Reviews by bob

The Good: Food… who doesn’t like food?
The Bad: Not understanding what buildings have to do with food… unless we are talking about restaurants, huge restaurants!
The Ugly: No restaurants mentioned… just a river…

Fucking Talking Heads, with their great album covers, and oddness and general stuff…

Uncertain what to think of this album, but eager to listen to it, I was struck by one thought over and over again: how I wish I could have been there, in the ‘70s, to attend a show
In stark contrast with the album I reviewed yesterday, this album just looked at me, grabbed my hand, and walked me through one thought, to the next, in a circle, then a square, then up the staircase, and down again… and all the time I had no idea what I should be thinking…

Fucking Talking Heads…

5*

The Good: Golden dreams!
The Bad: New gold isn’t any better than old gold…
The Ugly: Finding out that simple minds can’t have dreams…

Promised You A Miracle!
Someone Somewhere In Summertime!
Yes, yes, 2 anthems of the New Wave revolution, used with such frequency in tv/film that one would almost have to say “been there, done that”.

Back during those days, you had bands other bands like Depeche Mode, U2, The Cure, to name a few, which fell into this similar style of rebellious pop. I’ve given up on trying to follow who was which style… for me it was all considered New Wave back in those days. It came with a dress code, hair-style, and social groups… Me, I was into Prince.

Due to this I did not pay much attention to this kind of music—see my comments regarding Songs From The Big Chair by Tears For Fears.
By the time the ‘80s were starting fade, I went on a trip Down Under, and I took with me my trusted portable cassette player (I’d say Walkman, but it wasn’t a Sony…). There I bought several “albums”; Brother’s In Arms, Faith… and Once Upon a Time… by Simple Minds, with the greatest anthem of the ‘80s “Alive And Kicking”.

Why am I sharing this?
Because, for me, Once Upon a Time is the must hear before you die album by Simple Minds. It flows much better, most songs have their own character, and for fuck’s sake, look at side A’s line-up:

Once Upon a Time
All The Things She Said
Ghostdancing
Alive And Kicking

You can’t ask for much more… except that that album would be included on the list… but no, instead I got to listen to one too many shit/way below average albums.

I fear to see what tomorrow’s album will be.
For now, I am just enjoying the trip down memory lane with the album that should have been on this list!

3 1/2* upgraded to 4*

The Good: We are gonna get outta here!
The Bad: Turns out these bold cutters are made of cold butters…
The Ugly: Putting an apple on cold butter…

Yes, I agree, the above was stupid and silly… which is kind of the way I was feeling during at least half this album.
Tit for tat, I’d say.

Fiona does a good job in staying true to that ‘90s vibe that made her famous, yet also embracing the here and now of these shitty ‘20s—that could be my age judging the ‘20s.

I’ve listened to the album three times now and it has convinced me of the fact that I am done with the album… it can go onto the bottom of the pile, and remain there…

3* for effort though

The Good: We are going to get Kinky!
The Bad: No, wait, we’ve been duped, it’s Something Else...
The Ugly: Finding out that the something else isn’t good music…

I will have to do my due diligence real fast… allow me a second…
This is the third The Kinks album I’ve been presented… the THIRD.
To make matters worse, and let me do my due diligence real fast… allow me a second…
I am missing one more album as there are four… FOUR The Kinks albums on this list…

Mr Dimery, you bastard!

My review of this album?
Well, sounds like something from the ‘60s. You can hear those sounds that were on many other albums from the ‘60s… and I am starting to hate the ‘60s almost as much as anything that has been published since the ‘00s

The album was just a waste of time for me. It did make me go through some of my older albums that I still needed to rate, and made me enjoy some imperfect albums that had sounds I had not listened to before… I am looking at the album Tank Battles… you know what I mean!

Anyway, I am nervous about what album I will get dished out today after ranking this album a 2*

The Good: We get to be farmers!
The Bad: We will reap what we sow…
The Ugly: The damn album cover… so sorry, but that’s ugly!

My very first thought, upon seeing the artist name and album cover, was “SHIT, not more post 2000 EDM shit…”
Pleasantly surprised with the sounds that came out.

