Reviews by callimar

When I first heard Garbage’s self-titled debut album in 1995, I thought the name was a bit over the top, but somehow it hit the nail on the head. I’ve since realized that my taste in music has changed in this regard over the past 30 years, and today I find “Garbage” quite tolerable.
I also remember that Garbage sounded a bit like the Smashing Pumpkins to me, and I can partly confirm that impression. Aside from the obviously different vocal styles, however, the two bands differ in the way they create boredom: While the Smashing Pumpkins simply layer so many tracks on top of each other until everything sounds the same, the Garbage sound simply lacks any sense of tension.
In summary, this is a very mediocre alternative rock album.

I had never heard of The Roots before, and I suspect that’s because - at least on this album - the group hides behind collaborations with well-known artists. Or to be more precise: the style of the individual songs depends so heavily on their collaborators that it’s not at all clear what The Roots stand for. Maybe you could look at the first “real” track, “Rock You”, as a reference point, but that song is so bad that you can’t even come to a more favorable conclusion...
Let me put it this way: The Roots are a kind of music collective that’s good at providing their collaborators with tailor-made backing tracks. The whole thing falls into the not-quite-so-annoying realm of hip-hop. So for me, “Phrenology” falls into the “tolerable but not good” category.

Music typically consists of melody, harmony, and rhythm. Some musical styles place special emphasis on one of these elements, neglecting one or even both of the others in the process. And then there’s Le Tigre, who, on their self-titled debut album, focus entirely on the lyrics and neglect all three elements. In other words: despite (or perhaps because of?) what I see as the three women’s understandable sense of mission, the music is simply bad, and no lyrics in the world can turn it into a good album. It’s a shame, really.

I think I’d heard of the Minutemen before, but I can’t remember any of their songs. That doesn’t really mean anything, though, because the songs on *Double Nickels On The Dime* are practically unrecognizable. Wikipedia classifies this album as hardcore punk, and if that’s supposed to mean it’s mostly disjointed strumming, then that’s accurate. Yet the album is actually well-produced, and the exceptionally clear sound really precludes any punk associations. The musicians also know their craft, and the singer is really good—no, this isn’t a punk band, but professionals who simply want to sound weird. They achieve this by playing every part completely at random, making it seem almost improvised. If you were to bring together ambitious country musicians and simply dictate the tempo and key to them, the result might sound quite similar.
Interesting, but I don’t really need it.

I had watched the recording of Nirvana’s “MTV Unplugged in New York” live because my girlfriend at the time was a huge Nirvana fan. Back then, MTV had a series of unplugged concerts where well-known bands showcased their talent with a stripped-down lineup, and some of them were pretty impressive. That wasn’t the case with Nirvana, though, because that band didn’t have much to offer technically. As a result, the songs - admittedly strong songs - sounded relatively choppy, and the performance struck me more as a group of mediocre street musicians who had stumbled into the MTV studio by accident.
For many, it was the ultimate revelation, but even back then I felt - and still do today when I listen to it - that Nirvana shouldn’t have played that concert. For me, it remains the ultimate symbol of the commercial sellout of this band, which had actually started out under very different circumstances.

I realize that Kraftwerk is considered an enormously influential band - probably quite rightly so - but in my opinion, their achievement lies less in producing great albums and more in exploring new territory and experimenting. I think it’s excusable that their musical vision sometimes falls by the wayside in the process. However, there’s no need to listen to the albums today - it was enough for me to know the name Kraftwerk and recognize that they were important pioneers of electronic music. The albums sound exactly as one would expect based on this description: song ideas on the level of ringtones, monotonous arrangements, and string sections that are commendable in concept but completely botched. That was the case with “Man Machine,” and “Trans Europe Express” is no different in this regard.
More suited for a music history freak show than for a best-of list!

I grew up listening to *Out of Time* and *Automatic for the People*, but I never really understood the hype surrounding R.E.M. Now that I’ve listened to *Document*, I finally get it! The album is truly brilliant: a great rock band that experiments with different approaches, isn’t afraid to sound poppy, but isn’t chasing a mainstream sound either. That’s how you do it!
I knew some of the songs, but I didn’t associate them with the mainstream ’90s pop band I knew as R.E.M. (except, of course, for “The One I Love”). Awesome!

It seems to be becoming a running joke for Robert Dimery to always pick the wrong albums by the right artists. I mean, Black Sabbath were one of the most influential bands of all time, so it makes sense to include several albums: “Paranoid” - of course; “Black Sabbath” - fair enough; “Vol. 4” - eh... Then what about "Master Of Reality", "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", “Heaven and Hell” or “Headless Cross”? Sure, Black Sabbath playing “Changes” or experimenting with instrumentals is definitely worth a listen, but in terms of innovation, there are even more significant Sabbath albums.
Five stars, just because it’s Sabbath with Ozzy. However, this once again confirms my impression that Robert Dimery doesn’t always know what he’s talking about.

Right now I’m having trouble with the rating scale, and it feels like I’m constantly giving out three stars. Often my problem is similar to what I had with “C’est Chic”: I knew that Chic wrote the bassline for “Another One Bites the Dust” (a year later), and I’d already heard “Le Freak” and “Good Times” before. The rest of the album isn’t really bad; it’s well-produced, and I like the basslines. Still, my overall impression is mediocre—the songs don’t really speak to me, the style hasn’t aged particularly well, and I’ll probably never consciously listen to this again.
So, yeah: once again, somewhat solid.

