Reviews by aretzorn

Gotta admit, this album grew on me after multiple listens. I don't think I'd seek it out again (which makes it a 3 for me), but it wasn't bad. I liked the first three tracks immediately on first listen (Rolling in the Deep, Rumor Has It - very catchy tune, and Turning Tables). Most of the other songs had to grow on me. I was surprised at the country-ish sound of songs like Don't You Remember and I'll be Waiting. The latter caught my attention after repeated listens - had to admit it's pretty catchy, but I never ended up liking Don't You Remember. One and Only is another one that grew on me, but Take It All and Someone Like You never grew on me. In particular, I didn't like the scratchiness of her singing on Someone Like You. She reminded me at times of Janis Joplin and I'm finding I'm not a Janis Joplin fan. Anyway, overall not bad, but not something I'd seek out again.

I wasn't expecting the cool 70s funk opening of Cloud Nine (particularly since it came out in 1969!). Very cool unusual track, but then the album settled down to more straightforward tunes. I liked most of it, but there were a few moments I didn't like, such as the "I WANT MY MAMA!!" part of Runaway Child Running Wild. Wut? Also didn't like the high singing in Love is a Hurtin' Thing (when he sang in his regularly range it sounded good). Generally a pleasant album, but nothing I plan to seek out again. Even I Heard It Through the Grapevine wasn't all that memorable (the quintessential Marvin Gaye version came out a year earlier, so it's not even part of the evolution of the song). Clear 3 to me. Tracks that I liked best: Cloud Nine, Why Did She Have to Leave Me, I Need Your Loving, I Gotta Find a Way, Gonna Keep On Tryin' Til I Win Your Love.

This was a nice palate cleanser after some AWFUL electronica albums. While definitely OF ITS TIME (holy disco, Batman!), it sounds great. Great singing, GREAT bass and guitar (Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers, respectively, who also wrote all the songs - this is basically a Chic album with the Sisters Sledge singing). Probably my only complaint is that the guitar part is pretty repetitive - the same scratching style on every song - I know that's his thing and he's great at it, but after a while it started to sound pretty repetitive. I'd definitely listen again, but not sure I'd go out of my way to seek it out, which would make it a 3 not a 4. But, since I kept listening a lot, I guess it deserves a 4. Favorite tracks - He's the Greatest Dancer (This is what GOOD disco sounds like!), Lost in Music (got stuck in my head), Thinking of You (great guitar groove), We Are Family (truly classic and worth being played a billion times. What a great bass line).

Wow, came close to making this my first 1 star rating. To me, a 1 is absolutely no redeeming value, and there were a couple of tracks I could tolerate: Block Rockin' Beats (ok track - thought I might be giving this album a 3, but was subsequently proven wrong), Lost in the K-Hole (decent groove), Where Do I Begin (disliked the effects at the end, but liked the beginning), and The Private Psychedelic Reel (but this one had the same damn drum track as every. other. song. Also, the same thing over and over for too damn long). However, I disliked pretty much all the other tracks. Annoying sound effects, pretty much the same beat throughout. Particularly disliked Dig Your Own Hole, It Doesn't Matter, and Get Up On It Like This. Giving it a 2 because it wasn't ENTIRELY crap.

Another one I'm not sure I needed to hear before I die. The first half of the album had a lot of good moments - plenty of cool sounding tracks that made me bop (e.g., Move Any Mountain, Omega Amigo, Evil is Even (cool track - properly dark sounding), Hyperreal Orbit, Lightspan, Make It Mine, and Oxygen Restriction). After that, though, it was just a bunch of meh remix-y type stuff. Got pretty boring. So, solid 3, but not planning to revisit.

I don't really get the whole Deadhead thing, but I really enjoyed this album. While relatively straightforward, the songwriting is great, excellent musicianship and harmony, and good lyrics. Favorite tracks: Box of Rain (nice opener, sad topic - loved the line "Such a long time to be gone and a short time to be there"), Friend of the Devil, Ripple, Attics of My Life (nice vibe - caught my attention every time I listened to the album), Truckin' (classic, and I find it impossible not to bop while it's playing). Giving it a 4 because it's not blow-me-away great, but I will definitely listen again.

Generally if an album requires a particular mood I don't give it a 5, but this is truly a perfect album. Shine On You Crazy Diamond is just stunningly good. The opening keyboard solo, followed by David Gilmour's tasteful guitar solo, followed by the iconic four notes (B flat, F, G, E - playing the G and E on the open strings. So good). Then some of the best lyrics Roger Waters ever wrote. The whole song is just a wonderful journey. Welcome to the Machine is dark and industrial, again with great lyrics. Have a Cigar is a nice interlude, the only rocking tune on the album (with yet another fantastic Gilmour solo). Then you have Wish You Were Here, another candidate for best song of all time and a must for every guitarist to learn on acoustic guitar. Wish You Were Here swirls back to Shine On You Crazy Diamond and the album ends with an incredibly poignant keyboard solo (as it began) - I always loved the final notes - almost wistful, despite the sad subject (Syd Barrett). Absolute perfection and an easy 5.