This is what the list is for; listening to albums which, most likely, I never would have listened to in my life.
I am not a fan of salsa music, probably because I have 2 left feet and am able to hold a rhythm about as good as a epileptic going through an episode.
This album showed me that this does’t matter, as long as you just kinda try and sway to the music, while appreciating the fact that the musicians seem to be having a good time.

Not much more to say about this album, except that I will want to listen to this again in the future some time, so 4* it is!!!

The Good: We should always remember those who are MIA
The Bad: Music Is Missing… is what MIA stands for…
The Ugly: Finding out that Kala means today, tomorrow, machine, doohickey, and a slew of other words.

You guessed it, fail on this album.
There are moments, though I’ve forgotten about them already, that for an instance you are thinking that things aren’t that bad… for an instance…

I don’t know why this album is on the list… which, it seems, has become a more frequent thought that I am having… yet, over 600 albums into this journey, I should know better than to think that Mr D has anything but my sanity in mind.

So, for those of you who’ve not listened to Kala before, prepare NOT to be impressed…

1*

The Good: There’s no argument here as to who The Soul Machine is!!!
The Bad: Us becoming confused as to what a Soul Machine is…
The Ugly: Fucking cheesy early ‘00s photoshopping…

The cover of the album should be changed to just nothing but a solid color… fucking keep it simple.

Other than that… this album was a total waste of my time.
I don’t know why I had to listen to this… maybe because of the Pass The Dutchie sampling? I will go and listen to the Musical Youth now, probably have a better time…

1*, not only because of the horrid cover art...

The Good: The King of Rock and Roll
The Bad: The state of royalty these days…
The Ugly: … I’ve got nothing…

Album cover shows up and I have 2 instant reactions: Finally get the king, and there goes the ranking for the ‘50s.
The first should be a no-brainer… but my second comment has to do with the annoying fact that the ‘50s seems to be my favorite decade of music as it holds the highest average score of all decades.

This changes today.

Blue Suede Shoes, what a great song to start a freshman album with. Arguably the best song.
It is catchy, it has a great flow, and it just makes us want more!

Then more kicks in… and I started scratching my head wondering what the hell I was listening to.
At times you are expecting there to be a punchline, as you think you are attending a comedy show… because this is not serious, is it?

I’d love to write something smart. I’d love to write something insightful. I’d’d loved to have loved this album…

2* is what I am giving the King…

The Good: We get goo!!!
The Bad: It’s not the goo that we thought we were going to get…
The Ugly: Realizing that goo is slang for…

So, album cover is awesome! Then you read the story about the image the cover art is based on, and you start to wonder what the hell the one has to do with the other…
For those curious, lookup Moors Murders…

But we are here to review the music, not psychopathy…

At times I finally understand why Sonic Youth is so admired… and then the next song kicks in and I scratch my head to understand why people admire Sonic Youth…
If I want to hear loud guitars then there are other artists I’d rather listen to…

Goo… indeed.

Still, I’ll be gentile and offer them 3*

The Good: Who doesn’t like country life?
The Bad: Finding out that there is not BBQ included…
The Ugly: And that the latrines are full and it is our turn to clear them out…

Mar 06 2026, that’s when this album was presented to me.
June 8 2026, that’s when I am writing this review…
Why have I let 3 months fly by?…

I really wanted this album to be a 4+* album… I really did.
I have a soft spot for Mr Ferry and his vibrato… but it’s irritating me on this album… really irritating me.

Virginia Plane is a top notch song, but the rest of the album… not so top, nor so notch.

I think I am going to listen to “In Your Mind”, an album that is sadly missing on Apple Music, but I have a CD version of it, so off I go and think fondly of Mr Ferry again…

2 1/2* upgraded for effort...

The Good: We don’t have to read!
The Bad: Is that because we too are blind??
The Ugly: The album cover…

YES!!! Finally!!!
After roughly a 2 week drought with only 1* or 2* albums, I finally got all exited with today’s offering.

What can I say? I’ve been listening to this album since, at least, 1976, potentially before, but my memory there is a little clouded.
I love this album to death. Probably top 3 albums ever.

Talking Book spoke to me when I did not even understand the English language. Even today, just listening to the music gives me goosebumps.
I used to play this album on one of those 3-in-1 contraptions, that closed like a small suitcase: 2 shitty speakers, a radio that received about half the channels as the antenna was shit, a cassette player that just did what it was supposed to do… eat cassettes when you didn’t want it to, and the record player with a needle that could poke holes into your soul!

