Reviews by bob

The Good: A historic recording!
The Bad: Nothing to do with Scotland…
The Ugly: The actual darkness we get to see…

Since discovering the “did not listen” button option, I’ve been doing a piss poor job at keeping up with rating the albums that I am daily presented with. Result, today’s album is number 614, yet I have only rated 588… Time to play catch up, and this is one of them…

There was a point while listening to this album, that I found myself actually enjoying the experience… but it only lasted about 1 1/2 minute, and then the album went right back into whatever the hell this is supposed to be…

Did not like, will only skim through this record again if, at some point, I accidentally get bored and want to see if I can change my mind about 2* albums...

The Good: We get to visit Memphis, home of Elvis and Beale Street
The Bad: It’s a little dusty…
The Ugly: When it started to rain the dust turned into muck… and that’s what we’re left with

Yes, Son of a Preacher Man is a fucking classic song. Belongs on anyone’s Top50 song list. You could listen to the song once a week and not get bored…
Yet, the rest of the song is just another version of a song that just isn’t that good, and it starts to rub you the wrong way.

I compare this album to BB KIng and Eric Clapton’s record Riding wiith the King, on paper it should be worth gold, yet it just is the same thing over and over again and becomes boring too soon.

So, I do apologize to all those Dusty fans out there… but I can’t give this one ounce more than 3*…

The Good: We are getting a refreshment!
The Bad: The ice tea is not sweetened…
The Ugly: bitter face…

I don’t know if Ice T is the original o.g. however, and let me, again, preface this by stating that I don’t like rap in general, this album was a surprise for me.

So here’s to the O.G. not being gangster all the time!

3*

The Good: This album is about principle
The Bad: One man’s pleasure isn’t necessarily another man’s pleasure…
The Ugly: … I got nothing…

About a month ago I switched from using Spotify to using Apple Music. My reasoning was that, out of principle, I should use a streaming service that pays artist better, and which has better sound quality… Using one’s principle should be a good thing.
Then you find out that there are other streaming services which pay artist even better, and might have even better sound quality… and then you start adding one and one together, to question all principles, yet again.

This album, however, showed me one reason why it is more fun to use Apple Music over Spotify, and that has to do with the fact that while the album was playing, Gary’s fingers on the album cover were moving every-now-and-again…

What does all of this have to do with this album? Nothing.

The album was okay, but at times it was painful to listen to. The big song, Cars, was lovely, and I even found myself in some computer induced trance while listening to this album.
However, just the thought that I would have to listen to this album more than once a year would make me very uncomfortable… thus, regretfully, I can’t give this album more than 3*

The Good: Well, if we don’t like it, we know we are allowed to rate this LOW…
The Bad: Not liking being told what to do…
The Ugly: The fact that we are conflicted as we don’t like being told what to think, but maybe we are thinking alike…

I believe I’ve played this album about 5 times now, and I am still uncertain what to think of it.

It’s nice, don’t get me wrong, and it shows again that Bowie was a true artist.
Song and Vision is just stellar. Several of the tunes are well before their time.

But, unlike Spider From Mars, this one did not blow me away…

So, what to do… I refuse to go Low…
Fuck it… Here’s to Bowie 4*

The Good: Fahrvergnugen… or something like that…
The Bad: Venus Volume is not code for Volkswagen…
The Ugly: Trying to contemplate how badly Volume 2 would’ve been…

What a fucking pity; such a beautiful album cover, such as a shitty album.
We certainly have had the wool pulled over our eyes.

Here’s what I don’t get: why isn’t the album Drums & Wires on this damn list? I know… because there were too many excellent albums to choose from in the ‘70s that poor ol’ XTC could only make this list with such a sub-par album-okay, in all fairness, I haven’t listened to their other addition to the list, so I am kind of looking forward to listening to that album.

Anyway, someone is going to have to explain to me what makes this album so special that we need to listen to this before we die. There’s nothing special about this album, just some instruments, several songs, and the constant feeling that you are listening to a cover band of John/Paul/George/Ringo which makes zero sense as they are more than adequatlely represented with their 10 odd albums.

