Reviews by apollo

The Band (despite it's generic name for both the band and album) is a pretty good album. With it's album art and the fact that the other The Band album's sound, i came in here expecting some country rock and i was completely correct. The main thing i liked about this album is that it was able to find a good balance between more rocking songs as well as softer ones. There is also the fact that no song on here sounds bad as they had nothing that made them too annoying or boring to listen to. I also do think that this is better than Music From Big Pink due to the fact that the production here is just so much better. This album is a really solid one.
Best Song: King Harvest (Has Surely Come)
Worst Song: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

Illinois is a really interesting album i really like. It really does earn it's name as it really does have that feel of a city in Illinois (though i think New York would also work for this as well) I also do quite like it for all it's variety seeing just how many instruments are there with most of them being played by Stevens himself. Everything from an acoustic guitar, piano, oboe, triangle and many more are here. I also do love how long a lot of the song titles are, they do fit the songs rather well. It was long at around 74 minutes but still was able to do more than enough to remain interesting. I enjoyed this album for being as weird and interesting as it is.
Best Song: The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
Worst Song: Decatur, or, Round of Applause for Your Step-Mother!

Kenya was an album that was shockingly very good. I'm not really the biggest fan of most jazz music since albums of it can either tend to be too boring or too messy and all over the place. However, this one was able to strike a good balance between soft jazz and more big band jazz. It had enough going on as to where it kept me interested but never went too far with it to make it become messy and abrasive. There do seem to be some cuban elements here but i don't really hear them anywhere in the songs at it really does have the sound of a typical big band album. Even so, i still enjoyed my time with this album and think of it as one of the better jazz albums out there.
Best Song: Conversation
Worst Song: Congo Mulence

Sao Paulo Confessions was a pretty enjoyable album. I always am in the mood for a good electronic album especially when it is something different from the typical EDM i often hear including things like Acid Jazz which this album falls into. The songs often had this cool downtempo-ish vibe to them which made them have a cool and serious tone. The Latin elements on display were pretty cool too. Some of the electronic elements did not mesh together well and ended up being a bit annoying but it never got too terrible. I still ended up enjoying this album and i am a bit sad to find out this was Suba's last album before his death, RIP Suba.
Best Song: Na Neblina
Worst Song: Felicidade

Tubular Bells was definitely an album that had potential but unfortunately wasted it. It definitely has an interesting structure for an album with it just being 2 songs but having multiple parts to them. I can also really appreciate it for trying loads of different styles of music. The problem is some of the parts sound really bad. These parts were mainly the parts where Oldfield decides to commit musical war crimes with his guitars and dear lord, these could get incredibly abrasive. Even some of the good parts could get repetitive. I can't in good conscience give this a 1 because there were good areas and there is also my appreciation for him trying many musical styles but i still don't think its a very good album.
Best Song: Tubular Bells, Part Two
Worst Song: Tubular Bells, Part One
Side note: Yes, i know it is kinda redundant to have a best and worst songs area since there are technically only two tracks here but i don't care, i do as i please.

Broken English wasn't what i was expecting at all. From the genres listed on the reviews page, i thought that this was gonna be a folk rock album in the same vein as something like Joni Mitchell or Suzanne Vega who i looked at a few days ago. But i guess i should have seen it when i saw the listed genres on it's Wikipedia page that this would be a new wave album but they still caught me off guard. The album is pretty good though as the music is pretty good and the new wave and folk rock elements come together quite nicely. The lyrics are a bit weird though (especially in Why'd Ya Do It, which is a shame as if the lyrics were better, that song would have been my favorite one). It is still a rather enjoyable album for what it is.
Best Song: Guilt
Worst Song: What's The Hurry?

American Beauty is an okay album. Grateful Dead is just one of those bands where i knew who they were due to seeing every person under the sun wear shirts of them but i never really heard any of their songs until now. I always thought that they were a more punkish band due to their general image but nope, it seems they are more of a psychedelic country rock band. As for the album itself, it's fine, it does it's job well enough. None of the songs are real standouts but do generally have some good musicianship and lyrics. The album also didn't go on for too long which was nice. Other than that though, i don't have too much to say about this album.
Best Song: Sugar Magnolia
Worst Song: Attics of My Life

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (great name by the way) was a pretty good album. Of the currently 3 Kinks albums that i have heard, this one is probably the best of the bunch. The main reason for this is the fact that the production got quite a huge upgrade over Face To Face and Something Else as it sounds a lot less grainy and way more crisp. This album still has a lot of the rough values that the other two albums had by using the guitars to get that sound and that is a good thing as i did enjoy that rough sound the other two albums had. The album also had enough going on as to where it didn't get tedious. This is easily the best Kinks album i have done so far.
Best Song: Brainwashed
Worst Song: Some Mother's Son

Suzanne Vega was an album that did what it set out to do rather well. It is another one of those more relaxing folk albums kinda like stuff by Cat Stevens or Joni Mitchell and i always do enjoy them as they have some pretty relaxing vibes. This album was no exception to that rule as it shared a lot of the strengths it has with albums like those. The songs here are relaxing and have some pretty good stories within them. It is not perfect though as some of the songs can become quite samey to each other and i was not a fan of some of the vocals in Cracking but those were some small gripes i had with it. I still enjoyed this album a decent bit.
Best Song: Neighborhood Girls
Worst Song: Cracking

Iron Maiden is definitely an album i really enjoyed. It is always good when i get another metal album for the stockpile as i love nearly everything that genre puts out and this album is absolutely no exception. It is definitely a more basic album as it is an album that came out in 1980 but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. This album is still fast frenetic and has all the great guitar riffs, crushing drum beats and everything else you could want from this genre. Granted, this album's basic nature does make it a little bit forgettable but i never at any point disliked what i was hearing. This is an absolutely great album that i still really enjoyed from beginning to end.
Best Song: Remember Tomorrow
Worst Song: Charlotte the Harlot