Let's start with the obvious - Axl Rose is a trainwreck. The lyrics are disturbing and no one should ever try to imitate the lifestyle they model. But man this album kicks ass. It was a kick in the teeth when it came out and is still a pretty strong album. Welcome to the Jungle is an awesome song right from those iconic first notes. Slash is on fire throughout the album. Paradise City and Sweet Child O' Mine were overplayed ad nauseum but are both great songs. I have to give it a 4 for two reasons: One, I just can't give a 5 to their lyrics (even though let's face it that's part of what gives GNR their edge) and two, the non-hits are pretty cliche 80s hard rock songs (e.g., It's So Easy, Night Train), even if they rock harder than most.

Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. What an album. What a mood it sets. Of its time and timeless. Bookended by two gorgeous instrumentals, the album is simply a beautiful journey. That word, "beautiful" kept coming to mind constantly through the album. Spent time reading about Nick Drake - I wonder if he's the only artist to have every studio album in the 1001 albums? Sad life, but amazing music. Favorite tracks: Hazey Jane I (Hazey Jane II seems out of place, but nice to hear an upbeat song in the midst of this album), Fly, Poor Boy (this song got stuck in my head - extra love for the great piano solo and background singers), Northern Sky (captivating song).

Wow, very cool album. Heard of her, but never heard her music before. I see there are three more albums here, so looking forward to those. I'll call it a 4 because I don't know if it's an essential album, but I definitely want to listen more. Great voice, cool music. Favorite Tracks - O Stella (awesome bass line), Victory, Happy and Bleeding, Sheela-Na-Gig, Plants and Rags (like the unusual stylings - great use of violin).

I generally liked this album, but definitely liked "This Year's Model" much more. Some of the tracks and singing made me think of XTC (not a bad thing). I don't know how much I'd seek this album out again, though, and that makes it a 3 in my book. Tracks that caught my ear: Accidents Will Happen (really like the outro), Busy Bodies, Moods for Moderns, and What's So Funny Bout Peace Love and Understanding.

Another Neil Young album? And we just recently had Rust Never Sleeps. Here's my problem with this - there are only so many albums you can select for the 1001 albums. If you're going to have multiple from a single artist, there should be a REASON, like every album picked is highly influential or amazing (e.g., The Beatles, Led Zep) or the albums change a lot and it's worth hearing how the artist evolved (Bowie, Bowie, Bowie). But when you have something like Neil Young where many of his albums sound similar, pick a representative one (or two) and let's move on. Rust Never Sleeps was much better than Ragged Glory, so Rust Never Sleeps would have been enough. On the Beach is a very different style, so I support having that, but we didn't need Tonight's the Night. And I haven't reviewed Harvest yet, which I know is a pure classic. So, I really think this album (and Tonight's the Night) were completely unnecessary. Sure, this is all my opinion, but there are so many great artists and albums not included in the 1001 albums and I think they should have been a little more discriminating about what to exclude.

Rant over. I like Neil Young, but this album sounds sloppy and I'm not a fan of the guitar tone. Pretty grating. Neil's singing on "Over and Over" is absolutely awful. I liked F*!*!n' Up, but was annoyed at the feedback at the end (which they also did at the end of Farmer John). Many of the songs sound derivative of his earlier songs (e.g., Love to Burn includes similar progressions to the verses in Rockin in the Free World, which came out a year earlier, Mansion on the Hill sounds like earlier stuff, with CSNY harmonies to boot). Just don't know why this album was picked. A 2 seems harsh, but I'm going there.

Pleasant enough listen, but too much of same-same throughout. Nothing bad, just not an album I needed to hear before I die. Tracks that caught my ear: If I Should Fall from Grace with God, Turkish Song of the Damned, Battle of Smoke, Metropolis, Streets of Sorrow. Moving on.

Duhn-Duhn-DUUUHN,
Duhn-Duhn-DuUUhn,
Duhn-Duhn-DUUUHN,
Duhn-Duuuhn.

This. Album. Rawks!! A true hard rock classic. Crazy to think this is from 1972. Every song is great, but the standouts for me are Highway Star (Metal-precursor with an awesome organ solo. You heard that right), Maybe I'm a Leo (cool track), Never Before (lots of hard rock/metal cliches both lyrically and musically, but they were one of the first so they get a pass. Also worth noting how good all of the band members are throughout this album), Never Before (cool groove), Smoke on the Water (a classic for a reason. Great song that just gets stuck in your head. Before this listen I never paid attention to the lyrics or knew what they were about it. It's funny how literal they are about their experience of the Montreaux Casino burning down), Space Truckin' (another song that RAWKS and gets stuck in your head). Hmm, yes, I did just call almost every song a standout. Easy, easy 5.

