Reviews by bee-york

I get that on a 1001 albums list you are going to get some critically acclaimed and universally beloved albums but it always feels weird when it comes time to writing stuff for it. I really don't know what to say. banger fucking album

One I had actually listened to quite a while ago but never got around to writing a review for it, I definitely can’t complain coming back to this one for a revisit before writing some thoughts. While I can’t exactly comment on its lyricism or any other aspects that the cultural divide bars me from, but I can absolutely vouch for just how groovy this album is from head to toe. Seriously I would only say there was only one song on here that stood out to me as not being that great (funny enough it was sat between my two favourites on the album Taj Mahal and A Historia De Jorge so it really stood out). An awesome album either for active or background listening which demonstrates just how universal an enjoyable song can be

Apparently there are two songs on here that were included in GTA V and I don’t recognise either of them. I’m really at odds with how compelling I really find this album, sure there are many aspects that feel fresh and enjoyable (I enjoyed the opener and quite a few songs towards the middle) but there is also something very bland and formulaic to them as well. For me I feel it’s the vocalist, only feels comfortable singing in a very limited vocal range (it’s a weird distinction from not having extra range but one I feel the need to make)

Of all the albums I am coming to review from by backlog, this is probably the one that will benefit from it the most given I have recently had an odd ‘reawakening’ of sorts to Costello (AKA I played too much Call of Duty with a friend while listening to some of his music until it grew from being somewhat grating to genuinely enjoyable). It’s a trait I have mentioned previously with Costello on here that really reinforces my feeling of giving something more than a single listen to give it a fairer assessment.

The Suburbs is an apt title, as much like the suburbs this albums a cruisey enough listening experience with all the nearby essentials you could want at the expense of incredibly homogenised standards and some irritating sounding people. About 5 tracks in I started just checking some of the songs ahead of me to see if anything different or more musically interesting was in store and was left not only disappointed but dreading the rest of this radio filler album.

A lot better than its other 60's contemporaries on this list. it was very refreshing going from a bunch of guys singing songs about hot girls they want to date to a girl singing songs about how she wants to date guys. Maybe it's just a perspective thing but it's hard to be too critical of these 60's albums, a lot of them aren't the greatest things on this list but it doesn't feel like they demand the same level of scrutiny, they're just staying in their lane. It's like the musical equivalent of bullying some kid with a funny little propellor hat

I guess you could characterize this as a bit of a 'safer' album than Back to Black as I wouldn't classify it as having as much downside as Back to Black, but this kinda makes it feel less memorable as a result. I imagine this might be part of why the album was removed from later editions of the 1001.

Quite a departure in tone from what I have heard from them in other media. I'm kinda conflicted on how to rate this, I can admire this a lot more than a certain similarly dark and ambient album I have been given by this site in the past, but that is also not something I could see myself listening to regularly.

The hit title on this was just as boring as the rest of the album.

the part where the coconut song in Alan Wake showed up was epic

While I wouldn't call it a slog to get through, you can definitely tell the highlights 'AKA the last two tracks' really carry this album for people. It stands so far and above everything else before it

As a 2 and a quarter hour long double album this one is more of a colossal task compared to a lot of albums on this list. Thank goodness Nintendo never got into the record label scene because they’d be splitting this shit in half and selling it off as two like a Pokemon game.
That double-sided nature does make this a bit harder to grade, while you could argue it is weighed down in length and by some of its less than stellar tracks you could just as easily say that the amount of quality and quantity here is what solidifies itself as an incredible album in spite of its feature film runtime. I would say for the sake of this review that I lean more towards the latter side of thinking.
Speakerboxx is definitely the more traditional hip hop album half with a more cohesive sound while The Love Below is the more experimental (and much hornier, though I guess that comes with the premise) 2nd half which had me worried was going to start missing more than it hit around halfway into its runtime before landing back on its feet near the end. I enjoy both sides for different reasons

I miss the blissful ignorance I had in the first few minutes of this album when I thought it was going to be an instrumental album. I thought my tolerance for tacky New Wave was pretty high but it was not enough to stomach the vocals on display here. Like this goes beyond the usual 'ohhh this guy sings annoying' mentality that bad vocals usually drag an album down with, I don't know if I can say with confidence that these guys actually know how to sing

Not sure what bro was saying but it sounded like he was spitting some fucking heat in a few parts there.
Really not too much to say, I suppose the global score feels kinda harsh

This was a nice laid back listen but I genuinely forgot to review it when I was done listening which should show much of an impact I felt it left

Really good and understandably considered the standout of the Berlin trilogy. I would say it's a bit 'overrated' when compared to its peers but that's not really a knock against it given it keeps some good company

If this is supposed to be the face of this obnoxious, bowl cut laden genre then I just don't think it is for me

Idlemild - Anything But Strong Feelings (for this album)

Seriously what the fuck is this lovey dovey/ballad demo disc for 80's romances doing on this list?

A really nice surprise, especially after seeing the global score and some of those genres tagged. While the genres attributed to this are accurate, I would say it is only to the extent of specific tracks with how much this likes to hop genres. It jumps from some slower and more dreamy tracks, to more traditional rock tunes. Some tracks just go completely chaotic and throw everything together. Certainly not for everyone but I'm glad it's on this list

Who gives a shit if it's crazy front loaded, the 'weaker' songs in the latter end are still nice and I would say are better for calmer easy listening during the long stretches of instrumentals on some songs