Reviews by aretzorn

I'm going to use this review as an opportunity to flex...I was at Super Bowl XLI when Prince performed Purple Rain in the pouring rain. It was an amazing experience and absolutely colors how I review this album. Core memory unlocked, so just hearing the title track makes me want to give this album a 5. Trying to look at it objectively, this album is the epitome of 80s production. It would be great to hear these songs re-recorded with more modern production, but the bones of the songs are all outstanding so let's put that aside. Prince's talent shines through on every track, including singing, songwriting, and of course guitar playing. I want to ding the rating slightly for the oh-so-80s sound, but that just feels wrong. 5 it is. Favorite tracks: Let's Go Crazy (great sound, 80s or not), Take Me With U (very 80s, but good driving track), When Doves Cry (classic), I Would Die 4 U, and, of course, Purple Rain, Purple Rain (gotta say it twice). RIP Prince.

The album starts with a one-two punch of classics. First the title song - that opening riff is iconic and the song is so powerful. Then Cross-Eyed Mary is also a classic, but the lyrics are seriously messed up. In fact, Ian Anderson is entirely too comfortable with singing about "school girls" (see also Mother Goose). Regardless, he was a cool riff writing machine on this album (Aqualung, Cross-Eyed Mary, Up To Me, My God, Hymn 43, Locomotive Breath) and is one of the few people on earth who truly rocks on flute (check out the solo in My God. So good). The acoustic tracks are nice as well. Probably the only "miss" on the album is the final track, Wind-Up, which just sounds kind of cliche (both music and lyrics). But, overall a great album, with some outstanding musicianship (Martin Barre kills it on guitar, and John Evan's piano intro to Locomotive Breath is fantastic). Favorite tracks: Aqualung, Cross-Eyed Mary (despite the lyrics), Up to Me, My God, Hymn 43, Locomotive Breath (in other words, all the songs with awesome riffs).

Damn, this is a really good album. Never listened to it before and never even heard of this band before the 1001. I previously disliked Spaceman 3 but liked Lazer Guided Melodies, Spiritualized's first album (which I gave a 4). This is just an outstanding album, but I'm glad I didn't hear it in 1997 when I was going through the aftermath of a major break-up. Songs like Stay with Me, Broken Heart, and Cool Waves would have been devastating to me at the time. Broken Heart practically took me back to those feelings, even if it's been nearly 30 years - the strings at the end were just heart-wrenching (and beautiful). The only ding I can give this album is that Jason Pierce sings like so many other Britpop singers (Oasis and The Verve immediately come to mind, and the latter is almost insulting to say, given Richard Ashcroft is the reason for Pierce's breakup). But what it has over those other bands is RANGE - the musical variety on this album is impressive - from those heart-rending break-up songs to avant-garde tracks like The Individual, No God Only Religion (Robert Wyatt vibes on this instrumental), and Cop Shoot Cop. Then there are rockers like Come Together and Electricity. I really liked how a lot of songs flowed from one to another - the structure of the album is really well thought out: the round of the intro track into the rocker Come Together transitioning into the vibe of I Think I'm in Love (which builds to a more upbeat song within itself). Stay With Me is like floating in space (hey, the name of the album!) but builds to a greater level of tension. Electricity rocks and takes you out of that zone. Home of the Brave starts with a calm vibe that builds up to the chaos of The Individual, like a bad trip getting worse (similar to Cop Shoot Cop). In fact, the whole sequence of Home of the Brave through Cop Shoot Cop is like riding a wave of depression and drugs - the only "relief" coming from the gospel chorus in Cool Waves (although the lyrics for the verses are again devastating). Finally, Cop Shoot Cop is a microcosm of the whole album. Powerful. Really impressed.

Wow, Dimery and company really do a poor job selecting albums from more recent years. It's not bad. In fact, it's definitely ok. But it's not an album I needed to hear before I die. Liked the first few tracks most (the intro, Hail Bop, and Default). But it never really grabbed me. In particular, I didn't like Skies Over Cairo - the percussion has almost a "wet" liquidy sound that really annoys me. They recovered a bit with Silver Rays, a decent ending track, but by then I was definitely ready to move on.

Really dated, but not bad. I'd almost call it prog punk. Probably didn't need to hear it before I die and doubt I'll revisit. Moving on. Favorite Tracks: Hanging Around, Down in the Sewer (this was the one that made me think "prog punk").

