Reviews by dutch-point-pro

A strong voice but not much else here. Afro jazz that Is very dated. It is not traditional African music, as many have mistakenly written, though it is certainly influenced by it, but Makeba sang jazz from an early age and her music bears this influence most prominently. Yes, there are elements of her cultural upbringing, and some of those traditional elements appear, but that is no different than Springsteen singing about cars and the boardwalk with a Jersey accent. To treat it differently is to tokenize it. If we get past the ‘uniqueness’ of her ‘point of view’, its actually pretty boring and uninspiring in its arrangements and its instrumentations. Great woman, meh album.

Faith No More … more like For the Love of God No More!
I’m pleased to report that their A & R guy got it right on this one and found the only song that could have possibly been a single. Let’s face it, if that fish didn’t suffocate and that piano didn’t explode, we never would have heard of this band and the world would have been a simpler, more tuneful place.
The vocals are grating, the instrumentals are boring and the overall effect is more annoying than anything else. I mean they even screwed up the cover of War Pigs by losing the rhythm and pushing the tempo in the first chorus… it’s a near perfect song and they did nothing to it except play it poorly. ‘Da fuck?
This sounds like taking all the bad Red Hot Chili Peppers’ albums and then removing any actual funkiness - and nobody needs to hear that. I would have been fine on my long parade to the grave without needing to hear this one in full.

The British sure love their Oasis. I however, am not British. I mean, before we take their word on this, let’s look at some other things that the British think are really great - Colonialism, beans on toast, saying no to fluoride, corn as a pizza topping …. So, I think we’re going to have to form our own opinion here.
And it’s fine. It has well known songs and some mega-hits. But the rest is bland, dad rock. It’s trying way too hard to be the Beatles and, while it comes close in places, which is notable, the rest is hollow and performative, trite and veinglorious.
Gallagher’s lyrics are neither deep nor moving. They are like a purchase made at a drive thru - fine for the moment but not really going last much longer than the present.
(I hitched a ride with my soul by the side of the road/
Just as the sky turned black./
I took a walk with my fame down memory lane./
I never did find my way back./)
Um, say what, bro? WTF is that drivel?
The instrumentals are strong and the sonic experiments create interesting hooks and grooves that work well and stick with you.
It’s a good pop rock record with some great songs but not much else.

This is a one trick pony and it’s not a great trick. The Byrds have a unique sound but it’s very dated and this collection does nothing but reiterate that over and over again. I mean, why make an album if every single song is going to sound exactly the same?

The one thing I’ve never thought while listening to any reggae music was, “Boy, I wish this was just a little bit whiter.” Also. getting this album on the day Jimmy Cliff died only makes it sound even worse.
This is too formulaic as white boy reggae and their sound has not yet morphed into the more fully integrated reggae tinged rock that will make albums like Synchronicity stand out as unique. When it works, like on the singles we all know, it works well. But it misses much more than it hits here. That said, it’s still a fun listen.
Lastly, It’s good to hear the growing pains Sting had to go through to gain his legendary tantric powers. Ultimately, I think M.C. Ren said it best on track 2 of Straight Outta Compton ( and he said it with authority).

The Fun Lovin’Criminals. I don’t think so. Their only crime was this album. It was terrible - like a bad Sublime cover band playing musical Scatergories at an adult contemporary party.

But all is not lost! I’ve decided to take this opportunity to rank my Top 10 Real Life Fun Loving Criminals. While their public lives were defined by violence, many notorious criminals pursued surprisingly mundane or strange hobbies in their downtime and I’d like to rank those. To be clear, I’m ranking the uniqueness of the fun activity they used to relieve the stresses of murder, embezzlement, theft or whatever. The criminal and the crime bear no weight in the rankings. Here we go!

Numbet 10. Country Music Video Mogul
Joe Exotic “The "Tiger King" loved to make country music videos. He saw himself as a serious country music star. He released several albums and filmed dozens of music videos (often featuring his tigers and body doubles). Although it was later revealed that he lip-synced most of his songs, his dedication to the persona of a video country star was a full-time hobby.

Number 9. Die-Hard Sports Fan
John Dillinger, the infamous robber of 24 banks in the 1930s, was a talented baseball player and a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan. He famously attended Cubs games at Wrigley Field, even after breaking out of prison (twice) and while he was on the FBI’s "Most Wanted" list, trusting that his disguises, his sunglasses and the other die-hard fans in the crowd would hide him. He was never captured at a game.

Number 8. Painting Clowns.
John Wayne Gacy: The infamous serial killer, while on death row, took up painting. He was prolific, creating thousands of pieces. His most infamous works were self-portraits of his alter ego, "Pogo the Clown," but he also painted Disney characters and landscapes. Seriously, a painting of Goofy by John Wayne Gacy? Creepy AF.

