Reviews by aretzorn

Groovy, baby! Yeah! Very 60s. It was actually a fun (if cheesy and dated) listen. Still, I'm a sucker for crossover music and I wouldn't mind listening again. Favorite tracks: Jumping Jack Flash, Snow Flower, Sagar (The Ocean) - particularly the end - the intro was way too long but at least sounded cool, Dance Indra (I thought it was pretty weird at first - it was, but a cool weird), Raghupati (especially the end, like an Indian Hey Jude).

This is the #3 album of all time according to rateyourmusic.com. I've tried in the past. I've really tried to figure out what I was missing. This time around I listened over and over to see if it would hit me with time...nope. I've mentioned before that I only really liked Radiohead through Ok Computer (#2 all time on RYM), then they just got too weird. This album confirmed how I feel about them. Here's a particularly bad sign - I liked it better on my car stereo obscured by road noise compared to my high-quality noise canceling headphones. In other words, I liked the album less when I could hear it clearly. This means to me the bones of the songs are decent, but the effects they used are irritating (15 step is a prime example, but also much of the album simply sounds muddy, examples include Faust Arp and House of Cards). There are also many things I dislike about Thom Yorke's singing on this album, whether it's the frequent use of falsetto or when he goes full mumble (as I've noted before, he can definitely sing "normally" and very well when he wants to). Tracks I liked most (or at least, liked the bones the most): Bodysnatchers, All I Need (I outright liked this one - very cool sound), Faust Arp, Jigsaw Falling into Place (lots of good bass lines here and throughout the album), Videotape (for the overall atmosphere of the song).

My immediate thought on seeing this in the 1001 was "Does T. Rex really need two albums in the 1001?" That's not a ding on T. Rex - it's just their sound doesn't change enough between the two albums - one album would have been representative enough. After listening, I still felt the same, but I also really enjoyed listening. This album rocks and has a ton of great moments. So, I can get the editors saying "well, both albums are cool, so which do we drop? Neither? Ok!" Favorite tracks: Metal Guru (what a weird way to sing those words, but ok), Buick MacKane, Telegram Sam (has elements of a few other songs - the vocal line sounds like 20th C. Boy, which came out later, while the guitar line sounds like Get It On, which came out earlier - but it's cool), Chariot Choogle (the main heavy riff caught my attention every time I listened).

Really enjoyed this album start to finish. It's a little dated but it's really good. The only time I had listened to him so far on the 1001 was when I checked out his cover of Fred Neil's Everybody's Talking and I wasn't a huge fan of how he sang it. Fortunately, I think he sounds great on this album. Plus, as soon as I heard Without You and even Coconut I realized I've heard him before and just didn't know it was him. Don't think I can call it a 5, but I would definitely listen again and might dig into his catalog. Favorite tracks: Gotta Get Up (love the vocal line in the chorus - listening to this song it's unsurprising that the Beatles were fans - and apparently Ringo and John joined him for some drunken debauchery in the early 70s), The Moonbeam Song (nice chill track, with Beatles-esque harmonies), Down (kind of basic blues, but man he can sing), Without You (schmaltzy, but a classic), Jump Into the Fire (great groove - it goes a little long, but just in time switches to a fun drum break, joined by funky bass. The whole song is a bop), I'll Never Leave You (super peaceful final track - just left me thinking "I like this album." RIP Harry - I think I just joined the Beatles as a fan).

This album rocks. The songs themselves are pretty formulaic, but they take everything up to 11. I can only imagine how insane their live shows must have been. Favorite tracks: Personality Crisis, Lonely Planet Boy (yeah, even the slow(er) songs are good - great sax, and I like how the backing vocal at the end was sung into a guitar pickup), Trash, Pills.

EDIT: Originally said 5 but in retrospect, it's more of a 4, mainly because it's a little repetitive and formulaic (but still awesome).

I can appreciate how talented Ravi Shankar is, the historical significance of this album, and I even enjoy this music style, but ultimately this is just background music to me. I don't even disagree with its inclusion in the 1001, I just can't rate it higher than a 3 - something that was fine but I wouldn't seek it out again.

My reaction on seeing yet another Leonard Cohen album: https://youtu.be/KCqQknk42sk

Overall, the songs aren't bad per se, but my goodness they drag, and the lyrics are not nearly as clever as the critics seem to think. Plus, there are more than a few dated 80s moments. Moving on. Favorite track: Tower of Song.

