Reviews by blakestewart

Love was, and I mean this, the worst front person for the band Faith No More. This was a couple of months in the later 80's. It was interesting in that the band was post-Chuck Mosley but still sounded like FNM...except Love...who insisted by sheer will on being who she is. Which is a very mediocre artist. Hole sounds like someone doing an impression of grunge/alternative. If it were not for her multiple dalliances she likely wouldn't have ascended to a fair degree of fame. I would have 50+ minutes of my life back. What I will grant this album is that it is very well laid out and quite consistent. Like some artificial nutrient paste shaped skillfully into the impression of a complete supper. The entire album I cannot find one moment of excitement. Big Yuck to this album.

Kind of like if you threw the Cure, Smashing Pumpkins, and Maybe a few quieter Ethyl Meatplow tracks into a blender and then smashed a button marked "super soft weiner". I mean that in the best way. Not quite a five-star but damnably close.

I dislike Dylan and this isn't really an exception.

If Tom Waits were less hatefully intoxicated and more Christmassy you'd have this album...which is a pretty good thing. It's not really for me but I feel like it occupies an important place. The man has talent.

Well, it isn't my favorite Outkast album but it is the best one of the 2000's! Plenty of good tracks, a couple of hits, and a few misses. Love Outkast and would almost forgive them any missteps as they have tried, consistently, to reinvent what they are and can bring to the people. Really great album that I wish I could put at a 4.4.

Sort of like decent Elvis crash landed on Brooke Benton island. Someone To Love Me is pretty great. Opening track (at least on Spotify) is fantastic for the genre. Solomon has a lovely and expressive voice. If you're a fan of modern things like St. Paul and The Broken Bones this will pick your locks without effort. It's a decently composed album as far as track ordering. If anything it suffers from being its own sea of same. Like an Ink Spots record, if you've heard the first three tracks, the rest will simply be more of the same. It gets a 6/10 from me. better than average for sure but not really my game overall.

An album I've heard several times. I adore Smith's voice and a great deal of his writing. For me he is at his best in faster paced songs such as the opening track "Son of Sam". The album drags in a few spots and feels like background music for a film with something more substantial to say in the moment. The arrangement of the album feels a bit hinky compared to either/or (for example). Pacing is a bit off. Figure 8 is an album that'll always be worth listening to...unless there is a livelier Smith album or compendium on hand.

Absolute classic album but feels roughly made in a way that even its contemporaries did not. Skits are fun and provide some counterpoint to what would otherwise be solidly braggadocious. The man's flow is unmatched when he is on. One of the best rappers of all time but this isn't a perfect album. It is a good album with perfect swaths. I don't mean to seem overly critical but when you have peaks as high as this album goes the low points stand out in stark relief.