Reviews by aretzorn

The cynical view is that the Chilis said "Hey! We had a huge hit with Under the Bridge! Let's do more songs like that!" resulting in Scar Tissue, Otherside, Californication, Savior, Road Tripping, and The Velvet Glove (less so this last one). The less cynical view is that the Chilis were growing up with this album. Whichever view you take, these are all good songs, even if light on the funk that made the RHCP great. Plenty of great rockers on the album too: Around the World (great opening), Parallel Universe, Get on Top, Easily, Emit Remmus, Purple Stain (love the dirty bass line in this track, but the lyrics are a little ugh). Overall, it's a really good album and the lyrics are a lot more mature than their earlier albums (or at least more subtle?). The only "strike" against the album might be they've gotten too mellow, but even songs like Porcelain (as mellow as it gets) are good. It probably helps that I don't hate Anthony Kiedis's singing voice like many others. I'd call it a 4.5, but I'll round it up because there's really not a weak song on the album (maybe I Like Dirt is the closest to a pure throwaway, but it's not bad).

All hail the mighty queen of the earworm!! I'm not a huge pop fan, but there's no denying she's a clever songwriter and has a great voice. I initially listened to Taylor's Version for fear that my wife and daughter would disown me if I listened to the original release, but then I got their permission to listen to my wife's CD of the original, appropriately preventing Big Machine from earning additional streaming royalties (bow down to the Church of Taylor). The new version has a much fuller sound which I prefer. Anyway, even though I'm not a pop fan, there's no denying this is pretty much a perfect album and an easy 5. Favorite tracks: This may be lame, but the biggest hits are my favorites - Blank Space, Style, and Shake It Off.

Like the other two albums by The Smiths on the 1001, this one is definitely a 5. Couldn't tell you which is my "favorite" given that this one is too new to me, but this one seemed the most immediately accessible. I'm not sure if the three albums differ that significantly from each other: The Smiths have a certain sound, it works well, and they definitely milk it across their albums. IMO Meat is Murder had the best Johnny Marr guitar lines and The Queen is Dead had the best emo lyrics (I Know It's Over, Cemetry Gates, There Is a Light and it Never Goes Out). Strangeways seems like they've mastered what makes The Smiths great - clever emo lyrics over rocking and/or jangly indie rock music.

Side One starts the album off with a cool vibe on A Rush and A Push and the Land Is Ours. I Started Something I Couldn't Finish is a great swinging rocker. Death of a Disco Dancer has a perfect slow build. Girlfriend in a Coma is a perfect example of Morrissey's dark sense of humor. Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before is another good rocker, with another overly long name. Side Two gets darker (which is always saying something for The Smiths). Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me is a great song that continues the long song title trend and the depressing lyrics trend (not really a trend - it's apparently part of The Smiths' DNA). Unhappy Birthday is an upbeat song where it's clear that Morrissey is very very very bitter, followed by Paint a Vulgar Picture which is an upbeat song where it's clear that Morrissey is very very very bitter about the music industry. This brings us to the rockabilly (and of course depressing) Death at One's Elbow. Finally, we end with I Won't Share You, in which The Smiths float peacefully and depressingly into the sunset.

I dug their debut and I dig this album too. This one definitely leans more into the funk than the art rock of their debut (Golden Age sounds like Prince, for crying out loud). One of my complaints about their debut was each song was a single riff, with no A/B sections - even the choruses were just the same riff a little more intense. This album has a lot of that, too, but they managed to occasionally change things up, suggesting they learned how to write songs and not just cool riffs. Not a 5, but I'd definitely listen again and will check out more of their catalogue. Favorite tracks: Halfway Home, Dancing Choose, Golden Age, Family Tree, DLZ.

Never listened to a Gorillaz album before, but have had plenty of times where I heard a cool track and thought, "hey, what's this?" and it turned out to be Gorillaz. Definitely enjoyed this album - it's just very cool. I like the vibe. I don't know much about the virtual band concept, but I dig the music. Not the most amazing thing in the world, but I would definitely revisit. Favorite tracks: Re-Hash, Clint Eastwood, Rock the House, M1 A1.

Nice vibe throughout and I love her voice. Really enjoyed this album. Wouldn't call it a 5, but would definitely revisit. Favorite tracks: The first three tracks (Clowns, Little Bird, Happiness) create a great mood and I like how the energy builds across all three songs (but note - I had no idea what she was singing on Clowns until I looked up the lyrics - such a calming song about fake tits - insert eye roll emoji here), Eat Yourself, A&E, Caravan Girl, Monster Love (the others are all good, they just didn't catch my attention as much - really not a bad track in the bunch, it's just not at a 5 level for me).

