Reviews by dutch-point-pro

A masterpiece in simplicity and songwriting.

Lots of opera, not enough rock. It sounds like a dungeons and dragons game broke up to make an album. Not at all necessary.

Formulaic, guitar heavy rock - not much to make it stand out at all. Musically, it was very repetitive for no apparent reason. Bonus point for including a track named “I was a Teenage Hand Model”. - outstanding work on that detail.

When the lounge singer drops one too many tabs of acid before the set begins…

I’m starting to understand that when I read “this reminds me of the Beatles” in reviews, it means it’s going to be really shitty British pop. Case in point …

The first Sufjan Stevens song I ever heard was Casimir Pulaski Day and it is still one of the sadest, strangest songs I know. Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time looking through the Sufjan catalogue because I think he writes engaging lyrics, although I can never rectify the musical side of his work. I appreciate him most when there is a simpler musical presence, which he does better on other albums (like Seven Swans) but, here, everything ends up sounding like an open mic night at Musical Theater Bible Camp. It’s too bad, because I really like his imagery but I can’t make it through most of his “unique” musical arrangements.

From now on, my life will be divided into two distinct segments: the time before I listened to Grinder (Live from Long Beach, California) and everything that came after that startling moment. I had no idea how bad this whole ‘Judas Priest is a real band’ thing had become until then. Real people actually went to see them and cheered for them. I’m dumbfounded.

An extremely well named album - I definitely wish this was Something Else by the Kinks.

The Clash’s debut is all about street cred - loud, brash and punk as fuck. You can hear that tunefulness and unique instrumentation in places that will develop and stand out on later albums. For now, it’s just in your face and unapologetic rock.

One of the best hip hop albums ever made. Innovative and funky with lyrics for days full of intelligent, deep, humorous rhymes. 1991 New York City personified. The Low End Theory makes my personal top 10 albums of all time.

Help me. After this album, I’m confused as to the difference between good musicians playing shitty music and shitty musicians playing good music…
And, I think there should be a rule that, in order to be eligible for this list, the vocalist must be required to listen, at least once, to the accompaniment before recording or vice versa, a practice that clearly never happened here.

Words like rap and punk cause automatic responses in these reviews that seem to make everyone gravitate to either love or hate this music and defend that review based on personal taste. This album is great example of something that belongs in the middle. It’s not great, it’s not terrible - it’s a fun, upbeat album of clean, stylized punk rock that is a good listen.

This is the jazz I can handle … no dying birds to be found here. Amazing jamming with this trio, if you can handle that sort of thing … made me look forward to my next ride in an elevator.

Sure, it’s fine. 60s psychedelic with a folksy feel. I enjoyed it but I won’t be back for seconds.

It’s the usual background music for the tantric lovemaking session at Sting’s place … until the alien spacecraft lands in the backyard.

I once grew my hair out long. There was an awkward period where it was no longer short but could not yet qualify as long. I looked like Scottie from Boogie Nights. It was not ideal. Green is that sort of transition for R.E.M.
The album fits between Document, their commercial breakout, and Out of Time, the Zeitgeist-defining stylistic revamp that made the band mega-stars. Document is a really good album and Out of Time is legendary … Green is just fine. It’s as if they are exorcising the demons of their college rock persona one last time before becoming famous. I Remember California is a great ‘old style’ R.E.M song, the kind that will sadly die on upcoming albums. They lost themselves by trying to rage against selling out, creating an edgy, rock-tinged sound and producing a more commercial sound which yielded big hits and sold albums for the next decade. Their career trajectory reminds me a lot of U2 in that way, actually.

This is as early 80s as an album gets. Despite having different lyrics, notes and rhythms, every song basically ends up sounding the same by about the 2 minute mark … and that’s not a good thing.

McCartNo.

Like tequila, wasabi or small children, The White Stripes are best enjoyed in small doses. This album features killer riffs on classic White Stripes jams: Ball and Biscuit and The Air Near My Fingers, but also many lesser tracks that lack focus and crave more cohesion. I love when one of these songs shows up in a mix or on the radio, but listening to Jack whallop through them here one after another while Meg tries to keep up becomes painful very quickly. Mr. White is a talented musician who writes imaginative lyrics, but like many other great ones, he’s too into his own thing and doesn’t trim down his indulgences all that well. So, while I certainly respect his work and love some of this music, it is best to treat it like your in-laws … only visit occasionally and don’t stay for too long.

Undeniably talented as a musician and a lyricist, but Buckley’s music suffers from indulgence. I speculate that it’s the result of playing solo for all those years and needing to be ‘everything’ while answering to no one. His talent shows through but he could have used folks to reign him in and keep him in check.