Reviews by aretzorn

On the one hand, this is the album where Radiohead started to get "weird." Their first two albums were excellent and relatively accessible. Albums after this become much more dense, electronic, and difficult to listen to. On the other hand, it's still a fantastic album and deserves all the accolades. I've listened to this album many times but never once read the lyrics until now. They really add to the overall experience and I think that's the word to describe this album - an experience. The lush instrumentation, creative riffs and hooks, often dark, Yorke's plaintive voice, and the poetic (if dense) lyrics. Clear 5, but best when listened to with intention rather than as background.

This album may be the 80s-ist album to ever 80s. At first, I thought I Might Have Been Queen was possibly the most 80s song I had ever heard, but then Show Some Respect came on to challenge it. Then I Can't Stand the Rain came on, and then Private Dancer...who will win the 80s crown? If you're a fan of every 80s music cliche, then YOU are the winner. Then again, with those covers of Help! and 1984 we all lose. The only saving grace is that at least Tina Turner has a great voice (but even she managed to sound bad on Help!).

What a great album. I don't think I've listened to it closely before, but the one thing that stood out is I knew almost all the songs on the album. That's how good it is - nearly all the songs are classics. Favorite tracks (but they're all good to great): Thunder Road ("You ain't a beauty but hey you're alright" - great line), Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out (funny, I didn't know that was the title of this song that I've heard a ton of times because I didn't know what they were saying over and over throughout the song - I thought it was something like "Red devil in the free ride" which makes no sense. Oh, it's "Tenth Avenue Freeze Out"? Oh, ok. Not sure what that means either, but great song either way), Born To Run (stone-cold classic that never, ever gets old), She's the One (another that I recognized but didn't know by its title), and Meeting Across the River (nice track, one I didn't previously know, but really enjoyed the mellow mood, particularly in contrast to all the rocking on the album), Jungleland (Bruce's epic - good stuff). Perfect album - easy 5.

Really digging Elvis Costello. I enjoyed this album a lot but I'm giving it a 4 rather than a 5 because most of the songs aren't sticking with me (except for Pump It Up, which is a major ear worm). But I definitely want to listen more and dig deeper into his catalog. Good stuff. Favorite tracks - Pump It Up (I knew this song previously but didn't know it was Elvis Costello. Excellent song - really fun), No Action (great start to the album), This Year's Girl (Love the start of the song - I notice a lot of similarity to the Cars, who were contemporaries), Little Triggers (nice laid back tune - I really like his singing style), I Don't Want to Go to Chelsea (this one caught my attention every time I listened even when not paying close attention. Cool track).

I'm a big Paul Simon fan, but I've never found this album all that exciting. There are some really great songs on here, like Mother and Child Reunion, Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard, and Peace Like a River, but overall the album doesn't have the pull of a lot of his other work. Nothing bad, just nothing all that exciting - most of the other tunes are nice, but they just don't stick with me. Maybe one more exception is Duncan, but it always feels like a song that has potential but doesn't really go anywhere.

Overall, I'm not sure why they included this particular solo album in the 1001 albums. The 1001 also has Hearts and Bones and Graceland, which are both amazing albums start to finish. I guess this album is pretty representative of his 70s output: each album has a few amazing songs and then a bunch of decent filler. Personally, if I had to pick one of his 70s solo albums I'd go for the next one, "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" which includes great tracks like Kodachrome, American Tune (one of my favorite Paul Simon songs), and Loves Me Like a Rock. I'd also put "Still Crazy After All These Years" in the running (heck, just for drum part of 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover...such a great beat. Kudos to Steve Gadd).

I'll give this album a 4 mainly because I enjoy the album (which I can say for every album he ever put out, either solo or with Garfunkel), but it's just not a 5 for me.