I'll get the negative out of the way first: a lot of it sounds like peak 80s (in a bad way) and all the songs where he indulges the "Camille" persona sound cheesy beyond belief, particularly If I Was Your Girlfriend - not a fan, even if it was a hit. Now the positive: there are plenty of great moments. The album starts incredibly strong with "Sign O' the Times" which is an amazing song, musically and lyrically (and, letting my prog-freak flag show, I first heard this song when Steven Wilson performed a very cool cover - look it up on YouTube). Then we go into Play in the Sunshine - fun bop, again very 80s, but the instrumental breaks are fantastic. Housequake is a cool groove with cheesy vocals (the first "Camille" track). It feels like most of the tracks are like this - cool moments, but then cheesy 80s sounds or corny Camille vocals (and sometimes both). But overall, lots of great songwriting and a surprising amount of variety for a double album. Definitely belongs on this list, and I like a lot of the tracks, but the cheese keeps it from being a 5. Favorite tracks: Sign O' the Times (hands down best on the album), It (ignoring the cheesy 80s sound and lyrics about doing it all the time - one thing I notice about Prince's songs is they often have the "bones" of great songs, but then have something about the sound that's pretty dated), Starfish and Coffee (nice chill groove), Slow Love (nice ballad), Hot Thing (Prince (musically) does his best Depeche Mode), U Got the Look (TOTALLY 80s, but definitely a good song - Prince does his best Robert Palmer, reminds me of "Addicted to Love"), Strange Relationship (very 80s, but good song), The Cross (Prince rocks out! I like it, especially how it builds through the song), It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night (fun funky live track - he should have stopped here, because Adore is cheesy as hell). Overall, good stuff and I would definitely revisit.

Good enough album, but there are lots of better albums from the 60s. Honestly, it doesn't feel like that much of a standout, but for including the classic Feelin' Alright. Nice enough to hear, but I doubt I'll go out of my way to listen again. Standout tracks: Pearly Queen, Feelin' Alright.

Warning: don't listen to this as background music. I did that the first two times and my reaction was "this is just weird" and occasional moments where the lyrics caught my attention and made me laugh. When I paid attention to the music and lyrics, it became clear why this album is on the list. Subversive (some of the lyrics might as well have been an early version of F%^& the Police), skewering hippy culture, and mocking the music of the day. Also really enjoy how each song flows into the next, and you gotta applaud the album cover. Favorite tracks: Who Needs the Peace Corps (love the "I will..." section), What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body (I laughed), Absolutely Free, Flower Punk (enjoyed this hippy-skewering fast version of Hey Joe: "Hey Punk, where you goin' with those beads around your neck? I'm goin' to the shrink so he can help me be a nervous wreck" - also like the Wild Thing reference followed by deranged overlapping speeches, including what sounds an awful lot like Minions). Weird stuff, but fascinating. Can't give it a 5 because it's just too weird, but I can definitely appreciate it and would listen again.

Had no idea what to expect and ended up blown away. Did I just hear a glam rock opera? This was awesome. Considered taking off one point for Ron Mael's Hitler mustache, but this album's just too good. You can hear how this band influenced subsequent bands like Queen and Cheap Trick (re: Queen, I think Freddie Mercury even stole some of Russell Mael's moves). Edgar Wright made a movie about the Mael brothers with the tag-line "your favorite band's favorite band." Unlike the Velvet Underground who also influenced a ton of bands, I can actually say I dig this one. Clever music, clever lyrics, outstanding musicianship. Favorite tracks - This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us ("As 20 cannibals have hold of you, they need their protein just like you" - lol), Amateur Hour (award for best use of "Yehudi Menuhin" in a lyric), Here in Heaven (love the dark humor of a suicide pact between Romeo and Juliet where only Romeo follows through), Thank God It's Not Christmas (a song with this title has no right being so cool)...ah, just put the name of every single song here (and add the lyric "Gonna hang myself from my family tree"). Great album!

I had a tough time choosing between a 1 and a 2 for this album. For me, a 1 is "absolutely no redeeming value, I hope to never hear this album again." A 2 is "I dislike a lot of it, but there's some redeeming value." Pere Ubu managed to kill almost every song with awful sounds - piercing shrieking noises, bizarre instruments, etc. Sadly, without that crap I think I would have liked this album. Most of the underlying songs sound good. David Thomas's singing is interesting and both he and the band are clearly a pre-cursor of the Pixies, 10 years in advance. But the sounds are such a killer that I'm not sure I can give it a 2. Is it enough that some songs are potentially good, and maybe a couple are actually good? Is it worth rounding up to a 2 because they influenced other acts I like (e.g., Pixies, Joy Division)? I'm going to go with no, and give it my first 1 rating. It only took 297 reviews for me to get here, so I guess that's a good thing. LEAST FAVORITE TRACKS: Non-Alignment Pact, Laughing, Life Stinks (a great example of an underlying song that could have been cool, but then has absurd noise - what the heck is happening in the middle of this song??), Sentimental Journey (absolutely horrendous). Songs that I could see myself liking, if I could get past the noise: Street Waves (a pretty good song, but with just a horrible grating synth noise under much of it), Chinese Radiation (first half was good, and then it gets insane, then ends nicely. Go figure), Real World (Talking Heads-ish, with weird grating sounds), Over My Head, Humor Me. Song I actually liked, but not enough to overcome my dislike of the other tracks: Modern Dance (very Pixies-ish, again 10 years before the Pixies).

