Reviews by aretzorn

This is the third Steely Dan album we've had so far (their second chronologically) and I've definitely learned I really like Steely Dan. I liked them before this 1001 Albums thing, but I can't say I listened to their albums closely before - mostly just listened to best of. There's so much I like. Every time they break into an instrumental section, I know I'm going to enjoy it and the songs have such a great groove. Favorite songs on the album: "Bodhisattva" - love the guitar and keys interplay. "The Boston Rag" - the chorus is very CSNY. Great guitar solo. "Show Biz Kids" - Love the beat and the chorus. Of course, I love the repeated "Las Wages" line. Also, did they play a snippet of Reelin' in the Years after the line "They got the Steely Dan t-shirt"? "My Old School" - classic Steely Dan. Great stuff. Easy 5.

In general I enjoyed this album. I'm not a huge fan of thrash, but I can appreciate it, particularly the great tone and precision. I have to ding this album for two reasons. The first is probably not fair, but there were times I felt like I was listening to Tenacious D, particularly songs like Holy Wars...the Punishment Due, Take No Prisoners, and Lucretia. These songs made me think of songs like Car Chase City and the Metal. It's not fair to ding an album because of songs that parody the style, but I had a hard time taking it seriously as a result. The other ding is deserved: there's a lot of lyrical cheesiness: "Welcome to our fortress tall" in Hangar 18 (but, to be fair, the song rocks). "A snake you were when we met" in Poison was the Cure. "Thermal count is rising/in perpetual writhing/the primordial ooze/and the sanity they lose" in Dawn Patrol (but I like the bass line in the song). "Immense in my girth, erect I stand tall" (Rust in Peace...Polaris). Ugh.

This album ROCKS. Sure, John Fogerty was born about as far from the Bayou as possible, but I'll listen to him sing about it any time. All the tracks rock, but my favorites are the stone-cold classics (Born on the Bayou and Proud Mary), plus Bootleg (sounds like he's singing Bouley-Bouley), their cover of Good Golly Miss Molly, and Penthouse Pauper ("If I were a politician I could prove that monkeys talk"). Graveyard Train and Keep on Chooglin' are both pretty good. Yeah, I just said every track is at least pretty good to great. Easy 5.

Makes you want to put on a zoot suit and swing, baby. Pretty repetitive style. Nothing wrong with it, just wouldn't seek it out again. Songs that caught my ear: Old Devil Moon, Love is Here to Stay, Anything Goes.

I wanted to like this one more since it's got a lot of quirks I enjoy, but it was just a little on the corny side to me. Sounded a bit like Roxy Music in a bizzarro lounge. I wasn't really seeing why this was in the 1001 albums and as of the 2018 edition it isn't anymore. Makes sense. My favorite part was the second half of "Through a Long & Sleepless Night." That's where it really showed potential. Giving it a 3 mainly because there were moments I liked. Maybe this would grow on me, but it's time to move on.

I could sum this album up as "Smoove 70s grooves with cool rapping." That theme goes across most of the album, right from the first track. Izzo is real catchy but I don't think I've ever needed Genius lyrics more. All the diss stuff in The Ruler's Back and Takeover was a little lame to me (but I liked the Bowie "Fame" callout in Takeover). Girls Girls Girls was amusing, and gotta like a song that name-drops Deuce Bigalow. It was at this point that the phrase "smoooove grooves" kept popping into my head and stayed there for pretty much the rest of the album. Basically from U Don't Know On I enjoyed every track. Calling it a 4 rather than a 5 because I think the bragging and dissing brings it down.

NJ represent! It's 80s cheese, but it's got good 80s cheese moments. Songs like You Give Love a Bad Name and Livin' On a Prayer are rock anthems for a good reason. I admit I really like Wanted Dead or Alive. One thing I noticed about the album is the recording qualityis very 80s. It's got that 80s hair metal lack of bass. I've got really good headphones and it's pretty bad how little bass sound comes across on this album.

I think the tracks can all be dropped into four categories:

Classic 80s rock anthems: You Give Love a Bad Name, Livin' On a Prayer, Wanted Dead or Alive (my favorite track on the album)
Not bad, but definitely 80s hair metal cliches: Let It Rock, Raise Your Hands, I'd Die for You, Wild In the Streets
Cheesy 80s rock anthems: Without Love, Never Say Goodbye
Just plain bad: Social Disease (even if you remove the first 15 second of porn).

I really enjoyed this album, but I feel it will take a lot of listens to sink in (and I'm about a week behind, so I need to move on!). I'm giving this a 4 mainly because none of it is "sticking with me" but I really enjoyed everything I heard, from the first notes. Interesting to note that this is from the 2011 edition of the book. I have the 2018 edition and this is the first album generated that has been removed from the 1001 albums. Not sure if it's something I had to hear before I die, but I enjoyed it.