I recently read an article that said Lennon talked shit about McCartney's "Let It Be." Listening to the song "Imagine" closely (even though I've heard it a million times) I realized it's fundamentally Lennon's "Let It Be." Some of the musical patterns (e.g., the piano) are very similar to Let It Be. But I'll give Lennon props for consistency - he apparently talked shit about the music for the song Imagine also. In fact, talking shit seems to be how Lennon spent most of the 70s - trashing the Beatles in general and McCartney in particular. How Do You Sleep is pretty over the top - it's a shame that so many people disrespect McCartney's output because Lennon talked trash about it. And he really is just talking trash - McCartney didn't have a good song after Yesterday? What a ridiculous statement. It's hard not to wonder if Lennon would have eventually outgrown his petulance towards McCartney. McCartney claims they put it behind them before Lennon's death, but everything I read right up until 1980 seems to be Lennon pissing all over the Beatles.

Maybe he was trying to assert his independence or maybe the interviewers were just trying to get statements that would sell magazines, but what I see in his statements and this album in particular is a guy who was miserable despite all his success. Complaining about the world and life seems to be the overwhelming theme of this album. After Imagine, which sounds almost hopeful, we get Crippled Inside (Lennon says "I'm broken"), Jealous Guy ("I suck"), It's So Hard ("I can barely get up in the morning"), I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier ("I don't want to be anything, actually"), Gimme Some Truth ("Everyone sucks" as he plays his best Holden Caulfield), How Do You Sleep ("Paul sucks"), and How ("I still suck"). The only exceptions are Oh My Love and Oh Yoko, where Lennon says "I love Yoko, she's great. But did I mention in Jealous Guy that I suck?"

All that said, I enjoy the music on this album. Some of it is pretty basic (e.g., Crippled Inside, It's So Hard, Oh Yoko), some underdeveloped (I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier, Gimme Some Truth), but some classic Lennon writing (Imagine, Jealous Guy, How Do You Sleep). I'm going to give it a 4 - yes, I know it's an absolute classic, and Imagine is up there in the list of "greatest songs ever," but I'm deducting a point for being one of the most respected musicians in the world but still being a miserable bastard. Hey, I get depression, I really do, but Lennon could afford therapy.

Having your personal masterpiece only recognized as a masterpiece posthumously sucks. I had never heard of Gene Clark, so I spent time looking him up. Had no idea he was a founding member of the Byrds and was originally their primary writer (incidentally, I had no idea David Crosby got his start with the Byrds. I need to learn more about them). Probably the most famous song he wrote for the Byrds was "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better."

He considered "No Other" to be his masterpiece but it was panned when it was released and mostly forgotten. The album only garnered critical recognition after he died in 1991 at age 46. Personally, I really enjoyed the album, but it sounded similar to a lot of other acts (e.g., CSNY). Favorite track was the title track - really cool grooves and fuzz guitars. It got stuck in my head after listening. Other high points were "Life's Greatest Fool" (enjoyed the slide guitar solo) and Silver Raven. I noticed the bass in Silver Raven and looked it up - Leland Sklar. Guy's been on everything. According to his Wikipedia entry he's played on over 2000 albums. His discography is so long they have an alphabetical index for the acts he's played with and it's only missing Q, U, and X. C'mon Queen, U2, and XTC! Help a brother out!

Oh, back to Gene Clark. I also really liked Some Misunderstanding. Beautiful song. My favorite line (and tough since Clark abused drugs and alcohol, which contributed to his early death): "We all need a fix at a time like this/ But doesn't it feel good to be alive?" I definitely want to dig into his music more. Not a 5 because it's too similar to other music that came before, but definitely a really good album.

I wasn't a fan of George Michael when he was all over MTV. I Want Your Sex was soooo overplayed in the 80s and the lyrics are cheesy. But I was really surprised by how much I liked Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1, so I was looking forward to listening to Faith with more open ears. Well, this is a good album, but didn't hit me like Listen Without Prejudice, which seemed like a much deeper album. Favorite tracks: Faith (great song, and the bass and guitar lines are really good), Hard Day (great groove), and Look at Your Hands (catchy track - Rolling Stones vibe). I liked the instrumentation on Sex pt. 2. Similarly, I like the music for Father Figure but lyrics like "I'll be your daddy" are just creepy to me. Monkey has cool music but really weird lyrics (I know it's about a monkey on your back like drugs or something, but the screaming monkeys makes it seem a little too literal). I'll have to go with a 3 on this one. Worth listening to, but wouldn't seek it out again.