The 1001 project has shown me that I like the Kinks - I've given a 4 to each of their albums and this one is no different. They're very British, very quirky, and both "of their time" and "ahead of their time." I'm not sure they needed 4 albums on the list to give a sense of what they were all about, though. I definitely preferred Village Green the most. This album had plenty of good moments (and only one bad moment - the detuning in Lazy Old Sun was annoying). I'll definitely revisit and will likely dig deeper into their discography at some point. Favorite tracks: Two Sisters, Harry Rag, Situation Vacant, Love Me Till the Sun Shines (very Who-ish), Afternoon Tea (catchy, and I like the clever lyrics - he sings like he misses tea with "his Donna" but probably never even spoke with her), Funny Face, Waterloo Sunset.

It's disco, but it's outstanding disco. I can't count myself an MJ fan, but I can absolutely respect this album. Lots of good bops, fantastic funky musicianship. The lyrics are about an inch deep - dance with me and let's rock all night, girl. But there are no stinkers - even Paul McCartney's cheesy Girlfriend and the schmaltzy She's Out of My Life are both decent (and more credit to MJ because the original Wings version of Girlfriend is pretty bad). Favorite tracks: Rock With You, Get on the Floor (LOVE the bass on this one - shout out to Louis Johnson's awesome funky bass on this album), I Can't Help It (written by and absolutely sounds like Stevie Wonder), It's the Falling in Love (major earworm, again with great bass).

Amazing flow, awesome beats, rough lyrics. There were points I laughed out loud where I felt really bad for laughing (esp. You Can't Fade Me). But that's also one of the things that makes this album great - Ice Cube is genuinely funny when rapping about serious topics (police brutality, white supremacy, jail, gun violence - "Outside the South Central area...Few cared about the violence because... it didn't affect them." - teenage pregnancy, etc.). Plus, the album just rocks - it was a great listen in my headphones while rocking out cleaning my office. As I say with a lot of rap - THIS IS NOT WRITTEN FOR ME - so I'd never listen to it out loud where anyone else could hear. But I can't deny this is probably one of the best rap albums I've listened to on the 1001 so far and that's why I'm going with the 5.

Side 1 ("The Raven") made me think this album was going to be a solid 4: really cool tracks, excellent playing...a little basic, but just really good. Enjoyed the way each track flows into the next. My initial impression of Side 2 ("The Wilderness") was "Yeeehaw!!". I thought it was pretty much cheesy country the whole way through, but on closer listen I noticed that the songs are engaging and the musicianship is outstanding. Side 3 ("Consider") had some good tracks, but also some weird moments (e.g., Move Around). Side 4 ("Rock & Roll is Here to Stay") was probably the weakest, with some lousy singing and somewhat lame songwriting. The only plus on Side 4 was that Blues Man was a cool acoustic blues track to end it on. Overall, this album would have been much better if it was just the first two sides. I think the bloat brings it down to a 3. What a shame, because that first side is really good. Favorite tracks: I liked everything on Side 1, but the standouts were Song of Love, Medley Rock & Roll Love / Cuban Crazies, Anyway. I'll also add It Doesn't Matter to my favorites.

Of all the albums I've played in my car with my kids, this is NOT one I thought both would enjoy! I guess Satan brings families together. It definitely rocks hard. The lyrics are pretty cheesy, but it sounds like they meant them tongue in cheek (although Teacher's Pet is just BAD). I'd call it a 3.5 but I'll round it up simply because it was a fun listen. Listening to the 1001 I'm discovering I like metal more than I thought. Liked the second side a bit more than the first side. It was an unusual choice that the last track is a preview of the next album, but it made me want to hear the rest so I guess it was a good marketing strategy.

All three studio albums released during his lifetime are on the 1001, all three are 5's for me. Pink Moon is definitely my favorite by far, but I could listen to all three albums over and over. This is his debut album and it's amazing how fully realized his sound is right from the start. While I love the sparseness of Pink Moon, the additional musicians on this album give it a unique character. River Man is the outstanding track here - the strings are just plain gorgeous. But, above all is Nick Drake's plaintive voice and interesting guitar patterns. He's the archetype for depressed singer-songwriters for decades to come, but words like beautiful and gorgeous describe his music in ways many other songwriters never achieve. Other favorites include Three Hours, Day Is Done, 'Cello Song (love this song - excellent fingerpicking guitar, awesome cello, upright bass, and congas, great lyrics - "And if one day you should see me in the crowd / Lend a hand and lift me to your place in the cloud"), Man in a Shed (nice jazzy track).

