Reviews by ellesnayr

What a terrific album! Classic country at its finest. I’m not positive but I think this was recorded live in studio, there are little mistakes at times that I think add to the humanity on these recordings. Not a bad word to say about this one!

There are aspects of this album that I enjoyed. The instrumentation is solid and there are some great bass lines. However, for a relatively short album it felt long. Most of the songs were just one motif repeated for 4 minutes. At Last I Am Free is the worst offender, they took what would be an okay chorus and made it a whole song. So yeah, this album needs work, it really felt like they had ideas for songs and instead of fleshing them out just made entire songs out of one idea.

Led Zeppelin really could do no wrong on their first four albums. There’s a not so great song here and there (looking any you Lemon Song) but for all intents and purposes this was quite the streak. And you’d think by the fourth one they’d be running out of steam, but this is arguably their best album. I do think they should have switched Levee and Stairway, Stairway is an obvious closer. Otherwise the album is packed with hits and flows nicely. They also don’t overstay their welcome, it’s 40ish minutes of great tunes and then it’s done.

I didn’t understand most of the words on this album but it didn’t matter! This was a lovely album. Perfect for a summer evening out on the porch. Super chill and relaxing music:

It’s sparse but the songs are there. I’ve not listened to much Springsteen, never cared for his radio songs. I enjoyed this album though. The songs are well written and I like that they’re all little short stories. I’d only heard one song off this album before and it was the Nitty Gritty Dirt Bands cover of Atlantic City. I prefer their version of the song, but the cover is only good because the bones of the song were good in the first place. I would give this album 4 stars but I’m docking it one for too much harmonica, harmonica almost never benefits a song in my opinion.

This album didn’t do it for me. They’re talented musicians but it just didn’t connect for me. I can’t put my finger on what exactly doesn’t click. I like funk and I like Motown, I guess I just don’t like the temptation’s take on funk/motown.

This album came out when I was in high school and I was a fan. High school was a time when I really started to explore new music. Prior to that time my scope was limited to basically classic rock and pop punk and whatever my parents listened to. I probably found out about Fleet Foxes the way I found out about most new bands at the time. Either an album review in Rolling Stone magazine or seeing them on a late show like Conan which I watched religiously. Either way this was an early foray for me into harmony laden folk music. I love a good harmony and this album is partly responsible for discovering that love. All that being said, this album definitely holds up. My opinion about it hasn’t changed much. For me it’s definitely a front loaded album. The first half is basically flawless, I like every song. The second half falls off though. It feels like they needed more songs and threw some filler tracks on it. Blue Ridge Mountains is solid but the rest are just kind of forgettable. Not bad, definitely listenable, they’re just sparse and light in the harmonies. Maybe they are grower songs that I just never gave the time to breathe, maybe I’ll return to them and give them more time. But as of writing this my opinion is first half perfect, second half needs work.

This was an inoffensive folk album. I don’t have much to say about it except I kind of forgot I was listening to it. It makes great background music, it’s sort of soothing. I used to listen to Pink Moon sometimes to help me fall asleep. I don’t think pink moon is boring, it’s just very calming. This one is similar but not as good.

Elvis Costello is someone whose music I enjoy at times. I really like some of his songs, but I’ve liked a full album. That remains true with this album. There are a few really good songs and the rest are just filler to me. I think Detectives is probably my favorite song of his.

A loud, sloppy, energetic introduction to a band still working out the kinks. I mean that all lovingly of course. I’ve been a fan of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for a long time, and I am a fan of this album. However, I see their debut as a promising introduction to a band still finding their voice. A voice they perfected on their sophomore album Show Your Bones. This album though is full of punk rock energy and grime. Mixed in there is a hint of where this band was headed. Maps is one of the most beautiful songs of the 2000s. It showed that behind the grime was a group full of emotion and pop savvy. The sound of Maps is what I think is more fully fleshed out on the next album. It’s cool to see this band growing and learning on this album. A fantastic debut.

I guess I understand why this album made the list. It has multiple songs that remain in the classic rock zeitgeist. For me personally I’ve never cared much for the hits off this album and the non-hits aren’t great either. The title track is the only one I can tolerate, the rest bore me. This is one that maybe “rocked” in 1974, but feels so tame and uninteresting now.