Wow, I can't believe they removed this from the 1001 albums. Such a poignant album - Johnny died less than a year after its release. While you can hear the pain and age in his voice, he still sounds amazing. In fact, that's one of the reasons I love "Sam Hall" - despite his age and illness he's still got some fun energy to share.

The most well known track is his amazing cover of NIN's Hurt. Trent Reznor famously said it was no longer his song after Johnny Cash covered it. The video is painful to watch - June Carter Cash looks on at Johnny in his pain and illness, yet she predeceased him - they both died within the next year. The track is powerful enough without that fact - it becomes devastating with it.

Every track is fantastic, but the standouts for me are The Man Comes Around, Hurt, Bridge Over Troubled Water (Johnny's voice makes this and In My Life sound so much more powerful than the originals, both of which I love), I Hung My Head (better than Sting's original - notice a trend here?), First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, In My Life (hearing John Lennon sing it with the Beatles is nice, but he was a young man - it means much more coming from an old man near the end of his life), Sam Hall, Danny Boy (beautiful rendition), Desperado (again, better than the original), I'm So Lonely I Could Cry (I thought it was Bonnie Prince Billy singing with him - listen to "I See a Darkness" on American III - but it turned out to be Nick Cave), We'll Meet Again (what a great song to end the last album released during his lifetime. Great touch that the last song is an optimistic song that sounds free of pain). Did I just name almost all the tracks on the album? Yes, yes I did. Absolute 5.

What can you say about an album that starts with a song called "Smack My Bitch Up"? Insert eye roll emoji. Still, it's definitely a fun listen. I don't know that I'd go out of my way to seek it out, but I'd definitely listen again. Favorite tracks: SMBU (minus the lyrics - cool groove), Breathe (very cool dark sound), Mindfields, Firestarter (total earworm). Least favorite track: Serial Thrilla - the beginning and ending sound effects made me think something was wrong with my computer. Not cool. I docked a point just for that.

I have a really good sense of how rock music developed - so when I hear something that sounds like a lot of other things, I can often recognize who the trailblazers of that sound were. I don't have that same sense when it comes to the history of rap. So when I hear an album like this, I feel like I've heard a lot like it already. What I don't know is whether Gang Starr was a leader or follower. I enjoyed it, but it didn't stand out as much as other rap albums I've heard. Nice grooves, interesting lyrics, but doesn't make me want to dig in more. Favorite Tracks: Step in the Arena, Check the Technique, Here Today Gone Tomorrow.

I've listened to this album a couple of times in the past but never listened closely. On first listen, my reaction was, "Ok, glam" and I was prepared to move on with a 3. The good news is that the album grew on me more and more with each listen. I haven't listened as deeply as I'd like, but definitely want to listen more, which is a 4 in my book. Favorite tracks - Animal Nitrate, Pantomime Horse, The Drowners. Didn't dislike anything, although the guitars got a little "noisy" in So Young which tends to annoy me.

EDIT: I said it was a 4, but scored it a 3! Corrected.

I always like Depeche Mode's sound but I rarely find myself drawn in enough to want to explore more. Favorite tracks: Never Let Me Down Again, Strangelove, To Have and To Hold. Could do without the annoying breathing in I Want You Now.

This album would get a 5 just for including Kashmir - another candidate for the best song of all time. But then add the fact that there's not a weak song on this double album, not to mention it includes many other amazing songs (e.g., Custard Pie, In My Time of Dying (slide-guitar extraordinaire!), Houses of the Holy, Trampled Under Foot, Bron-Yr-Aur, Ten Years Gone, The Wanton Song). Probably the only questionable part is the lyrics of Sick Again. Yeah, um, no. In the Light has some great moments, but drags on a little.

I find it funny that we had the five Led Zep albums in the 1001 Albums randomly appear in order (not one after the other of course). So, this one completes the Zep albums on the list for our group and each was a perfect 5. That's more than half their 9 studio albums and it's 5 out of their first 6 (and frankly Houses of the Holy would have gotten a 5 also - they probably couldn't include it in the 1001 albums because they needed room for another Tom Waits album). It's all been a great reminder of why they're one of the greatest bands of all time.