I initially expected I would just listen to this in the background, but instead found myself absolutely transfixed. What a beautiful album. I'm impressed how all 4 tracks differ from each other yet maintain a unified atmosphere. The opener (1/1) is just plain beautiful and mesmerizing. I'll admit it faded a little into the background for me, but was beautiful regardless of focus. 2/1 was also gorgeous. I loved how the vocal sounds would emerge from the synths at different intervals. 1/2 was an interesting counterpart to 1/1 - while 1/1 sounded calm and tranquil, 1/2 had a melancholic tone. Finally, 2/2 paired with 2/1 but without the vocals, this time only synths, with an almost hopeful motif. Loved this album right from my first listen and continued to lose myself in it with repeat listens, even when not focusing on it, consistent with Eno's point: "Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting." Fantastic album.

Fun album. Music has a very cool vibe and Karen O has a great voice and style...reminds me a bit of Siouxsie. Would definitely revisit. One weird moment was how quiet Heads Will Roll was compared to Zero. Very strange choice, or maybe something's wrong with Apple Music... Favorite tracks: Zero (great driving beat), Dull Life, Shame and Fortune, Runaway, Dragon Queen.

If Neil Young is the Godfather of Grunge, these guys are the cool uncles. Like a lot of people, I knew them from Nirvana Unplugged and from Backwater, their hit during the grunge era, but had never listened to any of their albums. This is a very cool album. The singing leaves a little to be desired in spots, but the songwriting and lyrics are outstanding, and the singing fits the style (for example, the singing in Lake of Fire is borderline unhinged, but that works with the lyrics). This led me back to Nirvana Unplugged, which is an all-time great album so it's not fair to compare this album - but they deserve credit for being forebears of grunge nearly a decade early. Lots of great moments - my favorites are admittedly the tracks Nirvana played with them, possibly based on familiarity (Plateau and Lake of Fire). Of the other tracks, favorites were Split Myself in Two (which I originally found a little too unhinged, but grew on me, particularly on close listen), Aurora Borealis, and We're Here. Least favorite were Climbing (the slacker singing was a little too much) and New Gods (noisy sloppy guitar work, which was surprising given that Curt Kirkwood is a pretty good guitarist). Solid 4, maybe even a 5 over time but the sloppiness and slacker singing are keeping me from putting it over the top.

I'm trying to decide if Leonard Cohen is the most ridiculous example of an artist with multiple albums (5!!!) that shouldn't have multiple albums in the 1001. If you're David Bowie or the Beatles, both of whom evolve significantly from album to album, you get multiple albums. Pink Floyd deserves multiple albums because they are so varied. Led Zeppelin and Stevie Wonder get multiple because they have multiple iconic albums. Leonard Cohen is none of the above. Probably one of the biggest mistakes of the book.

Anyway, rant over. To review the album - the only other one I've reviewed so far was Songs of Love and Hate, where I definitely felt more hate than love. This album has a fair amount of the same problem - rambling, drawn out songs, with pretentious lyrics. One big difference is that he doesn't have quite the depth and weight to his voice that he had on Songs of Love and Hate only two years later, except for a couple of tracks (e.g., The Partisan, You Know Who I Am). Occasionally he made me think of a less weird sounding Bob Dylan (e.g., The Old Revolution), but Bob's lyrics connect with me more than Leonard's. I gave Songs of Love and Hate a 2...I'd say this one is a 2.5 because it had a little more energy and variety, but I can't bring myself to round up. Songs I liked: A Bunch of Lonesome Heroes, The Partisan (about the French Resistance during WWII - I particularly liked this track and the French part is very stirring), Seems So Long Ago Nancy (typically long and rambling, but powerful lyrics). Songs where Leonard needs to settle down: You Know Who I Am (although I do like the vibe of this song), Tonight Will be Fine (which would sound better if it was Johnny Cash singing).