Somehow or another this was Time's Album of the Year in 2014. Don't know what that says about 2014. Not a big fan. Lots of weirdness, plus lyrics that are a bit ugh. Sorry, I like my sexual innuendos to actually have innuendo. Moments that I liked: Lights On (weird moments, but I liked the acoustic bass and the vibe in the chorus), Closer (generally a good track but still has weirdness), and Give Up (had to get pretty far through the album to find songs I liked).

RAWK!!! What an album. The entire band is on fire and all of heavy metal owes Deep Purple a debt. The recording quality is outstanding and supposedly there are no overdubs, which is just amazing (if true). It's no wonder this is considered one of the best live albums ever. Absolutely Incredible and easy 5.

Catchy album - a combination of punk/glam with a bit of a 60s proto-punk sound (which would make it a throwback?). Sounds like they'd be fun to see live. Reminds me a bit of early Midnight Oil (except clearly not taking themselves as seriously as the Oils). A decent amount of variety for a punk album. Favorite tracks: One Chord Wonders, Bored Teenagers, Gary Gilmore's Eyes (I typed Gary Glitter's Eyes, which could also be problematic), No Time to be 21, Safety in Numbers, On Wheels.

I recently reviewed N.W.A. If I were to describe the exact opposite of N.W.A., this would be it. Probably didn't need to hear this before I die, but it was ok as far as country goes, I guess. Favorite tracks (I guess): My Old Friend the Blues, Someday, Little Rock 'n' Roller (what can I say, I'm a sappy dad).

Bjork is just plain weird. The strings sound great, but her singing sounds like the vocal equivalent of interpretative dance.

Perfect album start to finish. The opening of Sunday Bloody Sunday is iconic. New Year's Day is an absolute classic. Every other song is great, including The Refugee, Two Hearts Beat as One, and "40". Easy 5.

Ok, things I knew about this album: It's a seminal album in gangsta rap. It was controversial, especially for F**k the Police. It launched Ice Cube into superstardom. Things I didn't know about the album: It's freakin' hysterical. Seriously, I laughed out loud several times. Also, the grooves are smooth af. Downsides: Pretty harsh lyrics (but not as much as other albums we've heard). Misogynistic. Also, F*** the Police has a powerful message, but if they actually shoot and "jack" as many people as they claim, then they really, really, really should be in jail for a long time (I'm sure it's exaggerated for artistic reasons...I hope). If I ignored these downsides I'd call this a 5, but those downsides are pretty significant. Favorite tracks - the opening three tracks are unbeatable (Straight Outta Compton, F the Police, Gangsta Gangsta), but lots of good moments throughout.

Continuing my "damnit, Madonna's not actually bad??" tour - this is a pretty good album. Not a five - far too repetitive, but definitely sounds very good. Favorite tracks: Drowned World/Substitute for Love (very cool chill opener), Swim (caught my attention every time I listened), Sky Fits Heaven, The Power of Good-Bye. Wish the album ended on Little Star, a nice song for her newborn daughter, because the lyrics on Mer Girl definitely bring things down ("And I smelled her burning flesh / her rotting bones / her decay" ...eww).

Begins and ends weird (first moments of Maggot Brain and most of Wars of Armaggedon, respectively), but most everything in between is awesome. The guitar solo in Maggot Brain is amazing. Apparently, George Clinton told the guitarist to play like his mother just died - I believe it. Can You Get to That is cool chill funk and then they turn up the dial...Hit It and Quit It is awesome funk, You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks is a very cool track, and then Super Stupid just plain rocks (my favorite on the album). Back in Our Minds sounds like drunk funk, but it's super catchy. But then Wars of Armageddon is seriously out there (screaming baby and what sounds like Cartman screaming "goddammit!", random mooing and screaming, and what sounds like a pretty terrible case of diarrhea), plus it goes on about twice as long as it should. That said, it still has some catchy funk and the band is on fire (particularly the drums). Unfortunately, I think Wars of Armageddon brings the album down to a 4. I was tempted to round up to a 5 because the rest of the album is awesome, but that final track is just way too out there and way too long.