Reviews by florida-metalhead810

Hey, look, it's an album people actually like! You know, like one with an actual reason for being on the list(take that, Beta Band!). It's not the best album I could have had, or even the best Who album(Who's Next exists), but it's still a good album. It's a prime example of the theatrical hard rock that marks prime Who, with it generally being regarded as the beginning of the Who's strongest period. It is a concept album about a kid who becomes deaf, mute, and blind after being traumatized by a murder in his own home. However, that concept isn't what's important here; it's the songs that make an album, and many of them serve only as interludes and story development. There are good standalone songs here, though, even though the lyrics are crafted specifically to be part of the concept. I do believe the album could have ended at "Smash the Mirror" which would ideally be slightly elongated to resolve the story after the album's climax. It's far from perfect, but it still has merit and influence, so it gets good marks from me.

Dude, I literally just had a British album nobody cares about yesterday! Do I really need another one today? And guess what, they're called the Beta Band! As if they KNOW they're hot garbage already! Now, for the actual album review; the album is exactly what you'd expect from a band called the Beta Band. It's vapid indie pop with very stupid lyrics and no real substance whatsoever. The vocals just kind of float along like the guy doesn't care, and the music doesn't move me. Even worse, lyrics are rapidly approaching Deep Purple territory with their stupidity- and if you've ever heard Deep Purple, you know that's saying a lot. So, boring garbage with bad lyrics and no involvement. Sounds like a shit sandwich to me. Or, more accurately, a Beta Band!

This album cover made me think that this was going to be knockoff Dexys Midnight Runners. And given that real Dexys Midnight Runners are awful, that scared me. Thankfully, it isn't knockoff Dexys Midnight Runners, but rather something more tolerable(if only just). It's ripoff American-style R&B made by white British guys without the talent of the American greats. It tries to groove, it tries to be soulful, but it doesn't do it well enough to get compelling. Vocals are important with this genre, and this guy can't even approach the heights of people like Marvin Gaye. Then there's the question: Why would I put this on when I could bump some Earth, Wind, & Fire? It doesn't do enough to answer this question, and suffers for it. Therefore, it's not essential listening- and that's before you get to the part about it being British guys ripping off American music like it's the friggin' 60s, man.

Ahh, the Beatles. I last had them with Abbey Road at album #49. This sounds nothing like that; while it's still the Beatles, it's more of a standard pop record of the era and less of an innovative rock record like many later Beatles albums. Lyrics are standard Beatles fate, and most songs are very simple and poppy. Therefore, despite being all-original songs at a time when many pop records would put out covers, it is a basic pop album. And I don't consider any basic pop albums to have nearly the same influence as later Beatles. So I guess it stays a four.

This is my first reggae album of the project. And who better to start with than the legendary Bob Marley? A common criticism of reggae in general is that it all sounds the same, which is true here. However, this doesn't preclude songs from being good, especially if it's a good sound(which this is). The lyrics are good, especially on songs like "Stop That Train" and "Concrete Jungle". Really, it checks all the boxes except for being sonically varied and interesting, which is a pretty big flaw. However, it's inherent to the reggae genre, so I can be more forgiving with this.

This is my third album not to be on American Spotify and the first since the Jungle Brothers at album #64. It is a fairly good alt-rock album with some guitar jangle. However, many of the lyrics feel rather stupid and trite, which is a shame as these are otherwise good songs. Basically, these guys sound like REM for hipsters who refuse to be caught listening to REM. The vocalist sounds like any new wave vocalist, and the rest of the band is only OK. Is it a good album? Yes. Is it essential listening? Not in the slightest.

I've heard plenty of Creedence before today, but this is my first generated album. And what an album it is! At their best, Creedence were a great rock-and-roll band with a nice country twang(California origins notwithstanding). Between "Up Around The Bend", "Travelin' Band", and "Who'll Stop The Rain"(which, by the way, is the song that got me into Creedence in the first place), we have an album stacked with all-timers, and that's before we get to the rest of the album. In the end, all I want to listen to each day is a damn good album, and this is a damn good album. In fact, it's a great album. Might even be in my all-time top 10 if we're really extolling it's virtues.

This is a very plaintive, somber affair. Where the other Springsteen album I had had an undercurrent of hope running through its stories, this one is bleak and resigned. It wastes no time in establishing a mood with a forlorn-sounding harmonica intro, and continues in this mood for the entire thing. It's a different kind of Springsteen album, more like a sad Bob Dylan than the usual Springsteen fare. I don't know if he does heavy fare like this well, and it feels very uninvolving. It's just Bruce's voice, some guitar, and the harmonica. In the end, I just don't care for it that much.

It's from the 2000s, it's a band I've never heard of, and it's an indie rock album. That combination sounds like boring shit to my ears. And it IS boring shit! It's bland indie rock that kind of just plays in the background rather than engages the soul like good music. Of course, the band are British(why not?) and it sounds pretentious as all hell(because many music journalists dig pretentious bullshit). Granted, I can love pretentious albums, but this has little musical merit behind the veneer. It's the very definition of "meh" and therefore not an album to hear before you die. Come on, man.

