Reviews by aretzorn

Hey! It's the troubadour from Gilmore Girls! Or, um, so I've heard.

Very, very 90s. Not bad, but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to again.

Sounds nice, no idea what they're saying. I like the guitars and the singing's fine, I just doubt I will ever go out of my way to listen again. Tracks that caught my attention: Djam Leeli, Sehalam, Daana Lenol.

Cool grooves, but a little repetitious. I like the chill rapping style. Favorite tracks: Show Business, Jazz (We've Got), Scenario.

This shouldn't work - Wyatt's voice is warbly, the music is crazed, and the weird Scottish poet is...well, weird. But somehow I find this album captivating. Sea Song is simply beautiful (I heard Tears for Fears' cover version before I heard the original). A Last Straw sounds like a lost early Pink Floyd song. The first Little Red Riding Hood track is insane (those trumpets, the drum beat, fantastic bass line, bizarre backwards singing). Alifib is transfixing and Alifie has an air of mystery (and man that crazy sax solo). Then the second Little Red Riding Hood - the guitars are amazing, the "can't you see them" part just blows me away - the music is so intense - and I even find the weird Ivor Cutler recitation sounds fascinating with the droning underneath. This album shouldn't work, but it does.

This album has been compared to The Who's Tommy (which came out earlier in the year). I hear it, but it definitely lacks something in comparison. Part of it could just be that there's an element of goofiness to the Kinks' music. The Who are hard hitting, the Kinks are goofy. That said, this is a fun album. The Kinks are a pre-cursor to punk and even though the album doesn't sound all that much like punk (it has a pretty dated 60s sound), it has the punk spirit (a good example is "Yes Sir, No Sir"). Overall, this is a fun album that I might revisit, but definitely not a 5, mainly because I think it lacks depth. Favorite tracks: Victoria (catchy), Australia (the lyrical section is tongue-in-cheek, but it's the instrumental second half that I think is great - awesome, funky, rocking section), Mr. Churchill Says (good rocker), Drivin' (fun music, somewhat dark lyrics - speaking of dark lyrics, Some Mother's Son was pretty powerful, but the song itself was kinda meh), and Brainwashed (another "fun" sounding song with somewhat dark lyrics). I had mixed feelings about Shangri-La. I liked the acoustic guitar part at the beginning, but by the end the song seemed all over the place (and at one point sounded like a rip-off of Tales of Brave Ulysses).

I am a HUGE David Sylvian fan...I've seen him live twice (he rarely tours): 1st with Robert Fripp touring for their album "The First Day" and then 2nd on his Everything and Nothing tour (which to this day I still consider the best vibe I've ever felt at a concert, both the performers and the audience). His solo work is much more atmospheric and mature compared to his work with Japan, but there's a lot of good stuff with Japan. The knock against them on this album is there's still a lot of similarity to some other acts like Roxy Music and Bowie. Plus, Sylvian still had shades of the more "punky/glam" singing style he used on their two earlier albums before embracing his deeper voice. But there's lots to like here - Mick Karn's amazing fretless bass (particularly on In Vogue), Richard Barbieri's atmospheric keys (it's easy to recognize his sound if you're a fan of Porcupine Tree, a band that should be so much better known), Steve Jansen's subtle drumming, and of course Sylvian's voice. The band just gets better and better from here and then David Sylvian went off on his own and created some amazing, varied music. If you want to hear the best of David Sylvian, listen to songs like "Wave", "Orpheus", "God's Monkey" (with Fripp), and "Forbidden Colours" (w/ Ryuichi Sakamoto).

Eh, I found this album pretty boring. The lyrics sounded like someone trying really hard to be deep (with a couple of songs that too clearly invoke slitting wrists - man, don't listen to this album if you're depressed). His voice is monotonous and the songs drag out without a lot of change. At least most of the songs are based on a nice riff, especially Avalanche, Love Calls You By Your Name, Joan of Arc, and Famous Blue Raincoat (which had the nicest vocal tune - less monotonous). Not terrible as background sound, I suppose, so I'll go with a 2.

Started out promising - the first two tracks (Closer and Crawl) had a pretty cool sound. But then the rest of the album (including the "hits" that I'd never heard) got pretty generic 2000s-rock. Not bad or anything, just nothing I'd seek out again. It's removed from the 1001 albums books now, which was a good choice.