Solid outing for Neil Young (and Co.). My My, Hey Hey and Hey Hey, My My are by far the best tracks - both are great, but the acoustic version is more poignant. Neil's singing on this album is solid (for him), a nice improvement from Tonight's the Night. Except for MMHH/HHMM, the lyrics are meh. No clue what's happening with the lyrics for Welfare Mothers ("Welfare mothers make better lovers"??). Sedan Delivery is a cool song and the electric tracks in general are a good reminder of why Neil Young is called the godfather of grunge. Also liked Thrasher and Powderfinger. Overall I enjoyed the album - can't call it a 5, but I'd definitely listen again.

Disclaimer: Huge Genesis fan here. I was listening to this in the car with my teenage son recently, as one does, right? Right?? I was surprised that he's been digging early Genesis so we went through this one. It was interesting to listen to it with him and think about how this album sounds to new ears. Album 1 is amazing and my son absolutely loved it. The opening trio of The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Fly on a Windshield, and Broadway Melody of 1974 is just stunningly good. Chills every freakin' time. Back in NYC, In the Cage, and Carpet Crawlers are all great songs. Album 1 is a clear 5. Album 2...well, it has some great moments: Lilywhite Lilith. the keyboard solo in Riding the Scree...plus "It" is a great closer (both to the album and to Peter Gabriel's time with Genesis). But Album 2 also has a lot of weird moments - I was cringing a few times at how it might be coming across to him and I can imagine that a lot of people end up saying "wtf" many times during Album 2 (and maybe even occasionally on Album 1). Plus, I worried that Album 2 was dragging out too much and the story is, um, awkward to say the least (google Peter Gabriel's slipperman costume. On second thought, don't). But, as we neared the end and I told my son that we were on the second to last song, he was actually disappointing that the album was almost over. Poor kid is going to be a prog fan I guess. I want to make it crystal clear I didn't push him to listen! Anyway (as the song goes)...to give it a 4 or 5? Here's where I'm going to have to let my Genesis freak-flag fly: It's a 5 (it's also chicken, eggs, and in between your legs). Every time I hit the end of the album, I want to listen again. If that isn't a 5, I don't know what is.

Fun album. Blister in the Sun is one of those songs where I didn't know the name and then immediately said, "I know this!" Good song. I enjoyed pretty much every track. Not groundbreaking (unless there had never been punk folk before?), but a fun listen. Favorite tracks: Blister in the Sun, Kiss Off, Please Do Not Go (great bass break in the middle), Add It Up. Good stuff - I'd definitely listen again.

This was a pretty challenging album for me. Some of it was simply uncomfortable to listen to (way too much n-word for me - I realize this album wasn't made for me; also, lines like "this dick ain't free" - needless to say I'm not playing this album where anyone else can hear). But the last section, starting with "How Much a Dollar Cost" really blew me away. If the whole album was like the last 6 tracks I'd be calling it a 5. But the earlier stuff often doesn't do it to me. Sometimes really odd (even though I like odd music) or just lyrics I didn't like. So, I was down to a 4 or a 3 and chose 3, mainly because I'm not sure that I want to continue digging into it (which is part of my definition of a 4). But, like I said, I thought the last section was outstanding - powerful lyrics, great music. Maybe I'd feel that way about the earlier tracks if I gave them more time, but I'm kind of done for now. Favorite Tracks: King Kunta, How Much a Dollar Cost, Complexion, The Blacker the Berry, i, Mortal Man.

I enjoyed the album, but nothing is sticking with me after multiple listens. Somewhere between punk and new wave but after a while everything blended together. Moving on...

While Eno was involved with so many acts I enjoy (Bowie, Talking Heads, U2, Fripp, so many more), it took me a while to appreciate his solo work. This is definitely one of his best, although I know he's an acquired taste. Favorite tracks - King's Lead Hat (anagram for Talking Heads - nice how Eno even sings like David Byrne on this track. The lyrics are absurd but sound great, like "All I know and all I have is time and time and tide is on my side." Great track), No One Receiving (sounds like it would be right at home on a David Bowie album - great bass and drums on this track, Percy Jones on bass (Brand X and a great session player) and Phil Collins on drums - the guy who wrote the review for this in the 1001 albums book was like "Phil Collins?" This song is a great reminder of how good a drummer Phil Collins was, especially in the 70s), and the trio of Here He Comes, Julie With..., and By This River (these tracks just take you floating away). I don't know if I would have said this 25 years ago, but these days Eno's song-based solo albums are all an easy 5 for me.