Reviews by bt1001quest

An album so good that it inspired a visual accompaniment that is equally artistically viable in its own right. This is a quintessential prog record, pretty exceptionally following the standards of a musical and telling a cohesive, compellingly brilliant if somewhat overwhelmingly maximalist story with incredible musicianship and production choices throughout. I consider it the standard bearer for rock double albums. You get an expansive story with plenty of emotional variance and style- not only were the band experimenting with the form on this record but they were trying their hand with genre exploration fitting of the time of release (i.e. the disco beat on "Run Like Hell.") Every time I listen to it I am impressed by something new- the samples, the diversity in sound, the pacing. It is probably my favorite record from them and has a claim as one of the greatest records of the entire decade.

They have a clear sound that they really push hard on this record, with reverb-y guitar, maraca percussion, and looped synthesizers abound. Often falls into a very generic territory that it does not escape from

An attention-grabbing, cinematic opener with a couple neat tracks scattered throughout the other 40 minutes. I thought it was alright.

Besides “Once in a Lifetime” this was largely extremely dull and tedious. Extremely forgettable substance-less krautrock-lite

Bob wins me over with some extremely great songs in the front end but loses me in the home stretch with three straight drawn out acoustic tracks

Good vocals but a little too much Aretha for me. Understand her significance, the album was a little one ear out the other at a brisk 30

Excellent Celtic folk/rock. Shane MacGowan just puts a smile on my face with his Irish troubadour vibe- the diction/pronunciations give him such a "stereotypical" aesthetic but it feels very genuine. Production is not anything special, but the songs are all so fun that it works.

IM A FREE BORN MAN OF THE USA

MASTERPIECE

The pinnacle of synthpop brilliance. Dramatic and chic but timeless and accessible in equal measure. These songs have been mainstays in my musical canon for a long time (since high school even when I would never admit I liked them) and will remain. One of the greatest bands of all time and certainly their top dog record (though they have other really great ones too!)

Album starts off with 5 straight awesome songs and then the deep tracks just don't hit nearly as hard. His vocals are amazing throughout, and the blend of R&B, soul, and jazz still feel fresh even if the songs are inconsistent.

An album that 100% deserves a higher rating just because of the number of iconic tracks it has. Side 2 is chock full

Nondescript and lacking memorability, could tell they really were unsure of their sound at this point

Beautiful and warm world music perfect for many listening situations.

Production is THIN AS HELL. Obviously a couple of noteworthy hit tracks, but an ultimately ho-hum experience in its totality due to everything lacking any punch production-wise.

"Wishing Well" is a neat late 80s pop track. Always thought Seal really had the edge over this guy in terms of making this funk/rock/r&b sound work. Production is very dated.

Absolutely seamless genre transcendence and experimentation. A massive artistic statement commanding attention and firmly giving a voice to the feelings, both good and bad, surrounding the early 2010s.

"Thinkin' 'Bout You" begins things with a gorgeous pop synth/r&b fusion opening, "Super Rich Kids" is a wonderfully smooth rap soul track with a fantastic feature from a young Earl Sweatshirt. "Pyramids" is INSANE. How have I never heard this before? Great lyrical concept, fantastic synthesizers, and John Mayer's greatest guitar performance ever! "Lost" has a super catchy Daft Punk-esque chorus.

Not every song works, but it's aged extremely well. Great album.

Title track is really powerful- great buzzing guitar and soft country/grunge instrumentation. His vocals almost remind me of Ian Anderson a bit.

I like the album's mood and feel quite a bit. Very easy to listen to. Wish I could give it an extra half star.

Literally has everything you would ever want from a Tom Waits record: his melodic, soul-stirring material ("Downtown Train," "Time"), uptempo urban folk ("Clap Hands," "Jockey"), bizarro avant-garde stuff ("Tango," "9th and Hennepin"), and a familiar jazz/lounge sensibility ("Mariah," "Anywhere"). He remains one of my all-time favorite artists and has for so many years. This is his pinnacle.

A masterful dream pop release that revels in drawn-out repetition and vastly stretched sound layering. The 72 minute runtime may seem daunting, but there really is not a moment to be cut. It's a definitive release from the decade.

“Halcyon and On and On” is one of my all-time favorite songs. Such an intricately-composed, gorgeous pool of sound- transcendent stuff.

The rest of the album, while ahead of its time, tends to run a bit tedious. The two “Lush” tracks and “Impact” are both good, but the whole album probably could have been an EP.

The singular showcase album for one of the greatest guitarists ever. Such smooth, lyrical, and expressive playing- he makes the instrument sound so cool. "Do You Feel Like We Do" remains one of the greatest songs ever for me- a legendary 14-minutes of 70s rock heaven.

There are some ludicrous and laughable reviews on this website complaining that it's a live album as if that's a bad thing? The dynamism and sparks of energy exuding from these songs are made possible because it's a live album!