Any time an album I know inside and out comes up on the 1001 albums I still give it my minimum two listens. In this case, I listened to the 50th anniversary remaster in Dolby Atmos. It sounds amazing. As to reviewing the album, it's one of those where so much has been said, but I'll throw in my thoughts anyway:

It's an absolutely perfect album, start to finish. Sure, the instrumentals can get a little out there, but they work too. We start with Speak to Me: the iconic heartbeat, "I've been mad...", the money sounds, the laughter, the building machine noise, the screaming...and then we begin. Breathe is a beautiful mood with outstanding lyrics ("For long you live and high you fly, but only if you ride the tide / and balanced on the biggest wave, you race toward an early grave"). On the Run is certainly the strangest track, but it maintains the mood that makes this album a journey (and the sound was pretty groundbreaking). Time is absolutely amazing, with one of my favorite Gilmour solos. Again, Waters' lyrics are excellent ("And you run and you run to catch up with the sun but it's sinking / racing around to come up behind you again" - such imagery), and then we return to initial mood with Breathe (Reprise). The Great Gig in the Sky is breathtaking - Wright's beautiful piano composition coupled with Clare Torrey's amazing vocals. Her singing evokes such imagery...I heard it once described as the five stages of grief in vocal form. Money is a classic rock staple - gotta love a hit song in 7. Us and Them is beautiful with incredibly powerful lyrics (and a great sax solo). Any Colour You Like is a groove that takes us into Brain Damage and Eclipse (which MUST be played together). Brain Damage gives us vivid imagery of madness, followed by Eclipse - a song that gives me chills EVERY. FREAKING. TIME: "And all that is now / and all that is gone / and all that's to come / and everything under the sun is in tune / but the sun is eclipsed by the moon." So amazing. Then of course, the final line: "There is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact, it's all dark" and the fading heartbeat. Absolute perfect classic.

Damn, what a great album. I only listened to a little Anthrax back in the day - I remember hearing "I'm the Man" a ton of times. This album features a tight band with massive riffs, catchy hooks, great singing, and slightly cheesy lyrics (although songs like Indians, One World, and ADI/Horror of it all certainly take on serious topics). The reliance on pop culture (Judge Dredd, Stephen King books) is probably where it gets cheesiest, but it just ROCKS. Joey Belladonna skirts the line of cheesy metal singer but he's so good it works. This also took me down the rabbit hole watching videos of I'm the Man, I am the Law, Caught in a Mosh, and multiple videos of them playing Bring the Noise with Public Enemy. Awesome. I'll forgive the cheese, because it's part of what makes the album fun, and give it a 5.

I listened several times and it just isn't clicking. Disney Girls is the only one that caught my attention each time I listened. A lot of these songs sound like less-weird outtakes from Smile. It's not bad, I just don't think I'll be revisiting. Feel Flows and Lookin' At Tomorrow were both decent. Moving on.

So I can appreciate how this was groundbreaking at the time - one of the first psychedelic albums, early use of sitar on a rock album, etc. But man does it sound dated. Legend of a Girl Child Linda sounds like something that would cause John Belushi to grab Donovan's guitar and smash it ("I will bring you gold apples, and grapes made of rubies, that have shone in the eyes of a prince of the breeze - SMASH!! BANG!! TWANG!!!). Three King Fishers sounds like a parody - even though it was probably pretty unique at the time, it just sounds corny to today's ears.

That said, there were plenty of great songs. Sunshine Superman has that dated sound, but is a pretty cool song anyway. I can totally see girls dancing in mini-skirts on Top of the Pops to this song (couldn't actually find a video of this - it just has that vibe). Ferris Wheel is a nice mellow song and Bert's Blues is a nice bluesy track, but both have cheesy lyrics. Season of the Witch is rightly a classic. Very cool song. The Trip is a good song to bop to - nice guitar riff - sounds like it could have been a good song by Bob Dylan. Even Guinevere had a nice vibe (the name made me cringe - I expected another cheesy song and the lyrics didn't disappoint from that perspective, but the music is not bad at all). The Fat Angel and Celeste both bring the album to a pleasant ending.

Giving it a 4 as appreciation for its place in musical history, but can't go to a 5 given how poorly the lyrics and sound have aged.