This album is definitely a mood (sometimes a sexually-explicit mood - Bjork was apparently very horny when she wrote this album - see the video for Pagan Poetry). I'm not always a fan of some of the lo-fi sounds she goes with, but this album is ethereal and takes you away somewhere else. Favorite tracks: Hidden Place (haunting and sultry at the same time), It's Not Up To You/Undo (I'm putting these together because they share an important message about letting go of anxiety - both are beautiful entrancing tracks), and Heirloom. Probably my main problem with the album (outside the lo-fi stuff I don't like) is that it's a lot of similar sounding music throughout. I enjoyed the album, but have to go with a 3 - good to hear but I don't think I'll be seeking it out.

A few years ago, I listened to ALL the top rock, pop, and alternative song playlists on Apple Music for every year from 1955 to 2018. It was interesting to listen to the ebb and flow of styles and genres at the top of the charts. I recall thinking that the early 2000s were a wasteland of angry frat boy rock at the top of the rock charts. This is a perfect example. It's an aural assault with coarse lyrics. I like a good heavy groove, but I just find the constant cursing and coarse lyrics tiring. I like some of the music, but the lyrics clearly bring it down to a 2. Thankfully this isn't in the 1001 albums anymore. Oh, and the outro made me regret my commitment to listen to every album on the 1001 albums entirely twice - stfu with your stupid looped laugh.

Punk makes some people want to kick things. Feedback makes me want to kick things. I know they're groundbreaking and this is considered a classic. I'd probably go up to a 4 based on the energy and the fact that they were ahead of their time, but too much feedback is an automatic 1-point deduction (minimum). Favorite tracks: Kick Out the Jams (obviously), Ramblin' Rose (even with the weird high singing), Borderline (rockin' track), Motor City is Burning (good blues). Least favorite - anything with too much feedback, particularly Come Together and Starship.

Wasn't this the big thing around that time, to take a well-known but maybe not as popular as they used to be artist and pair them with current artists? But for all the bells and whistles, my favorite tracks were the last three that were mostly just John Lee Hooker alone. My Dream was the one that most hooked me when I first listened. Of the tracks with guests, I'm in the Mood with Bonnie Raitt was probably my favorite. Cuttin' Out (w/ Canned Heat) was also pretty good. I thought The Healer (with Santana) sounded like they pulled from every 80s soft rock cliche. Enjoyable enough listen, but I don't see myself returning to it.

It's considered one of the greatest albums of all time for a reason. It was groundbreaking in a ton of different ways. Every song is amazing - when I was a kid I used to skip over Within You Without You because it bored me. I learned to appreciate it much later...I think it was after I heard Dead Can Dance's Indus and learned about its roots in WYWY. There's so much I could say about every song, from the great opening riff right to the final thundering piano chord at the end of A Day in the Life. I've been listening to this album my entire life yet still notice something new every time. Sheer brilliance and an obvious 5. Favorite Tracks - the first three together are perfect (Sgt. Pepper, Little Help, Lucy), She's Leaving Home (which I hear differently as a parent than I did when I was younger), Mr. Kite (along with Lucy, a perfect psychedelic song), When I'm 64 (what can I say, I'm sentimental), A Day in the Life (an absolute masterpiece - the verses, the middle bridge, the "fell into a dream" sequence, the orchestra - that 24 bar build-up, that final E major chord! The song gives me chills every. single. time). Simply amazing.

I like the music, but the lyrics are generally awful. For example, Bring a Friend really caught my ear and I was prepared to list it as a favorite track, until I saw the crass lyrics. Tons of stoner lyrics in other songs. Wrote for Luck is a good song and the lyrics aren't terrible. They occasionally reminded me of the band James who are not on the 1001 albums list but should be (damn, I even just saw that Happy Mondays opened for James. That makes the omission even worse). I'll give it a 3 because the songs sounded good, but no higher because of the lyrics.