So, again, thank you Mr Dimery for proving to me that, indeed, opinions are like assholes, we all have one, we just don’t all create a list of 1001 albums we need to listen to before we die.

I did listen to Drums & Wires, and I can highly recommend that album as it was critical in generating that ‘80s sound...

The Good: We aren’t left barren…
The Bad: The five leaves left aren’t enough to cover up anything…
The Ugly: Realizing that the leaves refers to reefer…

Son of a bitch… that’s it.
3 Nick Drake albums? Just like with our friend Leonard Cohen, listening to more than 1 album is kind of enough, and though I did like the first two albums of Nick Drake, this third one broke this camel’s back…

I am starting to fear for my sanity the further I am progressing on this 1001 list… oh well, around 400 albums to go…

Sorry Nick, only 2* this time...

The Good: Who doesn’t want to get rich?
The Bad: Just not certain about dying if we fail…
The Ugly: The album cover… just too… I don’t know… pin-uppy?

We all know that I am no fan of the hip and hop… though there are a couple of exceptions where I can actually stomach several songs, and if you push me, you could make me listen to a “greatest hits” version of these songs… probably because it will not reach an hour in play-time…

Then again, if I start lining up those songs that don’t rub me the wrong way, the list is longer than I would like to admit…

Which is where mr $0.50 comes into play… with his catchy hooks, and his mumbling cadence, and his overall attitude… fucker makes me bob my head to several of his tunes.

So what score do you give a genre that you don’t like, but where the artist is one who you actually appreciate for what he’s done with his life?
I would almost give this 4*, as fiddy deserves all the additional credit for exposing diddy for what he be… but I can’t in good conscious do this, so I will stick to 3*… but good job there Curtis!

The Good: 5 years!
The Bad: Not enough!
The Ugly: The look of dread on my face when the album is over…

Fuck me… what a gem.

To think that I never really delved into Bowie that much.
I’ve played this album 8 times since it was presented to me 2 1/2 months ago.

I have nothing to say that has not been said better by others… and for those people who rate this album lower than a 4* I can but suggest you go see a psychiatrist!

5*

The Good: We all agree!
The Bad: Sometimes one needs to not follow the flock…
The Ugly: Fucking raw egg on ones hand… it’s just…

Did I like this album? Not really.
Is the album bad? Not really.
Should this album be on this list? Not sure…
Will I ever listen to this album again? Not sure…
Am I getting a little disappointed with the 1001 list? Yeah
Am I going to listen to silence for at least 3 hours today? Yeah
Can I get an amen? Yeahs!

2 1/2* upgraded to 3...

The Good: We get hot chips with dip… we hope!
The Bad: The chips are bland…
The Ugly: The mold on the dip…

Never heard of this band before, probably because I am no big fan of EDM and when this album came out I was more busy with other things…

Reading the commentaries, I have to agree that this album might have made a little more impact had it been released 30 years sooner… hence the mold on the dip… what? I have to explain my stupid humor now too?

Anyway, never going to listen to this again, though I did have to play the first two songs again to see if, maybe, I was going to change my mind as to what score I would give this album…

2* for not sucking massively

The Good:…
The Bad: Ego…
The Ugly: album name = artist

Seriously… I understand that there are people who view her as the beehzzneehzzz. I don’t.

As the first track starts, having to listen to another one of them oh so creative skits… fucking ego crap I am so sick of.

So yeah, stop pretending that this is the best that’s out there, and stop wasting my time…

1* out of pure spite

The Good: We are introduced to a Vespretine!
The Bad: We thought that is had something to do with scooters from Italy…
The Ugly: Turns out the welt you get from a vespertine sting is humungous!

I had to check… this is my second Bjork album, but technically speaking third, as this rating has been several months in the making.

How to sum up the experience?
Well, let’s start by the elation I felt when I decided I did not have to listen to the last 2 songs!
Also, why are most albums post mid-90s close to an hour of minimum length? It’s not like the product has gotten better or anything…
Back to the rating. Not my thing. There. I said it.

Bjork’s voice is nice when she is just softly whispering, however, when she starts doing to scream singing, I tune out. I am not complaining, I am just explaining that this is not my cup of tea.

