Reviews by florida-metalhead810

This officially takes over from Now I Got Worry(album #20) as my album with the lowest global rating of the project. It is also my first album to be in the global bottom 20. It's industrial metal made by a bunch of Slovenians impersonating Nazis. So, naturally, I get it on Holocaust Remembrance Day. That can't be a coincidence, right? RIGHT? Anyway, onto the actual album; it's very militaristic and industrial in a way very different from anything the project has thrown me so far. Liberal use of militant soundscapes and lyrics being German chants creates a feeling of fear, like we're being exposed to the bad guys in a war movie(THIS is how you make a fake movie soundtrack, Barry Adamson). Eventually, the album throws in an English-language reprise of the opener, which is less effective than the German-language opening version simply because of meter issues with the English version as compared to the German. Overall, this is a very interesting album that sounds like nothing else, for better or worse.

This is a good soul album with good arrangements and great vocals. However, the whininess of Simone's timbre surprised me; it feels like an acquired-taste voice despite receiving much in the way of acclaim. Once you get past the voice(which I can rather easily see being a turnoff for many), you get well-produced soul with excellent singing and good lyrics. I can see this being influential, and it's almost perfect, but the voice is make-or-break in soul. While Nina has a great voice, it's not the best voice I've ever heard, and that ultimately makes it a 4 alongside the lack of upbeat, energetic songs.

This is a fun, funky R&B album. It's also very firmly rooted in the early 80s with the yacht-rock backing band and general feeling of cheese. It's not poetry, but it is a good album that really gets you in the groove like only R&B can do. Vocals are smooth as ever, and Womack can certainly play the guitar. The backing band is tight, which elevates the album quite a bit. Lyrics aren't that good, especially for an album called "The Poet", but they serve the genre. This was a fun listen-or maybe I have a soft spot for 80s R&B. Either way, I enjoyed this.

Steely Dan have never been one of my favorite bands. Aja was a bit too well made; while it has musical merit, it lacked the Certified Bangers that make a 5 star album. This is similar; while I cannot deny the smooth production that Steely Dan specialize in, I found this to be lacking any true standout tracks, instead settling for easy listening jazz-rock that doesn't really move you at the end of the day. I will say that this is tighter than Aja; it has stronger songs and less noodling. However, it fails to inspire any real emotion in me, keeping it a 3.

Ah, yes, the final testament of the legendary guitar God Jimi Hendrix. And it is a great final testament indeed, showing off everything Hendrix does well: mind-blowing guitar, soulful vocals, great drumming. Lots of soloing, especially on "Voodoo Child(first one)" and "1983", which generally doesn't really serve the album. But then, it's still Jimi Hendrix, and Hendrix is an all time great of music. It's not as tight as Are You Experienced? ,but it is still a great album nonetheless.

This is VERY 90s. It could only have been made in the angst-filled post-Nirvana climate of the mid-90s, and could only have been successful in that time period. But it is still a good album with several classic tracks. It's not quite a masterpiece, but it works as a time capsule and as an alt-pop album. This is an essential listen, if for no reason other than how much it encapsulates the musical zeitgeist of the day. It's not the best lyrically, but it's undeniably hooky. In all, we have a good if dated album that definitely has a case for being here.

This album sounds like a heavier, louder Smiths record. More accurately, it sounds like the Smiths discovered distortion pedals and chose to use them with aplomb. It's still a very hooky, accessible record with some very good songs on it underneath all the guitar distortion. Lyrics generally aren't too great, but the band is surprisingly musically solid for just having two members. All told, this is a good album that serves as my introduction to dream pop. Thankfully, it didn't forget the pop part of dream pop and made sure to have hooks beneath the reverb and detached vocals.

I don't really care for this kind of orchestral chamber pop. It could be considered one of the best albums ever made, but I just don't care for it. I'm not really hearing the genius here, just a bunch of mediocre orchestral pop. I know that's the Beach Boys' (and apparently, Brian Wilson's) thing, but I just don't vibe with it. Most of the songs don't really feel fleshed out, and the few that do don't resonate with me. So I'll have to pass on this one.

This is a good rock album with strong guitar hooks and great songs. It sounds less like new wave than I expected, instead being a more traditional rock album. While the vocals work well in the context of the album, the real star is the guitar; it's hooky, muscular, and energetic in equal measure. It makes the album what it is, despite lacking the technical flash of say, Deep Purple. Essentially, this album has strong songwriting backed with a good band.

Yeah, this is not an essential album. For anyone. In any genre. The Wikipedia entry says volumes about how stupid an album's inclusion is, and this one is on the wrong end of the line. It's not terrible, but it is a nothing burger album. Genuinely, who needs to hear this album by a long-forgotten band with little significance in even their musical era? Despite this, it's passable, and I have heard worse things from the generator(looking at you, U2's All That You Can't Leave Behind, you steaming shit pile). So I guess it's not totally deserving of a 1, but it's not quite good enough to justify a 3. So a 2 it is.

