Reviews by amanda

Deja Vu is right. I've had quite enough of Bing Crosby, Stephen Stills, Wyatt Nash, and Neil Young. Or whoever. I guess it's better than another Led Zeppelin, but looking at this album cover is just like, ugh. I feel like we've already had this exact album. We definitely had 'Teach Your Children' on another album of theirs (?). Are these all redos of songs from their previous albums? Is this where Taylor Swift got it from? It's not clear to me. Anyway, maybe it's just because I'm in a bad mood, but this isn't quite a 3 for me. Terrible 2s. Sorry for you, CSN(Y), try me again with your next 10 albums on this list, I'm sure.

Highlight: 'Teach Your Children', 'Our House' (only because it's in the Simpsons)

I think I've been converted to a Wonderkin (as I assume Stevie's fans are called). 'Living for the City' was a USC acapella staple, but the non-acapella* version is better (imagine that!). Slur count = 1 though. 'Higher Ground' (well, a cover of it, which I also like) is in Center Stage, one of my most favorite movies, so I have liked the song ever since. It is a bop. This album isn't quite a 4 though.

Highlights: 'Higher Ground', 'Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing'

*Wik(t)i(onary) is strangely insistent that a one-word version of this is a mistake, which is unlike their usual descriptive approach to language change! (sad!)

This Britpop sounds way too much like Ameri-rock. I guess it's OK. Maybe a few more listens would improve it, so I'll give it a 3. The middle third of the album is definitely the strongest third.

Highlight: 'Dreaming of You'

Never listened to this band, which seemed like an oversight by me (90s indie/alternative? that's my wheelhouse!) until... I listened to this band. I do like the vocals, especially Butcher's, but they are totally drowned out by unpleasant guitar. Much more "noise pop" than "dream pop". If this is what shoegaze is, give me some hatglance instead!! (Maybe part of this is my crappy laptop speakers, because I really feel like I'm missing something.)

They're SIBLINGS?! Why so many love duets? Very Folgers.

Anyway, here's another tragic death I didn't know about 'til now. Thanks a lot, album project. At least we'll always have this hilariously dated album cover. The singing and harmony is good, but it is also very old sounding, and not in a peppy 50s way, but a sleepy 60s way. 'Love is Surrender' is a little bit nefarious. I like that the saxophone is played by a Mr. Jim Horn. Our second go-around for 'Reason to Believe' (previously: Rod Stewart), but it sure didn't make an impression on me either time. Probably our second go-around for 'Help' (no exclamation here, for shame), and I don't like this version one bit. Sounds like a Casio keyboarded demo track.(However, it did reveal to me the Beatles' US "picture sleeve" for 'Help'-the-single where they are wearing funny outfits at the beach, and I enjoyed that very much.)

'(They Long to Be) Close to You' is great. Why do I like this one so much? Ah, of course, it was in the classic Simpsons episode "The Way We Was". (Also a plot device in the 1989 film..... Parenthood. Parenthood mention #5!?) It's a sweet song though. Even if it's about siblings.

This whole album really evoked being in a dark, empty department store in 1994. Of course that implies they're playing the hits from 2001 in dark department stores now, but that can't be right. Maybe I'll do some field work on this, since I just read that "Ames is in the process of a comeback, with the plan to reopen 35 stores starting in June 2026"! Sorry, I got a little off track here, but that's because the album is so boring. The small bit of pep on 'I'll Never Fall in Love Again' made me sit up real straight though. Easy Listening is the correct genre for this. Another group where I thought they had a "the" in their name but apparently don't. (That makes #10 after Beastie Boys, Pretenders, Pet Shop Boys, Beatles, Talking Heads, Eagles, Pixies, Cocteau Twins, & Fugees!)

Highlights: '(They Long to Be) Close to You', the song title 'Crescent Noon', 'Mr. Guder' (initially the title, but actually the song's relatively catchy also. Lil flute and acapella, plus silly lyrics!)

Yay. I don't have this album but I DO have other Smumpkins albums, and 20-years-ago me considered them one of my favorite bands. The original cover is not this weird orange/purple monstrosity, by the way. One thing that kept me from maintaining them as one of my favorite bands is that I don't find the lyrics that interesting, and all the songs feel pretty similar. Corgan has a unique voice, which of course I like, and I always liked James Iha and D'arcy Wretzky (who isn't really on this album). There's a lot of guitar, which I suppose bothers me more than it used to. But it feels like wistful guitar! (Not just nostalgia talking; I always thought so even in the 90s.) It's also not secondary to the vocals; they seem roughly symmetric, which is nice. A lot of happy lyrics with sad music or sad lyrics with happy music, which is something else I generally like. You can see the Iha throughline to A Perfect Circle, imo. Also, if I never read on Wiki about the "wall of sound" again it'll be too soon. Like "prog" I still have no idea what it means. Isn't every song a wall of sound?? (I imagine someone reading this and shaking their first at the screen. But I'm just speaking my truth here, man.) The violin & cello on 'Disarm' are great, but that song (and 'Today') are kind of overplayed for me now. Gosh, is this a 3? A 4? I don't know!