I wish I still had that record.
I wish I still had that 3-in-1.
I wish I could go back and just hang out for a while back in those lovely ‘70s years…
I wish…

While reading some of the comments from other listeners I felt the need to have a chat with them—though my initial reaction was that I should slap some sense into them, until I realized that I might be lambasting their favorite albums…
So people think that this album has too many catchy hooks, that it is sappy, filled with “sellable” songs… Go listen to the album again. Listen to the words on Big Brother, which today is applicable still, for all races.

Anyway, 5* with a +++++

The Good: We are getting things revealed!
The Bad: It’s not what I was hoping for…
The Ugly: The fucking seat… horrid…

Right, modern country, sung by a NYC/LA raised “hillbilly”… not that there’s anything wrong with that, kinda… However, for me, it’s like listening to Billy Joe Armstrong pretend like he’s a pissed-off lad in 1970s UK punk scene… sk8tr boi…

Anyway, not my thing, this musicality. If I have to listen to something like this, then give me the true Apalaccian queen of Dolly P, so that I can at least be a filthy bastard and admire how she would fill out that flowery dress…

Sue me… not happy with my string of bad luck albums as we currently have had 12 in a row that I’ve scored 2* or lower… except for that album 2 days ago, by Siouxsie, which I am going to play again now and hopefully rate with a 4* to get out of this rut…

2*

The Good: We’re down with NBB, yeah, you know me!
The Bad: Dyslexia…
The Ugly: The scowl on my face…

Scowl, because I just clicked the bandname on the album review page, and was greeted with FIVE fucking album covers… 5IVE…
I honestly don’t know if I am going to be able to get through with the list if this keeps up.

Every day I wake up with a feeling of dread as to which album will be the source of disgust today… let me check… great, some unknown country singer of the early ‘00s

Did I enjoy this album? Not really. Then again, I think I zoned out at a certain point, lowered the volume a tad, and found myself listening to silence once the album was over.
Will I ever listen to this album again? Never say never. Not because I would like to, but sometimes shit happens, and we can not recall all the albums which have already been presented to us on this list.
Would I suggest this album to people as something they have to listen to before they die? No. Period.

2*

The Good: When you got JuJu, you got Juju!
The Bad: Of course, when you got an itch… you scratch…
The Ugly: Finding out that Juju, indeed, will make you scratch…

I was never into the emo that much back in the ‘80s, or, as we called it, new wave—lump sum name for any band where most of the clothes worn were black, or grey, and maybe some white or red to break things up…

Since the ‘80s I’ve started to appreciate the big guns of the New Wave so much more than I did back then. The Cure, Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode et al…
Siouxsie… she always scared me, and still does.

I guess that is what Juju is all about… fear!

For me, this album is too much of that feared New Wave from when I was a teenager. Not the kind of music that I’d gladly sit down for and enjoy a 40 minute contemplation about times gone a by… missing the - - there.

Sorry Siouxsie, can’t give you the 4* you deserve as I’ve listened to this album 4 times, and I don’t think my opinion will change on the fifth listen.

3*

The Good: We know we’re not going to get lied to!
The Bad: Sometimes, a little white lie is not a bad thing…
The Ugly: So here’s mine; vocals make an album…

I feel like, somehow, I am committing some kind of sacrilege by not scoring this album a 4* minimum.
However, as is evident by oh so many other reviews, this album is just not there…

You can have the greatest musicians in the world playing together, it still doesn’t mean you are going to have an awesome album. Look at the amount of supergroups which have existed who failed miserably: Asia, Bad Company, Velvet Revolver, to name a few…

I think that Rod get’s a bad rep here. He’s got pipes, but I think that they were only correctly used on maybe 3 of the 32 studio albums that carry his name… still, plenty of people thought he was good enough, if not Rod wouldn’t have such a extensive catalogue.

As for Jeff, hailed by many as the GOAT, he’s got a tough time showing off his goat-ness here.
Also, for me, there are 6-string slingers who I appreciate a whole lot more than JB’s oeuvre…

So, what should I give this album?
Well, I love me some blues, and I love me some rock, and I love me a good album where I enjoy every single, or most, of the songs listed… and yet, while listening to this album I found myself in need to take care of small chores around the house, far away from the speakers, or noticing my finger ever so close to the skip button…

2*… I know I am going to get new enemies due to this… fuck it

The Good: This is an album about building things!
The Bad: That I have to tear it down…
The Ugly: The rubble left behind…

5 days in a row that I will be giving a 1* rating…
On a positive note, I’ve seen the album which I am supposed to listen to today, and I doubt that that one will get such a low rating… I hope.