This may be one of the biggest bands of their era, but they're far from the greatest. What it is is new wave mixed with some reggae flourishes and Sting's easily identifiable vocals. However, it's mostly just ok; while this band have some great songs, this album seems to be mostly devoid of them. There are some legitimately good musical backgrounds here, but the lyrics are usually lacking and the melodies usually don't go anywhere interesting. In the end, popularity is no indicator of greatness; while some popular artists are often remembered as among their generation's greatest, many(including the Police) are not that great.

I mean, it's The Wall. Widely hailed as one of the greatest albums of the 1970s, if not of all time, it needs zero introduction. Though it is a double album, I find it hard to argue with the sheer amount of Certified Bangers found throughout("Comfortably Numb" "Young Lust" "Hey You" and of course, "Another Brick in the Wall Part 2"). But even beyond these iconic tracks, the album is loaded with excellent songs from top to bottom. You'll never convince me that this isn't the phenomenal album many say it is. To think that this is only the third highest rated Floyd album really shows their stratospheric greatness as a band for the bulk of the 1970s.

Apparently, this guy does a lot of movie soundtracks. That's not exactly surprising when this does sound kind of like a movie soundtrack at times. It's mostly just decent techno music, however. I quite like the rhythms on display, which is good as there's not much else here. The spoken word interludes are weird and occasionally irritating, but this isn't a bad album. It's mostly just good background music, little more.

On today's episode of "Random Obscure British Bands Nobody Cares About", we have...drumroll, please...The Auteurs! (The nonexistent crowd goes mild). Anyway, this album is absolutely mediocre. I literally see zero reason to care about this band and ZERO REASON to put them here over Weezer's infinitely better Blue Album, or a death metal record, or really any record of any significance that was snubbed from the list. The band remain forgotten nowadays, having been buried a thousand feet deep under the remains of Britpop as a movement. This being here is offensive, and therefore it gets a 1. I think I need to upgrade Neon Bible to a 2 now because this is so insubstantial as to make that look good in comparison(it isn't, at least not for me).

A grand, epic statement that birthed prog rock and remains one of its most esoteric and greatest totems. The tracks here evoke moods, whether it be the fear of "21st Century Schizoid Man" or the resignation of "Epitaph". I like prog as a genre, so this was always going to be a hit with me. But it truly is an excellent album, with an iconic cover and songs to boot. If nothing else, "21st Century Schizoid Man" is a Certified Banger, so listen to that at least once. Not all of the list's albums are essential, but this is, especially for prog heads. If you hate this, you probably just don't like prog rock as a genre as this is pure prog brilliance.

This is my first Radiohead album of the project. It's very electronic-tinged, possibly with krautrock elements. Vocals and lyricism mostly takes a backseat here to electronic ambient soundscapes and experimental rock songs, as happened on Tago Mago 30 years earlier. In fact, Yorke usually applies distortion to his voice on many songs. However, unlike Tago Mago, this album is all about atmosphere. This isn't an album that hits you hard with lyrical wit or flashy virtuosity; it's an album that takes you on an aural journey through numerous soundscapes. It's not the life-changing masterpiece many reviews say it is, but it's still a damn good album. And a damn good album is still worth five stars.

Oh, God. What I see before me is a 1980s country album from somebody I've literally never heard of. It's not completely insufferable, but it's also not great. It's very pop-tinged country, almost foreshadowing modern-day "bro country" but nowhere near as awful. It's okay musically, with decent hooks despite poor lyrics(though not quite as poor as most of what came after it) and an overreliance on pedal steel. It's not quite overproduced enough to descend into bro country terribleness, but it's not exactly a great album.

I had Jack White's solo album for album 36, but this is the first White Stripes album I've had. Just a few songs in, it's clear that this album is not just the basic, garagey, yet infectiously catchy rock they are best known for. It's an attempt to broaden the sonic palate of the band with piano ballads and even some vibraphone here and there. This doesn't make for a bad album, because Jack White can write songs that are good and enjoyable, something all too many of the project's 2000s offerings lack(see my average rating for the 2000s compared to all other decades).

I last had a Kinks album with Arthur just 8 albums into the project. I originally gave it a 5, which was later changed to a 3 in the face of my unwillingness to revisit it. I realize while listening to this, at album 156, that I may have made a mistake. This album is loaded with strong pop songwriting infused with the Kinks' distinct Englishness. Strong hooks and good lyrics make this an excellent example of post-British Invasion pop songwriting, albeit with a rock flair as was common. Some think they could have been 1960s icons had they been able to tour in the US, and based on this(and, to a limited extent, successor album Arthur), I don't disagree with that statement. Certainly, they have the chops to have been a largely respected band.

The length had me scared that this was going be awful. I just can't do long albums, and this is 72 min. It's far from awful; while some songs are too long, the album creates an atmosphere that is excellently crafted and engrossing. It feels rich and darkly theatrical, exactly as you'd expect from a goth rock album. It's essentially a darker, more atmospheric cousin of the new wave albums that permeate this list, and is better than all of them.