounding the Alabama roots are explored and some insight and catharsis are found in the chronology of the state's people and iconography, I'm not sure it was enough to satisfy the full runtime.

Also not helping matters is keeping Lynyrd Skynyrd within the periphery of the fictional band's focus, especially in Act II taking the time to explore Skynyrd's claim to fame on "Life in the Factory" and the heartfelt tribute to Steve and Cassie Gaines on "Cassie's Brother". The choice for such a narrative invites comparisons to a more established act, especially considering the original Ronnie Van Zant run of Skynyrd. Do the Drive-By Truckers sound as good as Lynyrd Skynyrd? Well no, but that misses the point. This story was meant to be about another band that certainly felt inspired by Skynyrd but was looking to chart their path. It took me some time to realize that, but I understand where such expectations can come from.

I can come around at the end and say that Southern Rock Opera is a good outing, one that certainly was more ambitious than what would be initially perceived. If anything, I appreciate what Drive-By Truckers brought to the table here as a storytelling adventure.

I'll leave y'all with one last factoid that should be worth celebrating about this album. During the touring for Southern Rock Opera, the band would welcome a young Jason Isbell as their third guitarist. Isbell would continue to work with Drive-By Truckers for the next six years before venturing out and taking claim as a renowned singer-songwriter on his own and with the 400 Unit. That is something I'm truly grateful for.

Ahh yes, the album The Yes Album from the band Yes. Joking aside, I have enjoyed the occasional Yes before as a progressive rock outfit, with a lot of their notable songs involving multiple movements and odd time signatures. That much was evident on this album, where "Yours Is No Disgrace", "Starship Trooper", "I've Seen All Good People" and "Perpetual Change" are all excellent showcases of the band's songwriting and instrumental skill. From the eclectic basslines of Chris Squire to the infectious guitar riffs and soloing of Steve Howe, to the percussive bombast of Bill Bruford, to the ethereal piano, organ, and Moog synth play of Tony Kaye, and even Jon Anderson's natural above-tenor singing all contribute to such outstanding sonic adventures.

That said, as much as I enjoyed the long songs on The Yes Album, the short songs I found paradoxically not that interesting. "The Clap" is a brief acoustic guitar noodling from Steve Howe recorded live that sounds out of place on this record. While "A Venture" sounded better integrated in the studio led by Kaye's piano line, the rest of the song is a hazy jazz swing that feels like it goes nowhere as the composition keeps returning to the harmonized refrain of "hide away". I understand if these short songs were meant to act as relief between the longer songs, but if I'm being honest if it were just the longer songs on this album, the quality would be much better.

That said, The Yes Album is a great album from Yes that showcases the band's leaps in songwriting and composition.

Let me get my one hang-up out of the way - I'm not a big fan of Lou Reed's talk-singing. This was the case with the Velvet Underground's debut album earlier on my journey, and now again with his second solo album Transformer. It might be hard to imagine some of these songs with a more conventional singer, but at the same time, his vocal style is an element I don't always find myself captivated by. That's just me.

With that said man Lou was a fantastic song-crafter. He had this knack for writing songs as if they were poems taking on new life, expanded upon by catchy guitar hooks and a well-timed rhythm section. There are excellent riffs here on the likes of "Vicious", "Andy's Chest", "Hangin' 'Round", "Wagon Wheel", "I'm So Free" and especially "Walk on the Wild Side". At the same time, he mixed in a few well-done piano-driven ballads such as "Perfect Day" and "Satellite of Love", and ended on a quirky show tune with "Goodnight Ladies". It's apparent he was having fun putting these songs on tape, and David Bowie and Mick Ronson did a superb job on the production as a thank you to him.

Even if I'm not into Lou's talk-singing, I can still recognize Transformer as a landmark album for art rock and glam rock, which you could say was transformative.