For the record: My favorite album of theirs is 'Adore', which I'm sure isn't on here, being both more recent and less acclaimed.

Highlights: 'Disarm', 'Sweet Sweet'

Lowlight: 'Silverfuck' (loud noises at the end there)

Whew, caught up just in time for an Iggy Pop jumpscare. It occurs to me although I've heard of him I have no idea what his deal is. Would have guessed 80s. Well, let's see. He's Bowie-adjacent. 'Lust for Life' is in a ton of stuff. But it does sound 80s! I'm validated! Some of the later songs sound more 2000s Rock Countdown (Arctic Monkeys-esque). Some are a little more guitar-heavy though. There is a guy named Warren Peace who wrote one of them, which I like, although that's not his real name. BUT it turns out there was a baseball player actually named (William) Warren Peace, which is better. Maybe I already learned this earlier, actually. Ah well. The album was fine. Didn't wow me.

A second Arcade Fire album, eh? I "have" this album digitally, but I never bought it because it didn't live up to the single that interested me - 'Rebellion (Lies)'. Still pleasant indie stuff, nice instrumentation (dare I say, orchestration), but the vocals are too muddly. And there are better songs about Laika, like Ireland's 2025 Eurovision entry!

Highlight: 'Rebellion (Lies)'

Silly Byrds! (Silly Bob Dylan!) Sounds old-timey. I like it better than Crosby et al's stuff. Pleasant. Nothing outstanding, but I wasn't particularly looking to be outstood.

Highlight: 'My Back Pages'

I've never heard of whatever this is, but the name and album cover makes me think I'll like it. Roni size is very important when choosing a pizza. Pizza fans reprazent! OK, but what are we in for?

Huh, new genre unlocked. I would have called it "British hip hop/electro", but it's apparently "drum and bass". There is indeed drum. It's OK. Alternatively aggro and chill. Some space... bass. Which I like. The drum bits really evoke 'Let's Go (The B*Witched Jig)', am I right, B*Witched fans?! And 'Heroes' is another Sonic Adventure soundtrack kin. In the end, this (very long) album is more like jazz-electro. It was OK, but like jazz, not very interesting to me because it was so amelodious. Some interesting parts but a lot of filler for your weird art party.

Lowlight: 'Morse Code' (miss me with that high pitched beeping), 'Ballet Dance' (miss me with those WINDCHIMES)

This album cover represents my feelings about seeing "Led Zeppelin IV". O, the burden I'm about to bear. I do like the cover though.

Yes, I know 'Black Dog'. Yes, it's a unique guitar part. No, Robert Plant is not Robert Smith. Yes, I wish he were. Why couldn't Johnny Cash cover this instead? Yes, I know 'Rock and Roll'. I know all the genres. 'The Battle of Evermore' made me laugh because it's like the 5th LotR-related song on this list. Guitar guys 4 Gandalf. Yes, I know 'Stairway to Heaven'. If only I could take it to get away from this song. I always considered it part of a natural class with 'Candle in the Wind' and 'Knocking on Heaven's Door', though it's the worst of those three, or maybe just the most overplayed. It does have the least annoying singing on the album so far, but is still very long and slow. 'Misty Mountain Hop' is a Hobbit reference!? You can't make this stuff up. (You gotta copy it from Tolkien.) I also know 'Going to California', which is one of the more pleasant tracks on here, being acoustic. I wonder if the Mountain Goats (who have a whole 'Going to [place]' oeuvre) made it to this list (or at least the user submitted list). I only know A Perfect Circle's cover of 'When the Levee Breaks', which has very little in common with this version (sadly). Whew, we made it. This album might have more hits than their other ones, but it's still a prototypical Led Zeppelin album, with all that entails. Fingers crossed there's no Led Zeppelin V.