I got worried when I saw they were influenced by the Velvet Underground AND produced by John Cale. There were a few moments of VU-ishness (e.g., "Cracked") and that's not good because I'm not into VU. But, the rest was ok. I wavered between a 2 and 3. I really liked Roadrunner - good track. I kind of laughed at the British punk accent Jonathan Richman affected particularly in the beginning of Astral Plane. Dude, you're from Boston. I think the main reason I'm going with a 2 is that at the end of the day it was mostly the same song over and over, and I'm never a fan of that.

Wow, I really enjoyed this album. I've heard of Elvis Costello, but can't say I ever listened to his music (at least if I did, I didn't know about it). This was just a fun, high quality album. It's like a more modern version of classic rock 'n roll (and songs like No Dancing and Less than Zero sound like pure old fashioned Rock n' roll). Favorite tracks were Miracle Man, Waiting for the End of the World, and Pay It Back (which really got stuck in my head). Least favorite were Alison and I'm Not Angry. Both were just a little cheesy, but still enjoyable (and the guitar on I'm Not Angry was pretty good). Looking forward to listening to more of his stuff.

It's a shame...this isn't better. Soulless slacker pop grunge. It's not bad...it's just not all that good.

The phrase "Casio concerto" kept coming to mind. Maybe the programmed drums were cutting edge in 1974, but this sounds like someone playing tunes on a Casio over some pre-programmed fake drum track. BORING. It's a shame because the album started strong - "Inspiration Information" is a smooth groovy song. I liked "Sparkle City," "Happy House" and "Rainy Day." Pretty sure the one constant across those tracks is real drums, confirming to me that the programmed drums just killed this album.

I don't know what it is about Neil Young - his songs are not that complicated, the playing is not that flashy, his voice wavers and is almost whiny...but somehow it works. This album is captivating and every track is fantastic. I never heard any of these songs or this album before today, but every song pulled me in. Walk On was a good basic intro, but the Sky About to Rain was the first song to "hit me" - I really liked the Wurlitzer on that track. Revolution Blues had a good, driving theme. I even liked the banjo in For the Turnstiles. Vampire Blues was a very cool track and it was about this point that I said to myself "This is an excellent album"...then I got to On the Beach. It really amazes me how Neil Young can write such a straightforward song yet it carries such powerful emotion. Part of it is clearly his lyrics and vocal style, which is so raw, but it amazes me how much this song pulled me in. Motion Pictures (for Carrie) was another straightforward but captivating song. Finally, I found myself lost in Ambulance Blues. When it was over, I just felt the need to sit in silence. Wow, what a great album.

I don't know why - I always like Foo Fighters when I hear them, but they never grab me enough where I want to listen deeper or seek them out. That leaves me at a 3 - good album but nothing I'd go out of my way to listen to - but I feel like I should like it more.

Rap without the dirty. Enjoyed it, but can't say it blew me away.

Steely Dan's debut and right from the first moment they have that signature sound. Some real classics on this album: Do It Again, Dirty Work, and Reelin' in the Years. Do It Again starts the album with a cool groove and how many songs have such a cool sitar solo? Yes, I said that.

I really liked some of the less famous songs also, like “Change of the Guard” and “Fire in the Hole.” “Turn That Heartbeat Over Again” was probably the weakest track which is kind of a shame that an album that starts so strong ends kind of lame. That’s a real minor complaint though. This is a great album.

Cool grooves, lyrics are pretty rough, but at least they keep the misogyny to a minimum. Enjoyed the unique styles of each rapper. Lots of great (and sometimes obscure) references. Bring da Ruckus and Shame on a N***a are both really cool, but I think if I ever tried to rap along with them where anyone could hear I'd get my ass kicked. Comparing it to contemporaries, I liked the grooves on Dr. Dre's The Chronic a lot more and I felt it had a lot more variety than this album.

Ehhh....it wasn't terrible, but it didn't do much for me. Lazy review today. 2.

This is the second MBV album I've heard and both times I had the same thought - I feel like I *should* like this, but I just don't. I tried to listen closer to this one to figure out why. There's a lot going on in these songs and some of the effects and riffs are cool, but the word that keeps coming to mind as I listen is BORING. Another word is LIFELESS. I think a large part of it is the singing - both singers are pretty dull - but there's also no energy to the music despite all the noise. Not to mention the presence of occasional feedback and noise which lately leads me to an automatic 1-point reduction. The last track added the obnoxiousness of being intentionally out of tune. I'd sum up this album as Whiny Suburban Kid Anthems. I'll give it a 2 rather than 1 solely because of the occasional interesting effects (like on the first track).

Great album start to finish. The Cars have a certain sound and a certain formula that can be heard across most of their songs, but it just WORKS. The beginning of Good Times Roll is such a great opening and the song is simply cool all the way through. In fact, the first three tracks (GTR, My Best Friend's Girl", and "Just What I Needed") are such classics I'd call this a 5 just on those tracks alone, but the rest keeps me interested and wanting to hear this album again and again (and of course "You're All I've Got Tonight" and "Bye Bye Love" are also classics). I'll also point out that this is a great pairing with Blondie's Parallel Lines which we randomly got a few days back. Perfect one-two punch of new wave.