I was born in the mid-1990s and grew up in the 2000s, so I didn't have the baked-in nostalgia for Culture Club and their big single "Karma Chameleon". When I heard that song later, all I could say was that it was catchy but not the kind of 80s song I sought. The group garnered their fanbase, particularly with Boy George's androgynous fashion style that would certainly be influential, and I didn't mind if a song of theirs would come on the radio. Still, again it wasn't my cup of tea.

So imagine my luck that I got the album with "Karma Chameleon" as the first track. Between that and the rest of side one, the production was muted and dated in its glossy presentation such that these first couple of songs lacked the punch to stand out amidst the various new wave and blue-eyed soul acts I've heard already. By the end of "That's the Way (I'm Only Trying to Help You)" I was ready to give up on Colour By Numbers.

Then side two opened with "Church of the Poison Mind" with the accented beat, harmonica soloing, and more effortful delivery from Boy George, and I awoke from the slumber I was in. Following that number with the equally groovy "Miss Me Blind", the horns and tropical vibe of "Mister Man", the surprising synthesizer sweep of "Stormkeeper", and the elegant piano ballad "Victims", and it came as a shock to me that side two was just that good. I even went back and listened to side one to see if my mind somehow changed, and no, it's just the quality of the music elevated literally after flipping the record over. I've heard of albums getting top heavy with putting the best songs near the front, but an album rarely is bottom heavy.

Suffice to say, the second half of Colour By Numbers saved this album from being lost in the sea of 80s new wave acts. Your mileage may vary from my experience, but at least I enjoyed a Culture Club album, which is more than I initially expected.

The Human League is one of those groups I only knew for a few singles: "Don't You Want Me" and "Being Boiled". I did not have much of an idea for what I was going to get into with Dare, save for the one single I knew at the end and the general understanding that they are a synth-pop that underwent a massive lineup change for this album after founding members Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh left over creative differences with lead vocalist Phillip Oakley. This was Oakley's revisioning of the band into a more forward-thinking pop sound, and I'll admit it was pretty good.

Sure, this album was always going to blurt out what period it's from with the synths and programmed drums. Opening track "The Things That Dreams Are Made Of" might as well be a litmus test for one's enjoyment of this record. But even then, it's still an excellent capture of that early synth-pop. Between the eclectic synthesizer work, the occasional female vocal backup from Joanne Catherall and Susan Ann Sulley, and Oakley's distinctly English high-pitch vocals, there's an off-kilter flair with the group working these hooks that made them sound distinct as a formative act. This sounds like the kind of music that would become influential to a lot of electronic pop groups.

In that regard, I consider Dare to be in the same camp as Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark's Architecture And Morality as a good introduction to the synthpop genre, which is as good of praise as I can give it.

I can't say I heard of Hugh Masekela before. From what I can gather, he was a renowned South African trumpeter, flugelhornist and jazz composer active in the anti-apartheid movement. As such, his music, even in an instrumental sense, could be viewed as a desire for political change in his homeland.

In the case of this album, Home Is Where the Music Is, the marriage of bebop style jazz and South African folk rhythms can be viewed as an homage to his upbringing and a celebration of black African culture and talent amidst racial segregation. The album starts nicely with Hugh's staccato trumpeting on the opener "Part of a Whole", to the lush tickling of the ivory keys on "Minawa", to the bustling New York busy vibe of "The Big Apple" to establish the musicianship on display. After that is when the challenge kicks in, from the more experimental spare horn arrangement on "Unhome", to the complex rhythm pattern and sway on "Maseru", to the harsh stomp of "Inner Crisis" and intense percussive roll of "Blues for Huey". There's a bit of a rest after the onslaught with the wonderful jazz ballad "Nomali" and the poignant soul of "Maesha", before ending on the most overt homage to Hugh's roots on "Ingoo Pow-Pow (Children's Song)" with the Afrobeat percussion and passionate chanting. By the end, the journey taken is clear, from the comforts of jazz music into more challenging and daring ideas as Hugh showed his love and support towards his country.

Honestly, my only gripe with this album is that it is a rather long listen, clocking in at over 76 minutes. I can imagine someone putting this record in the background, and they can certainly enjoy it in passing. It probably takes a level of attention and engagement to follow the path that Hugh set forth back to his homeland.