Number 7. Making Jewelry.
Another serial killer, Albert DeSalvo, better known as the "Boston Strangler", had a surprisingly delicate hobby while incarcerated for killing 13 women. He became skilled at making necklaces and costume jewelry. He even sold his handmade jewelry from prison, and this is one absolutely true fact: his most popular style of necklaces were “chokers”. Sick people, those consumers.

Number 6. Impersonating Elvis.
Rod Blagojevich, the disgraced former Governor of Illinois who went to prison for trying sell Barack Obama’s senate seat to the highest bidder, was a die-hard Elvis Presley fan. This went beyond casual listening; he was known for performing full Elvis impersonations. While in prison, he even fronted a band called "The Jailhouse Rockers," performing hits for fellow inmates.

Number 5. Banjo Picker.
While incarcerated at Alcatraz, the infamous mob boss Al Capone fought boredom by joining the prison band, the "Rock Islanders." He learned to play the banjo and the mandolin and wrote many sappy ballads and a love songs. Quite a change of heart from the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre that got him sent to prison. Turns out, he loved to pick that banjo.🪕

Number 4. Hot Chocolate Magnate.
Bernie Madoff, the man behind the largest Ponzi scheme in history, didn't stop wheeling and dealing once he got to federal prison. He just switched commodities. Madoff reportedly cornered the market on Swiss Miss hot chocolate packets in the prison commissary. He bought every single packet available and sold them to other inmates at a markup for a profit. Even behind bars, he couldn't resist running a monopoly.

Number 3. (Tie) Private Soccer and Volleyball Games.
Pablo Escobar and Osama bin Laden: The Colombian drug lord was a huge soccer fan. He built soccer fields in impoverished neighborhoods and frequently flew in professional players for private matches at his estate. It’s a safe bet you always let Pablo win this one!
Bin Laden, the founder of Al-Qaeda, was known to be an avid volleyball player. Being 6'5", he was a formidable presence at the net and frequently organized games with his followers. That is something I want infrared video of. Osama in his beard, wearing his tunic (or even better, short shorts) going up for a spike!

Number 2. Pigeonry
A true criminal after serving time for rape, Mike Tyson is primarily known as a violent boxer and a casual cannibal. His lifelong passion, however, was raising pigeons. He has owned thousands of birds throughout his life and claims that his first ever fight happened when a bully killed one of his pigeons. He finds the hobby deeply therapeutic and maintains a pigeon coop to this day.

And the Number 1 Fun Lovin’ Criminal pursuit- Writing Romance Novels. Saddam Hussein loved to write romance novels. Not shitting you. The Iraqi dictator, who was convicted of International Crimes Against Humanity and used poison gas on at least 10,000 of his own people, wrote multiple love stories, including a romance novel titled Zabibah and the King. He also had a passion for gardening and especially loved to grow sunflowers. Who knew the vicious dictator was such a big softee?

These are the true fun lovin’ criminals.

Damn that shit was dope!
This is the quintessential gangster rap album. In most respects, it is exactly what you’d expect, rife with misogyny, homophobia, degrading expletives and boasts about the size of their dicks and their guns. But there is also a much more complex element at work, with smart rhymes, great metaphors and wordplay, and an assaulting verbal delivery that will come to define this genre and shape all of rap for the future.
It’s easy to pass over this on the basis of its crassness, its subject matter and a seemingly one note ideology. But as someone who still knows every word on this album from the days when I lived vicariously through it as a window into a world I’ll never know, I see it as a formative and important album that defined music more significantly than most of the others on this list.
On a personal note, I’ll be pouring a little O.E. out of my 40 for the Dirty Bird, Nellie, the Countie Marlo, the Couch, the Piss Fence, the Elm Theater, Teddy Ted, Sheenu, R.A.D.A.R., Tom Toner, Penetrating, and those guys who stole Sousa’s stereo.

Nice soulful reggae that lulls you with its rhythms and chills you out, while still holding lyrics with strong messages. Fun listen, especially the second half of the album. Brand New Second Hand is 🔥🔥🔥…. oooooo-oooooo-oooooo-oo!

Just rock enough to make country fans dislike it.
Just country enough to make rock fans dislike it.
Just Eagles enough to make me dislike it.
This is waiting room music. Nobody likes that.