Sorry to all the Bjork fans out there…

2*

The Good: One place to take care of all!
The Bad: My reservation got lost in the post…
The Ugly: The blandness of everything getting centralized…

Never heard of Beth before… listened to the album during a train ride… it wasn’t too bad.
Yet, the only thing that I remember about this album is that her voice sounds like the cranberries singer to me, and I find that style annoying…

There were several songs where she sang “normal” and I wish she’d stick to that style throughout the album.

All in all, it is what it is… a central reservation which merits a central rating of 3*

The Good: We get to hang in a suite!
The Bad: It’s not really our side of town…
The Ugly: Trying to get an Uber to pick our asses up…

I can see how someone who appreciates laid-back R&B, or Neo Soul, or whatever this is called, really likes this album.
Production wise, the sounds come through very well on my studio monitors, so good job there mr producer man.

But, I have to say this, the damn album just drags on and on and on and on…
Back in the ‘80s, oh so many years ago, I listened to Otis, I listened to Aretha, I listened to TTD and Prince, and Jorge MIguel who had Soul and R&B on his album Faith… and what did they all have in common? They mixed things up… One moment you are getting ready to slowly gyrate the hips, next thing you know you are jumpin’ up and down…

This album, this album is a non-stop let’s pretend we are cool and slow and sexy and whatever… BORING.

So, sorry Mr Maxwell, I am not going to hang at your urban suite no mo’

2* for production’s sake

The Good: We get to take everything back home!
The Bad: Home’s a lot smaller then we remember it to be…
The Ugly: Fucking Yardsale to get rid of all the shit we brought back home…

Mr Dylan is who he is… and that is probably one of the greatest singer/songwriters of all time… just like Leonard Cohen et al…
So, my question is: do all singer/songwriters have to have annoying voices in order to become successful?

There are some classic songs on this album, one’s which I might want to listen to again at some point in time, and probably will if I still manage to listen to the radio on a “golden oldies” kind of thing…

However, I don’t really care to have to sit through this album again any time soon… so where does that leave us?

3* upgraded from 2 1/2

The Good: We get to visit Paris in 1919!
The Bad: We don’t get to hang out with the cool artists…
The Ugly: We don’t get to hang out with anyone…

John Cale… In my mind, I keep humming “Cocaine, running around in my brain”, but we all know that’s another J Cale…

Anyway, I kind of like this album, if it is playing in the background. Yet, if we go and take a critical listen, then the album becomes harder to listen to… weird how that happens.

Also, and this has to be said, I am being partial, as my musical mood is too heavily influenced by the shit that has been appearing on the list for a while now.

Oh how I wish I wake up tomorrow and am greeted by a stellar outing… but the odds are against me…

Will just have to sit back and think of Paris in 1919 again, when the war was over and cubism was dead…

3*

The Good: Nothing
The Bad: This album…
The Ugly: Fucking ego’s of shit bands in ‘90s

My fond memories from the ‘90s do not include bands such as MSP, mainly because they were totally unknown in the US… and rightfully so.

I find this shit. Don’t like it. And will not rate it any higher than a 1*

The Good: Who doesn’t like velvet???
The Bad: Of course, if it’s been underground… it’s a little coarse…
The Ugly: Album and band name…

So yeah, listened to this a couple of times, because I’ve been real behind on my album rating activities… this album was presented to me 2 1/2 months ago, and I still don’t really have anything special to say…

So, shoot through the middle and give it a 3*

The Good: New York, New York!
The Bad: Dolls, Dolls…
The Ugly: … bandname / album name

The NYD, what is there to say? They are glam. They are not. They are punk. They are not. They are Rock. They are not… but they are, aren’t they?

This album was released to me on February 4th, today we are April 16th… and only now am I trying to rate this album… well, this one, and about 25 others, as I’ve been on 2 roadtrips during which I did listen to the albums every day, but just didn’t find time to always respond…

Is this my thing? Not really. But it oozes 70s, which is my favorite decade musically speaking, so I like that aspect of it.
I will give the album 4*, which I might downgrade later in life to 3… only because I can...