I consider Home Is Where the Music Is to be a rewarding listen, one that spoke about Hugh Masekela's cultural heritage in a way that mere words would not have done it justice.

War is an R&B/progressive soul band I've heard a few singles here and there such as "Low Rider" and "Spill the Wine". This will have been my first full album listen, and while I consider The World is a Ghetto to be a decent at times great album, there are elements to it that hold me back from fully praising it.

It's weird because the album starts strong with "Cisco Kid" and "Where Was You At" with the bouncy rhythm, smattering of bongos and organ play, and call-and-response vocals that's the fun and inviting side similar to those singles I mentioned earlier. Even the 13-minute instrumental "City, Country, City" invokes those warm feelings as it plays around a central harmonica motif while introducing different progressions with the rest of the group involved.

But then I realized there are three different super-long tracks, and each one progressively gets slower and more downbeat in tone. Even though I don't consider "Four Cornered Room" and the title track to be bad and certainly have their place in the larger narrative of racial and cultural divide, they drag the overall momentum of the album down to the point where it felt longer than it did to me. Thankfully, "Beetles in the Bog" ends on an anthemic note.

I'd say The World is a Ghetto is a solid album from War that showcased what they were capable of with their sound. It's certainly ambitious with its ideas and execution, even if I felt it could have been done a little better.

To call this simply a Beastie Boys album is a bit of a misnomer, because Paul's Boutique was a team effort between the boys and the Dust Brothers to create a fresh and innovative venture in the world of sample-based hip-hop.

The production takes center stage as they got wildly creative with the many samples and how they are interweaved in these tracks. Having listened to a fair amount of tracks beforehand, it was fun to follow along and pick out different elements that were inserted, chopped, spliced, slowed down, sped up, and manipulated in other such manners. The bassline from Curtis Mayfield's "Superfly" with the string arrangements from the themes of Psycho and Saw on "Egg Man", the multiple Beatles samples on "The Sounds of Science", the opening drums of Led Zeppelin's "Moby Dick" into a combination of riffs from Gene Harris and The Three Sounds, "Put On Train," and Alice Cooper's "It's Hot Tonight" on "What Comes Around", the back masked guitar play from the Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Are You Experienced?" on "B-Boy Bouillabaisse: 59 Chrystie Street", ending the album on a scratched-out sample of Chic's "Good Times" on "B-Boy Bouillabaisse: A.W.O.L.", I could go on. The samples are even incorporated as ad-libs in the Beastie Boys' rapping, such as the titular phrases for "Shake Your Rump" and "Hey Ladies". Even the Beastie Boys themselves are sampled from their first album, such as the "Kick it" line from "Fight For Your Right (To Party)" on "Johnny Ryall". If this album were just instrumental like the Dust Brothers originally intended, it would have been an underground classic already.

Adding to the experience were the Beastie Boys themselves, with such tight lyrical focus as MCA, Mike D and Ad-Rock effectively bounced off each other's flows. Between the numerous lyrical references, the aforementioned sample ad-lib incorporation, witty humor and self-awareness of the image they garnered from Licensed to Ill, they made the most of their rhymes over the foundation they created with the Dust Brothers.

Between the lyrics and production, never once did Paul's Boutique get stale or overwhelming for me. This is an astounding record from the golden age of hip hop, before copyright laws caught up with sampling. In a word, game-changer.

After hearing What's Going On, I figured other Marvin Gaye albums were on the list. What I was not expecting to get today was his divorce album.

Here, My Dear was recorded to pay off his ex-wife Anna Gordy Gaye during their divorce proceedings. Because this predicament occupied his mind heavily during the sessions, Marvin ultimately decided to write the songs in a perverse dedication to her, airing out a lot of the dirty laundry between them. From the short chronology of their time together on "I Met a Little Girl" to the protective anger over their adoptive son Marvin Gaye III on the title track, to the million dollar divorce settlement on "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You", to the admittance of paying his ex-wife's lawyer fees at the end of "Is That Enough", to the bitter reflection on the lavish lifestyle he provided her on "Anna's Song", Marvin goes all out with the details. In between are moments where he also reflects on himself at this point, including the complexity of volatile emotions running through him on "Anger", his cocaine and sex addiction on "Time to Get It Together", and his desire to be free evoking the image of the sparrow flying and singing its song.

