Reviews by bob

The Good: Me against Me… Masturbation!
The Bad: Finding out that the second me is the rest of the world…
The Ugly: Getting assaulted by the rest of the world and Ja…

Bad Brains, interesting name for sure, especially if you dig into the history of the band. More interesting is the fact that these are some awesome musicians who just one day decided to switch from fusion jazz to punk…

Problem is that I am not the biggest punk fan, though I am, according to my yearly roundup from Spotify, a fan of proto-punk, post-punk and on and on.
Needless to say that Spotify does not understand that I am on the 1001 journey, so my entire yearly roundup is massively influenced by the terrible taste of Mr Dimery.

Which leaves me with the question, how many stars is this album worth?
Though it wasn’t the most enjoyable listen, it wasn’t terrible either… how I wish we could rate these from 1 to 10*… this would be a 7 so that I know to listen to it again at one point…

4* just to keep it on my list of things to hear again in the future at some point...

The Good: A polyglot knows what this is about!
The Bad: We aren’t all poly-wants-a-cracker…
The Ugly: Not understanding what a darkdancer means… and I don’t want to seem insensitive here…

I am playing catch up on rating albums, which means that I am listening to several albums in a row, and this one just kind of hit the right spot today…

I can’t recall what I thought about this album the first time I heard it, however, today, I would argue that I would want to have this album in my “party albums” list for sure.
There’s not a single moment when you’d think “okay, this is getting ridiculous”, the beats just keep coming, the groove is just tight enough not to be constrictive… and then there’s the multitude of musical influences from rock, to rap, to RnB to you name it.

My real gripe with this album is that spotify only has the “extended” version available and I am not ready for remixes of this album…

Technically I should give this album a 4*… fuck it...

The Good: We are in for a Feast!
The Bad: I am not that much into Wire…
The Ugly: The album cover… I mean, really?

Don’t believe I had ever heard of these chaps before, and now that I have, don’t really believe I have a great wish to know these chaps anymore.

I can understand that one would like to do a little fusion music, but I don’t understand how it is even attempted by blending the styles they are blending… it’s like watching a 7-year old having fun at the soda fountain, mixing all the drinks into one cup, proudly taking that first sip while keeping the positive look on his face while in reality the desire would’ve been for just a Coke… without all the other shit mixed into it.

Calexico is just an odd duck that makes no sense in my world…

2*

The Good: We are regaled by non other than Mr John Lennon
The Bad: This isn’t JL from the Beatles…
The Ugly: The fucking screamin’

One can enjoy any kind of therapy one likes, does this mean that I have to exposed to said therapy?
Listening to the wailing on Mother, all I kept thinking was “suck it up butter cup”…

Don’t want to get into mental health discussions, but this is just sad…

Anyway, I listened to the album, and will not ever want to listen to the album ever again.

Thanks for bummin’ out my day JL
2*

The Good: We are warned that the band is pissed off!
The Bad: Why they are pissed off, I don’t understand…
The Ugly: Using the image of the poor monk…

I never dug deep into RAtM, maybe I should have sooner, so I could have told anyone who I know that is a fan, that they are being duped.
Tom Morello does what he does, and it is even commendable.
Mr singer man, on the other hand, is a douche.

Anyone who likes to defend the Zapatistas can go and eat shit.
I have little to no respect for violent protest, however, it seems that this is perfectly okay for this band…

To think that I have read a gazillion boo’s regarding Dire Straits and their misogynist song Money for Nothing, yet nobody offers a word here?
Well, though the music at times ain’t bad at all…

Here’s a 1* as a massive FU to all you numbnuts applauding this shit.

The Good: Always nice when an album title explains what you are going to hear!
The Bad: The album title not explaining that it refers to how you will feel about the songs…
The Ugly: The fact that there’s more to hate…

Oh Leonard, what troubled life you live.

Is he a great poet? Yes.
Does he know how to pluck a string or two? Yes.
Is his voice particular? Yes.
There, that’s the positive stuff to say about the album.

I will not dive into the negative portions of the album, as I believe those who’ve not had to listen to this album yet should dig in with a blank slate!

Don’t let my score discourage you for, potentially, loving the album… I hated it… 2*

The Good: The Medulla!
The Bad: Seems that this one is missing the rest of the brain…
The Ugly: … a cappella…

I am no fan of Bjork… and this is the second Bjork tinted album within a week… so yeah.
Still, I must say that I was a little intrigued about this album. It has that certain J’est N’est C’est P’as <—yes, I totally butchered that one.