I’d heard the name The Electric Prunes before, but I wasn’t familiar with their music. Their self-titled debut album is exactly what you’d expect from this band name: a wild mix of high-quality psychedelic rock songs and technically well-crafted but completely bizarre jokes. For my taste, however, the outliers in both directions are remarkably few, and overall, the result is almost a cohesive album with perfectly normal highlights and weaknesses.
“Solid” doesn't quite capture its character, but in terms of rating, that's actually what it is.

With seven albums by a single artist, it was clear that not all of them could be world-class. Neil Young has recorded some great music—but that’s not necessarily the case with this album, *Tonight’s The Night*. Instead, this is a good, but by no means outstanding, blues-rock album.
Is it worth listening to? Definitely yes.
Does it belong on a list of the 1001 best albums? Definitely not.

I’ve always kind of liked Tom Petty - whether solo or with the Heartbreakers - but it never quite clicked for me 100%. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” came closest, but that song was never on a regular album.
Well, back to this debut album: it’s mostly cool, too, but it lacks those truly outstanding moments. And I still can’t quite put my finger on why it doesn’t really grab me. Based on what I consciously perceive, it should actually be five stars, but it doesn’t feel that way.

I’d never heard of The Coral before, and I don’t think that was a bad thing. Their self-titled album isn’t terrible, but on the other hand, I can’t really see why it should be on this list. You could think of it as Mando Diao playing songs that, for good reason, hadn’t gotten much attention up until then.
For me, that’s a 5/5 for the sound and a 1/5 for the songwriting. That makes it one of those 3-star albums that actually shouldn’t be on the list.

I hadn't heard of The Blue Nile before, and they sound like a new wave band that isn't quite as over-the-top as the genre's best-known acts.
There isn't much to say about *A Walk Across The Rooftops* - I like the distinctive bass sound on the title track, and the other songs are generally okay. Solid.

Queen's second album is - well, unmistakably Queen, but still pretty wild. Many of the songs contain good ideas, but they're not particularly catchy. As a result, the album swings back and forth between genius (“The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke”) and madness (“Ogre Battle”). I find it remarkable that Brian May had already found exactly the sound that would later define “Bohemian Rhapsody,” among other songs. Of the tracks on "Queen II", I personally like “Seven Seas Of Rhye” best.
A 2011 remastered version is available, but in hindsight, Queen really should have completely re-recorded the album at some point with revised versions of the songs. It’s hard to give a fair rating under these circumstances, but I’m giving it five stars anyway.

I wasn’t familiar with The xx, and although I’d seen their album *I See You* before, I hadn’t actually listened to it.
In terms of their basic sound and vibe, The xx remind me a bit of the Eurythmics - in other words, *I See You* isn’t half bad for an electronica album. The “trick” here, as there, is the use of real instruments, which simply make everything sound more alive. Add to that Romy, a singer who strikes a good balance between emotion and control (and in this respect, too, reminds me of Annie Lennox).
Did I actually like an electronica album? I have to admit that after the rather weak start with “Dangerous,” there’s quite a lot of good stuff to follow. It’s not exactly my new favorite album (it’s too quiet for that, and the concept doesn’t work with more drive - see “Dangerous”), but it’s a very pleasant surprise.

I remember this album playing quite often at a friend’s house, and even though hip-hop isn’t really my thing, I like the groovy, funky, and laid-back vibe of Arrested Development. Some parts of “3 Years...” are still a bit monotonous, but in a way that’s still somewhat tolerable. I suppose the reason for this is that they worked a lot with real instruments, which makes the production far more lively than that of their gangsta counterparts.
I especially liked the bassline in “Dawn Of The Dread” today, even though it’s probably a synthesizer.
Not my favorite album, but an important milestone and fully deserving of its place on this list.

I hadn’t really listened to Steven Stills on his own before. His solo debut is definitely worth a listen; everything is top-notch: songwriting, production, vocals... There are even several notable guest appearances - Hendrix’s guitar work on “Go Back Home” is unmistakable. What’s missing are some truly standout singles - but in my opinion, it still just barely earns five stars.
Apparently, I had a bit of bad luck with singer-songwriter albums in the first few months - the last few weeks have been quite refreshing in that regard.

It still surprises me to find so many of Leonard Cohen’s albums on this list. Even on *You Want It Darker*, there are no songs in the strict sense - in fact, they are more like poems recited to music (though, unlike *I’m Your Man*, the music here is more fitting).
What makes the whole thing impressive is that Cohen is quite obviously “singing” about his approaching death here - largely without fear, at times with deep melancholy, but always from a place of ataraxia.
I don’t know if I’ll listen to this album again, but “hear before you die” is actually a fitting recommendation here!

I wasn't specifically familiar with Arcade Fire, but it's quite possible that I've heard some of their songs.
Their album “Funeral” gets off to a promising start with “Tunnels,” but then fails to build on that momentum and gets lost in solid but largely unremarkable indie rock. Highs and lows alternate: good sound quality is offset by rather unimaginative arrangements, and good ideas (e.g. “Power Out”, "Crown of Love") are immediately ruined by Win Butler’s ridiculously thin vocals in this register. The strings are used to good effect from time to time, but the guitar work is largely useless.
That pretty much fits the definition of mediocrity.