Blue-eyed reggae that's mostly dull as dishwater (yes, I know the band was diverse, but the lead singer was white and I'm sure that played no small part in their immense popularity). THIS is one of the top selling reggae bands in history? Sigh. Found the album really boring and I'm really glad my first reggae album in the 1001 was Bob Marley's amazing Exodus. Tracks that caught my attention: Tyler, Burden of Shame (first because of the Moondance ripoff, but I liked the instrumental section at the end), Signing Off.

I'm definitely a New Wave fan, but I never really connected with the Pretenders. Listening to this mostly in the background I thought that might change - lots of cool moments made me think I needed to re-assess. On close listen I still liked it (particularly the guitars), but still felt that lack of connection. I'm not sure what it is - I think Chrissie Hynde's singing is an acquired taste. Sometimes I like it, sometimes not so much, and I can't find a consistent reason. On the one hand I like it better when she's not singing with punk affectations, but that feels kind of wrong, like I'm telling some woman that she should smile more. I'm going with the 4 even though I suspect the album deserves a 5. Favorite tracks: Tattooed Love Boys, Stop Your Sobbing, Private Life (great guitar parts, although sounds a little too close to the Police), Brass in Pocket (classic).

Long time fan of this album and of the rest of Tori's first four albums (she got a little too straightforward and repetitive on later albums for my taste). I've also seen her live a couple of times - her voice is as amazing in person as on the recording, as is her piano playing. I know a lot of people compare her to Kate Bush, but Tori has a much harder edge. Overall, this album is an absolute roller coaster of emotions, lyrically and musically. Relistening to it from the vantage point of 33 years since its release (I became a fan the year it came out), it still hits me in the gut and gives me chills. Some of it hits me in different ways than back then - for example, Winter brought tears to my eyes now that I have a daughter (it's written for her father and sung from the vantage point of a daughter reaching different phases of her life). Then there's all the heartache and pain Tori pours into the album. There's almost no point in giving specific examples - the album is filled with it. And of course, there are no words that can do justice for Me and a Gun. An amazing album, start to finish. Favorite tracks: Crucify, Silent All These Years, Precious Things, Winter, China (yeah, schmaltz and all), Tear in Your Hand, Little Earthquakes.

I like weird, but this one's weird with a capital WEIRD. But it wasn't bad - there are some weird ones on this list that are painful to listen to - this one didn't hurt to hear. The most interesting thing to me was how much you could hear the influence on Primus. In fact, there were lots of times the singer sounded exactly like Les Claypool (well, the other way around, since Les would have been 15 when this album came out). I probably wouldn't seek this out again, but it was definitely interesting. Favorite tracks: Sinister Exaggerator (this was the first time I thought of Les Claypool. Wasn't surprised to see Primus covered this song), Laughing Song, Bach is Dead, Krafty Cheese.

Paul McCartney releases an album full of half-baked demos and one excellent song (Maybe I'm Amazed). This must be in the book mainly for its "historic" significance since it's Paul McCartney's first solo album, but from a standpoint of quality, it's not there. In particular, the drums sound very amateur, both playing-wise and recording quality. What's a little sad is that, for all the comments about how this was one of the first lo-fi/indie sounding albums, had anyone other than Paul McCartney tried to get a record label to release this album they'd be sent packing. Favorite tracks: Every Night (one of the few songs on the album that sounds like a song with potential, but still sounds like a demo), Singalong Junk (ironically, this instrumental version of "Junk" sounds nicer than the full song on Side 1), Maybe I'm Amazed (a classic that seems completely out of place on this album, although I admit I admit I never realized it has some of the lo-fi elements of the other tracks).

No longer in the 1001, rightly so. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't all that special. On the plus side, we just had Justin Timberlake's awful album, which was mostly written by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo (2/3's of N.E.R.D.), and this was better than that, at least, particularly when it rocked out more. A lot of it is just a bit of dumb fun (the lyrics particularly add the "dumb" part). Favorite tracks: Don't Worry About It, Drill Sergeant/Preservation (a little cheesy and long, but kept catching my attention), Thrasher, Maybe.

