Reviews by aretzorn

Some very cool grooves and incredibly smooth samples - a great example of someone taking samples and making them sound like completely new songs. Favorite tracks: Building Steam With a Grain of Salt, The Number Song, Midnight in a Perfect World, Napalm Brain/Scatter Brain (Medley). Not rating it a 5 because it's basically high quality background music - plus there are a few samples I dislike (like the weird bullfrog vocal thing in What Does Your Soul Look Like, Pt 4), but it's a very good album that I can see revisiting.

Back in the day I wasn't a fan of Jane's Addiction because I thought their hits had kind of a grating sound - mostly because Perry Farrell's vocals are slightly off key. So I was shocked (pun intended) by the fact that Nothing's Shocking sounded so good. Well, this album shows there are two Jane's Addictions. The first half of the album has that grating sound, and I realized it's not just Perry's vocals, but even Dave Navarro's guitar sound has this metallic edge that bothers me a little (which is a shame, because he is an awesome guitarist). But then the second half of the album (starting with Three Days) is the band that blew me away on Nothing's Shocking (and boy can you hear the Led Zep influence on this album). Still, I'll give them their due - even the grating sound of the first half doesn't take away from the fact that every song is a banger and again shows Jane's Addiction was ahead of the curve - grunge before grunge broke through in 1991. The second half is an easy 5. I'd go with a 4 for the first half, mainly to take a point away for the grating sound. But since the songs are so good, I'm going to round the 4.5 average up to a 5.

Eh, wasn't bad, wasn't great. I'm sure it was great in a club, but was mostly background music to me. Rather than "favorite tracks" I'll just say tracks that caught my attention: What Time Is Love, 3am Eternal, Last Train to Trancentral, The White Room.

Another great Neil Young album on the 1001. Tons of great songs here, some of which sound like they were probably meant for CSNY, but that's ok (mostly due to CSNY-type harmonies, e.g., Tell Me Why, When You Dance I Can Really Love, I Believe in You). Southern Man is an absolute classic, deservedly so (take that Lynyrd Skynyrd!). If I had to pick one song to play for someone asking, "What does Neil Young sound like?" this is the one I'd pick. Only Love Can Break Your Heart and Birds are both beautiful songs (I'm a big fan of Only Love Can You Break Your Heart - the chorus is perfect). Don't Let It Bring You Down has a great chord progression and When You Dance I Can Really Love is built on great riffs. I could go on and on. Just a great album start to finish and an easy 5.

I was a big fan of Run-DMC's Raising Hell growing up - listened to it a ton and will absolutely be giving that a 5 when it comes up on the 1001. This one shows they were moving in that direction early, but it's more sparse and undeveloped in comparison. Lots of rap history in the making on this album, but I feel it's a step below Raising Hell, fair or not. Favorite tracks: Hard Times, Rock Box (holy 80s guitar batman! But, again, it shows where they're going), It's Like That.

Never heard this before - in fact, I never listened to Rod Stewart outside his hits - damn, what an album. Lots of great rockers (It's All Over Now, My Way of Giving, Cut Across Shorty, You're My Girl) and some nice chill tracks (Gasoline Alley, Only a Hobo, Lady Day, Jo's Lament). Six of the nine tracks are covers and I think each sounds better than the original. Plus, the musicians are top notch and Rod Stewart sounds great. Easy 5.

Smooth white jazz, 80s style.

This album really grew on me the more I listened. To some extent, they sound like a lot of other bands, but they do it really well (and there were a lot of moments where Paul Westerberg reminded me of Kurt Cobain, who came later and claimed he never really listened to the Replacements). There were some moments that initially bugged me (e.g., noise at the end of We're Coming Out, scream-ish singing in Unsatisfied (kind of like when Kurt Cobain sings Pennyroyal Tea - but like most of the album, it started to grow on me, despite this), ridiculous lyrics in Gary's Got a Boner, annoying repeated "If you need help" in Answering Machine). But lots of good moments right from the offset and even the stuff I didn't like at first stopped bugging me on subsequent listens. I can definitely see revisiting this album and exploring more of their albums. Favorite tracks: I Will Dare, Favorite Thing, Black Diamond, Androgynous, Unsatisfied (even though I initially disliked it!), Sixteen Blue.

This album did pretty much nothing for me. His singing and songs have no energy. The songwriting is formulaic. The word that sums it up is meh. Songs that were ok: Sweet Life (sounds like Stevie Wonder), Crack Rock, Pyramids (I actually liked this one), Pink Matter (liked Andre 3000 on it, but the lyrics are cringe).

Eh, nice background music with a few good moments (Traveller, Mombasstic, O.K., Light) and a few weird moments (end of Surtrix, Decca, Eclipse). Harmless enough, nothing I need to check out again.

I don't know why, but Fiona Apple keeps making me think of Tom Waits on this album. Probably because like Bone Machine, this album is built around drums, and she's a little weird (but clearly a much better singer than Tom). This album is growing on me with every listen. I like her singing style and the lyrics are compelling. Great music, just a few weird points (like the endings of I Want You to Love Me and Relay - but both are really good songs overall). Giving it a 4 because I want to keep listening, but the occasional weirdness keeps it from a 5. That said, I have a feeling that, like Tom Waits, after a while I won't even notice the weird moments. Favorite tracks: I Want You to Love Me (except the weird ending), Shameika (great story too: https://pitchfork.com/features/article/fiona-apple-shameika-fetch-the-bolt-cutters-interview/ ), Relay (awesome song - great vocal line/lyrics, love the acoustic bass and the drums - little weird toward the end, but still a great song), Newspaper (man, that built up to something amazing), Heavy Balloon (great groove and singing).