This album can be difficult to listen to, dependent on how privy one is to the information regarding Marvin and Anna's split, especially where we understandably could not get Anna's side from this record. At least from what Marvin provided, it's apparent he bled his heart out onto the paper to get this out. The fact that Here, My Dear still sounds amazing in its blend of soul and funk is a testament to Marvin as a song composer and producer, creating the kind of sonic jams to wallow in on the dancefloor. The tenor saxophone solo on the "instrumental" version of "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You", the p-funk space fantasy of "A Funky Space Reincarnation" with the shuffling percussion, other groovy tracks such as "Anger" and "Falling in Love Again" all showcase how the personnel involved in the backbone of this record did a phenomenal job with what they were given while providing some variance in the styles.

If this album is too much for you, I get it. Divorces are usually not easy to process, certainly not if one airs out all the details on an album. But Marvin went and made lemonade out of the lemons he was given in his dissolved marriage from Anna, and that's got to be a testament to his tenacity and creative passion.

I already heard Achtung Baby on this journey and how U2 reinvented themselves going into the 90s. It's about time we took a step back to what I consider to be the peak of their first run with The Joshua Tree.

This album is undoubtedly the most anthemic the band ever got in their Irish-rooted heartland rock, where the songs bounce and sway with the sort of quiet explosion that the band were capable of back in the 80s. From the Edge's jaunty guitar strumming, Larry Mullen Jr.'s pulsating drums, Adam Clayton's infectious bass cylinders, and young Bono's soaring vocals, and aided by the rhythm section focused production of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, the band had this unparalleled etherealness for the time.

The most shining aspect of this album is the lyrics that tread the line between earnest comfort and socially charged poignancy. From the single-minded searching in "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", the condemnation of US foreign policy for the unrest caused in Central America on "Bullet the Blue Sky" and "Mothers of the Disappeared", the tragic drug-riddled couple portrayed in "Running to Stand Still", to reflections on the loss of a close friend of the band on "One Tree Hill", there's personal stake that Bono took in. This was not simply his beef with the Reagan administration, but just how to reconcile with oneself and move forward, to find pathos in what one thought the land of the free would be versus what it was. As such, the content of this album remains starkingly relevant to this day.

I know that following this album would be the release of Rattle and Hum, which exposed how pretentious the band ended up being, and they would spend decades having to live up and down from where they were here. Regardless of what came next, The Joshua Tree remained a strong album in U2's discography, when their songwriting reached its apex.

It's about time for another eye-opening experience from the album generator. In this case, we have the collaborative album between Brazilian singer-songwriters Milton Nascimento and Lô Borges titled Clube Da Esquina. These two met on the streets of Belo Horizonte, along with another singer-songwriter, Beto Guedes. Milton was introduced to Lô's brothers Márcio and Marilton and they started working together from there. For six months, everyone alternated roles in songwriting and production, determined to make it all work despite the cultural restrictions placed under the military dictatorship Brazil experienced at the time.

The result is a double album of twenty-one tracks that act as a melting pot of various styles and uplifting lyrics. Taking influence from the likes of traditional Brazilian music, bossa nova, rock, jazz fusion, samba and psychedelia, everyone involved played with elegance in providing a rich soundscape not unlike what the Beatles and Beach Boys did a couple of years prior. Of particular note are the gentle brush of the acoustic guitars, the complex rhythm of the percussion, and the combined soft vocal effort of Lô and Milton, providing a sense of comfort and escapism from oppression.