Anyway, back to Bjork and here oddity.
Odd enough for me to be intregued and wanting to listen to this again at some point in the future… so here comes a 4*

The Good: Well you better… to me!
The Bad: The fucking hair…
The Ugly: Nothing, really!

Tiny Turner, what a tour de force!
My brother was the one who played this album over and over, so I really didn’t like it at all, because my brother had a shit taste in music…

But there was that one song that I couldn’t get enough of, Steel Claw!
Probably the only song on the album that wasn’t a hit!
Years later, I would blast that one in the car, while my rocker friends were wondering who the hell this hell cat was!

Listening to the album, 40 years later, what an absolute treat and gem of what the ‘80s was about!

5*

The Good: We get to be hysterical!
The Bad: We also have to be def…
They Ugly: The spots on this leppard…

I have a connection on LinkedIn who was a record executive back in the hay-days of records and he can do nothing but sing the praises for this album, which he worked on. In his opinion, the greatest rock album.

I wouldn’t want to go that far… however, I’ve been playing this album 4 times already in a 24 hour period, not because it is the greatest music ever, but more because it is the kind of music which allows an older fart such as myself to grin while I think back to when this album came out and girls were hysterical about the boys in the band, while the boys wished they were in the band…

Just like with the other DL album on this list, Pyromania, this album is stained in cheese, but such fun cheese that I believe I am doing all a disservice if I don’t rate this album at least a 4*

As far as ‘80s rock albums go, it is technically speaking a 5*… but I was into Prince in the ‘80s… so there...

The Good: We are on happy trails!
The Bad: They lead nowhere…
The Ugly: The messenger service wasn’t quick enough…

Not my cup of tea…
The only positive thing I can say about out this is that the album title reminds me of a Godley & Creme song “The Last Page of History”, which is followed by this insanely great song which nobody knows, but I do…

So, thanks to this, I spend a lovely 44 minutes listening to an album which is NOT on the 1001 list, because Mr Dimery seems to think that my life will be better having listened to this crap…

2* for it being music...

The Good: We get to have some rum!
The Bad: We’re not certain about the sodomy…
The Ugly: Fuck the lash!

What a gem of an album for those who’ve never heard it before and who actually like folksy-punky-bluesy stuff.

Plenty of comments referencing the fact that this is best listened to whilest under the influence of a pint or many, and I will agree that a pint or many does make the album more of an experience, however, that doesn’t mean it is the only way to have the experience.

So, here’s to me cracking open another can or beer, while I pretend to join in on a merry sing-a-long in a pub I wish I was at…

4 1/2* upgraded for posterity!

The Good: We know this music is going to bend!
The Bad: Turns out it bends the wrong way…
The Ugly: album = artist name…

I will say this, it is nice to have a bunch of <3 minute songs on an album.
It is punky, so there’s that…

However, I didn’t care for Suede, and I don’t care for Elastica.
If singer-lady would have really cared for music, she would not have given it up for art, to eventually marry a professor of meteorology… I mean, seriously?

Fucking Dimery could’ve chosen a couple of the awesome bands of the early/mid-90s that were dominating US college radio stations, but alas, hardly any of those are represented on this list… instead, I got to waste another day hoping to find something great to add to my collection.

2* because I am starting to HATE 90s alternative british bands...

The Good: This is NOT a politically charged album title…
The Bad: This is NEITHER a technical manual…
The Ugly: Finding out that Cream does not refer to what we add to the scones…

As much as I am starting to really dig the 70s, I am also starting to really dislike the 60s, which made this a difficult album to listen to.

All these great musicians, all falling for that momentary laps of reason when psychedelia seemed to be the cool thing. I am sure there is merit to the genre. Maybe. Just not to my ears.

Which is what is wrong with this album… it just brushes too close to that awful genre—one that is starting to irritate me more than hip-hop…

Sunshine of Your Love is nice though, and who doesn’t appreciate a little Strange Brew now and again?
Still don’t understand what the album title refers to… leave your thoughts in the comments below!

The Good: We have a ray, of light I am hoping…
The Bad: Noticing that the ray is a little hot…
The Ugly: Being shot by a fever ray?

Of course we have another album by someone we don’t know, who is creative enough to name the album after themselves…

My thoughts on the actual music? Well, I was kind of expecting some kind of sonic Viking to jump out of my speakers so that they could rape and pillage their way through my home…

Supposedly the music is electronic, just as much as Enigma is electronic… though there are vocals, and some kind of instrumentation… for me, electronic is Fraftwork… but that’s just me.

Anyway, I listened to the album, it was nice on the background, and I could probably listen to it again, however, the damn “shouting” would just start annoying me, not to mention my Viking paranoia!