Believe it or not, I don't think that More Specials is all that special. Apparently, this album influenced a lot of trip-hop artists in the 90s but i just don't really see the influence they took from this album. I only really see this album as a ska album with a few electronic elements but not enough to be the influence for a lot of trip-hop records. As for the album, it's not bad but it is very forgettable as many of these songs just blend together and just don't have all that much to keep them interesting (except for International Jet Set, i actually rather enjoyed that one) It's not bad but it is something that makes me question the band's name.
Best Song: International Jet Set
Worst Song: Enjoy Yourself (Reprise)

Maverick A Strike is another one of those albums where the music is good but the lyrics aren't so good. I really do like the fact that it is an album that goes beyond it's main genre by taking influence from others. I always love it when albums do that as it adds more flavor to them. This one mainly is reggae but takes quite a few influences from genres like rock, R&B and hip-hop. My main problem with this album though is the lyrics. These lyrics felt like they were written by someone who was incredibly desperate for a lover (especially in I Need A Lover) Finley just says some pretty creepy things which just feel very off-putting. Other than that, it's a good album, just wish it had better lyrics.
Best Song: Supreme I Preme
Worst Song: Red Rolled and Seen

When i got my first impression of Jason Pierce's music, i thought i was gonna hate it but after listening to all three albums he worked on that are on this project, I actually kinda liked them and Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space may actually be the best one of them all. One of the most interesting things about this album is how it was packaged. It was packaged as if it was prescription medication, even going so far as to having a booklet containing "Dosage Advice". It is weird since i don't think that this is the most drug-tripy album on this list, not even close. Even so, the music was pretty good and fit the space rock sound quite well. It's still not perfect but it is Jason Pierce's best work.
Best Song: Broken Heart
Worst Song: All of My Thoughts

The Modern Lovers is one of those albums where its a good listen but it is a case of "What do you expect me to say about it?". It really is your typical 70s punk rock album if i have ever seen one as it has all the quirks that an album like that would have. This band does have a pretty interesting history though seeing as this album came out two years after the band broke up. I do find that fact pretty interesting seeing as not a lot of bands do this very often. There is also the fact that it is their first album meaning that nothing ever got released when this band was together. I may be touching on this a bit too much but i find this more interesting than the actual album.
Best Song: Pablo Picasso
Worst Song: Roadrunner

The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway is an album that had everything to be a 4 star album. The music is good with Brian Eno's "Enossification" on some of the tracks as well as all the other musicians doing their part rather well. Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins also held their end of the bargain when it came to the vocals as well. So, why is it only a 3 star album? Well, i'll tell you why, it's because this album is just way too long. The album went on for an hour and a half and never really justified itself being that long. The album never became horrible to listen to but i still found myself losing track on this album. If the album had been cut down a decent bit, it easily could have gotten 4 stars but as it stands, it only gets 3.
Best Song: In The Cage
Worst Song: The Waiting Room

Ananda Shankar was better than i was expecting it to be. I know that this guy is the son of Ravi Shankar who made an album on this list that came out way before this one but this one is what that album should have been. It still had the sitar that his dad's album had and that gave it the only bit of character that album had but this one goes beyond that by introducing some influences from western music, mainly rock and electronic music. This actually gives the album it's own identity and actually allows it to stick in my head rather than completely fade from my memory once its over. Its not perfect but i still liked this album a fair bit.
Best Song: Jumpin' Jack Flash
Worst Song: Sagar / The Ocean

I See You was a shockingly great album. This is one of the few examples where there is an ambient sounding album which still manages to have every song stick around in my head unlike so many others that leave my brain the moment they end. Of course, every song here managed to sound incredibly relaxing and dreamlike but still had enough energy to make them never feel like they are just dragging on. And unlike this band's first album, there are absolutely no hiccups at any point as the music always remained great and both Romy and Oliver's voices managed to fit the song while not sounding like they were completely bored. This one is more like "You had it all and you always did".
Best Song: Dangerous
Worst Song: Test Me

Buena Vista Social club is certainly an interesting album. Some of the songs here, especially the earlier ones, sounded like songs that you would hear in a children's animated movie (particularly, some by Disney and Pixar). This is another album where i don't really feel that one song really stands out as being the best or worst one but it is an album that i think comes together pretty well. The songs were all a bit samey but they fit together well. I mainly think that an album like this could probably count as an elevator album (return of that term) due to it just being background music but i still think that it is pretty good background music.
Best Song: Chan Chan
Worst Song: Candela

Truth And Soul is one of the strangest and quirkiest albums on this list and that's why i love it so much. The funk-metal scene back in the late 80s and early 90s is easily one of the most underrated scenes in music history as there were so many good acts around that time with this one easily being one of them. Each and every instrument in all these songs manages to bring something different to the table while still making the songs catchy and interesting to listen to. The lyrics are also enjoyably dumb and really did add to the weirdness. This album also manages to do the rare feat of being a weird album with 0 bad songs. This is easily one of the best albums i have done on this project.
Best Song: One Day
Worst Song: Bonin' In The Boneyard

Like A Prayer is a pretty good album. Instead of having a whole bunch of electronic elements like Ray Of Light did, This one seems to go for more of a typical 80s pop album. I like the former style more because it just sounds more interesting but this style is pretty good too. The songs could be pretty enjoyable but tend to blend in with each other a little too much. Madonna's vocals are the real highlight of this album as they could be really good and fit the songs perfectly. I also did like Prince's vocals in the one song that he appeared in. There are not too many stand out tracks here but i still enjoyed this album to a decent degree.
Best Song: Keep It Together
Worst Song: Cherish