Ok, I went in prepared to seriously dislike this album, but not only was it not terrible, it's actually pretty good. VERY 80s but had a lot of good moments, with excellent production (hat tip to Patrick Leonard, who I know from his work with Kevin Gilbert in Toy Matinee). Definitely enjoyed the Prince connection. I don't know that I'd go out of my way to listen to it again, but I can appreciate why it was huge and that's why I have to tip it to a 4. Favorite tracks: Like a Prayer (I rewatched the video - man people are whiners. It isn't nearly that controversial - regardless, it's a really good song), Express Yourself (very 80s, very Madonna, but a pretty good song), Love Song (hey, it's Prince), Till Death Do Us Part (again, a little 80s, but decent), Oh Father (very dramatic. And 80s. But grew on me), Keep It Together (nice funk, still very 80s). The rest are either too 80s, cheesy, or schmaltzy (and Act of Contrition was just weird, even if it had Prince shredding). Gotta admit it grew on me with several listens. Oh, well, I'm not going to say I like Madonna now, but this one deserves to be on the list.

Fun album, but has the same problem all punk albums have - after a while it's clear you're hearing the exact same song. But it's a fun song.

Favorite tracks: Know Your Product, Memories are Made of This, Private Affair, A Minor Aversion.

Talk Talk is an underrated band. "It's My Life" is probably their best-known song (from their previous album and later famously covered by No Doubt), but it's such 80s cheese. This album is at a different level and shows the direction they take with their last couple of albums. Their next album, Spirit of Eden, is my favorite by them. I can see why the 1001 picked this album instead - it's a good cross section of their sound, both where they were and where they were going. Production is still very 80s on some songs (especially the "hits" - Life's What You Make It and Living in Another World. It's probably the drums that make it most 80s), but the songwriting and the vibe are outstanding. It's worth a close listen to really appreciate the composition, the musicianship, and Mark Hollis' fantastic voice (RIP). Favorite tracks: Happiness is Easy (the acoustic bass on this track is amazing. This song really sets the vibe for the album), I Don't Believe In You (really like the understated guitar "solo"...also wild that Steve Winwood plays organ on three songs, including this one. You get Steve Winwood to guest just to play organ??), Life's What You Make It (again, 80s drums, but really good song, and love the David Rhodes guitar part - Peter Gabriel's long-time guitarist), April 5th (beautiful track - definitely moving towards their Spirit of Eden sound), and Time It's Time (excellent closer). Every time I listen to Talk Talk, I want to listen more.

Wow, I liked this much more than I expected. I figured this was going to be a 3 after reading description. Instead, I found the album captivating from start to finish. She has a very dramatic singing style that just works. I've been listening to the album for days and want to keep on listening. I'll call that a 5. Favorite tracks: Little Water Song (great start to the album - pulled me right in), The Case Continues, You Were Meant for Me (particularly the ending), and Scope J (mysterious, somewhat bizarre, but I really liked it).

EDIT: In retrospect, I think I scored this too high. I enjoyed it, but definitely shouldn't be a 5. Rescored to a 4.

He's a bit pretentious, but Jack rocks. Love the variety of styles and instrumentation. This is pretty much a perfect album. Easy 5.

Pleasant enough country music. I'm not a big country fan, but I didn't mind listening. Liked the last track in particular (The Wing and the Wheel). Love at the Five and Dime wasn't bad either.

Alex, I'll take cheesy 80s albums for $800.

Answer:
"Thank you for holding...your call is important to us..."
"Attention K-Mart Shoppers"
"This rap is horrendous."
"Cheesy 80s production."
"Now for more smooth hits on CD101.9"

What is "thoughts that shouldn't go together on a single album?"

Right you are!

(Tracks I thought were ok - My Ever Changing Mood, Dropping Bombs on the Whitehouse, Here's One That Got Away)

If I was only rating the first album, I'd go with a 3...maybe even a 4. It's dated, but has some good grooves. I liked Paperhouse and Halleluhwah a lot. Mushroom sounded like they were on shrooms, but wasn't terrible. Oh Yeah sounded like the shrooms were kicking in, but had a decent groove.

But then the second album...absolute pure complete crap. Here are my notes: Aumgn: More shrooms...definitely out there and too long. Somewhat disturbing. Peking O - Pure crap...about halfway in is horrendous. And so on.

What a shame. I'd like to give it a 3 as an average, but the second album is so bad I can't go that high. 2 it is.

I. Hate. Noise. Rock. It's a shame, because there are a few tracks that might have sounded ok without the horrible sounding guitars (e.g., 100%, Theresa's Sound World, Wish Fulfillment, Sugar Kane, Youth Against Fascism, Stalker). Songs that weren't awful: Drunken Butterfly, Chapel Hill. Songs that made me want to tear my ears off: Swimsuit Issue, Drunken Butterfly, Shoot (Kim Gordon sounded horrendous on this one), Orange Rolls Angel's Spit, Nic Fit, On the Strip, JC, Creme Brulee. Giving it a 2 because for me a 1 means there's zero redeeming value - but it was a close thing. In fact, it had the rare distinction of sounding worse on 2nd listen. Not looking forward to hearing more Sonic Youth albums.