Honestly, my only problem with this album is that it's long, clocking in at over an hour. Don't get me wrong, most of these songs are well done, and the group probably felt the desire to record as much as they could. Perhaps a few of the shorter songs like both "Saídas e Bandeiras" tracks and "Estrelas" could have been fleshed out more, but what we got is still a miracle given the conditions they were under.

It's clear that Clube Da Esquina had a significant impact on Brazilian popular music given how daring and creative it was. That fact alone makes the case for this list of albums to listen to before you die. The bonus was that it was an enjoyable experience to listen to in today's world, representing the best of what can come about from a chance encounter.

I've only started listening to Arcade Fire within the past year. It's not that I hadn't heard of the Canadian indie rock group in passing before, but I had never felt the desire to seek them out until recently. Their second album Neon Bible is my first full-album experience with them, and I enjoyed it for the most part.

The first aspect I will credit Arcade Fire with is in the song composition, where these songs were written with irresistible catchy melodies using a wide variety of instruments. From the grand organ, acoustic guitar strumming and light xylophone motif that opens "Intervention", to the stomp-and-holler complete with the string accompaniment on "Keep the Car Running", and the lush quiet storm with the piano dirge on "Ocean of Noise", these people had a knack for creating some hooks even with the looming dread that eminates from this album.

That sense of dread is there for a reason, as lyrically Neon Bible goes for the gloomy outward look at people being bought in to their obsessions. From the corporate overreach that lurks in the background in "Keep the Car Running", the addiction to electronic devices in "Black Mirror", the gripping control of organized religion in the title track and "Intervention", and the desperate escape from one's past in "Black Wave / Bad Vibrations", the group pulls from different perspectives of people who lose themselves in what they choose to take in. At various points such as on "Black Mirror", "Ocean of Noise" and "Black Wave", the ocean is used as a larger metaphor for the individual going deeper and losing their self-control. It certainly makes for a big swing at a cohesive narrative.

The problem I have with Neon Bible though is that the lyrics aren't as deep as the ocean they narratively draw from. It's not that they aren't trying to make a point, but rather it comes off as more vague and trying to have universal appeal without getting visceral or damning, save for maybe "(Antichrist Television Blues)" which drew parallels from Joe Simpson's management of his singer-songwriter daughters Jessica and Ashlee to create a tale of the pious Christian father that sexually exploits his little girl. Although even that song is tonally questionable as a jaunty, Springsteen-esque tune. Also, it felt weird that the last two tracks were the anthemic uplifting "No Cars Go" followed by the dreary, contemplative closer "My Body is a Cage". Both songs are fine on their own, but the one-two succession of them left me with a bizarre sonic whiplash.

Still, overall I did enjoy Neon Bible, as it was clear for their second album, Arcade Fire went for more ambitious strides. I'd consider it a nice transitory album that was hopefully followed up with a better outing.

Okay, for this review, I listened to the North American release of this album, and excluded the bonus tracks added to the 1997 CD reissue, from "Stone Free" to "Red House".

It's been a while since I heard from Mr. Hendrix, after getting Axis: Bold as Love as album #3 on my journey. It was an enjoyable piece of familiarity in a rather experimental first week. So it is no surprise that the prior album is also great, perhaps even better.

Are You Experienced is one of those bona fide debut albums long recognized as a game-changer. You can hear how Jimi and his band took the blues rock structure and flipped it on its head, incorporating other styles and techniques. From the backward masking of the guitar and drums on the title track, to the tribal rhythms of "I Don't Live Today", to the blazin' fast funk of "Fire", to the serene ballad "The Wind Cries Mary" and the triple meter of "Manic Depression", Jimi wrote and composed with such wild tenacity. Both Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums were well-prepared to maintain the backbone of these tracks. Even the cover of Billy Roberts's "Hey Joe" is given new life with the fuzzed out guitar soloing and equally matched ferocity of the backing band.

I could go on, but my point is clear—Are You Experienced is a phenomenal debut album that quickly cemented the legacy of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. It is truly groundbreaking.

Okay, an album from Al Green makes sense on a list like this, where you're trying to include as many cornerstones of popular music as possible. Given the man's legendary status as a soul singer, you'd feel obligated to include at least one work from him.