I have to give immense respect to this man for acting as a voice of protest against the military juntas running his country at the time. I also have to respect the excellent rhythms on display here. It sounds like it should be right up my alley with the funky rhythms and groove, but it didn't grab me from the get go, instead being a grower of an album. There are vocals, but they're not in English, so I can't understand what he's actually saying. It's supposed to be political, but I can't tell what his actual message is because I don't speak whichever African language the lyrics are in. Anyway, you can clearly tell that these are great musicians, but a lot of it sounds more like noodly jams than actual songs. That's not inherently a bad thing, as this grew on me the more I listened.

This is my first Doors album of the project. Though the lyrics aren't that good(Jim Morrison a poet? Really?), the album is good musically. The main star of the show is the organ, with numerous solos and a big role in the songs' hooks. However, the drumming is great, and the guitar suits the songs despite being less prominent than the organ in many songs. The lengthy solos in "Light My Fire" were somewhat tedious, but the rest of the songs had very little flaws beyond the bad lyricism.

This is my second and final Willie Nelson album of the project. Unlike his other album, this album features original songs written by Nelson. It really does prove how good of a country singer Nelson is with his ability for storytelling(not as good as Johnny Cash, but who is?) and distinctive, resonant voice that sounds every bit as country as any other genre great despite being higher in pitch. The list's country picks can be hit or miss, but this is a hit for sure. Country is always best when it's stripped down and focused on lyricism, which this is.

This is noisy, feedback-drenched alternative rock. It's very obviously a predecessor to grunge with its guitar distortion and detached vocals. However, there are good rock songs beneath the reverb and feedback. It's far more listenable than many reviews make it out to be while still being heavy. However, many songs feel more like showcases for the guitar of J. Mascis rather than concise rock songs, though some are solid underlying songs. The vocals can easily be seen as a forerunner to bands like Pearl Jam and all the butt-rock "yarlers" that came in their wake, yet Dinosaur Jr remain a high-quality early alternative band alongside the likes of Pixies and Sonic Youth. Or, at the very least, they're more interesting than Elvis Costello's boring-ass new wave.

This is my second Costello album of the project(This Year's Model was first). Given that This Year's Model was incredibly mediocre, I didn't have high expectations for this. Even so, it didn't surpass them; it sounds like a worse, less punchy version of This Year's Model. Lyrics are just ok, and the vocal timbre of Costello really isn't good at all. It feels too basic and devoid of a distinct sound to really warrant being here at all. And if this, one of Costello's best works, isn't essential listening, then he sure as hell doesn't need six albums spanning three decades on this list.

This is my second S&G album of the project and third to feature Paul Simon(I previously had Bridge Over Troubled Water and Graceland). This album has everything I loved about BOTW; catchy songwriting, great harmonies, strong lyrics, all set to excellent instrumental backing. It may not have anything on the level of "The Boxer" but few albums do. All I'll say is that this is a damn good album. It's not perfect; "A Simple Desultory Philippic" is very out of place and honestly pretty stupid, as is the "Silent Night" rendition.

I was only familiar with "Heart of Gold" before this listen, the first of many Neil Young albums to grace this list(4 solo, 3 with Crazy Horse, 1 each for CSNY and Buffalo Springfield). This is a very good album with excellent songwriting. Biting lyrics on tracks like "Southern Man" combine with nice guitar chops and a decent voice(compared to Dylan) that make this a strong first showing for Young in this project.

Oh yeah! I'm always a sucker for a 70s soul/funk album, and this is a 70s soul/funk album. Therefore, I am enjoying this record. However, it is a legitimately great record with awesome vocals and a great groove. It's very upbeat, with uplifting lyrics. This is music to dance and groove to, and every bit of it symbolic of the decadence of the 1970s. Let's not try to deny the power of 70s Motown soul, and EWF are one of the genre's greatest groups. They switch between groovy funk workouts and soulful ballads with aplomb, and they remain a fixture in pop culture to this day. What more could you ask for?

This looks like a modern-day R&B singer making a concept album in the vein of the 1970s prog scene. There are even overtures, just like on 2112 or Close to the Edge. Yet, this is a different musical beast entirely; where prog is characterized by long, extended passages, this focuses on tuneful hip-hop and R&B. However, it's not afraid to mix genres, combining funk, electronica, and hip-hop into one grand, cohesive beast. The most beloved prog albums were known for their fearless ambition and musical experimentation, and this has both of those in spades. I can't help but love it, as both a fun, poppy R&B album and as an eclectic, adventurous showcase of Monáe's musical ambitions. A genuinely good album that manages to hold its length(and coming from Mr. Hates Long Albums, that's saying something).

Maybe it's my jaded metalhead ass talking, but this doesn't feel anywhere near as energetic as everyone says it is. The album is just OK, for the most part. They can't really write songs anywhere near as well as the Stooges to which they are often compared, and the singer isn't very good at all. The guitar tones and drumming are good, but they can't really save this album. Many hold it up as a formative punk record, and I can kind of see it, but it's kind of lacking in terms of good songs compared to many other formative punk records. I especially hated the falsetto on "Ramblin' Rose". It is ultimately an example of an album that was highly influential but failed to age well in the face of more extreme and raucous music in decades to come.

This is my third Stones album of the project. It also has the highest global rating of all six Stones albums. It's dirty and sleazy in a way that the Stones' older albums weren't, abandoning the 60s style of beat-driven blues for 70s barroom sleaze. The songwriting is good, with excellent riffs despite some lyrics being questionable if not downright gross("Brown Sugar"). The ballads are usually better than the rockers lyrically, but the rockers are more enjoyable to listen to for me. All told, a great album weighed down by some poorly aged tracks.