Highlight: the lines "it's been a long time since I rock and rolled", "you know, sometimes words have two meanings" (I do know)

This album cover reminds me of the pictures from my childhood bathroom, which were actually paintings, but I thought for the longest time that they were pictures of my mom. Anyway, good album cover. I must confess* that I had thought Carole King was black, not because I was mixing her up with Coretta Scott or Ben E, but I think because she was a solo female artist in the disco era. Anyway, I clearly don't have a lot of Carole King knowledge, but I did know lots of these songs already: 'I Feel the Earth Move', 'It's Too Late', 'You've Got a Friend', 'Where You Lead' (Gilmore Girls theme song -- not a positive association (it's no Parenthood)), 'Will You Love Me Tomorrow' (Re: the Shirelles' cover, Wiki notes, 'When first presented with the song, lead singer Shirley Owens thought it was "too country", but relented after a string arrangement was added' - Shirley Owens, you get me), and '(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman'. They're fine songs. I guess a lot of them have (more famous?) covers, but the covers aren't distinct enough for me to have known them as different entities. Overall this album was good but mellow; definitely pleasant but not quite zippy enough for a 4. 'Tapestry' the song also mentions a coat of many colors, so I wonder if something Josephian was in the air in 1971 (because Dolly P's 'Coat of Many Colors' came out then too).

Highlight: 'Home Again'

*Must I? Yes, because one thing I'm trying to do with this project is sort out all my misconceptions about famous musicians, and if I don't write them down I won't know if I've sorted them out when I go back later! Duh!

Cyndi Looper! One of those artists where I'm more a fan of the person than the music, although these are perfectly serviceable 80s bops. I knew the singles, but I never listened to the full album before. I like the bubbly synths. Good vibes, almost a 4.

Highlights: 'All Through the Night', 'Witness'

Lowlight: 'I'll Kiss You'

Do geese see god?

Bob Dylan's 30th album is kinda like... jazz with vocals. It's okay. No hooks on a first listen. It's weird that 'Make You Feel My Love' was written by Dylan but Billy Joel's version came out 1 month before this one. I guess that's just the wacky kinda stuff you expect from Bob!

I remember Pere Ubu being one of my first true clunkers of this list. No one does musique concrète like Cleveland's own Pere Ubu! (Or so Wiki tells me.) Ah, and it starts right off with some truly horrific high pitched alarm blee-ing. Singer Dave Thomas (not that one, alas) is the son of a professor, which makes me feel good about not having kids.

Highlights: the song titles are decent; 'This Modern Dance' (are they saying "manda manda"?!); the lyrics of 'Life Stinks' (for the lols)

Lowlights: the singing, the noises

Well well well. This may have been Johnny's last album, but he certainly lives on as my enemy. Compared to Leonard Cohen's last album, I feel nothing (except annoyance about 'Hurt', as detailed previously and probably a little bit forthcomingly).

However, I never knew this was an album of mostly covers. That makes me feel a bit better. And 'The Man Comes Around' reminds me of GenKill, so that's alright. It's still hard for me to get through this version of 'Hurt', though. I gotta listen to the original a few times after this as a palate cleanser. If it weren't a cover, I'd think "sure, this is a good song". But I can't disentangle! It's too precious to me! (The only other time I felt such a deep sense of musical wrongness is Nas's 'I Can', also from 2002 (rough year), which samples Beethoven's Für Elise. Luckily that song is nowhere near as acclaimed). Apparently Trent Rezzie himself is a fan (now), but if everyone can death-of-the-author this song then I can death-of-the-author the author's take on this cover >:(

After track 2 it's like the birds are singing sweetly in the trees, where the birds are Old Johnny Cash. The relief of not hearing 'Hurt' anymore is making all the songs better. Is this album good?? It's better than the live prison one. But I'm also annoyed about 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', although inherently less so because I like the song less. I like Fiona Apple but whatever they're doing here is not for me. Luckily I don't know the Sting song so I don't have any big feelings about that one. (Sting and Bono seem like a natural class to me. I also had to look up again that Sting=Police. It's so hard to internalize!!) I also didn't know 'First Time Ever I Saw Your Face', but I read with delight on Wiki that the writer "MacColl made no secret of the fact that he disliked all of the cover versions of the song"... until I saw MacColl died in 1989. Nevertheless I have faith he would be a fellow Cash-cover-hater. This version of the song is a real snoozer, anyway. All these songs are kinda the same vibe, which I guess is the point, and that's fine, but I actually hate it. OK, there's some variation: 'Personal Jesus' made me lol a little because it was done in such earnest, and it's not one of my favorite Depeche Modes (having already been somewhat ruined by Marilyn Manson), so I didn't mind the Cashification. And at least the keyboards added something. But I do really like the OG 'In My Life', so I hate this version!!!!! If this was just a personal project he did for himself, it's great, it's beautiful, but don't make me listen to it. 'Sam Hall' is new to me, basically a folk song, and fits a classic Cash ethos, so I'm fine with that one. Same for 'Danny Boy', which I do know, but as a sad classic, I'm fine with it being here. 'Desperado' is already a hated song, so that's a perfect choice to cover! JC should have done all Eagles songs; the only way is up. This cover is fine, possibly better than the original. Like 'Danny Boy', 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry' fits very well. What is Nick Cave doing here!? Everyone's endorsing this album...! Fine song though, thanks Nick. 'Streets of Laredo' (alas, "going gay" not enough to win over this listener) is a good fit, although I'm starting to feel the length of the album. The back 4 are also fine, though uninteresting. Can't believe I made it 36 years never hearing 'Big Iron' and now I'm hearing it twice in one year. Still prefer the trail songs. This whole project is like one giant memory challenge, and I fear I'm failing. 'Tear Stained Letter' is fine, and it's not a cover! See what could have been!! I could make a 10-track version of this album that would be totally acceptable, actually. Here it is:

/The Man Comes Around, Give My Love to Rose, Sam Hall, Danny Boy, Desperado, I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry, Streets of Laredo, Wichita Lineman, Tear Stained Letter, We'll Meet Again/

Nice 'n tight, poignant, evocative, no covers that fill you with passionate rage... what could have been!!! Whew, I worked myself into quite a lather. Anyway, glad to have gotten this one over with. 'We'll Meet Again' is a nice finale. Sorry to the Cashheads; this is a 2 because I hate 'Hurt' more than any other song, but my 10-track cut would have been a respectable high 3.

Highlights: 'The Man Comes Around', 'I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry', 'We'll Meet Again'

(to the tune of 'Personal Jesus') My Own, Personal, Lowlight (of the entire 1001+ albums): 'Hurt'.

Hello, Dolly! We all love Dolly-the-human, but do we love Dolly-the-album? We think it's OK. Yet another album that evokes... Children's Favorites. Nice messages, very inviting.

Highlights: 'Coat of Many Colors', 'A Better Place to Live' (surprise surprise, I like the la-la-la-las)

Eliminator? I hardly know 'er. I could have sworn we had this already, but no, that was a different ZZ Top. I think this one is actually better than "Tres Hombres", but even though it's 80sified, it's still not my style. 'Sharp Dressed Man' always reminded me of 'Money for Nothing' (mashup potential), and the fact that there's a song about TV Dinners* on this album is only reinforcing that link for me.

I feel kind of bad giving this a 2, but it's just so much guitar, you know? A high 2, let's say.

Syntactically unnerving lowlight: the lyric "i'm needing someone like you / that i just wanna do love to" (D:)

*About it, Wiki says "these servings of industrially processed foods are standard cuisine for lonely and culinarily challenged unpartnered gentlemen", which is a nice complex NP but also feels unnecessarily gendered. Let the lonely and culinarily challenged unpartnered humans of all genders enjoy their TV dinner song >:(

Maybe this is the anti-War (good album, bad cover). I guess I don't have that much Bob Marley (or reggae) listening experience, but of the songs I already know, they all sound... a lot like these. I do like the song(s), but they definitely feel same-y. (Is reggae related to ska? It's also like that.)

Anyway, chill vibes, pleasant, decent lyrics. I'm a little sick of 'Jamming' but that's not the song's fault. Also not quite a 4 for me, but good.

Highlights: 'Waiting in Vain', especially the lyric "ooh girl, is it feasible", 'Three Little Birds'

Syntax aside: I like 'So Much Things to Say' because I also use "much" for countable nouns sometimes (so now I'm hyperattuned to it). Maybe it's dialectal and not just me being a weirdo!

This is an amazing album cover+title combo. Forget Jim Morrison, I want a poster of this in my college dorm room. Is Loretta who Lurleen Lumpkin from The Simpsons was based on? Gotta be, right? I've never listened to her before, but I feel like Loretta is basically the female Elvis. Short songs, old-timey country-pop vibe, and yet I am compelled. The vocals are extremely clear, which I guess is something I care about. 'I Really Don't Want to Know' has a good message for us all (don't ask questions you don't want answers to).

OK, I'm a genius, apparently Elvis covered a bunch of these songs (on an album called 'Elvis Country (I'm 10,000 Years Old)' -- me too, brother, me too.)

Anyway, this isn't quite a 4, but I did enjoy it. A happy day (albumly).

Syntax aside: what on earth is happening, structurally, in the lyric "A pretty boy Charlie's the name that you've been a given / And you act like the whole wide world all you were livin'"?! Is the name he's been given "Charlie" or "pretty boy Charlie"? People say *my* example sentences are weird and unnatural, but open your eyes! Weird and unnatural constructions are everywhere!

Memory aside: 'Making Plans' was also on the album "Trio"! No wonder it sounded particularly appealing (i.e. familiar).