Heard of them, but never heard before. I really like their sound. Perfect balance of industrial, hard rock, post-punk, you name it. Apparently they are pioneers in the industrial sound. Whatever they are, they have a great sound and I'd definitely like to check out more. All the tracks are very cool (although Wardance is a little out there), but my favorite tracks were Requiem, Tomorrow's World, Bloodsport, and Primitive.

Overall fun album, although a little on the long side. That said, it's got plenty of fun grooves and his rapping style is pretty awesome (Childz Play stands out for some crazy rapping. Also I Am Selling Soul). Same problem I have with a lot of rap albums - too much n**** this and n**** that and a bit too much cursing - it's not made for me, that's for sure. But I can appreciate and enjoy it. Favorite songs were the first few (Soul Machine, The Art of Noise, and Living Again). Liked the grooves on The One, All Day Love Affair (nice singing), and When We Were Friends.

I was surprised by how much I liked Beyonce's album on the 1001 albums, so I tried to give this album a fair listen, even though I'm generally not an R&B fan. This album is ok, just not my style. Independent Women Pt 1 and Survivor were catchy and Fancy and Happy Face were ok. The rest I could take or leave. I will say I definitely didn't like Bootylicious, even though it's a hit off the album. Using the guitar riff from Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White Winged Dove) should have been good, but it was annoying that they never changed from the one note! Bottom line re: this album: Not terrible, just not my thing.

On the one hand, this album rawks and it includes stone cold hard rock classics like Hells Bells, Back in Black (one of the coolest, hardest rocking songs EVER), and You Shook Me All Night Long. I also really like Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution. On the other hand, there are a LOT of cringy moments - Let Me Put My Love Into You ("don't you struggle, don't you fight, don't you worry 'cause it's your turn tonight. Ugh), Shoot to Thrill, What Do You Do for Money Honey, Givin' the Dog a Bone...notice a theme here? If I didn't pay attention to the lyrics, I'd give it a 5 for rocking your f'ing socks off. Taking a point off for the lyrics.

This album grew on me. I've never been huge into Elton John - his hits are good enough, but I never felt I needed to hear anything else. First few listens to this album didn't click either, but eventually I found it growing on me. Definitely a good album, but I don't know that it's one I will go out of my way to listen to again. That usually makes something a 3 in my book, but that doesn't feel right so I'll go with 4. Favorite tracks: Tiny Dancer, Levon, Madman Across the Water, All the Nasties.

I notice that when there's a "recent" artist that the 1001 editor wants included in the book, they tend to put the most recent album in and replace whatever was in the previous edition. This is an example of that - "Want One" was in the 1001 and the editor replaced it with "Want Two." I think that was a mistake. I definitely prefer Want One. I gave Want One a 4 and my only criticism was that it started to drag towards the end. Unfortunately, it feels like Rufus leaned into the dragging aspect of Want One and made a whole album of mellow songs that don't really go anywhere (with only a couple of exceptions). It starts off promising: Agnus Dei is interesting (although I don't like the scratching sound in the beginning) and The One You Love is a good poppy track. But then it becomes an absolute slog starting with Peach Trees. Then you have the lyrics of Gay Messiah..."No I won't be the one, baptized in cum"...um, just, wow, no thanks. Waiting for a Dream is the first track that got me interested again. I really like the piano line (although it reminds me of something else I can't place right now), but even that song eventually drags, and it ends so abruptly that I think something's wrong with my phone. The album picks up slightly on Crumb by Crumb and the latter half of Old Whore's Diet, but at this point it's far too late. After enjoying Want One, Want Two is a disappointing 2. Wrong choice, 1001 editor.

The good: Tracey Thorne has a nice voice. The bad: Elevator Music. Zzzzz. Didn't need to hear this. The only track I really liked was the first one, the Crazy Horse cover "I Don't Want to Talk About It." It had a real nice vibe. The rest was boring adult contemporary music/cheesy 80s pop. Next.

This album didn't do much for me on the first listen - decent background music - but I found myself enjoying it on subsequent listens. Nice voice, enjoyable music, and excellent musicianship. Not anything I think I'd go out of my way to hear again, but certainly not bad. Songs that caught my attention: August Day Song, Mais Feliz, Alguem, Lonely (real nice mysterious vibe), Bananeira.