This was the beginning and the end of U2. The “new” beginning where they succeeded in reinventing themselves without destroying what was unique to themselves. I don’t think the reinvention was anywhere near as compelling as their earlier incarnation, but I understand that there’s only so many times you can write a song to Jesus (thinly veiled as being sung to a woman) while playing the same three chords until you need to try something new.
But it’s also the end of U2. This is the first album where they start to parody rock stardom and the last before they lose themselves in the joke.
The album itself is actually quite strong, with lots of familiar songs, and other interesting compositions (which sway a bit too far into the pop lane for my personal taste) that are good. Listen, any album that has One and Even Better Than the Real Thing has got to chart just on those, right? The rest of the album holds up and works well.

I mean, it’s fine. Nothing unique or remarkable. For me, It’s hard to get past the way everything sounds the same and the vocal delivery that lacks nuance.
Courtney Love will always believe her music and her thoughts are much more important than the rest of us do. She cites her poetic inspirations as T.S. Eliot and Shakespeare for this album, and compares the musical style here as a deconstructed Beach Boys or the Doors. I’ll suggest this might be loftier company than Hole should ever be mentioned amongst. And I guarantee that bringing Billy Corgan into the mix on any album will DEFINITELY NOT make things less pretentious.
So, yeah, it’s just whatever… nevermind.

This is what Tipper Gore was trying to warn us all about!
But seriously, there’s a thin line between the background battle music for Call of Duty and School Shooter-core. This album blurs that line a little too uncomfortably for me.
Maybe that makes me overly judgemental, but I’m okay with that. You keep the terrible vocalist’s whisper-screaming his violent lyrics - I’ll be outside listening to some Kenny G if you need anything.
And I’ll never ‘appreciate’ or give extra credit to the musicianship in a metal band like this because, as musicians, you choose how to present your music - it’s a package. The choice here was to serve up a screaming shitburger … so, I award no points for the skill with which you do it. Yes, you slap a mean bass, but you ply your trade in a bad genre and a better musician makes a better choice.

First 30 seconds of this album slay. But then, what the actual fuck? Why does the “I’m going under” chick keep saying the N-word?
This is a no. Not even close. How did this get on vinyl, much less on this list?
Hard pass.

Music for divorcees to enjoy while they sip overpriced lattes at Starbucks.

Hey, hey we’re the Monkees! I remember coming home from middle school and for some reason MTV would show episodes of the Monkees TV show every afternoon. I think it was kind of like a live action Scooby-doo where they went around solving problems every week or something and then they’d break into song. Maybe I’m making that up… I didn’t really understand what was going on or why it was on back then and I guess I still don’t now.
So, this is saccharine sweet pop music and nothing more. Not much to dig into here.

The album might be Jay-Z at his finest, and that leaves a lot to be desired. His lyrics achieve basic at best and Jay will never be accused of being smooth or flexible in his delivery. The Blueprint reveals how he revels in cheesiness with his wordplay. Some of these rhymes are downright embarrassing:
Gnarly dude
I puff Bob Marley dude
All day, like Rastafaris do
Or
I’m packing heat like an oven door - um, no.
And, If Beyoncé ever heard Girls, Girls, Girls he’d definitely be sleeping on the couch.
The second half picks up musically, driven by more intricate beats, although
Renegade shows just how out of his league he is when put up against someone that can craft intricate lyrics and use variety and energy in their delivery. His rhymes feel juvenile at times and underwhelming on the regular. Lyrical Exercise is the one track where he shows promise as a writer, but the rest of the ‘ I sold drugs. I bribed the DA, I’m better than Nas, Girls love me’ rap wears thin at best.

Do you know what I hate about Queen? Pretty much all of this. I like that it rocks and that it is whimsical, but those never really come together well. It’s a buffet of bold choices that don’t blend. When it aligns, it’s transcendent. But it doesn’t really happen much on this album.
If you love Queen, you’ll love this. But if your indifferent, as I am, there is much more that you’ll be looking for from the overall experience.

An entertaining set of songs where the soundtrack format keeps it focused and moving. Mayfield’s falsetto vocals get tiresome after a bit and the overall album has some moments that are uneventful and others that feel repetitive, but there are also slapping moments of funkiness which make it great to get down to. Mostly, this album made me miss the terrible porn music of my teenage years!

Nope. Can’t do it.
Please understand that this album is actually closer in age right now to the year 1895 than it is to the year 2025. Let that sink in.
This is too far afield to be anything other than old and dated. She clearly has a great voice … but so did Connie Francis and The Andrews Sisters and I don’t expect to be listening to them anytime soon.

I had a tinge of irony today when I listened to ‘Bank Holiday’ on a Bank Holiday.
Unfortunately, that’s the closest I came to any sort of feeling other than complete disbelief and boredom at this pisspoor excuse of an album.
The dogs on the cover are running away from a Blur live show, no doubt. This is absolutely awful, kitschy pop.