Punk with some inventive guitar riffs/chord progressions. Strong rhythm section, too. The singer is pretty typical punk, but I probably have causality reversed - looks like Pete Shelley influenced a lot of punk bands with his style. Overall, it's a rocking album. Favorite tracks: Fast Cars (good rocking opener, although somewhat silly lyrics), I Don't Mind (sounds a little glam), Fiction Romance (liked the driving beat on this one), Autonomy (almost New Wave?).

Over the years, several people have tried to get me to like Elliott Smith, most recently my teenage daughter. Lately I've taken to saying to her, "Stop trying to make Elliott Smith a thing!" Well, I tried to give this album a fair chance and what it primarily did was cement my prior perceptions. First, let's start with his whispery singing style. I think that's one of the big barriers to me enjoying it - I think his singing is just not that engaging. Then there's the somewhat amateurish recording style. Some view it as immediacy - we just had Nick Drake's Pink Moon, which sounded like you were sitting right next to him, but Drake's songwriting (and singing) were just so much more engaging than Smith. The drums have a very acoustic, non-processed sound, which could be good, but adds to the amateurish sound of the album. It would also be nice if he'd vary the tempo once in a while. I swear almost every song has the exact same tempo. Basically left me very bored. Positives: Decent lyrics through most of the tracks and I appreciate his guitar playing. Favorite Tracks: Alameda, Pictures of Me (Beatles-ish - genius.com says more Zombies-ish. Either way, 60s Brit sound), No Name No. 5 (dragged a little in the beginning, but I really like the open tuning chords, and picks up energy at around 2 minutes), Rose Parade (the first song that didn't have whispery singing), Cupid's Trick (pretty much the only rocking song on the album).

After I told my daughter I was going to give this album a 3, she first called me an "opp" and then said "you would probably like XO better." I decided I should give it a chance - the girl has been very open minded re: music I like, so much so that she's apparently now a Rush fan and was blown away by seeing BEAT (King Crimson) in concert. So, I figured I should give it a chance since she recommended it (and it's not in the 1001). The recording quality and the songwriting are so much better than Either/Or. More varied styles (and instrumentation), better vocal quality (less whispery, although certainly similar). Favorite tracks: Sweet Adeline (opening track and my reaction was this song is better than pretty much anything on Either/Or), Waltz #2 (excellent song with powerful lyrics and a driving rhythm), Baby Britain (fun sounding song w/ shades of Penny Lane and good lyrics), Waltz #1 (I like the vibe), Amity, A Question Mark, Everybody Cares Everybody Understands (particularly the powerful ending). I'd give XO a 4, so too bad it's not in the 1001.

Wow, these guys are right out of Britpop central casting. While there's nothing outright bad about the album, I'm having a hard time seeing anything distinctive about the band, particularly the typically whiny Britpop vocals. I did some digging and saw they were early members of the scene, so maybe this isn't fair, but it doesn't change the fact that I couldn't pick them out of a Britpop police line-up. Even worse, I liked it better as background music than during my close listen, which is never a good sign. Favorite tracks: How High, Only Teethin', Get On It (mix of Britpop and Bob Dylan? Good instrumental parts helped the album end strong).

Dark, industrial, powerful, disturbing, groundbreaking. A shame this is the only NIN album in the 1001. While this is NIN's breakthrough album, The Fragile is their (his, really) masterpiece. I'm also a big fan of Year Zero - I wouldn't say it needs to be on the 1001, but it's a great album. Guess the authors needed more room for additional Leonard Cohen albums (insert eye roll emoji). The production style was so new and unique and often imitated afterwards. A great album, but certainly not an easy listen with all of its disturbing imagery. Easy 5. Favorite tracks: Mr. Self Destruct (massive aggression right from track 1), Piggy (love the live version on And All That Could Have Been), Heresy, March of the Pigs, Closer (amazing track - amazing even moreso that it was a huge hit), Ruiner (hmm, I seem to be naming all the songs), The Becoming, Big Man with a Gun, A Warm Place (shades of the instrumentals on David Bowie's Low), Eraser (very dark), Reptile (dark and sludgy), Hurt (supplanted in greatness by Johnny Cash's version, but this one is still amazing, particularly how quiet it is compared to much of the album).

My reaction to each song - "this is ok." That pretty much sums up the album. A lot of tracks sounded almost like a soundtrack for Halloween (e.g., Tomorrow's Just Another Day and Mr. Speaker Gets the Word. Favorite tracks: Our House (mainly because I know it), Tomorrow's Just Another Day, Blue Skinned Beast.