So, summation, yeah…. no…

3*

The Good: We’re trying to start the week off positively!
The Bad: Try as we may, Monday’s tend to not be too happy…
The Ugly: Bummed should have given us a clue…

I think that bit by bit this list is turning me into a massive music snob, resulting in my instant disdain for anything that hailed from the British Isles and was, predominantly, only known in said isles…

Not that this album was bad, just a little late to the party in my opinion. They are trying to be something that was cool in a previous period, while adding something new… that just sounds old.

If I were to start a band that tried to sound like Led Zeppelin, I would fail hard… this is evident with all the new bands being hailed as the new Led Zeppelin, who nobody ever listens to, as there is only 1 Led Zeppelin…

On a brighter side, so as not to stay bummed, this is the last album of this band I have to listen to!

2*

The Good: We get sugar cubes!
The Bad: They aren’t good for our health…
The Ugly: Too many sugar cubes and life is anything but too good…

Bjork… should there be double dots above the O? She is an interesting character for sure.
What is more interesting is that I can’t stand her, but here she isn’t getting on my nerves…

So, yeah, I saw the sugarcubes, I wanted to go on a diet, as I did not feel like adding some Bjork to my daily diet… but then I listened and I found myself nodding along to the music… to the point where I know that I will want to listen to this again at some point in the future…

4*

The Good: We’re gonna be Jive Talkin’!
The Bad: No disco in Odessa…
The Ugly: Non-disco Bee Gees!!!

Fuck me, that was horrid.

Like many people of my generation, we know the Bee Gees for introducing us to John Travolta, white leisure suits and the power of the falsetto!
As time went by, we probably got to see a documentary or two about these brothers and how they, single-handedly, were responsible for the collapse of the disco movement…

So we have known that there was a period when the Bee Gees were just another group trying to get famous while jumping on the bandwagon of popular music at that time… regretfully for us, that time was the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, when tambourines were still considered critical additions to cool…

To make things worse, this album is over an hour long of this pseudo hippy, singer-songwriter, folksy crap.
To make things even worse than worse, the Bee Gees have 2 albums on this list, both hailing from the same dreadful period, while their opus majestus (is that spelled with a y?) is missing from the list as it is considered a compilation album / soundtrack, and fuck-face Dimery refuses to add these to the list.

Sorry Barry, Robin and Maurice, you are responsible for iconic music, and should be celebrated, but I can’t give you more than 2* for this album which just isn’t at all to my liking.

The Good: We get to attend a Q&A session!!!
The Bad: The questions are kinda stupid…
The Ugly: The answers are even worse…

Damn this album kicks off straight away… don’t believe there is even a second of silence… bam, in your face, here we go.
Nice and refreshing… but it also gets a little repetitive after a while.

We are Devo has been reverberating in my mind for two days now. Can’t seem to get that out of my head. The weird thing is that one would expect the album that contains Whip It Good to be the representative Devo album, but I guess I don’t know what I should listen to before I die as well as Dimery…

Normally I am all for the ‘70s and their eclectic tastes of music and such, so I am at a loss regarding what I need to rate this album with…

Shooting it down the middle… if it would have included the Whip It Good song, it would have been 4* for sure!!!

The Good: We are in the presence of royalty!
The Bad: We aren’t sure if the kingdom is worth visiting…
The Ugly: This rating having taken 1 month to write…

Yes, it was a month ago that this album presented itself, and seeing as I’ve started paying closer attention to Prog music lately, I thought that I should give this album a critical listen so that I could hand with the cool kids…

Thus, on the first spin, I was paying close attention and thinking that this wasn’t that bad at all…
On the second spin, I don’t recall what I was thinking as I wanted to experience the album while cleaning my office…

By the 5th spin I was starting to get confused…

Yesterday, partially thanks to a weird jazz album, I thought I would give King Crimson another go… so here’s my thoughts:
4 songs that comprise the album of 35 minutes… I wasn’t able to finish the first song, and by the first minute of the second song I decided to play Stevie Wonder’s Song’s in the Keys of Life…

For now, I know that I will have to listen to this several more times… which means that I need to give the damn album a 4*

The Good: We know before hand that this will be strange, in ways…
The Bad: I cheered too soon thinking that this was my last Morrissey/Smiths album to endure…
The Ugly: I’ve got 2 more to go after this one…

So, about a month ago I listened to The Queen is Dead, which to my horror I actually found more than pleasant to listen to.
This album, thankfully, puts me right back into not liking Morrissey at a high-high level.

So, I won’t waste more time then I already have writing about an album I will never listen to again, ever.
But, I will give it 2* as it’s music, with musicians and such...