To the list's credit, Let's Stay Together is a solid outing where the songs are well-played by the backing band as Al effortlessly embellishes and reaches those falsetto notes almost effortlessly. A few tracks like the title track, "So You're Leaving" and "I've Never Found a Girl (Who Loves Me Like You Do)" are certifiable bangers out of the gate with the horn accompaniments.

That said, I can't say I'm overly wowed by this album. It's a decent at times great listen, but some songs are purposefully slowed down to illicit a more romantic feeling where the energy is dialed back such as on "What is This Feeling" and the cover of the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart", hampering the overall pace.

I was admittedly looking at what other soul albums were put out in 1972. When you got the likes of Bill Withers's Still Bill, Stevie Wonder's Talking Book and Curtis Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack, that's some stiff competition that I can't say this album holds a candle to in overall quality. Not to mention, Al himself would put out another album that year with I'm Still in Love With You, and maybe that's the album that could've been included on this list. Perhaps this album will grow on me over time, and it's hard to get that sense within a day's listening.

I will give the list the benefit of the doubt here; Let's Stay Together is a solid and respectable choice to include from one of soul's greatest artists. Even if my bar has been set rather high for the genre, this album was still a delight.

For those who don't know, Robbie Williams originally rose to prominence as part of the 90s UK boy band Take That before leaving the group over his behavior. He started pursuing a solo career, taking influence from the then-current Britpop trend, thus leading to this debut album. I will say I didn't have many expectations going into this album, because this could have been either good or a niche relic from when Robbie dominated the British tabloids. What did we get with Life Thru a Lens?

Well color me impressed, because this was a pretty great solo debut. It's evident from Robbie's songwriting evoked from his struggles with fame, coupled with top-notch production from Guy Chambers and Steve Power, that they were pulling all the stops to make this work outside of Take That. He's able to play well with a few different styles, from the funky "Ego Agogo" to the ballad "Angels" and the more straightforward rocker "Old Before I Die". Even if it's apparent that Robbie spent a lot of time with Oasis, he's largely effective in taking influence from them.

Granted, this is not a flawless album. I did not care for the swampy bass-leaden tread of "South of the Border", and while it was a respectful note to end on a poem where Robbie got to lash out against a former schoolteacher that didn't believe in him, having it as a hidden track ten minutes after "Baby Girl Window" was not a smart decision as it hurt the replay value of the former track.

Still, I'm amazed at how solid Life Thru a Lens turned out. I'm glad Robbie made amends with his old mates in Take That, but he was able to carve his avenue effectively.

For this review, I listened to the tracklist of the original U.K. release, and chose to ignore the tacked-on bonus track "Fools Gold".

I've heard a few Stone Roses songs from the Guitar Hero games: "She Bangs the Drums" and "Love Spreads". They seemed like a short-lived group I didn't hate, but I wasn't wowed over either. Well, that changed today with checking out their debut album, and I can now say that they had at least one good outing.

With their debut, the Stone Roses invented the Madchester sound, a very English mixture of alternative rock and psychedelia, taking inspiration from the jangle pop of the 1960s. The jaunty guitar lines from John Squire, the tight rhythm section from Mani Mounfield and Reni Wren, Ian Brown's delightfully British vocals, and John Leckie's atmospheric and revered production made for such a rich style. Songs like "She Bangs the Drums", "Waterfall", "Made of Stone", and the eight-minute closer "I Am the Resurrection" popped off with a certain hazy yet danceable bliss that I can see how they would go on to influence the Britpop sound of the 90s.

If I had to make a complaint, this album does drag a bit in the middle, particularly around tracks like "Bye Bye Bad Man" and "Elizabeth My Dear". They're not bad songs, but they're also not strongly composed compared to the rest.

That said, this was a great debut album from the Stone Roses. Sure, the second album would be an over-bloated nightmare and the band would dissolve quickly after, but for the one time, the band was on top of British popular music and deservedly so.