Man Kraftwerk rules so hard. This is what I said while listening to this album. The Robots was my introduction to Kraftwerk years ago. I stumbled on a YouTube video of them playing it live and couldn’t help but think are these guys actually robots!? I’m still not sure. Their mastery of electronic music and monotone singing voices makes me question their humanity to this day. If this is what AI music had turned out to be, instead of just wonky covers of other artists, I’d be ready to assimilate.

The Robots also sparked my love for vocoders. It’s easily my favorite song on the album, possibly mgmt favorite Kraftwerk song. Although, Europe, Endless is up there too. The rest of the album is also amazing. Spacelab is sparse but beautiful. Metropolis is the darkest sounding song on the album, and The Model is also eerie but less so. The Model is the low point for me, the vocals/lyrics on it kind of ruin it for me. But right after that is the beautiful Neon Lights, followed by the closer which is techs and robotic like the opener. There’s not a bad song on here! I am knocking off one star because when these guys aren’t using vocoders they are not great singers. The singing can be a bit monotonous and annoying for some. But the music is so good it doesn’t ruin the songs.

I just couldn’t do it. I listened to 25 minutes before I gave up. I do not connect with Adele’s music. It’s the musical equivalent of watching paint dry.

I’ve heard this album before but it was a while ago. This album is wild, it borders on outsider music at times. At times it sounds like dr. Octagon is stream of consciousness rapping. This was unlike anything else at the time, even for Kool Keith who is Dr. Octagon. It’s almost as if his alter ego takes over and he becomes Dr. Octagon. The lyrics are wildly inventive and, while seemingly random at times, create the lore of the Doctor. It’s one of the strangest concept albums I’ve come across. And the music on here is amazing. The album may never have been more than an underground hit if not for the production. The themes and lyrics are so bizarre that without stellar production this may have been lost to history save for a handful of hardcore fans. But all the ingredients together has made this album stand the test of time. I will say that it was on the long side, and some of the samples, while on theme, make it so I wouldn’t throw this on in public. Overall, a terrific album that still sounds fresh thanks to its unique style.

There was nothing wrong with this album. It was fine, but I wouldn’t call it essential by any means. I enjoyed the music but I don’t care for the vocals. The singer has that 80s voice. I think the most popular example of what I’m talking about is tears for fears, but other examples are Modern English, Icicle Works, Naked Eyes, The Monroe’s. These were all one hit wonders, as were, as far as I know, Echo and the Bunnymen. I think it’s pretty obvious why too. It is grating to hear that style vocals for an entire album. It works for a song here and there, but gets annoying when listening for 45 minutes. I’m giving this a three but it’s really a 2.5.

Some dope boom bap beats on here. The lyrics didn’t age well on some songs, namely the bichez, and the use of the other f word, which I know was pretty prevalent in hip hop at the time, but still doesn’t excuse it. It’s hard to give this album more than a three. His rhymes are solid, but this album was released the same year as Illmatic and Ready to Die. Biggie and Nas pushed hip hop forward lyrically with those albums. So while Jeru has some solid raps and good flow he kind of gets left in the dust by his peers.

For its time this album seems a lot more heavy than other albums being released. That being said, if The Who had stopped after this one they would be a footnote in the history of rock music. Most of this album is forgettable, there are a couple songs that have stood the test of time and the rest have rightfully been ignored. Aside from being heavier most of the album is standard fare for what was being released at the time. It is not The Who at a creative peak, it is them working out what they would someday become. I don’t think this album should be on this list. If there was a list of singles to hear before you die, I could see My Generation being on it, it’s an iconic song. But this album is just ok.

This wasn’t bad but definitely feels dated. For me Iron Maiden is more of a greatest hits band. The songs I really thought were great were ones I already knew, Number of the Beast and Run to the Hills. The rest of the songs weren’t bad, they just didn’t grab me. A lot of them felt too long. I understand that Iron Maiden are metal pioneers and I can see their influence in this album. But I prefer later metal that’s a little heavier. Maiden is just too clean sounding to me, that and I’m not a big fan of Dickinson’s vocals.

When I first listened to this album, probably in high school, I only liked Doll Parts and Rockstar. I still love Rockstar, it’s easily my fav song on the album. This time though, I liked a few more of the songs than last time. The ones I didn’t care for were the ones where the guitar was too beefy for my taste. I love the guitar on rockstar, gutless, and she walks on me. But the first half is too much of that thick grungy guitar that just doesn’t do anything for me. I like a more raw guitar sound. So for me the second half of this album really shines compared to the first half.

Definitely some talented musicians, but I was unimpressed with this album