It's funny, all the reviews of this album talk about how it was a return to form after U2's apparently misguided (according to critics) foray into electronica in the 90s. Problem is, I really like those 90's albums - Zooropa is one of my favorites and I always enjoyed Pop. So, to me, this album is not a recovery, but almost a retreat. Problem is, most of these songs don't draw me in as much as songs on, say, Achtung Baby or The Joshua Tree (or War or, yes, Zooropa). It's not bad - I like U2 - it's just not (for me) the second coming of U2 and I would not have included it in the 1001. Favorite tracks: Beautiful Day, Stuck in a Moment..., Kite, Peace on Earth.

Interesting trivia from Wikipedia: On May 20, 1960, Alex Harvey and his Big Beat Band opened for a band called Johnny Gentle and His Group. Johnny's "group" included some Liverpudlian lads named John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison. nbd. Anyway, to this album. It's ok. A little cheesy and pretty dated, but ok. Swampsnake was a good bop. "Ain't nothing like a gang bang" - I cringed and laughed a little. The Faith Healer dragged on (I knew the cover by Fish). Giddy Up a Ding Dong was a decent bop, but not very original. Then there's Next - sounds like a song from a very demented musical and the lyrics are just...wow. Vambo is super dated 70s hard rock, but it's another good bop. The Last of the Teenage Idols lurched from style to style - starting with a dragging ballad-ish beginning, followed by a fast hard rock section...then a section where everything suddenly was only in my left ear, then switched to my right ear before coming back to stereo - I had to figure out if my headphones were breaking - not cool. Then it ended with a 50s style doo-wop. I'm sure they were going for something clever, but to quote Spinal Tap: "It's such a fine line between stupid and clever." Unfortunately, this album wavered over that line a few too many times.

Yup, didn't need to hear this one before I die. Most songs are just a repeating motif that builds but never changes. Sure, some of those motifs are cool (e.g., Death Threat, Aisha (w/ Iggy Pop), Neptune City), but some are annoying (e.g., Dirge - out of tune guitar, Soul Auctioneer - annoying warbling tone, Broken Little Sister - really freakin' noisy and way too long). Next.

What insane person decided this should be in the 1001???? Wow, just wow. Sounded like a parody of a bad one-woman musical. I saw the brilliant review that referenced Lily Von Schtuppe and couldn't unhear it (this is one of the rare cases where I read the reviews before posting my own - some of them had me in tears laughing). There were a few ok tracks, or maybe ok moments - Song of a German Mother, Mother's Hands, Und Endlich Stirbt, and The Trenches were ok. I also enjoyed hearing "To a Little Radio" since I know that tune from Sting's The Secret Marriage (which is credited to Hanns Eisler, so this is apparently the original tune). But overall there were too many moments where my reaction was pure bafflement (especially Mother Beimleim - wtaf??). Giving it a 2 rather than a 1 mainly because it wasn't unlistenable, it just doesn't remotely belong on this list.

What's that I hear? Why, yes, that's the sound of cultural appropriation! It was fun reading various articles debating whether this is the case. A lot of articles say yes, a few say hate the game not the playa. R&B isn't really my thing, but I get why this was popular. Happy it was removed from the 1001, though. Nothing really resonated with me. Kinda liked the Pusha T rap in Like I Love You. Moving on.

Mostly good stuff. Kristen Hersh's singing is a little too warbly sometimes (especially on the last two tracks), but the music is cool. She sometimes sounds like Siouxsie (especially on the first track), but that's not a bad thing. She often sings with an unusual meter - an unpredictable style that I liked. Overall, I'd listen more (and I'll note here that it would have been good for the 1001 to include Star by co-founder Tanya Donelly's later band Belly. But I get it, they needed space for more Elvis Costello albums). Favorite Tracks: Green, Hate My Way, Stand Up.

Interesting sound. I really like the dark sounding guitars and bass, along with unusual stylings throughout (Of Lillies and Remains has very 80s King Crimson-esque guitar sounds - the high-pitched warbling sounds hovering behind much of the track). I also like the unusual vocals. A little out there, but that alone isn't a negative for me. Probably the biggest issue is that the second side gets a little repetitive - driving tracks with cool bass lines, but not quite as unique as the first side. Of course, the final track, Mask, breaks that mold. It sounds like something I should add to my Halloween playlist. Cool ending. Finally, they seem to have influenced a ton of subsequent acts, which puts this as one of those "you have to hear it to understand the development of indie/alternative music." Favorite tracks: Hair of the Dog, The Passion of Lovers, Dancing, Kick in the Eye (I hear Bowie and Fripp stylings in this one).