The weird thing is that I rated the freshman album by the WTC with one of my higher ratings for a hip-hop album, and to a certain extent I was curious when this album was presented yesterday morning… the curiosity faded away pretty fast.

You’ve heard one, you’ve heard them all… If you like the style, you are happy, if you don’t, well then you give a 1* rating.

That’s it, no need to keep reading further...

The Good: It’s a lesson in history!
The Bad: I did not hear the “I’m not a crook” thingy…
The Ugly: Lambchop, or Burnside’s (those who’ve seen Black Bird will understand that reference…)

I don’t know what I listened to. Mainly because I stopped paying attention in the middle of the first song, noticing that the monotony remained throughout the album… probably only noticed the album was done after enjoying silence for about 30 minutes.

Which begs an answer to the primal question: what is/was Mr Dimery’s criteria for adding an album to this list? Maybe one of these days I should just buy the damn book and learn that I’ve been duped by a asshat?

This is turning into one of the most painful weeks when it comes to this list, though my record of 9 consecutive albums where I don’t rate higher than a 2* is still unbeaten…

1* shit

The Good: Looks like we are gonna be busy…
The Bad: We don’t know how to count, as technically speaking this is a foursome, if I’m to be included…
The Ugly: Not even going there…

As I am a true blond, I need to check my listening history to be certain if I’ve listened to an album by Linda prior to this… Okay, I just found out that Linda is only included in the list via this album… sucks being Linda I guess, because I am not ranking this album too high…

When the first song kicked in I instantly searched for the clay jug of moonshine, which I did not find… leading me to not enjoy this album.
There’s something about that apalachean sound (I fucked up the spelling there, and I can’t be bothered to change it…) that just makes me want to punch a rock, then scream from pain, then enjoy the scream more than the album…

Not that I will give the ladies a 1* rating… no no. After all, it is a trio!
But, I did not enjoy the listening experience at all… and should give it 1*… I am soooooo conflicted with myself these days…

Fuck it, 1 1/2* rounded down

The Good: We are faced with an acronym!
The Bad: Solid Example of Badly Done Original Hymns was the nicest thing I could come up with...
The Ugly: Finding what’s beneath the scraped bubble…

SHIT.

There, that’s my review of this album.

Throughout the history of modern music, there have been many artists who’ve altered their voice to paint a better picture for the listeners, some start to growl, others might do a falsetto, some whimper… few have the balls to moan off key… so I will hand Sebadoh that… and I can’t be bothered to look up the singers actual voice.

Mr Dimery, so it seems, is a musical journalist who’s focus can be compared to a movie critic who only sees 1 genre…
This band, according to Wiki, has been compared to the Meat Puppets (fuck no) and, obviously, Dino Jr (whom I don’t like either), all the time overlooking some massive indie bands from the ‘90s who had much more influence on that decade (I am looking at Cracker, Ben Folds Five, The Why Store, fucking Screamin’ Cheetah Wheelies, or what about the Reverend Norton?)

Oh no, no no, you must listen to some shit recorded on a 8-track in a garage…

1*

The Good: This is all about youth!
The Bad: Being sung by an old fart…
The Ugly: Age… it’s ugly… when you can’t accept it…

To the horror of horrors I was presented this album today… to the even greater horror of horrors I found out that this is only the third in what sums to FIVE FUCKING ALBUMS that mr Nick Cave with his badseeds have on this list… Badseeds my ass, they impregnate even the unwilling…

I don’t know what this is album is supposed to be about.
I can’t be arsed (to use a British expression for once) to find out why this album is included in this list…
I am fearful of the potential shit album that I will be presented with tomorrow in the morning.

Thankfully I was presented with a song by The Subdudes and this made me go down a slight Treme inspired rabbit hole that was so much more enjoyable than this album…

Hurray for a sensitive volume knob which decided to lower the volume all by itself during this album… silence is better.

1* out of pure spite